Winona

The atmospheric and decadently stylish electronic pop project known as Winona originated with two Scotsmen, Scott Fraser and Craig Armstrong. The latter, an acclaimed award-winning film composer recognized above all for his scores for director Baz Luhrmann, has also served as producer and string arranger for Massive Attack, Madonna, U2, and the Pet Shop Boys while issuing multiple solo albums. After years of joint work on assorted endeavors and mulling an album that would merge their respective troves of vintage synthesizers, the pair launched their collaboration in 2006 through a sequence of free-form Friday afternoon sessions inside a Glasgow studio. Although they initially envisioned a purely instrumental electronic set, they later recruited Manx-born, London-based singer/songwriter Lucy Pullin—Armstrong’s manager at the time—along with French actress Laurence Ashley, whom Armstrong had encountered during his work on Luc Besson’s film Kiss of the Dragon, to supply vocals on several pieces. A 12" single featuring the trip-hop-styled vocal track “Without You” preceded a 2007 quartet tour that took them to festivals across Europe and Brazil, after which the design-heavy and inescapably cinematic album Rosebud surfaced in 2008 on Armstrong’s own Annalog imprint.