The roots of The Tear Garden extend back 13 years to 1983 when cEvin Key, on the verge of forming Skinny Puppy, struck up a trans-Atlantic correspondence with Edward Ka-Spel, the lead vocalist and driving force behind The Legendary Pink Dots.
Three years later, Ka-Spel visited Vancouver for a series of three live performances with Key as sound technician, and during his visit, they recorded The Tear Garden's self-titled debut EP.
In 1987, Ka-Spel returned to open for Skinny Puppy on their North American tour, after which the duo retreated to the studio for two weeks to produce the now classic electronic-psychedelic album, Tired Eyes Slowly Burning. It was during these sessions that the project's ranks began to expand, with guest appearances by Key's fellow Puppies Dwayne Goettel and Nivek Ogre.
Four years later, the Garden bloomed again, this time growing well beyond the Key/Ka-Spel partnership to include not only Goettel, but a wide assortment of friends, including most of the Pink Dots. This fruitful month-long collaboration spawned two releases: an album called The Last Man To Fly, and a (very long) EP called Sheila Liked The Rodeo.
Another four years passed. Four years that saw literal and figurative deaths (the departure of both Skinny Puppy and LPD from their long-time labels; the subsequent break-up of SP; the tragic passing of Dwayne Goettel) and births (Edward's son, Calyxx; Download; Key's return to Nettwerk). In late December, 1995, in the midst of this turbulence, The Tear Garden gathered once more, perhaps to attempt to trigger the dawn of a tranquil new era. The result: To Be An Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide. An album of fragile and powerful beauty that digs even deeper into the psychedelic underground than its predecessors, adding a range of influences from dub bass to country slide guitar, all the while retaining the dark electronic melancholy that has become the project's signature.
For the recording of this album, The Tear Garden included cEVIN Key, Edward Ka-Spel and all of the current Pink Dots - The Silverman, Ryan Moore, Martijn De Kleer and Niels Van Hoornblower. As well, guest appearances were made by Peggy Lee, Aeron Wild, Mark Spybey (Download, Dead Voices On Air) and Tom Anselmi. The album was recorded in Vancouver's Subconscious Studios and was produced by cEvin Key and Anthony Valcic.
2001 - The Tear Garden return with Crystal Mass - easily their most accessible album to date, whilst still retaining their trademark sounds.
2002 will see the release of 'eye spy with my little eye' - part of the subCONSCIOUS 'from the vaults' collection of cd's. this cd contains outtakes from early tear garden works. a brand new tear garden album is expected later on in the year - expect a 'back to roots' raw approach.
Source: http://www.mantramedia.net/theteargarden/biography.htm
