West India Company/Danielle/Bulgarian Angels

[katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris n Vickie)]

Vickie here. A site on our mail path was down and many things I posted
never appeared. This was originally mailed the 30th of November. Since
things seem to be working now, here it is again. 


Mary writes:

> Hi there. Noticed both 'Les Mystere de Voix Bulgares' and 'West
> India Company' in Vickie's 'RocketMan' lineup she posted a little
> while back.
> I was pleasantly surprised to see them both. Judging from the song
> titles for the West India Company cuts, I'd say it was the 'New Demons'
> album commissioned for La La La Human Steps. I saw 'New Demons' twice
> here in Ottawa.... spectacular!! (FYI La La La Human Steps is an
> alternative dance company based in Montreal that made a big
> impact last year. They did some work with David Bowie. 'New Demons'
> was the name of last year's work.)

Yes, you're right! I'm glad someone else knows about this album/group/
dance troup. I was introduced to the dance troup when I saw a La La La Human
Steps video on a Bette Midler Special ("Mondo Beyondo") and LLLHS danced
to the song "My Shooting Star" in an empty, indoor swimming pool. It
was an amazing thing to see, and it was an amazing thing to hear. Mondo
Beyondo is on video so I would highly recommend it to those not familiar
with LLLHS or WIC just to see that dance piece. The gravity-defying dance 
is incredible by itself, but the music is awe-inspiring too. Btw, within 
the video a woman is shown singing, but it's not the real singer. The real 
singer is named Asha Bhosle.

I was introduced to West India Company by my friend Sue, who had a 7" of
the song "Ave Maria" and we thought they had broken up until I saw the Mondo
Beyondo credits listing WIC. I was ecstatic when I found this CD.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
West India Company _New Demons_   Editions EG, EG Records (EEGCD 61) 1989
Marketed and Distributed by Caroline Records, Inc. 114 E 26th, NYC 10001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is in the liner notes of the New Demons CD:

"The rich, strange and gorgeous music of the West India Company is the
perfect counterpoint to La La La Human Steps' acrobatic hurricane.
Their ground-breaking 1984 EP 'Ave Maria' has been judged by many
commentators as being ahead of its time. The soaring voice on that EP
was the wonderful Bombay film playback goddess Asha Bhosle, who also
worked on the initial recording of 'New Demons' in London. Fine new
discovery Priya Khajuria sings her parts for live performances of the
show. This LP, the West India Company's debut, features both singers
and is an inventive mix of the ultra-modern and the ancient. The West
India Companuy's music has little to do woth the current British-Asian
hybrid of Bhangra. They have more in common, at least in spirit, with
Indian Film music - an exuberant mix of orchestras, disco music, jazz
and folk tunes which veers wildly between the romantic, the epic, the
sacred and the profane. The West India Company may or may not be the
future of rock and roll, but their music's deranged intensity will
amply reward the adventurous listener."

It's possible that Priya is the one shown in the video, but it's
definitely Asha's voice. I like that line "deranged intensity." :-)
Yep! There's a 12" too, that I don't have. it's an extended mix of the
song "O Je Suis Seul" and it's wild! Combines Dance, Indian, Opera and
a few other things thrown in. Excellent!

> La La La Human Steps is performing their new work here in Ottawa
> this December. It'll be interesting to see what they're using
> for music this time.

Mary, please let me know when you find out details. Whatever it is, it's 
sure to be weird and wonderful.

> BTW anybody out there ever heard of/listened to/like Danielle Dax?
> I'd love to hear what you'd have to say.

Oh yes, I love her music! On CD I have:

1) Up Amongst the Golden Spires (a Japanese import that "features 
   tracks from her albums _Pop Eyes_ and _Jesus Egg That Wept_") 
2) Dark Adapted Eye (another compilation, my very favorite)
3) Blast The Human Flower (her latest. Good, but not as good as 1 & 2, IMHO)
4) Big Blue (remixes, not great)

> Also in regards to 'Les Mystere de Voix Bulgare', at least one of the
> members of The Trio Bulgarka solos on the 1st release.

I have the 4AD imports of the 1st Les Mystere release (on LP and CD) and 
neither give credits to soloists, but Yanka Rupkina is definitely one
of them, and I think the other two (Stoyanka Boneva and Eva Georgieva)
are on that LP also. I'm *still* waiting for Yanka's solo album...

Mary, I love your taste in music!

Vickie
katefans@chinet.chi.il.us