Interview with Ana da Silva, Berlin, 22/10/06 in flasher.com
You can find more information at
Chicks on Speed Records
The Raincoats always collaborated on ideas and songs - and played
guitars! With this project, The Lighthouse, I wanted to do
something different, something I hadn't done before. I decided to buy a
small digital instrument which has lots of sounds with a mini keyboard and sequencer (you can programme all the notes and beats into its memory)
All of the album, except Modinha, was recorded with this instrument and
my voice onto an eight track digital recorder. Sometimes this was all
very overwhelming, but at least it's all as I want it to be, having
written, played, recorded and mixed the whole album myself. For me,
making The Lighthouse was a really challenging and stimulating
experience. I want the songs to express feelings and to create worlds
in which the listener can roam in their own particular way.
Ana da Silva
Album:
The Lighthouse, 2005, Chicks on Speed Records.
tracklisting: 1. friend 2. two windows over the wings 3. running in the rain 4. the lighthouse 5. hospital window 6. modinha 7. in awe of a painting 8. sister 9. disco ball 10. climbing walls
The Raincoats myspace.com/theraincoats
"We all love our secret bands. Kurt Cobain came across a
Raincoats album, and found there a bunch of soul mates whose honest
emotions affected him so much that he tracked down founder member Ana da
Silva somewhere in Notting Hill, persuaded DGC (Nirvana's record label)
to re-issue The Raincoats back catalogue and encouraged the band to
re-form. In 1977 da Silva and Gina Birch, inspired by the example of the
Pistols and The Clash, of course, but also by the women of The Slits and
X-ray Spex, had responded to punk's diy call to arms and eventually
persuaded The Slits' drummer Palmolive to join their ranks. With the
addition of the classically trained violinist Vicky Aspinall, The
Raincoats were an all female band who owed nothing to male fantasy
outfits like The Runaways, and produced a primeval punk-folk sound on
original songs like 'Fairytale in the supermarket' and 'In love' or
deconstructing the Kinks' 'Lola' with cheek, fun and a pinch of salt."
The Book of Rock, Philip Dodd, Pavilion Books, 2001.
Albums:
Looking in the shadows, 1996, Rough Trade, DGC.
Moving, 1984, Rough Trade, DGC.
Odyshape, 1981, Rough Trade, DGC.
The Raincoats, 1979, Rough Trade, DGC.
All CDs currently available from roughtrade.com
Video clips live at the Cube Cinema, Bristol, 30 April 2006
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