CINERAMA is the group formed by The Wedding Present's David Gedge "one of the most consistently brilliant songwriters in Britain" [NME].
Their debut long player VA VA VOOM was released in 1998 to universal critical acclaim. The Melody Maker described the album as "pop, as it should always be written…" while the NME joked that Gedge had transformed himself with his "string-kissed serenades and lounge-core laments." The daily papers were no less kind: "turbo-driven melodies and bittersweet vignettes taking in everything from John Barry to the Zombies" bubbled The Times enthusiastically, while The Daily Mail noted that "the only real surprise is not the quality, but that it took so long for Gedge to try something new."
Following the success of Va Va Voom and tiring of the limitations placed on them by restrictive record contracts, Cinerama decided to set up their own label, Scopitones, and, in 2000, went on to release four well-received singles and a follow-up long-player: DISCO VOLANTE.
For this second album, David renewed an old friendship when the band flew to the United States to record with legendary record producer Steve Albini. The Shellac frontman last worked with David in 1991, when The Wedding Present recorded their highly praised Seamonsters album. This time, however, the chosen location was Albini's own custom built studio in Chicago where Cinerama put fifteen backing tracks down onto tape. Back in England, David added orchestration and mixed the album with Dare Mason, who co-produced Va Va Voom.
DISCO VOLANTE, with its further exploration into the cycles of desire and regret, was an altogether darker and more substantial record than the debut, but even so has been described as "dangerously, seductively sweet" [Melody Maker], "très swish" [The Mirror] and "a treat" [Uncut]. Q Magazine decided that the record was simply "astonishing" while The Guardian agreed that Disco Volante would "flood your heart with warmth". The album's release was swiftly followed by the release of THIS IS CINERAMA, an indispensable compilation of the bands first four singles while the band set off to play in Europe and North America, and at the BBC's "John Peel Night" concert which was broadcast live to celebrate the veteran broadcaster's 60th birthday.
THE WEDDING PRESENT
With their most recent release MONTREAL The Wedding Present entered the UK Top Forty Singles Chart for the seventeenth time… not bad for a band who have stubbornly refused to play the record industry's game since their inception. That was back in 1985 when David boarded a National Express coach in London with a handful of dreams and a pocket full of ideas. Oh, and about 500 records packed into a pair of his mother's suitcases. In this fashion, the single GO OUT AND GET 'EM BOY! was collected from the pressing plant, delivered to the distribution company, and The Wedding Present was born. That pioneering spirit has been at the core of the band's philosophy ever since. From GEORGE BEST "an unmitigated delight" [NME] the first full length release on their own Reception Records onwards, the band have charted an appealing, if often eccentric course of their very own.
With their independent releases, The Wedding Present acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly real love songs immersed in whirlwind guitars, so it was quite extraordinary that UKRAINSKI VISTUPI V JOHNA PEELA, with the band exploring traditional Eastern European folk music, should be their major label debut on RCA. "(They) carry off what is basically a bold experiment with verve" [NME]. However, this was soon followed by the more traditionally incendiary BIZARRO, "simply unbeatable" [Melody Maker] which featured their first hit single KENNEDY. Sounds reported that "it's their major label debut, but it's a transition they've mastered beautifully".
The next step, made with characteristically twisted Wedding Present logic, was to enlist noise-mongering engineer Steve Albini's aid, at a time when everyone else was releasing dance mixes by big name producers. The resulting SEAMONSTERS, recorded in the snowy wilds of Minnesota in just 11 days, suggested a more thoughtful Wedding Present. The Guardian newspaper noted that "Albini has given The Wedding Present considerable weight, with Gedge's voice trickling between banks of scowling guitars". Indeed, the singing ranged from sensual whispering to feverish screams, as the singer investigated weightier subjects.
1992 brought another intriguing idea. By the end of December the group had released twelve records, one in each month, equalled Elvis Presley's 35 year old record for "most hits in one year", rekindled everyone's interest in that ultimate pop format, the 7" single, and led the NME to describe the band as "casually revolutionary and underhandedly unique". A gang of impressive names, including Ian Broudie from The Lightning Seeds and legendary Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller collaborated on the industry-challenging project, ultimately to be compiled on the two HIT PARADE albums and awarded "record of the week" by no less than Tony Parsons in The Daily Telegraph.
WATUSI, produced by Steve Fisk (a prime mover in the celebrated avant-garde scene of Seattle, Washington) then whisked the band off into yet another new area with its trademark lo-fi pop, 3-part a capella harmonies and Waikiki-ready surf strains. This "strong, multifaceted album" [Select], sprinkled with 60s and 70s pastiches and even a brass section, was described by critics as their most varied and dynamic to date, and was possibly where the seeds of Cinerama were sown in David's mind. "Watusi is (their) "White Album", a late period re-assessment of their sound that finds them doing what they do best" [Melody Maker].
In 1995, just before they signed to Cooking Vinyl, Britain's largest independent label, the band released yet another 7" single, Sucker, and completed a British tour with two drummers. The London date became part of the celebrated "Camden Crawl" event where police had to be called to quell a riot amongst disgruntled fans outside who couldn't gain admittance to the sold out venue. Although the record sold several thousand copies and reached No.3 in The Festive 50 (veteran BBC DJ John Peel's end of year listeners' poll) you won't see it in any other charts, because, typically, it was only available at the concerts or by mail order.
The band returned to a more traditional form of record distribution with the car themed MINI "a gem of a record" [Melody Maker] in which Gedge cloaked his tales love, lust and infidelity with automobile iconography, in what can only be described as a concept album. To commemorate this release, the band played at the BBC's prestigious Sound City Event, which was held that year in Leeds, the group's home town. During the concert, the winner of a "Mini Prize Draw" was announced, and a lucky Wedding Present fan became the owner of a real life classic Austin Mini motorcar.
For the next full length LP, the band decided to apply a decade's worth of studio experience and produce the recording themselves. Thus, the Top 40 album SATURNALIA was released by Cooking Vinyl Records to a flurry of critical approval. The NME exclaimed that "David Gedge has… just written one of the best pop albums of the year" while The Melody Maker noted that in the new recordings, which were completed in the London studios belonging to The Cocteau Twins, you will "hear an experimentalism that would send half of New York back to the lab".
"The boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the Rock 'n' Roll era. You may dispute this, but I'm right and you're wrong!" John Peel.
Source: http://www.cinerama.co.uk/
