Anna Domino
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Anna Domino
- Artist: Anna Domino
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1986
- Genre: Rock
Review
After a series of enjoyable singles and EPs, Anna Domino's first proper album as such was a sharp, fun treat. Working Marc Moulin of Telex and Alan Rankine, formerly of the Associates, Domino kicked up her heels in a series of songs both of the '80s and beyond it. The arrangements place songs like "Drunk" and "Not Right Now" at a certain time -- then state-of-the-art drum machines and synth bass, for instance -- but Domino's ear for singing and pop fascinations of other times did the trick. Her voice is low and moody without being smoky as such -- it's not rough but neither does she coo -- and she keeps an easy feel going in her music, with plenty of finger-snapping, hip-swinging grooves. When she goes "modern," as on the sparkling "Caught," it's just as intriguing, an argument against seeing her simply as a revival act. If an inexact parallel could be drawn, Anna Domino almost suggests a companion album to early Sade -- there's the same calm coolness that's not dull, one where silence and space rather than a wall of sound is crucial. Everything but the Girl is another obvious reference point -- perhaps unsurprising considering Ben Watt was due to do some remix work for Domino a couple of years beforehand. "Rythm," the intentionally misspelled single that had surfaced a year before, kicked things off with a jazzy feel that found an unexpected midpoint between Tracey Thorn and Laurie Anderson, swinging pop with a sly, wry cast. The left-field inclusion is an inspired remake of Smokey Robinson's "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game," given a slight lovers rock undertow to mix with Domino's general approach. The LTM reissue of the album in 2004, as always in keeping with the rest of the label's work, contains various B-sides and an Arthur Baker remix of the jaunty "Summer" as bonus cuts. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi| Anna Divina (Album by River City) | |
| Anna Ford's Bum (197 Album by Wavis O'Shave) |
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Anna Domino
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Named Anne Taylor at birth, Anna Domino's entire life has perhaps been one of restless motion around the world -- before initially making a name for her music in early-'80s New York City, she had already lived in Tokyo (her birthplace), Ann Arbor, Ottawa, and Florence. After performing with a variety of bands in N.Y.C., her breakthrough came courtesy of the Le Disques du Crepsecule label in Belgium, which released her debut single, Trust in Love, in 1983. The following year produced the East and West and Rythm EPs, while Domino proceeded to split her time between New York and Brussels, where she gained a quiet cult following among musicians and fans alike. Her first album didn't appear until 1986, a self-titled effort that captured her knack for sly, danceable music and often quietly unsettled lyrical visions, though with a easy gloss and sass that compares favorably to prime Everything but the Girl without aping it. Domino and Belgian musician Michel Delory began a personal and professional partnership in 1987 that resulted in her second album, This Time, a more varied collection that scored a notable profile in Japan though no American dates surfaced beyond a New York-based residency in 1988. The result of that series of dates was the Colouring in the Edge and the Outline EP, a return to a more electronic approach, which in turn was contrasted by the 1990 album Mysteries of America, a more acoustically inclined reflection on the cycle of life and death. Following that release, Domino and Delory took an extended sabbatical, broken only by the release of a Canadian compilation, Favorite Songs From the Twilight Years, in 1996, accompanied by a smattering of shows. At the time, however, she and Delory had already begun work on a new project under the name Snakefarm, her revisioning of the alt-country/murder ballad aesthetic. The resultant album, Songs From My Funeral, was released in 1999, but nothing new followed for some years, while she and Delory eventually settled near Los Angeles. Domino received new attention in 2004 following a comprehensive re-release program of her work through Mysteries of America on the LTM label, which also assembled a new compilation, Dreamback. ~ Ned Raggett, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Anna Domino
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
| Anna Domino | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Anna Virginia Taylor |
| Also known as | Anna Virginia Taylor Delory |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Alternative rock Art rock Dance Music Pop rock |
| Occupations | Musician, Vocalist, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards |
| Years active | 1984–current |
| Associated acts | Snakefarm |
| Website | Facebook page |
| Notable instruments | |
| Keyboards, guitar, accordion | |
Anna Domino (born Anna Virginia Taylor) is a Tokyo-born indie rock artist who has released several albums under that moniker, notably for Les Disques du Crepuscule and Factory Records. Notable performers Domino has collaborated with include The The, Blaine L. Reininger and Virginia Astley. She is also one half of the duo Snakefarm. Additionally, she sang lead vocals on the song "Here In My Heart" by The 6ths on their album Wasps' Nests.
Her stage name is a play on the term Anno Domini, and an American sugar brand.
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Contents
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Background
Domino was born an army brat in Tokyo, Japan to an artistically-inclined family who particularly enjoyed singing.[1] Her father, James J. Taylor, was in the United States Army before he became a videographer in Washington, D.C.; her mother, Mimi Cazort, is curator emerita for National Gallery of Canada. Her brother, Alan Taylor, is a well-known film and television director.
Being part of a military family, Domino has lived in various places around the world — Ann Arbor, Michigan, Florence, Italy and Ottawa, Canada.[2] She eventually settled in New York, where she became a fashion designer.
Recordings
Solo
Early in her career, Domino sang with a number of New York City bands, but didn't catch the attention of American record labels until she had released several albums with the Belgian record label Les Disques du Crépuscule, releasing a single in 1983, Trust In Love. Two E.P. releases, East and West and Rythm, followed in short order. In 1986, her first complete album Anna Domino was released. In 1987, she met Michel Delory, guitarist for Bel Canto and Univers Zéro, and they collaborated on her second album This Time, which received positive critical attention and airplay in Japan. In 1989, Domino released another E.P., Colouring In the Edge and the Outline followed by her third album Mysteries of America in 1990. Since then Domino has not release any further albums under her own name, other than compilations and re-releases.
Twenty years after her last release, on June 2010, Domino released a new single, Blood Makes Noise. The single (originally by American singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega) is a part of Allergy To Consciousness, a singles series released on alternative/minimalist independent music label EnT-T.
On January 2012, she collaborated with producer/remixer Dub Mentor on the single Johnny - which is based on the traditional When Johnny Comes Marching Home and Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (also released on EnT-T). Domino also made the video clip for the song.
Snakefarm
In 1999 Domino and Delory formed the folk rock alternative outfit Snakefarm, and released the album Songs From My Funeral, a collection of murder ballads from the 1920s to the 1950s. Their second album My Halo At Half-Light was released on October 11, 2011.[3]
Selected discography
Anna Domino
Albums
- East and West (Crépuscule, 1984)
- Anna Domino (Crépuscule, 1986)
- This Time (Crépuscule, 1987)
- Colouring in the Edge and the Outline (mini album, Crépuscule, 1988)
- L'Amour fou (compilation, Crépuscule, 1989)
- Mysteries of America (Crépuscule, 1990)
- Favourite Songs from the Twilight Years (US-compilation - Janken Pon, 1997)
- Dreamback: Best Of (LTM, 2004)
Singles
- Blood Makes Noise (EnT-T, 2010)
- Johnny (EnT-T, 2012)
12" Singles
- Trust in love / Repeating (Crépuscule, 1983)
- Rythm / Target (Crépuscule, 1984)
- Take that / Koo Koo (Crépuscule, 1985)
- Lake / Hammer (Crépuscule, 1987)
- Tempting / Always Always (Crépuscule, 1988)
Vinyl releases on Factory Records
- FACT 165 Anna Domino LP
- FAC 158 Summer (Arthur Baker Remix) / Summer (Arthur Baker Instrumental) 12"
- FAC 158/7 Summer (Arthur Baker Remix) / The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game 7" (A side is edited version)[4]
Snakefarm
- Songs From My Funeral (Kneeling Elephant, 1999)
- My Halo At Half-Light (Fledg'ling Records 2011)
References
- ^ Anthony, Ted (2007). Chasing the rising sun : the journey of an American song. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-7898-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=aOTVmzh5_IgC&lpg=PA173&dq=%22Anna%20Domino%22&pg=PA174#v=onepage&q=%22Anna%20Domino%22&f=false. "My grandparents, after a particularly good meal, would sing all sixty-three verses of whatever song came into their heads."
- ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative rock : [great musicians, influential groups : 7000 recordings reviewed & rated]. San Francisco: Miller Freeman. pp. 337. ISBN 978-0-87930-607-6. "When I was small, my family moved around a lot"
- ^ "Snakefarm - My Halo At Half-Light CD". CD Universe. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8572426. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Vinylnet Record Label Discographies". http://www.vinylnet.co.uk.
External links
- Anna Domino biography at LTM Recordings
- Anna Domino at Allmusic
- Ectophile Guide to Good Music entry
- Official Facebook page
- Official MySpace page
- Anna Domino on EnT-T
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Snakefarm
(Rock Band, '80s, '90s)
This Time
(1987 Album by Anna Domino)
Colouring in the Edge and the Outline
(1988 Album by Anna Domino)
Café Après-midi: Crepuscule for Café Après-midi 2
(2002 Album by Various Artists)
The Prince of Wales
(1989 Album by Devine & Statton)
» More