Midnight Sister

Midnight Sister is a one of a kind duo formed by vocalist, mime, photographer and an artist of many disciplines, Juliana Giraffe and composer-multi-instrumentalist Ari Balouzian. They create off-kilter retro pop with elements of modern chamber music and disco thrown in. Their music gives off strong cinematic vibes: Balouzian's composition and arrangements evoke '70s foreign art films with a lone sax wailing a jazz tune or his score-like string and brass arrangements, tremolo guitars, funky soul grooves, and so on. He also adds some French yé-yé tones which is right up Giraffe's alley as she brings on her whispery vocals that also adds a bit of '50s noir mixed in with a breeze of Nico (of Velvet Underground) from the '60s. All this adds up to a distinct sound and compelling music that is both mesmerizing and transportive. Their songs come with outstanding melodies and play out in a way that suggests they can go in any direction once they start ... like a good art movie.