Electronic soul project
cirKus signaled the creative rebirth of trip-hop pioneer
Neneh Cherry almost a decade following the release of her most recent solo LP, 1996's
Man. The group's roots lie with
Cherry's husband and longtime collaborator, producer
Cameron "Booga Bear" McVey, who began recording the basic tracks in London with engineer and DJ
Matt Kent, aka Karmil. In time the duo recruited
Kent's girlfriend, Lolita Moon, to contribute vocals, and eventually
McVey persuaded
Cherry to sign on as well. Largely out of the limelight while raising the couple's children in Malmö, Sweden,
Cherry nevertheless agreed to a brief European club tour in early 2005. Dubbing the project
cirKus, the quartet initially issued a handful of demo sessions via the Internet before issuing their full-fledged debut album, Laylow, on their own Tent Music label in the fall of 2006. ~ Jason Ankeny