Caroline Lavelle
Encyclopedia
Caroline Lavelle is a British singer-songwriter
and cellist
who has created three solo albums and contributed vocals, music, and production help to many other artists and bands.
in London
. Throughout the early to mid-eighties she busked in the city, often outside Kensington
Tube Station
and Covent Garden
, playing baroque music
with Anne Stephenson and Virginia Astley
(or Virginia Hewes; sources are confused) in a group called Humouresque.
She was spotted by Frankie Gavin
, a member of Ireland's De Dannan
band, who asked her to join. She was part of the band up to the early nineties, alongside Mary Black
and Dolores Keane
.
In 1992, she contributed vocals and cello to the track "Home of the Whale" on the Massive Attack
EP Hymn of the Big Wheel. Producer William Orbit
liked it, contacted her, and eventually produced, and mixed, her debut solo album, Spirit, in 1995. Her version of the song "Moorlough Shore" was used for the introduction to Paul Haggis
's critically acclaimed Crime-Drama EZ Streets
. This brought her greater notice in the areas of film and television. Also in 1995, she began recording with Canadian world music artist Loreena McKennitt, recording and touring as part of Loreena's band to this day.
A December 1999 article in the UK's Sunday Times
reported that it was this album which drew Madonna's
attention and initiated the successful collaboration of William Orbit and Madonna.
She produced two further albums, Brilliant Midnight (2001), which, a year later, had three further tracks added in a reissue, and A Distant Bell in (2004).
Her "Home Of The Whale" track (with Massive Attack) was featured in the 2000 Ewan McGregor
/ Ashley Judd
film, Eye Of The Beholder
, and she also contributed her song Anxiety to the soundtrack of the 2001 John Dahl
movie Roadkill (Joyride in the US).
She currently lives in the south of England and is working on her fourth album. She is also in tour with Loreena McKennitt
for her Ancient Muse tour.
Thomas Dolby
Cello
Forty (album)
She has also worked with Laurie Anderson
, The Waterboys
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Graham Parker
, The Cranberries
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
. Art of Trance
has remixed some of her songs.
(As above, but with 3 extra tracks):
N-Gram Recordings (1995)
A Case Of You
N-Gram Recordings (1995)
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
who has created three solo albums and contributed vocals, music, and production help to many other artists and bands.
Career
Lavelle studied at the Royal College of MusicRoyal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Throughout the early to mid-eighties she busked in the city, often outside Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
Tube Station
South Kensington tube station
South Kensington is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. It is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. On the District and Circle lines, the station is between Gloucester Road and Sloane Square, and on the Piccadilly Line, it is between Gloucester Road and...
and Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, playing baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
with Anne Stephenson and Virginia Astley
Virginia Astley
Virginia Astley is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. From the start of her songwriting career in 1980, Astley took her inspiration from many sources. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music...
(or Virginia Hewes; sources are confused) in a group called Humouresque.
She was spotted by Frankie Gavin
Frankie Gavin
Frankie Gavin, b.1956, Corrandulla, County Galway, is a fiddle player of traditional Irish music.Frankie Gavin is from a musical family; parents and siblings being players of the fiddle and accordion. As a child he played the tin whistle and, later, the flute. He received some formal training in...
, a member of Ireland's De Dannan
De Dannan
De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band...
band, who asked her to join. She was part of the band up to the early nineties, alongside Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
and Dolores Keane
Dolores Keane
Dolores Keane is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.-Background:Keane was born in a small village...
.
In 1992, she contributed vocals and cello to the track "Home of the Whale" on the Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
EP Hymn of the Big Wheel. Producer William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
liked it, contacted her, and eventually produced, and mixed, her debut solo album, Spirit, in 1995. Her version of the song "Moorlough Shore" was used for the introduction to Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...
's critically acclaimed Crime-Drama EZ Streets
EZ Streets
EZ Streets is an American television drama series created by Paul Haggis. It premiered on CBS on October 27, 1996 with a two hour pilot telefilm...
. This brought her greater notice in the areas of film and television. Also in 1995, she began recording with Canadian world music artist Loreena McKennitt, recording and touring as part of Loreena's band to this day.
A December 1999 article in the UK's Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
reported that it was this album which drew Madonna's
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
attention and initiated the successful collaboration of William Orbit and Madonna.
She produced two further albums, Brilliant Midnight (2001), which, a year later, had three further tracks added in a reissue, and A Distant Bell in (2004).
Her "Home Of The Whale" track (with Massive Attack) was featured in the 2000 Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
/ Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
film, Eye Of The Beholder
Eye of the Beholder (film)
Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 thriller film starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, based on the novel of the same name by Marc Behm. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott...
, and she also contributed her song Anxiety to the soundtrack of the 2001 John Dahl
John Dahl
John Dahl is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre.-Life and career:John Dahl was born in Billings, Montana, the second of four children . Dahl spent his young life in and around Montana all the way up through his college years...
movie Roadkill (Joyride in the US).
She currently lives in the south of England and is working on her fourth album. She is also in tour with Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
for her Ancient Muse tour.
Collaborations
| Artist | Album | Year | Contribution | Song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afro Celt Sound System Afro Celt Sound System The Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music... |
Sound Magic Volume 1 Volume 1: Sound Magic -Track listing:# "Saor " / "News from Nowhere" – 8:21# "Whirl-y-Reel 1 " – 7:21# "Inion " – 4:15# "Sure-As-Not" / "Sure-As-Knot " – 9:58# "Nil Cead Againn Dul Abhaile " – 7:20... |
1995 | cello, vocals & giggling | Jam Nation's "She Moved Through the Fair She Moved Through the Fair "She Moved Through the Fair" is a traditional Irish folk song, existing in a number of versions and which has been recorded many times.-Origins:... " |
| BT | Emotional Technology Emotional Technology Emotional Technology is the fourth album by electronica artist BT. Transitioning towards a poppier sound, the album features some of BT's well-known hits, including "Somnambulist", "The Force of Gravity" and "Superfabulous". "Somnambulist", also known as "Simply Being Loved", holds the Guinness... |
2003 | cello & vocals | "The Great Escape" |
| Chicane Chicane (recording artist) Chicane is a British electronic dance music act, and the guise of British musician, composer, songwriter and record producer, Nicholas Bracegirdle.... |
Far from the Maddening Crowds Far from the Maddening Crowds Far from the Maddening Crowds is the debut studio album by British electronic dance music act Chicane, released in 1997. It is highly regarded as a seminal release in the trance community, and is highly sought after... |
1997 | vocals & co-writing | "Lost You Somewhere" |
| De Dannan De Dannan De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band... |
Ballroom | 1993 | cello, vocals, arrangements | ALL |
| Electric Strings quartet with The Pogues The Pogues The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before... |
Pogue Mahone | 1996 | cello | "Anniversary" "Love You 'Til The End" "Pont Mirabeau" |
| Hector Zazou Hector Zazou Hector Zazou was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists... |
Lights in the Dark Strong Currents L'Absence |
1998 2003 2004 |
cello vocals & lyrics vocals & lyrics |
ALL "The Freeze" "Lies Will Flow" |
| Loreena McKennitt Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals... |
A Winter Garden A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season is an EP by Loreena McKennitt. Recorded and released in 1995, it contains five tracks: three Christmas carols, McKennitt’s adaptation of Archibald Lampman’s poem “Snow” , and the traditional English “Seeds of Love.”-Track listing:# Coventry Carol –... The Book of Secrets The Book of Secrets The Book of Secrets is an album by Loreena McKennitt released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.The album is... Live Paris & Toronto Live in Paris and Toronto Live in Paris and Toronto is a two CD live album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1999. Disc one is a live performance of the studio album The Book of Secrets; disc two features songs from her albums The Visit and The Mask and Mirror.... An Ancient Muse An Ancient Muse An Ancient Muse is the seventh full-length studio album of the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt. It was released on November 20, 2006 internationally, and November 21, 2006 in the United States and Canada. It was her first studio album after a... Nights from the Alhambra Nights from the Alhambra Nights from the Alhambra is a live album and DVD from the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt and is her first live concert DVD... A Midwinter Night's Dream A Mediterranean Odyssey The Wind That Shakes The Barley The Wind That Shakes the Barley (album) -Track listing:# "As I Roved Out" # "On a Bright May Morning" # "Brian Boru’s March" # "Down by the Sally Gardens" # "The Star of the County Down" # "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" # "The Death of Queen Jane"... |
1995 1997 1999 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 |
cello cello cello cello cello cello cello cello |
ALL, except Tracks 1, 3 ALL, except 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 ALL ALL, except Tracks 1, 4 ALL ALL, except Tracks 5, 6, 11 ALL, except CD2 Tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 ALL, except 9 |
| Massive Attack Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip... |
Hymn of the Big Wheel EP | 1992 | vocals & cello | "Home of the Whale" |
| Muse Muse (band) Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard... |
Origin of Symmetry | 2001 | cello | ALL |
| Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti... |
Kafka | 1996 | vocals & co-writing | "Breathing Stone" |
| Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career... |
Us Us (Peter Gabriel album) Us is the sixth studio album by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, originally released in 1992. It was remastered, with most of Gabriel's catalogue, in 2002... |
1992 | cello | 2, 6, 10 |
| Radiohead Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992... |
The Bends The Bends The Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. The Bends was produced by John Leckie at EMI's studios in London, and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to produce all future albums by the band... |
1995 | cello | "Fake Plastic Trees" "Nice Dream" |
| Sleepthief Sleepthief Sleepthief is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged by Israel Curtis... |
The Dawnseeker | 2006 | vocals & writing | "Nightjar" |
| The Chieftains The Chieftains The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:... |
Further Down the Old Plank Road | 2003 | cello | ALL |
| Vangelis Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis... |
Voices Voices (Vangelis album) Voices is a 1995 album by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis.Its music was used in the soundtrack for the 1998 documentary Deep Seas, Deep Secrets co-produced by The Learning Channel and Discovery Channel, together with music from Vangelis next album, Oceanic.The track "Ask the... |
1995 | vocals & lyrics | "Come to Me" |
Thomas Dolby
Cello
Forty (album)
She has also worked with Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
. Art of Trance
Art of Trance
Simon Paul Berry, known by his alias Art of Trance is a trance music artist from England. Berry is also known as Poltergeist or Vicious Circles, and has been a member of the trance groups Clanger, Conscious and Union Jack. In addition to his work as an artist, Berry was the co-founder and head of...
has remixed some of her songs.
Albums
- Spirit (1995)
- Turning Ground
- Moorlough ShoreThe Moorlough Shore-Synopsis:A young man praises the beauties of the countryside and the girl he has fallen in love with. She refuses his advances on the ground that she already loves a sailor. She will wait for her true love for seven years. In frustration the boy leaves his childhood home and sails away, still...
- Dream Of Picasso
- Forget The Few
- Lagan Love
- A Case Of YouA Case of You"A Case of You" is a song by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. It is one of her most well-known songs.-Writing and recording:Mitchell recorded A Case of You in 1971, during her early folk period. The song was first released on the 1971 album Blue with Mitchell playing Appalachian dulcimer,...
- Waiting For Rain
- Desire
- The Island
- Sleep Now
- Sheherezade
- Brilliant Midnight (2001)
- Farther Than The Sun
- Anxiety
- Anima Rising
- She Said
- All I Have
- The Fall
- Siamant'o
- Karma
- Mangoes
- Le Pourquoi
- Firefly Night
- Universal
- Twisted Ends
- Brilliant Midnight 2.0 (2002)
(As above, but with 3 extra tracks):
- Lost Voices
- Home of the Whale
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
- A Distant Bell (2004)
- Gently Johnny
- So Uncool
- Innocence Sleeping
- Banks of the Nile
- Simple Lyric
- No More Words
- Too Late
- The Trees They Do Grow High
- Greenwood Laddie
- Timeless
- Handful of Ashes
- Farewell to Music (w. Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains)
- Gently Johnny (Extended Version)
Singles
Moorlough ShoreN-Gram Recordings (1995)
- LP mix - 4.20
- Eye of the storm mix - 5.39
- Thermionic resonance mix, 90 BMP, vocal - 5.30
- Thermionic resonance mix, 97 BMP, dub - 5.22
- Thermionic resonance mix, 90 BMP, dub - 5.47
- Thermionic resonance mix, 107 BMP, dub - 5.45
A Case Of You
N-Gram Recordings (1995)
- A case of you (single mix) - 4.30
- Dream of picasso (monka monka mix) - 6.53
- A case of you (psovi psovi mix) - 4.31
External links
- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=339620331071&ref=nf
- 'Pogues.com' entry
- 'musicOMH' review
- 'EctoGuide' summary
- 'Elsewhere' Vangelis site - Q/A session
- 'MusicalDiscoveries' feature 1
- 'MusicalDiscoveries' feature 2
- 'Auralgasms' interview
- TED Talks: Caroline Lavelle casts a spell on cello at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2005