Biography

Bouncing between cities, twin brothers Peter & Will Xydias, and Anna Thomsen, have formed Municipality into a shared musical project focused on their sense of melody and love of pop. The brother’s musical collaboration began at the age of nine, writing faux British Invasion songs with a few simple chords and banging pots and pans. Forming Municipality in 2014, the group combined the shimmering tones of the 60s and 70s, the melodic heights of 90s Brit Pop, mixed with the rise in lo-fi home recording. Joined later by German visual artist Anna Thomsen on keyboards and vocals, who lends her melodic sensibilities to the brother’s partnership. The result is a vintage sound given a fresh new shine through a simple DIY approach. Municipality’s first album, ‘Any Word’ arrived in 2017. A chilled out, subtly-psyche, love letter to the thriving Halifax indie music scene, recorded in the heat of the summer. Passing cars, opening doors, and even a sibling argument make their way into the recordings. Municipality’s new album, ‘Sunroom’, expands on the themes opened up by Any Word. Recorded in, yes, a sunroom, the brother’s stripped back the reverb and haze, opting instead for a mixture of off-kilter acoustic simplicity, and soaring electric choruses. The result is a fuller, more confident approach, laced with the sounds of home - creaking floorboards, distant conversations, and even the ringing bells of the Notre Dame in Paris. -CH