Laika (band)

Laika were an English band formed in 1993 and helmed by Margaret Fiedler (lead vocals, programming) and Guy Fixsen (guitar, programming). Their lineup also included John Frenett (bass), Lou Ciccotelli (drums), Louise Elliott (flute, saxophone), and Rob Ellis (drums). Laika were founded following Fiedler and Frenett's departure from the band Moonshake; Laika's other members had previously worked with different artists on the roster of Moonshake's label Too Pure. Laika's experimental style blended diverse genres, including electronica, krautrock, dub, hip hop, and jazz. They released their debut album Silver Apples of the Moon in 1994, and followed with 1997's Sounds of the Satellites, both to critical praise. Laika released two subsequent albums, 2000's Good Looking Blues and 2003's Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing, after which they entered an indefinite hiatus.

History

1993: Formation

Margaret Fiedler moved from New York City to London in 1989 in search of music which better suited her interests. The first significant band she joined was Moonshake, in which she was one of two lead vocalists, a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist predominantly playing guitar, keyboards and samplers. Moonshake's songwriting was split between Fiedler and co-vocalist David Callahan, who had a very different style: Callahan favoured an art-punk storytelling approach with a dub/funk undercurrent while Fiedler preferred a more enveloping and abstract approach drawing on rhythmic krautrock-esque loops and murmured vocals. The early Moonshake records, released on the Too Pure label, were engineered by the producer Guy Fixsen, who had also worked with bands including My Bloody Valentine and The Breeders.