Gaika (musician)
Gaika Tavares, better known simply as GAIKA, is a British artist and writer from South London. His debut album, Basic Volume, was released in July 2018 by Warp Records, who describe the sound as "gothic dancehall and industrial electronics".[2]
GAIKA | |
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GAIKA at Somerset House, August 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Gaika Tavares |
Born | Brixton, London, England |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Labels | Warp |
Website | gaika |
Early life
Gaika's parents came from Grenada and Jamaica, moving to the UK in the 1960s.[3] He was previously a part of Manchester rap crew Murkage.[4]
Music career
Following the mixtapes Machine and Security, Gaika released the EP Spaghetto in 2016.[5][6] The Guardian described his music as blending "Caribbean dancehall tradition and London grime but also nod to R&B, trip-hop, grunge and Prince."[4] Dazed have described him as "electronic music's answer to Basquiat",[7] while US magazine Interview described the sound as "experimental R&B".[8] GAIKA himself has described his sound using the word "Ghettofuturism".[9]
GAIKA's debut album Basic Volume was released in July 2018. The Guardian praised the album as "a terrifically impressive and populist debut".[10] The album also received positive reviews from the Financial Times,[11]The Independent,[12] Noisey[13] and Music OMH.[14]
In August 2018, Gaika exhibited SYSTEM, a collaboration with Boiler Room and Somerset House Studios, "a sculpture which fills the middle portion of the Lancaster Room at Somerset House."[15][16] He told the Evening Standard that "Carnival and sound system culture is about space, and holding space. It’s about literally drawing a line in the sand and saying: ‘This is who we are and we’re here to stay. You can’t turn us off’."[15]
On May 2019, Gaika released a mixtape named Heaters 4 The 2 Seaters[17] by Warp Records, and on July 2020 he released the Seguridad EP on Mexican record label N.A.A.F.I.[18]
Personal life
Writing for Dazed magazine in June 2018, GAIKA criticised the Metropolitan Police's decision to crack down on Drill music, saying: "Drill is the product of a looted world that wasn’t designed with us in mind, the result of much more than just a few angry kids on estates, it’s the result of centuries of reality."[19] GAIKA has also discussed the ways in which the Notting Hill Carnival is presented by the press, while its cultural significance is overlooked.[20]
Gaika has also written fiction for Dazed.[21]
References
- "Gaika: Basic Volume review – downbeat articulacy". The Guardian. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- "Gaika announces debut album, Basic Volume, for Warp". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- Moore, Hannah (22 June 2019). "GAIKA: What Windrush means to me" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- Considine, Clare (11 March 2016). "Gaika: 'If you're a black guy you're supposed to make grime, reggae or coffee-table music'". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "GAIKA surprise-releases SPAGHETTO EP on Warp". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "Warp turns the gothic dancehall knob to 11, announces debut album by Gaika, Basic Volume". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- Dazed (16 November 2015). "Meet Gaika, electronic music's answer to Basquiat". Dazed. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "GAIKA's U.S. Debut - Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- "GAIKA announces debut album, shares "Crown & Key" video". The FADER. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (27 July 2018). "Gaika: Basic Volume review – gripping new voice of British rap". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "Album reviews this week: Gaika, Daughtry, Israel Nash and more". The Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "GAIKA's Revolutionary Music Could Change Everything". Noisey. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "Gaika - Basic Volume | Albums | musicOMH". musicOMH. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "GAIKA says Met Commissioner Cressida Dick 'can do one'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "These Artists Are Battling the Dilution of Caribbean Sound System Culture". Noisey. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- Dummy. "GAIKA drops surprise 'HEATERS 4 THE 2 SEATERS' mixtape with Dean Blunt and Rome Fortune". DummyMag. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- "Gaika - 'Seguridad' EP review: Brixton star creates a sultry soundtrack to Black British life". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- Dazed (18 June 2018). "It's no surprise that drill reflects young black men's reality". Dazed. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "The political significance of Carnival, according to GAIKA". The FADER. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- Dazed (28 September 2017). "The Spectacular Empire – a future imagined by GAIKA". Dazed. Retrieved 22 June 2018.