Oct 20, 2013

Sundaze 1342

Hello, last week saw some strong interest in Guthrie's shimmering guitarscapes, that's great. What is even better the guy did a lot more so now i got a choice on how to proceed not that it matters much because next week the Budd path is taken that leaves the path of Violet Indiana for today.

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Today's artist's create smokey, sultry, hazy, smooth, ambient dream pop. Robin Guthrie's shimmering guitarscapes and ex-Mono vocalist Siobhan De Maré's singular vocals entwining in a tragic marriage of loss, heartbreak, and obsession all wrapped in a heartbreakingly beautiful packages... ... N'Joy

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Violet Indiana are the musical union of the guitar and production individuality of former-Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie and the versatile vocals of Siobhan de Mare. Shortly after de Mare was relieved of her Mono duties, she received a phone call from Guthrie, asking her if she'd like to work with him. Unfamiliar with Guthrie's cult status, she asked her sister about him and decided to take him up on the offer. In late 2000, the duo released the Choke EP on Bella Union, the label run by Guthrie and former Cocteau mate Simon Raymonde. Retaining some of Guthrie's trademark characteristics and combining them with de Mare's lazy, confident delivery, the Choke EP established them convincingly enough as something removed from Guthrie's prior band -- a tricky thing indeed. 2001's full-length Roulette improved on the promising debut.

 A singles collection, Casino, followed in early 2002, it compiled 3 previous EP's with 3 new tracks. “Russian Doll” is their second album and the follow-up to the highly-acclaimed “Roulette” which was released in 2001. Impressive as Violet Indiana’s debut was, “Russian Doll” represents a great artistic leap. Guthrie and De Mare have honed their song-writing partnership to create a flawless collection of sublime pop moments, ranging from desolate torch songs through to hypnotic summer lullabies.

While continuing his work with Violet Indiana, Robin Guthrie remains active on many fronts. Last year saw the release of “Imperial”, his debut solo album, which was both a critical and commercial success. More recently he has been collaborating with Ulrich Schnauss and also Harold Budd, with whom he is wrote the soundtrack to the new Gregg Araki film, “Mysterious Skin”. He has also created a short animated film, “Lumiere”, which he has performed as an interactive musical piece at various multi-media festivals across Europe.

According to Robin Guthrie’s weblog, the duo have been in the studio working on new material.

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There isn't an arklark or a floatboat to be found on Roulette, but there is the familiar cascading echo of Robin Guthrie's guitar, along with his ever-developing production skills. With Siobhan de Mare, the former Cocteau Twin remains adept at picking ideal voices to compliment his comfy, womb-like constructs. That oft-copied sound that only he can truly pull off is carried forth in Violet Indiana. Difference-wise, there's an obvious movement toward songs with his new partner. That kind of goes without saying, since the Cocteaus' Liz Fraser built her niche with singular vocals that frequently avoided discernible English. Despite the breathy, come-hither vocals of de Mare, she's less of an instrument. One listen to this record on headphones in a darkened room will be the best way to demonstrate this duo's strengths, separating them from the lot of male/female duos that populate a record shop's trip-hop section. Guthrie's slow-thrust arrangements are spare and subtle, lightly jazzy most of the time, full enough to blow the song along, and not quite thick enough to be determined syrupy. These songs are fragile, although hardly qualifying as precious. The only song that sounds remotely radio friendly is "Sundance," which proves that Guthrie and de Mare can pen an emotional pop song as well as anyone else. de Mare takes a break from whispering and belts it out a little as Guthrie's guitar escalates endlessly. The remainder of the record slithers, glows, and throbs as well as any other intended for the bedroom. Just right for those who want a little more oomph in their ambient.



Violet Indiana - Roulette (flac  219mb)

01 Air Kissing 3:52
02 Feline Or Famine 2:47
03 Sundance 3:38
04 Powder River 3:19
05 Little Echo 3:15
06 Angel 3:10
07 Poison 3:37
08 Hiding 3:46
09 Rage Days 3:45
10 Liar 4:23
11 Killer Eyes 4:17

Violet Indiana - Roulette (ogg 78mb)

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Those who were in the know and scored the first Brit-only Violet Indiana disc, Roulette, got their first taste of former Cocteau Twin  The three (also import-only) EPs furthered the band's rep to the point where they had to get something out stateside -- Casino is it. For the faithful it may be a bit of a let down in that it only features three new tracks, but it also puts all three EPs handily onto one disc. While tunes like "Jailbird," "Purr la Perla," "Poppy," and "Torn Up" have the wistful atmospherics one has come to expect from Mr. Guthrie, they are tempered with an obsessive malevolence and an over-the-top excess of raw emotion. "Bang Bang" is the account of a woman catching her husband in an act of adultery in their wedding bed. And as such, she is moved to kill the other woman. As guitars move -- ringing, slithering, and slipping in and out of a textured wall of white-out -- Ms. De Maré sings as if this moment were calculated; she acts as if it's her only choice and does the violent act with a swagger and a hint of a smile. On the other side of the coin is the band's non-tongue-in-cheek cover of Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (If You Go Away); genuine unconditional love is laid out at the other's feet amid the reverbed swirl of Guthrie's guitars, keyboards, and drums. Marianne Faithfull could have covered this and it actually sounds as if her presence and inspiration are being evoked here. The final track, "Heaven," offers a glimpse of an optimism so fragile it is barely allowed to exist; De Maré's vocals strut down in the velveteen gutters with Mr. Guthrie's Bataillean vision of sex, heartbreak, and excess. This is a breath of cognac- and cigarette-scented air on an almost-dead pop scene.



Violet Indiana - Casino (flac  223mb)

01 Jailbird 4:28
02 Bang Bang 3:16
03 Purr La Perla 2:51
04 Silent 3:25
05 Storm 3:47
06 Sky 3:14
07 Safe Word 3:23
08 Ne Me Quitte Pas 3:46
09 Poppy 3:09
10 Torn Up 2:52
11 Heaven 2:35
12 Chapter Three 4:46

Violet Indiana - Casino (ogg 80mb)

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Violet Indiana appeared to be on hold in 2003, when Robin Guthrie released his first proper solo album. A year later, Guthrie returns with Siobhan de Maré for the duo's second proper album, which trails their singles compilation Casino by a couple years. More so than ever, they appear to be priming themselves for the time when Angelo Badalamenti retires from scoring David Lynch films. (To make this point further evident, "Quelque Jour" is apparently directly inspired by a scene from Blue Velvet.) If Lynch should ever direct a movie based on obsessive romantic relationships that just happens to be set in 1996 or so, he can license the whole of this album and be done with it. This is a compliment and a criticism at the same time -- the positive being that Violet Indiana's music is good enough for use in a film made by a magnificent director, the negative being that the album's mid-'90s feel makes it seem as if it were made well before the duo's first recordings. So it does seem like a step backward for them, and it doesn't help that there aren't as many memorable songs here as there are on the debut. The duo is still wholly capable of concocting a simmering, slightly sleazy form of dream pop noir, and not many other groups would be able to do such a thing if they tried. When mid-'90s nostalgia takes hold in roughly ten years or so, Russian Doll might be considered a decade ahead of the revival game.



Violet Indiana - Russian Doll (flac  282mb)

01 Never Enough 2:52
02 Quelque Jour 3:00
03 (My Baby Was A) Cheat 2:46
04 New Girl 2:59
05 The Visit 4:32
06 You 4:59
07 Touch Me 3:57
08 Innocent 4:48
09 Beyond The Furr 3:10
10 Close The World 6:47
Beyond The Furr EP
11 Beyond The Furr 3:06
12 Crystal Mountain 3:25
13 Perfect Day 4:14

Violet Indiana - Russian Doll (ogg 100mb)

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2 comments:

bobbysu said...

thank you so much

Anonymous said...

Merci beaucoup !
I have problems downloading Russian Doll
on all providers: the connection is too slow...