Anth Dymke (Pony Face) helped produce and create the wonderful works of Jo Meares, whose music has featured often here at Backseat Mafia and always frequents our end of year lists of favourite sounds emanating from the southern regions. Dymke has now released a track of his own featuring the debut of singer Clara Mallia Higgins as part of a much longer musical journey towards an album.
Dymke’s signature production and sounds are present as usual – an arpeggiated piano and layers of ethereal sounds billow and circulate under Higgins’s vocals, that are velvet soft and glorious. She has the graceful and powerful delivery of Shara Nelson (Massive Attack) with a touch of Dusty Springfield and Elizabeth Fraser (The Cocteau Twins).
The result is a moving, immersive track that hypnotises and entices. The circular motion is transfixing – layers ebb and flow, sometimes above a single insistent note, the rising horns creating a momentary disturbance in the ether. The chorus is anthemic and bold.
The accompanying video captures the hypnotic flow of the album – striking and ethereal visions contrasted with a more manic and apparently unrelated live performance.
Dymke talks of discovering Higgins and the resultant collaboration:
Clara Mallia Higgins…is the 20 year old daughter of a dear friend and work colleague. Before we started working on the album Clara had never sung in public or on any recording and never used a microphone in her life. I heard her singing in her room one day while visiting my friend and thought her voice was beautiful with a great tone. Clara is very shy and did not want to appear on the video. We have recorded 10 tracks so far but are hoping to do a few more.
Clara is like the “little bird” who shuns the spotlight but just loves singing. Apparently she just sings constantly at her home; well that’s what her mum says. I write and record all of the tunes and then get Clara to come over and put some vocals down.
Dymke is working on a whole album for release this year utilising Higgins’s amazing vocals, and is yet to publish or release anything: all we have at the moment is this exquisite video to tide us over and whet the appetite:
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