High drama, deep intrigue and enveloping tales form the cascading layers of ‘White Rabbit’, the much anticipated new mini-album from Bristol based live looping musician, Hazel Mills. Launched on the 5th September, ‘White Rabbit’, is a journey through the darker side of 60’s psychedelia with a macabre pop twist. Like the bastard spawn of Jefferson Airplane and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop; 50’s sci-fi electronics and spaghetti western fuzz emerge in waves through rusty organs, wonky pianos and junk shop percussion, providing a hypnotic bed on which her soaring voice resides.
Mills’, a former student of the classical avant-garde and member of Andy Mackay of Roxy Music’s experimental side project, The Metaphors, draws influence from a wide spectrum of the arts – the primal choreography of Mary Wigman, German expressionist film, and innovative bands such as The Velvet Underground, The Birthday Party, and Grizzly Bear - creating a sonic world as diverse as it is captivating. From the Delia Derbyshire-style beats and warm pulsing Mellotron of ‘See You Running’, the Morricone-esque movements and haunting narrative of ‘Eskisk’, through to the clattering rhythms and Bad Seed-sleaze of ‘Eyelashes’; ‘White Rabbit’ is a visceral and enticing window into the skewed theatrical vortex she inhabits.
Co-written and produced by TJ Allen (aka Aesoteric), the album was recorded in summer 2009 amidst the wilderness of the Welsh countryside at the infamous Rockfield Studios by engineer Michael Boddy (The Fall, Radiohead), along with bassist Bradley Hemsell, drummer Jim Davey (ex-Halo) and multi-instrumentalist Greg Stoddard. Mixing took place two months later at Phil Manzanera’s Gallery Studio in North West London before mastering at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
Hazel’s uniquely evocative sound and bewitching stagecraft is a result of her diverse artistic background. A decade and a half of classical training had left her an acclaimed concert pianist, but feeling unfulfilled and frustrated with the limitations of traditional musical theory – until, as an under-graduate she began to explore more left-field, risk-taking composers such as John Cage and Terry Riley, becoming fascinated by Cage’s visual take on performance and the hypnotic repetition of Riley’s work. This led her to specialise in 20th Century Experimentalism and she graduated with a first-class Honours degree in Performing and Visual Arts. Having also fronted bands and trod the boards throughout her teens, she began to unite all of these facets, culminating in her 2007 EP, ‘Butterfly’ (Xpress Records), KGRL Radio’s Record Of The Year.
‘White Rabbit’ comes in the wake of her lauded work with Andy Mackay + The Metaphors, increasingly high profile collaborations with the likes of Damon Minchella (Ocean Colour Scene) and Steve White (Paul Weller), and rising acclaim for her mesmerizing live shows, resulting in her most gripping and ambitious work to date. Dare to experience music that gloriously surprises and shatters all pre-conceived expectations.
Mini-album, ‘White Rabbit’ is released on Xpress Records on 5 September 2010
For further details on Hazel Mills visit www.myspace.com/hazelmills