Let's talk Bel Canto (or even Biosphere since Geir Jenssen was a member)

[shadowplay]

Probably a waste of time but hopefully I'm not the only one...

Over the last week or so I've been playing the first two Bel Canto albums a lot, their other albums are fine but these two are my favourite and Geir left to do his own thing after Birds of Passage.

If you've not heard them, they were a Norwegian band who started int he very late 80's and got a fair bit of side bar level press in the UK inkies. They are kinda like a electronic folk tinged distant relative of Dead Can Dance I suppose, elegant, elegiac and ethereal. Some folk say they sound like the Cocteau Twins and I guess Blank Sheets has some elements.

Not a lot of electric guitar but a fair bit of mandolin and acoustic

First album is Total Whiteout Conditions

White-Out Conditions

Chaideinoi

Without You

Blank Sheets


Birds of Passage - IMO their best album as a whole piece and certainly containing my favourite song.

Time Without End which is my favourite song by them with great lyrics.

Dewy Fields

Birds of Passage

Picnic on the Moon probably their best know tune


Ah I'll pick a couple off Shimmering Warm and Bright while I'm at.

Shimmering Warm and Bright

Unicorn sadly 25 years too early for the current unicorn zeitgeist

Mornixuur

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scsdz6G3pi0[Sleep in Deep[/url]

We can chat Biosphere too here.

D

[daemon]

Wow, hadn't thought about them in years. I was into "Shimmering, Warm and Bright" when it came out, so it's time for some reimmersion.

[dc]

White Out Conditions is excellent and brings back good memories. and what a fertile period it was for Nettwerk records -- MOEV, Skinny Puppy, that one Grapes of Wrath record, early Sarah McLachlan, probably others i've forgotten now. somehow it all cohered at the time.

it's still too fn hot here to be listening to White Out Conditions, but i can see putting that record and Birds of Passage on repeat someday soon, as autumn finally arrives -

[shadowplay]

White Out Conditions is excellent and brings back good memories. and what a fertile period it was for Nettwerk records -- MOEV, Skinny Puppy, that one Grapes of Wrath record, early Sarah McLachlan, probably others i've forgotten now. somehow it all cohered at the time.

it's still too fn hot here to be listening to White Out Conditions, but i can see putting that record and Birds of Passage on repeat someday soon, as autumn finally arrives -

Over here they were on Crammed Discs who were in a similarly hot period with great records by Zazou Bikaye and Sussan Deihim and Richard Horowitz and they were putting out Minimal Compact and Colin Newman at that time.

i know what you mean about the climate, it's just turning a little here and it's no great mystery why I was in the mood.

Wow, hadn't thought about them in years. I was into "Shimmering, Warm and Bright" when it came out, so it's time for some reimmersion.

I saw some kids do a dance routine to Shimmering Warm and Bright not so long ago, it was a very sparkly affair.

Good to see some fans.

D

[daemon]

i know what you mean about the climate, it's just turning a little here and it's no great mystery why I was in the mood.

It's interesting you both mention the climate. The Cocteau's "Blue Bell Knoll" is forever an autumn record for me. I'm not sure if it's something about the music or that was when I first heard it, but somehow they became intrinsically linked.

[dc]

It's interesting you both mention the climate. The Cocteau's "Blue Bell Knoll" is forever an autumn record for me.

the Cocteaus named their studio "September Sound" for a reason!

i'll definitely be breaking them out like warmer clothes for the fall season, as i'm sure others will -