ginla is the cross-border collaboration between Jon Nellen and Joe Manzoli. The duo originally met in 2012 while recording with Nick Hakim for his first two EPs. After cutting their teeth as sidemen for Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief) and Lorely Rodriguez (Empress Of) the boys set out to start a new project distinctly their own. ginla’s self-titled debut EP was released less than a year ago on Terrible Records. Their intimate, homespun synth-pop reflected disparate influences and emotions: dream-pop, drum’n’bass, elation and isolation — these contradictions are what make ginla tick.
Codex (2018), ginla’s debut LP, shows the duo dipping deeper and streamlining their unique sound. Suffusing benchmarks of the UK electronic tradition through their pillow-talk pop, Codex opens up a world both iridescent and grounded. Echoes of Brian Eno’s resplendent ambiance curl up against flickering drum’n’bass breaks and the wide-open release of Four Tet’s garage house. ginla’s alchemical production, and Show Me the Body and Wet collaborator Andrew Sarlo’s crystalline efforts on the mixing board, weave these threads into precious, timeless pop on Codex.
