Maybe one day Lilies will be found on Mars. Some will touch them lightly and they will produce music. If that happens, it’s possible that the sound that flows from the petals would have many similarities with that of Lilies on Mars. A female duo “British/Italo-Alien”, based in London, arrived today with their new album DOT TO DOT, which is the third stage of a very personal journey rooted in their strict dedication to DIY.
If having to pigeonhole their music, one might define it as dreampop. But in reality the sound created by Lisa Masia and Marina Cristofalo, who produce all their records, touches with its various branches almost forty years of music and psychedelia. There is Syd Barrett, if he was put to tinker with electronics. There’s Brian Eno pop, when pop strayed more courageously towards ambient soundscapes. Elements of Cranes, Pram, Broadcast and the latest Blonde Redhead in their child like voices. But there are also hints of industrial rhythms and shoegaze guitar, as with Slowdive. So there is a whole world of sound giving life to an imaginary sidereal, both playful and psychedelic, which has already gained Lilies on Mars some important live appearances (including the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas) and a series of illustrious collaborations.
Franco Battiato features on the first single from DOT TO DOT entitled “Oceanic Landscape”. Whilst certainly a highlight, the single is still just one of many excellent episodes of an album which has the ability to take a listener into other dimensions, alien, yet extraordinarily alive, emotional and surprising.
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[…] Video: Oceanic Landscape by Lilies on Mars feat. Franco Battiato: A Micro-Lesson in Italian Pop History by Dan Joy According to their record label’s web site, London-based dreampop duo Lilies on Marsidentify ethnically as “British/Italo-Alien.” What’s colossal for me about their lovely recent track “Oceanic Landscape” (posted on WTSH on February 10th) is that it features a beautiful vocal contribution from Franco Battiato, a giant of Italian avant-garde, pop, and progressive rock who also makes a poignant appearance in the new video for the track. Battiato’s discography begins all the way back in 1971. At that time, there was a remarkable fusion between the musical streams designated as “pop” and “avant-garde” in Italy. The result was about 500 albums in the early 70s of what would be identified retrospectively as progressive rock, including much of the best material ever released in that idiom, which became the most popular genre of music in Italy at the time. Among the most well-known exponents of this scene were the heavy Ossana, the keyboard-oriented Le Orme, and the versatile and passionate Premiata Forneria Marconi, or PFM—who were promoted outside Italy by bombastic UK prog titans Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Franco Battiato was the rare influential solo artist in this mix. As the 70s ItaloProg efflorescence waned, Battiato moved in a more purely pop direction and has remained tremendously appreciated in Italy. As of his collaboration with Lilies on Mars, Battiato, who just turned 68, transitions seamlessly into contemporary dreampop. In addition to its availability as a Bandcamp single, “Oceanic Landscape” appears on Dot To Dot, the debut full-length by Lilies on Mars, available March 25th on Long Song Records. […]