Micachu and the Shapes (Credit unknown)

Micachu and the Shapes is an experimental pop trio from London fronted by composer Mica Levi.

Levi made her mark as a UK garage DJ before starting the band, but she’s also classically-trained and was commissioned to write a piece for the London Philharmonic while attending school.  It’s hard to imagine what kind of band would be born from that mix-up, but here they are.

The Shapes present a really exploratory kind of songwriting, using some homemade instruments (modded vacuum!) and angular percussion samples to manifest their experimental pop songs.  It’s fantastically unpretentious, playful stuff.  The two videos below illustrate the many shapes of the Shapes – the punky, Deerhoof-like “Lips,” and the vacuum concerto heartbreaker “Turn Me Well.”

Micachu’s 2009 debut album Jewellry is available now on Rough Trade.