NOISEY 065: VISIONS OF TREES

The past few years have seen a real upsurge in East London’s indie output. A scene bound by little more than geography has produced bands like Comanechi and Becoming Real. The best offerings share a confrontational slant to the music, but tend to lag when it comes to general accessibility. Boy/girl electro duo Visions of Trees is a welcome exception to this trend, and among first to break out of the underground. Their success rests on a chilled-out openness that’s far beyond anything else East of Big Ben.

As with much of the bands coming from London, the band’s origin lies elsewhere. Beatmaker Joni Juden was born in Finland and credits those more natural environs with the inspiration for the duo’s name. A noise-rock veteran, Joni linked up with Essex-born vocalist Sarah Atalar during the summer of 2009 and they started off jamming in a friend’s basement. Early tracks sent blogs buzzing on both sides of the Atlantic as a string of powerful remixes confirmed their dance credentials.

True to their name, Joni and Sarah are architects of an other-worldly soundtrack. On the surface, it’s a glimpse of a land where dreams of flora and fauna cloud the boredom of the urban sprawl. Their glitchy, tribal rhythms are reinforced by hip-hop accents and Sarah’s sultry, vulnerable voice. Joni described Visions of Trees to us as “gothic trance.” It’s a sweet, synthetic noise produced by a tension between the urban and the rural.