Guess What

Guess What originated as a French duo whose fluid, cinematic aesthetic channels film scoring from multiple periods alongside exotica, bossa nova, funk, psychedelic rock, and further styles. Percussionist Luke Warmcop and multi-instrumentalist Graham Mushnik established the pair in 2005 purely as a studio venture devoted to creating scores for nonexistent movies. Their first onstage appearance occurred in 2008, when they began presenting material honoring Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin. The self-titled debut album Yuri Gagarin surfaced on the French imprint Catapulte Records toward the end of 2009, showcasing polished organ-led instrumentals enhanced by unexpected additions such as zither and accordion. Attention next moved to vintage Italian film scores, particularly the lusher, lounge-oriented passages in the catalogs of composers including Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani. In 2012 the Imagenes label issued Mondo Giallo: The Best of the Giallo Soundtracks 1968-1974, a collection of original pieces presented as rediscovered tracks from classic Italian thrillers. Subsequent fascination with Persian mathematician and astronomer Al-Khawarizmi prompted another pivot, resulting in the 2015 Catapulte Records release Al-Khawarizmi, a dub-infused, hallucinatory journey shaped by Middle Eastern traditions.