Cindytalk - History

History

Cindytalk was formed in 1982 by Gordon Sharp (Vocals) and David Clancy (Guitar, Keyboards) from the ashes of Edinburgh based punk/new wave band The Freeze.The Freeze (1976–1982) released two 7 inch singles, recorded two John Peel sessions and played extensively around the UK supporting many big name bands of the time.

After re-locating to London in 1982, Cindytalk began to work towards their debut album Camouflage Heart, with a newer, darker and more fractured sound that drew much from post-punk and early European industrial music. In 1983 Sharp and Clancy were joined by John Byrne who proved to be a crucial component in Cindytalk's deliberately disintegrating sound.

Also in 1983 Sharp recorded a John Peel session with fellow Scots Cocteau Twins (contributing to "Hazel" and "Dear Heart", available on some versions of Garlands as well as BBC Sessions) which led to a meeting with 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell who invited him to appear on This Mortal Coil's 1983 debut EP Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust. He was also one of three featured singers on the debut This Mortal Coil album It'll End in Tears (1984), contributing vocals to "Kangaroo" (which was released as a single and became an instant indie hit), "Fond Affections" and "A Single Wish".

Simultaneous to that release, Camouflage Heart also appeared to some critical acclaim in the UK music press. Shortly after Camouflage Heart David Clancy left the band and was replaced by brother/sister team Alex and Debbie Wright. The colossal In This World was recorded over the next three years ... two albums of the same name released simultaneously, featuring cover art by Kathy Patterson. The first of the albums, a broken and noisy affair, the second, an album of creaky ambience featuring Sharp's improvised piano experiments. In This World also featured an uncredited collaboration with feminist punk writer Kathy Acker (Janey's Love).

During this period Cindytalk had begun working in tandem with performance artist and film maker Ivan Unwin, providing sound for some of his short pieces. This led Cindytalk to scoring Unwins' "Eclipse: An Amateur Enthusiasts Guide to Virus Deployment", the record of which was released on Midnight Music in 1990 under the title The Wind Is Strong..., the album, following on from the second of the In This World albums, was based on piano improvisations and abstract/concrete experiments. At the time Sharp described it as "Ambi-dustrial" fusing his love of the early ambient releases on the EG label with the above-mentioned European Industrial music. Sharp was joined on this release by Ivan Unwin and long standing co-producer/engineer David Ros who became a more active member of the band at this time. Matt Kinnison and drummer/percussionist extraordinaire, Paul Middleton also provided sounds and ideas to this mix. Secrets And Falling, a 4-track e.p. culled from the Wappinschaw sessions was released in 1991. At this point the band had become more of a collective, drawing on musicians from the current line-up as well as the past, John Byrne returned and was joined by Kevin Rich and Darryl Moore (Soul Static Sound).

Midnight Music folded in 1992 and prevented the recently finished album Wappinschaw from being released until early 1995 (on Sharp's own label Touched, distributed through World Serpent). Wappinschaw features a collaboration with Scottish artist and writer Alasdair Gray, who reads from his acclaimed novel "Lanark" (Wheesht). By 1993 Cindytalk had gone through more changes and were preparing to play live for the first time. Sharp, Middleton and Ros were joined by Paul Jones, Andie Brown, Mark Stephenson and Simon Carmichael to record and release 1994's "Muster"/"Prince Of Lies" 7 inch (Touched/World Serpent).

In early 1996, Cindytalk toured the US. They played two shows in Boston — one a "secret" show at the start of their tour under the name "Lucinder", and one at the end. In between, they played, Washington DC, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Portland OR, Seattle, Santa Clara, San Francsisco, Corona CA, Tempe AZ, Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Charlotte NC and New York City. Bowery Electric and Trance to the Sun were opening acts at multiple dates.