alu
infomercial gasmask
© 2004 alu (647987187326)
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"Tori Amos and Massive Attack had a baby and they call it ALU" -smother magazine
tracks
- 1 Asphyxia
- 2 Ghostdream
- 3 Avalon
- 4 Confessions to the Undertaker
- 5 Elegy
- 6 Ordinary Deity
- 7 Big Box, Little Box
- 8 Stigma
- 9 Swingset
- 10 Lady X
- 11 Last Lullaby
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ALU's "infomercial gasmask"...
-One of Music Connection's Top 15 reviewed CDs of 2005.
-Tripofagia.com's Best Album of 2004.
-Nominated for best record of 2004 by CDReviews.com.
-One of Collected Sounds top 15 independently released CDs of 2004.
-An Editor's Pick and Top Seller on CDBaby.com.
-An Editor's Pick in Smother Magazine.
Reviewers have compared ALU to artists such as:
Portishead, Tori Amos, Massive Attack, Bjork, Radiohead, Tricky, Air, Emiliana Torrini, Jeff Buckley, Trespassers William, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Enya.
Out of the darkness shines a hint of hope with ALU's debut CD "Infomercial Gasmask." Her 11 song mood piece is a blend of solid songwriting, dark electronica and crystal clear vocals, an intense mixture of jazz, pop and classical music that can only be described as "ALU." This collection of songs examines the destructive nature of modern life and its damaging effects on the fragile human condition. ALU's apocalyptic lullabies give hope and strength in such desperate times. A haunting yet healing voice that challenges and inspires. ALU is the sound of the future.
Alu's "Infomercial Gasmask" features collaborations with electronica dub artist Doctor Echo, virtuoso string arranger Hiro Goto and was mixed by legendary sound engineer Geza X. All songs are written and performed by ALU.
*This album includes "Last Lullaby" from feature film "Juncture," "Asphyxia" from the Babcock Jedeikin independent film "Out of Body" and "Ordinary Deity" from the award winning short "Coaster."
What the press is saying about ALU's infomercial gasmask:
"A dark shaded masterpiece" -www.trip404.com
"ALU is a master poet of genius insight. And what a voice - It is often paradoxical being both lonely and comforting. It is always intoxicating"
-touring the indies
"Infomercial Gasmask makes doom and decay sound sexy and ethereal"
-music connection magazine
"Shades of Portishead at their peak and Tricky's urban paranoia...A chilling echo of our times. This is a remarkable and accomplished debut" -luna kafe e-zine
"A kind of apocalypse where even desperation and desolation are beautiful" -inimitable music
"Alu beautifully reflects the darker side of modern metropolitan life" mean street magazine
"An all-expenses-paid tour through that dim twilight land between sleep and waking where beauty and fear still roam free and unshackled" cdreviews.com
"This album is a fragile self-examination that will leave you feeling haunted by the poltergeists that surround such frantic moments. Tori Amos and Massive Attack had a baby and they call it ALU" smother magazine
"An intriguing dark vision of a dangerous modern world" -ectoguide
"Her otherwordly vocals are addictive. I want to inhabit her world, even if it's a wasteland" -the covalent bond
"An album of vocal beauty" -mediasearch
"ALU's voice has the quality of a taut rope being pulled by irresistible forces, simultaneously fraying, unraveling as it also keeps from tearing apart"
-kapowie zone
"I imagine that every time I hear this CD I will pick a new favorite. Go get this CD already...really and play it loudly. MMMmmmm....." collected sounds
Recent ALU performances include: San Diego Indie Music Fest 2007, SXSW 2006, The Knitting Factory’s Main Stage, Hotel Café, Temple Bar, Tangier, The Unkown Theater, BOCA, The Blue Cafe, Cinespace and Urb Magazine’s Loose Tooth. She has shared the stage with artists such as Bitter:Sweet, 8mm, Sutro, Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant), Dave Allen (Gang of Four), Ursula 1000, Death Vessel, Persephone's Bees and The East Village Opera Company. ALU was also recently featured on the television show “On Q Live.”
A new ALU album is due for release in July 2008. Stay tuned...
ALU is also available on iTunes. For more info on ALU, please visit www.alumusic.com.
reviews
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alū is a master poet of genius insight
author: Frank GualtierWhen I first listened to alū's album Infomercial Gasmask I half expected to hear somewhere in it the voice of the Red Queen doling out precocious warnings. Since then it has grown on me for reasons more than just the seemingly inexplicable gothic predilection we humans share and has prompted me to want to write about it. Before all else alū is a master poet of genius insight. She unfurls strips of mobius verse such as "If you could tell the voices in your head there's nothing wrong, we would talk for hours in our sleep all night long" from Big Box, little box on felicitous wings to be more than just a simple statement of 'id riddance'. This album is filled with such exquisite pros and explores many dark facets of loss and surrender to inevitability. I hope to see alū issue a book of poetry. I've never purchased such a thing but from her pen I surely would. The music is a fusion of many elements such as trip-hop, electronica, pop, jazz, rock and world. I've never heard them fused in quite this way and would therefore appropriately call the style 'alū'. The bass lines and harmonies ride rhythms laden with everything from strings to bells and koto. Percussion ranges from large hall effect format to the more electronic and highly syncopated. And lightly woven in and out is a hint of jazz flavor that seems to radiate from some of these rhythms and perhaps some of the rhodes-like keys. And what a voice -- alū's timbre sounds hauntingly like Annie Lennox with the occasional enunciation reminiscent of Anna-Lynne Williams. It is often paradoxical being both lonely and comforting. It is always intoxicating. A final point of interesting curio is that the album is divided by time signature with the first four songs in triple meter and the remainder in duple. I highly enjoy and recommend Infomercial Gasmask and alū currently has a new album in the oven slated for a 2007 release.
paradigm shifts as her voice soars into your pores!
author: gabriellathis album is like alu's durge& raga all at once.the durge/elugy for the paradigm lost,gained: shifting as she recreates it with her amazingly talented voice which soars and dives like the emotional textures created with her words.infusing intense emotions as she deconsctructs/reconstructs post modern decon-strunctionial/isms.the raga a tale of such intensly passionate raw love it's felt as transcendentaly sublime ethereal hauntingly connected to all hearts at once.a raga unites us as we stand as we were born naked,open,rawsimply divine.she charges it with personal stories reaching human truths many do not dare unearth:gotta dig deep inside to find her!i could write an essay ramble on cuz simply put there is...nothing short and conscise about this album,just get it and dive in!
When intelligence is found again, this is what you get.
author: Daryl F.If intelligence has been lacking in music today, then, dare i say it, intelligence has once again been discovered in music by the alluring, awesome and amazing Alu. With her effulgent take on humanity, politics and emotions, Alu has created the best album in any genre for folks seeking to be enlightned or provoked into thought. Dark, searing and with a myriad of sounds (all of which evoke the spirit of futuristic Portishead, Tricky, Tori Amos or Bjork--a truly inspiring mix of sound, indeed), "Infomercial Gasmask" is a haunting dive into one woman's mind and soul; not because it forces you to relate to the messages, but because it forces you to admit their relevancy. Peace, Love and Happiness, daryl
Unique.
author: Jeremy K.Finally a female artist with some brains and integrity! If you respect musicians like Portishead, Tori Amos and Bjork then you will also love Alu. A very unique and impressive debut.
ALU rules
author: Johnny KruidhofI agree with everything that's been said by the reviewer below. Alu has a beautiful voice, the songs are great and so is the production. I just love this cd! My favorite tracks are Avalon, Swingset and Last Lullaby.
Beautiful, addictive melodies... captivating and dark... LOVE IT!!!
author: Victoria VoxI'm addicted to this CD. Beautiful, soaring and soothing vocals, intelligent production and haunting songs... Captivating and dark, this debut album by Alu is AMAZING.
a soulful celebration of the human condition
author: shannonThis CD gently guides us into sitting with the dysfunction that plagues us as individuals and as a society. It is an exploration of how beautiful it can feel to be alive in such turmoile and turbulance. This album is a therapeutic awakening to deeper truths that lie just below the surface.
lullabyes for the next generation...
author: andrew scannellinfomercial gasmask is simple, honest, literal. melancholy meditations on life in a society in decay. no filler, this is the music we anticipated; alu has done the work for us. infomercial gasmask has less to prove, and more to show for it.
chilling - in the way that makes you all warm and glowing
author: Michael James ScottSaw her live doing early drafts of the songs included on this CD. ALL of her passive intensity, underlying sexualty ready to burst, and pure truth with a hope that once shattered you can only rise - TRANSFERS MAGICALLY to this DOCUMENT for your ears, heart, and soul - can't wait to see if she can maintain this - I know she will
beautifully haunting, yet utterly fulfilling and comforting like a lullabye
author: jakejust a beautiful well written album that can connect to any listener.