Daphne & Celeste Return With The Amazingly Weird “You And I Alone”

In collaboration with experimental electronic artist Max Tundra.

Daphne & Celeste
Photographer Bart Koscinski
March 29, 2015

Remember Daphne & Celeste? Duh, of course you do—and if you don't, then ooh, stick you. The pair released a squeaky-voiced comedic brat-pop album at the turn of the millennium when they were just 15 and 17 years old, and rose to international fame with the playground chant U. G. L. Y., you ain't got no alibi, you ugly! In 2014, the music press may have been obsessed with the divisiveness of London's pop accelerationists PC Music, but Daphne & Celeste were splitting opinions in two back before it was cool: while rock-purist festival crowds gave them a less-than-friendly reception, critics mostly took their debut album as the tongue-in-cheek riot it was intended to be. (This writer was firmly in the "for" camp, even naming two childhood goldfish after the duo. RIP.)

In our current climate of reunions, comebacks, and unexpected collaborations, the timing for Daphne & Celeste's revival couldn't feel more fitting; particularly given the fact that it comes with production from British electronic artist Max Tundra. Tundra, who has released music on Warp and Domino, originally tweeted Celeste back in 2011 asking if he could produce a song for the girls. The result is "You And I Alone," an off-kilter R&B jam about long distance communication. It's got a reference to Twin Peaks. It's got a video that features floating pizza and mushrooms. It was apparently influenced by Robyn. Look, just take our word on this one and press play.

Daphne & Celeste Return With The Amazingly Weird “You And I Alone”