Daphne Guinness releases a new single, ‘Looking Glass’, the latest to be lifted from her forthcoming third album, ‘Revelations’ due out on August 14, 2020 via Agent Anonyme/Absolute. Daphne recorded the album at Les Studios Saint Germain, Paris – working once again with David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, also at the helm for Guinness’ previous two critically-acclaimed albums, ‘Optimist in Black’ and ‘Daphne & The Golden Chord’.
Watch the video below.
Directed by newly formed collective The Naughty People (Etienne Gilfillan & James Symonds) and created remotely at the height of the C-19 pandemic, the new video for ‘Looking Glass’ was assembled by Daphne, James & Etienne working from 3 separate locations during lockdown. Speaking about the new video, which takes cues from Op art alongside silent movies & early experimental cinema, The Naughty People note; “We wanted the narrative of the video to reflect a transition from one state of being to another – Daphne waking from a state of suspended animation and traveling through surreal tunnels, ultimately transcending to higher consciousness”.
Retaining the analogue recording techniques used on ‘Daphne & The Golden Chord’ (which was cut on consoles used to tape Abbey Road and Dark Side Of The Moon), ‘Revelations’ – captured over the space of a single week – finds Guinness on playfully incisive form as she squares the circle between her asymmetric musical tastes and the pressured uncertainties of the modern world. The lyrics to ‘Looking Glass’ – with Visconti’s velvet strings rubbing up against post punk guitars – probe the distorted filter of lives led out predominantly online. As Daphne puts it; “A futuristic Alice In Wonderland scenario. Caught in a world which is like a twisted hall of mirrors – smart phones, tablets, laptops.”
Guinness’ creative partnership with Visconti was forged via an introduction from his long-standing collaborator, Bowie, a fan of Daphne’s music who requested she give an interview for him as part of the V&A’s David Bowie Is….. exhibition. Their first outing – Daphne’s critically praised 2016 debut ‘Optimist in Black’ – was a bruised, Sixties-influenced affair heavily influenced by the loss of two of her closest friends (both of whom referenced Guinness as a muse), Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow, both to suicide. Visconti produced ‘Optimist….’ concurrently alongside ‘Blackstar’, with Bowie often dropping in on Tony’s sessions with Daphne. 2018 follow up ‘Daphne & The Golden Chord’ saw Marc Bolan-obsessive Guinness and Visconti tip their cap in the direction of 70s Glam, assembling a band featuring members of Go-Kart Mozart, Roxy Music and Generation X.
