Tasseomancy is a Canadian

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

band from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

formed by twin sisters Sari and Romy Lightman.

Biography

Born in c. 1985 and raised in Toronto, the Lightman twins moved to Halifax to attend university. There the sisters began performing under the moniker Ghost Bees that they described as "experimental acoustic folk". The duo released their debut EP ''Tasseomancy'' on April 8, 2008, via Youth Club Records as Ghost Bees. The pair toured around North America in support of the record. As the Ghost Bees project developed, new sounds and influences not heard on the original EP began to be incorporated, prompting the change to Tasseomancy in 2010.Ghost Bees Change Name to Tasseomancy, Release Timber Timbre-produced Single
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', September 27, 2010 Sari Lightman explained that "we wanted to have a link to our previous band and not dismiss it entirely. It’s a progression and we wanted to keep something from it". The sound moved away from acoustic folk to a more experimental and art pop oriented direction, and included flute and steel pan instruments. They released the 7" single Health Hands b/w The Darkness of Things on the Diamond Rings' boutique label Hype Lighter in 2010. They began performing in friend Katie Stelmanis' electronic outfit

Austra Austra may refer to: *Austra, Norway, an island between Trøndelag and Nordland counties *Austra (band) Austra is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalit ...

as touring backing singers in the same year."Concert preview: Austra thrives on touring"
''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'', October 6, 2013. The duo recorded their debut full-length ''Ulalume'' under the new name that year. The title of the album was taken from an

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

poem. It was released on

Out of this Spark Out of this Spark is an independent record label founded in the fall of 2006 by Stuart Duncan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The label is an artist-focused label that works to release fun, exciting and innovative music, with a focus a facilitating ...

/Turf Records in August 2011. When performing live, the duo were supported by Maya Postepski (drums /keyboards). The band released a five track Tasseotape cassette in 2013. In 2015 the duo released a second album, ''Palm Wine Revisited'', on Toronto DIY label Healing Power Records, and toured the US with

Braids A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...

. They were joined by Johnny Spence (keyboards) and Evan Cartwright (percussion). In November 2016 they released the 11 track album ''Do Easy'', on label

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

in Europe, run by Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins, and on

Hand Drawn Dracula Hand Drawn Dracula (HDD) is a Toronto-based independent record label. Artists who have released music on the label include Beliefs, Breeze, Brian Borcherdt, Bruce Peninsula, By Divine Right, Chastity, Dusted, Julie Fader, No Joy, Postdata, Ta ...

in Canada. The album featured bandmates Johnny Spence and Evan Cartwright, as well as Brodie West (alto-sax), Ryan Driver (flute) Simone Schmidt and Alex Cowan (Blue Hawaii). ''Do Easy'' was inspired by the domestic manifesto of

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

''The Discipline of D.E''.
According to band member Romy Lightman, "Burroughs's doctrine on finding 'the easy way' struck me as something rare and I hung onto it like a piece of protection. Later on, I discovered that

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmi ...

believed this text to be one of the greatest magic techniques for retraining the mind". ''Do Easy'' was met with critical acclaim from outlets such as Uncut, VICE i-d,

noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

, MONOCLE, and The Guardian. ''Do Easy'''s music videos were directed by video artist Charles Linden Ercoli, as well as the self directed "Missoula" video. The band toured Japan with

Lydia Ainsworth Lydia Miriam Ainsworth is a Canadian composer, producer and singer based in Toronto. She has released four albums, the Juno-nominated ''Right From Real'', ''Darling of the Afterglow'', ''Phantom Forest'', and ''Sparkles & Debris''. Early life an ...

, North America and Europe with

Andy Shauf Andy Shauf is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Regina, Saskatchewan. He plays several instruments, including guitar, drums, and clarinet.Carla Gillis"Andy Shauf moves to Toronto" ''Now'', 15 November 2016. Early life Shauf was born in Estev ...

in 2017. They are currently working on a new album. Romy Lightman's musical project, 'Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band' was a collaboration with musician Yves Jarvis. The duo's debut album is called ''Banned'', and it's set to arrive on June 25, 2021 via

Flemish Eye Flemish Eye is a record label started in 2003 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Ian Russell. The first release was '' Infiniheart'' by Chad VanGaalen, which was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. From the success of ''Infiniheart'', the label ...

ANTI- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning '' Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recordin ...

. In December 2024, the Lightmans released a new record, ''Sister Smile'', under a new band name, Lightman & Lightman. The album was conceived as an imagined spiritual dialogue between 20th century figures

Etty Hillesum Esther "Etty" Hillesum (15 January 1914 – 30 November 1943) was a History of the Jews in the Netherlands, Dutch Jewish author of confessional letters and diaries which describe both her religious awakening and the persecutions of Jewish people ...

, who was murdered in 1943 at Auschwitz, and Jeanine Deckers.

Name

The cover of the ''Tasseomancy'' EP featured a photograph of the sisters' great-great grandmother Clara Chernos, a

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

tea-leaf reader who moved to Canada in the 19th century during the

Russian pogroms Pogroms in the Russian Empire () were large-scale, targeted, and repeated anti-Jewish riots that began in the 19th century. Pogroms began to occur after Imperial Russia, which previously had very few Jews, acquired territories with large Jewish po ...

. When renaming the band in 2010, the sisters opted for the title of their debut EP, noting "We’re into tea and tea-making, our great great grandmother was a tea leaf reader and she passed it on to the rest of our family".

Discography

Albums

* ''Ulalume'' (Out of This Spark / Turf, 2011) * ''Palm Wine Revisited'' (2015) * ''Do Easy'' (2016)

Singles

* "Healthy Hands" (2011) * "Braid. Wind Is Coming" (2013) *"Missoula" (2016) *"Do Easy" (2016) *"29 Palms" (2016)

As Ghost Bees

* ''Tasseomancy'' (2008)

References

External links

*
Soundcheck #1: Ghost Bees
(April 2008,

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tasseomancy Jews and Judaism in Halifax, Nova Scotia Musical groups with year of establishment missing Musical groups from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian folk rock groups Canadian all-female bands Twin musical duos Jewish musical groups Canadian musical duos Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie folk groups Jewish rock groups Jewish folk singers Canadian twins