Psapp

The experimental British duo Psapp—pronounced “sap”—pairs guitarist and producer Carim Clasmann with vocalist, keyboardist, and violinist Galia Durant. Their output blends sultry vocals with quirky electronic beats inside an indie-pop framework that feels both playful and inviting. Psapp’s first album for Leaf, Tiger, My Friend, appeared in 2004. Two years afterward the pair moved to Domino—home also to Franz Ferdinand, the Arctic Monkeys, and Clearlake—to issue their sophomore effort, The Only Thing I Ever Wanted, in June 2006. That record revealed a tighter focus within the duo’s characteristically warm and inventive sound, while a series of U.S. shows alongside Juana Molina and José Gonzalez helped promote the release throughout the summer. Exposure on American television further widened their audience; the band had first gained such notice in 2005, when “Cosy in the Rocket” was chosen as the theme for the ABC series Grey’s Anatomy. Buoyed by this growing listenership, Psapp headed back into the studio to complete a third album, The Camel’s Back, which reached the U.K. in late 2008 and arrived in the United States in early 2009.