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Before the electro-infused indie and post-rock of today, there was Seefeel; a UK based electronic-rock outfit composed of four musicians; Mark Clifford on guitar, Sarah Peacock on guitar and vocals, Daren Seymour on bass and Justin Fletcher on drums. Like the pulsating, polyrhythmic sound scapes they composed, Seefeel ebbed and flowed to and from existence; some noticed, buying up every last release as they trickled out from Seefeel's christened studio, 'Polyfusia'. Many remain fans to this day in light of the fact that Seefeel have been on an open-ended and indefinite hiatus since 1999; the date of their last recording session together (which amounted to an as-of-yet unreleased EP). In spite of a relative underexposure (not helped by the fact that nearly the entire back-catalog remains criminally out-of-print) the importance of Seefeel's existence cannot be underestimated. They provided a bridge between the electronic nouveau and indie-rock; being ultimately instrumental in opening up the parallel reality of electronic music to the more adventurous members of the indie scene.
Seefeel emerged at a time when conventional guitar music was stagnating; Grunge, with it's iconoclastic visual and aural aesthetic, was subverting the excesses of post-1980s arena rock and subsequently hijacking mainstream audiences hungry for something new. Indie and art-rock were pushing the genre forward further still by placing more emphasis on the aural texture of the guitar rather than creating hooky chords and bridges.
To the far left of it all, there was a curious musical development whose heart beated to a time-measured circuitry of sequencers, samplers and drum-machines; spurred on by the synthetic revolution of the 1980s, electronic music was coming into it's own as technology was finally able to accommodate it's boundless compositional potential.
Perhaps instinctively the members of Seefeel, under the guise of a conventional four-piece guitar band, tapped into all of these abstract movements and genres, fusing (or perhaps 'polyfusing') them into an entirely fresh and new sound altogether; one with the humanity of a band and the inhumanity of a machine. You can pierce it's living flesh and it bleeds mercury; feel it's loving and visceral caress over your body, look into it's eyes and see the regimented technochrome of it's electrical mind. Back in the early to mid ninties Seefeel sounded like nothing else at the time and, in the wake of countless contemporaries, still sound fresh and unique today to those who would newly discover their timeless work.
Seefeel formed in early 1992; "I put adverts up and just saw loads and loads of people, really" Mark Clifford detailed in a 2003 interview with 'Perfect Sound Forever'. "I was the one who kind of looked for people to start the band, and basically it ended up consisting more of people who I got along with personally than people who were great musicians or anything". Six months later the lineup was complete. Friend and fellow musician Mark Van Hoen played bass initially but was later replaced by Daren Seymour. Though not officially part of the Seefeel lineup thereafter, Van Hoen continued to be involved with the band; principally as their live sound engineer.
Each member brought a different musical aesthetic and expectation to the Seefeel's initial sound. "The first demos we did and the first couple of gigs... there was probably more song structure to them, but they still weren't verse/chorus." detailed Mark. The members quickly realized how compositionally restrictive traditional songwriting structures were and began experimenting with samplers. Shortly after disseminating several demos to local labels, they were picked up by 'Too Pure'; a burgeoning label then in vogue as the next '4AD' with it's full roster of more unconventional acts. Early recording sessions soon yielded their first EP, 'More Like Space', whose thick and fuzzy treated guitar melodies supplanted more conventional synths; fading in and out of the mix anchored only by minimal percussive elements and Sarah's ethereal, often wordless vocal. This aesthetic for FX-swathed guitar loops with predominately electronic-sounding percussion and Sarah's utterances carried over to their next EP, 'Pure, Impure', to which Richard 'Aphex Twin' James famously contributed two remixes. This sound was honed and ultimately perfected on their first full-length album, 'Quique', in late 1993; an album held in high regard by many as Seefeel's true masterpiece. 'Quique' also holds the esteem of being Seefeel's only recording to remain in print as it was reissued in 2007 in a remastered special edition.
Following 'Quique', as subsequent recording sessions yielded a more and more introverted and experimental electronic sound, Seefeel decamped to the Sheffield based electronic label 'Warp Records' in 1994. Although containing the essential elements of their previous work, Seefeel's output on Warp delved much more into beat-oriented abstraction; often containing a pervading dark and oppressive atmosphere. Although featuring these edgier sensibilities, 1994's 'Starethrough EP' retained some of the dreamy lightheartedness of 'Quique'; a track like 'Spangle' could be called anything but dark with it's twinkling coruscations of melody and Sarah's angelic vocal. The EP to follow, 'Fracture / Tied', was almost entirely beat-driven with only rudimentary hints of melody.
The skeletal mainframe of their new sound culminated with a second studio album, 'Succour', in 1995; driving electronic percussion, dubby basslines and obtuse, paranoid guitar melodies abound. Sarah's vocals sound synthetic and almost alien in the barren, lunar atmosphere's that 'Succour' evokes.
In 1996 Seefeel released what was to be their third, and final, studio album; (CH-VOX), on friend Richard James' 'Rephlex' imprint.
(CH-VOX) represents the furthest progression of Seefeel's continuing abstraction; the beats are almost entirely whittled away, supplanted instead by droning tapestries of processed guitars. Breathtaking as it is alienating, (CH-VOX) is an unforgettable, if not triumphant, goodbye to a truly underrated band.
As creative tensions mounted, the members of Seefeel parted ways to explore other avenues of musical creativity. Sarah, Daren and Justin, along with long-time Seefeel benefactor Mark Van Hoen, formed 'Scala'; focusing on tighter song-structure which underscored Sarah's vocals. Mark Clifford continues to release music under a wealth of aliases and collaborative projects including 'Disjecta', 'Woodenspoon' and 'Sneakster'. Mark also runs his own 'Polyfusia' record label which he began in 2003.
Discography
More Like Space EP - 1993 - Too Pure
Seefeel's debut release.
Tracklisting:
- More Like Space (8:44)
- Time To Find Me (Come Inside) (5:05)
- Come Alive (5:06)
- Blue Easy Sleep (4:41)
Pure, Impure - 1993 - Too Pure
A compilation of the 'Plainsong' and 'Time To Find Me' EPs. Another compilation titled 'Polyfusia' was released the following year in the US on Astralwerks combining both 'More Like Space' and 'Pure, Impure'.
Tracklisting:
- Plainsong (6:58)
- Moodswing (5:40)
- Minky Starshine (10:39)
- Time To Find Me (AFX Fast Mix) (7:32)
- Time To Find Me (AFX Slow Mix) (9:29)
- Plainsong (Sine Bubble Embossed Dub) (8:43)
Quique - 1993 - Too Pure
Seefeel's debut LP. The album title is properly pronounced 'keek'. 'Plainsong', as it appears on this album, is different from the version present on other releases.
Tracklisting:
- Climactic Phase 3 (8:23)
- Polyfusion (6:22)
- Industrious (6:38)
- Imperial (6:37)
- Plainsong (7:40)
- Charlotte's Mouth (7:25)
- Through You (5:46)
- Filter Dub (8:45)
- Signals (5:47)
i-01 EP - between 1993-'94 - not on label
A white-label, vinyl-only EP; limited to 500 copies and independently distributed at Seefeel gigs. 'Starethrough', as it appears on this release, is slightly different from the later version present on the 'Starethrough EP'.
Tracklisting:
- Starethrough (Charlotte's Dub) (7:37)
- Signals (Momentum 1.3) (8:31)
- Filter Dub (Low Pass) (9:34)
Starethrough EP - 1994 - Warp Records
Seefeel's debut on Warp Records. 'Spangle' was also prominently featured on the Warp Records compilation 'Artificial Intelligence II'. In 2003 a 12 minute remix of 'Spangle' (produced by Autechre originally in 1994) was released titled 'Autechre Remix Of Spangle By Seefeel' on Polyfusia Records.
Tracklisting:
- Starethrough (7:46)
- Air-Eyes (5:32)
- Spangle (7:21)
- Lux1 (6:03)
Fracture / Tied - 1994 - Warp Records
Warp Vision: The Videos 1989-2004'.
Tracklisting:
- Fracture (5:55)
- Tied (6:35)
Succour - 1995 - Warp Records
'Tempean' is a hidden track, beginning 05:11 into track 10, 'Utreat'.
Tracklisting:
- Meol (5:51)
- Extract (7:28)
- When Face Was Face (6:03)
- Fracture (5:52)
- Gatha (6:00)
- Ruby-Ha (6:08)
- Rupt (6:29)
- Vex (4:25)
- Cut (5:40)
- Utreat/Tempean (7:52)
(CH-VOX) - 1996 - Rephlex
Seefeel's debut on Richard D. James' Rephlex imprint.
Tracklisting:
- Utreat (Complete) (4:31)
- E-hix² (5:07)
- Ch-Vox (6:46)
- Hive (5:18)
- Ashdeacon (5:25)
- Net (6:11)
Quique (Redux Edition) - 2007 - Too Pure
Two disc 'Special Edition' of Seefeel's debut LP 'Quique'. Disc one contains the original album completely remastered. Disc two contains rare and previously unreleased Seefeel material.
Tracklisting:
Disc One
- Climactic Phase 3 (8:24)
- Polyfusion (6:23)
- Industrious (6:40)
- Imperial (6:40)
- Plainsong (7:43)
- Charlotte's Mouth (7:27)
- Through You (5:48)
- Filter Dub (8:46)
- Signals (5:47)
Disc Two
- Clique (5:28)
- Is It Now? (4:23)
- Filter Dub (i-01 Mix) (9:40)
- Come Alive (Climactic Phase 1) (5:41)
- Time To Find Me (Alternate Desk Mix) (5:20)
- Charlotte's Mouth (Avant Garde Mix) (7:27)
- My Super 20 (6:31)
- Climactic Phase 3 (Overnight Mix) (8:31)
- Silent Pool (7:02)
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