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4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later. The label gained prominence in the 1980s for releasing albums from alternative rock, post-punk, gothic rock, and dream pop artists, such as Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Pixies, Throwing Muses, and Watts-Russell's own musical project This Mortal Coil. In 1987, the label scored an international hit with the dance music single " Pump Up the Volume" by the one-off project MARRS. 4AD continued to have success in the 1990s and 2000s, with releases from the Breeders, Lush, Belly, Red House Painters ...
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Lush (band)
Lush were an English rock band formed in London in 1987. The original line-up consisted of Miki Berenyi (vocals, guitar), Emma Anderson (vocals, guitar), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Phil King replaced Rippon in 1991. They were one of the first bands to have been described with the " shoegazing" label. Following the death of Acland, the group disbanded in 1996. The group reunited for a short time between 2015 and 2016 with Berenyi, Anderson, King and Justin Welch. They toured and recorded an EP of new material. History Formation and early sound (1987–1988) The band was formed in 1987 in London, initially named the Baby Machines (after a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song " Arabian Knights"), with a line-up of Meriel Barham (vocals), Anderson (guitar, vocals), Berenyi (guitar, vocals), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums).Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p. 478-9 Their influences were diverse; t ...
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Camera Obscura (band)
Camera Obscura are a Scottish indie pop band from Glasgow. The group formed in 1996, and have released six studio albums to date. Led by primary singer and songwriter Tracyanne Campbell, the band consists of guitarist/vocalist Kenny McKeeve, bassist Gavin Dunbar, and drummer Lee Thomson. Following the death of long-serving keyboardist Carey Lander, the band went on hiatus from 2015 to 2018. After reuniting in 2019 and adding Donna Maciocia as a permanent member, Camera Obscura released their first new album in 11 years, ''Look to the East, Look to the West'', to critical acclaim. The band's music has been frequently described as "twee pop", and garnered comparisons to fellow Scottish band Belle and Sebastian. The band have also been praised for their "honest, wide, and adult approach to heartbreak, romantic liaisons, and escapism". History Camera Obscura were formed in 1996 by Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson and Gavin Dunbar. Several other members performed with the band ...
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Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 1983, Heggie was replaced with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, Audio signal processing, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative rock, alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze. In 1982, the band signed with the record label 4AD and released their debut album ''Garlands (album), Garlands''. The addition of Raymonde in 1983 solidified their best-known lineup, which soon produced the No. 29 UK hit "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops", their highest-charting UK single. The trio crystallised their "swelling, euphoric" dream pop style on the 1984 album ''Treasure ...
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This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance. The project is known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three albums: '' It'll End in Tears'' (1984), '' Filigree & Shadow'' (1986) and '' Blood'' (1991). Background Watts-Russell had founded 4AD in 1980, and the label established itself as one of the key labels in the British post-punk movement. Following several releases, Watts-Russell developed the idea of collaborating under the name This Mortal Coil. The name is taken from lyrics to the song Dream Within A Dream by Spirit ("...Stepping off this mortal coil will be my pleasure..."), which in turn is a quote from Shakespeare' ...
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Clan Of Xymox
Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of dark wave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singer-songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on 4AD, before releasing their third and fourth albums on Wing Records and scoring a hit single in the United States. The band is still active, continuing to tour and release records with Moorings as the sole remaining original member. History 4AD and the Peel Sessions (1983–1988) Clan of Xymox were formed in Nijmegen, Netherlands, in 1983 by Ronny Moorings (guitars, vocals) and Anka Wolbert (bass, vocals). Wolbert stated of the band's formation: Ronny and I met as students in Nijmegen and we connected over our taste in music. We started making music together and picked up some equipment to experiment with, like the Korg MS-10 and a rhythm machine...We started to perform live, ...
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The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson (drums). The earliest incarnation of the band was formed by Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly in 1989 as a side-project alongside their full-time bands Pixies (band), Pixies and Throwing Muses respectively. To record their debut album, 1990's ''Pod (The Breeders album), Pod'', Deal and Donelly recruited bassist Josephine Wiggs of the Perfect Disaster and drummer Britt Walford of Slint. Kim's sister Kelley was brought into the band as a third guitarist (though at the time, Kelley had never played guitar before) in 1992 to record the ''Safari (EP), Safari'' EP, and shortly thereafter Tanya Donelly left to concentrate full-time on her own new band, Belly (band), Belly, leaving Kelley Deal as the sole lead guitarist; Britt Walford left as well aroun ...
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Pixies (band)
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering (drums). The Pixies are associated with the 1990s alternative rock boom, and draw on elements including punk rock and surf music, surf rock. Their music is known for dynamic "loud-quiet-loud" shifts and song structures. Francis is the primary songwriter; his often surreal lyrics cover offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical violence. Their jarring pop sound influenced acts such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, the Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer. The Pixies achieved modest popularity in the US but were more successful in Europe. Their popularity grew after their breakup, leading to a 2004 reunion and sold-out world tours. Deal left in 2013, and was replaced by Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist. She was replaced ...
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Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two stepsisters, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the group's songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. History 1983–1986: Formation, first EP and ''The Doghouse Cassette'', debut album Throwing Muses were formed in 1983 by Kristin Hersh and her stepsister Tanya Donelly, who were both attending Rogers High School. They initially called themselves "Kristin Hersh and the Muses", in wh ...
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Ivo Watts-Russell
Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the independent record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director". Early years Watts-Russell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the youngest of eight children of Major David Watts-Russell and Gina Spinola (née Baker; died 2018 aged 98). He "never related emotionally" to either of his parents, and grew up "on a dilapidated Northamptonshire estate in an atmosphere of almost Victorian froideur". He was educated at Oundle School. His paternal grandfather, Captain Arthur Egerton Birch, of the Coldstream Guards (son of the colonial administrator Sir Arthur Nonus Birch), took his mother's surname at the age of 21, she being of the Watts-Russell gentry family formerly of Ilam Hall, Staffordshire.Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th edition, vol. 2, ed. Peter Townend, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1969, pp. 543-544 Captain Arthu ...
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Pump Up The Volume (song)
"Pump Up the Volume" is the only Single (music), single by British recording act MARRS, MARRS. Recorded and released in 1987, it was a number-one hit in many countries and is regarded as a significant milestone in the development of British house music, house music and sampling (music), music sampling. The song derives its title directly from a lyrical sample from "I Know You Got Soul (Eric B. & Rakim song), I Know You Got Soul", a hit single by labelmates Eric B. & Rakim, released months prior in that same year. The single was the product of an uneasy collaboration between electronic music, electronic group Colourbox and dream pop band A.R. Kane, two groups signed to the independent label 4AD. The A-side was written primarily by Colourbox, while the B-side "Anitina" was primarily an A.R. Kane creation. The link-up was suggested by label founder Ivo Watts-Russell after the two groups had independently suggested the possibility of releasing a commercial dance record, inspired by t ...
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Red House Painters
Red House Painters were an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988, before relocating to San Francisco, California in 1989. Originally formed by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek and drummer Anthony Koutsos, the pair were soon joined by guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel. Phil Carney would later replace Gorden Mack as the band's guitarist. The group released 6 studio albums and an EP, before dissolving in 2001, and are considered to be a pioneering act of the slowcore subgenre. History While in Atlanta, Georgia, Ohio-born Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. Following the breakup of his former band, God Forbid, Kozelek and Koutsos decided to form a new band, called Red House Painters, in 1988. Despite some live and studio efforts, the pair found trouble getting signed to record labels in Atlanta. They then moved to San Francisco, California, in 1989, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red ...
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Dream Pop
Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably. The genre came into prominence in the 1980s through groups associated with the UK label 4AD, most prominently Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and A.R. Kane. Subsequently, UK-based acts such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Lush alongside US-based artists Galaxie 500, Julee Cruise, and Mazzy Star released significant albums in the style. It saw renewed popularity among millennial listeners following the late-2000s success of indie act Beach House. Etymology and characteristics The term dream pop is thought to relate to the "immersion" in the music experienced b ...
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