PART ONE (1980-1984) NEXT > PART THREE (1990-1994) PART FOUR (1995-1999) 4AD Tribute 1985 The result of a burst of recording around New Years' Day, the Cocteau Twins ushered in 1985 with the release of the four-song Aikea-Guinea EP (BAD 501). Shortly thereafter, the group set up their own 16-track studio in an apartment that was being rented by William Orbit (best known today as the producer of Madonna's Ray Of Light, the Cocteaus met Orbit through Colourbox, who were then doing a lot of recording at his studio, Guerrilla). Their first batch of new recordings yielded eight new songs. The material lacked the feel of an album, so the decision was made to release it as two separate EP's--Tiny Dynamine (BAD 510) and Echoes In A Shallow Bay (BAD 511)-which came out two weeks apart. The Pink Opaque (CAD 513) was a compilation album put together for Relativity Records in America. Relativity had access to CD manufacturing facilities and The Pink Opaque thus became the first 4AD title to be issued in the new format. Assembled by Robin Guthrie, it featured selections from most of their previous releases, as well as the rare "Millemillenery." With Water (BAD 502) and Sweatbox (BAD 506), The Wolfgang Press completed the trilogy of EP's they'd begun with Robin Guthrie in 1984. At year's end, all three EP's were compiled together on a single album and reissued as The Legendary Wolfgang Press And Other Tall Stories (CAD 514). Xymox were an Amsterdam-based group who had attracted Ivo's attention with a mini-album, Subsequent Pleasures. Attracted by the band's melodic strength, courtesy of a trio of songwriters--Pieter Nooten, Ronny Moorings and Anke Wolbert--who'd clearly learned a few lessons from their Cure and New Order records, Ivo flew them directly to Scotland, where he co-produced their first album Clan Of Xymox (CAD 503) [Confusingly, although "Clan Of Xymox" was the album title, the group subsequently adopted it as their name.] Released as a 12-inch single, "A Day" (BAD 504) featured Ivo and John Fryer's bizarre, envelope-pushing nine-minute remix of the album's lead track. Dif Juz returned to 4AD (they'd released an EP on the Red Flame label in 1983) with Extractions (CAD 505), their first full-length album. Produced by Robin Guthrie, the album shows the band's sound expanding to incorporate Ritchie Thomas's saxophone and their first-ever vocal track, courtesy of Liz Fraser on "Love Insane." Later that year, Dif Juz became involved with Jamaican dub innovator Lee "Scratch" Perry, serving as his backing band for a series of shows, and eventually attempting to make a record together. The five tracks that were recorded (including a nine-minute version of "The Mighty Quinn") never quite gelled, despite Robin Guthrie's attempts to mix them, and the project remains unreleased. Colourbox's newest single, "The Moon Is Blue" (BAD 507), was another radio-ready classic that--despite 4AD's valiant efforts--went largely unheard. By now, Martyn Young had completed work on the first, self-titled Colourbox album (CAD 508), only to realize that it contained three previously released singles ("The Moon Is Blue," "Punch" and "Say You"). To compensate fans, he spliced together a bonus album (MAD 509) of radical remixes, unreleased tracks and B-sides which was included with the first 10,000 copies of Colourbox. Dead Can Dance returned late in the year with their second album, Spleen And Ideal (CAD 512). Co-produced with John Rivers (Felt), it was also the first Dead Can Dance release to exploit fully the possibilities of the recording studio. No longer a four-piece band but simply a duo of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance's sound had expanded dramatically, incorporating strings and brass as well as musical influences from outside both the Western Hemisphere and the 20th Century. 1986 Richenel's "L'Esclave Endormi" (BAD 601) was originally issued on the Belgian Megadisc label. Ivo heard the song, was struck by Richenel's voice and licensed the track to 4AD. Richenel's original recording served as the B-side while an Ivo/John Fryer remix, designed to give his voice as much space as possible, was used as the A-side. Ivo subsequently met Richenel and invited him to sing on This Mortal Coil's Filigree & Shadow album. He became the featured vocalist on covers of Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Firebrothers" and Tim Buckley's "I Must Have Been Blind." The first Cocteau Twins release of 1986 was an unusual one. Victorialand (CAD 602) was an entirely acoustic album made by Robin Guthrie and Liz Fraser as a duo. The unusual frequency range of the album mix necessitated the unusual step of mastering the record to play at 45 r.p.m. The sonic challenges continued later in the year with gorgeous density of the "Love's Easy Tears" single (BAD 610) on which both Simon Raymonde and electricity returned with a vengeance. The group's final project in 1986 came about as the result of a proposed documentary series for Britain's Channel 4 which was to pair rock and jazz musicians. It was suggested that the Cocteau team up with pianist Harold Budd, a collaboration that resulted in The Moon And The Melodies (BAD 611), which was credited to Budd / Fraser / Guthrie / Raymonde. The preceding summer, Ivo had undertaken his first and only non-4AD production job, working with ex-Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy on his album Should The World Fail To Fall Apart. While in the studio, Murphy played Ivo an unlabeled tape of a Bulgarian women's choir that he'd been given by an acquaintance. Ivo found himself stunned by the power of the singing, and embarked upon a frantic quest to learn the identity of the album and acquire a copy of it. It transpired that the album in question was entitled Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares [The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices], and that it consisted of field recordings made over a 15-year period by archivist Marcel Cellier. Ivo decided to license the recordings from Cellier and issue them on 4AD (CAD 603). The resulting release proved massively popular and highly influential. Colourbox returned with not one, but two new singles, both of which were released on the same day. "Baby I Love You So" (BAD 604) was a brilliantly sculpted reggae-pop gem, while the sly mock-pomposity of "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme" (BAD 605) actually came very close to being selected as Britain's World Cup theme that year. Sadly, apart from a track on the following year's Lonely Is An Eyesore anthology, these were the last recordings Colourbox ever released. While The Burden Of Mules had been assembled over a lengthy span of time, The Wolfgang Press's second album Standing Up Straight (CAD 606) was the group's first experience with making an album during a specific period. It was also the first Wolfgang Press album to feature Andrew Grey, who had joined the preceding year. The group was still honing their increasingly compelling mixture of angular rhythms and Cave-like theatrics, but the album had many highlights, including the climactic "I Am The Crime," which featured Elizabeth Fraser and strings from Martin McCarrick and Gini Ball. Ivo was stuck in traffic on his way to the office one day when he popped in a demo tape by a band from Rhode Island. By the time he reached the office, he'd played it three times. The band was Throwing Muses--frontwomen Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly and the phenomenally inventive rhythm section of Leslie Langston and David Narcizo--and they became 4AD's first American signing. Ivo sent producer Gil Norton (Echo & The Bunnymen's Ocean Rain) to the States to record an album just prior to the birth of Kristin's first child. Throwing Muses (CAD 607) was immediately hailed as one of the major debut albums of the 80's; it's naive power remains as compelling as ever. Ivo began work on the second This Mortal Coil album shortly after It'll End In Tears was released. Filigree & Shadow (DAD 609)--the title is taken from a song by '60s band Fever Tree--was intended from the start as a double album, and Ivo spent a considerable amount of time structuring the music so that it would have the right flow. Begun at Palladium in Scotland with Martin McCarrick and Palladium's proprietor Jon Turner, it was finished with John Fryer at Blackwing. As before, Ivo drew upon a large talent pool of musicians--Simon Raymonde made important contributions, as did members of Colourbox, Dif Juz and the Wolfgang Press--but this time the bulk of the vocalists came from outside of 4AD's orbit. The selection of cover versions on the album included material by Tim Buckley, Gene Clark, Tom Rapp, Judy Collins and Colin Newman. Prior to the release of the album, a limited edition 10-inch single (BAD 608) was issued coupling striking interpretations of Van Morrison's "Come Here My Love" and Talking Heads' "Drugs." Model Pallas Citroen became the cover star once again after actress Maria Schnieder rebuffed Ivo's overtures. [Trivia factoid for trainspotters: although his name is misspelled in the credits, Les McKeown of the Bay City Rollers--a friend of Palladium's Jon Turner-- is part of the choir on "Strength Of Strings"] Dif Juz's Out Of The Trees (MAD 612) was a mini-album combining all of the tracks from their first EP Huremics with a re-recorded, re-mixed version of the follow-up EP Vibrating Air. Xymox, who were now officially referring to themselves as Clan Of Xymox, returned with their second album. Recorded with John Fryer, Medusa (CAD 613) was an album of dark, atmospheric songs punctuated by occasional bursts of psychedelic electro-pop. 1987 Throwing Muses visited the UK for the first time at the end of 1986 to play a few live dates. They also found time to go back into the studio with Gil Norton and record the EP Chains Changed (BAD 701), issued in early 1987. ("Fish," their contribution to Lonely Is An Eyesore was also recorded during these sessions). Later in the year, they released a mini-LP, The Fat Skier (MAD 706), which coupled six new songs with a lengthy re-working of "Soul Soldier" from the first album. The Wolfgang Press had returned to the studio following the release of Standing Up Straight and emerged with a new EP, Big Sex (BAD 702). Although the group's music was continuing to evolve (the EP showed a pronounced Talking Heads influence), they were still struggling to find an audience. Lonely Is An Eyesore (CAD 703) was an all-encompassing 4AD showcase that had been in the works for a year and a half by the time it was issued in mid-87. Ivo had invited each of the artists on the label to contribute a new song (Dead Can Dance also contributed a second track, a remix of an ancient demo) for which Nigel Grierson would then direct a video (the Throwing Muses and Xymox clips wound up being shot by outside hands). The result was a gorgeously packaged snapshot of 4AD's roster of the period, featuring a number of classic tracks from the bands involved. The most extravagant package of all was a limited edition (of 100) art object: a Vaughan Oliver-designed wooden box that held a deluxe gatefold LP, a cassette, a CD, a home video and two specially-commissioned etchings. The Victoria & Albert Museum acquired one for their permanent collection. A.R. Kane, a duo of Alex Ayuli and Rudi Tambala, had previously released an EP on the One Little Indian label before landing briefly 4AD. Among the first bands of the era to explore the intersection between harsh noise and dreamlike beauty, their EP Lollita (BAD 704) was produced by Robin Guthrie. While the EP was being finished, Alex and Rudi mentioned to Ivo that they were interested in working with producer Adrian Sherwood. Ivo's suggestion that they work with Colourbox instead, resulted in the biggest single in 4AD's history. The sessions with Colourbox were hardly a full-fledged collaboration. Of the two pieces completed, one, "Antina," was an A.R. Kane track with drum programming by Colourbox's Steve Young. The other, "Pump Up The Volume," was a propulsive Martyn Young track constructed largely of samples, including one of A.R. Kane's guitars. Released under the alias M/A/R/R/S--an acronym for the participants: Martyn, Alex, Rudi, Russell (an associate A.R. Kane member who doesn't actually appear on either side of the record) and Steve--"Pump Up The Volume" (BAD 707) exploded onto the charts, hitting No. 1 in spite of legal action by producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman (Martyn Young had sampled a bit of their hit "Roadblock"). The single became a global hit, while its cut-and-paste sample collage technique proved enormously influential in dance and hip-hop circles. Dead Can Dance's third album, Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun (CAD 705), was their finest offering to date. Split into two distinct halves, with Brendan Perry's increasingly Scott Walker-ish vocals on Side One, and Lisa Gerrard's regal glossolalia streaming across Side Two, its ambitious grandeur was a harbinger of things to come. More than either of its predecessors, it was this album that sowed the seeds of Dead Can Dance's worldwide following (a good thing, as no one in the UK seemed to take much interest). Ivo had admired a demo tape sent to him by Brighton's Frazier Chorus and sent the group into the recording studio with Gil Norton. Although "Sloppy Heart" (BAD 708) was a delightful piece of flute-driven pastoral pop, it was their only 4AD release. The group signed to Virgin shortly afterwards. On a trip to the United States to see Throwing Muses, Ken Goes, the band's manager, handed Ivo a tape of a local band that Muses drummer David Narcizo thought he might be interested in. Ivo subsequently listened to their demos on his Walkman while striding around New York City. He liked what he heard, but was uncertain about the band's punk-rock ferocity, which had little in common with the acts he'd been working with for the past several years. It took 4AD's Deborah Edgely to set him straight. Don't be stupid, she told him, they're brilliant. Thus it was that The Pixies became 4AD recording artists. Seven tracks from the band's demos were released as the mini-album Come On Pilgrim (MAD 709). The response to the band in Britain was immediate and explosive, with the press and John Peel quickly won over, and the public not far behind. By late 1987, Pieter Nooten had left Xymox, but Ivo continued to be intrigued by the tapes Pieter would send him. He suggested a team-up with guitarist/producer Michael Brook, who had been working with Brian Eno as well as recording for Eno's Opal label. The result was a quiet album of fragile songs and dreamlike soundscapes entitled Sleeps With The Fishes (CAD 710). Xymox (who had dropped the "Clan Of" again) finished off 4AD's 1987 with the unabashedly poppy "Blind Hearts" (BAD 711), which was produced by Peter Walsh (Simple Minds, Scott Walker). They signed to Polygram the following year and have continued making music into the late 90's. Although not, strictly speaking, a canonical 4AD release, the label's Japanese licensee issued a compilation, 12-inch (CY-2085) which collected five of the year's EP's--by Throwing Muses, The Wolfgang Press, A.R. Kane, M/A/R/R/S and Frazier Chorus--on one CD. 1988 4AD's first release of 1988 was a second volume of Les Mysteres Des Voix Bulgares (CAD 801) featuring a further 18 performances drawn from Marcel Cellier's archive of field recordings. Throwing Muses second album House Tornado (CAD 802) marked the group's continuing refinement as Kristin Hersh's fiercely original songwriting talents became steadily more pronounced. They embarked on a now-legendary tour of the UK and Europe with the Pixies which found both bands in peak live form (A few Muses performances from this tour sneaked out the following year on B-sides). The Pixies, meanwhile, had also released their second album, the epochal Surfer Rosa (CAD 803), produced for maximum raw sonic impact by Big Black's Steve Albini and recorded in a mere 13 days. Later that spring, the band entered the studio with Gil Norton to re-record two Surfer Rosa songs for an EP--"Gigantic" (the first song to spotlight the talents of Kim Deal) and "River Euphrates." Also recorded during these sessions was a version of "Here Comes Your Man" which remains unreleased. The two studio tracks were coupled with live versions of "Vamos" and "In Heaven" (from David Lynch's film Eraserhead ) and issued as the Gigantic EP (BAD 805). The Wolfgang Press's "King Of Soul" (BAD 804) served as an early preview of the group's third album, Bird Wood Cage (CAD 810), released at the end of the year. Recorded with up-and-coming producer Flood (whose credits at the time included Depeche Mode and Nick Cave) it was the band's most powerful statement yet, by turns seductive and menacing. Tracks such as Kansas (released as a single the following year) began to attract audiences in Britain, as well as in the States, where the album had been licensed by Rough Trade. Subsequent tours with both Nick Cave and the Pixies (Black Francis would join them onstage each night for an encore of "Rema-Rema") also helped to raise their profile. 4AD's sole addition to the roster in 1988 was Ultra Vivid Scene, an alias for New Yorker Kurt Ralske, a one-man band with dozens of incredible songs that successfully melded the Velvet Underground, Suicide and '60s pop-psychedelia. "She Screamed" (BAD 806) (backed with a Hank Williams cover and Ralske's lost classic "Hit By A Truck") was his debut single, followed shortly by a self-titled album (CAD 809). Blue Bell Knoll (CAD 807) was the first full-band Cocteau Twins album since Treasure, nearly four years previously. A further refinement of the Cocteaus' sound, it was also the first 4AD album since Modern English's Ricochet Days to be issued by a major label in America (Capitol Records). Trivia fact: Blue Bell Knoll is the only 4AD album to have been released on DAT. By now, Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard had evolved a pattern for their activities as Dead Can Dance. Brendan had moved to Ireland, where he subsequently built his own studio, while Lisa was spending several months a year back home in Australia. They'd reunite to make recordings and perform a few shows, then separate to write new material. The Serpent's Egg (CAD 808) included some of their finest work (Lisa's majestic vocals on the opening "The Host Of Seraphim" and Brendan's orchestrated balladry on the closing "Ullyses" are but two of the standouts here). Although John Rivers--who'd co-produced group's two preceding releases--worked on several tracks, all future Dead Can Dance recordings would be entirely self-produced. 1989 Throwing Muses' third album Hunkpapa (CAD 901), produced by Gary Smith, opted for a brighter, punchier sound than previous releases. One of the standout tracks, Kristin Hersh's "Dizzy"--perhaps the first Throwing Muses song to which the phrase "amazingly catchy" could be fairly applied--was issued not long afterwards in a variety of formats (including a "self-opening" 10-inch whose gatefold cover was too stiff to lie flat) backed by powerful live versions of "Mania" and "Downtown" drawn from the previous year's UK tour (BAD 903). With The Wolfgang Press still touring aggressively in support of Bird Wood Cage, two further singles were issued during 1989. "Kansas" (BAD 902)--featuring a re-modeled version from the album, was the closest the group had yet come to a hit. A similar re-invention of "Raintime" (BAD 907), despite a great video, wasn't able to keep the momentum going. The Pixies returned with a classic album in Doolittle (CAD 905), produced by Gil Norton, sequenced by Ivo and packaged with an elaborate lyrics book featuring Simon Larbalestier's disquieting photographs. The album was bookended by singles featuring two of its strongest songs. "Monkey Gone To Heaven" (BAD 904) was a tour de force which placed the band's incendiary power against a churning string section to remarkable effect. "Here Comes Your Man" (BAD 909) had been among the songs on the band's original demo tape and had long been earmarked as a possible single. 4AD licensed the album to Elektra in the United States, where the band was developing a rabid following. In a similar vein to The Wolfgang Press's efforts that year, Kurt Ralske released a new Ultra Vivid Scene single featuring a newly recorded version of "Mercy Seat" (BAD 906) from the debut album. Later in the year, a promotional single, "Something To Eat" (BAD 908)--one of the very few promo-only 4AD releases ever to be assigned a regular catalog number--featured two demos from Kurt's work-in-progress. [As it turned out, "Something To Eat" never made it onto any other UVS release.] With Ultra Vivid Scene the only signing in over a year, Ivo had begun to actively seek out new talent. As fate would have it, interesting demo tapes from two new bands reached Ivo within a few days of one another. By an improbable coincidence, both bands also happened to be sharing the same bill at the Falcon in Camden a few days later. Ivo attended, and wound up signing both of them shortly thereafter. The Pale Saints were a trio from Leeds, part of a new generation of British bands drawing inspiration from the work of the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Ivo sent them into the studio with Gil Norton and John Fryer; the result was the three-song EP Barging Into the Presence Of God (BAD 910). 4AD's other new group, Lush, were a London quartet fronted by songwriter/vocalists Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson. Although they were drawing on much the same influences as the Pale Saints, their sound had yet to gel completely. But the three tracks they recorded in a two-day studio session with John Fryer had a compelling rawness to them; Fryer taped three more songs with them, and the results made up their debut mini-album Scar (JAD 911). PART ONE (1980-1984) NEXT > PART THREE (1990-1994) PART FOUR (1995-1999) 4AD Tribute