The enigmatic dreamchild. The delicious atrocity. The story of Elysian Fields.
It all started on a dark and stormy night. It was April in downtown New York City. The year was 1990. He wore a beat up shark skin suit, frayed at the cuffs.
He was looking for a match, or maybe he was just looking for some
air. His set was over. Another empty night playing for drunken fools. He
wandered down the dusty stairs, down to the basement of the squalid club on East
Houston Street. There she was. The little match girl, in a torn vintage eyelet
dress with a black velvet bow. An old splintery broom in her hands. He must have
heard that voice first, smokey, like warm honey. She was singing some
forgotten song from the 1920s, as she dreamily and ineffectively tried to sweep the
floor. He stood and watched her, this little anachronistic siren, as he cravenly
sucked up the poison of yet another cigarette. Little did they know, but this
was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
They recorded for Radioactive for about three years, putting out an e.p., "Elysian Fields", and the long player, "Bleed Your Cedar", which garnered great critical acclaim and was hailed as an extraordinary debut. They supported these records with tours in the U.S. and in Europe, especially finding kindred spirits in France, A second CD was recorded by the incorruptible Steve Albini, which is unavailable to the buying public.
Left to their own devices, they recorded a bit for John Zorn's label - the Sephardic homage "La Mar Enfortuna", "Life's a Gas" for his Marc Bolan compilation, and "Les Amours Perdues", which appeared on the Serge Gainsbourg one. That tune was used by Lea Pool in her fine film, "Emporte Moi". They also wrote and performed a few original song settings of Edgar Allan Poe poems, as part of some gothic Halloween evenings with impresario and producer Hal Willner.
In 2000, they went in the studio for Jetset records. The band holed up
for two weeks in Brooklyn with co-producers Good and Evil, and the result was "Queen of the Meadow". The CD did well in the U.S., making it up to number 5 on the CMJ charts, mesmerizing fans and critics alike. Once again, the
reception in Europe was even warmer, with "Bend Your Mind" rocking the airwaves, and
several smashing tours.
Late in 2002, Oren and Jennifer turned again to recording, pulling together many of the special musicians and recordists that fans of the band have come to love, and some new ones, like super mixer Robbie Adams (U2, Smashing Pumpkins). The scintillating result, "Dreams that Breathe Your Name", was released in France and Benelux in June 2003, the labels being Play It Again, Sam (PIAS), and Bang, respectively. With this new release tearing through people's bloodstreams and monkeying with their genetic code, Elysian Fields are poised to head the lists of those most feared by the powerful Syndicate for Horrors and Inescapable Totalitarian Ennui (SHITE) that is currently dominating world culture and events.
