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A BAND BIOGRAPHY... Waterglass are the (albeit slowly) rising stars of dark, chrystalline pop in the UK. Their starkly beautiful, sometimes disturbing, melodic guitar-led music has been gathering listeners all over the world for some years now. With the release of their debut album WisdomLikeSilence they are set to open up a massive new audience with which to share their viscerally charged stories about the world and the people in it. Getting to this point has been a long struggle, about which you can read more below. But first, a look at Waterglass as they are now... Waterglass are a five-piece outfit consisting of Victoria (voice), Andy (guitars), Rose (synthesisers), Andrew (drums and percussion) and Aidan (bass guitars). They draw their influences from a huge range of music including rock, country, choral and pop. Together, they write classic pop music with a dark and emotional edge drawing comparisons with The Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, The Cure and Morcheeba. They have been plying their trade in the venues of the UK for many years now, in a number of incarnations. On the way they have garnered a reputation of one of the UK's most exciting bands. Their CD releases have been lauded and their live appearances feted. Their determination to be free of the vicissitudes of the recording industry have seen them set up their own record company and recording facilities. One of the last of the truly independent bands, Waterglass continue to single-mindedly pursue their own musical vision with scant regard to the fads and fashions to which the music industry is prey.
It has taken a while for Waterglass to reach this point. The story starts over ten years ago in a pub in South London. Steve and Sam (synthesisers and guitar) recruited Aidan to play bass in their new project. After a few rehearsals they started looking for a singer and, after a few false starts, recorded Chiaroscuro with Eileen on vocals. The folk-rock sound they developed then bears little resemblance to Waterglass now but the insistence on quality songwriting was there from the start. Eileen quit for personal reasons and was eventually replaced by Lucinda, who was to provide Waterglass¹ highly characteristic vocal sound for the next few years. Lucinda¹s first recording was Heimat, a tape-only release that nonetheless attracted a number of favourable reviews. During these years Waterglass were struggling to develop a consistent live sound and the gigs were hit-and-miss affairs occasionally fantastic but frequently dire. By the time 1995 rolled around, cracks were beginning to develop in what had once been a close unit. Sam in particular was losing interest in the music Waterglass were making. He eventually quit under upsetting circumstances. But before he left, he did Waterglass two huge favours. Firstly, he lobbied for the band to get a real drummer, something that Steve and Aidan were initially against. Secondly, he recommended Pete to replace him. In the years that followed, Andrew and Pete were to completely redefine the Waterglass sound.
The beginnings of Waterglass as it is today go back to the day Sam finally convinced Waterglass to try out a drummer for the day. Andrew (for it was he) had played in several bands in the 80s but had been out of live music for a number of years. He hadn¹t played for two years before dropping into Waterglass¹ rehearsal studio and Steve, Aidan, Sam and Lucinda surprised both him and themselves by asking him to join. Ever since, his relaxed but driving drums have been the beating heart of the Waterglass sound. Unfortunately, Sam still wasn't happy and quit in the Summer of 1995. On Sam's recommendation Pete was auditioned to replace him and, despite his nerves and lack of experience, Waterglass agreed that he had something unique to offer. With Pete on board, the Waterglass lineup for the next few years was complete and it was at this time that the band started to write the songs that were to win over so many people. Exeunt, Angel Heart, Sleep and Where the Rivers End all came out in quick succession and, after a long time honing their new sound in the studio, Waterglass returned to the public eye with the Found EP. Suddenly, people were interested again. Found received rave reviews and Waterglass started appearing live more regularly. Fantastic live reviews followed and Waterglass really started to build a reputation for themselves. On the back of the EP's success Waterglass returned to the studio to carry on writing the songs that were to appear on the Departure single. The music had taken a darker, heavier turn and this is what waterglass wanted to capture when in 1999 they entered the studio to record Departure, My Lovers Eyes and Longshore Drift. Departure was well-received in the music press but Waterglass were unsatisified with it. The aim had been to capture the viscerality of their live appearances but the band felt that the energy was lacking from the finished product. Although Departure sold well, it had been rushed during recording and poorly mastered. It was around this time that Andrew decided to take the step of developing his own recording facility, partly as a purely personal ambition and partly so that future Waterglass material would receive the justice it deserved in the studio. In the meantime, Waterglass continued to appear live regularly, adding to the core of committed fans who were travelling increasing distances to see the band live.
September 2000 brought the first of a series of setback for Waterglass. Following a hugely successful appearance at the Distopia festival in Bristol, Steve and Lucinda announced their departure from the band that they had both played a vital part in creating. Over the years they had committed their time, energy and money to making Waterglass what it was and neither felt they could give any more. Andrew, Pete and Aidan were devastated, but agreed that they would carry on. They buried themselves in the studio and started working on the album that would later become WisdomLikeSilence. And they thought about what to do next. Towards the end of 1999 they advertised for a replacement singer and keyboardist. After an audition plagued with problems (including Vic waiting two hours at the wrong Acton station) she left Andrew, Pete and Aidan stunned by an incredible, expressive and extremely loud voice. As they talked to her it became clear that despite a background in completely different music (including Latin and Classical), Vic was on exactly the same wavelength as the band. It was a huge relief, as replacing Lucinda had been a task that Waterglass had approached with extreme trepidation. Rose followed a couple of months later having also impressed the newly four-piece Waterglass with her attitude and musicality. Finally Waterglass were complete as a band again and there was lots to do. At the same time as completing the album, Waterglass were itching to get back on stage to see if their fanbase would accept the new lineup. They need not have worried. In July 2001 after a fraught period of preparation, Waterglass appeared live at one of their favourite venues, The Mercat in Birmingham. The notoriously difficult to impress Brum crowd were massively supportive and the reviews agreed that the new Waterglass was even better than the previous version. By October, WisdomLikeSilence was completed and ready for mixing and mastering. It had taken over a year to record, with songs continually being scrapped and rerecorded as Waterglass developed their material and techniques. Finally, the band had an album that they were pleased to present to the world. And disaster struck again. Pete, who had been finding it difficult to juggle Waterglass with his other commitments, finally decided to leave. About to start preparing to launch Wisdom Like Silence, Waterglass once more returned to the drawing board and the musicians small ads.
Andy joined in spring 2002, having auditioned on a personal recommendation. Once again, Waterglass took on a musician that did not necessarily share their influences because of his fantastic ability and immediate, intuitive understanding of what they try to convey in their music. Restored to their natural number, Waterglass began the rehearsals for the launch of WisdomLikeSilence and their first ever UK tour. |
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