Liquid (album)
Encyclopedia
Liquid is the fourth Recoil
studio album, released by Mute Records
on March 21, 2000. It was recorded at Alan Wilder
's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex
, during sessions that lasted from July 1998 to June 1999. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with production assistance and co-ordination by Hepzibah Sessa, and additional production and sound design by PK
. Liquid is Recoil's fifth album release.
Liquids music continues in much the same vein as his previous album, Unsound Methods
, but it considered to be a concept album revolving around a near-death experience in 1994. Wilder and his partner, Hepzibah Sessa, were driving in Scotland and a Tornado Bomber
hit a hillside in front of them, and two airmen were killed. The idea of the album, especially the bookending track "Black Box", centered around what was going through the pilot's last moments of life.
Recoil again picked a diverse set guest vocalists - internationally acclaimed (and fellow Mute
artist) Diamanda Galás
, 1940s gospel
singers the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, New York
spoken word
performers Nicole Blackman
and Samantha Coerbell, and Catalan
narrator (and Recoil fan) Rosa Torras. Additional musicians utilized were Curve
's Dean Garcia (bass
) and Steven Monty (drums
), Ian Dury and the Blockheads
' Merlin Rhys-Jones (guitar
), and Miranda Sex Garden
's Hepzibah Sessa (violin
).
Of note is the track "Jezebel", which features the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet. There is some debate that it was inspired by the Moby
album Play
(released a year prior to Liquid) and its use of Alan Lomax
field recordings. However, a similar track appears on Recoil's 1992 Bloodline album, "Electro Blues for Bukka White", dispelling this idea. Furthermore, Moby appeared on the Bloodline album, which has led some to believe Play was inspired by Bloodline.
Nine Inch Nails
played the Liquid album before taking the stage during their Fragility tour in 2000.
Recoil (band)
Recoil is a musical project created by former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder. Essentially a solo venture, Recoil began whilst Wilder was still in Depeche Mode as an outlet for his experimental, less pop-oriented compositions...
studio album, released by Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
on March 21, 2000. It was recorded at Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, during sessions that lasted from July 1998 to June 1999. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with production assistance and co-ordination by Hepzibah Sessa, and additional production and sound design by PK
PK
- Gaming :* Pk, or Probability of kill * Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows, a video game* Player killing, player versus player conflict in MMORPGs and MUDs- Geography :* Pakistan * Park...
. Liquid is Recoil's fifth album release.
Liquids music continues in much the same vein as his previous album, Unsound Methods
Unsound Methods
Unsound Methods is the third Recoil studio album, released in 1997. It was recorded at Alan Wilder's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex, during sessions that lasted from September 1996 to March 1997. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with assistance and coordination by Hepzibah Sessa, and...
, but it considered to be a concept album revolving around a near-death experience in 1994. Wilder and his partner, Hepzibah Sessa, were driving in Scotland and a Tornado Bomber
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
hit a hillside in front of them, and two airmen were killed. The idea of the album, especially the bookending track "Black Box", centered around what was going through the pilot's last moments of life.
Recoil again picked a diverse set guest vocalists - internationally acclaimed (and fellow Mute
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
artist) Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
, 1940s gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
singers the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
performers Nicole Blackman
Nicole Blackman
Nicole Blackman is a New York City-born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.-Literary career:Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word and transgressive literature scenes....
and Samantha Coerbell, and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
narrator (and Recoil fan) Rosa Torras. Additional musicians utilized were Curve
Curve (band)
Curve was an English music group formed in 1990 chiefly around the collaboration of singer/songwriter Toni Halliday and bassist/guitarist/programmer Dean Garcia.-History:...
's Dean Garcia (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Steven Monty (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Ian Dury and the Blockheads
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
' Merlin Rhys-Jones (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), and Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden were a music group from London, England. Formed in 1990, they were originally a trio of madrigal singers. Their first album, Madra , was entirely a cappella, with the songs all based on traditional English verse...
's Hepzibah Sessa (violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
).
Of note is the track "Jezebel", which features the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet. There is some debate that it was inspired by the Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
album Play
Play (Moby album)
Play is the fifth studio album by American electronica musician Moby, released on May 17, 1999 on V2 Records. While some of Moby's earlier work garnered critical and commercial success within the electronic dance music scene, Play was both a critical success and a commercial phenomenon...
(released a year prior to Liquid) and its use of Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
field recordings. However, a similar track appears on Recoil's 1992 Bloodline album, "Electro Blues for Bukka White", dispelling this idea. Furthermore, Moby appeared on the Bloodline album, which has led some to believe Play was inspired by Bloodline.
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
played the Liquid album before taking the stage during their Fragility tour in 2000.
Track listing
All music written by Alan Wilder- "Black Box, Part 1" (Words: Buhle)
- "Want" (Words: Nicole BlackmanNicole BlackmanNicole Blackman is a New York City-born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.-Literary career:Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word and transgressive literature scenes....
) - "Jezebel" (Words: Traditional/Orlandus Wilson)
- "Breath Control" (Words: Nicole BlackmanNicole BlackmanNicole Blackman is a New York City-born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.-Literary career:Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word and transgressive literature scenes....
) - "Last Call for Liquid Courage" (Words: Samantha Coerbell)
- "Strange Hours" (Words: Diamanda Galás)
- "Vertigen" (Words: Torras)
- "Supreme" (Words: Coerbell)
- "Chrome" (Words: Nicole BlackmanNicole BlackmanNicole Blackman is a New York City-born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.-Literary career:Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word and transgressive literature scenes....
) - "Black Box, Part 2" (Words: Buhle)
CD: Mute / CD MUTE 232 (UK)
- "Strange Hours" (Radio Edit, by Wilder)
- "Jezebel" (Filthy Dog Mix, by Wilder)
- "New York Nights" (Non-album track; Music: Wilder, Words: Coerbell)
- "Don't Look Back" (Non-album track; Music: Wilder, Words: Sonya MadanEchobellyEchobelly were a Britpop band, debuting in 1994 with their album Everyone's Got One. They were often compared to Blondie and were influenced by Morrissey, who himself was a fan of the group....
) - "Strange Hours" (Video)
- "Drifting" (Video, from the album Unsound Methods)
- "Stalker" (Video, from Unsound Methods)
- "Faith Healer" (Video, from the album Bloodline)
CD: Mute / CD MUTE 233 (UK)
- "Jezebel" (Radio Edit)
- "Jezebel" (The Slick Sixty vs. RJ remix)
- "Electro-Blues for Bukka White" (2000 Version; Music: Wilder, Words: Bukka WhiteBukka WhiteBooker T. Washington White , better known as Bukka White, was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. "Bukka" was not a nickname, but a phonetic misspelling of White's given name Booker, by his second record label .-Biography:Born between Aberdeen and Houston, Mississippi, White was the...
) - "Black Box" (Complete)
- "Jezebel" (Video)
Credits and personnel
- Alan Wilder–All music
- Reto Bühler–Narration on "Black Box Part 1" and "Black Box Part 2"
- Nicole BlackmanNicole BlackmanNicole Blackman is a New York City-born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.-Literary career:Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word and transgressive literature scenes....
–Lead Vocal on "Want", "Breath Control", and "Chrome" - Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet–Lead Vocal on "Jezebel"
- Samantha Coerbell–Lead Vocal on "Last Call for Liquid Courage" and "Supreme"
- Diamanda GalásDiamanda GalásDiamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
–Lead Vocal on "Strange Hours", Additional Vocals on "Jezebel" and "Vertigen" - Rosa M. Torras–Lead Vocal on "Vertigen", background vocals on "Black Box" (Complete)
- Dean Garcia–Additional bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
/GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Steven Monti–DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
sources - Merlin Rhys-Jones–Guitar sources
- Hepzibah Sessa–ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Lee Funnell–Photography
- Michael WilliamsMichael WilliamsMichael Leonard Williams was an English actor who played both classical and comedic roles, and was the husband of Dame Judi Dench.- Early life and career :Born in Liverpool, he attended St...
at Intro–Art Direction/Design