Coda

The Simplest Thing
Produced by Kyle Sanna
Mixed by Todd Sickafoose
Mastered by Chad Clark
Alan J Swift - engineer
Peter Thompson assistant engineer
Recorded at Hoboken Recorders
Strings & horns arranged by Kyle Sanna

MARIKA"S BIO
Marika knew she had to play the cello when after 9 years of playing the violin, she held a cello
for the first time and played the C-string; the lowest string. She was 12 and in the NYC shop of
Mosa Havivi, a former student of her grandfather, the great cellist Emanuel Feuermann. That low
end seduced Marika, she switched to the cello and ended her violin studies.
Growing up in NYC, Marika was exposed to a varied creative life. Her parents owned a jazz club
on the Upper West Side, she was a regular on Sesame Street, was a member of New York Youth
Symphony, spent summers at chamber music camps, was a student at festivals in Europe and
busked with her high-school string quartet. After completing her studies at Barnard College in
political science and cello performance at the Juilliard School, Marika moved to San Francisco,
CA.
Marika spent her early twenties serving coffee and exploring the northern coast of California, all
the while playing in local symphonies. Eventually she was able to leave the service of coffee and
fine dining behind and began to teach private lessons at private and public schools in the Bay
Area. She also enjoyed three years as the cellist for the grammy nominated Quartet San
Francisco.

Realizing that the symphony life was not for her, Marika sought out new musicians, some from
the classical tradition, some not, to expand her repertoire and ears. Marika joined Carla Kihlstedt
and Shahzad Ismaily in 2 Foot Yard. The band released two CDs; 2 Foot Yard (Tzadik, 2005) and
Borrowed Arms (Yard Work, 2008). She founded the band Red Pocket with Jewlia Eisenberg and
they released their CD Thick on Tzadik's Oracle Series. She also joined Jewlia's a cappella trio,
Charming Hostess. She is a featured singer on that band's release, "Sarajevo Blues" (Tzadik
2005). She toured regularly throughout the United States and Europe with 2 Foot Yard and
Charming Hostess. And she toured extensively with singer/songwriter Vienna Teng. She
recorded for many artists in the Bay Area including Honeycut, Etienne de Rocher, Mr. Bungle,
Xiu Xiu and Santana. She also recorded commercials and film scores.

In 2006, Marika decided it was time to come home. Since moving back to NYC, she has enjoyed
playing with many local musicians. She has joined violinist Charlie Burnham's band Hidden
City. She has performed with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and Sean Lennon and has
recorded for many artists including Lou Reed, Ani DiFranco and Jolie Holland.
Marika has two new solo CDs to be released in early 2011. Highlighting her stylistic versatility
and virtuosity, Afterlife Music Radio - 11 New Pieces for Solo Cello (DD Records), features
new works written for her by her friends/colleagues including Nasheet Waits, Trevor Dunn and
Carla Kihlstedt. The Simplest Thing (DD Records) celebrates Marika’s debut leading her own
band and singing her own songs. Produced by Kyle Sanna, the CD features special guests
Charlie Burnham, Jenny Scheinman and Vienna Teng.

Marika lives in Brooklyn, NY.
www.marikahughes.com