Bat for Lashes

Bat For Lashes is a pseudonym used by the English indie-rock music Natasha Khan who was born to a family notable for their squash dynasty. She used to travel a lot when a child and spent much time in Pakistan. Natasha was raised in accordance with strict religious rules, which had a great impact on the formation of her personality. When she was eleven her father left the family. At that time the girl went into music and made it a great part of her life. In particular, she played piano to accompany her prayers for the father’s return. When a teenager, Natasha grew fond of fine arts and entered a school of cinematography and music. Besides, the girl received the certificate of a nursery school teacher. Aged twenty, Natasha Khan visited San Francisco. This trip produced an immense impression upon her. Upon the return home, the girl made up her mind to start a solo career. By that time, she had amassed a great deal of ideas to be later materialized in the frames of the Bat For Lashes project.

Natasha was the only regular participant of Bat For Lashes while the musicians were constantly replacing each other. The debut album of this peculiar formation was called Fur and Gold and delivered to the stores in 2006. The listeners discovered a rather interesting kind of material on this CD. Along with the music that was not eligible for any of the existent classifications due to the ability to comprise the most different genres from folk to house, this work rose to prominence thanks to Natasha’s striking vocals skills and the slant formed by the mystique lyrics written by the singer. The song Horse & I was penned under the influence of the just seen dream and the story of Joan of Arc. The mysterious atmosphere of the opening track was inherited by the rest of the compositions of this beautiful album. Natasha acted not only as the author, but also as a co-producer together with David Kosten. The recording and the mixing of the material were performed in London and Brighton.

Bat For Lashes gave their first memorable performance in London as part of the Scala festival late in 2005. It took Natasha and her musicians almost a year sharp to appear there again, as the headliners this time. Shortly afterwards, the singer relocated to England, close to the sea shore. In 2007, Bat For Lashes participated in another big event that took place in Glastonbry, and then went to the USA to play concerts. The project appeared a worthwhile and profitable move. Fur and Gold was nominated for Mercury Prize, and Natasha received several individual awards as an author and performer. In 2008, the singer again acquired wide attention after the video for her song What's a Girl to Do appeared on the screens. This fascinating show with an abundance of spooky figures made the release of the fresh album by Bat For Lashes even more anticipated. This long player was scheduled to surface early in 2009, but before that, Natasha and her concert band The Blue Dreams played a streak of notable gigs supporting Radiohead. In spring 2009, Bat For Lashes released the long-awaited full length record Two Suns. In music terms, it had minor changes in comparison with the first effort, while the arranging work was done on a new, much higher level.