In Alba Nova's world the mundane is transformed into something endlessly romantic, decadent and intricate, where epic stories ofglamour and betrayal are played out in dialogues between flirting co-vocalists and smothered in layers of reverberating guitars and violin. Alba Nova was formed amongst the cobbled streets of Durham when singer Guy Mankowski wrote a list of people he wanted to form a band with. Late at night the small-town show-off started to songwrite with the more perfectionistic Daniel Hoyes, and this unlikely partnership was soon enriched with the addition of ex-jazz chanteuse Hollie Martorella, along with various mandolin players, bassists, drummers and celloists. After a period of intense rehearsal, the band found the tracks of their first demo filtering into the review pages of magazines around the country, and their debut London gig in November attracted some of the British music industry's biggest names. Check them out before the imminent glorious collapse.
