Songs Of Hope And Glory

On paper it sounds like a blessed union the voice of Mazzy Star crossed with one of the musicians from My Bloody Valentine. It s not the most obvious musical coupling but the collaboration between Hope Sandoval, queen of the American smoky folk/rock underground, and Colm O Ciosoig, drummer and percussionist with the almost mythical Anglo-Irish, tremolo-happy distortionists, is a very successful alliance.

Although Mazzy Star are still very much a going concern, Sandoval has put a lot of time and energy into this new side project, called Hope Sandoval And The Warm Inventions. The fruits of their labour is a 4-track EP, At The Doorway Again , with an album to follow in late January/early February. The lead track, Around My Smile , is a tremendously atmospheric shimmerfest, with an almost otherworldly reverb from the guitars providing the perfect setting for Sandoval to sing those sweet, soft, sultry blues.
The second track, Charlotte , is distinguished by the nimble-fingered acoustic picking of cult folk guitarist, Bert Jansch again another unlikely addition to the party, but one which also comes up trumps, thanks to the ex-Pentangle man s smooth, sensitive playing.
Sandoval didn t know who O Ciosiog was when she met him nor was she particularly familiar with the work of My Bloody Valentine. But if Kevin Shields was the guiding light behind MBV, then this new project sees O Ciosoig step out from behind his shadow, co-writing and co-producing these undeniably soulful songs.
We work together on the music, says Sandoval, her voice no more than a dim whisper down a hazy, slightly muddled phone line somewhere in San Francisco. I got Colm to sing a bit. He doesn t consider himself to be a singer but I think he s got a nice voice.
What s he been up to?
At the moment he spends his time between Dublin and San Francisco I came over to Dublin once with him and just hung out and met his friends.
Sandoval has been round our way before, having played with Mazzy Star on the same bill as Alanis Morissette and Frank Black as part of that indoor Feile at The Point, which took place just prior to the release of Mazzy Star s last studio album, Among My Swan. Sandoval remembers the gig well.
Yes, I really enjoyed that gig, she answers. It seemed to me that the people really listened to us and were quiet. But the day before that show, we played the T In The Park in Scotland and it was an awful experience. We didn t enjoy that at all. We don t do many festival dates any more. Generally I prefer smaller, more intimate venues.
Sandoval was previously based in Los Angeles. What, I asked her, drew her to San Francisco? Did she have any romantic notions of the city such as those held by Kerouac? Was its bohemian quality a factor?
No. Not at all, she says. That s more like a touristy thing. It s a beautiful city but basically it s a city, just like any other city, with a lot of people and a lot of cars and bars and cinemas.
This is where David (Roback, the other half of Mazzy Star) lived for a long time and we would work in the studio here, so four or five years ago I decided to move here.
Sandoval s other favourite place to record is, bizarrely, Oslo, where the new album was largely put together. Why?
The isolation, maybe.
Do you need to cut yourself off when you re working on a record?
I dunno if we need to. We just like to have our own space. I really like San Francisco. But sometimes it can be a bit crazy and distracting.
How do you write the songs? Is it all worked out in advance or do you improvise in the studio?
Sometimes the song is all worked out and sometimes it s not, she reflects. Sometimes it can be all just made it up in the studio. You start a song with a basic idea on acoustic guitar and then once you get into the studio you start adding things. And then it takes off into another dimension.
How did the collaboration with Bert Jansch come about?
I ve been a fan for many many years, enthuses Sandoval. Mazzy Star actually played a show with Bert I forget where in London. I just asked if he d be into playing music together. And he said, well, send me a tape and I ll tell you and so I sent him a tape of some of the songs and he really liked them. So he flew out to Oslo and we recorded for three days.
When she s not working with traditional sixties folk icons, Sandoval can be heard collaborating with cutting edge dance pioneers her contribution was perhaps the highlight of the last Chemical Brothers album, Surrender. How did Sandoval come to work with the block-rockin beatmasters?
They were sort of fans of Mazzy Star, she says, and asked if I d be into singing a track from the last record. And they sent me the music. I thought it sounded pretty similar to Mazzy Star. It was so beautiful; it was such a nice, pretty song.
I still don t know them. I spent an hour in the studio doing my vocals and then I left. Even though we don t know each other, and didn t spend a lot of time together, I m still really proud of my song. I know that they really love the song. The three of us have a good feeling about it.
Finally, what singers from the past did you find inspirational growing up?
I always liked the way Mick Jagger sang, she says. Not so much now but the early Rolling Stones. And I really love Johnny Thunders singing and Nina Simone. We all get inspired by other people and borrow other singers ideas and styles.

The EP, At The Doorway Again, by Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions is out now on Rough Trade.