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Seefeel |
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Info: Biography, Pictures, Discography of all CDs & DVDs |
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| "Are you sure you want to block this user?Seefeel live (April, 1994) in Moscow at 'Britronica' performing 'Industrious' off of their 'Quique' LP.The 'Official' home to Seefeel on MySpace...Mark Clifford on guitar, Sarah Peacock on guitar and vocals, Daren Seymour on bass and Justin Fletcher on drums.Like the pulsating, polyrhythmic sound scapes they composed, Seefeel ebbed and flowed to and from existence; some noticed, buying up every last release as they trickled out from Seefeel's christened studio, 'Polyfusia'.Seefeel's existence cannot be underestimated.You can pierce it's living flesh and it bleeds mercury; feel it's loving and visceral caress over your body, look into it's eyes and see the regimented technochrome of it's electrical mind.Back in the early to mid ninties Seefeel sounded like nothing else at the time and, in the wake of countless contemporaries, still sound fresh and unique today to those who would newly discover their timeless work.Seefeel formed in early 1992; "I put adverts up and just saw loads and loads of people, really" Mark Clifford detailed in a 2003 interview with 'Perfect Sound Forever'.Though not officially part of the Seefeel lineup thereafter, Van Hoen continued to be involved with the band; principally as their live sound engineer.Each member brought a different musical aesthetic and expectation to the Seefeel's initial sound."The first demos we did and the first couple of gigs...Early recording sessions soon yielded their first EP, 'More Like Space', whose thick and fuzzy treated guitar melodies supplanted more conventional synths; fading in and out of the mix anchored only by minimal percussive elements and Sarah's ethereal, often wordless vocal.Sarah's utterances carried over to their next EP, 'Pure, Impure', to which Richard 'Aphex Twin' James famously contributed two remixes.Quique', in late 1993; an album held in high regard by many as Seefeel's true masterpiece.Quique' also holds the esteem of being Seefeel's only recording to remain in print as it was reissued in 2007 in a remastered special edition.Following 'Quique', as subsequent recording sessions yielded a more and more introverted and experimental electronic sound, Seefeel decamped to the Sheffield based electronic label 'Warp Records' in 1994.Although featuring these edgier sensibilities, 1994's 'Starethrough EP' retained some of the dreamy lightheartedness of 'Quique'; a track like 'Spangle' could be called anything but dark with it's twinkling coruscations of melody and Sarah's angelic vocal.The skeletal mainframe of their new sound culminated with a second studio album, 'Succour', in 1995; driving electronic percussion, dubby basslines and obtuse, paranoid guitar melodies abound.Sarah's vocals sound synthetic and almost alien in the barren, lunar atmosphere's that 'Succour' evokes.VOX) represents the furthest progression of Seefeel's continuing abstraction; the beats are almost entirely whittled away, supplanted instead by droning tapestries of processed guitars.VOX) is an unforgettable, if not triumphant, goodbye to a truly underrated band.As creative tensions mounted, the members of Seefeel parted ways to explore other avenues of musical creativity.Plainsong' and 'Time To Find Me' EPs.Another compilation titled 'Polyfusia' was released the following year in the US on Astralwerks combining both 'More Like Space' and 'Pure, Impure'.Seefeel's debut on Warp Records.In 2003 a 12 minute remix of 'Spangle' (produced by Autechre originally in 1994) was released titled 'Autechre Remix Of Spangle By Seefeel' on Polyfusia Records.Tempean' is a hidden track, beginning 05:11 into track 10, 'Utreat'.Seefeel's debut on Richard D.Two disc 'Special Edition' of Seefeel's debut LP 'Quique'.Disc two contains rare and previously unreleased Seefeel material."Are you sure you want to delete this comment?"Best wishes for the music!Thank you for stopping by and leaving the comment.Thanx for your add and the timeless music you've made!!THANK YOU FOR YOUR MUSIC AND FRIENDSHIP..."Quique" one of the most exciting and basic albums of the 90's...Thank you for the add !Thanks for the add, your music is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!Christmas and a happy new year!We grew up listening to and swapping tapes (yeah we know!This led us on to discover bands live Slowdive and The Pale Saints.I'm glad that that journey led us to you too!Love the atmospherics, so ahead of it's time!I've just uploaded a new track to my profile...Very welcome :) Thanks 4 your music!Many many thanks for all the listening enjoyment over the years.Do you wish to continue your form submission?"August 2003 edition of online magazine, Perfect Sound Forever.Additionally, Jim Adams has created a seefeel side projects page.Seefeel are playing Oct 31 at Powerhaus in London.Seefeel is back together!Apparently it was recorded for Rephlex Records around two years ago.Six droning tracks totaling around 30 minutes.Mark Clifford has released 2 CDs as Disjecta (his sound is, not surprisingly, along the lines of Succour, IMO).Apparently side projects include Aurobindo: Involution by Seymour and Van Hoen.Note, all sounds are 160K 20 second.Because that was the standard back then!Combines More Like Space and pure, impure EP.Virgin's Ambient 4: Isolationism contains a track called Lief.Ancient Lights and the Black Core has three tracks: ...Filter Dub on Serenity Dub 2.We're not really song people.We're more sound people.In a nutshell of Darren Seymour's making, that's Seefeel.But if a year ago you'd pressed him or any of the band for a similar comment the issue might have been more confused.OK, they might end up sounding a bit different, but they're trying to be musicians, guitar players.We're not like that at all.I'd hardly ever picked up a guitar before I met this lot.They got me in because I'd played bass once before!We all realised that it doesn't really matter what you play, it'll sound good because of what you're plugged into.Seefeel are breathing new life into that flagging scene by drawing their inspiration from the current ambient techno boom.And I'm completely pissed off with all my old records.For its failings, indie music did travel down a path of guitar sound experimentation.You can get some fucking excellent noises.We like that, so why not do it in a different context?There's nothing like the warmth of an electric guitar.As always, I am in no way affiliated with the band or label.Seefeel are playing Oct 31 at Powerhaus in London.London from recording in Cornwall and are in production."Scala has released a new EP called Slide.Aaron Johnston has conducted an excellent interview with Mark Clifford.Razor Kiss on Lo Recordings.Seefeel is back together!Rephlex Records around two years ago.Note, all sounds are 160K 20 second.Ancient Lights and the Black Core has three tracks: ...We're not really song people.Darren Seymour's making, that's Seefeel.I'd hardly ever picked up a guitar before I met this lot.I'd played bass once before!We like that, so why not do it in a different context?As always, I am in no way affiliated with the band or label.This is a Hyperreal Experience.SiteCatalyst code version: H.Seefeel (read more)
201,487 plays scrobbled on Last.Seefeel formed in 1992, when guitarist Mark Clifford and drummer Justin Fletcher met vocalist Sarah Peacock and bassist Darren Seymour.Currently Mark is running the Polyfusia label, releasing old and new work including collaborations with Autechre and Mira Calix.Add this track to your playlist
Is It Now?Coterie out to have a listen...Mind you Nadine is a damn fine tune!My Bloody Valentine's _Loveless_?Ulrich Schnauss successfully mimicked Robin Guthrie (who is a Seefeel fan, incidentally).Seefeel got much better later, as their music became more ghastly and more atonal.If you'd like to add some events for Seefeel then you can do so on this page.Web Site Support
Last.The Gemma Ray
Ritual and the Mighty Shimmering Beasts.New music coming from
Mark Clifford with Simon Kealoha (Calika) and a split EP with
Katia Zavoloka.Seefeel now on
MySpace.Nav Katze Lilac Moonlight (Disjecta Mix), Tightrope
(Disjecta Mix), Tiny Cog (Disjecta Mix) and Happier...Disjecta tinkered with by Vendor Refill
Bad Day for Wasps on Floating Foundation Vol.Tiny Elements on All Tomorrow's Parties 0.Fifty (Shadow Records SDW076.Ash
International Ash 2.Aurobindo on Record (Ash International
Ash 2.Heard Myself in You (Pt.Mark Clifford interview by Dave Andrae(July 2003)
During the 1990's, the English quartet Seefeel made
some of the most indispensable ethereal music in existence.Though countless artists in "ambient" and electronic
music have worked along similar lines, the results of Seefeel's otherworldly
efforts put them in a class all their own.For years I wanted to interview Seefeel.After Seefeel's informal disbandment, Clifford released material under
the name Disjecta while doing the occasional one off, producing or remixing
other artists.Clifford politely endured all my questions while
shedding light on such subjects as remixing the Cocteau Twins, working
with other people versus working alone, why Seefeel broke up, and why he
no longer drives a car.While I didn't go so far as to track down Seefeel's
other three members (Sarah Peacock, Daren Seymour, and Justin Flectcher),
they were definitely with us in spirit.PSF: I'd like it if we could talk a bit about the
origins of Seefeel.Did that have more bearing on your personal similarities than where each
of you were at musically?MC: Umm, there were touchstones between us, but I
think we all had quite different tastes.Kraftwerk
and that kinda stuff, like Neu!He was
really into a lot of stuff that was also kind of like blues.Much more
traditional music.PSF: What did the band sound like initially?MC: The first demos we did and the first couple of
gigs...They were less based around one chord.PSF: Was there a definitive moment for you personally
when you realized the aesthetic limitations of more traditional song structures?It's like you said,
with a lot of bands, they tend to add electronic or production elements
for the sake of updating a traditional format.It was
quite straight ahead really.PSF: How much of the source material for the More
Like Space EP was recorded before you really started getting hardcore
into experimenting with sequencers, delays, and filters and whatnot?Quique,
the basics of the tracks from Quique.Whereas the
tracks on More Like Space were much simpler tracks and it was much
easier to get into the studio and do them.And that was our first EP.Succour and the later
stuff, it's much more studio based.It was much more kind of, "Let's see
what we can do in the studio and then try and recreate it live."The things on Succour were still always live.Ironically,
on Succour, even though it sounds like more of a manipulated album, most
of the guitar parts are actually more live on that than they are on Quique.There's much less sampling of guitars going on there than on Quique.So all the guitar parts, the main guitar parts, on Succour are completely
reproducible live.It was not really very complicated.Because the sounds we used were
very much based around harmonics and stuff.When your listening to a sound,
or when I listen to a sound, I can tend to hear a melody in it.It's not a question of
writing a song then trying to find the sounds to fit the whole thing.Just
because of the cost and the money involved.And to record them properly would have cost us thousands and
thousands of pounds.Would you agree with that?Partly as well because we never placed
a great emphasis on the rhythms.PSF: Do you think that has anything to do with how
the music was received, because it couldn't be instantly codified as being
a hipster kind of music?"Oh, let's make a record which the kids can dance to."It was just, "Make the music you want to make."PSF: Have there ever been times when you've wanted
to express something more literally or directly than the ethereal palate
of Seefeel or Disjecta allowed you to?Maybe Shellac isn't a million miles away from what we did.Obviously not
the style of the music, but more the thought process behind it.PSF: Have you ever felt that the music you were doing
might have just as many, albeit quite different, creative constraints as
more condensed or easily digestible forms of music?PSF: Some sort of psychological consistency.MC: Yes, something Autechre are very good at.That's the kind of music that I enjoy making.PSF: To what extent do you think there was an audience
for your music during the early to mid Nineties, when Seefeel was really
beginning to take off creatively?MC: Well, I would never have known apart from the
record sales.We sold a reasonable amount of records.MC: Well, I think Quique probably did about
sixteen or seventeen thousand.Not a lot, but it's a lot more than we ever
thought it would do.Too Pure,
we were hoping we'd sell five hundred records.We would've been happy with
that because we enjoyed making music.Record sales aren't what motivate me.Especially since it's not like there's a shortage of good music.Do you think it's unfortunate
that Seefeel might have missed the boat as far as the popularization of
that supposed style is concerned, or would you just as well have had as
little to do with it as possible?"It's just music," and the whole labeling of it just seemed ridiculous.You know, we were just Seefeel.As far as bands like Tortoise go...The main reason I mentioned
that is that...But it seems like one of the things that
might have resigned Seefeel to a certain level of obscurity was the fact
that its name couldn't be interchangeable with a particular style or regional
sound.Seefeel or you didn't.Seefeel' because I don't think there were too many other bands like us.PSF: You mentioned something before about the comparisons
to dub.Even a casual listen to some of your records will elicit comparisons
to dub.And also the kind of deconstructive nature of dub
means that it doesn't...And that to me,
that's kind of one of the less obvious influences of it.But yeah, when you listen
to a dub track it doesn't matter what's going on above you, it's always
tied down by this heavy bass, and this sense of space and...Quique was used with autistic children.So I know from that point of view that it does have that effect.And I know people have given birth to it.PSF: That's incredibly flattering.MC: Well, honestly I've never thought of that before,
but yeah, it's good.That's really important to me, that people...Obviously, I don't want people to go out and top themselves,
but at the same time it's good that it gives something to people rather
than just being something you just put on in the background while your
doing the ironing.PSF: Who would you say are some of your contemporaries
in music?Warp who are very similar to me or work in
a very similar way, but the end results are very different.Even an obvious
band like My Bloody Valentine which is a band we always got compared to
in a way...Even though, obviously, I would never deny
that they were a massive influence on me, as a band."They could have listened to Seefeel."But, having said that, they could just as well not have.PSF: You're generally regarded as the leader of Seefeel.Why do you think that is and do you think that's an accurate assumption?MC: Umm, it's difficult because it's true in one
way, but then at the same time Seefeel was also the sum of its parts.But at the same time, Sarah's voice is an absolute key element to Seefeel.And then Daren did give a lot of ideas on the bass parts and also he provided
a lot of little samples and little ideas which maybe grew into tracks.Justin was probably the least active in the studio, but then his personality
tended to keep us all up.So just on a personal level he was a great person
to be around when we recorded, certainly on the first album.It's like people often say, "Oh you know if you did so much with
Seefeel why did you need the other three?"Vox had anything
to do with the band's starting to unravel?And there were definitely tensions appearing in the band.It was just, "Go in and record something."PSF: Could you talk a little bit about that, how
and why the group ultimately broke up?MC: I think it was kind of a number of reasons.PSF: So it was sort of a stalemate.I'm just gonna get on with it."We're still kind of reasonably friendly towards each other.PSF: You mentioned Seefeel possibly getting back
together.Do you think there's a need for that or do you think your recorded
output speaks for itself as it is?Do you think Seefeel's unresolved?We'd only get back together
again and record something new because we wanted to.Not for any creative reason.We got together a couple of times really,
a couple of years ago, and a couple of years before that.We have intermittently
gotten together and done stuff, but we just never really pursued it.PSF: If you did do another project with the band,
do you think you'd do it under the name Seefeel?MC: I wouldn't be afraid of doing it under the name
of Seefeel, but...I'm
very conscious of what I put out and what I don't put out.Like I said,
we got together and recorded some tracks, and they were good, but because
it's four years on and we'd already done that, to me it just kind of seemed
a bit regressive.Quique 2 out in my sleep.Going back to what I said before about making
music because I love doing it, because I love creating new sounds...Daren and Sarah came to me and we got together and they had some
great new ideas and I had some new ideas and we put them together and it
made a great record, and it was relevant, and it was a step forward, I'd
be quite happy to to it.But I'd never make another Seefeel record just
for the sake of it.Seefeel,
the records are still there.PSF: So, what are you up to these days?You mentioned
something about Mira Calix.Are you still doing stuff under the name Disjecta,
are you playing out live, DJing, anything like that?Disjecta, on his own Polyfusia Records label.That must have been sort
a dream come true for you."I've been a lifelong fan of your music.""Well I'll have that one and that one."PSF: That's really cool.It was a really, really uncomplicated process.I've just not even thought about buying a car again.CentOS) Server at hyperreal. |
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