| E-Bay Queen | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 30, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, electronica | |||
| Length | 53:46 | |||
| Label | Undo | |||
| Marsheaux chronology | ||||
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| Side-Line |   |
E-Bay Queen is the debut studio album recorded in English by Greek female synthpop duo Marsheaux. It was released in Greece on 30 June 2004 by Undo Records.
Marsheaux is a Greek synthpop duo formed in Athens in 2003. The group is composed of vocalists, songwriters and keyboardists Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou. The name Marsheaux is derived from the first syllable of each band member's name. Both members sing almost exclusively in English. Andy McCluskey of OMD said about this band: "I do have a soft spot for Marsheaux I have to say. They have a certain sort of wispy, melancholic charm".
Contents
E-Bay Queen is an Electronica album and is comparable in style to The Human League album Dare as it combines contrasting female vocals with early 1980s style analogue synthesizer tracks, and is also heavily influenced by the early works of Depeche Mode. It sold principally in Marsheaux's native Greece when first released but has since been revived by the international interest in Peekaboo and Undo Records are now marketing it towards an international audience.
Electronica encompasses a broad group of electronic-based styles such as techno, house, ambient, jungle and other electronic music styles intended not just for dancing.
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit "Don't You Want Me." The band received the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 1982. Further hits followed throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, including "Mirror Man," "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," "The Lebanon," "Human" and "Tell Me When."
Dare is the third studio album by British synthpop band The Human League, first released in the UK on 16 October 1981 then subsequently in the US in mid-1982. The album was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their prior avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey.
The album contains two full cover versions, an Electronica version of The Lightning Seeds track "Pure" which is sung by Marianthi; and Marsheaux's dark version of Gershon Kingsley's instrumental track Popcorn which received considerable radio play on mainland Europe in 2003 when it was released as a single in advance of the album. In addition, the track "Όλα Γυρίζουν" (phonetic translation: "Ola Gyrizoun") is a partial cover of "October Love Song" by Chris & Cosey - it retains the music, but has new Greek lyrics written by Marsheaux.
Gershon Kingsley is a contemporary German-American composer, a pioneer of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer, founder of the First Moog Quartet, a partner in the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, and writer of rock-inspired compositions for Jewish religious ceremonies.
"Popcorn" is an early synth-pop instrumental, composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 and first appearing on his album Music to Moog By. It was recorded at the Audio Fidelity Records label in New York City.
Chris & Cosey, now performing as Carter Tutti, are a band formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, both previously members of industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle.
