London-based Cristobal And The Sea are a proper European union of a band, if ever there was one. The quartet hail from four corners of our diverse continent. They are: Alejandro Romero from Spain (bass/vox), João Seixas from Portugal (guitar/vox), Leïla Séguin from Corsica/France (flute/vox) and Josh Oldershaw from old Blighty (drums).
Within this melting pot of dreamy tropicalia there are notes of their southern Mediterranean culture and an unintentionally Brazilian bossa nova feel in João’s guitar style, all underpinned by a beat-generation vibe that seeps into all their songs. This has all been perfectly captured on this debut by Brooklyn producer, Rusty Santos (Animal Collective, Vashti Bunyan, Grizzy Bear).
From The Beach Boys’ vocal harmonies to Fleetwood Mac (if they’d have favoured LSD over their beloved cocaine), Gilberto Gil to Gainsbourg and a whole host of modern artists, Cristobal & The Sea have taken their varied inspirations and diverse cultural backgrounds & melded them into their own distinct sound, creating rich, warm & disorientating songs that swirl with psychedelia, but never forget the importance of melody.
Their debut EP release ‘Peach Bells’ will be released on the 8th December through City Slang and today we reveal the first track to be taken from it, ‘My Love (Ay Ay Ay)’. It’s one of the first songs the band ever wrote, and in their words “about not knowing whether you should leave someone or stay with them… Being torn in that way.”
Have a listen to the new track in the player below.