lilo are fast bringing their beatific vision into sharp focus.
The duo – lifelong friends Christie Gardner and Helen Dixon – cut their teeth on the folk circuit, honing their material with show after show. Gradually introducing new elements, they allowed the songs to shift and evolve, taking them into fresh spaces.
The pair’s debut EP landed on Practise Music earlier this year, a sparkling cycle of acoustic-leaning hymnals, gilded in tone and hushed in execution. A flurry of festival slots followed, with lilo continually focussed on new projects, and fresh challenges.
With Autumn gliding into view, lilo have paused to share something new. Completing work on a second EP with close friend and collaborator Joseph Futak, the UK pair have signed to tastemaker imprint Dalliance Recordings (Gia Margaret, HighSchool, Francis of Delirium).
New song ‘Settled’ leads the way, and it unfolds with patient grace. Songwriting dappled in light, the folk roots remain but they toy with pop aspects, injecting different energies into their work.
A song about connection, ‘Settled’ has an astute lyrical touch, one that connects their art with their lives. Lilo’s Christie comment:
‘“Settled’ is about feeling lost despite knowing exactly where you are. It’s about a time where I found it difficult to connect to the world around me. Sometimes I would be totally absent in conversations, even struggling to recognise buildings and streets I’d been down hundreds of times before.”
“This was me trying to claw back to a time where I felt I belonged, desperately clinging to things that I felt symbolised stability even when I knew in reality this wasn’t true.”
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Katie Silvester
