London sister duo Waterbaby share their debut album ‘22°Halo’ on untitled (recs). Martha and Jessica Kilpatrick (aka Waterbaby) had a reclusive upbringing in South London. “It was like The Virgin Suicides” they laugh. The pair were encouraged to be creative – spending their days singing in Southwark Cathedral Choir or experimenting with recording ideas onto cassette tapes, such as trying to make their out-of-tune family piano and a flute sound like an electric guitar.
Eventually settling together in an attic flat in Peckham, the sisters became quiet, mystical forces in the underground London scene, emerging in and out of the sanctuary of their studio to perform their hypnotic live show with artists as varied as Kedr Livansky, TAAHLIAH & Dorian Electra. In the second half of 2022, the pair have started to draw attention with the release of two singles on London label untitled (recs), alongside collaborations with fellow female experimentalists BABii & Sofie Birch and an appearance hosting the NTS Radio’s flagship “Early Bird Show”.
Fully self-produced, ’22° Halo’ is a kaleidoscopic odyssey blending otherworldly and experimental electronica with choral singing, folk, kraut and pop. Waterbaby’s insular and feminine sonic world showcases inventive song structures backed by dizzying layers of production – all crafted on their stash of lost & found analogue gear in their South East London studio squashed between Hyperdub’s headquarters and a mechanics garage.
In a world where the analogue and the digital seem to be in constant headlock, Waterbaby effortlessly solve the equation. The music operates in a space where Cocteau Twins-esque anachronism meets the sharper edge of contemporary experimental electronica.
‘Tangerine’ is the sister’s third and final album single, a psychedelic feminist anthem inspired by a personal incident of street harassment. They explain: “Although Tangerine is inspired by a personal incident, it is about something all women have to endure on a daily basis – street harassment. So, this is our feminist anthem of the album, we re-imagine ourselves as a tangerine, all the segments together in individual completeness – safe and protected, not wanting to let anybody break the wholeness of being a woman.”
Waterbaby will be performing their new A/V show at IKLECTIK Art Lab in London on June 8th. Event details here.
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