The Sargasso Trio, a British threesome, refers to its music as "synth folk." The band's official press bio states that multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriters Emily Siddall, Pete Murdoch, and Ben Winn first encountered one another as participants in a 40-piece samba band located in the unlikely setting of Norwich, England. Synthesizers, folk music, and samba rhythms underpin the Sargasso Trio's sound, placing the group alongside cross-cultural peers such as Vampire Weekend or White Shoes & the Couples Company while also updating the minimalist, Brazilian-influenced post-punk strain of the early '80s represented by Young Marble Giants, Antena, and early Everything But the Girl. All three members contribute vocals and exchange instruments readily, although the usual arrangement finds Murdoch on guitar, Siddall on keyboards and lead vocals, and Winn on drums. The Sargasso Trio formed in Norwich in 2002, signed to the small indie Boy Scout Recordings, and issued its self-titled debut EP in January 2006. A pair of singles followed in 2007 with the titles "It's Hot in Hell" and "Heels on Fire." Both songs appeared on the debut album Burnin Burnin Burnin, released in February 2008.
