Alchymical Muse is a voice and cello centred duo comprising Daniel Staniforth (vocals, cello, classical and electric guitars) and Rebsie Fairholm (vocals, clarsach harp, 12-string guitar). Varied and innovative, and kaleidoscopic in its vision, the Alchymical sound combines spine-tingling vocal harmonies with haunting cello, dark tumbling guitars and a diversity of strings and chimes. Deep and contemplative songs bring out the unique and special synergy between their voices, fusing together elements of wordless lyrics, choral chants, Gaelic lament and flourishes of poetry and literature.

Sample tracks are available on the Listen page above or on the Alchymical Muse MySpace page.

At the heart of Alchymical Muse is our combined voices. We have an extraordinary similarity of tone which makes us blend like magic. We try to make the most of that natural synergy, so we share the lead vocals and weave around each other any which way we can, with harmonies, choral chants, poems (our own and other people's), wordless lyrics and Gaelic lamentations.

Secondly but also very important is a desire to experiment musically, free from the constraints of genre. Daniel is one of the most innovative cellists around and gets an incredible range of melodic and percussive sounds out of the cello. He also plays classical (i.e. nylon-stringed) guitar in a similarly holistic way and using exquisite modal scales. Throw Rebsie's harp and 12-string guitar into the mix along with piano and keyboards (which we both play) and we have a sonic palette which enables us to wander wherever our imagination takes us. Every song is approached differently as a unique piece in its own right and there are no rules ... it's all inspiration and alchemy.

Among the songs recorded so far are a Gaelic lament written in 1746 by a woman whose husband was killed in the Battle of Culloden, a setting of William Blake's "The Garden of Love" in a bed of shuddering cello, and a very organic rendering of the brilliant Trees song "The Garden of Jane Delawney" made from an amalgamation of live and studio recordings.