UNA (band)

Downtempo Electronic quartet UNA formed in 2006 around the edges of another LA trio "Elephonic", sharing members Jennifer Nice and Eddie Barajas. Producer Richard Larsen recorded a demo for Jennifer, and, after hearing her Latin soul vibe, started working on the EP The Rain is Over and Gone in late 2006. Soon Eddie B joined them and a full length release, entitled "one", followed shortly in mid-2007. Several songs were favored by influential radio station KCRW (home of Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt) and swept the LP to the top position, debuting at #1 in the US for unsigned bands in late 2007 (Mediaguide, ASCAP). In 2017 Scott Eric Olivier joined UNA on drums, guitars and keyboards.

Using mostly downtempo jazz inspired grooves and Wurli electric piano, UNA proceeds to deliver profound pop with turntabalism, lending their vibe to what is called electronica but would otherwise be described as a new form arising from the aftermath of giants Portishead and Massive Attack. While not re-hashing those ideas yet remaining openly positive and spirited, UNA is moving into new territory with musical references to 50's sci-fi, exotica, soundtracks, and classical music.

Jennifer Nice is from Bakersfield, California, and studied film and drama from an early age. As her Colombian mother was an accordion player and flamenco dancer, Jennifer (as keyboardist!) started Elephonic, a trip hop band, in LA, with Anne Montone, lead vocalist, and DJ Eddie Barajas on turntables. Appearing at the Conga Room they were discovered by Kevin Lincoln from KCRW and brought to The Mighty One Studio, where Richard Larsen and Kevin produced their first EP. Later as the band moved in different directions, Richard and Jennifer got together to record a song called Hate.

Richard is a refugee from the eclectic Chicago scene and came to Los Angeles to work as a producer at Quango Records. Later working with Kevin Lincoln as co-producer for his show The Blueprint at KCRW, Richard was careful to first release his tracks under the name The Mighty One, and, once the tracks got "legs", Richard revealed himself as originator.  Delphine Simonis of LA's KPFK calls The Mighty One (Richard's Inspiration), "a cross between Mark Farina, Amon Tobin, J.S. Bach and Anouar Brahem, all in one".  

Eddie Barajas is a first generation Mexican-American, and had an obsession with music since his first recollections, thanks to his family's love affair with mariachi. His high school years were blessed with the inception of an electronic music show 'Illicit Groove' on KXLU radio hosted by DJ Sonic, now Jason Bentley. Schooling him in underground music, Eddie played alongside Doc Martin, DJ Heather, Marques Wyatt, Andrew Macari, and Slater Hogan/John Larner. Deejaying in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, Eddie B is currently holding two residencies in Los Angeles, spinning deep and techy house as well as smoothed out downtempo in the vein of Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz.

Scott Eric Olivier is a multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana, versed in music and computers. Scott programs for musical talents such as Goo Goo Dolls, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and was the last tech for Michael Jackson during the This is It Tour preparations. Scott has worked as a top studio consultant as a musician and for music technology. In 2017 Scott and Richard gave a seminar at the American Engineering Society at the 2017 National Convention on the subject of EDM technologies.

The name comes from a number of inspirations. Looking at a map of Brazil the band members noticed there was a tiny village on the tip of the country where it sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean, the town of Una. The Fifth Element is yet another inspiration. Diva Plavalaguna is the main performer in an opera as the holder of the stones. Finally it was curious no one had taken the name, this band was the first UNA, and the word itself in Spanish is only used to infer the singular feminine aspect, to such as water, freedom, earth, house, door, light, moon, cloud, hand, picture, chair, and music. The first LP the band put out was called "one" and proved the point by debuting at #1 (Mediaguide, ASCAP).

Band members

• Richard Larsen, co-producer/writer/keyboardist/guitarist
• Jennifer Nice, vocalist/keys/writer/co-producer
• Eddie Barajas, turntables
• Scott Eric Olivier, guitars/synths/drums

Discography

References

External links

• Official website
• SoundCloud review
• A MILLION WATTS OF SOUND review
• Hiss for the Fly: A Common Apocalyptic Survival Guide on BigShot Magazine