Ipso Facto moonlighting casts doubt on 'hibernation period'

Here's an interesting trend from the last couple of weeks: members of Ipso Facto (present and past) getting involved with projects outside the band. Former keyboardist Cherish Kaya, who left acrimoniously earlier this year, has collaborated with Faris Badwan of The Horrors under the name of Lumina to cover the Black Lips song 'I'll Be With You' - the haunting results can be downloaded free from Pitchfork. Meanwhile Victoria Smith, the Ipso Facto drummer, has joined forces with An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump's D-Bird under the name of Blue on Blue, after a Bobby Vinton song; they're also due to be produced by Jerome Watson of Hatcham Social.

Add Samantha Valentine's current spell as R O M A N C E bassist, and the future of Ipso Facto outside the person of guitarist and singer Rosalie Cunningham begins to look doubtful. The official line is that the band are in a 'hibernation period' to record and release an album before the end of the year, and recent successful live appearances as well as a scheduled slot at Offset Festival next month are positive signs, but when two out of the three members are sowing their creative wild oats outside the band you have to wonder what's going on... As ever, watch this space.