'Not Real' is the second album by Stealing Sheep which has been written, recorded and produced by band members Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer at their studio in Liverpool. The band met in 2010 and work together creating music and visual art.

The unifying theme of the new album 'Not Real' is an interplay of fact and fiction; the edge of dreams and limits of reality. These visions are grounded by bright melodies and insistent beats and unified by vocal harmonies; sometimes metronomic and chant-like, sometimes choral and pop.

It follows their debut, 'Into the Diamond Sun', released in 2012 by Heavenly Recordings. The first album morphed their individual styles to create a 'medieval-kraut-folk' inspired sound. They were described as an unanticipated 'pagan pop revival' and since its release have toured as guests of Postal Service and Alt-J, opened for St.Vincent in Paris, performed the songs of David Lynch at the Barbican and collaborated with the Radiophonic Workshop on an original soundtrack to the cult 70's science fiction film ‘Le Planete Sauvage'.

For the second album they have concentrated on developing the sonic aesthetic of their new music. “We are more focussed about what we are trying to do. Everything has a reason for being there.” They have been experimenting with tuned percussion, programmed beats, trigger samples and worked with effected synths, utilising the guitar and lap steel more sparingly and introducing more processed sounds. They’ve drawn inspiration from 50's exotica, electronic music and 80's pop and have been greatly influenced by the likes of Grace Jones, Can, Delia Derbyshire, Eden Ahbez, Moon Dog and John Carpenter. Grayson Perry's pop-folk art and the band’s self-created mythologies were also a source of inspiration for song writing.

This is an alternative pop record that has been ‘self-manufactured’ by the band. Having learned new skills in the studio over the last years, the band (assisted by Sam Crombie and Joe Wills) have self-produced the album. They have used the studio not only as a writing tool but also as an instrument; experimenting with post production and varying instrumentation and layered textures. “We started off in pre-production doing all the demos ourselves” say's Becky “the demos captured an atmosphere that we wanted to carry forward to the album. The result was a hypbrid of casual takes and more considered recordings"

Individual songs on the album have different environments and creatures that go with them, often inspired by the galactic rather than earth-bound imagery. Becky: “I imagine dehumanised worlds, planets with creatures that have evolved in a completely different way

The visual side is highly important to the band, all of whom have art backgrounds. “We like to be involved in all the aspects of the presentation because it's symbiotic to the music.” They collaborate with artists and with ‘the costumologists’, coming up with ideas like “outfits that texturally reflect rhythms” and “frequency triggered, light-up costumes”. The colourful and organic album cover, a collaboration between photographer Charlotte Rutherford and collage artist Louise Mason, shows their confident image for this record: as they tread the lines of surreal pop.

There is no stopping the imaginations of Stealing Sheep - but like lucid dreams, these are controlled fantasies and skilfully created worlds. Follow them on a hypnagogic journey as they sing: “listen to yourself and look within”.