Showing 1 - of
Artist: Rondonna
first played guitar at 10 got a plastic one for christmas. learned out of mel bay books. first band at 14 (band is now still playing as 'yes story)main claim to fameled the band 'madonnabes' with mike watt on bass for four years from 92 to 96. i sang lead and played keyboards.left after that have been playing solo since. have one album to my... [+] Read More
Artist: Meeting
"The Meeting" was formed in 1983 when producers George Wein and Darelen Chean put together "The Playboy Stars of the 80's" for that year's Playboy Jazz Festival; the all-star group consisted of keyboardist Patrice Rushen, drummer Ndugu Chancler, electric bassist Alphonso Johnson and tenor-saxophonist Ernie Watts. Since the four musicians had... [+] Read More
Artist: Liquorice
Jenny Toomey (Tsunami, Grenadine) and Dan Littleton (Hated, Ida) had played together on and off for seven years before Ivo Watts-Russell (the head of 4AD Records) approached Toomey about doing a side project. She agreed and traveled to Livonia, MI, with Littleton to record at the basement studio of Warren Defever, guitarist and producer for His... [+] Read More
Artist: The Hope Blister
A sequel to his This Mortal Coil project, the Hope Blister was led by 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell, who this time out chose to dispense with a revolving ensemble approach in favor of assembling a core lineup consisting of vocalist Louise Rutkowski, bass virtuoso Laurence O'Keefe, and cellist/arranger Audrey Riley. The Hope Blister debuted in... [+] Read More
Artist: Ten Years After
Ten Years After is a British blues-rock quartet consisting of Alvin Lee (born December 19, 1944), guitar and vocals; Chick Churchill (born January 2, 1949), keyboards; Leo Lyons (born November 30, 1944) bass; and Ric Lee (born October 20, 1945), drums. The group was formed in 1967 and signed to Decca in England. Their first album was not a... [+] Read More
Artist: Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano is one of those artists who's never belonged to one core crowd. Doing the big rock thing wasn't important to her, although time spent playing with John Mellencamp in the late '80s and early '90s opened her eyes to the ever-changing ways of the music business. Germano worked her craft without becoming a conformist; music is her soul... [+] Read More
Artist: M/A/R/R/S
M/A/R/R/S' lone single "Pump Up the Volume" remains a watershed in the history of sampling, heralding its gradual absorption from hip hop into dance music and ultimately the pop mainstream. The 1987 record was the brainchild of 4AD chief Ivo Watts-Russell, who assembled M/A/R/R/S' line-up from the ranks of label acts Colourbox and AR Kane; the... [+] Read More
Artist: Mica Paris
Though stardom has evaded her, English vocalist Mica Paris has a wonderful voice and individualistic delivery and approach. She sang in the Spirit of Watts gospel group before touring and recording in the late '80s with Hollywood Beyond. She signed with 4th and Broadway/Island in the '80s and then issued her debut So Good. Her second LP,... [+] Read More
Artist: Alison Limerick
Singer Alison Limerick began her music career during the mid-'80s -- after attending the London School of Contemporary Dance, lending backing vocals to high-profile recordings like the Style Council's 1985 LP Our Favourite Shop. A year later 4AD label chief Ivo Watts-Russell tapped her to appear on Filigree and Shadow, the second album from his... [+] Read More
Artist: Headset
The brainchild of producer, DJ, and Plug Research label owner Allen Avanessian, the loose project Headset went from dreams to reality when Avanessian was contacted by ~scape label head Stefan Betke. Betke's request for a track for a compilation prompted Avanessian to call Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Figurine, and the Postal Service. Avanessian... [+] Read More
Artist: Rema Rema
Emerging from the dissolution of the Models, noisy post-punks Rema Rema were a short-lived quintet that consisted of Mick Allen (bass/vocals), Marco Pirroni (guitar), Mark Cox (keyboards), Gary Asquith (guitar/vocals), and Max (drums). They broke up a couple months before issuing their lone EP on 4AD in 1980, which was reissued on vinyl once in... [+] Read More
Artist: This Mortal Coil
The gothic dream pop collective This Mortal Coil was one of the most representative bands on the 4AD label, not least because they were run by 4AD president and co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell. Whether they played covers (of Watts-Russell's favorite artists) or originals, their material epitomized the haunting, ethereal sound that came to be... [+] Read More
Artist: John Fryer
English producer John Fryer has spent his career working mainly in two distinct styles of music: The industrial sound of bands like Nine Inch Nails and the ethereal, dreamy strum and dirge of 4AD groups like Lush and the Cocteau Twins. Beginning as an assistant engineer in the late '70s, Fryer quickly rose out of the lowly studio ranks due... [+] Read More
Artist: Oh-OK
The core of Oh-OK was bassist Lynda Stipe and vocalist Linda Hopper, a pair of Athens, GA, natives who formed the band while in their teens. They only released a pair of short recordings while together, and only a minor ripple was felt during and after they were around. Even so, their existence should not be reduced to familial links and the... [+] Read More
Artist: Pale Saints
Ethereal pop band the Pale Saints formed in Leeds, England, in 1987. Ian Masters (bass/vocals), Chris Cooper (drums), and Graeme Naysmith (guitar) were signed by Ivo Watts-Russell to his 4AD label on the strength of their first London appearance. The three-song Barging Into the Presence of God was released two years later, receiving praise for... [+] Read More
Artist: Peter Ulrich
Percussionist/composer Peter Ulrich is perhaps best known for his long-time collaboration with Dead Can Dance. Ulrich joined the group in 1983 and appeared on albums like Garden of Arcane Delights, Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun and Spiritchaser, and was a touring member of the group until 1990. He also collaborated on Ivo Watts-Russell's This... [+] Read More
Artist: Ciccone Youth
More of a good-natured prank than an actual band, Ciccone Youth was a short-lived vehicle in which indie underground noisemakers Sonic Youth further explored their obsession with popular culture. In the mid-'80s, the members of Sonic Youth (especially Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon) made no secret of their fascination with Madonna; they were... [+] Read More
Artist: Heidi Berry
Heidi Berry cut a stark contrast to the prevailing musical mentality of the early '90s -- despite releasing records on both Creation and 4AD, together the leading lights of the shoegazing and dream pop movements, her haunting, luminous folk-inspired sound instead harked back to the work of Sandy Denny and Nick Drake, complete with an earnestness... [+] Read More
Artist: Mojave 3
Between the recording and release of Slowdive's ambient Pygmalion, Neil Halstead began writing more song-based tunes to occupy down time. Weeks after being dropped by Creation, Halstead and the remaining members of Slowdive (Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon) recorded six demos within three days, much of it live without overdubs. Their manager... [+] Read More
Artist: Maktub
Maktub, whose name means "it is written" in Arabic, formed in 1996 as a pet project of four Seattle club musicians. Reggie Watts (vocals/synthesizer), Davis Martin (drums), Alex Veley (keyboards), and Kevin Goldman (bass), came together from various parts of Seattle's burgeoning soul community to create a groove-oriented, brooding R&B sound. Led... [+] Read More
Artist: Colourbox
One of the legendary 4AD label's earliest and most under-recognized acts, Colourbox was among the first artists outside of the realm of hip-hop to rely heavily on sampling techniques; ultimately, their arty blue-eyed soul -- a fusion of far-ranging influences spanning from classic R&B to dub to industrial -- reached its commerical and creative... [+] Read More
Artist: Insides
Ambient pop duo Insides teamed singer/bassist Kirsty Yates and guitarist/programmer Julian Tardo, who previously joined forces under the name Earwig. Signing to 4AD's Guernica imprint, the duo debuted in 1993 with the disquieting Euphoria; a year later, label chief Ivo Watts-Russell issued Clear Skin (consisting of a single 38-minute ambient... [+] Read More
Artist: Lol Coxhill
Famous for his unaccompanied, unorthodox concerts and albums, Lol Coxhill has an immediately identifiable soprano and sopranino style. He's perhaps Steve Lacy's prime rival in getting odd sounds out of the soprano with his wrenching, twisting, quirky solos. While Coxhill's an accomplished saxophonist and can play conventional bebop, it's his... [+] Read More
Artist: John Picard
One of the most boisterous spirits on the landscape of traditional jazz in England, this trombonist was something of a child prodigy. He began taking piano lessons at the age of seven, but gives himself credit as his own trombone teacher. His professional career began following his military service, with recording credits beginning in the early... [+] Read More
Artist: A.R. Kane
Arguably the most criminally under-recognized band of their era, the British duo A.R. Kane anticipated virtually all of the key musical breakthroughs of the 1990s a decade before the fact, with the roots of everything from shoegazing to trip-hop to ambient dub -- even those of post-rock -- lying in their dreamy, oceanic sound. Formed in London... [+] Read More
