BUKKA WHITE
Booker T. Washington White, from Aberdeen, Mississippi, was born in 1906. The cousin of B.B. King, Bukka is remembered as a fine blues singer, gifted song-writer and deft guitarist. He first recorded in the 1930’s including one session for Alan Lomax which was taped while he was serving time at the infamous Parchman Farm Prison for shooting a man. There then came a gap of 24 years before he was recorded again by E.D. Denson and John Fahey. He gave himself to these sessions with an almost relentless determination and despite the passage...
read moreMOBY
Moby provided the vocals for ‘Curse’ from Recoil’s 1991 LP ‘Bloodline’. Born Richard Hall in New York, Moby acquired his nickname through being the great, great, grand nephew of Moby Dick author Herman Melville. By the time he was fifteen, he became entranced with punk and taught himself to play guitar before drifting through a succession of bands such as speed metallers The Vatican Commandos and art rockers Ultra Vivid Scene. It was at the close of the ’80’s however, with the dawning of acid house,...
read moreTONI HALLIDAY
Toni Halliday contributed vocals to two tracks on Recoil’s LP ‘Bloodline’ in 1991 but, of course, most people will know her in her more familiar role as one half of Curve. Formed in 1990, Curve released their first EP ‘Blindfold’ in 1991. Two further EPs, ‘Frozen’ & ‘Cherry’, helped to established the duo as a credible force in the British indie scene. Their first album ‘Doppelganger’ in 1992 was quickly followed by ‘Cuckoo’ the following year and Curve were...
read moreDOUGLAS MCCARTHY
Formed in 1982, Nitzer Ebb set out to terrorize the UK dance scene with industrial power rhythms and disturbing lyrical themes. Their unique blend of energetic anger and militaristic imagery soon saw them appearing in dance clubs and concert halls around the UK. By November 1986, after Nitzer Ebb had signed to Mute Records, a further series of singles preceded their debut album, ‘That Total Age’. Their second LP ‘Belief’, released in January 1989, saw Flood, veteran producer of Depeche Mode, U2 and Nine Inch Nails,...
read moreHEPZIBAH SESSA
Hepzibah Sessa began her musical career in 1993 after becoming involved with one-time Mute act, Miranda Sex Garden. They toured extensively, supporting label mates Einsturzende Neubauten and eventually Depeche Mode, before releasing their third album, ‘Fairytales Of Slavery’ (produced by Neubauten’s Alex Hacke) in 1994. She stopped working with MSG later that year and subsequently assisted Alan Wilder with various aspects of Recoil’s work after his own departure from Depeche Mode in 1995 up until ‘subHuman’...
read moreRETO BÜHLER
‘Liquid’s final contributor was the extremely large-lunged and big-hearted Reto Bühler, who apart from being a good friend of Alan and Hep’s, has been involved with Mute acts for many years through his work at Intercord in Germany. Reto speaks excellent English which, coupled with his strong Swiss accent, seemed perfect for the narration on ‘Black Box’. Reto: ‘I met Alan back in the ’80s when I was managing Frank Tovey aka. Fad Gadget. As you might know, Depeche Mode were playing a support-slot for...
read moreHILDIA CAMPBELL
Those of you who have heard Depeche Mode’s ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’ LP or seen the ‘Devotional’ tour will already be familiar with the soaring gospel voice of Hildia Cambell. She first came to the attention of Alan Wilder when Depeche Mode were looking for singers for the LP and she did such a good job that they took her on the road for 18 months. Alan never forgot that voice and decided to invite Hildia to appear as a Recoil guest for his ‘Unsound Methods’ LP. Hildia was responsible for the...
read moreSAMANTHA COERBELL
Samantha Coerbell, a writer and spoken word performer, is a native New Yorker with Trinidadian roots. She has been active on the NY poetry scene since 1991 and has performed with numerous musicians and writers. She holds a BFA in English Literature & Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. In addition to providing guest vocals on various musical compilations, Sam also teaches creativity and performance workshops and has been a featured performer with Real Live Poetry in the U.S. and Apples & Snakes in the UK. Samantha recently...
read moreTHE GOLDEN GATE JUBILEE QUARTET
The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet was ‘the’ pioneering gospel/pop quartet of the 30’s and 40’s. Propelled by Willie Johnson (baritone) and William Langford (first tenor), the group enjoyed massive acceptance far outside the church and their smooth Mills Brothers-influenced harmonies made them naturals for pop crossover success. Together with Henry Owens (second tenor) and Orlandus Wilson (bass), they began recording for Victor in 1937 followed by National radio broadcasts and an appearance on John Hammond’s 1938...
read moreMAGGIE ESTEP
Maggie Estep is a writer/performer living in New York. She moved there at 17 and after a succession of menial jobs, found she could earn a living reciting poetry, sometimes solo, sometimes with musical accompaniment. As a poet, she has toured with Lollapalooza, opening (with her former band I Love Everybody) for Courtney Love’s Hole. She featured prominently on MTV’s 1993 ‘Poetry Unplugged’ special and its subsequent ‘Spoken Wurd’ tour. Her mini-tirades made perfect, pithy inter-programme soundbites in the...
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