Something mysterious surrounds Christopher Duncan. It starts with his name: C Duncan, that's what the musician, who was born in Glasgow 33 years ago, wants to be called.
It continues with his mysterious, artsy cover artworks. Then Duncan shows himself reluctantly on photos. And his songs - somewhere between synth pop, sixties pomp, French chanson and neoclassic music - have an almost magical sound.
14 opulent songs from the home studio
So now again on the fourth Duncan album "Alluvium". Anyone who has an aversion to sumptuous, sweetish sounds should refrain when the Scotsman begins his orchestral hyper-ballads with an ultra-soft voice. For everyone else, songs like "Air", "We Have A Lifetime", "Torso" or "Earth" are far too beautiful not to succumb to their appeal. It sometimes sounds like Burt Bacharach and Michel Legrand hatched a studio album together in the late 1960s, which was then recorded in the presence of Sufjan Stevens and the Fleet Foxes.
After the debut "Architect" (2015), "The Midnight Sun" (2016) and "Health" (2019), which were nominated for the British Mercury Prize, number four should now be "a positive album with many different musical ideas", says Duncan. The classically trained songwriter recorded the 14 opulent songs in his own home studio. "I feel very comfortable working alone," emphasizes the Scot. "Alluvium" is a prime example of slightly eccentric loner pop.
Of course, Duncan does not have his hermetic sound world, which may also be due to the corona lockdowns, quite exclusively this summer: If you can't get enough of "Alluvium", you can listen to the album "Moonshine" by the solo project Nightlands immediately afterwards. Dave Hartley from Philadelphia, a member of the successful US rock band The War On Drugs, relies on a similarly fluffy dream pop sound, schooled on the Beach Boys - fantastically beautiful, sometimes kitschy moonlight music.
C Duncan's album 'Alluvium' will be released on CD by Bella Union/Pias on Friday (5/8) after its digital release in May. Nightlands' album 'Moonshine' was released on July 15th by Western Vinyl/Cargo.
