Transglobal Sounds

 The Fems of Feb.

We end this estrogen-fueled pleasure cruise with one final Fem for Feb.

In March, my only theme is going to be pleasuring myself. Stay around if your not a prude. I will wash my hands on occasion.

Natacha Atlas is an Egyptian-Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic & Western music. She has called her music "cha'abi moderne" (modern popular music). Her music is influenced by many styles including Maghrebain, hip hop, reggae, & drum 'n' bass.

Natacha Atlas rose to prominence in the 90s as the Arabic-singing vocalist of Transglobal Underground. This led to a subsequent solo career first in the world beat genre & later in a more classic venue of traditional Egyptian pop.

 

 

Natacha Atlas - Diaspora, Nation Records NATCD 47, 1995.
decryption code in comments

Iskanderia
Leysh Nat'Arak
Diaspora
Yalla Chant
Alhambra Pt.1
Duden
Feres
Fun Does Not Exist
Dub Yalil
Iskanderia (Atlas Zamalek)    5:15
Diaspora (Ballon Theatre mix)    7:03
Fun Does Not Exist (Dolmus mix)

Enjoy,
NØ

Like a Gothic Novel

The Fems of Feb.

 Effi Briest are Kelsey Barrett, Elizabeth Hart, Corinne Jones, Nicky Mao, Sara Shaw, Rebecca Squires, & Jessica Stathos. (I don't know who's missing in the above photo...anyone?)

They only ever released one album under that moniker. 

Our loss.

The all-female band Effi Briest were bursting with ideas on their debut full-length, Rhizomes. Despite the frigid tongue of the vocals & the ice sharp angles on all of these tracks, there is nothing cold about this set. All nine tracks course with red hot lava. The vocals seethe with emotion, the guitar lines cut deep gashes in the songs while the thick bass fills up space with dripping, molasses-thick notes. As Rhizomes progresses, the band settles into its sound, grows comfortable with the sonic mood it has constructed. The vocals fill out, the guitars thicken, the tracks get stronger as a result. For a group named after a 19th-century German novel, these womyn create music that is totally now. Effi Briest are an exciting band more people should discover. 

 

 

Effi Briest - Rhizomes, Sacred Bones Records SBR-033CD, 2010.
decryption code in comments

Rhizomes    
Long Shadow    
Cousins    
New Quicksand    
X    
Mirror Rim    
Nights    
Wodwoman    
Shards

Enjoy,
NØ

When You Love Somebody

The Fems of Feb.

Leela James is an R&B soul singer-songwriter originally from Illinois who has been active as a musician since 2003. The young songstress has a voice beyond her years. She has been hailed by critics as a soul revivalist. She includes artists such as James Brown, Roberta Flack, Toni Braxton, Mavis Staples, Marvin Gaye, & Donny Hathaway as influences although her vocal styles & tones are more in line with Aretha Franklin & Tina Turner.

The R&B powerhouse first burst onto the scene with her 2005 debut album A Change is Gonna Come that introduced audiences to her soaring sultry vocal dexterity.

Since Leela James put out her debut album, she has released a steady stream of music, exploring new stylistic elements while staying remarkably focused on old-school soul. In a press bio from 2010, she said, "My sound today may be different than where I was five years ago, but my core is always the same." Now more than a decade later, that still rings true. 

 

 

Leela James - A Change is Gonna Come, Warner Brothers Records 48027-2, 2005.
decryption code in comments

Intro   
Music   
Good Time   
Ghetto   
Slappy (interlude)   
Soul Food   
Rain   
Married (Interlude)   
When You Love Somebody   
Mistreating Me   
Don't Speak
Bummy (interlude)   
My Joy   
It's Alright   
Didn't I   
Prayer   
I Know I Been Changed (interlude)   
A Change is Gonna Come
Long Time Coming

Enjoy,
NØ

The Last Empress of Bohemia

 The Fems of Feb.

Blues-rock vocal powerhouse Dana Gillespie (born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie) lived the uncommonly colorful life of an artist who worked & partied with many of the great names in music, who acted on the silver screen, & on the London stage. She proudly recalls her liaisons with Bowie, Bob Dylan, Keith Moon, & "the cream of 1960s rock royalty", her recording work with Jimmy Page & Elton John, her roles as Mary Magdalene in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar & the Acid Queen in Tommy.

Her most prized memories involve one David Jones (soon to be known as David Bowie).  Dana & Bowie met when she was 13, attending Francis Holland, a private school for girls, in Chelsea.  "Some people have said, 'He was your boyfriend.' Well, we had a bit of a ding-dong but not what I would call a love affair – it was always pals," explains Dana.

Gillespie had first set out to be a drummer but swapped drums for singing & guitar.

After a few singles on Pye, Gillespie landed at the same recording house as Bowie; he on Deram, she on its parent, Decca.  Both of them had what they most wanted: album contracts. Gillespie completed Foolish Seasons (1968), a US-only release which included "You Just Gotta Know My Mind" written for her by Donovan. It was produced by Jimmy Page but he didn't get a credit. Dana remarks, "You never did in those days."

The following year's Box of Surprises, written entirely by Gillespie & produced by Mike Vernon, should have put her on equal footing with the emerging singer/songwriters. "The cover was me sitting on a coffin surrounded by stuffed animals; I was trying to be edgy even then," she laughs. "The band was Savoy Brown but, again, they got no mention in the credits."

Dana & Bowie then came under the auspices of manager Tony DeFries, who started Main Man management company. Wasn't Born a Man was recorded at Trident Studios for RCA. It was meant to be produced by Bowie & Mick Ronson. In the end, it was split between Bowie, Ronson (also sharing arranging duties with Del Newman & Robert Kirby), herself, & Robin Cable. "David was off in the US. The cracks between him & Ronson had started to show," she remembers.

For her second RCA release, Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle, co-produced by Gillespie & John Porter (fresh from playing bass on Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure), out came a bluesy, deep-groove sensibility, a portent of Gillespie's later career. Sessions at Island Studios were described unflinchingly, in all their bacchanalian splendor ("The consumption of narcotics was phenomenal, but the results were surprisingly creative")

Dana: "DeFries said, 'You must go through life first-class in order to get first-class.' I was having a great time – 24/7 limos, a flat on 58th Street between 2nd and 3rd, just 'round the corner from Bloomingdales. It had been MainMan's offices and they'd put Iggy Pop in there before I moved in, and Wayne County who turned into Jayne County. MainMan had a mystique that nobody else in the music scene had.”"

& then overnight, calls went unanswered, bills unpaid. Dana continues, "I noticed things were going wrong once I got back to England and heard that they'd closed the Park Avenue offices. I never questioned where this, that and the other was coming from and the fact that I had first class tickets, all paid for, wherever I wanted to go. DeFries had given me a fabulous black BMW. I drove it for about a year and then I found a repo man following me. I didn't know what hire-purchase was or that the car wasn't mine! That's when I knew things were bad. Nobody was picking up the phone, the offices were closed, nobody was getting paid and DeFries disappeared to Zurich."

Still recording now (her latest was 2021s Deep Pockets), she never regained the momentum lost with the collapse of Main Man.

Here is her greatest moment of that lost era. 

 

Dana Gillespie - Weren't Born a Man, RCA APLI 0354, 1974.
decryption code in comments

Side 1 -
Stardom Road Part I & Part II
What Memories We Make
Dizzy Heights
Andy Warhol (Bowie cover)
Backed a Loser

Side 2 -
Weren't Born a Man
Mother, Don't Be Frightened
All Cut Up on You
Eternal Showman
All Gone

Enjoy,
NØ

Unfinished Sympathy

 The Fems of Feb.

I've featured Shara here before & commented on her connection to Adrian Sherwood/On-U Sound as well as Massive Attack. I've posted some of her solo work but thought I'd give you all a few more from a lady that I adore.

Here's another full length & a few singles. The title track "Friendly Fire" & "Moving On" finds Shara working with On-U Sound alums Skip McDonald & Doug Wimbish as well as Jah Wobble being all over this thing.

 

 

Shara Nelson - Friendly Fire, Cooltempo CTCD 48, 1995.
all decryption codes in comments

Rough with the Smooth
Moving On
Poetry
I Fell (so You Could Catch Me)
Footprint
Between the Lines
After You
Exit One
Friendly Fire
Keeping Out the Cold
Segabeat

 

Shara Nelson - Down That Road CD maxi-single, Chrysalis 7234 8 80732 2 5, 1993.

Down That Road (Radio edit)    
Down That Road (Perfecto edit)
Down That Road (Barkin' Loud mix)
Down That Road (Frankie Foncett mix)

 

 

 

Shara Nelson - Inside Out CS maxi-single, Cooltempo Cooltempo Cdcool284, 1994.

Inside Out (Album mix)    
Inside Out (Rhythm vocal mix)    
Inside Out (Orchestral version)    
Inside Out (Classic Club mix)
Inside Out (Underdog mix)

 

 

 

Shara Nelson - I Fell (So You Could Catch Me), Cooltempo cdcools317, 1996.

I Fell (so You Could Catch Me) [Album edit]
I Fell (so You Could Catch Me) [Marc Brown mix]
I Fell (so You Could Catch Me) [Mike Peden mix]
I Fell (so You Could Catch Me) [Mekon mix]

 

 

 

Shara Nelson - Nobody Else, Sound Boy SB012, 2004.

Nobody Else
Nobody Else version (with Adrian Sherwood)

Enjoy,
NØ

Another Hopeless Case

 The Fems of Feb.

Anne Clark was born in South London at the start of the 1960s.

She left school at sixteen having never been able to really fit in with the constraints of the education system. However, this in no way restricted her voracious appetite for music, books, or her inquisitiveness & practical need to be involved with the world around her.

In the mid 70s she happened to get a job at Bonaparte Records, a local London independent record store & label. Good timing for Anne as the punk rock scene was just about to explode into life in London. Punk led the way to a whole new approach for dealing with music, arts, & society itself.

Anne realized she was a poet & she pioneered in the use of spoken words, combining literary, socially engaged texts with innovative genre-breaking music.

 

 

Anne Clark - Hopeless Cases, 10 Records DIXCD 48, 1987.
decryption code in comments

Poem Without Words I - The Third Meeting   
Homecoming   
Up   
Cane Hill   
This Be the Verse
Now   
Hope Road   
Armchair Theatre   
Leaving   
Poem Without Words II - Journey By Night

Enjoy,
NØ

Cut by a Girl

 The Fems of Feb.

 

The Scissor Girls were a No Wave revivalists, noise-rock, experimental, punk trio from Chicago, Illinois. 

The idea to form the group was conceived during the late eighties by Azita Youssefi & Heather Melowic when they were living in their hometown of Washington, DC. 

In 1989 Youssefi met SueAnne Zollinger while attending the Art Institute of Chicago & recruited her to round out the trio. 

The Scissor Girls released two albums, three 7"ers, & two EPs. 

Zollinger decided to call it quits in 1994. She was replaced by Kelly Kuvo, a long time friend of the band. The new trio disbanded later that year due to financial issues. Singer & bassist Azita went on to form Bride of No-No & to record/perform as a solo artist. You can find some of her solo work here

 

The Scissor Girls - We People Space with Phantoms, Atavistic ALP63CD, 1996.
decryption code in comments

The Sequential   
A Dedication to Cronies & Goats (M. Organ)   
In Two Acts   
Vamps, Here!   
Dismemberment Murder   
Skeletal/Binary   
World of Unreal Time   
Forecast Total Brain Shut-Dwn   
S. Mongers   
Anti-FUT Nos. 1, 2

Enjoy,
NØ

Llorando

 The Fems of Feb.

I am a huge fan of David Lynch. I am often reminded of the haunting accapella rendition of Roy Orbison's classic "Crying" as sung in Spanish ("Llorando") by Rebekah Del Rio in Mulholland Drive.

Rebekah Del Rio is a singer/songwriter from San Diego, California. She moved to Nashville in the mid 90s & recorded two albums, Nobody's Fool & All My Life. She has provided music for numerous film projects: Sin City; Streets of Legend; Man on Fire; Mia Sarah; & Southland Tales as well as appearing in Mulholland Drive.

I'm posting up her second release because of the above mentioned astonishing track. 

 

Rebekah Del Rio - All My Life (Toda Mi Vida), Baja Basement Records, 2003.
decryption code in comments

All My Life   
Dindi   
Tus Ojos Tristes   
Superstar   
Siempre Y Por Siempre   
Los Bilbilicos   
A Long Goodbye   
En Mi Cielo   
Fragilidad   
Llorando

Enjoy,
NØ

The Legend of Death in the Family

 The Fems of Feb.

The Dishrags formed in Victoria, British Columbia in 1977...three teenage girls: Jade Blade - singer & guitar; Dale Powers - bass: & Scout - drums.

They were influenced by the Ramones & the Clash. They set out to create their own short, sharp shocks. They moved to the more punk-friendly Vancouver scene in 1978 where bands like D.O.A & the Pointed Sticks were already defining the sound of western Canada's punk scene.

The Dishrags debuted their sound on the legendary Vancouver Complication anthology, recording two tracks, "Bullshit" & "I Don't Love You". "I Don't Love You" is a true classic punk song from one of the first all-female groups in the world...103 seconds long, built on an insistent, scratchy guitar riff & a positively crazed drum part played primarily on the ride cymbal.

The Dishrags followed up with a slightly more polished three-track Past is Past EP.  After a lineup change (Dale Powers left & second guitarist Sue MacGillivray & bassist Kim Henriksen joined the group), the band traveled to London to record the Death in the Family EP produced by Chris Spedding (or just stayed in Vancouver where the EP was produced by Pointed Sticks guitarist Bill Napier-Hemy...you decide). Either way, the EP disappeared almost immediately & shortly thereafter the Dishrags broke up.

This release contains the Vancouver Compilation tracks, the two EPs, & ten previously unheard Dishrags originals & covers.

 

 

The Dishrags - Love/Hate, Other Peoples Music OPM-2112,1997.
decryption code in comments

I Don't Love You    
Bullshit
Past is Past    
Tormented    
Love is Shit (it’s Goodbye)    
Love/Hate
Carry On    
You Fit the Picture    
Sold Out    
Cement    
Silence    
Can't Wait    
Quiet Little Table    
Nowhere to Hide    
Death in the Family
Beware of Dog    
All the Pain    
I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You (Ramones cover)
Vicious (Lou Reed cover)
Janie Jones (Clash cover)
Loving Person    
Friday Night Date    
Cravin' A...    
High Society Snob    
Gang War

Enjoy,
NØ

eviL edaS

 The Fems of Feb.

Don't really need to say much about this Grand Lady. You've all heard her music, you probably all have these songs. But I just wouldn't feel right skipping one of my musical loves.

This first one's a live set from February 19,1993, twenty nine years ago today, in San Diego. Sade at her finest live & still vital after all these years. 

 

Sade - Live in San Diego, CA., U.S.A. 1993, International Pop 056, 1994.
all decryption codes in comments

The Sweetest Taboo   
Keep Looking   
Love is Stronger Than Pride   
Smooth Operator   
Nothing Can Come Between Us   
Cherry Pie   
Pearls   
No Ordinary Love   
Is it a Crime?   
Cherish the Day

 

 

 

This one's from 2011 recorded at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, on September 4, 2011 during the band's Sade Live 106 date concert tour across America, Canada, Europe, South America, & Australia where they played for over 800,000 people. This was the bands first tour after nearly eighteen years absence from the stage. 

 

Never missing a stride. 

 

She is eternal. 

 

Although distinctly different, compare the two versions of "Cherish the Day" for vocal acumen. 

 

True love.

 

 

 

Sade - Bring Me Home/Live 2011, RCA 2012.

Soldier of Love
Skin
Kiss of Life
Love is Found
In Another Time
Jezebel
All about Our Love
Paradise / Nothing Can Come Between Us
Morning Bird
The Moon & the Sky
No Ordinary Love
By Your Side
Cherish the Day

Enjoy,
NØ

Lemon Kitten Pariah

 The Fems of Feb.

Danielle Dax is a singer/songwriter, multi- instrumentalist, producer, artist, & interior/garden designer. She was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Her early childhood was spent with her grandparents who encouraged her love of art, nature, & the occult.

In 1979 Dax met Karl Blake of Lemon Kittens. She painted the artwork for Lemon Kitten's first EP Spoonfed & Writhing. Shortly thereafter she joined the band playing flute, tenor sax, keyboards, & doing vocals. The duo of Blake & Dax released the highly acclaimed Lemon Kittens albums We Buy a Hammer for Daddy & Those That Bite the Hand That Feeds Them Sooner or Later Must Meet... The Big Dentist.

In 1983 Dax released her first solo album Pop-Eyes. On it she sang, played all instruments, wrote, arranged, & produced all the material herself as well as making the cover artwork. Over the next few years she released a number of successful EPs, the albums Jesus Egg That Wept & Inky Bloaters.

In 1988 Dax signed with Sire/Warner Bros label were she released Dark Adapted Eye.

During most of the 90s Dax suffered from a long illness & went in to semi-retirement.

She is quite private about her retirement, but in her own words:
      ''I had a very large stress attack in the early 80s. It was really serious, life threatening, scary stuff. I kind of just squashed it down, didn't deal with it, left it alone, felt fine, I was fine, fine, fine, fine. And then after we've done the tour in America we toured Europe and I supposed it was post traumatic stress. It was a combination of what happened to me and just complete mental and physical exhaustion. I had a break down basically. I was very ill for about a year and didn't leave my flat. I was really sick and it took me a long, long time to recover. When that happens to you there is nothing you can do about it. You just have to wait til you get better. I changed. I felt like my soul somehow got dislodged and I couldn't quite get back to where I'd been before. I still feel like a two completely different persons before the break down and after the break down. It was a very, very tough time and I couldn't work and of course I define myself by what I do. If I'm not doing I'm not actually existing. It was very painful but also a useful experience. The whole attitude of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is true. Through it I did a lot of reading and had all sorts of therapy and met a lot of different people of all different sorts. It taught me about mindfulness and being humble and also how to look after myself which is really important.''     

Since then she has focused mainly on interior & garden design. Her Brixton apartment has been featured magazines & on British TV series 'Home Front'. In 1997 the BBC awarded her their Designer-of-the-Year trophy. In 2000 she graduated with a distinction in garden design at the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden. 

 

 

Danielle Dax - Jesus Egg that Wept, Awesome Records AOR 1, 1984.
all decryption codes in comments

Side 1 -
Evil Honky Stomp
Pariah
Fortune Cheats

Side 2 -
Hammerheads
Here Come the Harvest Buns
Ostrich
The Spoil Factor

Danielle Dax - Dark Adapted Eye, Sire 9 25818-2, 1988.

Cat House   
Big Hollow Man   
White Knuckle Ride   
When I Was Young   
Yummer Yummer Man   
Fizzing Human Bomb   
Whistling for His Love   
Flashback   
Inky Bloaters   
Brimstone in a Barren Land   
Bad Miss 'M'   
Touch Piggy's Eyes   
House-Cat   
Bed Caves   
Sleep has No Property   
Hammerheads   
Pariah   
Where the Flies Are   
Funtime

Enjoy,
NØ

Run for Cover...It’s Nona

 The Fems of Feb.

Nona got her start in music as one of the Bluebells with Patti LaBelle & the Bluebells, later as LaBeele with the departure of Cindy Birdsong to the Supremes. As LaBelle, the trio  transformed themselves into futuristic disco-funk divas. Nona wrote many of the songs for the band before their breakup in 1976. 

At that time she decided to pursue a solo career. She has worked with such diverse collaborators as Prince, Laura Nyro, Allen Toussaint, Talking Heads, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, & many others.

On Nona, Nona sings & plays synthesizer. Produced by Nona Hendryx with Bill Laswell & arranged by Michael Beinhorn (both of Material fame). Cast of all star help: Nancy Wilson & Nile Rodgers - guitar: Bill Laswell, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, & Tina Weymouth - bass; Bernie Worrell & Michael Beinhorn - keyboards; Sly Dunbar & Gina Shock - drums; Laurie Andersen - violin; & more. 

 

 

Nona Hendryx - Nona, RCA AFL1-4565, 1983.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A -
B-Boys
Living on the Border
Keep it Confidential
Design for Living

Side B -
Transformation
Run for Cover
Steady Action
Dummy Up

 

 

 

 

Nona Hendryx - Female Trouble, EMI America CDP 7 46550 2, 1987.

I Know What You Need (Pygmy's Confession)
Big Fun
Baby Go-Go
Rhythm of Change
Why Should I Cry?
Too Hot to Handle
Winds of Change (Mandela to Mandela)
Female Trouble
Drive Me Wild

Enjoy,
NØ

Me & Ms. Jones

 The Fems of Feb.

Lavinia Jones was born in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. At the age of 14 she moved to Munich with her family. She is a singer, model, & TV moderator. She speaks English, Italian. & French.

Chemistry began with the track "My Man" which she produced together with her good friend Skizzo Franick (Philipp Peltz). The song is the title song for a freaky obscure horror movie called Das Musikill that Lavinia had a role in. 

After much positive feedback for the song, she decided to round out the concept as a complete 77 min. CD with songs from various friends like Skizzo Franick, Ant on Wax (Adam Szabo), Gigajazz, Audiohead, & more. The CD was never driven by commercial intention. It was about Lavinia’s love of the process of collaborating with other fantastic musicians to create this expression of shared feelings. 

 

 

Lavinia Jones – Chemistry:Mixed Up by the Underground, Novatune, 2005.
decryption code in comments

My Man (radio edit)
Mama Said
Broken Souls
Children of the Sun
U Rule
My Man
Broken Souls (Skiz Dub mix featuring Edaniel Madera)
Nobody
Chemistry
Love Letters on Laptop
Oceano
A Man & a Woman
Broken Souls (Gigajazz remix)
Falling Rain (Secret Window remix)
Broken Souls (His Master’s Choice remix)
My Man (Untrue remix)
Children of the Sun (Audiohead remix)
My Man (GinaS remix)
Children of the Sun (The Headroom Project remix)

Enjoy,
NØ

A Few Quick Ones... Mutations, Crustations, Eggs...Oh My!

The Fems of Feb.

As the poster queries, “"Who is Celia?"  Perhaps The Stranglers manager Dai Davies heard the bob-haired singer Celia Gollin in a nightclub, where she was performing with Rod Melvin, previously of Kilburn & the High Roads. Dai Davies sez, "She was mixing Marlene Dietrich songs with Kinks & Velvet Underground stuff. She sounded so polite & English & proper that I thought it would be really great to see her singing in front of a nasty dirty rock band like the Stranglers. The contrast would be incredible".

Gollin's recording history at that time amounted to one previous appearance as a backing vocalist on a track of a Brian Eno produced Gavin Bryers album Ensemble Pieces in 1975.

Together The Stranglers & Celia recorded the single containing a version of Tommy James & the Shondell's classic "Mony Mony" b-sided with The Stranglers penned, "Mean to Me". The single was launched into the world on The Stranglers United Artists label in the spring of 1977.

A follow up single "You Better Believe Me", was co-written by Gollin & the Fabulous Mutations: Stranglers Jean Jacques Burnel; Wilko Johnson from Dr Feelgood; & Terry Williams from Man. The b-side is "Round & Around" featuring the Young Mutations made up of Phil Chambon & Andy Arthurs from Tonight.

No one seems to know what happened to Celia after her "5 minutes of fame" fronting The Stranglers in 1977. 

 

Celia & the Mutations - Mony Mony, United Artists Records UP 36262, 1977.
all decryption codes in comments

Side 1 -
Mony Mony
Side 2 -
Mean to Me 

 

 

Celia & the Mutations - You Better Believe Me, United Artist Records UP 36318,1977.

Side 1 -
You Better Believe Me - Celia & the Fabulous Mutations
Side 2 -
Round & Around - Celia & the Young Mutations

 

 

 

Crustation was a trip-hop band, formed by Ian Dark, Stig Manley & Mark Tayler, three producers from Bristol. In the 80s they had played in bands with Adrian Utley of Portishead. In a later incarnation of Crustation they collaborated with vocalist Bronagh Slevin. In 1997 they released their only full length album Bloom, under the moniker Crustation with Bronagh Slevin.

I could say that Crustation - Bloom with Bronagh Slevin is basically a one-off, that no one can get enough "Flame"...but I've got to be honest. Ms Slevin just happens to be IT for me. I love trip-hop & I love female vocalists, but Ms S is the finest.

 

 

Crustation - Flame 12" single, Jive JIVE T 424, 1997.

Side A -
Flame (12" master mix)
Flame (Mood II Swing vocal mix)

Side B -
Flame (Borderline Insanity Dub mix)
Flame (Freakniks remix)

 

 

bonus Bronagh - vocals & cello (she gives me wood)

My Flight - Distances featuring Bronagh Slevin
Pitch
Nineteen
Snowdance
Breaking the Waves - Storm Carver featuring Bronagh Slevin

 

 

 

Edith Massey will forever be remembered as "Edie the Egg Lady" for her breakthrough role in John Waters' equally breakthrough 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos. Here she dons her Female Trouble Aunt Ida's leathers & punks out (sort of). Who doesn't love Edith?

The Evidence are: Rob Fahey & Nick Longo - guitars; Susan Lauer - keyboards; Steve Longo - bass.

 

 

Edith Massey & the Evidence - Live on Sunset Strip, Longderson Publishing, 2009.

I Got the Evidence
Polyester Girl
Punks, Get Off the Grass
Fever

Enjoy,
NØ

Stina’s Back from Texas...Hope She’ll Be My Valentine...Dynamite

 The Fems of Feb.

Stina Nordenstam (born Kristina Ulrika Nordenstam in Stockholm) is a Swedish singer, songwriter. & musician.

Her early work was significantly jazz-influenced, with only subtle elements of alternative rock. With 1997s Dynamite she started down a darker, more experimental path; most of that album is filled with processed, distorted electric guitars & unusual beats showcasing her unique song-writing abilities.

Believing in what The Resident's refer to as "The Theory of Obscurity" Stina rarely performs live, often alters her appearance using wigs & make-up for album covers, & gives very few interviews. Her discomfort with doing interviews means she has always remained a mysterious figure, with precious little known about her beyond what one can glean from listening to her music. In her view "a piece of art doesn't often benefit from a lot of information. It's best if you just experience it and fill the rest in for yourself."

Her child-like voice combined with her atmospheric jazz-influenced instrumentation & the beautiful fragility of her songs paint a picture of one who spends most of her time working with fierce intensity on her music, in between bouts of standing sadly on railway platforms in the rain, or wandering waif-like through the woods.

Stina Nordenstam - And She Closed Her Eyes, Telegram Records Stockholm 4509-93898-2, 1994.
all decryption codes in comments

When Debbie's Back from Texas   
Viewed from the Spire   
Crime   
Fireworks   
Proposal   
Little Star   
Hopefully Yours   
Murder in Mairyland Park   
I See You Again   
So This is Goodbye   
Something Nice   
And She Closed Her Eyes

 

 

Stina Nordenstam - Dynamite, Telegram Records Stockholm 0630-15605-2, 1996.

Under Your Command   
Dynamite   
Almost a Smile   
Mary Bell   
The Man with the Gun   
Until   
This Time, John   
CQD   
Down Desire Avenue   
Now That You're Leaving

Enjoy,
NØ

The Well-Tempered Clavier

 The Fems of Feb.

Natalia Clavier grew up in Buenos Aires & from a young age immersed herself in a world of music: classical; jazz; Argentinian folk; & pop as well as the radio sounds of American soul & protest rock.

She then moved to Barcelona to broadened her musical horizons further. She was soon adding vocals to dance singles, singing live at raves in front of thousands as well as solo in the rather more intimate jazz scene.  There she met fellow ex-pat Federico Aubele, an Argentine singer-songwriter with several albums to his name on Thievery Corporation's label Eighteenth Street Lounge. Natalia & Federico became partners in music. The demos they made were soon shaped into her debut album, Nectar, released in 2008 on ESL Music.

Nectar showcases Natalia's beautiful voice over spare jazz-soul arrangements. The album created the opportunity for her to become a lead vocalist with Thievery Corporation. 

 

 

Natalia Clavier - Nectar, Eighteenth Street Lounge Music ESL 131, 2008.
decryption code in comments

El Árbol
Dormida
Azul
Ay De Mi
No Volverá    
Confusión
Mi Mentira
La Mitad    
Tu Que Pueded Vuélvete
Simple    
Néctar
Tiempo

Enjoy,
NØ

Divine Miss D

 The Fems of Feb.

Dinah Washington was one of the greatest female vocalists to have sung jazz & popular music in the 20th century. Her style & delivery have been emulated by many that followed but few have had a voice to match the Divine Miss D.

While singing at Garricks Bar in Chicago to supplement her washroom attendant's salary, Dinah (then still using her birth name Ruth Lee Jones) was noticed by Louis Armstrong's manager Joe Glaser. Through Glaser's recommendation, the newly christened Dinah Washington became vocalist for Lionel Hampton's band. In three years Dinah parlayed her talent from band vocalist to headliner.
 

She recorded her debut Slick Chick (on the Mellow Side) for Mercury Records in 1946. In the following years she scored hit after hit on the R&B charts, topping the charts with "Ain't Misbehavin' ", "Am I Asking Too Much", & "Baby Get Lost". In 1950, her song "I Wanna Be Loved" broke into the Billboard pop charts & her audience exploded.

Among the many album highlights of her career was Dinah Jams from 1954. Backed by the likes of Clifford Brown & Maynard Ferguson on trumpet, Herb Geller on alto sax, Max Roach on drums, Junior Mance & Richie Powel on piano plus a host of others. Recorded live in Hollywood, CA on August 14.

 

Dinah Washington - Dinah Jams, Emarcy 814 639-2, 1984.
decryption code in comments

Lover Come Back to Me
Alone Together medley (Alone Together,Summertime,Come Rain or Come Shine)
No More
I've Got You Under My Skin
There is No Greater Love
You Go to My Head
Darn that Dream
Crazy He Calls Me
I'll Remember April

Enjoy,
NØ

It’s a Lonely World When There’s No One Around to Kick Your Ass

 The Fems of Feb.

Carla Bozulich was born in New York City & grew up in San Pedro, California. Carla's first appearance on record is Gary Kail's 1982 album titled Zurich 1916. She was singer for the Neon Veins & Invisible Chains. Invisible Chains released a self-titled album for New Alliance label when Carla was 18 years old.

Next for Carla was art punk Ethyl Meatplow.

Following Ethyl Meatplow was The Geraldine Fibbers, an alt-country style outfit & the closest Bozulich has ever come to mainstream acceptance. She formed the Fibbers in 1994, naming the band after an imaginary childhood friend.

After the Geraldine Fibbers, Carla moved on to Evangelista. For her first release the L.A. based Bozulich chose to record for Constellation, perhaps seemingly a strange release for the Montreal based label who had previously championed the "Montreal sound". 

Carla traveled to Montreal to record the album because of her appreciation of that sound & the music talent associated with Constellation. She was able to work with members of Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, & Black Ox Orkestar. She utilized the production talent of bassist Shahzad Ismaily. Ismaily submerged Carla's music in pools of noise, static, & muffled instrumental sounds. This minimal but mysterious technique sets the tone for the music & as soon as Bozulich's voice is heard, it cracks through the noise perfectly. 

The first Evangelista album is titled Evangelista by Carla Bozulich but subsequent releases are credited to Evangelista which was made up of Bozulich - guitar & vocals, Dominic Cramp - keyboards & noises, & Tara Barnes bass & backing vocals. 

 

In the spring of 2009 Evangelista returned to the Constellation's Hotel2Tango studio where her previous albums were made & recorded Prince of Truth which includes a wide cast of friends including Nels Cline (Carla's Scarnella & Geraldine Fibbers band-mate), Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith, Jessica Catron, Devin Hoff, Thierry Amar (A Silver Mt. Zion), Nadia Moss, & Jonah Fortune (both from Montreal band Witchies).

Gatefold cardboard sleeve with a 6-panel folded liner notes paper sheet. CD in a thick paper inner sleeve. 

 

Evangelista - Prince of Truth, Constellation CST061-2, 2009.
decryption code in comments

The Slayer
Tremble Dragonfly
I Lay There in Front of Me Covered in Ice
You are a Jaguar
Iris Didn't Spell
Crack Teeth
On the Captain's Side

Enjoy,
NØ