ASPIDISTRAFLY

“With a hushed wispy voice in the spirit of Vashti Bunyan, ASPIDISTRAFLY have more in common with ambient composers like Max Richter — and, along the way, have found their own leaf-covered path.” – NPR Music

Taking their name from George Orwell’s novel “Keep the Aspidistra Flying”, ASPIDISTRAFLY was formed by Singapore-based singer-songwriter April Lee and producer Ricks Ang in 2003. The duo play a flickeringly filmic mixture of ambient folk with gossamer-like vocal harmonies and guitar-based drone wrapped in delicate lo-fi haziness. After two independently released EPs, the duo released their first album “I Hold A Wish For You’ in 2008 on KITCHEN. LABEL, leading to their first 7-city Asia tour in 2009. In 2010, a collaboration with haruka nakamura entitled “twilight” was awarded “Single of the week” on iTunes Japan.

In 2011 they released their second album “A Little Fable”, crafted around compelling vocals, gentle fingerpicking, distorted guitars, tape loops and orchestral arrangements. Consecutively, it led to accompanying tours across major Asian cities including Tokyo and Seoul, and their track “Landscape With A Fairy” was featured as NPR Music’s Song Of The Day. 

The duo has collaborated with artists including with Kyo Ichinose, Akira Kosemura, Seigen Tokuzawa and others, notably with haruka nakamura on his track “twilight” which was awarded “Single of the week” on iTunes Japan in 2010. In 2007, ASPIDISTRAFLY worked with renowned media artist Daito Manabe and Takayuki Fujimoto (dumbtype) on “Drift Net”. ASPIDISTRAFLY has also collaborated with Japanese fashion label LAD MUSICIAN and NARS. 

Outside of ASPIDISTRAFLY, April is a Creative Director who works in design, photography and fashion. Ricks founded Kitchen. Label in 2008, which has established a solid reputation as a purveyor of ambient, neo-classical and avant garde. Apart from touring and other artistic activities, ASPIDISTRAFLY is currently recording their 3rd full-length album.

www.aspidistrafly.com