Twins' haunting music based in folklore

Dark, haunting myths and folklore inspire the songwriting of Ghost Bees, identical twin sisters whose performances are distinguished by their beautiful harmonies.

They’ve been going through some changes lately, though, and the sisters, Romy and Sari Lightman, 25, are planning to rename their band Tasseomancy.

The new name is a perfect fit for them, as tasseomancy is the art of reading tea leaves—a form of divination that has been passed down through their family, beginning with their great-great-grandmother, Clara Chernos.

Sari (left) and Romy Lightman // Sojourner Truth

The band has become something of a tribute to her, with her face appearing on a cake on the cover of their previous album, also named Tasseomancy.

Chernos was an orphan who immigrated to Canada in the 19th century to escape the Russian pogroms, Romy says, explaining she learned about Chernos from her grandmother, Merle Snider.

Their initial interest in investigating this ancestor came from a Celtic shaman, who advised them to look for a matrilineal relative, Romy says, adding that their grandmother immediately identified this link as Chernos.

And coincidently, one day when she was singing in synagogue, Romy says her grandfather heard her voice and told her she sounded exactly like Chernos.

These familial myths inspire these musicians, particularly the ones that “contribute to our own existence,” Romy says.

“There’s something about being in the old world,” Sari says. “It’s so different from how we exist today.”

They agree that ancestry is not something of the past, but rather is necessary to understand oneself.

And it’s this fascination that contributed to a connection with Israel when they visited the country two years ago.

Sari describes Israel as a place that links so many civilizations.

“I envision the land there as these sediments of rock,” she says, “and if you keep going deeper and deeper, [you’ll see] so many people have lived there and existed there before us. It’s pretty humbling.”

“But the things we’re pulling on has less to do with Israel and more to do with the old world,” Romy says.

Some of the new material is inspired by Yiddish folklore and ghost stories, for example, the myth of a dybbuk, or a spirit inhabiting someone’s body after death.

There’s the idea of romanticizing the old world, since it’s so different from the modern way of life, Sari adds.

“There’s so much mysticism and myth that’s so involved in our ancestry that we can’t really comprehend because we don’t live like that anymore,” she says. “Practicing any kind of marginalized religion wasn’t really easy so there’s a lot of passion and suffering.”

Although they spent their childhoods in Thornhill, Ont. and their teenage years in Toronto, Sari describes them as having been “musically conceived in Halifax,” where they moved for school at 17 years old.

“There’s this period in one’s life [where] it’s almost like a second coming, when you kind of come into yourself in whatever way that may be,” Romy says, adding that if they hadn’t moved to the East Coast, they may not have become the people they are today.

They just finished their new album, In a Glass, Darkly, which Sari describes as having a heavier and fuller sound than their last, and involves experimenting with different sounds and pedals. Instrumentation on the album, by Romy and Sari, includes guitar, banjo, and mandolin.

Romy (left) and Sari Lightman

The album will likely be released later this year.

“It’s a winter record,” Romy says. “It was recorded in the winter, and as much as we thought we’d be able to put it out sooner, I think we’re both content with waiting for the right allies to put it out.”

They’re currently signed with Youth Club Records, the Halifax-based one-man-show record label, but they are on the hunt for a new label.

“[Youth Club Records] definitely facilitated a time and a place,” Romy says, “but similarly to us changing the band name, we’re looking for more help and we want to give this album its proper…”

“Leverage,” Sari says, finishing the sentence.

Although they say they’ve always been singing together, it wasn’t until their early twenties that they began to accompany each other on their independently written songs.

That’s essentially the model of their writing process. They write them separately, then join forces to complete the song.

“Whoever’s song it is, the other person will back it,” Romy says.

The lyrics tend to tell stories, as the duo come from a more literary background than a musical one. But the music creates the feeling and the essence of the songs.

“It’s more about the language of music than the language of words,” Romy says.

There is a recurring theme of isolation in the songs, she says, which may have stemmed from her experiences living in an artist residency on the Toronto Islands.

“It was a pretty lonely time in the month of November, which is why I think the winter resonates in the record,” she says.

For now, they’re back in Toronto, and will perform on June 18 at part of the annual North-by-Northeast music festival and one show at the Toronto City Roots Festival.

Being back in their hometown, they can reconnect with old friends and people in the Jewish community who are also interested in the arts and music scene, Sari says. “It’s exciting because before we left, no one was really their own person at 17, so it’s interesting to see how they’ve all grown and developed.”

Both women have grown significantly since they were teenagers, they say.

From teenagers living in the big city to women in the East Coast of the country, the Ghost Bees have also grown into their unique style of eerie, mysterious music.

The Ghost Bees play at C’est What and the Gladstone Hotel on June 18, as part of the North By Northeast festival (http://www.nxne.com), and on June 26 at the Toronto City Roots Festival (http://torontocityroots.com). Visit myspace.com/ghostbees for more information.

Originally published in the Canadian Jewish News.