Yndi Halda

Originating from Canterbury, England, the post-rock ensemble Yndi Halda constructs extended pieces built around expansive string arrangements and intense climactic builds. Multi-instrumentalist James Vella, guitarist Jack Lambert, bass guitarist Brendan Grieve, violinist Daniel Neal, and drummer Oliver Newton—all students at the time—established the lineup in 2001. They captured their initial recordings during summer 2005, resulting in the primarily instrumental three-song EP Enjoy Eternal Bliss, which included bass contributions from Daniel Lovegrove. The band issued this project itself that autumn; despite constrained distribution it drew a dedicated audience. Deals with Big Scary Monsters in Europe and Burnt Toast Vinyl in America followed, leading both imprints to reissue Enjoy Eternal Bliss in expanded form with one additional unreleased track. The group then toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Asia behind the widely praised full-length. New compositions incorporating greater vocal presence and acoustic textures entered their performances beginning in 2007. Listeners encountered further material only after several years, as the band sustained regular live commitments and Vella devoted time to his experimental electronic pop project A Lily; recording sessions for the second album did not start until April 2013. With Alexander Petersen now handling bass duties, the album reached completion in October 2014, received mixing in February 2015, and appeared as Under Summer in March 2016.