Biography
Uni Ika Ai crafts an ethereal yet skewed strain of indie pop under the pronunciation “oo-nee ee-kuh eye.” The project took shape in Brooklyn during 2014, when Maia Friedman of Bobby and Pete Lalish of Lucius and Elizabeth & the Catapult first traded fragments of spontaneous music online. Friedman handled vocals while both musicians contributed on multiple instruments; live performances around New York began in 2015, with keyboardist and bassist Tom Deis of Via Audio and drummer Dan Drohan of Wilsen and Olden Yolk eventually joining the group. The four-piece tracked its first full-length album, Keeping a Golden Bullseye in the Corner of My Mind, alongside producer D. James Goodwin, who also contributed saxophone. Zen Squid Records issued the LP in October 2016. Subsequent New York appearances continued whenever commitments with their other bands allowed, leading to support slots for TEEN, Tall Tall Trees, and Pavo Pavo and, later, headline runs across the eastern United States in 2017.