Archives

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: Fire Records
Release Date: 4th September

Things always come together with a such a studied and measured way with Vanishing Twin, like a great sci-fi writer pulling in ideas from classical storytelling and pulling the ideas and philosphies into the future, whilst retaining an air of classicism. The band pull in ideas from psychedelic to folk to global rhythms to hip hop to 60s European pop and beyond and mould them into their own cosmic folk rock psychedelia. 

Shapeshifting trio Vanishing Twin present their new album Archives, a collage of postmodern songcraft that finds transcendence in the shared experience of creation.

The album’s title alludes to Vanishing Twin’s distinctive approach of listening to, piecing together and reworking daily recording sessions. Founding member Cathy Lucas describes the process as “gathering material together, riffing with it, turning it around on itself, trying to put the pieces together and create a story with it”. With Lucas now relocated to rural France, and Valentina Magaletti and Susumu Mukai in London, the three connected by swapping songs and fragments of instrumentals in a virtual studio space. Geographic distance is bridged by their hivemind creativity, with multi-instrumentalist input from each member.

Each player brings a wide experience of collaboration and improvisation, with listening back and editing studio sessions an integral part of the creative process. Concepts of authorship and ownership dissolve in Vanishing Twin’s music, as members swap instruments and lose themselves in the collaborative moment. The archives of the album title become documents of the trio’s collective intelligence.

The chaotic energy of Archives pushes Vanishing Twin into unfamiliar shapes and directions. Out of their comfort zones, the trio find new moments of enlightenment and delight. Deep in the mix, you might hear Magaletti picking up the bass, Mukai unexpectedly sitting in on drums, or Lucas slipping chameleon-like between the gaps.

Archives refines Vanishing Twin’s model of collective music making, where egos are dispelled in playful games of mix and match, and creativity flows between the three multi-instrumentalists. Operating between and outside conventional categories of genre, they sit alongside fellow travellers such as Tara Clerkin Trio and Still House Plants, stretching the idea of the contemporary music ensemble. A decade into their existence, Vanishing Twin are more mercurial than ever.

“The trio moves confidently beyond its acuity for cultural synthesis, stepping into stranger, more scintillating territory where unexpected shifts and mercurial sounds are the standard.” Pitchfork

“Quite marvelous.” Boomkat.

“They’re really special” Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab)

“A lively sense of exploratory wonder… thrilling” Pitchfork

“Mind melting” Bandcamp

“Encompassing dreamlike sound collages, electronic oddities and motorik avant pop… Vanishing Twin is a kaleidoscopic entity” The Wire

“An absolutely killer groove” Brooklyn Vegan

“One of the most original and exciting acts” The Quietus

Tracklisting:
A1 Life By The Hand
A2 Sugar Stone
A3 Familiar Fruit
A4 Hazama
A5 Bring Me The Axe
B1 So Calm (Case Study House No. 8)
B2 Wherever You Are
B3 Archives
B4 Oral Tradition