STUNNING duo CocoRosie,are one of the most exciting - and different - acts we've heard in a long time.

So the news tha they were to play a gig at Oxford's regal came as music to our ears!

Comprising US-born, Paris-based sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady (and named after their childhood nicknames)CocoRosie are as far removed from the bland pop and backwards-looking redium that pass for new acts in Cameron's Britain!

The gig comes as the pair release new album Grey Oceans - which offers a glimpse into the sisters’ intricately spun, thoroughly imagined world.

Their music incorporates elements from opera, electronica, and folk; tied together with fairytale lyrics.

And the unique voices belong to both girls (born to part Cherokee mother and American father) - alongside Sierra’s harp and Bianca's percussion... and children’s toys.

The album’s story begins in Paris, where new band member Gael Rakotondrabe, a jazz pianist, became an invaluable collaborator.

The first session lasted for five days and five nights of intense inspiration and analogue experimentation.

“Everything at that point was based on improvisation,” say the sisters.

Highly in demand on the live circuit, CocoRosie’s live shows have included everything from a trapeze artist to special costumes and a one-off collaboration with the Royal Dutch Orchestra at Amsterdam’s Concertegebouw. Outside of the band, Bianca is an accomplished artist and costume designer, with recent shows in New York, Groningen, Milan and Brussels.

In Brussels, she exhibited in 2008’s It’s Not Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, Baby alongside work by Brian Eno, Patti Smith, Yoko Ono, Antony, and David Byrne, a noted fan who invited the sisters to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

So, for them to be playing our own Cowley Road is all a bit of a coup!

Cocorosie play the Regal on Friday. Doors open at 7pm.

DON'T MISS IT!