Zambri

Zambri is the ethereal duo of Cristi Jo and Jessica, sisters whom have been making music together since they shared a bedroom as kids. Spending endless hours creating stories and building universes with their voices and toys, their debut album, House Of Baasa, out April 10th, 2012, is a powerful expression that embodies the spirit of adventure in all its glory.

Strings are stretched to reveal alien textures, found sounds and field recordings weave in and out, all the while traveling through a colorful landscape that pulls the listener deep into the otherworld of Zambri, a world as imaginative as the mind of a young Alice (In Wonderland).

Just at the end of last year, Zambri released their debut EP, Glossolalia, receiving praise from the likes of Stereogum (Band to Watch), Spin Magazine, NME, MTV, Under The Radar, and more pointing out the unique sound the sisters seemed to have plucked from the netherworld. MTV says Zambri “…delivers the sort of fully-formed, cohesive sound that a lifetime of collaboration might be necessary to achieve.”

With House of Baasa, Jessica and Cristi Jo bare their soul even more, revealing their true adoration for pop music and catchy melodies. During the recording process, the sisters drew heavily from sounds of familiarity to create a mood that is as recognizable as it is contagious. Together, they produced and recorded the album in its entirety, bouncing back and forth from Chinatown to The Village for the greater part of a year. Paying homage to their roots, they used old demo recordings from cassette tapes, manipulated the traditional use of their voices and built their own sounds. The majority of the finished record is made up of the very original takes they laid down, resulting with a sound that is both honest and magical.

For the final touches, they enlisted a small crew of imaginative collaborators like Rick Kwan who mixed, Chris Coady who played a co-production role on select songs, and mates Seth Kasper and Will Spitz (whom also play live with Zambri), Noel Heroux (Hooray For Earth) and Jon Philpot (Bear In Heaven) who are featured throughout.

The album’s title refers to the ancient Zambri – a servant in the bible who rebelled against his ruler Baasa to overtake the throne for seven days, after which he set fire to the palace and himself.

In the spirit of their namesake, Zambri's music effortlessly defies genre, a parallel to the attitudes of its creators. A natural ear for pop melody informs their experimental yet deliberate approach, which makes their music boldly fearless and refreshingly original. Zambri says, "We wanted to go back into that childhood zone of absolute freedom, making moves with gut instinct". House Of Baasa sounds simultaneously free and highly intentional, alien and nostalgic.