Tremolo E.P. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
EP by | ||||
Released | 20 February 1991 | |||
Recorded | May 1990–January 1991 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 18:43 | |||
Label | Creation Records (CRE085) | |||
Producer | My Bloody Valentine | |||
My Bloody Valentine chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
The Village Voice | A− link |
Tremolo E.P. is an extended play by Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in February 1991 by Creation Records. The EP was a critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart. [2] It featured the single "To Here Knows When", which subsequently appeared (in a different mix) on the band's second album Loveless .
The EP featured the band more heavily utilising samplers, which allowed them to play back sounds on keyboard. [3] Sampled sounds include guitar feedback, vocals, a BBC stock sound effects recording to create a low-end effect on "To Here Knows When", [4] and a Turkish belly dancing track ripped from cassette on the track "Swallow". [3] The title is a reference to the band's heavy usage of guitar tremolo and vibrato to create blurred, dreamlike tones (Kevin Shields' method of strumming chords while simultaneously bending his guitar's tremolo/whammy bar was referred to as "glide guitar").
In November 1991, Shields commented: "Tremolo had seven tracks on it, but you're not allowed to do that, so we called it four tracks and didn't name three of them. People just thought they were weird bits!" [5] The lead track, "To Here Knows When", has a longer and more ethereal coda—essentially constituting a separate song—than the version later included on the album Loveless . "Swallow" and "Honey Power" also each contain an instrumental coda. All three segues/codas feature backwards guitar loops and heavy reverb.
Videos were filmed for the songs "Swallow" and "To Here Knows When" under the direction of Angus Cameron.
All tracks are written by Kevin Shields except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "To Here Knows When" | Bilinda Butcher, Shields | 4:44 |
2. | "Swallow" | 3:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "To Here Knows When" (plus instrumental coda) | Bilinda Butcher, Shields | 5:46 |
2. | "Swallow" (plus instrumental coda) | 4:52 | |
3. | "Honey Power" (plus coda) | Butcher, Shields | 4:35 |
4. | "Moon Song" | 3:23 |
My Bloody Valentine
Technical personnel
My Bloody Valentine are an Irish-English rock band formed in Dublin in 1983 and consisting since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, with Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe (bass). Often cited as a pioneering act in the shoegaze genre, their sound is characterized by dissonant guitar textures, androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques.
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Loveless is the second studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 4 November 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Sire Records. The album was recorded between February 1989 and September 1991, with vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields leading sessions and experimenting with guitar vibrato, nonstandard tunings, digital samplers, and meticulous production methods. The band recorded at nineteen different studios and hired several engineers during the album's prolonged recording, with its final production cost rumoured to have reached £250,000.
Kevin Patrick Shields is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alternative rock with their two studio albums Isn't Anything (1988) and Loveless (1991), pioneering a subgenre known as shoegaze. Shields's texturised guitar sound and his experimentation with his guitars' tremolo systems resulted in the creation of the "glide guitar" technique, which became a recognisable aspect of My Bloody Valentine's sound, along with his meticulous production techniques.
Isn't Anything is the debut studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 21 November 1988 by Creation Records. Its innovative guitar and production techniques consolidated the experimentation of the band's preceding EPs and would make the album a pioneering work of the subgenre known as shoegazing. Upon its release, the album received rave critical reviews and reached #1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
Glider is an EP by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in April 1990 by Creation Records. The EP was also the group's first release on the Sire Records label in the United States. Containing the lead single "Soon", which featured Kevin Shields' "glide guitar" technique, the EP peaked at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart, and the band toured in summer 1990 to support its release.
The New Record by My Bloody Valentine is the second EP by the Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in September 1986 on Kaleidoscope Sound. Recorded at Alaska Studios in London, the EP's sound is influenced by C86, a brand of indie pop, and diverges from the band's earlier post-punk sound.
"Strawberry Wine" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released as a non-album single on 9 November 1987 on Lazy Records. It was the band's second release for Lazy and the first to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who had joined the band in April 1987 following the departure of original vocalist David Conway.
"Feed Me with Your Kiss" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, and was released as a single and also the lead track to the EP of the same name through Creation Records. It is the seventh track and lead single from the band's debut studio album Isn't Anything. It was released on 31 October 1988.
You Made Me Realise is the third EP by alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 8 August 1988 through Creation Records. It was their first record for Creation.
Ecstasy is the second mini album by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 23 November 1987 on Lazy Records. Released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, it was the band's final release for Lazy Records and second to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who was recruited in April 1987 following the departure of original My Bloody Valentine vocalist David Conway. Ecstasy followed the noise pop and twee pop standards of My Bloody Valentine's earlier releases for the label, drawing influence from various artists including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and The Byrds, and the album distanced the band further from their earlier post-punk and gothic rock sound.
Bilinda Jayne Butcher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known as a vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine.
"Only Shallow" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. It is the opening track and second single from the band's second studio album, Loveless (1991), released on Creation Records. Written by Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, "Only Shallow" features Shields' distinctive guitar sound—a technique known as "glide guitar"—characterized by heavy use of a tremolo bar while strumming.
The discography of My Bloody Valentine, an Irish-English alternative rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland, consists of three studio albums, two mini albums, one live album, two compilation albums, five extended plays, twelve singles and six music videos.
EP's 1988–1991 is a compilation album by Irish-English shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, released on 4 May 2012 via Sony. It features four of the band's extended plays for Creation Records—You Made Me Realise (1988), Feed Me with Your Kiss (1988), Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991)—and seven additional rare and unreleased songs.
m b v is the third studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, self-released on 2 February 2013. Produced by the band's vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields, m b v was the band's first full-length release of original material since Loveless (1991), over two decades earlier.
The Complex were an Irish punk rock band formed in 1979 in Dublin. The band's membership consisted of Liam Ó Maonlaí, Kevin Shields (guitar), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums) and a bassist known only as Mark. The Complex disbanded in 1981 after Ó Maonlaí's departure. Although unsuccessful on the Dublin post-punk music scene, members of The Complex later formed successful alternative rock bands, including My Bloody Valentine and Hothouse Flowers.
"Instrumental" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released as a limited edition free single with the first 5,000 LP copies of the band's debut studio album Isn't Anything, released on 21 November 1988 on Creation Records.
"Sugar" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released as a non-album split single with Pacific, whose song "December, with the Day" is featured as the single's b-side. "Sugar"/"December, with the Day" was released in February 1989 on Creation Records and issued free with issue 67 of the British music magazine The Catalogue.