Bat for Lashes Gets Back to Nature for 'Two Suns'

Posted on Apr 7th 2009 12:00PM by Mike Ayers
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For her second record 'Two Suns,' Bat for Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) went to a bevy of places to work on recording: New York, London, Brighton, Wales and California -- the latter yielding one of the more interesting experiences of her two year process. Getting back to nature, Khan spent time in Joshua Tree and Big Sur shooting small films, photographs and making field recordings that, in one way or another, have seeped into 'Two Suns.'

"There are definitely some strange spirits," Khan tells Spinner of Joshua Tree. "If you drive out the main strip where all the motels are and go into the National Park -- it's the stars -- they're just vast -- and you're surrounded by wilderness. It's very interesting to kind of capture."

Indeed, 'Two Suns' has a rather (obvious) cosmic ring to it, with a heavy dose of atmospheric arrangements -- lest we mention the name. "All of that animalistic wild landscape mixed with the giant sky, it was obviously very heavenly and celestial," Khan says. "Absorbing all that was key to understanding the landscapes in the songs. When I was making ['Two Suns'] and transporting myself back there, I was bringing back that whirlwindy big space."

Khan also slipped in field recordings she did of her friends around the campfire at Big Sur, which you can hear at the end of 'Sleep Alone.' Also reflecting her time spent living in Brooklyn, she recorded sounds underneath the JMZ subway line, which you can hear faintly at the beginning of 'Glass.'

Bat for Lashes kicks off a short UK tour this week, and will return to North American at the end of April for a short string of shows.

Download Bat for Lashes Songs

Listen to 'Two Suns'