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Cindergarden

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Artist Listing: A - F G - R S - Z
Line-up:
Jaymie Valentine (studio music progamming, vox)

"Working from a diverse palette of industrial, trip-hop and electrogoth, the band pays homage to these genres while retaining a refreshing approach that breathes life into a scene in dire need of resuscitation. Lush synths and broody beats echo through the walls of this complex machine as the listener is guided through dimly lit corridors by the haunting voice of songwriter, Jaymie Valentine. Her lyrics forge a path through mazes of the mind, unlocking cryptic passages to realms long forgotten."
-- cindergarden.com/bio

"The darkwave/electro-goth Cindergarden outfit is based in Los Angeles, CA and centers around Jaymie Valentine (studio progamming, vocals), a talent to keep an eye on. Influences and similarities include Portishead, Switchblade Symphony and Siouxsie. 'Underground Light Machine' , their debut album, combines lush and haunting female vocals layered with dark synths programming."
-- musicfolio.com

 Cindergarden Discography - Album / CD Reviews

***½ 2006: Underground Light Machine

Tracklisting: 1. One by One 2. Medicine 3. Mask of Silence 4. Stranger 5. Ubiquitous 6. Wasteland 7. Sad Eye Doll 8. Dirty Ritual 9. Disintegrate 10. Bad Dreams 11. Dying Kind 12. The Big Reveal

"It's nice to hear a resurgence of what made 80s and 90s Goth/electronica/industrial great; not only that, it's a relief to find it's a true resurgence, not just derivative mimicry. Flattery as that may be, it just wouldn't hold water. (...) Unless one is a Diamanda Galas devotee or an Ani DeFranco hippygirl, there is distinct lack of proudly broken, disfigured and dysfunctional women. Where have all the RiotGrrls gone? Whatever happened to Switchblade Symphony, Sneaker Pimps and My Ruin? (...) I'm not ready to say Cindergarden are the Second Coming of the Angry Woman, but this album definitely draws inspiration from and creates an argument for the necessary reintroduction of the dangerous woman as a potent agent for cultural destabilization. I truly hope 'Underground Light Machine' is a portent of what will become a longtime long-term well-oiled and beautifully threatening vehicle for the talents of Jaymie Valentine, Anthony Lamantia and Nick Liberatore. The musicianship is strong, the vocals are impeccable, and the lyrics ain't bad either. Standout songs for me were Medicine, which kept running in my head for hours after I listened to the CD, and the glorious Dirty Ritual. Good luck, Cindergarden. Knock 'em dead!"
-- Ginnie Moon, Lunar Hypnosis, 7/06


2008: The ULM Remixes

Tracklisting: 1. Dying Kind (The Marching of Tulip) 2. One By One(Fractured Transmission Remix) 3. Dying Kind (KLM Remix) 4. Dirty Ritual(Penal Colony Remix) 5. Sad Eye Doll (Telilaxu Music Machine Remix) 6. Wasteland(In Vaein Remix) 7. Medicine (System Syn Remix) 8. The Big Reveal (Neuroticfish Remix)



***¼ 2008: The Clandestine Experiment

Tracklisting: 1. Intro 2. Genesis 3.Alibi 4. Sacrament 5. Litmus Red 6. The Clandestine Experiment 7. As Above So Below 8. Mire 9. Things That Never Die 10. The Visitor 11. Something to Kill For 12. Digging Up the Bones 13. Nothing Revealed 14. Transformed

"'The Clandestine Experiment' is the second album from Cindergarden, and it shows the project taking a much more fluid, experimental route this time around, while still maintaining to stay within the previously established goth/ industrial/ dark trip-hop terrain. One of the most obvious differences here is the preference of texture and melody over beats and bass arpeggios. Also, the tone is less playful and far more sinister. While you have some more than danceable tunes here (Alibi, Litmus Red, Things that Never Die), the emphasis is much more on the swirly Switchblade Symphony-esque chimes and synth pads, and also on Jaymie Valentine's vocals, which are even more lush and ethereal than on her debut."
-- industrial.org, 11/08

"The clicks, whirrs and chimes of the instrumental intro makes it clear that Cindergarden's Jaymie Valentine has retained the unique industrial music box aesthetic that marked her debut. It's the second track, Genesis, that first reveals how much she's matured as a singer and songwriter, less spooky clockwork doll than multifaceted artist, girlish whispers left behind in favor of a soprano that glides over piano and synthesized bell arpeggios. (...) Title track The Clandestine Experiment in particular achieves an impressive density, Valentine's vocals deadpan over layered arpeggios, dramatic timpani crescendos, and guitar-laced orchestral samples that come together in an beautiful miasma as evocative and complex as Last Rites-era Skinny Puppy. Not every song is quite so heavy or intense, but even comparatively lighter offerings like darkwave dance track Things that Never Die and softly brooding Digging Up the Bones benefit from multi-tracked vocals and crystalline synth-string and organ arrangements that give the album as a whole a slick, professional charm."
-- Matthew Johnson, regenmag.com, 11/08

2010: Grim Confections

Tracklisting: 1. Has Arrived 2. Candles on a Cake 3. Hex 4. Sheep 5. The Beat Inside 6. Gingerbread 7. Pop Up 8. Playthings 9. Mesmerize 10. One More Drop 11. Rainbow's End

Release date: Feb 14, 2010
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Recommended links:

Cindergarden.com
Cindergarden on Myspace
 
Similar Artists:

Siouxsie and the Banshees | The Creatures | Switchblade Symphony | Portishead | Android Lust

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