The first thing you notice about Azeda Booth is the voice. A sinister, sweet whisper crawls into your ear and refuses to let go — it’s like no one you’ve heard before. The music takes a little longer to creep in. Ambient washes and intricate textures meander in the background. Guitars float on top of the mix. Broken beats skitter into the spaces between. It all sounds so natural, so elemental that it’s easy to miss just how elegant it all is. Musicians have been trying for years to bridge the gap between the organic and the electronic — Azeda Booth come closer than ever.

Mysterious Body is Azeda Booth’s debut, but it’s far from humble. Recorded over three years beginning in 2004, when the band was still a duo, the EP showcases Morgan Greenwood’s programming dexterity and introduces Jordan Hossack’s cracked falsetto and intimate lyrics. The skewed pop of “Dead Girls” has been a favourite on CBC Radio 3, earning a band a spot on the 2007 Radio 3: Breaking New Sound compilation. It also caught the ear of Absolutely Kosher records, who released the band’s first full-length in the summer of 2008.

Since the original release of Mysterious Body, Azeda Booth has swelled to a five-piece, including two members of Calgary art-rockers Women. Lakesong Press is proud to re-issue Mysterious Body, not only as a glimpse of the band’s origins, but as an impressively ambitious work in its own right.