Sydney "electronic art rock" duo "HYSKE" (pronounced High-sk) comprised of vocalist/guitarist Saara & drummer/multi-instrumentalist Dean.

Saara met Dean through taking drum lessons in Fortitude Valley's Drum Worx (Brisbane). Saara and Dean formed a band in 2000, starting out experimenting with electronic sounds.
While travelling the US their sound began to emerge.
They spent almost a year on the eastcoast of America living & travelling in a 1970's Dodge van collaborating with musicians in LA, Portland, Vancouver to name a few.
They landed themselves in Sydney to record their cd in a home recording studio. They wrapped up 13 songs in the title "LUNA" (inspired by a description given to the pagan goddess Luna ~ "Resting place of souls") With a bunch of songs finished they soon found themselves on the road travelling up and down the eastcoast of Australia.

Collecting Vinyl Records Review :

As infectious as it is intellectually stimulating "LUNA" weaves through life's journeys combining the elements of transcendent & lucid guitar work with a mixture of ambient synth-folk rock.

Rave Magazine Review

TUESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2008
(Origin)
Apparently strange spelling equates to splendid music
Hyske floated around my study for a little while. Songs were played here and there but not for a while was it played in its entirety. Once it had been, I discovered that Luna consists of thirteen songs with thirteen inventive ways of delving beneath my subconscious. Luna is one of the most solid debut releases by an Australian band I’ve heard this year. I’m struggling to find adequate superlatives to describe Hyske’s take on writing music. There’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s just so well done. I was well and truly hooked in by the subtle melody floating over the top of Apathy and the album never seemed to waver in its form. The lyrical performance is full of tales of whisky hell fire, doom and gloom and some wonderful introspection. The music reflects the lyrics in its sense of slow burning dirges and melodies full of minor chords. I’m captivated.
LINDSEY CUTHBERTSON



Inpress Magazine Review

MOON WALKING
Hyske's Luna is one of the year's most intriguing albums. It's darkly poetic, but also pop. There's vulnerability, but also plenty of attitude. At times, it reminds of Divinyls, then Baby Animals, and then something else altogether … More should be revealed this week when the Sydney-based duo play in Melbourne (Friday at Wesley Anne in Northcote). Singer Saara's first album purchase was an Igor Stravinsky box set, while drummer Dean opted for a Kiss record. And perhaps Hyske's five favourite Australian acts explain something (or merely add to the intrigue): Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Saints, AC/DC, The Presets and Ghostwood. The Hyske sound has been called "gothic/folk with elements of pop". It's probably as good a description as any. What's the strangest description/comparison they've had? "We were once described as a cross between an angel, a grave, and a blind man regaining his sight," Saara smiles. "We have people say we're like Portishead and PJ Harvey and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We've heard a lot of ideas that are floating around in people's heads, from The Cranberries through to The Village People!" Do you get tired of having to tell people how to spell and say the name "Hyske" (pronounced High-Sk)? "Yes! We wanted to change the name, however, people became attached to it and begged us to keep it." It's been a long road to Luna, Hyske's debut album. Saara, who is originally from Melbourne, met Perth's Dean in Brisbane. They spent nearly a year in North America, then went their separate ways, before reconvening in Sydney. Were Saara and Dean fans of the American band Luna? "Please excuse our ignorance," Saara says, "we haven't heard of Luna the band … we have been living like those various little creatures that live beneath the city of life! La Voce della luna (The Voice Of The Moon) is a 1990 film by Italian director Federico Fellini. I was deeply moved by this film and the title. Luna as a title seems to capture the energy of the subconscious element, which presented itself in the writing process. Luna was the only four-letter word that we felt held a particle of all 13 songs." Loneliness seems to be a theme of the album. Are Saara and Dean lonely people? "There were periods of loneliness, as is usually the case with most struggling creatives. At the same time, we must confess that we are quite reclusive." Whatever the process, it's working. These songs are strong. "Writing is an interesting and mysterious process," Saara explains. "Songs are like these little beings of light that knock at your door, harassing you to let them out, or at times it's as though your cup was empty and then overflowing with love, and you just want to share that love, so you write".