Luce Mawdsley details EP for Catherine Opie film

The record was composed for Catherine Opie: Moments of Being, a film commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland. It accompanies Catherine Opie: To Be Seen, Opie’s first solo exhibition in Scotland, which runs at the Royal Scottish Academy until 1 November 2026. The EP artwork is Self-Portrait 1970 by Catherine Opie. First track "Triptych" is available now.

Mawdsley said they initially felt daunted by the commission. “Opie’s work is a devotion to representation, the story of people who are made to feel they do not belong, building worlds of their own, thriving, resisting and grieving on their own terms,” they explained. “I felt at home in a world where divergence resonated in glorious possibility and through the generosity of Opie’s work hope radiated.”

The EP was recorded with pedal steel – an instrument Mawdsley calls “surely the most nonbinary queer coded western instrument!” – as well as synthesisers and percussion from Michael Paul Metcalfe. Discussing "Triptych", Mawdsley said: “Opie’s reference to Christianity through the Self Portrait trilogy was fascinating and led to a particularly beautifully and serendipitous collaborative moment in the film where my pedal steel mutates into an angelic church organ sound. I was thinking about how I could use effects to generate a club music mirage when all of a sudden, the Seraphim erupted in euphoric praise, as worlds, and timelines collide.”

Mawdsley will perform at Chats Palace in London with Marisa Anderson on 4 September, and at Chapter in Cardiff with William Tyler on 6 September. They are also finalising the follow-up to Northwest & Nebulous, set for release in 2027.