Snowbird, the duo comprised of Cocteau Twins multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde and singer-songwriter Stephanie Dosen, will issue their debut album, moon, this January via Raymonde’s Bella Union label. They’ve recruited a number of guests for the LP, including Radiohead’s Phil Selway and Ed O’Brien and Midlake’s Eric Pulido and McKenzie Smith.
Though they’ve collaborated before, moon marks their first official release together. Snowbird is also Raymonde’s first band since the breakup of the Cocteau Twins in 1997, though in a press release he noted, “It would be a little odd if it didn’t remind people of Cocteau Twins.”
In anticipation, the two have shared an enchanting but ghostly number titled “Porcelain”. Listen below.
Regarding Dosen’s role and the record’s many contributors, Raymonde said:
“Having them add their magic to the record was a thrill, but really, I think this is very much Stephanie’s record. She’s a really special singer and I feel the simplicity of my music was the perfect backdrop for her stories and her incredible vocal arrangements.”
“Stephanie was the first singer I had worked with since Elizabeth [Fraser of Cocteau Twins] that I had a real musical empathy with. She could do anything. No one had ever sung with Midlake on record before Stephanie, while Massive Attack asked her to be their lead singer on tour—ironic really given that Elizabeth had too! She also sang with Chemical Brothers. But we’d never written music together at home.
“I never intended Cocteau Twins to be my last band, but frankly I wasn’t just going to jump back on any old nag just for the sake of it.
“I wrote every piece of music at night, in semi-darkness so that the space didn’t feel like my living room. The moon was very important for the light it reflected.”
