Name: Hope Is A Candle - Home Recordings 1985 - 1990 Volume 3
Brand: His Name Is Alive

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

DISC9

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Colour

Clear

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: Yes

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Colour Reverse Board Outer and Printed Inner Sleeve with Full Liner Notes.

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2021-02-12

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

5060384619323

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / clear

Artist

His Name Is Alive

Genre GB

Indie Pop / Shoegaze

Label GB

Disciples

<p>His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band hailing from Livonia, Michigan. With a discography spanning several decades, the group has explored various genres including ethereal dream-rock, dub, '60s pop, garage rock, and psychedelic classic rock. In the early 2000s, the band took a unique turn towards experimentally minded smooth urban balladry influenced by gospel and R&B. Continuing to evolve their sound, His Name Is Alive now embraces a distinct psychedelic rock style.</p>

The third and final volume in a trilogy exploring the teenage tape experimentation of Warren Defever aka His Name Is Alive. The beautiful ambient sketches and backwards loops of the first two volumes are still in evidence, but this collection sees the artist moving slowly towards more recognisable song forms.

Much of the material contained here was duplicated on the infamous demo tape that caught the ear of Ivo Watts-Russell and led to elements being re-worked into Livonia, the first His Name Is Alive album on 4AD. Having circulated in poor quality form as a bootleg for many years, it’s a revelation to hear this music transferred from the original reels and mastered by Defever himself (who is one of the head engineers at Third Man’s mastering studio in Detroit). Some of the sounds here touch on the kind of dreampop which 4AD was known for at the time - the gauzy textures of the Cocteau Twins or This Mortal Coil, and predicts the saturated textures of the incoming shoegaze sound. But there’s also echoes of older, more esoteric sources: early minimalist works, 80s industrial records, even the blues and folk sounds documented by Folkways. The young Defever trying to interpret formative influences using a primitive home recording set-up and stumbling upon their own unique sound as a result of this tentative experimentation. As the artist recounts in the liner notes: “I wanted to do my own Music For 18 Musicians. But I didn't know 18 musicians; I barely had two friends, and even they couldn't stand me.” 

Hope Is A Candle - Home Recordings 1985 - 1990 Volume 3

Music GB