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On the heels of her 4-track EP ‘Violences’ comes Maria Spivak’s second EP, mini album of 2024, ‘Big 2007 Facts’. Although explicit references to the year and facts are veiled, 2007 serves as an emotional touchpoint for the album given that it was a formative year for her personally, and in terms of music.

Spivak recorded the bulk of the music in a studio located on the outskirts of Nicosia, surrounded by nature, detached from the hustle of urban life. While drawing inspiration from the remote woods in Cyprus (and nature in general), Spivak does not give the impression that she eschews all things urban on this project. Rather, a bold exploration of the duality between nature and the entailments of modern urban existence comes to the fore. If forced to pin down an overarching theme, it is one that romanticises escape, as if she dreams about traveling to a different place – an exotic place – but also coming to terms with the fact that these dreams could remain unachieved.

Fans acquainted with her earlier recordings will identify common,
Spivakian building blocks: quiet strength expressed through breathy
and lax vocals, a fusion of moody and hazy textures, loop variations,
sweltering synths, and unforeseen hooks that could slay an army.

The opening track ‘Santa Fe’ conveys a sense of readiness or deliberation. With Spivak at the helm, the haunting duet with label boss Panayotis gives ‘Santa Fe' a hypnotic quality. The
sporadic clanking of bells on roaming livestock, steady strumming of baritone-esque guitar, and ghostlike keys may lead one to believe it’s a cut from a modern spaghetti western score…but not situated in the West. That Spivak embarks on a journey towards this imagined
place is surprising, but the chorus with its lasso-like movement feels equally unexpected. Imagine being summoned to a duel but left suspended in space waiting for someone to draw. And then it ends.

Spivak shifts gears but doesn’t accelerate too fast on the second track ‘Saint’. It inches along in a rather lo-fi manner and culminates with stunning string work by Brooklyn-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Mari Maurice Rubio (aka more eaze). Once again Spivak and more eaze exhibit delightful synergy leaving listeners with hopeful expectations for further collaboration.

‘8 Time Fold’ is an arresting ballad wherein Spivak explores the spiritual and mystical character of nature (i.e., rebirth, what comes from the earth must go back to it).

On ‘Parchment’ Spivak taps into a world comprising heavy distortion, reverb, and poetic text. The gradual buildup involving subdued vocoder vocals and fuzz, together with the reading of a piece by Rose Higham-Stainton, makes for a beautiful contrast. The bridge seems like it is designed to evoke the feeling of being transported into celestial chambers.

On ‘So Serious, So Warm’, however, Spivak migrates back to earth. Whether this imagined geographical location is somewhere along the shores of Cyprus or Oregon, is unclear. This standout track gently unfolds with the noise of wailing seagulls brooding over the susurration of distant waves accompanied by Spivak’s fluid fingerpicking – as if she is channeling José González. The guitar scratch on the string is subtle and deserves a shout out. Sometimes less is more, right? The concoction of birds, sea, drums, (more) distortion and harmonies is
rather striking. As the tide recedes, the listener is pulled away from the shore into deeper waters. The ebb current is not threatening; it is natural. Just like the release to the shore once the sea has flooded.

The second poem read by Spivak on ‘Chirografes Odigies’ is written by Christos Kyriakides. The short track is a gem in its own right but also feels like a prelude to ‘I’m Allowed to Change my Mind,’ which is a whirlwind of hefty, pulsating beats, fierce scratching, hammering basslines, and Spivak’s alien-like vocals similar to those on ‘Main Character NRG.’ If one were to consider the textures and movements of previous tracks as a whole and point of departure, this colossal banger ladened with hazy techno grooves may seem out of place and possibly chaotic. But it is not. Spivak cuts through the haze with the precision of a skilled surgeon, dispelling all doubt. Not only is the track rightly placed on the record, the “chaos” really is masterfully ordered.

On her final track Spivak reworks Jane’s Addiction’s “Just Because” which feels simultaneously like a smooth landing, and a soft rebuke of some kind. Her version of “Just Because” together with her take on Robert Wyatt’s “Just as You Are” released earlier this year on the Doyenne label, underscores this: there are covers... and then
there are covers.

‘Big 2007 Facts’ is a testament to Spivak’s knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity. Once again Spivak has proven that her determination to create is far from blunted.

text by Yasohn

PYRGATORY studios is a self-sustainable transdisciplinary hut for the advancement of creative practices in a natural environment.

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Cyprus, Mediterranean sea

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