Taking an initial backing track as a starting point, numerous vocalists were approached and offered varied vocal takes which were then used as the basis for a remixing of the music to create original and diverse tracks from the one root. Kurt Wagner of Lambchop re-imagines Mavis into a world of sharp suits and smoky rooms, creating a modern swing worthy of Martin and Sinatra on ‘Gangs Of Rome’ whilst Ed Harcourt offers two versions of ‘Puzzles and Riddles’. The lead version takes a sparse piano line to create an intimate and emotionally bare tune whilst the demo version takes the same music as Kurt but delivers a lullaby-esque, spaced out take. John Turrell’s lolloping groove on ‘What You Looking For’ is a world away from both, a rich, soulful swing with a soaring chorus that drips with heart and passion. The full length Mavis album features the artists above alongside established names such as Cerys Matthews, Sarah Cracknell, Edwyn Collins and Candi Staton whilst introducing a new generation of voices in Crazy P’s Danielle Moore, Disa from Reykjavik and Dear Reader’s Cherilyn MacNeil in addition to John Turrell of Smooth and Turrell who appears on the EP. [info from ]