Slug Magazine reviews "Chasing the Ghost"

Slug Magazine reviews "Chasing the Ghost"

kaRIN & Statik return with their own record label, after remaining silent for the past few years. It is a deeply introspective album and a slight change of musical direction. Those of you familiar with their previous efforts, "Beneath the Skin" and "Distort," need not fear because Collide is just as layered and well orchestrated--they just pulled back the noise, allowing for more focus on the vocals and lyrics. The only drawback the album may carry is that none of the tracks scream out to be club hits, with a massive sing-a-long chorus, but since when was that a drawback? If you even remotely like bands with female vocals against distorted electronics or intelligently constructed sound-scapes with honest lyrics this album will not disappoint.

Meanstreat review...thanks Nikki

Meanstreat review...thanks Nikki
Collide, a Los Angeles based duo comprised of kaRIN (vocals) and Statik (programming), creates music that marries exquisite vocals with orchestrated layers of sounds. The band's latest release, "Chasing the Ghost", weaves together complex tapestries of rhythm, melody and texture in which kaRIN's velvety vocals and poetic lyrics add a beautifully human element to Statik's moody electronic washes and machine generated sounds. "Wings of Steel", an ethereal erotic piece reflects the bands gothic roots while "Halo's" infusion of eastern dance imagery and club friendly beats showcases the band's industrial nature. Not to be overlooked is Collide's mystical version of Jefferson airplane's "White Rabbit," which is utterly delectable. Overall, "Chasing the Ghost" is a pleasurable feast of rhythms-- offering up a perfect balance between sound and vision.

 

Grade A Nikki Neil: MeanStreet Vol 11.06/December 2000

Chasing the Ghost Reviews

Chasing the Ghost Reviews

We have some reviews of Chasing the Ghost, thanks so much to all of the reviewers involved.

  • Starvox
  • Grinding into Emptyness
  • Legends Magazine
  • Earpollution
  • Chasing ghosts is exactly what I have been doing since 1985. During the interminable wait following Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, I inhaled anything that offered a female vocalist. My obsession graduated to Toni Halliday and Curve and, as Curve dissolved, I found Collide's Beneath the Skin. As Kate seemed to be retired and Curve on hiatus, waiting for the next Collide album seemed to be the most promising path to take. And then their label, Re-Constriction, went under. It has been a very hard decade for fans of dark, ethereal, electrified female vocals.

    kaRIN and Static have been busy since the 1997 release of their remix and cover album, Distort, mainly keeping their chops up with subsumed work with other bands as they figured out the details of making their own way in the music world (hence the release of Chasing the Ghost on their own label). And maybe during these external projects they got some of the noise out of their systems. Distort pointed towards a noisier future, a structure laden with wild feedback and the distorted snap of uncontrolled machinery. Surprisingly, Chasing the Ghost ably steers away from that end, gliding towards a more introspective sound, a more exotic exploration of empty spaces within. There is a haunted quality to these songs, a yearning in kaRIN's voice that is echoed by the dark instrumentation swirling around her. When the machinery does erupt in savagery (as it does on their sublime cover of Jefferson Airplane's chestnut "White Rabbit"), you realize that their restraint is self-inflicted--their directive one of introspection.

    Maybe what I've been chasing is unobtainable--it may never exist. As kaRIN sings on the title track, "I've come so near and yet so far." Maybe it is time to stop running, time to lay down here and disappear into myself to find the source of want. Chasing the Ghost is an angelic accompaniment into the dark heart of your obsessions. Take this beacon with you.

    -Mark Teppo
  • ElectroAge
  • Im Rhythmus Bleiben

Huge Thank-Yous

Huge Thank-Yous

We would like to take a moment and thank our friends who helped out on the album.

William Faith and Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse, Chris Candelaria from Drumatic, Kevin Kipnis of Purr Machine and Fritz Heede for his sitar playing.

Also... huge thanks goes out to Terri King for her always fabulous clothing, Dan Santoni for his photography and of course Chad Michael Ward for his amazing artwork.

Having a hard time finding our CD in stores?

Having a hard time finding our CD in stores?

Well if you are, that's pretty common...feel free to bug those stores and let them know that they can order it directly from us, or Metropolis distribution.

Meanwhile...thanks to the internet, our CDs are available at several websites, including our own that will ship it ASAP.

If you know of any stores that do carry it, please let us know and we'll post them up on the site.

  • Los Angeles--Vinyl Fetish Records--7305 Melrose Ave. (323)935-1300
  • Seattle--MusicWerks -- 1512 11th Ave. (206)320-8933
  • Philadelphia--Digital Ferret CDs-526 S. 5th St. (215) 925-9259

Noiseplus Music, P.O. Box 565, North Hollywood, CA 91603, United Statescollide@collide.net
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