Ilya

The lush electronic cabaret-pop project known as Ilya (or San Ilya stateside) originated with songwriter Nick Pullin, vocalist Joanna Swan, and bassist Dan Brown. Both Pullin and Swan grew up in Bristol, England, where they first began composing and performing original material together while also appearing as a jazz standards duo at neighborhood pubs. Brown discovered the pair during one such performance and soon became the third member, supplying both a bass foundation and access to a recording facility. In this configuration the group kept playing private events and wedding receptions, where they reworked familiar standards by incorporating elements drawn from rock, global traditions, and electronic production. Sessions held in Brown’s studio allowed them to merge these strands into a distinctive voice of their own. Ilya's first full-length effort, They Died for Beauty, reached European listeners by the end of 2003. Stateside awareness grew ahead of the domestic release when the single “Bellissimo” was licensed for a series of television spots promoting Revlon’s Colorstay cosmetics line. The album itself finally appeared on American shores in the summer of 2004.