untitled (recs)

Fully self-produced, Waterbaby's debut album ’22° Halo’ is a kaleidoscopic odyssey blending otherworldly and experimental electronica with choral singing, folk, kraut and pop. The sister duo's insular and feminine sonic world showcases inventive song structures backed by dizzying layers of production – all crafted on their stash of lost & found analogue gear in their South East London studio squashed between Hyperdub’s headquarters and a mechanics garage.

Martha and Jessica Kilpatrick (aka Waterbaby) had a creative upbringing in South London – spending their days singing in Southwark Cathedral Choir or experimenting with recording ideas onto cassette tapes, such as trying to make their out-of-tune family piano and a flute sound like an electric guitar.

Eventually settling together in an attic flat in Peckham, the sisters became quiet, mystical forces in the underground London scene, emerging in and out of the sanctuary of their studio to perform their hypnotic live show with artists as varied as Kedr Livansky, TAAHLIAH & Dorian Electra. In the second half of 2022, the pair have started to draw attention with the release of two singles on London label untitled (recs), alongside collaborations with fellow female experimentalists BABii & Sofie Birch and multiple appearances on NTS Radio.

Mixing magic with the mundane, “the album is a trip from birth to death, a journey that begins in the morning when a garbage truck drowns out your siren song and ends at night in the cinema of your dreams, watching your life play out on the big screen”, they explain.

In a world where the analogue and the digital seem to be in constant headlock, Waterbaby effortlessly solve the equation. The music operates in a space where Cocteau Twins-esque anachronism meets the sharper edge of contemporary experimental electronica.