Orphica

Discovered by Björk, this young Greek exile in London shares the Icelandic fairy’s taste for vocal audacity and a capacity to create unique worlds through sound. He is releasing his first album, moulded with mythological references which make for a spellbinding journey to musical climes. At the crossroads of Arthur Russell, Matmos and Eyeless in Gaza, one has rarely heard a sound-alchemist master so effortlessly machines (diaphanous beats, insect crackling), instrumental arrangements (cello, harp, oneiric harpsichord) and singing; from the emotive exaltation in Prediction to the radical strangeness of Dance or Love Song, it's a unique mix of sighs, coughs and strangulations.

by D.S. - Le Monde, 29 May '07

Repéré par Björk, ce jeune Grec exile à Londres partage avec la fée islandaise un gout pour les audaces vocals et une capacité à metre en son des univers singuliers. Il publie un premier album pétri de references mzthologiques pour un vozage envoûtant dans des limbes musicaux. A la croisée d’Arthur Russell, Matmos et Eyeless in Gaza, on a rarement entendu alchimiste sonore maîtriser aussi allégrement machines (beats diaphanes, grésillements d’insecte), arrangements instrumentaux (violoncelle, harpe, clavecins oniriques) et chant – de l’exaltation emotive de Prediction à l’étrangeté radicale de Dance ou Love Song, uniquement constitutes de soupirs, toux et étranglements.

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‘Orphica takes the listener on an excting sonic adventure’. A phrase, which one can find under a different name on many promotional leaflets around. Rarely does it fit so well as in the case of Orphica, the new album by Mikhail from Greece. Mikhail moves in experimental music circles, but is a far cry from the clichés currently associated with this scene. He does not rely on reduction, rattling laptop or synthesizer sounds, nor on cacophony; his own approach is orchestral and melodramatic. The music is a hybrid of elements from minimal and classical orchestral music, including singing which is almost aria-like. As is to be expected the result is atmospherically diverse, eccentric and lush. Orphica is an album which explores completely new musical fields and which permits comparisons only to a certain extent. From time to time one thinks of Scott Walker’s very special albums, then one is reminded of the stubborn but powerful arrangements of Björk, with whom Mikhail has already collaborated.

Listeners who are only used to pop music will be left bewildered by Orphica. But those who find the majority of releases ever more dull will find a true revelation. In any case, this music is excitingly new.

appears at nillson fanzine, May '07 (translated from German)

„Orphica nimmt den Hörer mit zu einem aufregenden akustischen Abenteuer“. Eine Phrase, die sich mit ausgetauschten Namen auf vielen Promozetteln der Republik findet. Selten passt sie aber so genau wie bei „Orphica“, dem Album von Mikhail Karikis aus Griechenland. Mikhail bewegt sich in einem Kontext experimenteller Musik, ist aber weit entfernt davon, die gegenwärtig damit assoziierten Klischees zu erfüllen. Er setzt nicht auf Reduktion, surrende Laptop- oder Synthieklänge oder Kakophonie, nein, sein Ansatz ist ein Orchestraler und Melodramatischer. Die Musik ist ein Hybrid aus Elementen der Minimalelektronik und denen klassischer Orchestermusik, inklusive fast schon arienhaftem Gesang. Wie zu erwarten war klingt das Ergebnis atmosphärisch äußerst divers, exzentrisch und voll. Auf jeden Fall ist „Orphica“ ein Album, das sich in völlig neue musikalische Gefilde aufmacht und Vergleiche nur sehr bedingt zulässt. Hin und wieder denkt man beim Gesang an Scott Walkers sehr ausgefallene Alben, dann wieder erinnern die störischen, aber gewaltigen Arrangements an Björk, mit der Mikhail auch schon zusammenarbeitete.

Sicher werden vornehmlich Popmusik gewohnte Hörer sehr ratlos von „Orphica“ zurückgelassen werden. Wem aber der Großteil des normalen Releaseplanes immer fader vorkommt, wird möglicherweise in der Platte eine wahre Offenbarung finden. Aufregend neu ist diese Musik in jedem Fall.

appears at nillson fanzine, May '07

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[...] Mikhail Karikis, who goes by only his first name, creates an often-astonishing debut album with Orphica - at once a reinterpretation of Greek mythic tropes and the kind of elegantly unsettled art rock that draws less on well-known male artists and more on strong female performers [...] Orphica quite strikingly acts as a model for how a male artist can interpret the fluid, unique arrangements of musicians such as Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson, not to mention any number of their artistic descendants worldwide. As a result, Mikhail's work is hard to draw an exact bead on, with his work suggesting the soundtrack to a movie that ranges from Balkan medieval dances to crumbling technological overload, often within the space of the same song. His equally theatrical vocals, with gasps, sudden aggression, and a mournful keen rarely heard outside of performers such as Eyeless in Gaza's Martyn Bates, add to the unsettling effect, and as a result Orphica is an album that rewards careful attention and repeated listening -- what seems to make sense at one point later seems strange and alien again in context. Songs such as "Maenads," with its sudden rhythm shift and shivering string interjections, and the swirling glitch attack of the almost aptly titled "Mythical Laboratory" are fine highlights, but the album is best appreciated as a whole. If a song has to be picked, though, then "Argonautica," with its overdubbed choirs, swooping notes, and strong rhythmic hits -- all designed to maximize the drama of an already melodramatic piece -- might have to be it. Orphica is a singular debut by a talented performer, and the future looks promising.

by Ned Raggett - All Music Guide, June '07

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Mikhail Karikis is from Thessaloniki, lives and creates in London, and two years ago with a cover version of Army of Me he was selected by Bjork for her philanthropic cd. His debut album, which borrows titles from Greek mythology, is worthy of the high expectations he set up: a masterful blend of Greek elements, Hadjidakis, ancient hymns and environmental sound. It’s outstandingly modern.

by M.Hulot - LIFO magazine no 60, March '07 (translated from Greek)

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Prior to the release of Orphica, London-based Mikhail Karikis has been best known via his contribution to Bjork’s ‘Army Of Me’ remix and covers compilation (a version of which is included here), but this album provides an impressive showcase of Karikis’ amalgamation of traditional Greek folk influences, avant-garde electronics and experimental pop music. Mikhail certainly wears his influences on his sleeve: there’s a sun-dappled orchestral ambience on ‘Prediction’ that’s reminiscent of Harold Budd, and there’s an obvious inspiration taken from Bjork’s Vespertine album on a track like ‘Incubus’ which throws together brittle electronics with chiming glockenspiel and harpsichord. What makes Orphica unique however, is the clash of Karikis’ outlandishly expressive vocals against his finely detailed, widescreen instrumental backdrops, making for a distinctive, characterful sound that’s very much his own.

appears at boomkat.com, April '07

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Orphica is […] one of the more unique concoctions of music that I've heard in some time, mixing together everything from subtle electronics and avant-garde to Greek folk and even a Victorian sensibility at times.

In other words, it's certainly not out-of-the ordinary to hear harpsichord, violin, dramatic vocals, and blippy electronics all bumping up against one another in the same track. That's exactly what happens during the first two songs of the release, with "Untitled in CoF Minor" opening the release with clipped, plucked, and filtered strings, woodwinds, and harpsichord bowing and darting around while Karikis adds his wailing, and occasionally growling vocals. It's an odd combination, both primal and futuristic at the same time, and it sets the tone for what's to come on the rest of the release. "Asteris" follows, and starts off with a gorgeous combination of string quartet and programmed rhythms that builds with timpani rolls and some unique processing. Once the vocals of Karikis enter the mix, the track takes on a slightly more dramatic feel, pushing into almost operatic places at times, before dissolving into field recordings and deconstructed electronics.

[…] Karikis […] grunts, growls, and yelps his vocals, with all kinds of guttural noises and tics that sound like everything from throat-clearing to hiccups to hypnotized chanting. On "Argonautica," a full chorus of male background vocals comes for power over the top of a string-laced, electro growler that's truly strange […] the twelve song, forty-five minute album is a gorgeous mixture of archaic and futuristic […]

Almost Cool, 28th June 2007