Yakova is a goth pop artist whose work has continually been compared to Tori Amos and Amy Lee from Evanescence. Her debut EP, Yakova, was released to stunning reviews in 2006. It contained the singles "Test Drive" and "Crush," which saw her become the featured artist twice on KLAS-FM in Los Angeles and once on Woozyfly.com. Her unique voice immediately singles her songs out from the crowd and she has built quite a following on MySpace and her own website. She is a remarkable woman and her spiritual side shows through in her unique musical compositions. Yakova began songwriting in 1999 with her first guitar, but did not take any music to the studio until 2006 when she began working on her debut release. Her vocal training started in 2001 under Metropolitan Opera singer and Juilliard graduate Dana Talley, who summoned the vocal powerhouse from within her petite frame. From opera to rock, Yakova then came under the instruction of top industry pop/rock coach Don Lawrence, coach to Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone, Whitney Houston, and several notable others. Owing her most treasured musical inspiration to artists such as Björk and Stone Temple Pilots, Yakova also draws upon several other artists as ingredients in her mix of inspirations, including Staind, Chevelle, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morissette, and Dave Matthews. Regarding other sources of inspiration, Yakova says, "Broadway shows can also put me in songwriting mode pretty quickly. The day after I saw Spring Awakening, a new song came to me effortlessly, beginning to end, within only minutes. I have it tucked away, waiting for the studio." Collaborators on her debut CD include Paul Strayfer, who is on both electric and acoustic guitar with his unique harmonics and ornate fingerpicking style. His emotional guitar writing can be heard on four songs on the debut EP. Yakova also welcomed outstanding classically trained pianist Geoffrey Hale to apply his thought-provoking and climactic piano writing skills on the first two tracks of her CD. Hale began classical piano instruction at age six and fell in love with improvisation during jazz instruction at the age of 12. DJ Haze, a deep and funky house DJ from New York City who works Wall Street by day, turned a simple idea into a brilliant ambient masterpiece with his rich producing skills on the track entitled "Disarm Me." Drummer Seth Johnson came highly recommended by Jason Marcus, a producer and friend, and was hired to play drums on four tracks of the EP. His credits include drumming for Northern State, opening for De La Soul, Le Tigre, and the X-ecutioners. Jason Marcus, although a full-time producer, was also hired by Yakova for his bass guitar skills, heard on four tracks of her recording. Marcus served as producer during the recording of acoustic guitar and drums, but after the recording of those instruments, production and mixing were handled by Yakova, who spent many months in the studio mixing with seasoned engineer Mike Anzel. Yakova subsequently began work on new music for her debut full-length CD. ~ Tomas Mureika