Tremolo (EP) explained

Tremolo E.P.
Type:EP
Artist:My Bloody Valentine
Cover:My Bloody Valentine - Tremolo.jpg
Released:20 February 1991
Recorded:May 1990–January 1991
Genre:
Length:18:43
Label:Creation Records (CRE085)
Producer:My Bloody Valentine
Prev Title:Glider
Prev Year:1990
Next Title:Loveless
Next Year:1991

Tremolo E.P. is an extended play by Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in February 1991 by Creation Records. The EP was a critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart.[3] It featured the single "To Here Knows When", which subsequently appeared (in a different mix) on the band's second album Loveless.

Background

The EP featured the band more heavily utilising samplers, which allowed them to play back sounds on keyboard. Sampled sounds include guitar feedback, vocals, a BBC stock sound effects recording to create a low-end effect on "To Here Knows When",[4] and a Turkish belly dancing track ripped from cassette on the track "Swallow".[5] The title is a reference to the band's heavy usage of guitar tremolo and vibrato to create blurred, dreamlike tones (Kevin Shields' method of strumming chords while simultaneously bending his guitar's tremolo/whammy bar was referred to as "glide guitar").

In November 1991, Shields commented: "Tremolo had seven tracks on it, but you're not allowed to do that, so we called it four tracks and didn't name three of them. People just thought they were weird bits!"[6] The lead track, "To Here Knows When", has a longer and more ethereal coda—essentially constituting a separate song—than the version later included on the album Loveless. "Swallow" and "Honey Power" also each contain an instrumental coda. All three segues/codas feature backwards guitar loops and heavy reverb.

Videos were filmed for the songs "Swallow" and "To Here Knows When" under the direction of Angus Cameron.

Track listing

Personnel

My Bloody Valentine

Technical personnel

Notes and References

  1. Book: Aidin . Vaziri . Bryan . Lassner. Gary. Graff . Daniel . Durchholz . 1998 . MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide . My Bloody Valentine . . Detroit . 797.
  2. Book: Aidin . Vaziri . Bryan . Lassner. Gary. Graff . Daniel . Durchholz . 1998 . MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide . My Bloody Valentine . . Detroit . 797.
  3. Indie Charts: 2 March 1991. The ITV Chart Show. ITV. 2 March 1991.
  4. https://tapeop.com/interviews/26/my-bloody-valentine-2/ Tapeop
  5. Web site: Parkes. Taylor. "Not Doing Things Is Soul Destroying" - Kevin Shields of MBV Interviewed. The Quietus. 7 January 2018.
  6. Web site: World War Skreeeee! . My Bloody Valentine: To Here Knows Web . 9 November 1991 . 30 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110516212009/http://www.mybloodyvalentine.net/press/nme-9nov91.html . 16 May 2011 . dead .
  7. Tischler, Eric. 2001. My Bloody Valentine: Song-by-song with Kevin Shields. [ONLINE] Available at: http://tapeop.com/articles/26/my-bloody-valentine-2/. [Retrieved 30 March 2017].