ILA – Feverish Belgian Rock Outfit Gear Up For Their First (Short) European Tour
1 November 2026
Band: ILA
Who: Feverish Belgian 4-piece outfit built around impassioned
singer/songwriter/guitarist Ilayda Cicek. Their music is driven
by contrast: restraint against impact, melody against noise,
control against collapse.
I recall first encountering Ilayda, approximately ten years ago, alone with
an acoustic guitar, on a tiny stage. She looked shy and vulnerable, but her
set of intimate reveries and her soul-stirring voice touched my ears. Her
vocal tone, wholehearted timbre, and wide range caused goosebumps.
A few years later, she returned with a full rock band behind her; the decibel levels
went up, and their splendid 7-track mini album Felt captured the attention of both
new fans and the media.
It featured her supreme slam dunk Leave Me Dry, still my standout favorite.
The EP was followed in 2024 by the formidable debut full-length Ayna.
Back to the present now. Early last month, the band’s
2nd LP, titled Motherland, landed on our earphones.
The record is a deeply personal one and weaves together Ilayda‘s Turkish
family roots, imagery of Turkish nature, and memories of her father, who
emigrated from Turkey to Belgium in the late 1980s.
Ilayda: “This album was born from the idea that we, as people, live with missing
pieces. Fragments of ourselves are left behind in places, people, and dreams.”
The melodically structured songs have a firm and feverish, resounding intensity, invigorated with Ilayda‘s expressive voice and amplified by her turbo sidekicks.
Motherland will be here for a long time and has already drawn positive, critical
coverage from outside of Belgium.
Louder Than War (UK webzine) says: “It’s a record shaped by questions of heritage, distance and the pieces of ourselves that remain elsewhere, even as we move forward. In finding beauty within that sense of incompleteness, ILA have created an assured and emotionally resonant second album that expands their sound without losing the rawness and immediacy that made them compelling in the first place.”
You can stream the album below.
Last Friday the band had a try-out gig in Tielt (Belgium), for their upcoming
first European club tour. It had been more than a year since I saw them on
stage.
No glitches, no false starts, no hesitation. Full blast ahead with confidence and determination, although Ilayda confessed to being a bit nervous playing some of
the new songs that were integrated seamlessly into the setlist. They’re ready to go.
ILA’s new chapter, on record and on stage, has
officially started. It’s gonna be a wild ride.
MOTHERLAND
Photos by Turn Up The Volume