She (Swedish band)
Lain Volta Trzaska | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 20, 1983 Kraków, Poland |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, multi-instrumentalist |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Known for | she (musical project), Imagery by Sound, D7VON, 4ikai, Spillexo |
she is a musical endeavor initiated in 2003 by Polish artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Lain Volta Trzaska, who is occasionally credited as shemusic or simply Lain Volta. As the project's sole official member, Lain is responsible for production, composing, and playing instruments, while collaborating with vocalists during live performances.
In addition to she, Lain manages several other musical ventures including Imagery by Sound, D7VON, 4ikai, and Spillexo.
History
Lain was born on 20 June 1983 in Kraków, Poland. At the age of five, he relocated to Sweden, where he began learning piano and violin but initially concentrated on drawing and comic art. In 1997, he started composing music using FastTracker for his computer games, engaging in friendly competitions with peers to create the most compelling tracks. This blend of visual art and music ultimately led to the formation of "she."
The project "she" was officially launched in 2003 as Lain transitioned from composing game music towards a band-oriented sound. The debut album Emit and Exude appeared in 2004, merging ambient and industrial elements with chiptune influences from his earlier compositions, aiming to craft a distinctive sonic identity alongside a conceptual storyline.
Following this, the 2005 album Digital Ambient Designs expanded on the electronic ambient style and narrative established previously. In June 2007, the free album days was released with a strong focus on storytelling content. This was succeeded by the announcement of its prequel Nights and the single Traveling by Night in August.
After releasing Coloris in June 2008, Lain secured a record deal with Japanese label Pony Canyon. Pony Canyon handled physical and digital distribution of Coloris throughout Asia, while Lain maintained worldwide rights outside Japan. Challenges during the production of Nights caused a temporary pause in its development. That same year also saw the release of the Chiptek EP and the single titled 2008.
In 2009, Lain indefinitely suspended work on Nights to concentrate on his second major album with Pony Canyon, Orion, which serves as a direct continuation of Coloris. He later announced intentions to resume work on Nights.
The early months of 2011 brought forth the single "Make Me Real," which revisited his earlier ambient musical style.
In May 2012, Lain announced an indefinite hiatus for "she" but emphasized that his solo career would continue. He divided "shemusic" into two distinct projects: "she," dedicated primarily to Electro House and Chiptune genres; and "Imagery by Sound," which focuses on ambient/acoustic and experimental electronic music. The forthcoming album Nights was reassigned under Imagery by Sound.
December 2012 marked Imagery by Sound's debut EP release with Insomnia, which was preceded by the single "Darkness of my Past." Later that year in September, Lain released the previously shelved she LP titled Electric Girl.
In March 2013, he unveiled a new side project named "4ikai," exploring ambient glitch music styles separate from both she and Imagery by Sound. Its first release arrived in January 2015 with the EP Hyperborea, followed by singles released in March.
The delayed she album Chiptune Memories appeared in December 2015, featuring instrumentation created using vintage gaming hardware such as Game Boy and Sega Genesis FM Chips.
October 2016 saw the release of she’s EP Abyss, shortly followed by an announcement about a third album continuing the storyline established in Coloris and Orion.
In February 2017, 4ikai issued the EP Analogica, while December witnessed she's release of Chroma, an album influenced by electronic music from the 1980s but unrelated to the earlier trilogy.
By February 2018, Lain composed "The Doctors Intro Theme" for Twitch streamer Dr DisRespect, maintaining his affinity for '80s-inspired sounds consistent with his recent productions.
Musical style
Her musical output is predominantly identified as electronica and chiptune, incorporating influences from both ambient and classical genres. She crafts her sound by combining vintage 8-bit computing devices with contemporary technology, situating her work within the bitpop category.
The styles across her albums differ significantly: her debut, Emit and Exude, merges industrial-electro with electric guitar elements; Pioneer focuses on chiptune sounds primarily generated using a Game Boy; and Coloris, her first major label album, emphasizes dance-electronica. She blends acoustic instrumentation with synthesizers, a reflection of her classical piano background.
A distinctive method she employs is "synthetic distortion," which produces glitch-like or lagging audio effects reminiscent of corrupted digital files, contributing a distinctive layer to her compositions. Her production process involves using Renoise, a tracker-based digital audio workstation, while final mastering is completed with Sound Forge.
Visuals and design
The visual components connected to her albums are intricately linked to each record’s thematic concept. For example, the days album was designed as a narrative short story, with every track representing a separate chapter. According to Lain, while the sounds, effects, and lyrics offer narrative hints, listeners are encouraged to visualize their own interpretations to fully engage with the story.
Her artwork frequently features deliberately corrupted or low-quality compressed images, paralleling the synthetic distortion found in her music to evoke the sensation of fragmented or damaged files. Symbolic imagery is often utilized to deepen the storytelling aspect within the visuals.
Discography
The majority of her music releases can be accessed for download on the official she Bandcamp page.
Originally slated for 2010, the Electric Girl album experienced delays before its eventual release in November 2012.
Tracks from the days album were incorporated into the soundtrack of the movie 12 Fl oz.
Occasionally, she offers limited-edition compilations titled "she music collections," which include older songs, demos, alternate takes, and previously unreleased tracks.
Major releases
- Coloris – 17 June 2008
- Orion – 16 September 2009
- Electric Girl – 29 November 2012 (initially intended for 10 November 2010)
- Chiptune Memories – 3 December 2015
- Aspire – 8 November 2019
EPs and compilations
- Emit and Exude – 4 May 2004
- digital ambient designs – 16 March 2005
- Pioneer – 20 December 2006
- days – 17 June 2007
- Chiptek – 1 November 2008
- Journeys – 10 May 2011
- Insomnia by Imagery by Sound – 6 December 2012
- Come See Me – 21 September 2014
- Come a Little Closer – 18 March 2015
- Abyss – 14 October 2016
- Chroma – 8 December 2017
- Drift – 6 November 2018
- Armacadia – 1 December 2019
- Harvest – 28 August 2020
- Spectral Touch – 27 June 2024
Singles
- And Beyond – 5 July 2005
- Songbird – 10 February 2007
- 2008 / Chiptune Superstar – 20 December 2008
- Make Me Real – 25 March 2011
- Always Yours – 13 December 2012
- Distortia – 13 January 2013
- Since You Left – 3 March 2013
- Break The Silence – 28 March 2013
- Come See Me – 25 June 2013
- Archetype – 19 July 2013
- Easy Action – 13 September 2013
- Axiom – 28 April 2015
- Champagne Nights – 1 February 2017
- Ready for You – 2 June 2023
- You Rock Me – 29 June 2023
- Next to Me –4 August 2023
- Vector Break – 1 March 2024