Emily Hall - Folie Á Deux
Folie à Deux is a sonic voyage into a shared psychosis where a delusion is transmitted from one person to another and is a lyrical and intense investigation into love and loneliness within a relationship.
The piece is a collaboration with Icelandic writer and long-time Björk collaborator Sjón and was co-conceived as both concept album and an opera. Hall’s minimal and intricately crafted songs in this modern folk tale are woven together for two singers, Sofia Jernberg (Swedish vocalist) and Allan Clayton (British tenor), and a specially created electro-magnetic harp. This newly created instrument uses vibrating magnets to evoke an underlying electronic presence representing the pylon – the third character that presides over this story. The result is a hauntingly beautiful soundscape which takes its influences from many musical idioms ranging classical to jazz, pop and folk.
Commissioned as a live stage show by Mahogany Opera Group. Vocals by Sofia Jernberg and Finnur Bjarnason.
The album features beats from Mira Calix, was mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson in Reykjavík and co-produced by Valgeir and Hall herself.
Released July 20, 2015