How David Lynch and Chrystabell made their ‘mystical’ new album

In May 2024, David Lynch returned from a long and unexplained social media hiatus to make an important announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “Something is coming along for you to see and hear.” A couple of weeks later, that something arrived, shimmering and dreamlike: “Sublime Eternal Love.”

This was the first single from a forthcoming album, Cellophane Memories, with music by Lynch and ethereal vocals by Chrystabell, as well as some instrumentals by the late Angelo Badalamenti. The album (released this week via Sacred Bones) marks the latest chapter in Chrystabell’s ongoing partnership with the filmmaker, beginning with her work on the soundtrack for 2007’s Inland Empire.

For those who know Chrystabell, it’s not too surprising that she’s found a “kindred spirit” in Lynch. She was born in San Antonio, Texas, to a father who owned a natural burial cemetery and flew hot air balloons, and a mother who ran – alongside Chrystabell’s step-father – one of the biggest music studios in South Texas, which made advertising jingles. “Music was infused in my life from the very beginning,” she says. “I did my first stage performance at six years old, on the lap of High Pockets the clown.”

Thankfully, Chrystabell’s career didn’t peak there. She would go on to perform as the singer of the swing band 8½ Souvenirs, until she met Lynch by a twist of fate – and dinner with a mutual acquaintance – in the late 90s and started writing new music with the director. Her debut album, This Train (2011) turns his poetry into a collection of dark ballads, and 2017’s Somewhere in the Nowhere also bears traces of his syrupy production. Chrystabell also appeared in Lynch’s 2017 Twin Peaks revival as Special Agent Tammy Preston, although the pair’s paths diverged the same year, with Chrystabell releasing a series of solo albums: We Dissolve, Feels Like Love, and Midnight Star.

Now they’re back together again, for Cellophane Memories. “This album was the continuation of conversations that David and I were having about life and music,” Chrystabell tells Dazed, recalling hours spent at the filmmaker’s LA home and recording studio, poring over his vast digital music archive. “It’s a bit like a cave,” she adds. “All of these whirring and flashing lights, holding all of David’s treasures.”

The record itself contains soundscapes like “Sublime Eternal Love”, where Chrystabell’s voice is layered against a bed of echoing synths, alongside chugging, downtempo tracks like “The Answers to the Questions”. The latter premiered on July 9, with a music video that showed her performing alongside a pulsing stormcloud and a masked man with a detachable face. Another highlight, the ominous “Reflections in a Blade”, features vocal reversals and animal sounds that seem to have escaped from the Black Lodge. Below, Chrystabell tells us more about Cellophane Memories.

Like much of your work, and David’s, Cellophane Memories feels very mysterious and reluctant to provide any clear answers, in a good way. 

Chrystabell: Yeah, mysterious in a good way. I like that qualification. It’s true, there’s things that are mysterious in [less] compelling ways, where you are kind of pushed away because of the mystery. And then, there’s kinds of mysteries, or environments, or atmospheres that are more alluring. That’s definitely the one I’m more inclined to create.

Where did the title come from?

Chrystabell: As David [puts] it, these songs ‘give you room to dream’. It wasn’t about giving [the listener] something to wade through. It’s more like gauze than velvet. You’re given this mood, and it’s like an invitation to see what it brings to your mind. [The title] Cellophane Memories encapsulated that feeling that we were both getting. 

You are given a lot of opportunity to use your imagination, and it might bring you to memories that otherwise may not have come to you, if you hadn’t been listening and pruning your garden. Because life just happens. It’s just going, going, going. Sometimes music is the portal that provides opportunity to find memories that might otherwise have been trapped.

“It all sounds very dramatic and mystical, and it is. You have to completely unravel your analytical mind” – Chrystabell

You’ve said that the record contains ‘many doors that are left open to wonder, wander, and get turned around in’.

Chrystabell: We’ve given you a tree and a meadow, but you’re going to fill in all of the colours, and what the clouds look like. You’re invited to participate.

What was the recording process like?

Chrystabell: It’s always a leap into the void. David, in some cases, had written the music 49 seconds ago, and then wrote some lyrics, and was like, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s do a take.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, sure...’ But you can turn abject terror into excitement. You can inch over from being fearful of the unknown, into absolutely scintillated by what’s possibly about to happen.

Two things really ground it: it’s absolutely an experiment, and you’ve known this person for a long time – if you try something and you fall flat on your face, they’re still gonna think you’re great. Also knowing that leaping into the abyss, dancing with the unknown, that’s where the juicy stuff usually happens. It was fecund territory for finding something, and just being unattached to what you were going to find. Ultimately, every take on the record [was] created in those moments.

What is your relationship like with David, as a friend and a collaborator?

Chrystabell: [When] I met David, it was one of those life moments where it’s very, very influential and informs the rest of your life path. David is obviously a beyond remarkable human being. And that aside, there’s certain people in your life that you just have a natural affinity [with]. There’s an extra level of sparkle, where you kind of light up around each other, and you feel safe to play and experiment. 

And David and I, we’re both workers. He’s a Capricorn, I’m a Taurus. That’s really helpful in the process of making records, because it is a significant effort. But then, outside of all the work ethic, you have to have this spice, this magic that can’t really be forced or conjured. It’s just there.

David edits, distorts, and obscures your voice a lot on this album. What was your initial reaction to that?

Chrystabell: David’s doing his experimental editing, and my first thought is, ‘What’s happening here?’ As a singer, you’re all about precision, clarity, and ‘I can do nine harmonies without blinking’. All of these tenets you’ve acquired over time... you’re forced to release all those things. All of these things that you hang your hat on utterly dissolve, and you’re looking for nothing but a feeling, with no ego involved. That’s a beautiful challenge.

It all sounds very dramatic and mystical, and it is. You have to completely unravel your analytical mind.

“Many things can spark David’s curiosity. A piece of music, for instance, or a dead bird” – Chrystabell

The record also includes tracks by the late Angelo Badalamenti. How did it feel to work with his compositions?

Chrystabell: It’s with such deep reverence. David and Angelo had such a rich history. The music that ended up being on the album were pieces that Angelo had given to David at different times in his life, because Angelo knew what can spark David’s curiosity. A piece of music, for instance, or a dead bird.

We were listening to this music, and there were certain pieces that we felt were aligned with what we were doing. So that was how Angelo became a part of the record. It just seemed to make perfect sense.

Are there any other projects on the horizon, either alone or with David?

Chrystabell: David and I are already working on more music. Whether anything will come from that... I always release all expectations. And there’s a longform music and art video I’ve been making with [Polish director] Archon. His world is miniatures, and creating environments, then placing me into the environments. It’s always a wonder to see where he’s put me.