Daphne Guinness today releases a new single, ‘Hallucinations’, alongside the announcement of her much-anticipated third studio album, ‘Revelations’, due out via Agent Anonyme/Absolute in 2020. Daphne recorded the album at Les Studios Saint Germain, Paris – working once again with David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, also at the helm for Guinness’ previous two critically-acclaimed albums, ‘Optimist in Black’ and ‘Daphne & The Golden Chord’. Nodding towards references including Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘L’Histoire de Melody Nelson’ & J.S. Bach, Daphne’s new single ‘Hallucinations’ is couched in Visconti’s lush orchestrations – stream here.
As ‘Hallucinations’ suggests, Daphne explores a French-flavoured disco sound across ‘Revelations’, with her regular band – featuring Malcolm Doherty and Terry Miles (Go-Kart Mozart), Roger Manning Jr (Air, Beck) and Rod Melvin (Brian Eno) amongst its ranks – slipping into their white Repetto shoes to capture the nonchalant grooves of mid 70’s Gainsbourg, sprinkled with the dance floor decadence of Studio 54. It was Bowie himself – a friend and fan of her music – who first introduced Daphne to Tony and she’s been working with the legendary producer ever since. Daphne says of the sessions: “I discovered Studio Saint Germain by chance. It’s where Edith Piaf and Gainsbourg recorded. We decamped to Paris for a week and recorded live to analogue tape to soak up some of the Left Bank magic!”
In her long career as a musician, fashion designer, artist, actress and just about everything in-between, Daphne has consistently proven her ability to move between these worlds with ease. As such, ‘Hallucinations’ takes centre stage in a forthcoming art-film project with another of Guinness’ long-standing collaborators, world renowned photographer and videographer, David La Chapelle. The film was shot in Los Angeles in November 2019 and is set to premiere this summer. Of the project, Daphne says: “David and I have had a long professional relationship and this is the most exciting and artistically ambitious thing we’ve done together so far. It is a many-layered sound and vision art collaboration with a very sober and profound message.”