Sow was the musical project of Anna Wildsmith, formed in 1989 and based in France.

Raymond Watts Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

, Wildsmith's boyfriend, was also heavily involved in the production of Sow releases. Wildsmith appeared on numerous

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

albums, writing lyrics or performing vocals, such as the song "Cry Baby" from

Genuine American Monster ''Genuine American Monster'' is an album by Raymond Watts, under the name PIG. It was initially released in Japan in 1999, and did not see a release in the United States until 2002 October 22 on Metropolis Records. The US release adds one song o ...

. Sow opened for

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Fee ...

during their ''Red Neck, White Trash And Blue Movie Tour'' in 1998, with Anna Wildsmith also taking the stage for part of the Pigface set. Sow released three albums before Wildsmith’s death from an undisclosed illness on 30 September 2016.

Style

Most tracks are primarily

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

, alternating between English and French languages, supported by experimental electronic, ambient or industrial soundscapes.

Scene

Among the artists who have contributed to Sow releases are members of

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial rock band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art proje ...

, Pig,

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

and Euphonic. Sow's releases were published on

Invisible Records Invisible Records is a Chicago based record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. ...

, Blue Noise, I, Absentee, Yellow Ltd., and Hyperium Records. Anna Wildsmith has performed vocals on songs for Pig,

H3llb3nt H3llb3nt were an electro-industrial supergroup formed in 1995. The original line-up band consisted of Bryan Barton (of haloblack), Charles Levi (of Pigface), Jared Louche (of Chemlab), Jordan Nogood and Eric Powell (of 16Volt). They released t ...

, 2-Kut, and

Sabbat The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. Modern pagan observances are based to varying ...

Discography

Major releases

* '' Je M'Aime'' (1994) * '' Sick'' (1998) * ''

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

'' (16 March 2010)

Minor releases

* ''Manripe'' (1989)

Other appearances of tracks by Sow

* "The Rock" on ''Project 91'' * "Wedge (Pig Remix)" on ''Dr. Speedlove Presents: Chemical Warfare (Mix Mix Bang Bang)'' * "No Candy" and "My House" on ''The Sick City - Volume One''

References

British spoken word artists British industrial music groups {{UK-band-stub