Danielle Dax

即使在人才輩出的80年代，也很難找出像Danielle Dax這樣的女藝人——出眾的外貌，制作并演奏自己的專輯，兼收并蓄的音樂風(fēng)格……是不是覺得有點(diǎn)像Kate Bush？但是不要忘了，Kate畢竟是pop queen. 雖然80年代的人類品味普遍比較怪異（←褒義），但Danielle作為80s indie/goth界的明星，無論在形象還是音樂上的怪異程度更進(jìn)Kate一步，雖然她也取得過商業(yè)上的成功（一張單曲，下文會有所提及）。不過總得來說她還是屬于比較地下的，到了現(xiàn)在聽得人更是少，Last.fm上也就7000個人吧。
Danielle Dax出生于艾塞克斯，英國東南部的一個郡。在兒時(shí)她便展露出了對視覺藝術(shù)的極高興趣及天賦。在青少年時(shí)期，她積極地投身于繪畫和表演藝術(shù)。后來短暫地從事過模特行業(yè)，還在76年時(shí)候拿了個選美比賽的冠軍。Danielle的視覺藝術(shù)及畫作在她的唱片封面（包括她給Robert Fripp的solo專輯Let the Power Fall繪制的封面，個人形象及mv的制作中都得到體現(xiàn)。事實(shí)上，Danielle現(xiàn)在是一名優(yōu)秀的室內(nèi)設(shè)計(jì)師和園藝設(shè)計(jì)師。
Danielle的音樂事業(yè)始于參加實(shí)驗(yàn)樂隊(duì)Lemon Kittens. 當(dāng)時(shí)Karl Blake急于找人為Lemon Kittens設(shè)計(jì)封面，他在報(bào)紙上讀到Danielle為資助一些當(dāng)?shù)氐男滤囆g(shù)家而做得街頭繪畫的故事，便聯(lián)系了Danielle，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)她不光會畫畫，更會吹薩克斯和長笛；于是二話不說便把她招入樂隊(duì)。隨后，Danielle成了Lemon Kittens的鍵盤手，薩克斯手和長笛手，也設(shè)計(jì)繪畫了所有Lemon Kittens的專輯封面。在Lemon Kittens時(shí)期，Danielle也在League Of Gentlemen（Robert Fripp的樂隊(duì)）81年的同名專輯中演唱了Minor Man一曲。
82年，Danielle離開了Lemon Kittens,開始了solo生涯，并于83年發(fā)行了首張solo專輯Pop Eyes，她一手包辦了整張專輯的制作：從寫歌，演奏，混音到專輯封面及內(nèi)頁設(shè)計(jì)……在Pop Eyes的第一輪銷售結(jié)束后，原本的封面（version 1）被替換為Holly Warburton的設(shè)計(jì)（version 2），原因是唱片店指責(zé)原本的設(shè)計(jì)過于詭異驚悚。Holly隨后也為Danielle設(shè)計(jì)了Jesus Egg That Wept, Inky Bloaters及合集Dark Adapted Eye的封面。
說說Pop Eyes的音樂本身，這張專輯的演奏用了近10種樂器，其中包括班卓琴（Danielle有收集各種樂器的愛好），高低音兩種薩克斯，長笛和小號。多種樂器的使用使整張專輯聽來兼具原始部落感，東方異域風(fēng)情，又有搖滾，電子，爵士，民謠的元素（這就是傳說中的實(shí)驗(yàn)吧OTL......)。Danielle的嗓音也極具特色，真假音混用。
推薦曲目：
1.Bed Caves: 專輯的第一首歌，曾經(jīng)看見一條很有趣的評論說這是首寶萊塢post-punk. 確實(shí)，這首歌具有濃郁的東方風(fēng)情，另外，寶萊塢盛產(chǎn)歌舞，這首又確實(shí)有點(diǎn)dance. 所以我覺得這個評價(jià)還是很精辟的。
2.Here Come the Harvest Buns: 應(yīng)該是整張專輯中最catchy的一首了！合成器的聲音比較突出。
3.Tower Of Lies: 真的是一首很奇妙的歌！首先Danielle的嗓音變換在這首歌里有很好的體現(xiàn)，其次這首歌又drone又folk的，總之很奧妙……
84年，Danielle發(fā)行了自己的第二張個人專輯Jesus Egg That Wept.這是張mini-album，整張專輯只有25.7分鐘的長度，還有首和Pop Eyes里一模一樣的Here Come the Harvest Buns.還是延續(xù)了上一張的融合風(fēng)格，異域風(fēng)情，怪異，有幾首還有些布魯斯。再一次證明了Danielle能將各種各樣不同的東西融合并且使之變得與眾不同，同時(shí)又帶有顯著的個人印記。
推薦曲目：
Pariah: 事實(shí)上，這是我最喜歡的一首Danielle的歌。我覺得這首歌很goth,mv也goth……mv中使用的特效又有種迷幻的藥物感。（Danielle的許多mv都用這種晃來晃去色彩變幻的特效，像Cathouse,Big Hollow Man）這首歌好像是講Halloween的吧，很好聽。Walking sick sick they walking the town.
總得來說，前兩張是很實(shí)驗(yàn)的。Danielle在一次接受日本媒體的采訪時(shí)曾經(jīng)說過：想要得到一群cult followers是比較容易，她現(xiàn)在想做得是為更多人所知。于是便有了后面兩張相對（←高亮）流行的作品Inky Bloaters和Blast The Human Flower.
比起前兩張來，這張Inky Bloaters確實(shí)比較入耳。如果沒聽過Danielle又對她感興趣的人可以從這張開始聽。這是Danielle在自己的廠牌Awesome Records發(fā)行的最后一張錄音室。同時(shí)，這時(shí)她已經(jīng)有個伴奏樂隊(duì)了，雖然她還是自己演奏了許多樂器，如西塔琴克林巴琴等。 這張總的基調(diào)是比較歡快的，不過話說我確實(shí)看見有人說認(rèn)為她的前兩張好，后面的墮落成普通的dance-pop了...OTL
推薦曲目：
1.Big Hollow Man: 這個算fans favourites之一了，很歡快很好聽的一首歌。有點(diǎn)funk+psychedelic的感覺，mv也非常有趣。
2.Fizzing Human Bomb: 我很喜歡這首，中間有段鼓也挺好聽。這首從頭到尾她都是用假聲唱得吧……
88年發(fā)行的單曲Cat-House也是fans favourites之一。 也是很歡樂的歌，其實(shí)第一句的歌詞是：Baby, baby you are my heart desire. 但她唱著像BBBB...
 
last The Human Flower于90年發(fā)行，這是Danielle唯一一張?jiān)诖髲S牌（華納）發(fā)得唱片。單曲Tomorrow Never Knows使她獲得了第一次的商業(yè)成功，這是首Beatles的翻唱歌，也是Danielle唱過的唯一一首不是她自己寫得歌。可能因?yàn)楹灹舜髲S牌，Danielle的形象也有了些改變，怎么說呢，比較“正常”。
Danielle首次接觸電影行業(yè)是參演1988年Neil Jordan的電影The Company of Wolves，演一個狼女。其實(shí)就最后幾分鐘出來了一下，而且沒臺詞的。
此外她還為Nigel Wingrove的實(shí)驗(yàn)短片Axel貢獻(xiàn)了原聲。 
 
最后Danielle還是沒能成為大明星，而依然是為少數(shù)人所知的goth偶像。她在96年后就基本退出樂壇從事設(shè)計(jì)行業(yè)了。不過她確實(shí)是我知道的最特別也是最漂亮的女藝人之一。
A performer whose enigmatic and experimental work reflected the strong influence of Biblical mysticism and Middle Eastern musical textures, Danielle Dax was born in Southend, England. She made her musical debut in 1979 as the keyboardist in the seven-piece Amy Turtle and the Crossroads; the group disbanded after only one performance, but it brought Dax — who took to the stage clad in nothing more than a knit cap and lab coat — to the attention of Karl Blake, who asked her to design the cover for an EP by his Surrey University-based band the Lemon Kittens. Within a week, Dax was a full member of the group; neither she nor Blake actually played music, but they managed to release two highly experimental LPs, 1980s We Buy a Hammer for Daddy and 1982s The Big Dentist, while also establishing a reputation for their notorious live sets, in which they frequently performed sans clothes.
Upon the Lemon Kittenss 1982 split, Blake formed the Shock-Headed Peters, while Dax mounted a solo career. She debuted a year later with Pop-Eyes, a true solo effort for which she wrote and performed every song alone, even handling mixing and production duties and distributing the record through her own Awesome label. While her heavy makeup and colossal hair aligned her with the thriving Batcave scene, she steadfastly avoided easy pigeonholing, even making the leap into film with appearances in Neil Jordans adult fable The Company of Wolves; she also appeared in Chimera, a film by Holly Woodlawn, the photographer whose work adorned many of Daxs record covers. After reuniting with Karl Blake, Dax returned in 1984 with the Jesus Egg That Wept EP, which also featured the first appearance of guitarist/keyboardist David Knight, who subsequently became a frequent collaborator.
After recruiting a live band, Dax emerged as a significant concert draw; a series of singles including 1985s Yummer Yummer Man, 1986s Where the Flies Are, 1988s Cat-House and 1989s White Knuckle Ride — each slightly more commercial than the last — also established her as a force on the independent charts, and after the success of 1987s Inky Bloaters LP, she signed to Sire. After 1988s Dark Adapted Eye, a compilation of previous work, she resurfaced in 1990 with Blast the Human Flower, an attempt at mainstream success heralded by a misguided cover of the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. When the record bombed, Dax and Sire went their separate ways, and she spent the next several years in seclusion, returning only in 1995 with a new label, Biter of Thorpe, and a new EP, Timber Tongue.