- Audio CD (6 Jun 2005)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Tempted
- ASIN: B0009JDBYE
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 253,635 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Album Description
Nicola was born in Paddington, London and now lives in the West Country. She inherited her ear for music from her father who was a natural musician "he could pick out a tune on any instrument". Sitting beside him at the piano she learned how to improvise around a tune from an early age. Her formative years in the industry were spent working as a backing vocalist for a variety of bands - doubling up on harmonica, accordion, electric & acoustic guitar, keyboard & percussion, she paid her dues gigging around London's live music circuit and got her first taste of working in studios. Inspired and excited by the music of Portishead and Massive Attack at this time (and feeling a little out of place on the folk/acoustic scene) Nicola sought a collaborator in the pages of Melody Maker. Her response to an advert placed by Chrysalis Music led to a meeting with Saul Freeman (ex-Thieves/McAlmont) and the formation of Mandalay. On completion of Mandalay's first demos they were fiercely courted by the majors but opted instead to sign to David Steele's independent Organic Records. The first single release "Flowers Bloom" got single of the week in Melody Maker.Shortly after this release, David Steele was asked to head up Richard Branson's new label V2 Records and took Mandalay with him. Mandalay's debut album "Empathy" was released to critical acclaim. Co-produced with Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Madonna, Bebel Gilberto) it featured drummer and percussionist Steve Jansen (Japan) and the beautiful ethereal sounds of Jon Hassell on trumpet (Brian Eno, Harold Budd). On hearing "Empathy", Madonna sited Mandalay as her favourite band and chose the first single "This Life" to be featured on the film soundrack for her film. "The Next Best Thing". "This Life" was also chosen to feature on the soundtrack to the hit British film "This Year's Love".
From the Artist
During the post-Mandalay upheaval it was something of a blessing that I was contacted via the web and email and asked to work with a number of highly respected alternative musicians such as Chris Brann, Hector Zazou, Lenny Ibizarre & Ryuichi Sakomoto. This way I was able to choose to work song by song (backing track by backing track) rather than becoming involved in another exclusive writing partnership. The resulting album ‘Passive Aggressive’ is the first release on my own label, Tempted, and stands a collection of my favourite collaborations from the past couple of years.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An album you can listen again and again!,
By
This review is from: Passive Aggressive (Audio CD)
Hi, at last I received my album from Amazon.com and I want to share my opinion. I like a lot Nocolas' voice and I think this CD shows a lot of her vocal qualities and also as a writer.
You get to listen to the album and you want to play it again!!! That for me is great and a bonus for an artist ..... If you like elctronic - trip hop music you will love this album!!! Nicola takes you through a journey of forgiveness.. a "theme" that she gets in and repeats in her lyrics!!! It is a shame that sometimes a group of artists as her ar not appreciated by others.. "the media". GREAT ALBUM!!! Marcela Ortiz A (México City 18/dic/2006) Love Nicolas music!!!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You don't have a soul if you don't like this,
By
This review is from: Passive Aggressive (Audio CD)
It is a real travesty when stuff like Crazy Frog manages to get to Number 1 on the UK charts, whereas artists like Nicola here are often completely overlooked. For me Nicola has been one of the most interesting vocalists/musicians around for a long time in this country, and this cd is further testimony to her wonderful talent.I had very high hopes for this cd: Nicola's work with Saul Freeman in Mandalay produced, for me, some of the most magical music I had ever heard. Because of this, one could imagine my shock when I listened to this cd and realised it had actually surpassed the hopes I held for it. I must admit, when I first listened to it I had my reservations: I thought that maybe it was a bit too eclectic. But, now, that's what I love about this cd. Whereas with Mandalay you listened to it and fell in love with it straight away, this cd has a way of creeping up on you: the more you listen to it the more you start to enjoy it, until it almost becomes a part of you. The music on this cd is more sparse than that on Mandalay, with Nicola often only singing over the echoes of some chords on a piano (as in 'Heart'), or indeed over nothing at all (as in 'Morning'), allowing for her extraordinary voice to shine through and making the cd even more haunting. This is perhaps most striking (especially if you have never heard Nicola's voice before) in first song 'You Will Feel Like This' where the build up of the piano and the strings suddendly cuts out to allow the full effect of Nicola's voice to come through. This often sparing use of the backing music also means that when the music does build up into the exuberant layers that we were used to in Mandalay, it hits you with full force: such as in 'I Forgive Me' or the stunning 'Feel'. Mandalay fans will also be pleased to know that, whilst this cd does significantly distance itself from Mandalay, it does take the best bits of that band along with it, such as the luscious soundscape effects we all know and love. So basically, if you like Mandalay I can guarantee you this cd will not disappoint. In fact, I can only think of one criticism for the entire cd and that is in the song 'I forgive me' which, whilst being a fantastic song in its own right and also displaying Nicola's versatility as an artist, I feel slightly upsets the overall tone of the album Now for those of you have never heard Mandalay, or Nicola's voice before: how to describe this cd? 'Downbeat electronica with ethereal vocals'? 'Dreamy trip-hop'? 'Pop music for mature listeners'? Either way, it most likely won't be like anything you've heard before. Even though I hate doing this, especially with an artist as unique as Nicola, sometimes the best way to describe an artist to someone who has never heard them before is to compare them to others. So: imagine a vocalist with a voice that sounds like a cross between The Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Frasier and Portishead's Beth Gibbons singing over music that sounds like a cross between Dido's and Bjork's, and, well... you'd be almost there. Still, you need to hear it for real before you truly know what listening experience you're in for.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ethereal,
By
This review is from: Passive Aggressive (Audio CD)
Nicola Hitchcock's distinctive voice has been much missed by this listener over recent years since Mandalay stopped producing music. Fortunately that situation has now been rectified, and Passive Aggressive takes the best ideas of Mandalay and adds still further layers.Hitchcock's ethereal vocals create such a glorious tapestry of sound that you're instantly transported elsewhere when you hear them - perfect to escape that tube ride into work or to chill out to at the end of the day. Welcome Back, Nicola!
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