Ingrid Lukas in Pursuit of the Melody of her Life

Fresh from Ronin Rhythm Record comes “Elumeloodia”, the new album from Estonian-Swiss pianist and singer Ingrid Lukas. The title, Estonian for „melody of life“, hints at the reasons why we haven’t heard any new music from her for nearly eight years. The answer, in short, is: life itself.

First, Lukas’s long-term musical partner Patrik Zosso became seriously ill, necessitating a prolonged break from music for both. Next, she studied for a Masters degree in music therapy in Berlin. For several years, she has now been using those skills in a rehabilitation clinic in Aarau. This activity, in turn, led to a new appreciation of her own needs. „I used to just do music because it came naturally to me,“ she says. „Actually, it was only in these eight years that I found out that I HAD to do it. Why it’s my life’s melody. That otherwise a part of me doesn’t live.“

About half of the songs on „Elumeloodia“ are sung in Estonian, a few others in English – and one in an improvised spoken language. „It took me over twenty years to become so free with my voice,“ Lukas says. „From the Estonian folk tradition to yodelling, birdsong and Björk, today I feel free to try anything. It’s cool to be able to stick to your own life melody with your voice. “ The moods of this intensely meditative album range from the percussively ritualistic „Rainspell“ to the ambient improvisation of „Beginning“ and the magnificent, Nordic-gospel title track. Gripping stuff.

Ingrid Lukas
Ronin Rhythm Record