Album Notes

The Somnambulants are:
Joseph White: Bass, vocals, synths, programming
Channing Sargent: Synth, vocals

Contrary to their title, The Somnambulants are anything but sleepy. They have been making an energetic, dance-friendly, and unique brand of indie/electro-pop since 2000.

While recording Paper Trail, the girl/boy duo kept to their own rule: avoid writing of “electro” songs. With one or two exceptions, they worked with rock, blues, or pop compositions and arranged them using electronic instruments. The resulting album is a mix of songwriting styles wrapped in a single synthetic wrapper, with each track as unique and memorable as the next. The Somnambulants “are more indie-pop-influenced than most of their contemporaries, and that, I think, is a good thing.” (Village Voice)

Stylistically, The Somnambulants are even more driven by cinematic influence, as evidenced in their lyrical imagery and spacious production. Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces composed during his tenure as a film student. In fact, their name was taken from the somnambulist character – Cesare - in the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. It’s fitting, therefore, that the title track from their previous album, Evacuation, appeared in the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Half Nelson (Lakeshore Records).

Joseph White acts as producer, lead singer, and bass player. The duo’s second half is keyboardist & singer Channing Sargent. “If you've seen the Somnambulants perform, no doubt you've walked away charmed by (and maybe a little smitten with) the onstage relationship between White and Channing Sargent” (Jersey Independent Music/NJ.com). Together, they’ve shared bills with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Tracy & the Plastics, Dirty on Purpose, Au Revoir Simone, My Favorite, Asobi Seksu, My Robot Friend, and other up-and-coming indie bands.

Founded in Brooklyn, NYC, The Somnambulants are now based in San Francisco.