Photo: Rachael Pony Cassells
We love Julianna Barwick and we love Mary Lattimore, two unique voices in the world of experimental and ambient music. Barwick is known for her celestial soundscapes, built from loops and layered vocals, and Lattimore’s harp work has become synonymous with a delicate and expressive storytelling style. Both have been involved in numerous projects and collaborations over the years, including with each other, most recently with the Adult Swim single ‘Canyon Lights’. Now they have joined forces for Tragic Magic, the first full album they’ve created together. Sprouted after the devastating wildfires in California, Barwick and Lattimore recorded it in just nine days in Paris, where they had access to the instrument collection of the Philharmonie de Paris’ Musée de la Musique. Lattimore chose three harps dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, and Barwick worked with analog synthesizers like the Roland JUPITER and Sequential Circuits PROPHET-5. Lattimore shares, “We were so lucky to have access to this experience. There was a lot of reverence, working with people with such warmth and enthusiasm, bringing these instruments into a modern context, literally taken off the shelves of the museum.”
Featuring seven tracks, on the upcoming Tragic Magic the pair “render a meditation on tragedy, wonder, and the restorative power of shared experience”, as the press release explains. The album captures the special bond the two musicians have developed over years of touring and collaborating. Barwick reflects on the process, saying, “We wanted to honor the past while making music that we feel is a true expression of ourselves. People ask, how was Paris? I’m like, it was perfect. It was like everything just aligned.”
To preview the album ahead of its release on January 16th through InFiné, they’ve released ‘Melted Moon’, a devastatingly beautiful, plangent, shimmering and emotive track. Along with the single, they are offering a live video of the two performing the track at Lou Lou’s Jungle Room in San Diego, directed by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild. Watch it below.
In other related good news, and in support of the forthcoming Tragic Magic, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore have announced a series of live performances in North America, UK and Europe in 2026.
