Written by: Jen Dan
The dream-wave duo Lunar Twin may hail from Los Angeles, but the aura that emanates from Bryce Boudreau (lyricist, vocalist) and Chris Murphy’s (instrumentalist, producer) arrangements is pure international cosmopolitan sophistication.
Bryce and Chris bowed their self-released debut Lunar Twin EP in late 2014 and followed it up with the recently released Champagne (Remixes) EP on the German boutique record label Emerald & Doreen Recordings. The Champagne (Remixes) EP brings together a fine selection of guest artists who provide remixes of “Champagne”, including dream-pop duo Ummagma, Japanese electronic artist Haioka, and future-pop duo Go Satta. Bryce and Chris supply their own edits of two originals, “Metroplex” and “Champagne”, off the Lunar Twin EP.
It’s easy to get lost in the vaporous, vespertine drift of “Champagne (Grande Cru Edit).” The song takes place in a dreamstate as the long night fades away into daylight and a world-weary, omniscient observer in the form of Bryce describes the spent emotions of a female protagonist who “…wakes up feeling empty.” Bryce sing-talks in a dusky, velvety, but detached tone that recalls a subdued and smoother Mark Lanegan. Where a Mark Lanegan or Nick Cave would dig in with dire dramatics, Bryce glides over with ponderous, enigmatic rumination. He strings out his words slowly amid a sumptuous bed of sustained synth strings, reflective piano notes, and a steady pace of brushed drums and cymbal shimmer. A sedated, but spellbinding allure of faded glamour runs through the track and is magnified by sporadic twangs of reverbed female vocal sounds.
In keeping with the brooding mood of the song, the video for “Champagne (Grande Cru Edit),” directed by J. Valencia of San Francisco, lets the overall sonic flow take over as natural images of lush to arid landscapes are shown in succession and are overlaid with subtle graphics or tracking shots of winding drives. The original visuals were filmed at four separate locations – Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. As the main character of the song recalls her nocturnal journey to daybreak, Bryce as narrator resignedly intones that she feels “…washed out / blue with the tide.”, and like those languishing sentiments, the video follows suit, finishing by being passively carried away on expansive tracts of ocean waves.
Without further ado, here is the exclusive premiere of the video for Lunar Twin’s “Champagne (Grande Cru Edit)”:
