Soliloquy for Lilith
Encyclopedia
Soliloquy For Lilith is an album by Nurse With Wound
.
The album was recorded by Steven Stapleton and his wife Diana Rogerson in May 1988. The only sound source was a number of effects unit
s which he had set up to operate in a feedback loop - there was no original input signal being processed, simply the feedback hum generated by plugging the original chain of pedals back into itself. However, when Stapleton went near the pedals he found the sound changed in accordance with his proximity to the various pedals and units. Stapleton told author David Keenan
(in the book England's Hidden Reverse) that he had created the album by gently moving his fingers above the various units to create the slow, subtle changes in the sound. As this shouldn't happen, Stapleton has put the album down to an electrical fault of some sort in the studio. This was acknowledged on a later reissue with the credit "our thanks to Electricity for making this recording possible". He remains proud of the album, describing it to Keenan as "fucking brilliant". The album title refers to Stapleton and Rogerson's daughter Lilith who was born that year. Lilith would go on to contribute both artwork and vocals to releases by NWW and Current 93
.
Despite being a 3LP set in an embossed box, the album was one of the most successful NWW releases; Stapleton advised Keenan that the sales of the album funded his and his family's move to Cooloorta in County Clare
, Ireland
in 1989. Originally issued on the short-lived Idle Hole label (founded by Stapleton and Rogerson with a government Enterprise Allowance Scheme
grant), a small overrun of the third disc was issued separately as Soliloquy For Lilith Parts 5 & 6 http://brainwashed.com/common/htdocs/discog/ihm1c.php?site=nww. The album was reissued as a double CD on United Dairies via World Serpent
in 1993 and then again in 2003, this time as a 3 disc set mirroring the box packaging of the original with the third disc containing two remixes of the original material by Stapleton and Colin Potter. When World Serpent Distribution went out of business in 2004, the 3CD set was reissued by United Jnana (a hook-up between Stapleton's United Dairies and Mark Logan's Jnana Records), this present edition being identical in all but catalogue number from its predecessor.
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
.
The album was recorded by Steven Stapleton and his wife Diana Rogerson in May 1988. The only sound source was a number of effects unit
Effects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
s which he had set up to operate in a feedback loop - there was no original input signal being processed, simply the feedback hum generated by plugging the original chain of pedals back into itself. However, when Stapleton went near the pedals he found the sound changed in accordance with his proximity to the various pedals and units. Stapleton told author David Keenan
David Keenan
David Keenan is a Scottish author, critic and musician. He is the author of England's Hidden Reverse, a biography of Coil, Current 93 and Nurse With Wound, a regular contributor to The Wire since 1995, and proprietor of Volcanic Tongue, a shop, distributor, record label and mailorder business that...
(in the book England's Hidden Reverse) that he had created the album by gently moving his fingers above the various units to create the slow, subtle changes in the sound. As this shouldn't happen, Stapleton has put the album down to an electrical fault of some sort in the studio. This was acknowledged on a later reissue with the credit "our thanks to Electricity for making this recording possible". He remains proud of the album, describing it to Keenan as "fucking brilliant". The album title refers to Stapleton and Rogerson's daughter Lilith who was born that year. Lilith would go on to contribute both artwork and vocals to releases by NWW and Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
.
Despite being a 3LP set in an embossed box, the album was one of the most successful NWW releases; Stapleton advised Keenan that the sales of the album funded his and his family's move to Cooloorta in County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1989. Originally issued on the short-lived Idle Hole label (founded by Stapleton and Rogerson with a government Enterprise Allowance Scheme
Enterprise Allowance Scheme
The Enterprise Allowance Scheme was an initiative set up by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative UK government which gave a guaranteed income of £40 per week to unemployed people who set up their own business. It was first announced on 13th November 1981, and piloted between January 1982 and July 1983,...
grant), a small overrun of the third disc was issued separately as Soliloquy For Lilith Parts 5 & 6 http://brainwashed.com/common/htdocs/discog/ihm1c.php?site=nww. The album was reissued as a double CD on United Dairies via World Serpent
World Serpent Distribution
World Serpent Distribution was a British record label and music distribution house formed in the 1990s by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster...
in 1993 and then again in 2003, this time as a 3 disc set mirroring the box packaging of the original with the third disc containing two remixes of the original material by Stapleton and Colin Potter. When World Serpent Distribution went out of business in 2004, the 3CD set was reissued by United Jnana (a hook-up between Stapleton's United Dairies and Mark Logan's Jnana Records), this present edition being identical in all but catalogue number from its predecessor.