OSLO TWINS + RY-GUY + CORDELIA GARTSIDE – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 22.4.26
Oslo Twins are a London-based indie-synth-pop group crafting moody soundscapes that blend trip hop, lo-fi, and atmospheric electronica. Emerging from Bristol’s DIY scene, they’ve supported The Last Dinner Party and played Green Man, Manchester Psych Fest, and more. Their critically acclaimed 2025 EP ‘Tresor’, featuring their danceable hit ‘I Wake Up Slowly’, explores memory, dreams, and emotion through intimate vocals, minimal beats, and haunting textures. They have already released a solid body of work which is best located on their Bandcamp page HERE.
Originally the Oslo Twins were a two-piece band formed by vocalist Claudia Vulliamy (vocals) and guitarist Eric Davies (keys, synth) who met at Bristol University in a philosophy seminar. Since then they have been joined by Ed Lyness (keys, synth) and this evening they are making a welcome return to Brighton as the headlining act at The Prince Albert (with its new stage lighting) courtesy of Love Thy Neighbour promoters. We are in their company for 47 minutes and during that time we are rewarded with a dozen compositions, with a handful of these being new tunes that have as yet to see the light of day in vinyl, CD and streaming services.
Oslo Twins’s dream pop sound includes hints and influences from dance, industrial and lo-fi, making them more than your usual dream pop act. Their set opened at 10:06pm with ‘We Remember Everything’ which immediately highlights their booming layers of synths along with Claudia’s echoey double layered vocals. There’s a dance feel to this song which works very well indeed. It’s a great opener!
As I look onstage my heart is filled with joy as I spy Moog keys and other electronic gubbins on offer on one side of the stage and on the other there is a Mini Korg along with a Nord Stage 3 synth. Throughout the whole performance, the trio opt for letting the music speak for itself, and that it certainly does! There’s no crowd inaction or songs introduced, it’s just one corker after another!
Selection two is ‘Hanging Over’ which commences with banging synth beats that sound like the sharp pulses akin to Ultravox’s classic ‘Vienna’. The vocals bring a warmer overall feel to this dramatic tune which benefits from notable speedy Nord keys action. Tune three is the title track from their 2025 ‘Tresor’ EP, which offers within a microsecond of starting a booming dance beat filling the room. The vocals somehow remind me of Dee D. Jackson’s ‘Automatic Lover’ and the standout line being (as far as I can tell) “drinking wine and f*cking is encouraged in the library”. There’s a choice trance beat here with Mini Korg riffage a plenty. Ed’s fingers joyfully dance across the notes like a speedy spider. Tuuuune!
Selection four is from the same EP, this time it’s ‘I See Mountains’, which sees the beat being taken down in tempo and this one has layers of atmospheric feeling. A straight third tune from the EP comes next, and this time it’s the turn of ‘Be Free’, which commences with a tinkling of the Nord keys, and then there’s a microsecond gap and it suddenly sounds not too far off the Pet Shop Boys ‘West End Girls’ and then there’s the addition of more dramatic pulses and beats. Last year’s ‘All In Your Mind’ single is thankfully given an outing. There’s a solid banging dance beat for this number, and as a result, there’s much body shaking and head by yours truly. Eric then adds some notable Moog action here as well. It’s an epic song…..and dare I actually say, it’s the best live track I’ve so far heard this year!!!
‘Sirens’ from last year’s ‘All In Your Mind’ single is up next. Claudia’s vocals start off this number and then yet another booming dance beat kicks in. Happy days! There’s even some great mini Korg keys riffs to boot. Tuuuune! The unreleased ‘On & On’ is next and this has a slow chugging start of head bobbing proportions. This sets off a Kinobe vibe going on in my head. There’s another yet to be released tune next, this one’s ‘Millions Of Trees’, which benefits from a skippy trip hop drum and bass beat with talky rap atop. This sounds different from all the previous numbers. It’s here that Chicane comes to mind from what I’ve thus far heard in the set, with the Nord keys especially so. The final unreleased track is next, this is ‘Closer’ which is another synth pop dance number with seriously solid electronics going on here. It’s synth-tastic mate!
Their penultimate offering is ‘I Wake Up Slowly’ which is taken from 2025’s ‘Tresor’ EP. This has, to me, a Cicero ‘Love Is Everywhere’ vibe with talky “I wake up slowly” vocals and it’s a mighty fine song and astonishingly this has fractionally eclipsed the earlier best live song of the year (‘All In Your Mind’). I’m in a very happy place right now! Claudia finally addressed the crowd for the first and only time “Thank you so much guys….”. They sign off with ‘Miss Yesterday’ which is culled from 2023’s ‘Back To Nothing’ EP. The opening reminds me of the Giorgio Moroder & Phil Oakey ‘Together in Electric Dreams’, and then there’s some bubbling keys and hi-hat and then they are away. “None sees the world like we do” was the final lyric and that was our lot, and at 10:53pm the trio successfully vacated the stage.
Now on the subject of “None sees the world like we do”…..I joyfully make my way to their merch stall at the rear of the room to lighten my wallet by purchasing their 12” Tresor’ EP. But there’s a commotion, as Claudia is frantically looking around the stall and the floor. It appears that a number of homemade jewellery items have gone on walkabout! This is most distressing to her and a stain on Brighton’s concert going punters! In all the year’s I’ve been gigging, I can’t recall this happening for decades! I’m rather hoping that the person concerned will make a swift return to The Prince Albert with the missing pieces and hand them into staff, in order to pass onto the band! You do know that there’s cameras in the room and that the footage was going to be checked!
Oslo Twins:
Claudia Vulliamy – vocals
Ed Lyness – keys, synth
Eric Davies – drum machines, bass synth
Oslo Twins setlist:
‘We Remember Everything’ (unreleased)
‘Hanging Over’ (unreleased)
‘Tresor’ (from 2025 ‘Tresor’ EP)
‘I See Mountains’ (from 2025 ‘Tresor’ EP)
‘Be Free’ (from 2025 ‘Tresor’ EP)
‘All In Your Mind’ (a 2025 single)
‘Sirens’ (from 2025 ‘All In Your Mind’ single)
‘On & On’ (unreleased)
‘Millions Of Trees’ (unreleased)
‘Closer’ (unreleased)
‘I Wake Up Slowly’ (from 2025 ‘Tresor’ EP)
‘Miss Yesterday’ (from 2023 ‘Back To Nothing’ EP)
Opening up proceedings this evening was Cordelia Gartside and her band (Willow Simpson – left handed lead guitar, Tom Ironmonger – bass, and Max Garner – drums). We are in their company for 30 minutes, from 8:30pm to 9:00pm and they play us 7 cuts, a majority of which have yet to be released.
It’s always a special treat to see Cordelia and chums in action as they deliver her self-penned indie rocking ethereal compositions. There’s a strum intro for opener ‘Joke Not Funny’, which grows in intensity and has the feel of something Gaelic meets the Cocteau Twins. Cordelia is in the zone with her thousand yard stare, and Willow unleashes some tremolo action. We aren’t given a chance to applaud as the quartet segue straight into ‘X-Ray’ with its skippy drumbeat and jazzy vibe. It’s a tune that changes in intensity, which is arguably a Gartside trademark. Offering three is ‘Belle’ which has a sweet dreamy opening with Cordelia gently touching her guitar strings. Midway through the tune grows in intensity and feeling. Wow, this track made the hairs on my arms stand on end!
‘Pattern Repeating’ is another which starts with solo vocals and guitars as the opening. Then the drums and bass come to the party. “I am the wallpaper” repeated vocals are a standout. It’s now time for Cordelia’s 2024 ‘Hospital Corners’ single, and with a click of the drumsticks they are away. This song seriously taps into my brain and on every hearing and I get covered in goosebumps. In fact I’ve even previously witnessed Cordelia crying as she delivers the belted out vocals. It’s extremely moving! The “I could make you better” line signifies the beginning of the wonderfulness in this epic hidden gem, and the track builds from here. I was choked when I tried to speak to my friend afterwards….Such is the power of music!
The penultimate offering is titled ‘Good’ and this is a rockier number and there’s even a hasty drumbeat. The band are their most animated here. After this Cordelia informs us that the final number will be her next single and that it is going to be dropping on 6th May, it’s called ‘What The Heart Wants’. Again, this is another intense experience. This tune has a psychedelic early 70s vibe especially from Willow’s guitar.
One day, the world will catch up and realise just how awesome Cordelia Gartside’s music is. Tonight’s set was perfectly summed up by a couple of young fellas standing immediately behind me, where one stated to the other “That was insane!” and his chum wholeheartedly agreed.
Cordelia Gartside:
Cordelia Gartside – vocals, guitar
Willow Simpson – lead guitar
Tom Ironmonger – bass
Max Garner – drums
Cordelia Gartside setlist:
‘Joke Not Funny’ (unreleased)
‘X-Ray’ (unreleased)
‘Belle’ (unreleased)
‘Pattern Repeating’ (unreleased)
‘Hospital Corners’ (a 2024 single)
‘Good’ (unreleased)
‘What The Heart Wants’ (forthcoming 2026 single, out 6th May)
The middle act on the the bill evening was Brixton based RY-GUY along with his band, who are Kieran Matthews (electric guitar, backing vocals), Raef Comissar (synthesisers, backing vocals) and Erwin Lotasz (drums). We are in their company for 29 minutes, from 9:16pm to 9:45pm. It’s a tight schedule and thus the proposed opening number, ‘Drifting In Circles’ is dropped on this occasion. They now lead with ‘Emancipation Avenue’ which is the first of 7 tunes we hear from them this evening. On a previous RY-GUY encounter my colleague labelled him as “South London Modern-Psyche” and I’d go along with that.
The first thing one can’t help noticing is RY-GUY’s violin shaped bass which is like Paul McCartney’s Höfner Bass. As in my previous encounter, he comes across as a nice guy and he’s again sporting his striking red dungarees. ‘Emancipation Avenue’ is a post punk offering that John Peel would have probably loved. I already sense that this set is going to be better than my last encounter, and so things are looking up!
The first of a trio of cuts from the latest ‘Like A River’ (stylized in lower case) EP is up next, this is ‘Dunja’ which sees Raef and Kieran’s backing vocals working well in complimenting RY-GUY’s lead vocals. The keys are a welcome addition right at the end of the song. ‘Push Me In The Water’ from the same EP is next and offers more of the same. Tune four is an unreleased cut titled ‘Silence At Dawn’ which sees the swapping around of instruments by RY-GUY, Keiran and Raef. The bass synth sounds are particularly fine here. ‘The Deed’ follows and is another yet-to-be-released track. It’s all change of instruments again and this one’s a psyched up rocking tune which is one of their more immediate numbers and thus the most appreciated so far.
It’s back to the EP again for the penultimate song ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ which references Sam Cooke. They sign off with the 2024 ‘The Reign Of The Garden Queen’ single, which sees RY-GUY tickling his bass guitar’s top notes and Jah Wobble’s sound springs to mind. This tune has an alt funky vibe, as well as vocal samples, and my colleague noted a similarity to Bloc Party. Overall I enjoyed this encounter more than my first one, so things are moving in the right direction for me and of course them!
RY-GUY:
RY-GUY – lead vocals, bass guitar
Kieran Matthews – electric guitar, backing vocals
Raef Comissar – synthesisers, backing vocals
Erwin Lotasz – drums
RY-GUY setlist:
‘Emancipation Avenue’ (unreleased)
‘Dunja’ (from 2026 ‘Like A River’ EP)
‘Push Me In The Water’ (from 2026 ‘Like A River’ EP)
‘Silence At Dawn’ (unreleased)
‘The Deed’ (unreleased)
‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ (from 2026 ‘Like A River’ EP)
‘The Reign Of The Garden Queen’ (a 2024 single)
