For me, few voices are as magical as Elizabeth Fraser’s. The former Cocteau Twins vocalist has also worked with Massive Attack, Future Sound of London, Craig Armstrong and others. In each collaboration the curiously liminal quality of her vocals add a sense of mystery; of belonging and immersion, yet also of separation and something otherworldly, somewhere between intense joy and sadness.
Her latest collaboration is with The Insects, a Bristol based duo, for the BBC series ‘The Living and the Dead’. The series itself is diverting, visually ravishing but no more than entertaining. The moments of magic it does have are largely musical and visual.
The real standouts are Elizabeth Fraser’s contributions. ‘She Moves Through the Fair‘ in episode 1 and ‘The Lover’s Ghost‘ in episode 4 (sung over the end titles).
- The soundtrack, including Fraser’s contributions, are available as a digital download from the Insects’ website.
Sanjit Chudha 