Album Notes I could write a book but, let me point out that this album was over 10 years in the making. The initial producer of the album passed away, assigning that responsibility to me. There were artistic differences, falling outs, a whole lot of great soap opera material. All of a sudden 9 years had passed. In the last 12 months I worked at

Album Notes I could write a book but, let me point out that this album was over 10 years in the making. The initial producer of the album passed away, assigning that responsibility to me. There were artistic differences, falling outs, a whole lot of great soap opera material. All of a sudden 9 years had passed. In the last 12 months I worked at bringing this together and the list of people to thank is way too long. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the outstanding music packaged on this CD. Can I have my Grammy now? Peter Yarmouth April 2008

Celia Hemken states: Recording my second album in the States was something out of this world. Up to that point, I had only experienced America through its popular culture in England, its movies, telly programmes and music. When I touched down on American soil for the first time, the owner of the record company, Peter Yarmouth was there waiting for me at the airport in a Blue Nouveaux baseball cap and jacket emblazoned with my photo. This photo had been taken by my French manager, Philippe Beau who had seen my surreal music-theater performance “Psychotic Cocktail Songs” in London. I'd told him of my ambition to be signed by an American record company. I was living at the time in a Finsbury Park squat in London where I wrote and recorded the first album, “Darkness In Me” for Black And Blue Records.

Now here I was stepping off a plane ready to record a second album and meet my new American bandmates. Peter Yarmouth and I drove to Providence, RI, passing names like Reading which I recognised as an English town but also names like Touskounkanet, which I did not recognise. At first we rehearsed in a chainsaw workshop owned by Tom D'Agostino, my new american guitarist and that's where we played with Jimmy Vee, the bass player and a young drummer called Boo. I had met Minx the Jinx aka Mario Tremaine through the record company and he became integral to the sound of the second album, “Ten Years After” with his lead guitar and arrangements.

On the East Coast, we played with Nine Inch Nails on a dry campus which we don't have in England. We managed to find alcohol anyway and that show, we swore so much Sex-Pistols-style that Peter Yarmouth, although enthusiastic about our commitment suggested we tone it down.

After recording the second album me and the band went back to London where we we played on the same bill as an up-and-coming band - Radiohead. We met with the Siouxie And The Banshees manager and after a year of intensive playing, returned to the States to Los Angeles. We now had a new lineup of a Swedish drummer and bass player fresh from touring Japan.

The second album mostly recorded in Providence meanwhile had been put on ice. Producer Larry Evilelf had passed away in 2001 and the music was in limbo, I emailed Peter Yarmouth thanking him for being such a large part of my introduction to America and as a result Los Angeles, where I now live, and he replied suggesting we should put the album out. So we collaborated, added some new stuff and put it out, that's what we've done. “Ten Years After” is a contrast and change of pace. Music was changing in the 1990s. Bands were tougher and I wanted to experiment with the bigger, live sound of a real band. I advertised in the NME and Melody Maker, two very well known music magazines in England, for a guitarist. Someone who's name I've now forgotten came down to London from Cambridge. He provided a raw, sonic backdrop of guitar distortion out of which I sculpted songs. My original music was a blend of English folk-inspired and ethereal grunge. Minx The Jinx's American influence in the arrangements gave the music a more blues, and larger rhythmic feel while still maintaining the original idiosyncrasy. Although I'd played out live with my earlier band out of university, this new sound was much bolder and the crack of the snare made my teeth rattle in rehearsal. In England I had already been experimenting with a new vocal sound from listening to a cult favourite at the time in Britain, “Le Mysteres Des Voix Bulgares”, a Bulgarian female choir that used a vocal technique of chest voice moved up into the head. This sound gave me a punch and power in dealing with a more aggressive rock sound which is maybe why the manager for Siouxsie And The Banshees was interested in us and the song “Wolves”. This album still shows my interest in diversity of form with the accessible rock sound of “Wide Open Spaces”, to the acid dreaminess of “Temple”, to the sonic sound of “Ariel”, to the crazy psychotic masochism of “Train Track Children”. “All I Want” was inspired by my grandmother's pictures of Jesus on her walls. When I stayed with her as a little girl I was entranced by his beauty in the 1920-70s graphics. Well, you couldn't ask for a better first boyfriend that the great avatar himself, could you?

Cover Art: Kitty Harte Cover drawing: Celia Hemken Below are some of the lyrics:

Tomorrow Never Comes Playing games again I wondered if you'd grown Thought I'd never see your face again And so you brought a friend Someone you'd like me to know For emergencies of just for show In future let me know tomorrow never comes I'll let it go I know it's a shame And there's no one to blame I'm all dressed up though with nowhere to go I'm happy in my room I'm suffocating in my room all alone with the things you don't care to own In future let me know tomorrow never comes I'll let it go How nice of you to call You'd like to leave your card It's bad for your health to live in the past Elegance and taste I let nothing go to waste Too much on my plate and you would know In future let me know tomorrow never comes I'll let it go

Sons Of The Desert

In quiet deserts there’s a storm people band together even when we’re alone The waves are high on the sea people fight together It’s a mutiny Wild Please talk to me I’m going mad Please I’m lonely now I’m so lonely when I look out of my window I’m so lonely with all these houses around me with only my television I’m so lonely with only my microwave and my ammunition Please I’m lonely now Please I’m lonely now

Don’t know how to meet some people might as well be in a desert sleeping on sand dying of thirst dying of thirst And my camel by my side My trusty camel by my side

This is the sunset of my life This is the sunset of my life There is a star I need to find but the sand has made me blind

In Winter it’s brewing up a storm In Summer don’t step out the door In Springtime I feel so good In Springtime there’s picnics on the sand But in Winter it’s brewing up a storm In Summer I don’t step out the door

Wolves Don't leave him in the forest where the wolves are Don't let him dream alone with nowhere there He's all by himself and he's eaten all the bread He's left his clothes somewhere and he is walking naked Don't forget to write when you've gone Eyes too blind to see the wood for the trees But I'm never alone There's always someone at my door Look out for yourself I think of you sometimes Stumbling out there naked You can only learn through pain So don't complain if you don't die on the way Without the friends you always thought you had

There are car lights in the forest They light you up by mistake I put you in the boot of the car And I left you nowhere You still stumbling on with your troubled mind You still stumbling on with your troubled mind Unable to speak, unable to find me And the wolves bear down on you with scum on their tongues But don't tell me you didn't love every minute Don't tell me you didn't love every minute

Fluff Safe, remote and hard to find Precious little hidden from my eyes Invasions of privacy Intrusions on your mind I took it for granted a fortress and a boy I'd wilt and die You're too bad you're too good you're unkind You're my sweetheart you play the part Still we're having a good time so far Don't know why I didn't ask To busy dreaming in the past Slept too long to notice you'd arrived Kissed you instead of helping out I let my drawbridge down To be perfectly frank this is my story of america Took your gun and took your car Thought I'd find my way out After all I came here for the ride Blew my brains out just outside a little town for those who like to live the simple life And survive

Don't Go There is a lot of power in being helpless A lot of control in being controlled Maybe no love in equality If you realised that you wouldn't go Well, that's right, don't listen Don't tell me you didn't want to know When I found you out there happy, not sad And definitely not on your own Maybe if I cry you'll stay Can't bear to think of you having fun without me When I'm not having fun on my own Don't worry I'll think of a way to make you pay You dreamy eyed boy, caught you laughing in the garden I'll put you in a box for that Then I'll keep you in my wardrobe I'll look out the window and hear you thumping on the door Or is it me Do you want me to go crawling to you Do you want me to creep to you I'm not your messenger boy I don't fetch for you I'm the rose, I'm the rose from England

You Owe Me Money I was waiting down the hall You walked past me Didn't recognise you at all Take your coat off and step inside Take your coat off, don't try to hide You know, you know that's the way we're meant to be Polite and sociable, catering for every need Did I really know you, surely that was long ago You took your time to answer the door You owe me money Well that's what friends are for Step inside and find me waiting in the bath Walk right in and take your clothes off Mmm it's nice and warm in here And the soap smells sweet You know that's my idea of a treat So lie lie down, lie down under the water and hold your breath Lie down, lie down under the water While I stand on your head. You took your time to answer the door You owe me money Well, that's what friends are for Ah, the kitchen is full of people and it's time to go Like refuse I'll throw you out and drag you along the floor They won't notice a body And then I think I'll pass the cheese You know, you know I aim to please

When You Lie When you lie you don't look at me You twist your hair about it's easy to see You think I don't remember when you said to me I hold you back when all you want to be is free How did you think I knew when all the time I watched you But I will never ask you where you've been or who you've seen And maybe I don't want to know what you do That after all this time you don't even think of me When you came home too loving last night I knew where you had been I tried not to fight you That other people know our business is a shame When I sit here for hours wondering what her name is

Ariel I'm thinking of something you can't see could be me It's clear and crystal while you're hazy maybe it's the sea Oh, I wish you'd go home and leave me here where there's air to breathe The wind has blown you empty like a shell while I feel full and light and free Like the wind you moan well being free weighs heavy don't you realise On an island there's no crowd to hide don't you realise Like the whirlpool you pull me down beneath the surface of the water You with arms as smooth as marble and eyes as fixed as coral Your mind needs a lift needs a lift back home if you ask me

Ether It's time you found out what you've been missing My best decision to put the distance in But I'm not afraid of heights or my own grave Maybe it's true I'm choking in ether A laboratory you can keep there Any specimen you please But now I'm free and it's too late to say sorry Another hotel no washing powder Meat molders in the shower You're tanned not like me I'm too pale for you to see But I'm red in my love life Morality rots inside Decays in bed with you and me Don't moan at me You could have had me for free I'm on a cloud, I got rid of that old crowd Can't remember your name Sold my soul in a blackjack game Too late I'd found that there's no cheaper way out But I don't care to stay the same

The Bigot We knew a man who liked things tidy A tidy end and a tidy bit stashed away Nothing he treasured more than a clean carpet which was the earth But now he seems to us he hoovers people and sits with tea Well, we wish him the best but not to sweep the dirt under the carpet

Your eyes are green, the lights are green, your eyes are green so go You're wandering, you're aimless and you're over-educated

This is my house, these are my keys and if you don't like it - get out This is my country, these are my rules and if you don't like it - get out

Temple

Somebody's looking at me Thought I knew them it's their symmetry it unnerves me It's a house I've been to once before where they changed the front door or a hill with no footpaths anymore Treasure me treasure mine Treasure what you have in your mind I've seen you, I've heard you once before Can't see you, can't hear you anymore The surgeon is sweet, he stands at my feet With his clean knife he slices the meat He's immaculate His clean white sheets Treasure me, treasure mine what you have in your mind Can't see you, can't hear you, can't hear you, can't see you anymore You're my precious Quiet inside and red, people praying, unthinking, donating This place is falling apart, cracks and mortar flaking Think I'll walk down the hall No going back Walk down the blue vein can you hear my heart beating Walk round the artery temple pulsating Breaking part Don't get lost This temptation to pick up the pieces Paint over the cracks No air to breathe, breeds disease Seal it up, let it rot inside

All I Want I am afraid to be alone I know there's no one out there I cannot face my universe without you on my own When all I want is to fall into your arms So tell me and I won't come to any harm I feel your body I break your bread I play our memories in my head I drink your wine dream of another time When I gave nothing in return They hung you in the strangest places They painted you with so many faces I know my granma knew you cos I saw you in her home So hold me, squeeze me so I can't breathe, so close that you won't leave Pinch me bruise me so I may tell I live the way you do I'm going to heaven With these wings I'm going to fly as high as I can go

Train Track Children Play my games down by the fields At the bottom my garden to see what There is something strange and difficult Down on the ground I don't see it's metal So I pick it up and play with it Feel the vibrations of a monster coming Everyone I know lie down on the train tracks cos that's what is good fun I tie myself down and I cannot move it's so scary but I like it Don't you think that I could never leave cos I can Feel the buzzing of a monster coming Oh it's coming now Oh, what is it, it's a train Cannibal I cannot get away There are people lying there, there all our children Better find out how they're tied to the train tracks together. And then the train comes and it breaks all our bodies up Body parts flying all over the place and there's lots of blood But it's OK, cos I managed to roll away in time just all the other children got it Please don't punish me cos I don't know what I have done Please don't give me up to the police, cos I'm not the guilty one Please don't punish me cos I don't know what I have done

Barbie's Dead Barbie's dead, I've laid her to rest Nothing against her I'm sure she did her best Now Midge hates Skipper and all her children Ken didn't care he slept with Ted now he's dead too She was perfect and we thought we should be that way But behind the scenes, broken dreams It had to come out one day Scream at home and ski on the weekends If you draw the curtains then they won't see you and me Now we're dead too

Drown In my dreams you were trying to wake me into yours And there your twisted smile was straighter than I've ever seen before I noticed that you glanced at me And your eyes for the first time in your life held reality I'm telling you doctor In my dreams, I hate to see you drown Playing with water, playing with water endlessly I hate to see you drown Your knickers by your knees baby We're trying to see you pleased baby Your red hair, chubby face What a disgrace to have you placed in another home There you'll be, playing with water, playing with water, playing with water endlessly My heart goes out to you Cos we feel good, we feel glad to know you're getting better

Musician credits

Celia Hemken: Vocals, Flute Mario Tremaine: Guitars, Bass, Keys, Backing Vocals Tom D'Agostino - Guitar. Steve Viens - Bass. Jim Olson - Bass Rob Boo-Drums Celia Hemken – Vocals Ricky Sticks Paquain - Drums Natalie Garrotto – Vocals, “Barbie's Dead” Matz Westman – Drums, “Drown,” “Barbie's Dead,” “Train Track Children“ Boyd Brand – Bass, “Drown,” “Barbie's Dead,” “Train Track Children“

After recording her debut album in the UK Celia Hemken could not convince her band to tour so she left London's Finsbury Park and headed to the USA. There she met producer Peter Yarmouth who introduced her to the tour band. After much support of "Darkness in Me" Celia began writing new material with her new songwriting partner guitarist Mario Tremaine. Finally after 10 years of recording and writing comes the second album with an all new Blue Nouveaux! Dark, Witty Lyrics and a grungy emotional rocking sound that is truly musical artwork! The 10 year saga included a lot of drama including the death of producer Larry Evilelf who oversaw some of the recordings. When he died one of the hold ups was Yarmouth taking over as producer and the band choosing Boris Ofterhaul and proposed buying existing recordings from Yarmouth. When the band heard the Ofterhaul master Yarmouth got the opening and kept this release on Black and Blue Records. From the light "When You Lie" to the heavy crunch of "Drown" or the chaotic vibes of "Visions Of The Desert" the cohesive variety of sound keeps you sucked in on all 18 tracks. The darkest track is "Train Track Children" with a new twist on playing on the tracks. Celia and Mario harmonies on the title track remind me of Sky Cries Mary.