Often hailed as a French analogue to Cocteau
Twins, CDA has always been more classically
minded than most ‘dreampoppers.’  Part of this
has to do with the prominent use of the cello,
and Cloe St. Lipard’s (what a great name) Liz
Fraser meets Edith Piaf vocal stylings.  The past
few CDA albums have been harsher, experimenting
more with dance and lite industrial timbres—but
Xavier’s cello took center stage even then,
scraping and sawing.  Still, as interesting as
some of the later works were, I missed the
earlier, more pastoral approach that CDA
displayed on their first albums.  So this new
album is a bit of a treat.  CDA takes both old
and recent material, and recasts them as 19th
Century piano and cello pieces.  The gentle
pieces—reminiscent of heathered moors and
intimate salons—have three main components that
play well against each other.  The mournful sound
of the cello, the cascade of the piano, and St.
Lipard’s quavering, rich voice.  Available at
Middle Pillar.com.

--Craig

=====
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The first time I saw  Cranes was during the
‘Forever’ tour.  That show was primarily
interesting due to the fact I meet Jim and Alison
Shaw, the songwriting siblings at the center of
the band.  The show itself was kind of
disappointing.  It was marred by technical
difficulties—at one point the monitors
overheated, effectively causing an unforeseen
intermission.  But even worse, Alison suffered
from extreme stage fright, and had to strain to
be heard.  All of that was corrected in last
night’s performance.  There was only one glitch
at the beginning of the opening version of
‘Cloudless.’  The sound afterwards was really
good—they didn’t bury Shaw’s fragile little girl
lost vocals.  And Alison has developed some stage
presence.  O.K., she’s not a Natalie Merchant or
Siouxsie Sioux—no patented, trademarked moves—but
she doesn’t hide, either.  Dressed in a halter
top and a cottonprint Indian-style skirt, she was
relaxed and looked very comfortable on stage.
While singing—in fine voice, it should be
noted--she had her eyes closed, and did a little
hand-pantomime thing, and in-between songs she
smiled and joshed with the audience.  Songs from
all of their cds were covered—“To Be,” “Jewel,”
“Adrift” “Future Song,” “Loved,” and a majestic
“Adoration,” in the twin styles that Cranes
cover—ambient and ethereal folk or looming goth
verging on the industrial.  Catch them if you
can.
--Craig

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The Quick and The Dead, by Joy Williams.
Williams’ writing has been compared to the work
of Flannery O’Connor.  Like O’Connor, she has
dark sense of humor and a strong belief in divine
justice.  Jettison O’Connor’s conservative
Catholicism for William’s ardent eco-activism,
and 1950s pre-segregation South for the 1990s
Southwest, and you can see the similarities.
Williams’ fiction resides in the same territory
as David Lynch’s work—a slightly parallel America
where the living and the dead mingle in a gothic
pop-culture strewn landscape.  The grotesque
shares the stage with the mundane.  This linked
collection of stories masquerading as a novel
concerns the lonely summer of Alice, an
eco-terrorist teenager and her group of
friends—the vapid and pretty Annabel, and the
depressed Corvus.  Their lives intersect with the
fates of a wider group of misfits, both directly
and indirectly.  These include a precocious
8-year-old misanthropic girl, a petty
criminal/prodigal son stroke victim, and
Annabel’s bisexual father haunted by the bitter,
bitchy ghost of his dead wife.  The three girls
act as unknowing conduits of nature’s revenge, in
bizarre, comical and often violent ways.
Williams’ humor is relentless like Todd Solondz’s
films, her imagery weird, her message unsettling.


Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell.  Mitchell is
only 33; I’ll go right ahead and say that I’m
jealous of his success.  He’s already been
short-listed for a Booker Prize for his second
novel.  This first book is a novel masquerading
as a linked collection of stories.  Nine distinct
first-person, present-tense narratives take place
all over the world—they include a member of a
Japanese terrorist cult, a physicist heading out
in a small Irish island, a Russian gallery
attendant/art thief, a (smarter, non-bigoted)
Howard Stern-like DJ in New York and a
transmigrating ghost in Mongolia.  The breadth
and range of the narratives is awesome—Mitchell
shows us the life of an illiterate Chinese
peasant girl from pre-revolutionary China to the
terror that Maoism wreaked on the land, or a life
in the day of an indie-rock drummer cum
ghostwriter in London.  The details and voices
are distinct, yet in tone and sensibilities in
them is similar, if that makes any sense.
Mitchell hops from Gen X angst, international
thriller, fantasy and science fiction and social
realism in dazzling performance.  Humor, horror
and gold old-fashioned Dickensian coincidence
abound, as characters from the other stories
appear in cameo roles.


=====
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Ashby, "Power Ballads."  Imagine Carole King fronting St. Etienne and
you have Ashby.  Singer-songwriter Evelyn Pope alludes to the classic
pop songwriting of the Brill Building era, with classic hooks and
sunny optimism, augmented by pithy character sketches and wry
observations.  There's more than a little dash of Aimee Mann in her
work.  Her voice has a slight, distinctive rasp to it, perfect for
the electronic/ bossa nova/ dreampop backdrop formulated by Pope's
partner in crime William Cowie.  His production work is crisp and
bright—it's equal parts Beach Boys at their most abstract and Air at
their poppiest.
http://www.ashbymusic.com

Violet Indiana, "Casino."  This compilation of EPs is a
disappointment after VI's debut.  The mix of Robin Guthrie's watery
guitar and Sioban de Mare's film noir chanteuse act, so alluring
on "Roulette" here becomes dreary and forced.  None of the songs are
developed; instead, there's just a wall of atmosphere and Concept
(Cocteau Twins meets Portishead) that doesn't really go anywhere.
Even taken in small doses as they were intended, they become
monotonous.  Here's hoping that the next release strengthens their
songwriting skills.
http://www.bellaunion.com

--Craig

Alio Die/Amelia Cuni:  ASPARAS

Indian vocal music can have a vaporous quality,
perfectly suited to the amorphous tonalities of
ambient music.  The collaboration between Italian
electronic composer Alio Die and dhuparad singer
Amelia Cuni shows how there is a natural
symbiosis between the two forms.   The wafting,
formless ambience melds with Ms. Cuni’s deep
alto.  Highly reminiscent of the works of Sheila
Chandra.  Alio Die’s aquatic environments evoke
the sub textual theme of the recording—the
invocation of the Indian water spirits.


Hana: OMEN

The second collaboration between Anisa Romero and
Jeff Greinke takes Eastern-styled music into
triphop territory.  Romero’s wavering soprano
darts through Greinke’s bank of synthesizers,
percolating rhythms, augemented by trancey
basslines.  Unlike the first recording, this one
features straightforward song structures and
lyric.  It’s downtempo mix, post 4AD chillout.
Greinke manipulates Romero’s serpentine voice,
particularly in songs like “Asab” and “Hide,”
while liquid electronica plays in the background,
at times suggesting a cross between Dead Can
Dance and Aphex Twin.  A raw sensuality pervades
throughout the pieces, definitely moving it out
of the New Age category.


--Craig
Happy New Year, all.

=====
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The Devics, “My Beautiful Sinking Ship.”  This
L.A. band plays cinematic cabaret and torch-song
music; it wouldn’t sound out of place in a
vintage noir film, all shadows and tainted
glamour.  The singer, Sara Lov, has a voice that
references Marianne Faithful, PJ Harvey and Julee
Cruse (on the high register); her yearning,
world-weary voice fits in with this mixture of
sea shanties, dark surf music and piano-based
music.   Melodramatic and dreamy, this CD is a
lights out affair.  Cocktails served at 11.
http://www.devics.com

--Craig


=====
Book and Music Review Editor, Spoonfed.http://www.spoonfedamerika.com

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Call for Submissions:

Spoonfed, the online literary queerzine  is
looking for

Movie Reviews
Book Reviews
Music Reviews
Art Exhibit Reviews

They should be no more than 4000 words.  Emphasis
will be placed on more unknown/less popular
writers/musicians/artists; positive or
constructive critical reviews preferred over
bitchy reviews—the main goal is exposure to
interesting/unusual things.  However, if the
writing’s good, it will be considered.  Reviews
should include information about the artist/movie
(cd reviews should have track listing; movies
website referrals).
Examples of the reviews and formats are available
at the Food For Thought section of the website.


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Hi all,

Well, I just posted seeking artists, but I suppose I should formally
introduce myself, along with my shameless plugs!

My name is Laura otherwise known as The Mistress McCutchan. I am the
editor of Morbid Outlook, which is a goth magazine that has been in
existence for nine years. I moderate the Twilight list, also a list dedicat=
ed to
ethereal, experimental and ambient music. I am also a DJ of ethereal and
other assorted dark tunes, a maker of fashiony things (often sold on
gothicauctions.com, under user name MorbidMiss), an artist, a college
professor and a web designer. No, I never sleep. Anyone who knows me can
attest to that!

If you want to know anything else, feel free to write.

Ciao,
Laura
www.morbidoutlook.com

Morbid Outlook is currently seeking artists to illustrate articles as well as to
contribute pieces for a gallery. Interested? Check out the e-zine at
www.morbidoutlook.com to get a feel for our darkly delightful publication.

Sample jpegs (no larger than 400x400) or URLs with samples can be sent to
mistress@....

Thanks,
Laura the Mistress McCutchan

--- Spoonfedamerika@... wrote:
> From: Spoonfedamerika@...
> Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 00:51:26 EST
> Subject: spoonfed:amerika UPDATED 11/06/01
> To: barry@...
>
> New content from the editor; new book & cd
> reviews from Craig Gidney in
> food4though; uploads of selected text from
> spoonfed issues no. 10 & 12; and a
> small selection of poetry from Alessio Zanelli
> (Italy) in featured fiction.
>
> enjoy spoonfed:amerika!
>
> tom drymon
> editor
>
> as always, the site is only viewable with
> internet explorer 4+.
>
> if you have a previous submission to spoonfed
> online (issues nos. 10 & 12)
> and wish to be removed, please email me at
> spoonfedamerika@....
>
> thanks.
http://www.spoonfedmamerika.com


=====
"I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of
will."--Antonio Gramsci

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Hope Sandoval + the Warm Inventions, "Bavarian
Fruit Bread."  Whether or not you like this cd
depends on how you like the central conceit of
Ms. Sandoval's singing.  A little girl Lolita
voice, distant, bored and slutty, without much
range or power against vaguely folky, postmodern
country--not quite slowcore, not quite
pyschidelic.  I like the vaporous, desultory
sound myself, but not all the time.  This is
firmly a 2AM cd.

Halou, "Wiser."  If you can't wait for new Lamb
cd to migrate to the states, Halou's new one
should be good for what ails ya.  Electronic,
sample-happy music, with nods to torch, pop, St.
Etienne, Everything But the Girl and Massive
Attack.  The singer Rebecca has a gorgeous voice,
and while her lyrics aren't groundbreaking, her
dramatic delivery of them is arresting.  When she
sings, I hear Liz Fraser, Sarah Cracknell, and
even Sinead O'Connor.  Ryan's backdrop is rich
and varied--jazz, fuzz-guitar, strings appear in
the background, but he doesn't upstage his wife's
voice.  A high priority for folks into
"femme-tronica".

--Craig


=====
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will."--Antonio Gramsci

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Shannon Wright took the stage without a word,
accompanied by a drummer.  She played a dissonant
guitar for half the set, while she did a spastic
dance.  Her performance was angst-ridden, her
face scrunched up and intense, her hair flying
over her face.  Occassionaly she did the Mick
Jagger head bob thing, and sometimes strutted on
the stage in rockergrrrl style.  But her stage
histronics were insular, rather than showman
like.  For about the other half of the show, she
accompanied herself on the Wurtlizer, playing
ominous Chopin-like dirges and carnival ditties,
while she screamed, whispered and yelled her
lyrics with her eyes closed.  Wright was almost
upstaged by her drummer, who was melodramatic in
every since of the word.  Lots of flourishes and
windmilling hand motions.  When he wasn't
playing, his head was bowed down, in a deliberate
pose that practically screamed "Look at me!  I'm
being reverent!"  He was cute, though, so I'll
forgive him his overkill.  During the set, a
slide projector flashed images of old road signs
and fade family photographs over the performers.
It was a rather intense show.

--Craig

=====
"Tired moons ask higher tides."--Zelda Fitzgerald

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Hi,

I just joined the group and wanted to say hello and
look forward to talk about books and music.

And a big wave to Craig!

Steve

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When was your last tryst?
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Last night's Sigur Ros concert at the 930 Club in
DC was a display of awesome talent.  For those
who don't know, SR are a band of Icelandic
dream-pop merchants.  Their music references all
of the atmospheric greats--Eno, Pink Floyd,
Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, Aphex Twin,
Slowdive--while remaining wholly original.  Like
many "ethereal" bands, SR's vocalist expresses
himself in a private language; it's a unique
technique, as he is the only male singer who does
that.  His voice is a tenor that keens into a
swooping falsetto--very Jeff Buckleyesque.  It's
amazing to watch this powerful voice come out of
such a wisp of a man.  When he sings, he looks
anguished.  There were several times where I
thought he was crying.  He also plays an e-bowed
guitar.  At one point, he actually *sang* into
the guitar, distorting his voice.  The aesthetic
of the concert was like a classical
recital--nearly 2 hours, no breaks, the songs
blending into each other.  Which is appropriate,
given the symphonic sounds the 4 piece conjured.
A screen behind the band showed projections,
mostly fuzzy, cyclic images of faces, children,
birds and animals.  The lighting was subdued,
mostly purples, with the singer's face
illuminated.  Other words:  oceanic, trancey,
glacial.  Though I was standing up--after being
up since 5 in the morning, I hardly noticed the
nagging pain in my leg.  It was an utterly
bewitching experience.

--Craig

=====
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In these troubling times, I find myself turning more
and more to escapist music--like 4AD/Projekt ethereal
stuff.  I find that it helps me divert my attention
from the darkness surrounding this country and the
world.

Here are some new ones:

1.  Mors Syphilitica, "Feather and Fate".  Imagine a
better version of Faith and the Muse, that mixes a
little lightness in their dark brew.  Must have for
lovers of churchy goth music with odd influences--lots
of mandolin, and majestic female vocals.  A definite
pop sensibility is in this release, more so than
regular Projekt releases.

2.  Mahogany, "The Dream of a Modern Day."  Very
influenced by the Cocteau Twins and Slowdive in their
heyday.  Very dreamy, light, with "twee-pop" female &
male vox, ringing, chiming guitars, mournful cellos,
and a smattering of electronica.  An early spring or
autumn album.

3. Stereolab, "Sound-Dust."  More futuristic-retro
bosso nova electronica droning dreaminess.  Sadler's
voice is intimate and the music is, well, *happy*.  It
reminds me of the Jetsons while lyrics are obtuse and
heady as always.

I hope that others can find comfort in these
recommendations.

--Craig


=====
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hey All,

As a newguy writer who gets all his ideas from  life, listening to
music, looking at art, and reading in that order, this looks like the
place for me.  I like Delany's Dhalgren, Pynchon's V., Vineland
(underrated) and Lot 49, Ellison, Jonathan Carroll, the first and
third Alien movies, Blair Witch/Chainsaw/original Haunting and not
much else in terms of horror movies, Tarkovsky and Herzog flicks...
and i really like hearing suggestions.  So, if you could all answer
the following with a short explanation as to your choice:

What's ONE favorite book?

What's ONE favorite CD?

You can add a fave movie or artwork if you'd like.  This isn't set in
stone so don't agonize, I'd just like to take a read of the room.

In terms of music i have over 1000 CDs and 4000+ records.  Everything
from Morcheeba's 1st 2, to tons of film scores, Tori Amos, her older
sister Kate Bush, damn, all sorts of stuff, from Richard Strauss to
Vangelis to Eno to Oldfield (just got Songs of Distant Earth)....

Just wanted to get a conversation going.

Later, John

I hated the last HNIA cd, Fort Lake.  It was too
unformed, and sprawling.  The new cd, "Someday My
Blues Will Cover the Earth," is wonderful.  It has
complete songs, most of them with an early r&b feel,
thanks to Lovetta Pippin's rich voice.  But this is
HNIA, so it's discreetly updated with trip hoppy sound
effects and the overall feel is contemplative and
moody.  It's Destiny's Child for the latte sipping
crowd.  (And I'm not sure that Beyonce can handle
that).

--Craig


=====
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Ice, by Anna Kavan.
http://www.redmood.com/kavan

Kafka cavorts with Plath in this post-apocalyptic
novel by the late Anna Kavan.  A thermonuclear device
has been detonated, and the world slowly awaits its
fate as the planet freezes.  In this new Ice Age, a
nameless narrator searches for the girl he loves.  But
this isn't just another version of love among the
ruins.  The imminent destruction of the world has set
in motion the erosion of civilization. Random acts of
violence and mass hysteria take over the cities, as
the icebergs creep closer.  The tragicomic game of
political conquest takes place, starting in
Scandinavia, led by the vainglorious character called
the Warden.  The narrator must vie with the Warden for
possession of the girl, whom the Warden has abducted.
The relationship between the narrator and the girl is
not healthy in the least.  He views her
contemptuously, as a born victim, and believes that
only he has a right to brutalize her.  The girl
herself--with her white-blonde hair and fragility, is
a study in passive-aggression.  She can be downright
cruel.  Several times during the novel, the anti-hero
leaves her, only to take up the search again.  The two
men fight over the girl, without actual care for her;
she is merely a pretty prop on which hang their
aggressions and neuroses.  It mirrors the futility of
the political games, where the various powers vie to
gain power over a dying world.  There is a Kafkaesque
sense of absurdity, along with that author's
existential despair of humankind's folly.

These psychodramas take place amid a surrealistic,
nightmare landscape.  Kavan's images of the
encroaching ice are beautiful and deadly.  It's
reminiscent (and perhaps even inspired) the arctic
cover art of Radiohead's 'Kid A.'  The hallucinatory
intensity might be due to Kavan's drug use.  Born
Helen Ferguson, Kavan legally changed her name to a
character in one of her novels.  She suffered severe
depression and self-medicated with heroin, eventually
becoming an addict.  Like Plath or Sexton, Kavan uses
bouts of depression to create brutal, enigmatic
images.  Her characters in this book are forces of
nature themselves.  The eternal war between the sexes
is illuminated unsparingly--at odds with her delicate,
mannered prose.  ICE appears to document Kavan's
brilliant, if unsettling interior landscape.



--Craig L. Gidney

=====
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I saw THE OTHERS last night.  It was a very good
movie--chilling, elegant and beautiful to look
at--like an Ivory-Merchant version of a horror movie,
with period clothing.  The story relies completely on
atmosphere and tromp l'oeil.  Everyone in the movie is
excellent--especially the children, because they act
like real children, and not the precious, cutesy
world-saving brats that populate Hollywood.  There are
references and echoes of Shirley Jackson, THE 6TH
SENSE, Lacadio Hearn, and MR James in both plot and
texture.  Nicole Kidman gets two thumbs up for playing
a difficult role--a sympathetic character who isn't
very likeable.  She's alternately icy, vunerable,
loving  and hysterical.  Her portrayal of Grace is as
a control freak dancing on the razor's edge.


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Distortion, by Stephen Beachy
http://www.distortionthebook.com


The second novel by Stephen Beachy is a paradox: it's
a difficult novel that's easy to read.  A loosely
structured, Altman-esque book, it follows the
adventures of Reggie, a young, biracial,
speed-addicted hustler, and the demimonde surrounding
him.  The novel follows him from L.A., where he
becomes a huge MTV star-cipher, to Florida.  Along the
way, we drop into the lives of his friends and
families, perennial flies on the wall.  Most of the
characters are disenfranchised in one way or
another--gay, poor, or ethnic minorities; they are not
the usual denizens of complex, experimental novels.
In this way, it recalls Samuel Delany's epic novel
Dhalgren.  The quirky characters, which include a
wandering punk-rock poet, a video-producer dying of
AIDS, a woman who works with abandoned kids among
others, are sharply delineated.  The shifts in locale
and points-of-view is often dizzying; it resembles
both the frantic editing of a music video, and more
encyclopedic activity of hypertext links.

Woven into these densely interior vignettes are
hallucinations and dreams sequences of the various
narrators.  At times, it's impossible to see where the
"real" fictive world end and the
drug-and-dream-induced imagined parts begin.  Part of
it has to do with Beachy's trademark drunken wordplay.
  The man is incapable of producing an uninterested
sentence.  The imagery is always startling, the syntax
and rhythms seductive.  It is his verbal facility,
more than anything, which provides the novel what
structure it has.  Somehow Beachy is able to create
intense character-driven fiction, and rich
phantasmorgia simultaneously.  His authorial
voices--at once hip, goofy, and scary--waxes
philosophically about love, family, film and video
theory, sexual abuse and race.  This novel is not for
everyone--the barrage of images can lean toward the
extremely sexual and the disturbing.   But those who
opt to follow Reggie and his friends on their journeys
will be moved.  Imagine the trenchant social-realist
fiction of Susan Straight or Jess Mowry thrown into a
blender with the elegiac, drug-fueled fabulations of
Philip K. Dick, and Distortion might be the product.
--Craig L. Gidney

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Annette Farrington: Azure Wonder And Lust.
http://drawbridge.com

1. Magic
2. Viva
3. Dive
4. I Might Not Be Here
5. Let The World Go Away
6. Exotica
7. I Don’t Want It
8. Rhapsody
9. Black Man’s Daughter
10. Symphonic

The cover artwork for “Azure Wonder and Lust” features
paper cutouts of jungle flora and fauna covering a
blurry photograph of trees.  The whole thing is
encased in a lovely clear purple jewelcase.  It’s a
melding of commerce, organic and manipulated imagery,
perfect for this God-is-in-the-pixels project.
Annette Farrington is the ex-goth singer Annette
Kramer of Opium Den, reborn as a techno-pagan.
Vestiges of the ‘ethereal gothic’ sound of her band
remain—the ominous Middle Eastern melody of the album
opener “Magic”, the soaring vocals, and the mystical
lyrics.  But it’s all submerged in swirling stew of
electronic gadgetry provide by producer Anthony Resta.
  These two disparate forces are where the tension of
the album lies.  Farrington’s roots are dark:  she’s
influenced the aesthetic of Curve, Siouxsie Sioux, and
Portishead.  Resta, however, is a seasoned pro, and
shows; his shaping lend the recording a more pop
sensibility—a more energetic Dido, or an electronic
version of Sarah McLachlan.  When these two styles
mesh, the result is entertaining.  “Viva”, for
instance, is both boy-band catchy and suitably
angelic.  “Exotica,” on the other hand, suffers from a
melodic line that’s a bit too mainstreamed.  That song
also features a pointillist guitar figure that
disrupts the carefully crafted electronic/acoustic
impressionism.  Farrington’s obtuse imagery and
sinuous, warm delivery, however, prevent the CD from
straying too far into blandness.  Wonder, lust and the
bitmapped jungle theme of title and artwork come to
fruition in such compositions as “Black Man’s
Daughter” and the appropriatley titled closer,
“Symphonic.”





=====
n.r. "A Trip to the Stars," by Nicholas Christopher; just finished "A Home at
the End of the World," by Michael Cunningham.

__________________________________________________
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Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
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Cranes: Future Songs. http://www.dadaphonic.com

1. Future Song
2. Submarine
3. Flute Song
4. Sunrise
5. Don't Wake Me Up
6. Driving In The Sun
7. Fragile
8. Eight
9. Even When
10. Everything For
11. The Maker Of Heavenly Trousers

The character Drusilla is one of the most appealing (or appalling)
recurring characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel.  A prim
Victorian beauty, prone to `visions' and with penchant for dolls, she
is easily one of the deadliest of nemeses in the contained world of
the programs.  In spite of her little girl airs and precious
affectations, she's stark raving mad and void of morality.  Cruelty
and the hunt for blood, for her, is at best a child's game and its
worst an aesthetic pursuit—the undead's version of needlepoint.
Cranes have always encompassed that dichotomy.  Jim Shaw's
compositions vacillate between pastoral minimalism and grinding urban
cacophony.  Singer Alison Shaw's voice, a love it or hate it little
girl squeak, is either gothic and spooky or uncomfortably
twee.  "Future Songs" is a more ambient affair, adding a healthy dose
of Electronica into the familiar terrain of minor chords, gentle
guitars and stalwart drumming.  The strain of classicism, missing in
the previous release, "Population 4," makes a welcome return, in
particularly in the sampled organ and flute tones on the
appropriately titled "Flute Song."  The title track is highly
reminiscent of 1991's "Watersong," which isn't necessarily a slam—the
band is fond of reprises.  Several pieces here reach for a glistening
Cocteau Twins-like beauty; others, like the brooding "Submarine" are
eerie and perverse—Alison sounds like a child murderer against the
industrial-lite background.  "Future Songs" will not win Cranes any
fans; but it satisfies those already entranced.

--Craig L. Gidney

ETHEREAL TRIP HOP DIVA!:SIANNA LYONS
Sianna Lyons
'Songland'
Produced by Federico Gonzalez
Scimitar Records LKP-22716

Review by Billy Tweedie

Sianna Lyons is a precious rarity. She's one of the few performers
today whose work is both truly
progressive and commercially viable-that she will be a worldwide
superstar and still unable to crack U.S.
radio at this point is a travesty. Though "Songland" can be darker,
moodier and more esoteric than
anything you have heard by say Tori Amos or the superb Kate Bush, the
album kicks off with her best
shot at chart-breaking yet; "Come" is a mystical, sinuous single with
Sianna's sultry voice gliding
over warm synths and the soft pounding of a track, a rich song that
becomes more compelling with each
listen. On "Disappear," she experiments with the story of a little
girl who is too scared to shed her tears
with intriguing results. Also check "Lover" and the ballad "We" with
some of her purest vocals.
"We" rides to the tune of a wonderfully infectious chorus refrain.
Sianna's residence on music's fringes
won't be lasting much longer. One hopes MTV-ever on the lookout for
video stars-won't be solely
responsible for bringing one of the world's most talented (and
beautiful) recording artists to the masses.

In the boldly experimental, ominously lovely "Disappear," the dreamy,
fretless arrangement weds an
uncanny feeling of dread and fear with verbal directness while
displaying a melodic sense that's in peak
form....This experiment is a Masterpiece.

Few female vocalists are as instantly memorable as Sianna Lyons.
Whether following an ebullient pop
rhythm or leading a sparse line, Sianna's girlish, sultry voice is
capable of changing the texture and mood
of a song with a single breathy cry. On "Songland", her debut album is
silky, sexy and totally wonderful
in every context. Sianna (and her producer Federico Gonzalez)
rearranges pop convention to suit her
artistic vision, exploring an intimate range of emotional expression
along the way. I feel that the album
has been centered on eroticism and seduction, but in a more romantic
setting, feeling its way through an
adventurous series of rhythms and melodies like a young couple meeting
for the first time. There are no
set rules, and Sianna enthusiastically mixes schmaltz with chutzpah,
as on "Lover," where dissonant
guitar squalls and an ominous bassline merge with weepy strings, murky
keyboards and emotive vocals.
Even on touching cuts Sianna can't resist mingling background
harmonies and naive yearings with
heart-tugging vocals, atmospheric keyboards and slow, tribal beats.
"Songland" is quite simply a bold,
sizzling triumph.

The lyrics are painfully personal and the way in which Sianna delivers
them is heart wrenching. Her voice ranges from breathy secrets to
almost incensed shouts, expressing words the way you would whisper to
a lover -- or shout at an enemy. The instrumentation reverberates with
the loneliness and universality of the words themselves. Her vox is
feminine and provocative.

Each song tells a familiar story of the woman and her journey. They
all meant something special to
me.....

I can honestly say that I have never heard a more haunting and
poignant song than "Susan". It still brings
tears to my eyes. You must buy the album to witness the power of this
haunted track.

"before I trap you in my lair, take my lion's share, you better hope
this feeling subsides, otherwise...."
These are some lyrics from the wonderful "Otherwise" that is full of
passion and lust for Mr. Right!

Of course, I can try to describe a million songs with one sentence but
it would do none of them justice.
The only way to express the essence of Sianna Lyons is by listening to
her own words.

Pearl Jam's "Black", (the only cover on the album) rips your heart
out, not by the words but by the vox
and pure heartbreak in Sianna's voice.

"Songland" to me has been the most powerful debut album I have heard
in years! The songs have
become a part of me, as her voice sings with yearings of sadness and
joys to the little boy down the
street, broken and alone......not even Tori Amos or Kate Bush can do
that to this degree!
Sianna will thrive as one of music's most enduring, valuable and
cherished artists.

You MUST get this album, you MUST play this album till you know every
lyric on every song!

It is virtually impossible for me to comprehend anyone not
liking...not LOVING, this artist!

Listen to some of the tracks here
http://www.siannalyons.com/listen.html
USE THE ORDER FORM AT THIS LINK to BUY your copy!
http://www.siannalyons.com/taste.html
and visit Sianna at her site
http://www.siannalyons.com
and at Billy's ENTERTAINMENT WORLD
http://billytweedie.com

Greetings all,
I just found this group, and it seems to be right up my alley, which
is somewhat rare, considering my alley follows many twists and turns
through very strange cities and such..But, I was happy to see this
book listed here- I found it by chance in the library and thought it
very lovely..Another book I happened upon around the same time is
Black Wine, by Candas Jane Dorsey, I believe...Very strange and
lovely, I would reccomend it highly..It has been awhile since I read
it, but the lasting impressions were of another world, not too
unfamiliar, the remarkable mountains, a mother and daughter,
displaced- loss of self, amnesia, and a search for the past..I would
like to find this book again and explore its lovely world and strange
and charming relationships..Does anyone here know it?


Angel Eirlys-Tanglewood

1. Antony and the Johnsons is beautiful, dark cabaret
sung with wavering emotion by a bald, pale
hermaphroditic person named Antony.  His voice is
beyond gender--he summons recollections of Brel, Piaf,
Marc Almond and Simone.  The songs are of love lost.
Pianos, cellos and violins swirling the background.

2 .Ronan Quays THE EBBING WINGS OF WISDOM is the
neo-medireview chant project of Rhett Brewer.  Someone
recommended him to me as a male Lisa Gerrard.  Its an
apt description--his tenor is multitracked and he
sings in some unidentifiable tongue.  The
instrumentation is sparse and includes mandolin,
organs and acoustic guitars.  Very beautiful, with
great titles 'Salt and Bitter Truth' and 'As the
Spinster Spins.'

--Craig

Set List:
So Far Away
Hangover Flower
My Funny Valentine
The Hate Song
Sometimes I Wish I Had A Gun
Sunday Is The Day For Love
Everything's Wonderful
Bottom Of The Sea
Monster

Abby Travis was quite a sight.  She was dressed in a hybrid costume.
The top part of her outfit was bright red bordello bustier.  A
showgirl's skirt of black tassels covered her thighs, fishnet
stockings her legs.  A knit red cap with devil horns completed her
ensemble.  Thrift store goth?  Bargain basement flapper?  Her outfit
was made even more incongruous by the large bass guitar she
occasionally hauled out.  Travis had a terrific stage presence--a
goofy update of a cabaret chanteuse, complete with dramatic hand-
sweeps, vamping and shimmying.  She would balance on her toes like a
ballerina and pirouette across the stage.   It was perfect for the
material--Travis is a session bass player (Beck was one of her more
high-profile gigs) who's moved into doing her own material.  Strong
in irony, tongue firmly planted in cheek, her stuff encompasses Doris
Day pop ("Sunday"), torch songs, 20s jazz numbers and straight ahead
rock.  Most of her songs have clever and witty lyrics.  She's like
the bastard child of Ute Lemper and Nick Cave.  Her rich alto was
accompanied by a very good pianist (unnamed) and her own bass-
playing.  On the more orchestrated songs, she played a backing track
on cd, a makeshift karaoke.  The show was marred by bar-talkers and
the mumblings of a madman sitting near me.  She won the audience over
with a rousing version of "Sometimes I Wish I Had A Gun," a song
written by queer rocker Brian Grillo, and the humorous "Monster."
Travis is on tour with Candy Kane, a wonderful white blues-singer.
She's like Mae West--a zaftig, sex positive belter.

Her cd is called "Cutthroat Standards and Black Pop"

http://www.abbytravis.com

--Craig

Jason Sloan -" to cross the river of light" NOW SHIPPING
********************************************************************************\
**
Wer'e happy to announce a new release from Jason Sloan
"to cross the river of light" An amorphous continuous flow of shifting
aural elements to cross the river of light is one long flowing piece
divided into four movements created for low volume listening.
Wonderful music to listen to while drifting off to sleep as it gently
moves in and out of consciousness. Running time 33:15
This is a Zero Music catalog exclusive available nowhere else!


______________________________
Zero Music
Ambient/Ethereal/Atmospheric music
http://www.zeromusic.net
sound@...
______________________________

JAMES JOHNSON and STEPHEN PHILIPS
Lost at Dunn¹s Lake
Zero Music (2001)

When I played an excerpt from James Johnson¹s and Stephen Philip¹s
collaboration, Lost at Dunn¹s Lake, on my radio show last weekend,
I stated emphatically that, even though it¹s only March, I didn¹t think I¹d
hear a better minimal-style ambient recording this year. This CD is...well,
it¹s special in ways I don¹t know that I can describe..

Being from Wisconsin and Minnesota, the affinity I have for what this
recording embodies plays a large part in my review. I have been at lake¹s
edge in the rain and fog and have experienced the solitude and serene
mystery that floats on the green-blue surface. While standing there,
surrounded by hundred-year old firs, pines, birches and oaks, I never felt
closed-in; instead I felt a sense of my place in the greater scheme. If this
recording can elicit these kind of visions and emotions from me, well, do I
need to say more to recommend it?

The CD begins with the faint sound of rolling thunder in the distance.
Rain is falling on water and a bird cries out plaintively. A soft-as-a-sigh
synthesizer caresses the first minute of this recording, while gentle piano
notes, held and sustained for an eternity, exchange the moment with a
³glacier bell² tone. Thunder now and then erupts, but the rumble is calming
and comforting, rather than threatening or ominous. The music starts to
breathe with an organic purity, as if this fog-and-rain-shrouded lake has
come alive within the confines of my back sun-room. This, ladies and
gentlemen, is what true musical artistry is all about.

Literally, this is one long piece of music, like James¹ Entering Twilight.
But it¹s also always subtly shifting, like both Stephen¹s and James¹ more
ambient and minimal work.  James plays piano and synthesizers, plus by
crediting him with ³location resonance,² I assume these are his field
recordings. Stephen plays the aforementioned ³glacier bell² and adds
atmospheric textures. Sometimes, the textures and synths predominate,
taking deep breaths of slow washes and exhaling patient sighs that invite
comparisons to the warm romantic tones of Kevin Braheny¹s EWI work on
The Way Home. Stephen¹s glacier bell is an amazing instrument; its pealing
tones resonate with a deep sense of yearning and remembrance - cold in
form but not in substance. The complete and utter symmetry of the various
electronic textures and synthesizers is wondrous. Throughout the album,
various different synth sounds and atmospherics are brought into focus,
entertained, and then they fade away like phantoms, blown into nothingness
by an imperceptible breeze coming off the rainy lake.

The engineering throughout Lost at Dunn¹s Lake is a marvel. Whether played
on headphones and savored or used as accompaniment to reading or to fall
asleep to (I enjoyed all three modes), the music only intrudes at your behest;
but it¹s always patiently waiting should you wish to journey to that lonely
body of water, embraced on all sides by the somber but welcoming forest.

The ever-present sound of rain falling on water, combined with those
solitary piano notes, that glacier bell, and the subtle synthetic ambient
washes combine to tug at my heart strings with an intensely nostalgic force.
This is a recording that connects with me on a deeply personal level because
of my deceased father¹s great love of fishing in the north woods of
Wisconsin and Minnesota. I can almost smell the rain from inside the screen
porch of a rustic cabin, as he and I wait out the storm, hearing the loons
and jays, and enjoying the quiet companionship of our shared solitude. A
wood stove glows with just enough heat and light to warm our souls against
the damp air. There is no need for talk at moments like this; silence is our
method of communication as we sit drinking in the richness of our
surroundings through all our senses.

There¹s not much more to say about this album. I could try to describe the
music in some kind of detail, but it would be like breaking down a Van Gogh
or a Renoir into individual brushstrokes or dissecting Steinbeck or
Dickinson word by word. That is the province of scholars, of which I am not
one, I assure you. While I can identify the elements of that which I like
(and I have done that here somewhat, as I do in all my reviews), with an
album this evocative and personal, I prefer to just sit back and admire the
whole. In the case of Lost at Dunn¹s Lake, I expect to be admiring it for
the rest of my life. James and Stephen, thank you for taking me back to the
lake one more time.

Bill Binkelman - Wind & Wire
http://www.windandwire.com


AVAILABLE THROUGH

Zero Music
http://www.zeromusic.net
Dark Duck Records
http://www.darkduck.net
HYPNOS Recordings
http://www.hypnos.com
Groove Unlimited
http://www.groove.nl
Backroads Music
http://www.backroadsmusic.com


-----------------------------------------
Zero Music
Ambient/Space/Atmospheric Music
http://www.zeromusic.net
sound@...
-----------------------------------------

Hannah Fury: The Thing That Feels http://www.mellowtraumatic.com

1. Not Like You
2. Love Today
3. Meathook
4. Of Longing (instr.)
5. Let It Show
6. I Can't Let You In
7. And Your Little Dog Too
8. All Is Not Well
9. It Was Her House That Killed Nessarose
10. Of Longing and Otherness (instr.)
11. Sweet Heart
12. Away
13. The Vampire Waltz

Back during the Woody Allen and Mia Farrow drama of the 90s, Farrow
reportedly sent Allen (and presumably, her estranged daughter) an
ornate Victorian-styled Valentine, complete with lace and frills.  The
beautiful Valentine also included razor blades and knives in its
design.  Hannah Fury's work has that feel-of delicacy masking torment.
  Lines like "No meathook is as bad as a hook in the heart," or "Don't
speak/Don't support/ Just quietly abhor me" hide in darkly romantic
melodies, verbal razor blades.  With its somnolent, hypnotic piano
ballads about witches and vampires sung with delicate vocals, The
Thing That Feels will undoubtedly remind you of Kate Bush and Tori
Amos.  But Fury's work, on closer inspection, has more of a cabaret
feel.  Where Bush is pyrotechnic fantasy and Amos is Technicolor
psychodrama, Fury is drawing-room genteel.  The piano chords ripple
and circle back on each other; the phrasing is deliberate, her vocals
soft.  Fury is theatrical, but not histrionic.  She works in charcoal
tones and daguerreotype tints.

Five of _Thing's_ songs are based on Gregory Macguire's novel Wicked:
  The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  Fury takes on
the psyche and voice of the green-skinned sorceress.  These are songs
of quiet madness and gentle obsession; like Macguire's novel, these
songs suggested that the witch's crimes were based on insanity and
loss of faith rather than evil.  "I follow her [Dorothy] down the
Yellow Brick Road/ Chasing her now, for revenge, I suppose.  She
causes destruction wherever she goes…"is one lyric.  "And Your Little
Dog Too," sounds particularly unsettling, with Fury's lightly
processed voice creepily admonishing a child to surrender the Ruby
Slippers.

Her love songs are like Farrow's twisted valentines; unrequited love
and regret.  Fury is an idealist in a cynic's clothing.  "Away,"
appropriately moves away from the theme of romantic obsession; it's a
lament for the late Jeff Buckley that weaves imagery of angels and
muddy rivers into a song of transcendence.  The closing song, "The
Vampire Waltz," uses the scenario of a woman becoming a vampire as a
metaphor for romantic ennui and disappointment.

_The Thing That Feels_ is a rich, complex album in spite of its
sparseness-one song is augmented by a bass, the other a cello.  Beauty
and darkness reside together, often illuminated by the spark of
caustic wit.
--Craig

Hello out there....

Here's the monthly news from Zero Music

"Floating & Dreaming" from "Linger" to be aired on "Hearts of Space"
********************************************************************************\
**
Tune in to your local radio station this week as Heart's of Space airs
"Synthetic Pleasures 2" Featuring a track from James Johnson's recent
release "Linger"  FLOATING & DREAMING. This live release continues
to break new ground as this will be the first time an MP3 DAM CD is
aired by Hearts of Space.

For more information and local radio stations carrying Hearts of Space
Hearts of Space - http://www.hos.com
Linger - http://www.mp3.com/jjohnson

--------------------------------------------------------
LOST AT DUNN'S LAKE
James Johnson/Stephen Philips
********************************************************
Now accepting advanced online orders
--------------------------------------------------------
Combining subtle ambient atmospheres with locational
resonance James Johnson along with Stephen Philips
has created an ever flowing, gently shifting, long form
work that captures the subtle nuances where forest
meets shore and time slows to the pace of a summer's
rain. It's easy to get "Lost at Dunn's Lake"

SHIPPING MARCH 21ST

*******************************************************
James Johnson & Prana Live at The Gathering
Saturday, April 21st, 2001
St. Mary's Hamilton Village
3916 Locust Walk in Philadelphia, PA
*******************************************************
Sonic explorer James Johnson and overtone singing
group Prana will make their Philadelphia area debut at
the Gathering on Saturday, April 21st, 2001.

Johnson's recorded output consists mainly of introspective
ambient soundscape albums, but his Gathering concert will
present a range of energy; from sonic drift to focused rhythms.
A ten year veteran as live performancer, Johnson has, "quite a
few rhythmic pieces that I use live. Some are quite trancey and
evolve, twist and turn, while others offer more of a familiar song-like
structure." In addition to manipulation of electronic timbres, Johnson's
music also offers dynamics. "The dynamics of my live set ranges
from subtle percussion, to powerful rhythmic lines. It's nice to
incorporate these as transition pieces and breaks between the
more subtle atmospheres. It keeps the performance engaging."

Prana is an eight voice singing group headed by Baird Hersey.
The octet emits what is referred to as the Higher Voice, an
enigmatic overtone produced when the mouth and throat are
shaped into a resonating chamber for the harmonics of the
normal voice. Prana produces deep and calming meditations with
only Tibetan cymbals, reverberation and voices. The music is a
shared search between audience and performers and fuses
breath, listening, space and sound. Their album Waking the Cobra
is used widely throughout the yoga and wholistic health community.


The Gathering with James Johnson and Prana will take place on
Saturday, April 21st, 2001 at 8:00pm in the church sanctuary of
St. Mary's Hamilton Village, 3916 Locust Walk, on the Penn campus
in Philadelphia, PA. Admission is $20; $10 for full-time students with
proper ID. All ages welcome. Advance tickets are available on-line
through Ticketweb and at any TLA Video outlet. For more information,
please access the Gatherings website or call (610) 734-1009.

For more information, please access:
http://www.thegatherings.org


---------------------------------------------------
Monthly CD giveaway drawing
-------------------------------------------------------
The winner of our CD giveaway for the month of February is
Ben Irvin He's won a copy of "Slow Heat" by Steve Roach
Please note that drawing entry's do not carry over from month
to month. If you would like to be included in the drawing for
February you will need to re-register your name through Zero Music.
The CD to be given away in March is "Lost at Dunn's Lake" from
James Johnson & Stephen Philips



*************************************************************
Upcoming releases to look for Spring 2001
*************************************************************
Jason Sloan - To Cross the River of Light  (A Zero Music exclusive)
featuring the tracks "an unsaid", "silence behind the horizon" &
new unreleased material.
http://www.angelfire.com/md/jasonsloan/

Numina - Aphelion
Richly textured and masterfully composed another
fine ambient release from Jesse Sola.
http://www.frii.com/~numina

Darshan - Transparent Yellow Pastoral
More warm and inviting music from M. Allison
http://sites.netscape.net/dmichaelallison/homepage




That's all the news for now, thanks for visiting our site
and for supporting the artists at Zero Music

If you no longer wish to receive Zero News please send
an email to zeronews@... With "unsubscribe news"
as the subject and we'll promptly remove you from our list.

______________________________
Zero Music
Ambient/Ethereal/Atmospheric music
http://www.zeromusic.net
sound@...
______________________________