Elysian Fields was formed by Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow in 1995. The band quickly became one of the most respected in the vibrant late 90's NYmusic scene, with ties to Jeff Buckley, Firewater, and others. They weresigned to Radioactive/MCA after only their second show.
Jennifer Charles, the velvet-throated siren and visionary of Elysian Fields,possesses an exquisite and haunting voice. The daughter of a torch singer,she combines the weary melancholy of the songs her mother taught her withthe raw edge of the DC punk scene she grew up in. Living on her own whilestill in high school, Jennifer supported herself as an actress, artist'smodel, and by singing, although underage, in a sleazy piano bar. Moving toNew York, she attended college, curetted poetry and performances downtown,acted in theater and indie films, began singing in bands and writing songsand honed her unsettling sensual style.
Oren Bloedow has been described as a "phenomenally haunting guitarist"(Village Voice), but is mostly known for his overall musicianship andcompositional genius. Like boyhood heroes Brian Wilson and Kurt Weil, hemastered harmony and arranging, but also apprenticed himself in jazz,studying bass with Dave Holland and playing with the Lounge Lizards.
Their first album, Bleed Your Cedar, attracted much press attention, as didCharles's mesmerizing stage presence. They toured the U.S. and Europe. InFrance they found ardent fans, played packed shows in the top venues andwere lionized by the national TV, radio and press.
A second album was recorded with the incorruptible Steve Albini producing.However, when their former label Radioactive heard the finished album theyconsidered it too raw and untamed for their tastes and demanded that therecord be remixed by a more commercial producer. Elysian Fields refused, andafter much debate the band and label reached an unbreakable impasse.Subsequently Elysian Fields left Radioactive and the record they made withSteve Albini will probably never see the light of day.
Elysian Fields' version of Serge Gainsbourg's Les Amours Perdu leads offJohn Zorn's Gainsbourg compilation, and is heard in the acclaimedindependent film Emporte Moi (Set Me Free). An ethereal version of T. Rex'sLife's A Gas also appeared on a Zorn compilation. Hal Wilner featured theduo in a series of concerts, and a spate of their songs turned up on TVshows like "Charmed" and many other soundtracks.
Teaming up with Jetset records in 2000, Elysian Fields holed up for twoweeks with studio gurus Good and Evil, producing Queen of the Meadow. ThisCD is classic Elysian Fields, a glorious distillation of their sound: poeticlandscapes, stunning and strange music, laced with dissonance and absinthe.
