The Breakdown
Some collaborations are just meant to be and this is one of those. Composer, vocalist and electronic musician Julianna Barwick and experimental harpist Mary Lattimore have been more than crossing paths within the ambient/neo-classical world over the years. Both moved to LA at around the same time and built a friendship from playing live shows together as their individual trajectories rose. Recording together has been less frequent. Lattimore played on Barwick’s head-turning ‘Healing Is A Miracle’ album in 2020 and they both contributed a duo track, ‘Canyon Lights’, to streaming innovator Adult Swim’s ‘Digitalis’ comp a year later. Otherwise there has been little preserved of their intuitive musical companionship.
So the invite for the pair from the Philharmonie de Paris and the Infiné imprint to go to France and work on a collaborative album was never going to be passed up. Not only were the two musicians gifted this focused time but Philharmonie’s historic instrument collection was theirs to use as they recorded the pieces which have now become ‘Tragic Magic’ (out via InFiné) . Yes this new album from the Barwick/Lattimore partnership is a testament to that inspired, ‘kids in a sweet shop’ time.
Unsurprisingly the duo don’t let their thrilling opportunity overwhelm the process. ‘Tragic Magic’ is a beautifully grounded album, careful, considered and subtly emotive. It’s as if they’ve managed to channel their respect for the historic context, balancing the playful with the serious, taking a look back but creating a way forward. Perpetual Adoration effortlessly sets the tone, Lattimore’s harp immediately twinkling into life as Barwick’s angelic vocal tones quiver over the chimes. There’s a folkish authenticity to the song’s structure but it carries the heart-aching wrench of Sigur Rós. In the closing moments the song soars upwards, choral, hymnal and spiralling into another mystical zone.
From the outset ‘Tragic Magic’ evokes the sound of a perfect electro/acoustic conflation delivered by two musicians relishing the challenge presented by their circumstances. Following the remit of the project Mary Lattimore selected three antique harps (from between 1700 and 1800) from the Philharmonie exhibits to use on the sessions while her partner opted for the pioneering JUPITER and PROPHET-5 analogue synths. Such a specific choice of instruments shows both their attention to detail and the care that the pair dedicated to this set of arrangements and compositions. Again and again the album pulsates with the unique voices Lattimore and Barwick have chosen to shape their pieces.
The Four Sleeping Princesses shows the subtleties of these variations in full flow. The tune builds with a minimalistic rigour, the peeling harp patterns merging harmonically as Barwick’s monotone vocal provides an anchoring drone. Gradually the Phillip Glass-like looping intensity swells, the synth’s slow hovering bass notes unfolding the waves of melody. It’s a track which awakes as it progresses then shares its wonder. As befits the recording’s setting, Temple Of The Winds, written by Roger Eno, shows the neo-classical underpinning of ‘Tragic Magic’. The tune has a John Tavener/ Arvo Pärt aura, the lute-like timbre of the harp supporting Barwick’s voice as it eases through the madrigal, crystal clear but with an added whisper of mystery.
Nowhere on the album does the nine day recording schedule show signs of forcing rushed decisions or hasty compromise. Some credit should go to co-producer Trevor Spencer, who worked with Lattimore on her last album ‘Goodbye, Hotel Arkada’, but it’s the long-standing artistic relationship between the two performers, or ‘musical telepathy’ in Barwick’s words, that makes for such a cohesive statement. There’s a real solidarity here, forged not only through the pair’s intuitive understanding but also the difficult circumstances they were facing at the time. When the trip to Paris came up, they had to abandon their homes in LA with the seismic wild fires of last January still raging, a situation which cast a shadow over their thoughts. ‘Tragic Magic’ reflects in title and music their state of mind, the sadness and uncertainty of leaving and the solace they found during their time at the Philharmonie.
It’s the tension embedded in this experience which gives this album its edge and directly frames several of the songs. The hypnotic Haze With No Haze, all strummed twirls and stills, navigates gently between the mournful ripples and a warm calm but Rachel’s Song is perhaps more poignant. A reinterpretation of a Vangelis song which featured on his soundtrack album for Bladerunner, it opens with a field recording of the first rains after the 2025 scrub land fires to locate the piece in a precise moment rather than some possible future. Making this ‘Tragic Magic’ version of the song sound more widescreen and cataclysmic is an inspired piece of re-imagining. Melted Moon is the most explicit reference to last year’s catastrophe and tellingly closes the album. Notes patter rhythmically from the outset, a tumbling cascade of freshness which rolls throughout the song like a rippling riff. Above the motif Barwick’s vocal rises melodiously, pure shoegaze-pop uplift but achingly sombre at the same time. “The lights are all out / A strange taste in my mouth / You may never go home again / At least not the home you know” she sings yearningly.
It’s the way that Lattimore and Barwick communicate such moving authenticity and serious intent without an overbearing plunge into doom and destruction that is so impressive on this album. A glimmer of hope is always found within the sadness. There’s even time for some pure escapism on the symphonic Cocteaus-esque dreamscape that is Stardust. As Barwick coos, synths shimmer and harps glide before chugging Belong-style beats bring a human dimension to the song’s cosmic sweep. Sixteen days in and it appears we already have one of the key ambient releases of 2026.
Get your copy of ‘Tragic Magic‘ by Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore from your local record store or direct from InFiné HERE
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