Released: 04/09

From nature springs this voice of honey, born in a tree house, pretty pink and sprinkled with golden dust. Brightonian’s The Mummers were birthed from the plants, trees and bees, but have the capacity to transform with a spiralling abundance of instruments, show lights and costume, into quite the Moulin Rouge! However, with a romantic gothic twist that will take you deeper into your imagination, to a fantasy land complete with a swing within the skies and Casper on your shoulder.

The Mummers consist of Raissa Khan-Panni and her orchestra, buzzed down from another galaxy, to accompany and compliment her when she bursts into an impromptu performance. Their debut album, Tale To Tell, empowers the listener with its trumpeting of sounds and Raissa’s contemporary, randomly pitched, yet also smooth voice (imagine skipping through fields with Bjork). Each track takes you on a journey; through a fairytale, a children’s story, a gentle old romance and a seduction of the highest order – subtle and sensuous. You want this sparkling voice in your reality as it trails off into the distance.

The orchestral sound adds the backbone to the fairytale, carrying you on its strings to the tree house where Raissa sits meandering away. Lorca And The Orange Tree is a 50s icon; sensual and slow gliding hips. Wonderland is Tim Burton’s fairytale. See Alice takes you round a spinning merry labyrinth, Tale To Tell is Raissa sitting upon a tree languorously, and Place For Us is an endearing combination of xylophones and double bass.

Tale To Tell is both as dark as Alice in Wonderland’s bunny rabbit following, spiralling path, but equally as bright as the star at the end of Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother’s wand. Be the audience to the whispers of fantasy, listen to the sounds and thou shall understand the fairground’s layered delight. It’s most pleasant.

www.themummers.co.uk

Helen Martin