Former Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde and Dif Juz drummer Richard Thomas’ duo Lost Horizons shared a music video for their latest track, “In Quiet Moments.” In it, featured vocalist Ural Thomas shares the screen with slow shots of clouds and nature.
Raymonde and Richard Thomas are the only constants in Lost Horizons, so their sound changes considerably depending on who they get to sing on each track. “In Quiet Moments” is one of their more soulful songs thanks to Ural Thomas’ slow but passionate performance. The instrumental compliments his vocals with jazzy piano chords, low bass and cymbal-riding drums. Backing vocals and light guitars also add to the floating atmosphere, building into a dreamy climax.
The drifting clouds at the beginning of the music video also back up the floating feeling of the track formed out of the lyrics and instrumentation. It’s a split-screen video for most of the duration, with the clouds and other nature shots mostly sticking to the left side and Thomas singing on the right. Eventually, the clouds are replaced by a long retreating shot of a large path between some trees. Ural Thomas’ part was recorded while a documentary about him was being filmed, so his producers decided to film him recording the vocal part for this video as well.
In a press release, Raymonde expressed his excitement about Thomas’ performance and the other guests backing him, “After he was done with the first half of the song I asked if he could make the ending spoken-word in the style of Gil Scott-Heron and he did something ad-libbed which I loved. I then asked Wendi Rose who sings with Spiritualized to add some of her beautiful vocals and I think this took it all to the next level. Paul Gregory and Jonathan Wilson also played some delicious guitar parts which were the fairy dust on top!”
Thomas also had some words to say about the song, calling it “wonderful” and saying it made him feel, “tiny and solitary,” among other things. It’s the title track for Lost Horizons’ upcoming album In Quiet Moments, due in full February 26 via Raymonde’s Bella Union label. It’s also the first single since the first half of the double album released late last year, which featured “Every Beat That Passed,” very Cocteau Twins-like single featuring Kavi Kwai and “Cordelia,” a very mellow ambient guitar track featuring John Grant.
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