When we last heard from David Thomas Broughton, his looping vocals and ringing acoustic were haunting an English church, where his previous album, the critically-acclaimed The Complete Guide to Insufficiency, was recorded. That special album found its way into the hands of many discerning listeners, including one Chris Casati. Casati, an electronic producer residing in Stockholm, reached out to Broughton, excited at the prospect of what a collaboration between them would yield.

Secluded, recording in the wee hours, Casati came up with the starting blocks of these compositions. “All the music is written on the Italian isle of Capri where I have a small cabin on the edge of a mountain,” says Casati. “Then I arrange and record the music on the kitchen table in my flat in Stockholm.” Broughton then added his pieces: “I listen and build up an idea of how the music makes me feel in terms of a starting point for the words, the idea builds and the words begin to fit to the melody. Whenever I can snatch a quiet moment I plug in my microphone and record a vocal track alongside the music. This has taken place in various residences, from Manchester to Japan to London, with the handiness of a laptop and limited technical knowledge.”

These, the first results of their work together, are nothing short of stunning. Broughton’s creeping baritone turns sexy over these beats, riding Casati’s beautiful melodies with a diva’s sense of grandeur and a troubadour’s heft of emotion. Theirs is the sound of an empty disco: the patrons have gone, and only a memory of music is left, its ghostly coo bouncing off the walls.