"Just For A Day"

Hello,

A bit weary after spending a night in full-throttle.I just went to a gig last night in Makati with some friends and spend the night a bit drunk and haze...Ehmm...I talked with my friend,Sherwin (who surprised me as he also know my other friend whom i was with!) about the bit's & bob's,music,collections,lokal music scene,etc.After taking 2 bottles of San Mig Light,He waved goodbye and went home and i go along with my other friend's to continue watching the gig.After that i google all the way as i arrived home 6:30 in the morning...!!!I was ok now & im a bit lazy as my head is a bit empty! but still i was able to finish some term papers & now listening to this loveable band which own's a big space in my heart & ears (i loved them so much) after year's of missing them as one of the frontrunners of the shoegazing scene,Slowdive.

The band formed in late 1989 in Reading and consist of Neil Halstead (vocals/guitar),Nick Chaplin (bass),Adrian Sell (drums),Christian Savill (guitar) (see:Eternal) & the charming Rachel Goswell (vocals/guitar).Before initially recording their output,Adrian Sell left the band to pursue his studies,They found a subbed drummer in the form of Neil Carter who plays with them for about a year before Simon Scott (of the great but forgotten band,The Charlottes).They were signed on the influential Creation label who released their material.

Debut LP "Just For A Day" was released in 1991 ("Celia's Dream" was my fave!) on the wake of the scene who was sweeping UK back then.It features the band at it's peak of their luscious dreams echoing in their music as they were dubbed by the hard to please purists & music critics as "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" alongside a bunch of bands who has a nod to their shoelaces.After 2 years saw the emergence of their strong follow up "Souvlaki" in 1993 (initail copies saw a special double release including "Blue Day"(a compilation of their early EP's) as a 2nd disc).It includes some of their gems such as "Alison","40 Days" (i miss this one!!!),"When The Sun Hits",Etc.This LP was delayed stateside as problems with US label SBK surfaced but interestingly when it was already released in 1994,It included almost half of the "Blue Day" compilation as bonus tracks.

After some problems on touring & promoting the LP,Simon Scott had parted ways with the band and Ian McCutcheon replaced him on the kit but the press are already tired on the shoegazing scene at that time as the Nirvana led grunge year's have overtaken the planet (even Alan McGee thought that MBV would changed his life but it was the other way around when he was interviewed in a glaring music mag...).Problems seems to continue on the opening of the year of 1995 as their 3rd LP,"Pygmalion" has been ignored & described by many as an ambient of sorts with it's dark leanings cause basically it was done solo by Neil Halstead although a hint of contributions from bandmates Rachel and Ian can be traced on some songs.They were dropped from the Creation roster in similar with their US label.

Unhappy with the results,Nick Chaplin & Christian Savill left the group while recording & the band dissolve slowly resurfacing later on with a new project called Mojave 3 which consists of Neil,Rachel and Ian and released a string of LP's on 4AD with Neil & Rachel also putting out solo outings also on 4AD with the recent release of Rachel's debut "Waves Are Universal".Simon Scott went on to play with other bands such as Inner Sleeve,Lowgold and is currently on Televise. A retrospective double CD was issued including rare B-sides & Peel sessions titled "Catch The Breeze" last year.

Here are a some echoing in silence tunes from the band:

Slowdive - "Slowdive"
Slowdive - "She Calls"
Slowdive - "Albatross"
Slowdive - "Beach Song"
Slowdive - "Catch The Breeze" (live in Oslo)

More on Here

Download their live in Oslo Here

Visit their fansite Here for new's/updates/full discography

Buy their releases Here