The mighty Aaron John
Visit his page in our top friends
or text 118 118 for more on him!
Drums - Our special guest player...
The amazing Robin Guy
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Influences
Sounds Like
Lilygun's music rains like a shower of petals and bullets. Just like the snow in Summer.
[Rob Fernish - Opposition T 2008]
Psych-metal-rock stars Lilygun are worth catching live any day of the week. Dark, bass-heavy, minor chord-inclined, angst rock.
[Time Out Magazine 2007]
Fronted by the charismatic Anna-Christina, Lilygun deliver bewitching Rock etheria.
[Traumattack 2007]
The vocalist, her hair extensions aswirl, has an easygoing charm and a voice as powerful as it is meticulously controlled, she can peel a mean lick off a hollow-body electric too.
[Author: Uncle Nemesis October 2007 - Bull & Gate]
The guitar playing is immense and the singer is a bright star. They have a great vibe.
[JM Bravado International August 2006]
Soothing yet powerful.
[Jeremy Moss, Sanctuary Records 2004]
Diamonds Reviews
With the rock scene a little bare at the moment, and the two extremes of alternative indie and metal seeming to dominate the live scene, its rare to find some good old rock, particularly female fronted. But here we are; from London emerges pure alternative rock band Lilygun with debut single “Diamonds” - a haunting and atmospheric track with tinny drums and subtle guitar building suspense on the intro. The sound builds, complemented by some cool lyrics “Don’t let your past decide who you are to be” ending in a final dramatic crescendo of a chorus with a striking reeling ethnic guitar riff and a satisfyingly weighty distorted guitar bit.
[Sarah Rayner - Xtaster July 2008]
Click below for full review
Anna-Christina shows of her vocal prowess through out the song from the slow starting then building up to the heavier chorus. Intelligent, thoughtful lyrics do help to make this become a nice song to listen to you when you are in the need for a bit of mood swinging indie takes on grunge metal music.
Sounds like Lilygun could easily make a name for themselves and not just in the capital.
[Neil Richardson - Room 13 June 2008]
Click below for full review
The new track is a masterpiece and on first listen, plays out like a rock opera short feature.
They have developed a sound that will appeal to a wide variety of listeners (Tool - PJ Harvey).
We love Lilygun's glamorous grunge-metal style and can't wait for more from these amazing and edgy artists.
[Mary Ann Naylor - Church of Girl May 2008]
Click below for full review
While originality is admittedly hard to come by these days, unsigned London outfit Lilygun have no such problems. 'Diamonds' is five minutes of densely layered heavy rock that succeeds in breaking free from the pack without lapsing into indulgent territory.
[Mitch Bain - June 2008]
Indie meets Grunge complete with powerful vocals makes Diamonds sparkle.
[Stick News International 2008]
Lilygun, fronted by the gorgeous female singer Anna Christina, performed at the Women In Music festival that ran for 12 hours. Without a doubt Lilygun put in one of the strongest performances of the day. Diamonds could well be a breakthrough single for this band.
[Barry Tomes Media Group - Gotham Records 2008]
Simply Awesome - Simply Stunning. This band is multi-faceted and multi talented. Anna-Christina is young, funky and very talented - what's really stunning about her is the fact that she has had more life experience than most of us acquire in a lifetime - not all of it good - but she is a born survivor. This is a band with astonishing style, elegance, talent and charm interspersed with weirdness and an honesty which is both breathtaking and almost impossible to categorise. You just can't put these guys in any particular box because like all the best artists they simply won't fit!
As London continues to fall to their unique, charismatic sound and image, Lilygun adheres to no rules. A guitar based rock band with brutally honest lyrics; Lilygun was formed by Anna-Christina, the songwriter, guitarist and singer.
Her unusual combination of classical roots mixed with intense aggression has resulted in an uncompromising and unpredictable Rock that has an edge to it. Her music has been described as a shower of bullets and petals.
Many new moons ago Piranha joined forces with Anna-Christina and they have been inseparable ever since. He added a new dynamic to the band, not to mention his flamboyant sense of fashion! An immediate connection and uncanny understanding between the two has made the pair exceptionally individual, weird and wonderful.
Lilygun is a band free from rules, fashion trends and the common trappings of most rock bands. Not often nowadays do you see bands that offer something different. Not willing to submit to the norm, Lilygun has the ability to create a strange and captivating atmosphere when playing live. When the question arises of who or what they are like, it's always met with the same reply, "I dun no"!
Anna-Christina's unconventional upbringing plays an interesting part in Lilygun but more fascinating is her spectacular comeback and triumph over tragedy when her life was almost cut short in 2005. Clawing out from the pit of despair and defying all odds, she made an astonishing recovery and her pure determination and iron will led Lilygun to new heights in 2006.
The name "Lilygun" was just two words thrown together at first but as they progressed, it took on a meaning all on it's own. It's a perfect representation of the many contradictions the band has. Something beautiful inverted into darkness. Aggressive and heavy in parts of the set they play to soft and fragile. All inventive, all projected with a sense of glamour. At the end of the day it just comes down to a band, following their own path and having fun whilst doing so.
After much strife and tragedy that Lilygun has been through, a new era has begun. The extraordinary comeback of a singer who has been to the gates of hell and back has become a major part of Lilygun's history.
Where will it go from here?
New Reviews
Lilygun's first single Diamonds, is making waves and has received amazing reviews. Check them out on the new PRESS page at lilygun.com where you can also read comments from various companies plus recent magazine reviews for Lilygun's past demo in The Talk Magazine and Devolution Magazine from last year.
The band were also given great live write-ups from the Surface Unsigned Festival gigs which you can also read at lilygun.com or below.
Radio Interview
Last years interview with Anna-Christina and Piranha has been added to lilygun's myspace playlist on the Lilygun Extra page at
www.myspace.com/lilygunmusic
Why this "Extra" page you say... This used to be the main Lilygun myspace page until it was suspiciously blocked last year! It's back running as normal now so this page has been designated for "other" stuff, such as interviews and other bits that don't make it on this main page. Genius no!
Classical Moonlight:
Click here
to listen to the classical version of Moonlight. Produced and created by Anna-Christina, drums mixed by Xplicit, this beautiful new version of Moonlight really catches the imagination and is worth hearing.
Gig Reviews:
Author: Ryan 24th July 2008 - Borderline
You want to be underground, in a concrete bunker, on one of the hottest days of the year. Bunker is misleading - with it's white-washed walls, fairy-lights and wooden bar, the Borderline reminds me of a restaurant in Tenerife. Suffice to say, it was hot. Like HOT.
Being an idiot, I missed half of Lilygun's opening set. They set the standard for the rest of the evening - no fucking around, these were serious musicians doing what they do best. With their rhythm section missing, the band had called in some favours, but the last minute replacements didn't cut them down.
Anna-Christina is a captivating presence, very much the core of a band she writes as well as plays for. Playing the face, she is polite, self-effacing; bordering on shy between songs. "Moonlight" and closer "Diamonds" stood out - beautiful, melodic, with just enough fireworks to get my Canarian tapas bar jumping. I left, sweat-soaked, and my neck resents me a little bit today. This is the London I love.
Author: Dominic Nicholls 2nd June 2008 - The Purple Turtle
Led by singer/guitarist Anna Christina, London rockers Lilygun strike a fine balance between heavy riffs and delicate, drifting treble. It’s all a question of timing you see, as one of their main influences The Smashing Pumpkin’s admirably demonstrates. Mixing intricate shades of subtlety with a melancholic twist, their sound has a sweet sadness all of its own. It was an engrossing set devoid of cliché and offered up with a solemn dose of genuine experience.
Author: David Couchman - Stage 2 Showcase of Surface Unsigned Festival May 27th 2008
When I first heard this band I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen so I decided to throw away any pre-judgements and get myself a beer. So when all said and done what did I think?
Lilygun had a real dark thing going on which I liked. They reminded me of The Cure in many respects. Their music has the ability to be both positive and giving as well as dark and haunting. It can be full of romance or it could be the funeral march for a broken heart.
Author: RF 17th August 2006
A genre defying act, Lilygun offer an indie take on grunge-metal.
Lilygun's female singer is strident about songs and messages, tunes punctuated regularly by accusing cries. Like the singer, the rhythm section dwells on the dark side, with full hooky bass-buzzing and stomping drums that crack, pump and rumble. But the sunshine is not far away, as rasping thrash guitar gives way to frills and jangles, delicately mournful picking, a shimmering waterfall of strings.
The songs seem intensely personal and they're delivered with passion to suit. "Give me my poison", "There were times when all I wanted was some honesty", and "The many other masks you leave behind". Not to mention the sweat-drenched t-shirts you leave behind.
The Lilygun set is an impressively varied romp through distinctive and individual songs. There are heavily strummed ballads, angry punk belters, and juddering PJ Harvey blues-stomps that pull-up refreshingly short. The last song is a tight popsicle, complete with phaser fx and squealing climax. This is an array of sounds you could use to create a new Skunk Anansie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cure side-project The Glove, or a psychedelic reinvention of Hole. Lilygun's music rains like a shower of petals and bullets. Just like the snow in Summer.
Lilygun with Aaron John and Robin Guy 25th April 2009
If you would like to book Lilygun to play at your venue/festival/university or any other music event, please contact the band through myspace or alternatively here...
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