Scandinavian Indie Digest Vol.1 Issue #12
Scandinavian Indie Digest Mon May 09, 1994 Volume 1 : Issue 12
There are 11 messages totalling 574 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Whipped Cream
2. Re: Record Stores In Stockholm (2)
3. Puffin interview
4. Non-SCAN: Slowdive discography new version (v1.6)
5. My God, Norwegian Indie? (3)
6. A Shrine.. (2)
7. QUART FESTIVAL 21-24 JULY
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Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 13:50:28 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Whipped Cream
pstopfo@atss.calstatela.edu wrote:
> DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFO ON WHIPPED CREAM
Well, there has been a lot of articles in the papers about the time
they released "HorseMountain". What do you want to know? I posted
some reviews from the papers a while back if I'm not mistaken.
/Erik
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Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 13:50:53 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: Record Stores In Stockholm
Kimmo S{{skilahti wrote:
> A friend of mine is going over to Stockholm in a couple of weeks, and I'm
> going to force her to buy me a Bear Quartet CD. Can anyone name a record
> store in the centre of Stockholm that will have BQ in stock? As my friend
> is a very busy lady, she won't have time for running around looking for
> some obscure guitar buzz for me... :-)
They probably have BQ at the Megastore right in the middle of Stockholm
(down at Sergels Torg, Subway to Centralen). Just tell her to check the
"Swedish" section, and nowhere else. Or if it's an EP or single, to check
the singles section. She could also check ]hlens record department. (also
subway to Centralen, the record department is on the same level as the
subway entrance from Sergels Torg, and she can enter it directly from
the subway entrance, or from the normal entrance above ground. :))
/Erik
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Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 20:19:07 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Puffin interview
Short interview with "Puffin" 6 May 1994 - by Erik Soderstrom after a gig at
"Herrgar'n", Linkoping, Sweden.
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Puffin are:
Per Helin (vocals, guitar) Robert Norsten (vocals, guitar)
Jon Rudberg (percussion) Magnus Astrom (drums, sampler)
Mattias Jonsson (bass) Helena Espvall (additional vocals, cello)
Eskil Lovstrom (trombone)
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(if the answer is "A." it was answered by someone. If the answer came from
someone special, the initials are written.)
Q. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE GIG TONIGHT?
PH. The stage was too high and it felt a bit small for all of us.
And it swayed a bit too. But the crowd was really, really great.
We played 17 songs. Eight from Carnivore [their full-length CD]:
'Sir', 'Elephant Stomp', 'Our Friend Insane', 'Medium Cool',
'Laugh & Die', 'White Noise', 'Kooky' and 'A Dream It Seems',
three from the Medium Cool E.P.: 'Five Ants', 'Three-Piece' and
'While You're Gone', one from the Life's A Joke compilation:
'Ooh!' and five other ones: 'The Leaves', 'Flipper', 'Sigyl Vane'
[I may have read it wrong], 'Culture Club' and 'Femme Fatale'.
The two extra numbers were 'White Noise' and 'Kooky', then
'While You're Gone' and A 'Dream It Seems'.
Q. ARE YOU TOURING RIGHT NOW?
A. Sort of. We played in Kalmar yesterday, Linkoping today and tomorrow
we play at Kalmar Nation [It's like a club for people from the same
part of Sweden (in this case, Kalmar) at the universities] in Uppsala
together with HappyDeadMen, Sonic Surf City and Cloudberry Jam.
Q. WHEN DID PUFFIN START AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
PH. We started as Ultraflesh, then changed to In The Flesh and finally
when we recorded our CD, we changed to Puffin. Magnus Astrom and
I started out in a band called Pepperland Acid Waste [I may have
heard wrong] about four and a half years ago. When Magnus went
to England, Robert Norsten joined and we formed Ultraflesh. (haha)
We played dance music then, like Jesus Jones, you know? We were
seven then, but after a while our keyboardist and drummer quit,
and about one and a half year ago we got a new bass player
[I think the old one was Erik Danielsson]. We're all from Umea,
but Magnus is moving to Stockholm to study Graphic Design this
autumn.
Q. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH PUFFIN, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
A. Did you see the bird we had on one of the speakers? Well, that's
a Puffin bird [Lundfagel in swedish], and that's how we picked
our name. [someone says: It can hold more than one fish in its
mouth at the same time. (haha)]. From Ultraflesh to In The Flesh
was just a small change as you can see.
Q. HOW DID YOU GET SIGNED TO THE A WEST SIDE FABRICATION LABEL?
A. Well, we started out on the North Of No South label, and then just
moved over to West Side. [After a small discussion about the North
Of No South label and the bad move to put a lot of weight behind
the release of a full-length CD with Komeda [another swedish indie
band] which didn't do well at all, I find that Per Helin and Robert
Norsten are the owners of the North Of No South label and that Magnus
Astrom designs their covers.]
Q. HOW ABOUT RELEASES?
PH. We've been on a couple of compilations, released one Mini-CD, one
full-length CD and one E.P. The compilations we're on are:
"North of No South Compilation One" with 'Snow' and 'Slowtime',
"Life's a Joke" [Rainbow Music] with 'Ooh!', "15 Songs of Spring"
[West Side] with 'All In Your Mind', and the latest one was
"We're All Part Of A Family" [West Side] with 'Surface Earth'.
The Mini-CD, "A Dream It Seems" [with 6 songs] was released on
the North Of No South label a year ago. And finally, the full-
length CD "Carnivore" came out last year, and the E.P. "Medium
Cool E.P." a couple of months ago. Now we're going to hit the
studio again in June to record a new full-length [out after the
summer], and an E.P. after that. We plan to release an E.P.
a few months after every full-length we make.
Q. HOW ABOUT INFLUENCES?
A. Don't know really... but Pavement, Sebadoh, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Idaho, Roller Skate Skinny, Mercury Rev.
MJ. I like jazz, John Coltraine, Michael Nyman and so on.
A. Kahlil Elseb from Africa, Monica Zetterlund.
PH. We listened to all albums with ELO when we recorded Carnivore.
A. Can, from Germany, are really good. They made music to the movie
"Til The End Of The World". They're Loop's favourite band by the
way.
MA. Dead Kennedys.
Q. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE BRITISH/AMERICAN INDIE SCENE?
A. The British scene isn't interesting at all anymore, but the american
one is. Just take a look at Pavement, American Music Club, Idaho,
Red Hot Chili Peppers...
Q. HOW ABOUT OTHER SWEDISH INDIE GROUPS?
A. Well, if they want to call us 'indie', okay... but we think of
ourselves as indie too (haha). No, but, Bear Quartet, Meshugga,
Blithe.. can't really talk about groups on our own label though
(haha).
Q. WHO WRITES THE SONGS?
A. Per writes about 50%, Robert about 40% and the rest 10% are by the
rest of the band. Everyone writes. Like on Carnivore, there were
songs by all members of the band. Jon writes a lot more nowadays
too. He has written two songs so far for the new CD. But like I
said, everyone writes. We start with complete songs, then we break
them down into pieces and they become new songs. Everyone sits
at home composing, but Per and Robert writes most of the songs.
Q. ARE YOU PLAYING FESTIVALS THIS SUMMER?
A. Nothing is planned, and we haven't heard anything, but we _will_
play _somewhere_. We just don't know yet.
Q. ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO TELL ME?
PH. One funny thing about our sound [Boo Radleys are mentioned a lot when
people try to describe their sound] - when we had recorded Carnivore
and it was a couple of weeks before it was to be released, Boo Radleys
came out with their "Giant Steps" and I thought 'oh no, they picked
the same style!'.
A. 'White Noise' and 'Our Friend Insane' was played a lot on the finnish
radio and got "Heavy Weight" labels.
PH. We got stopped by the police on our way here. They told us the car
wasn't built for more than three people. (haha) But it was okay.
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Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 20:32:43 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: Record Stores in Stockholm (fwd)
Forwarded message:
> From: halfdan@aol.com
> To: chief@lysator.liu.se
> Date: Sun, 08 May 94 13:33:14 EDT
> Subject: Re: Record Stores In Stockholm
>
> KimmoS{{skilahti wrote:
>
>> Can anyone name a record store in the centre of Stockholm that will have
>> BQ in stock?
>
> When I visit Stockholm, I always shop for CD's at Ahlens department store
> lower lever near Sergel's Torg, not far from Centralen Station. There's also
> another record store just about 2 blocks down on Drottninggatan, but I don't
> remember the name exactly. There's also a decent record store across from
> the SE (Skandinaviska Enskilda) Bank on Norrlandsgatan, across from the
> McDonald's there... I know these aren't precise names and directions, but
> your friend can keep her eyes open if she happens to be in the Norlandsgatan
> area of downtown. Lycka till! (Good Luck!)
>
> Dan Meyer, Nashville, TN
> Halfdan@aol.com
> 72064.2142@compuserve.com
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Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 01:00:24 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Non-SCAN: Slowdive discography new version (v1.6)
The new version of the Slowdive discography is ready and out. The new
version (v1.6) dated May 9, 1994 contains a lot of new stuff, for
example:
- Update on Simon Scott/Ian McCutcheon
- Two new promos
- Most of the ?'s about their regular
releases have been taken care of.
- More bootleg info.
- and so on...
In case you'd like to be on the Slowdive discography mailing list,
just e-mail me and you'll receive new versions directly to your
mailbox - or if you just want this new version. For those who prefer
to pick it up through anonymous ftp, I just put it on ftp.uwp.edu
in the /incoming/discog/ directory ("slowdive_v1.6").
/Erik
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Date: Mon, 9 May 94 9:51:00 +0200
From: Kjetil.Kristiansen@ban.aid.no
Subject: My God, Norwegian Indie?
Norwegian bands have hardly been mentioned on this list, so I hope you
don't have the impression that the Norwegian music-scene only consist of
bands/people like A-Ha, Dance With A Stranger,Sissel Kyrkjeboe,
the Infamous Black Metal Scene....etc
to offer because that is definitely NOT true. A lot of interesting things are
going on in the Norwegian 'underground scene' at the moment, more than
ever before. Some of which is REALLY good.
I will try to give you some 'insight' in this posting.
Almost all of the interesting, creative bands are signed to small labels,
which is also a reason why few bands are known outside Norway.
The biggest independent label is Voices Of Wonder. You might say it has
the same position in Norway as West-Side has in Sweden, although VOW are
mostly into heavier noise bands and also some electronic/techno. They also
distribute foreign stuff that none of the big labels care to distribute.
However a wide range of different bands.
Other labels worth mentioning are Progress, which is mostly into punk/
hardcore. dBut which is a very small label, with no special direction.
They're also making no-budget movies. (Atleast they have some under
production). Perfect Pop is also very small. As the name says they are
a pop label. Nice, charmy guitar pop, influenced from England/Australia.
Origo is (as far as I know) purely an electronic/synth based label.
All kinds of electronic music; 'new-age',ambient,EBM...you name it.
Some really interesting releases lately..
The nice thing about the Norwegian scene is the HUGE variety of styles.
There are no 'movement' in any special direction, (like in Sweden I've got
an impression that indie-guitar-pop is quite dominating. (but I might be
wrong ofcourse)). But instead several bands are trying to find their own
niche' in which they can operate.
To name some of the most interesting bands (not only according to my musical
taste) I'll give you some descriptions.
(Alphabetical order).
Albino slug: Experimental, sort of desperate. Elements from traditional
heavy-metal, industrial techno and some gothic influences.
One of the music-magazines favourites of last year.
Apoptygma Berzerk: Is a one-man projekt. Style: EBM. Released his debut
album at the end of last year. (Soli Deo Gloria). Got many good reviews,
and became a 'hit' in the German EBM market.
Bel Canto: Not strictly independent, but anyway definitely one of Norways
best bands. If MTV were on their side, they could easily get as much
acclaim as Bjork. (NO flames on Bjork though!). They have released
3 albums, all of which are splendid, and will release their 4th album
soon. (The new single should be out now). It's rather hard to describe
their music. Well, it is pop music, based on both synthesizers and real
instruments. They're influenced from music from many parts of the world;
exotic rhythms, eastern sounds, and arctic beauty.
Biosphere: This is also a one-man-projekt. Geir Jenssen was a member of
Bel Canto, until he left to concentrate on his own projects. His most
recent album (Patashnik) was released some months ago, and is already
considered to be one of the classics of ambient music. (Also topped
the english independent-chart). Truly excellent. If you're into ambient
music you CAN'T avoid him. He also worked with Pete Namlock on an album
last year. Also from the arctic city of Tromsoe, which seems to be
Norway's Detroit/Frankfurt, there comes several other
techno/house/ambient artists that are some of the most interesting and
creative in Europe. (Most of them are signed to Fax I think)
BOLT Warhead: Is a rap group. Sort of generation-X rap. Not anything like
Dr.Alban and his likes. Previously named A-Team, but when they changed
their style from 'normal american street-rap' to some sort of 'cyber-rap'
they changed their name too. (And some members..?) Released an album last
year which I cannot remember the name of.
Green Isac: On Origo. Synth-based 'new-age' music that bears some
resemblance to Bel Canto. (they have the same rhythm-section-man..)
They dedicated one of their albums to the surviving relatives of the
pearl divers that died in a riot in Congalonga in 1936, if that might
help you to figure out what they sound like. :-)
Motorpsycho: The Flag Ship of Voices of Wonder. Among music journalists
they are Norways most interesting band at the moment. 'Demon Box',
which they released last year, was rated 'Album of the Year', in the
Norwegian music magazines. They're quite experimental and live by
the rule of 'never repeat what you've already done'.
They don't fit in any genre. Styles are mostly metal, noise, hard-core,
some industrial elements... but it's not possible to find any band to
compare them to. They have some humour too.
Oral Constitution: One of the strangest groups from Norway. Industrial-
goth music. Some likeness to Coil, Current93 and Einsturzende Neubauten(?)
Really dark, but not too serious. They have two female members who are
normally dressed in 'bunader' (Norways 'national' clothing), which is quite
funny because they have nothing in common with Norwegian traditions at all.
The lyrics are often very pornographic, it would make Ice-T blush.
Release Party: Guitar-pop band. (Do I need to say they're on Perfect Pop :-))
Released their debut-album at the end of last year.
Nothing really special about them, but they're very charmy.
Seigmen: Next to Motorpsycho, the band the journalists are raving about.
And Seigmen really is a good band. They are noisy and heavy, but still
very atmospheric. Some goth-influences too. Comparisons go to GodMachine,
Godflesh, and other Earache bands, but Seigmen are equally as good and
don't copy.
SuperSkill: Some sort of wild techno. They have lots of ideas, and some of
them even work pretty well. The members are totally crazy. (The names of
2 of them are: Lord Baard and Tom Bombadill). Really wicked.
(They were on the tv-news before the olympics, when they had arranged a
ceremony for the olympic arrangers to give them a sculpture; the LOOC-
people were truly amazed when the sculture turned out to be bloody pig-
heads with a lot of syringes on ;-) )
If you're into 'avant-garde' techno you should try to get their latest
album, which has just been released, named 'SUPERior'. (of course)
The 3rd And The Mortal: Another new interesting band on Voices of Wonder.
Only one release, so far called 'Sorrow EP'. Rather dark, kind of goth-
band with nice female vocals. Some of the songs have a bit too traditional
heavy-metal sound, for me to like it. But they have a lot of potential.
Time Lodgers: The main band on Perfect Pop. Guitar-pop you play on rainy
days to lighten up your life. Just released their new album called
'Sometimes-Never'.
YM-Stammen: Quite original. Are heavily influenced by the viking-era,
(No they are not nationalists), but they try to mix the old 'kvads'
with modern sounds and music-styles, which sometimes results in some
interesting arrangements. They've also just recently released an
album, which is called 'Ulv, Ulv'.
Vampire State Building: They play their own kind of techno. People have
called them the Frankie Goes to Hollywood of the nineties. Released
their debut album '50 hz broken' earlier this year. Their live-shows
are said to be truly spectacular. Knives, dildos, transvestites...
shortly: rather sadomasochistic.
Velvet Belly: They are a great pop-band, which has been rather neglected
so far. If they were lucky, they could get the same status as Bel Canto
has. They could easily have been on the english label 4AD. People have
compared them to Cocteau Twins, but I think they're more pop. They share
some of the same guitar sound, though. Floating guitars that takes you
away and a nice female voice too. Sometimes ethereal, but with more
substance than most other bands in that genre. Released their 2nd album
'Little Lies' last year, and this is also a more accomplished album
than their first one 'Colours', which unfortunately are said to be
difficult to get.
That's it and that's that.
-kJeTiL ThEoBaLd
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Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 14:57:04 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: A Shrine..
Hi!
Yesterday (sunday) I heard a new song from A Shrine. Anyone know anything
about the new release??? The song sounded rock-hard and heavy and completely
different to their previous stuff... Please don't tell me that A Shrine's
gone grunge permanently!!
best regards, Petter.
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Date: Mon, 9 May 94 14:45:57 BST
From: davidb@dbadmin2.amgen.com (David Bennison)
Subject: Re: My God, Norwegian Indie?
> Biosphere: This is also a one-man-projekt. Geir Jenssen was a member of
I can vouch for Biosphere - I saw them live (he had some blond haired youth
with him) at an all-night thing in London and it was excellent. Pretty eerie
compared to the rest of the music on show that night, the 'Seti-Project' track
sounded like some rave track in comparison with the minimal quality of the
rest of the pieces. They played to a backdrop projection of Nordic/Icelandic
scenary, running streams, bubbling sulphuric pools, lava flows, power cables
etc - all seemed very appropriate at the time.
Anyway, I digress - I've got the opportunity in a catalogue to buy an LP by a
Norgegian band called Astroburger and I'm mighty tempted. The LP is on 'Big
Ball Records' and is called 'I Used To Be Mod'. Here comes the spiel that is
tempting me...
'"Metallic-butterfly-pop" they call this in Norway. A hectic hot-pot of
psychadelia and audable influences, from the Byrds and Velvet Underground
through to Jonathan Richman and the Go Betweens. Currently one of the biggest
crowd pullers on the Norwegian "scene", the stage show is apparently amazing.
Incidently includes a great cover version of the Camper Van Beethoven classic
"Take The Skinheads Bowling". The vinyl is green and limited to 500 copies with
a hand screened back panel, the CD is, well, it's a CD.'
(This is all I have to say about any CD vs vinyl debates by the way!)
So, conclusion is as follows:
Are they huge.
Do they have an amazing show.
Should I get this.
David...
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Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 17:23:36 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Preben Randhol
Subject: My God, Norwegian Indie? (fwd)
Forwarded message:
> From: Kjetil.Kristiansen@ban.aid.no
> Date: Mon, 9 May 94 9:51:00 +0200
> To: scan-indie@lysator.liu.se
> Subject: My God, Norwegian Indie?
> Bel Canto: Not strictly independent, but anyway definitely one of Norways
> best bands. If MTV were on their side, they could easily get as much
> acclaim as Bjork. (NO flames on Bjork though!). They have released
> 3 albums, all of which are splendid, and will release their 4th album
> soon. (The new single should be out now). It's rather hard to describe
> their music. Well, it is pop music, based on both synthesizers and real
> instruments. They're influenced from music from many parts of the world;
> exotic rhythms, eastern sounds, and arctic beauty.
Did you hear their last music on U, NRK? They are truly not indie anymore,
(if they ever where?) I would say they now play the kind of music that is
played at MTV during daytime (terrible!)
> Velvet Belly: They are a great pop-band, which has been rather neglected
> so far. If they were lucky, they could get the same status as Bel Canto
> has. They could easily have been on the english label 4AD. People have
> compared them to Cocteau Twins, but I think they're more pop. They share
> some of the same guitar sound, though. Floating guitars that takes you
> away and a nice female voice too. Sometimes ethereal, but with more
> substance than most other bands in that genre. Released their 2nd album
> 'Little Lies' last year, and this is also a more accomplished album
> than their first one 'Colours', which unfortunately are said to be
> difficult to get.
They sound a lot like Rose Chronicle (or Chronical Rose, I forget)
The first album is the best, and certainly do not hope they get a status
like Bel Canto. I hope Velvet Belly, which I think is the best Norwegian
band at the moment should keep their style and not start to make commercial
music.
Preben Randhol
email:randhol@stud.unit.no
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Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 17:44:41 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Preben Randhol
Subject: QUART FESTIVAL 21-24 JULY
QUART FESTIVAL 21-24 JULY
(The festival is held in Kristiansand coastal town in the southern part of
Norway)
These bands will be playing at this years QUART FESTIVAL:
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS (UK), THE ORB (UK), BLUR (UK),
ORBITAL(UK), APHEX TWIN (UK), TRANSGLOBAL UNDERGROUND (UK),
SCRON (UK/USA), UNDERWORLD (UK), ONE DOVE (UK), DREADZONE (UK),
ELASTICE (UK)
GRANT LEE BUFFALO (USA), TIM SCOTT (USA/NOR), EARL THOMAS (USA),
JIM SUHLER & THE MONKEY BEAT (USA)
BIOSPHERE (NOR), CLAWFINGER (NOR/SVE), SOURCE (SVE), TOURNESOL (DAN)
And several other Norwegian bands.
DE LILLOS, YM STAMMEN, RED HARVEST, TURBONEGRO, THE REAL THING,
MENTAL OVERDRIVE, STAVANGER GOSPEL CHOIR, WELD, GOOD TIME CHARLIE,
FLAATEN & BERGE, ALBINO SLUG, NO PLACE TO HIDE, PILEDRIVER,
KRISTIANSAND KUNSTKOMMANDO, VELVET BELLY, FLYING CRAP, JUNCYARD SECT
[NOR=NORWAY, SVE=SWEEDEN ,DAN=DENMARK]
The tickets will be sold from 9. May. I think the prices varies from 80 to
250 NOK per arrangement. The festival is not (yet) a huge festival when it
comes to the number of visitors, but they hope that this year there will be
more people and also more from outside Norway.
The festival this year will as you can see have a lot of techno bands. But it
will also have a broad basis like earlier. Jazz, blue, rock, indie and some
church music. The people behind this festival is trying to arrange cheap trips
from Sweden, Denmark and England so that people outside Norway can visit.
If you want further info write to:
QUART FESTIVALEN
POSTBOKS 427
4601 KRISTIANSAND
NORWAY
or phone one of these numbers: 38075150 (remember the countrycode for Norway)
38075156 (remember the countrycode for Norway)
Please also email me if you have question.
Preben Randhol
email:randhol@alkymi.unit.no
-------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 19:44:14 +0200
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: A Shrine..
Petter Tiilikainen wrote:
> Yesterday (sunday) I heard a new song from A Shrine. Anyone know anything
> about the new release??? The song sounded rock-hard and heavy and completely
> different to their previous stuff... Please don't tell me that A Shrine's
> gone grunge permanently!!
The latest from A Shrine is the "48k" EP, and I guess you heard track 4 -
"Homerecording Craftsmen" which sounds almost like a Ministry song.
But to answer your question, no, they're not going totally grunge. :)
Their track on the "We're All Part of a Family" [West Side] compilation -
'Orangeman Claygirl' and the three other tracks on the EP - '48k',
'Countryside' and 'Where Did She Come From' sound like the "normal"
A Shrine. :)
/Erik
End of SI Digest #1.12
**********************
Last updated Dec 07, 1994 by The Chief
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