At it's heart it's delicious and beautifully sung tropical retro futurist pop but the real genius is how they manage to laminate this with incredible ensemble playing, lush Arkestral twists and turns, luminous Radiophonics, a fine net cast over 60' 's and early 70's Italian scores and library music,fortifying it with a teaspoon of Don Cherry, a jigger of Brazilia, a pin prick of Sheila Chandra and a delicious sense of swing.Soundway Records wrote:Formed in 2015, Vanishing Twin came together to make an exploratory record that marries oblique English pop with a palette of arkestral sounds. Having previously released a string of conceptual cassettes under the name Orlando, founder Cathy Lucas named the group after her vanishing twin, an identical sister absorbed in utero, when they were both still a cluster of cells.
Enlisting the help of producer Malcolm Catto (Heliocentrics, DJ Shadow, The Gaslamp Killer) the band began work at his London studio, Quatermass Sound Lab, last spring. Recording the basis for eight tracks, they blended structure and improvisation in pop songs that describe a personal mythology through the adventures of Lucas’ vanished twin. Drawing on sounds outside of the usual pop vocabulary, the group used forgotten drum machines, home-made electronics, vibraphones, tablas, and harp to invoke the esoteric psychedelia of lost soundtracks, radiophonic experiments and minimal music orchestras. In a studio that Catto built for maximum atmosphere and minimum interfere, and crammed with obscure vintage equipment, he brought his own distinctive sonics to the table, informed by outsider jazz, Italian library music and ethnographic field recordings.
The band has previously been championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson and the Quietus. They played widely in 2015 presenting an immersive show that is equal parts crafted sound and improvised delirium. Vanishing Twin is made up of singer Cathy Lucas (Innerspace Orchestra), drummer Valentina Magaletti (Raime, Tomaga, Uuuu, Neon Neon), bassist Susumu Mukai (Zongamin, Floating Points), library music head Phil M.F.U. (Man From Uranus, Broadcast) on strange sounds, and film maker and visual artist Elliott Arndt on flute and percussion.
Cathy Lucas has such a great voice; cool, creamy, peppermint but the real excitement here comes from the ensemble play and the fantastic arrangements.
If you like Broadcast, The United States of America, Stereolab, The Soundcarriers, Le Super Homard, Wendy and Bonnie, Jane Weaver, High Llamas, and the Ghost Box regions, you'll love this and perhaps you'll love it even if you don't like them.
Youtube Stream; Vanishing Twin - Choose Your Own Adventure
Bandcamp; Vanishing Twin - Choose Your Own Adventure
Order direct; Vanishing Twin - Choose Your Own Adventure
Or stroke your toad to this video Vanishing Twin - Vanishing Twin Syndrome (Official Video)
notes; the drumming on this record is exceptional and it's worth checking out Valentina Magaletti work with her group Tomaga, as well as her drumming with the likes of Raime, Moin and The Oscillation.
The producer drums and produces in The Heliocentric's who I also really like.
D