the sea nymphs?

Sea Nymphs is a fascinating side project. The trio's music is like the acoustic alter-ego of Cardiacs - just as complex and weirdly compelling, but much gentler, with a greater emphasis on avant-classical compositions. Not sure how best to describe the album -- it's a bit like being lulled into a dream state by Baroque-era, opiate-fueled minstrels*.

A great place to read up on the side project is on the Maresnest board. You can check out a stream of Sea Nymphs on the John Peel Show here. The album is out of print, so finding it on CD is nearly impossible. I did spot used copies at Amazon UK, but they sell at a hefty premium, like any aftermarket Tim Smith material. Digital copies are floating around online and easy to find, should you be compelled to go that route (with the intention, like most Cardiacs fans, of purchasing the physical copy the moment its reprinted).

A tangentially related project worth checking out is North Sea Radio Orchestra, featuring William Drake. They perform contemporary chamber music with a choir (Kavus Torabi, Cardiacs' most recent guitarist, is in the choir). It carries the torch of Sea Nymph's good works.

Also, if you haven't heard Spratley's Japs, T. Smith's side project w/ Joanna Spratley, drop everything you're doing and track down the album 'Pony.' It's absolutely brilliant. Here's the track 'Fanny' (youtube).

Hope this helps!

*another take from a reviewer on Amazon.com:
 "One of the most unique records produced in the UK in the last twenty years. Imagine a bucolic Cocteau Twins playing a sunday school visited by Vaughan Williams out collecting English folk songs in late Autumn. Everyone I've ever spoken to about this record has their own private vision conjured up by the music and you've just read mine. Unclassifiably tuneful, beautiful, ambitious and slightly unhinged in a Tim Smith sort of way. Top of the British pop food chain."


Edited by prinado - November 21 2010 at 11:31