“Intoxicating, reflective, artistic and dramatic....Framed in a retro futuristic backdrop of funky plucked guitar fragments, a swaying beat scattered with Raf’s artful flights escapism intersecting the solar system between Bowie & Kate Bush” BC, GOD IS IN THE TV ZINE

“Raf and O have been purveyors of effervescent, avant-garde pop since 2008 … from apocalyptic, electronica-hued mini-symphonies to elegant, left-field David Bowie covers. ‘We Are Stars’ brings a sense of playfulness … Mischievous and bewitching” IB, ELECTRONIC SOUND

“A spellbinding lamentable love song … sublime…We Are Stars is an incredible album. Omnipresent throughout, there’s the angular, shredded and bended guitar of Scary Monsters era Robert Fripp and Carlos Alomar, and the strangely interesting progressions of the arty-pop and dress-up of that album.
Lou Reed meets Marianne Faithful
Kate Bush meets Jane Birkin
Lene Lovich meets Latin-flavoured Banshees ...The titular song itself an alternative, stressful The Man Who Fell To Earth soundtrack, yet recalls the influence of Tricky and Portishead. Raf and O remain one of the most individual acts in the UK; true inheritors of Bowie and Bush’s legacy and spirit.” DV, MONOLITH COCKTAIL

"This is the most exquisite album yet from Raf and O, who I believe belong to that select group of artists who create not only great music, but also a universe in which that music can live and breathe….from the soulful glam-swagger of ‘Still Sitting in our Time Machines’, through the indie-folk vocal acrobatics of ‘Andy under Stars’ and torch-song delicacy of the title track, to the frenetic 80s synth onslaught of ‘Every Time It’s Bleak, We Dance’…One of the album’s key tracks, ‘Tommy Newton’ follows. You may remember this name as David Bowie’s character in the SF masterpiece ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth – in the song Raf gives the perspective of Newton’s lover Mary-Lou. As the song closes, she describes Newton as “an alien / lost into our world”, tapping into not only the film character but evoking Bowie himself, her voice drifting over an aptly-chosen cyclic guitar motif….The gorgeous closer, ‘Waterloo’ has the stately progression of a rock ‘n’ roll era ballad, bowed double-bass and treated, wordless backing vocals cradling a hopeful conclusion, as if the past-honouring and future-seeking characteristics of the duo’s music have come to an understanding…It also feels right that the record reflects Raf and O’s twin inspirations – Bowie and Bush – in surprising and creative ways……I use the word ‘inspiration’ deliberately – rather than ‘influence’, say – because it’s not as if Raf and O simply sound like either Bowie or Bush. As I said, they’ve long sounded like no-one but themselves. It’s what they take from them in attitude, fearlessness: the way Raf’s voice swoops and soars without apparent boundaries" AA ARTMUSELONDON

"A hyper-colourful ride of joyously exotic sounds and idiosyncratic melodies which somehow melt together to make a gleaming, strident Art Pop whole. Abstract melodies morph seamlessly into sweet, emotionally thrilling chord shapes you NEVER see coming. Pop-xotica? Supernatural Folk? Post Prog Punk? One of 23's finest" THE SOAP COMPANY

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With a background steeped in the avant-guard, critically acclaimed South-East London based duo Raf and O AKA Raf Mantelli and O Richard Smith return with a new cinematic art pop album ‘We Are Stars’ on Telephone Records, full of stories, inner struggles and beautiful melodies, inspired by movies, life and stars. Marking out their critically acclaimed song and sound world for over ten years, Raf and O have released four full length albums to date. Praised by The Quietus, FACT, and Electronic Sound amongst many, for their emotional depth of songwriting and intensity of performance, their supporters saw the likes of Mike Garson (David Bowie’s pianist/ long-term collaborator) eulogising Raf and O for their unique interpretation of Bowie’s Lady Grinning Soul. Sonic explorations have included setting music to Shakespeare, composing for theatre, performing highly regarded interpretations of David Bowie and Kate Bush songs and with special collaborations under their belt, they’ve played venues such as The Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Union Chapel.
Time Machine - Joe Muggs’ Top Ten Albums (FACT). Portal Launch - John Clarkson gig of the year (Pennyblackmusic). The Space Between Nothing And Desire earned accolades such as sublime, astonishing, enthralling and irresistible.
“From the poignant to the provocative to the playful ‘The Space Between Nothing And Desire’ is wonderfully theatrical and, unless you’re made of stone, quite irresistible. The intensity is off the scale.” Push, Electronic Sound
“The excellent Time Machine represents the very antithesis of EDM - There is a butterfly, acoustic delicacy and yet also the deceptive, steel strength of spider silk in their complex weaving - Raf’s vocal ranges far and wide in her emotional and lyrical foragings” – David Stubbs, The Quietus “
“Raf and O continue to charm and intrigue with their distinctive, avant-pop songs, which mix acoustic and processed electronic sounds” Sharon O’ Connell, METRO.
’We Are Stars’, their fifth album, is multi-faceted and cinematic, it reflects our contemporary society flourishing and struggling simultaneously: tinged in retro futuristic 50s blues and anxiety ridden, upbeat, thoughtful and metaphoric, can be summarised as existential arty poetic visual pop for the 21st century.
It’s a musical story-telling journey through worlds, stars, lives, survival, sad stories, love stories, stories gone wrong, the beat goes on ...
Effortlessly stepping into various musical roles, both Raf and O have been known for performing on various instruments on both their own songs and several interpretations, where the instruments are merely the vehicles that convey the duo’s musical language and vision; this seems to possess a cohesive flow that can be pointed to an emotive and painterly signature approach to whatever musical material the duo find themselves experimenting with.
Rangy vocals, featuring Raf’s fluid distinctive and emotional dramatic tones, guitars, bass tones, electronic textures and grooves and O Richard’s voluptuous double bass, are the palette engaged throughout the album; frequencies, as the lyrics point out - “We Are Stars in the great unknown, frequencies could be the key, high and low make the universe, the world go round, to the tune you don’t know just yet’” - from the eponymous ‘We Are Stars’.
‘Still Sitting In Our Time Machines’ is the leading single, an existential funky retro-futuristic track concerned with our human journey, dealing with themes of science fiction crossing over into modern reality.
The album will be available to pre-order from 6th October. ‘Still Sitting In Our Time Machines’ will be available immediately upon pre-order of the album.
‘Tommy Newton’, inspired by ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ (the 1976 science fiction film based on the novel by Walter Davis directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring David Bowie in the role of Thomas Jerome Newton and Candy Clark in the one of Mary-Lou) is a love song Raf has written from the perspective of Mary-Lou. Raf says: “It’s sad, yearning and reflecting, she’s talking to Tommy, but it’s really happening in her mind, she’s talking to herself and she’s talking to us. I loved the film all my life, just as I’ve loved Bowie”. The song earned accolades when it came out in 2021 as footage from their very first live performance and was described as Intoxicating, reflective, artistic and dramatic by God Is In The TV Zine and spellbinding by Monolith Cocktail.‘There’s Nothing I Want More’ reveals a sort of existential anxiety: just when you seem to loose all purpose and long to fall into nothing, beauty comes at your rescue, ’it could just stop you sinking too far’. Musically it’s edgy and angular in its time signature approach, yet it’s catchy and infectious. The title that seems pretty straightforward at first reveals more in its layers. There’s Nothing I Want More (of nothing?) ‘Even Pierrot strikes a pose on the moon’. ‘Eyeliner’ is a story of a young star always ready for the show. ‘A casualty of pleasure’, but he’s also a catalyst for change, a ‘dandy of the new world’ - ‘pinned up phrases on the wall are the cut-ups that inspired you’. Musically is a groovy laid back track that unravels throughout with a soaring 50s-esque chorus “Boy, you’re wearing your eyeliner and you know just how to get your way”. Elsewhere there’s ’Andy Under Stars’ depicting a homeless character heavily obsessed with Andy Warhol, the bluesy and dreamy ‘The Guardian Of Your Mind’: “You’re too hot to be cool, too desolate and dark with your printed page and champagne and your favourite game, a dreaming state, the guardian of your mind” and ’Altered Reality’ loosely inspired by ‘The Matrix’ dealing with themes of science fiction and beyond: “Deep in a state of virtual dream, is everything just what it seems?” ‘Tear The Page’ inspired by ‘Kill Your Darlings’ a film on the early days of the beat writers from their university days, parallel a song from Raf and O’s earlier album ‘Portal’, ‘Dream Machine’ and delves into the lives of the protagonists, ‘Cheap Champagne’ is a romantic encounter between two akin souls, ‘Every time It’s Bleak We Dance’, an off-kilter alternative dance track and ‘Waterloo’ draws the album to a close with the story of two individuals sharing life, grief and hope: “The strength belongs to the battered souls, a wall becomes soft as dust, don’t believe into carrying a plus sign above the shoulder line” .
Ahead of the album Raf and O have also launched Constellation Club with access to bespoke and exclusive items of merch, Raf’s original art and secret songs of the future.