By Keith Walsh
My favorite musical feline in human form is Gilles Snowcat. This Belgian singer/songwriter always surprises me with his array of styles, skillful songwriting and performances, and good humor.
Following his recent album You’ve Been Unboxing Gilles Snowcat, this naughty character just dived into his archives, to release four newly remastered versions of classic tunes from his catalog.
First up is his first solo recording aside from the band Awaken (not the YES tribute, but a better band formed in 1988), a cool, melancholy ballad with beautiful synth bass and lots of other brilliant keyboard work by Gilles. It’s called “Memories Of A Teenage Cat,” and it’s on Spotify. Snowcat says: “My first studio recording, March 4th 1989. Full of the urban feel of late 80’s big cities.”
2012’s Mokomoko Collection was my introduction to the music of Snowcat – it’s a fun, cleverly executed group of songs. The new dub mix of “Legs And Liquor” is remarkable indeed. Again, we have to go to Spotify to hear this. Snowcat calls it “better than the album version.”
For the third new track, we go to my favorite streaming platform, Bandcamp (an artist actually has a chance of getting paid there.) It’s a captivating prog rock piece called “When Alena Entered The Quiet Room.” Full of rock swagger and verve, the song switches back from powerful electric guitar riffs, to keyboard based ballads, then to new wave verses dominated by the bass guitar, and it even has some disco bass then percussion on the way out. “When Alena Entered The Quiet Room” is wonderfully eclectic and fun. Snowcat’s take: “The best way to describe it is hot & cold. You’ll figure it out though.” I think it’s an Awaken single from 2004.
Another Awaken single from the early 2000s is “Wasabi Kiss,” and it shows off Gilles’ Japanese influences. Gilles Snowcat somehow has connections in Europe, Japan and Asia. This ode to love at a natural hot bath features 5 female vocalists alongside Gilles, as well as funky bass and keyboards. Of the female vocalists, Gilles says: “There were five — one talking on the telephone, four who sang. One of the singers, Yuri, is a classical musician playing in orchestras in Japan. The line-up was: Miyu: telephone voice, (plus) Yuri Inose, Kiko Mori, Urara Fukuchi and Keiko Gomita.” Gilles says he played everything and of course the lead vocal is his. He adds: It was “the most enjoyable recording session ever. I think everyone was drunk.”
Gilles Snowcat dot com
Gilles Snowcat On YouTube
Gilles Snowcat’s Resurrected Rarities On Synthbeat dot com
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