With two very special and intimate North American tour dates around the corner, Australian/Swedish duo Say Lou Lou share their long-awaited second album Immortelle, out on Cosmos Music/á Deux today. The 7-track record marks a new era for the sisters, with their creative direction increasingly knowing no bounds by any one medium. Offering a blend of signature dark pop choruses with new inspirations found across art and film, the record is a captivating exploration into identity and roles played consciously and subconsciously by women.
The remaining piece to the puzzle that is Immortelle lies within a 7-minute cinematic piece, bringing to life the complexities behind their 7-track feminist manifesto. The film premiered on V Magazine today. Watch it HERE.
Bringing Immortelle to life, Say Lou Lou will be performing material from their album for the first time live in New York City and Los Angeles next month. On November 28, they will be performing an intimate show at the Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles, then heading east for a special show at The Park Church Co-op in Brooklyn on November 30. For tickets and more information, go to www.sayloulou.com
The collection’s lead single “Ana” lends a true taste of the old James Bond scores and classic film noir styling behind the full body of work. Dripping with drama and layers of seductive vocals, the track fuses influences from the old Hollywood golden era with 90s trip-hop for a complex and captivating piece. Picking up the pace, Say Lou Lou continue to showcase their stunning musical prowess in their most recent single “Golden Child”, inspired by their younger sisters. Traveling to the 70’s West Coast through electrifying guitar licks and crisp drum fills, the track makes a stark divergence from the dark and sensual strings experienced at the mouth of Immortelle.“All Love to Me” soon arrives with moody lyrics delivered by sultry vocals, all contrasted with body-moving beats lending nods to the duo’s dream pop signatures. Sliding into “Limbo”, the sisters once again transport the mind to a far-off place, painted by commanding strings and brooding melodies.
Ingenious and always independent, Say Lou Lou’s slowed down, dark-pop cover of “Under The Milky Way” is the perfect testament to remaining true to their strong sense of direction and an enduring unpredictability that has come to characterise each of their creative outputs. A seamless tribute to their father, Steve Kilbey and mother Karin Jansson, and one of his greatest hits with The Church, their take on the old alt rock classic is another unassuming masterpiece. Alluring vocals and an angelic styling captures“Phantoms”, executed with mesmerizing composition and their undeniable chemistry. Signing off the dark and dreamy record is title track “Immortelle”, a dazzling finale of intricate design expressed through powerful bursts of sound and harmonies.
“It was very symbiotic,” explains Elektra. “We had all of these mood boards and visuals from the beginning; we constantly referenced films and looked at clips. Parts of the album process were very structured: the vibe, the world, instruments and string references, giving thought to both the aural and visual aspects so they’re all properly cohesive.”
“The manifesto, much like an eclectic scrapbook and an historical ride through emotions, moods and eras, poetically dissects the themes of the album. We visit a hysteria clinic, a pregnant woman and her unborn twin girls, a dystopian future where plastic surgery has made its way into our bedrooms, and meet Pierrot, the sad clown, showing the twisted disguise of expectations and entertainment. It all culminates with the voices of a dozen women reciting the “Immortelle Manifesto” – our ode to eradicating the double standards and limiting definitions around the female self.” says Miranda.
Hailing from Sweden and Australia, twin sisters Miranda and Elektra Jansson-Kilbey found early success just out of high school. The whirlwind of excitement soon led to a feeling of disillusionment as the two were consistently obliged to compromise on their music and image. Charming music critics with their debut album Lucid Dreaming (2015), featuring wildly popular singles such as “Julian”and “Nothing But A Heartbeat”, the sisters have since decided they’d reached the end of their relationship with the corporate music industry world and would take control of their own artistic vision. In order to produce something that reflected where they were today, they turned to the West Coast of the United States and embarked on makingImmortelle, a time in their careers and lives where the two were able to creatively flourish. The resulting album is nothing short of a triumph, and cements Say Lou Lou as unique voices in 2018’s musical landscape.