The Flowers of Hell

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Flowers Of Hell


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Origin = London
Genre = Experimental, Drone, Psychedelic, Space Rock, Post Rock, Alternative rock
Years_active = 2002 - Present
Label = Earworm Records Shifty Disco
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The Flowers of Hell are a London, UK-based music group formed in 2002. Members of the collective include Ruth Barlow, Debbie Butler, Vicki Churchill, Abi Fry, Steve Head, Tom Hodges, Guri Hummelsund, Owen James, Greg Jarvis, and Barry Newman.

The musicians have also worked with groups like British Sea Power, The Tindersticks and The Early Years, with guest involvement from members of Death In Vegas and Spacemen 3. The group mix orchestral instruments with twangy guitars, creating a unique sound for their solely instrumental output which is reminiscent of "The Velvet Underground & Nico" and early Spiritualized with a classical twist.

Produced with Tim Holmes of Death In Vegas at the Contino Rooms, their self titled debut album came in the fall of 2006 following a trio of releases for the Shifty Disco label’s singles club in 2005. Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3/Spectrum/E.A.R. collaborated with the group on ‘Through The F Hole’ and mentored the band during the recording of the album. For mastering, the group tracked down Denis Blackham who’s credits include Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ and classic releases from Elvis, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and T. Rex. Earworm Records who released the album was formed in 1996 and has put out works from luminaries such as Spacemen 3, Yo La Tengo, The Earlies, Bright Eyes, The Hidden Cameras, The Clientele, Magnetophone, and The Apples in Stereo. The Flowers Of Hell’s recordings and live shows have drawn praise from fellow musicians like British Sea Power, The Telescopes,The Clientele, Ecstasy Of St. Theresa, and The Early Years, as well as ex-Spiritualized/Spacemen 3 members Johnny Mattock, Mark Refoy, and Will Carruthers (the latter of whom the band have done some as yet unreleased recordings with).

Discography

Trivia

*Abi Fry’s viola playing can be heard on "True Adventures" from British Sea Power’s "Open Season" album. The original instrumental version of the track was called Chicken Pig and was the B-side of a Top 20 single in the UK.

*An earlier version of Foreign Lands was titled Vindaloop and was included on a six track compilation CD that came free with one and a quarter million copies of Britain’s Daily Star. The title comes from a Pogues lyric from the ‘Sick Bed of Cuchulainn’, “There’s devils on each side of you, with bottles in their hands/Give me one more drop of poison, and I’ll dream of foreign lands.”

*The title "Compound Fractures" was inspired by a lyric in a song called "Psychotherapy "by 60’s folkie Melanie, ‘Does it ease the compound fractures of the head?’ Influenced by Russian folk, Orff, jazz trumpet, and avant garde noise, the Flower’s song was debuted live at the ICA in 2005 and their first attempt at recording it was aborted due to a malfunctioning keyboard.

*"Opt Out", the cornerstone of the band’s live set, was originally over 60 minutes in length and the basic structure was penned by Greg Jarvis after rushing home from seeing the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform a classical ‘best of’ concert (complete with lasers and cannons) at the Royal Albert Hall.

References

External links

*Flowers Of Hell official site http://www.flowersofhell.com
*Flowers Of Hell myspace site http://www.myspace.com/flowersofhell