Can't-Miss Austin Bands at SXSW
Night Glitter
Thievery Corporation siren calls to the fireflies
By Christina Garcia, Fri., March 8, 2019
"Night glitter" became the term for twilight lightning bugs, or fireflies, twinkling around the river near John Michael Schoepf and his daughter's home before it became the name of his band with LouLou Ghelichkhani, the singer for Thievery Corporation with Parisian roots. Together, the multi-instrumentalist and the frontwoman create music largely through improvisation. Credit their dreamy, psych-gaze atmospherics, and relaxed sound to the duo spending as much time playing with post-production effects as recording.
"We're make-believe scientists experimenting with drum machines and a lot of vintage equipment," emails Ghelichkhani. "We have a single coming out this month and a goal of early summer for the full-length [debut]."
Arguably the most recognizable collaborator with Thievery Corporation, Ghelichkhani's airy French vocals (one of three languages she speaks) enhanced the lounge-y acid jazz and dub of the Washington, D.C., act founded in 1996. The Persian singer planted roots in Austin six years ago, fertilizing another capital's musical soil with the psychedelic folk sounds of Bone, Fur and Feathers in 2013 and playing Austin's beloved Psych Fest in 2014.
That project developed in collaboration with local cottage industry Adrian Quesada. Known for work with Grupo Fantasma, Ocote Soul Sounds, and the Best New Austin Band at last month's Austin Music Awards, Black Pumas, Quesada crossed paths with Thievery Corporation wherein he worked with the Buenos Aires-born singer and collaborator Natalia Clavier. Eventually, he helped produce the now defunct BF&F.
Cut to 2018, and the producer oversaw Schoepf adding guitar, bass, and twang vox to the synths, Farfisa, an electronic organ manned by Ghelichkhani in siren vocal mode. Live, she and Schoepf are joined by a drummer and guitarist.
"I am fired up about our first Night Glitter tours starting in May," writes Ghelichkani.
