INTERVIEWS/Articles(37) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2010

General discussion about Mazzy Star

INTERVIEWS/Articles(37) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2010

Postby Hermesacat » Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:04 am

HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS INTERVIEWS/ARTICLES, 2001 to 2010

A thread devoted to Hope Sandoval articles/interviews from when Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions were active, & Mazzy Star not, at least not publicly: no new Mazzy Star records or live shows then. I've pasted text of articles chronologically here, one after the other, plus added links to scans or digital versions of the same articles,where available. Plus I've embedded photos from articles where original photos from them were available.

When I added new articles here, the Forum's system didn't recognize additions as new posts since the adding was done via editing the original. So, to show new articles were
posted I edited the subject line each time to show the new articles total as a number shown in brackets. I'll do the same with other articles threads.
..........................................................

ARTICLES INCLUDED IN THIS POST, SO FAR:
-2001, OCT. 11, THE TELEGRAPH (UK), HOPE SANDOVAL INTERVIEW
-2001, OCT. 23, BARNES & NOBLE, HOPE INTERV.
-2001, OCT. 28, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, HOPE INTERV.
-2001, NOV. 1, BILLBOARD, INTERVIEW WITH HOPE & COLM O'CIOSOIG
-2001, NOV. 7, EAST BAY EXPRESS, INTERVIEW WITH HOPE & COLM O'CIOSOIG
-2001, NOV. 30, LUNA KAFE, HOPE INTERV.
-2001, NOV., SHOUT MAG., INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM
-2002, JAN. 3, ROLLING STONE (GERMAN VERSION), HOPE INTERV.
-2002, JAN., FLAUNT MAG., INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM
-2002, AUG. 15, DENVER WESTWORD, HOPE INTERV.
-2002, AUG. 1 - 7, METROACTIVE / NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN, HOPE INTERV.
-2002, WINTER, HARP MAG, HOPE INTERV.
-2002, AUGUST, L.A. PRESS TELEGRAM, HOPE INTERVIEW
-2009, JULY 6, ROLLING STONE, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, AUG. 25, SYLVAIN FESSON'S HOPE INTERV.
-2009, SEPTEMBER 8, LUNA mag, HOPE INTERVIEW
-2009, SEPTEMBER 16, GEORGIA STRAIGHT, HOPE INTERVIEW
-2009, SEPTEMBER, REPEATFANZINE, Q & A WITH HOPE
-2009, SEPT. 17, GOOD TIMES, SANTA CRUZ, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, SEPT. 24, COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT, HOPE & COLM INTERV.
-2009, SEPT. 24, SF EXAMINER, INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM
-2009 SEPT. 28, GAFFA.DK, HOPE INTERV. [as of April, 2020, I've posted an improved English translation below]
-2009, SEPT. 28, INTERVIEW MAG., HOPE INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 8, MONTREAL GAZETTE, INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM
-2009, OCT. 9, WASHINGTON POST, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 14, BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 15, DALLAS OBSERVER, HOPE & COLM INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 15, GALWAY ADVERTISER, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 16, LESINROCKS.COM, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, OCT. 18, L.A. TIMES, HOPE & COLM INTERVIEW
-2009, OCT. 23, IRISH TIMES, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, NOV. 9, DIFFERENT STARS, HOPE INTERV.
-2009, DEC. 29, THE QUIETUS, HOPE INTERV.
-2010, JUNE 10, THE WEST AUSTRALIAN, HOPE INTERV.
-2010, JUNE 18, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, HOPE INTERV., + NOTES RE. A LOST 2010
INTERVIEW WHERE HOPE TALKS OF HER 2010 PARADISE CIRCUS SONG & VIDEO COLLAB.
-2010, JUNE 23, INPRESS mag,, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, INTERVIEW W. HOPE & COLM
-2010, AUG. 9, UNDER THE RADAR, HOPE INTERV.
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[Text from this article was found at hopesandoval.com with the wrong date
on it. The original, dated Oct. 11, 2001, is findable at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4726 ... alone.html
It has one photo]

I want to be alone

She's chronically shy, uncomfortable with fame, and remains as nervous off stage as on. So why has Hope Sandoval, the elusive singer of cult duo Mazzy Star, decided to go solo?
Craig McLean, Oct. 11, 2001

Image

LIKE a refugee from sunlight, Hope Sandoval cowers in the corner of the pub's
back room. For confidence, she has a glass of red wine. For comfort, curtains
of black, black hair. For support, her musical partner, her niece, and someone
from her record company.

Cat got your tongue? No, Hope Sandoval just prefers to sing

And, lest her voice and thoughts be heard by anyone more than two feet away,
Hope Sandoval enjoys the reassuring proximity of shouty daytime boozers, full
of the beery bonhomie one might associate with former locals Robbie Williams
and Chris Evans.

It's tea-time on a hot August day in Haverstock Hill, north London. Sandoval
has flown in from her home in the student enclave of Berkeley, in California's
Bay Area. She sits, petite and curled in on herself, long boots and short skirt,
immaculate make-up giving the impression of a beatchick little lamb who's
strayed down from the hills of San Francisco.

Possessor of one of the most swooned-over, distinctive voices to emerge from
American alt-rock in the past decade, she is here to discuss Bavarian Fruit Bread,
the forthcoming album by Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions. After 10 years and
three albums as the ethereal voice - and lyrics, and face, and mysterious beauty
- of cult duo Mazzy Star, Sandoval is striking out on her own.

Nearly on her own. For one thing, she had help creating the Velvet
Underground-go-folk atmospherics of Bavarian Fruit Bread: multi-instrumentalist
Colm O'Ciosig, former drummer with legendarily slow-moving and turbulent
Anglo-Irish noiseniks My Bloody Valentine. For another, it seems her split
from Mazzy Star partner and former lover, David Roback, was only temporary:
the pair are well into recording their fourth album.

Finally, it's hard to imagine Sandoval doing anything without help. She would
never get anywhere. No one would hear her. Or understand her. She is chronically
shy, and preternaturally quiet. Like her ethereal, country-gothic music and
whispering-grass voice, Hope Sandoval wasn't built for this modern world and
all its noise and speed.

Even when, at 13, she was dropping oblique hints so that her parents would buy
her a $50 guitar, she knew she might have difficulties ahead. 'I wanted to play
music,' she says in her mellow Californian accent. 'I was a massive Rolling
Stones fan, and I wanted to play music like. . . they do. . . were doing. . .
' She fades away, as if acknowledging the incongruity of the quietest mouse
in music wishing to emulate the loudest, naughtiest grunters in rock. 'And
I thought I might. . . do that.'

Did she think it through, the fact that being a musician meant being a performer?
'No, because there were people like Pink Floyd - although the Rolling Stones'
music is in my opinion much better than Pink Floyd's - but the Stones are more
performers. You could always be like Pink Floyd and just make music.'

As a child growing up in a Mexican-American family in east LA, with one sibling
and seven half-siblings scattered around, timid little Hope Sandoval struggled to
cope with high school. She was placed in special education classes but would
bunk off, staying at home to listen to records.

Her parents had split when she was younger; her butcher father wasn't around,
and her mother was at work at a company that made potato crisps. 'It's just
like anybody else - some people, most people don't wanna go to school. They
just don't want to. It's. . . not fun. I was just somebody who got away
with it.' How? 'I just did. There wasn't really anyone watching.' Oddly, a
half-laugh escapes from her throat. She resumes playing with her hair.

Eventually, the school gave her mother an ultimatum: either Hope comes to
school, or school comes to her. Hope started receiving personal tuition, but
it was too late. She was already slipping out at night, conning her way into
clubs to see bands. She failed to graduate from high school. Her parents, she
says, were resigned to the fact. She thinks this is funny too. 'They didn't
graduate. So. . . what could they say?' A small, burbling titter slips up her
throat, meeting a sip of fortifying wine on the way down.

Someone who worked with Sandoval at her former record label, Capitol Records,
remembers that as worldwide interest in Mazzy Star blossomed throughout the
Nineties, buying Sandoval a bottle of red wine was a useful way of getting her
to relax. Still, after three albums and many concerts around the world, she
never overcame her nervousness, either onstage or off.

Even with strategic deployment of wine, journalists would exit encounters with
Sandoval and the equally distant Roback proclaiming it their worst interview
ever. She would, occasionally, get stroppy with strangers; he got the hump when
Sandoval started going out with William Reid of the fractious Scottish duo the
Jesus and Mary Chain.

Even before Mazzy Star, they were an odd couple. Roback and Sandoval first met
when he produced the (unreleased) album by Going Home, an acoustic duo formed by
Sandoval and her best friend, Sylvia Gomez, when Sandoval was 15. By her early
20s, she had joined him in his band, Opal, and they had become an item. (He is
around 10 years her elder; she won't say exactly how old she is now, only
confirming that she is 'around 34'.)

A former employee of Opal's label, British independent Rough Trade, recalls
them coming over to London in 1989, to play one of their final shows before
Opal mutated into Mazzy Star. 'Hope and David sat in the Rough Trade office
all day long, smoking and silent. They weren't horrible or anything - they
were polite - it was just difficult to know how to please them. They were
only there for two days but it felt like an eternity.' Later, they refused
to fly to Britain for promotional duties. They wanted to come on the QE2.

Ask her why she decided to form a new band, and Sandoval squirms for five
seconds. 'It wasn't really an idea to have a different band,' she says softly,
eventually, 'it was just to make a record, play some of the songs that Colm
and I had written.'

She first met Colm O'Ciosig around four years ago, at a gig in London. She
was, she thinks, living here at the time. She and Roback had been regular
visitors to the UK since 1989, when Rough Trade released Mazzy Star's landmark
debut album, She Hangs Brightly.

Four years ago, though, her relationship with William Reid meant she was here
more often than not. They parted after three-and-half years; she will admit
that she is now in a non-cohabiting relationship.

But Sandoval is still talking, with her characteristic long pauses and
uncharacteristic plurality of sentences. 'Somebody pointed Colm out to me,
said who he was. I just thought, "Oh, I have to meet him, he's a brilliant
drummer." '

Much as it frustrates to have difficulty hearing someone sitting two feet away,
and no matter how unnerving this fidgety woman's habit of answering every
question as if you've asked to see her underwear, we indulge Hope Sandoval.
Her compelling singing voice demands respect: when the Chemical Brothers were
looking for a female vocalist who wouldn't be lost amid the clashing beats
and 'sturdy' male vocalists (Noel Gallagher, Bernard Sumner, Bobby Gillespie)
on their Surrender album, they chose Sandoval, writing the track Asleep From
Day especially for her.

Furthermore, her distant demeanour is no act, no rock-person aloofness. It's
not even Californian hippie-dippiness. It's just her - on stage, notoriously
silent and still between songs; nervous, halting, vague and economical with
language to the point where she misses out extraneous words such as pronouns
and conjunctions.

Even Mazzy Star selling 40,000 copies of their second album, 1993's So Tonight
That I Might See, didn't help her confidence, or feelings of insecurity. That
album's beautiful single, Fade Into You, crystallised the band's appeal.
Mazzy Star were ponderous, quiet and classic. Their music offered a welcome
respite from the grunge hordes that were at the time rampaging across the
American airwaves.

'Well, that's what people said. We just thought the music was a little bit
slower.'

A song appeared on the Batman Forever soundtrack album, but it didn't make
the finished film. 'I saw a bit of the film because the person I was with
wanted to go to the premiere. So I went, and we walked out after five minutes.
So horrible.' The premiere or film? 'Both.'

Another track featured in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty. Sandoval
managed to sit through all 119 minutes of that. Well, most of it. 'I walked
in late. I thought it was all right. I think Liv Tyler's a nice-looking girl.
Seems sweet.'

Mazzy Star took the rock world by storm, then the rock world took them.
They may have Neil Young's heavyweight management looking after them but
Mazzy Star were no big-league rock act - in fact the band's success sat
ill with Sandoval's fragile sensibility and purist personality.

'Mmm, it got a bit awkward after a while,' she murmurs, 'because it just
starts to become a sort of shallow, you know. Basically, it got a little
bit unnatural. It's much better now, now that people who come to listen
to Mazzy Star play live know that it's just not like that. They're not
gonna expect craziness or a conversation.'

The mad fools! Pity the Mazzy Star fan, too, who asks for an autograph.
Sandoval once witheringly commented that signing something was too much
like surrendering control. 'I said that? Mmm.' She gives an amused bleat.
'I mean, autographs are so funny. I don't think it's good to encourage
that sort of thing. Why do people want to have an autograph? What does
it do for you?'

It's the only physical part of someone that a fan can take away with them.
'They don't really need it. They've got the record. They've already had the
best part. It's not that big a deal. I just feel it's a little bit. . . a
little bit silly.' For some, being asked for your autograph is one of the
minor trappings of success. For Sandoval, it's a distraction. 'Having some
kind of popularity is just strange.'

Sandoval would rather not be popular. And although she is polite and
measured, she would rather avoid detail and say something is 'nice' than
get into a conversation. She can appear joyless, but really she's singularly
motivated, her own woman, her own artist, and a bit picky. It's just that
she'd prefer to sing for you than talk to you - thank goodness.

'Bavarian Fruit Bread' is released on October 22

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-2001, Oct. 23, HOPE INTERVIEW, BARNES & NOBLE

[Hope's official site, hopesandoval.com once had a working link to this article, but the link now seems dead].

Barnes & Noble, 2001, Oct. 23
RISING STAR
Mazzy Star's Seductive Chanteuse, Hope Sandoval, Makes a Stellar Solo Debut

Legions of fans remember Hope Sandoval as the velvet voice behind the surprise hit single "Fade into You"
from psychedelic folkies Mazzy Star. Since their '90s heyday and subsequent extended hiatus, the enigmatic
singer has appeared on records by the Jesus & Mary Chain and the Chemical Brothers, and has recorded with
Death in Vegas. But Mazzy Star fans have no reason to give up on Hope -- collaborating with My Bloody
Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosoig, Sandoval finds a cozy new home for her ethereal vocals on Bavarian
Fruit Bread, surrounded once again by fuzzed-out guitars and sweet, spare arrangements. The famously
reclusive singer found time to talk with Barnes & Noble.com's Lydia Vanderloo about the songs behind the
record, her various side projects, and her fond affection for British folk icon Bert Jansch.

Barnes & Noble.com: It's been about five years since the last Mazzy Star album. What have you been up to
in the meantime?

Hope Sandoval: I met Colm about 11 years ago, when I was in England, and we started to write songs
together.

B&N.com: Is it a lot different writing songs with him?

HS: It's not so different, but he's a different person and he's not a guitarist.

B&N.com: He was drummer in My Bloody Valentine, so what does he play with you?

HS: Well, he plays a lot. He started to play guitar about two years ago, and he plays drums, some bass.

B&N.com: Did you split the duties on the record? Or does he play most of the music?

HS: We split them, and we have other musicians. I play some guitar, harmonica, and the glockenspiel, but
I don't like to do that so much. I like to firstly sing. It's a lot harder for me to get into playing guitar and bass.
It's pretty pathetic, that it's really difficult for me to do both at the same time. A lot of people do it, and it's
amazing when they can do both things really well.

B&N.com: Was there anything that you've been listening to recently that you felt played a role in the way
the record sounds?

HS: Um, when we were making the record we were listening to Bert Jansch's Rosemary Lane. I love that record.
We listened to that a lot because I had this idea that I wanted to work with him. I really listened to
that record all the time and fantasized about how it would come out.

B&N.com: Did you try to get in contact with him?

HS: Yeah. He played on two songs on the record, "Butterfly Morning" and "Charlotte."

B&N.com: Wow, that's cool. Did that bring a different dynamic in, to work with someone like that?

HS: Yeah. It became so inspiring and serious. We felt like we were just a bunch of kids hanging out playing
music in our bedrooms, even though we weren't. Gosh, it's amazing. He's really nice, though. He's a really
sweet man, really quiet and really shy. We were completely blown away -- he's an amazing guitarist. It's like
a dream come true, a childhood dream that all of a sudden you're sitting there, having dinner with this
person you've been listening to for 10 or 15 years. We feel so lucky to have experienced that.

B&N.com: Did you grow up listening to a lot of folk music, or did you discover it on your own as you were
growing up?

HS: No, I didn't grow up listening to a lot of folk music, but I listened to a lot of Rolling Stones, people
like that.

B&N.com: Did you start listening to any of it later on? Nick Drake or Neil Young?

HS: Well, Neil Young, yeah. I didn't get filled in too quickly, and I really don't know that much about it.
I don't necessarily think of myself as a folk artist.

B&N.com: I think if you play an acoustic guitar, a lot of people assume you're a folk artist.

HS: Yeah, I guess so.

B&N.com: Do you play electric guitar yourself?

HS: I play, but I mostly play acoustic. That's how I write my songs.

B&N.com: Who are some of your other favorite songwriters besides Bert Jansch?

HS: Hmmm, Neil Young is a really great songwriter, and Bob Dylan is a really great songwriter.
And Beth Orton -- she's got a really nice voice.

B&N.com: She also worked with the Chemical Brothers. What was your experience, working on
"Asleep from Day," which was on their album Surrender?

HS: It was all right. I mean I was there for about an hour.

B&N.com: You came in and they said, "Sing"?

HS: Well, they sent me a tape of the music, and I thought it was really nice. It sounded a lot like Mazzy Star,
and I thought it was beautiful. I wrote my lyrics, and I went into the studio and met them. It was a little
awkward at first, because it was really bright and there were a lot of people were hanging out. Colm went
with me and we left right away -- I felt like, "Oh no, I don't think I can do it." We left the studio, and when
we came back it was dimly lit and there weren't many people. It took about an hour, and they seemed to
be happy. It was pretty easy because I had the song for about four months, so I knew it really well.

B&N.com: And you sang on a couple Jesus & Mary Chain albums, Stoned & Dethroned and Munki.

HS: Yeah, that was a really long time ago. I'm a big fan of their music. We covered one of their songs
on this record, "Drop," the first song [from 1989's Automatic]. It's one of my favorite songs that William [Reid]
wrote. We recorded it four months ago, it was the last thing we did. I think it's one of the best songs ever
written.

B&N.com: Have you done anything else that's in the works, worked with any other people?

HS: I did some work with Death in Vegas. I don't know when that's coming out. It's going to be on their
new record.

B&N.com: Is it similar things with the Chemical Brothers where you wrote your own vocal part to his song?

HS: Yeah, they sent me the music. It went really well. I knew Richard [Fearless], and I thought it might be
a good idea to do some work with him, so he sent me a tape. It was pretty easy.

B&N.com: Is it kind of fun in a way, like a little vacation? A work vacation?

HS: Yeah, it's exciting to get music from somebody that you don't really know that well and they just send
you their music, and you have the opportunity to come up with your own ideas around it. I like that. I really
love the music, and it's exciting to me to come up with a new idea.

B&N.com: Is there anybody you would just love to do that with? To have send you music?

HS: I'd like to do that with Bert Jansch. The work that we did, he's playing my songs. But I'd like to do that
with his music. We've talked about doing it, but it hasn't happened yet.

October 23, 2001
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-2001, OCT. 28, HOPE SANDOVAL INTERVIEW, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A ... 863758.php
[hopesandoval.com also has the text of this article.
One photo accompanies the original article]:

Image

San Francisco Chronicle
A new Hope rises / Mazzy Star's Sandoval makes a solo statement
Neva Chonin, Chronicle Pop Music Critic
Sunday, October 28, 2001

It's almost uncanny. Even with bright afternoon sunlight as a backdrop,

Hope Sandoval looks ethereal as she hurries into San Francisco's Liberties pub 45 minutes late for her interview.
The effect is partly physical: The singer a critic once described as "too fragile for this world" is indeed a
lithe slip of a thing in her cotton summer dress, with a face almost pre-Raphaelite in its delicacy.

Sandoval's wraith-like aura is also accentuated by a conversational style so cryptic it borders on verbal shorthand. She explains her tardiness in three shy words: "Traffic," she says. "The bridge."

The once and future singer of the neo-psychedelic cult band Mazzy Star moved to the East Bay from Los Angeles in the mid-1990s because, she says, the area seemed "nice." She currently divides her time between Berkeley and London.

On this particular afternoon, she's made the grueling journey across the Bay Bridge to promote last week's release of "Bavarian Fruit Bread" (Rough Trade/Sanctuary Records), the CD she recorded with the Warm Inventions, her solo project with ex-My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosoig.

Recorded in Oakland, London and Oslo, "Bavarian Fruit Bread" picks up where the Warm Inventions' 2000 EP,
"At the Doorway Again," left off. It's as dreamily atmospheric and lovelorn as any Mazzy Star album, but replaces that band's layered, trippy arrangements with a relatively Spartan mix of guitar, harmonica, keyboards, strings and Sandoval's gently wafting voice. It's certainly miles away from the walls of shimmering distortion O'Ciosoig helped create as a member of My Bloody Valentine.

Sandoval, speaking one decibel above a whisper as she nurses a glass of white wine, says that the album's songs
-- one of which, the opening track "Drop," features her ex-boyfriend, former Jesus and Mary Chain guitarist William Reid, as co-writer -- "just came together that way. We liked the way they sounded in rehearsal and didn't want to do too much to them." A little laugh. "They're definitely less layered than Colm's band. (My Bloody Valentine) would have had 20 guitars one on top of the other."

The Warm Inventions co-founders met through a mutual friend four years ago. At the time Sandoval was freshly on hiatus from her role as lead chanteuse for Mazzy Star, the band she and David Roback formed in 1989 out of Los Angeles' "paisley underground" scene, which also produced bands such as the Dream Syndicate, Opal and Rain Parade.

Mazzy Star soon expanded beyond the borders of Southern California's neo- psychedelia. After releasing an acclaimed debut album, "She Hangs Brightly" on Rough Trade in 1990, Roback and Sandoval (backed by supporting musicians) signed with Capitol for their second album, 1993's "So Tonight That I Might See." That CD went platinum when its hypnotic, distortion-drenched guitars and Sandoval's echoing, languid tales of love and longing began circulating on MTV and started a cult following that remains active five years after the last Mazzy Star album, "Among My Swan."

These days most fans consider Mazzy a revered slice of music history, but Sandoval insists the band is alive and well, albeit moving in slow motion. She and Roback, who lives in Norway, have been working on a new album, and last year the two played seven London shows that mixed new songs with older material.

"We've always had big gaps between records," Sandoval explains. "Generally we just play music when we feel like it." Has the Mazzy sound changed much in the past five years? "It'll definitely have heavy guitar and a lot of piano, but we're still working on it. We'll see what happens."

When it's released -- recording is in the early stages, and no date is set - - the new album will mark the band's return to its original label, Rough Trade, which is also releasing "Bavarian Fruit Bread." Mazzy Star's deal with Capitol Records ended, none too happily, in 1996, and Sandoval says she's relieved to be returning to the indie-label fold.

During the indie-chic of the early '90s, "it seemed record companies wanted bands to be creative because they didn't know how to manufacture underground music," she recalls. "We could do our own thing and go at our own pace. But that changed when major labels started wanting bands that would sell 7 million records. They had a formula. And suddenly all these people wanted to come to the studio to keep track of what we were doing and make sure we were following that formula. So we got out."

That determination is as much a part of Sandoval as her wispy voice: She might look and sound fragile, but she
consistently does things her way, from performing shows in near darkness and avoiding the press to recording demo tapes while still a teenager. Raised in East Los Angeles, she began taking guitar classes at 13 and eventually formed the folk group Going Home with her best friend. One of their cassettes made its way to Roback, then a member of Opal, and he went on to produce a (never released) album for the duo. He and Sandoval formed the core of Mazzy Star soon afterward.

Mazzy soon earned a reputation for its frosty live shows, typified by low lights and Sandoval's pronounced unease.
Now, as she and O'Ciosoig assemble a band and begin rehearsals for a tour in support of "Bavarian Fruit Bread," the stage-shy singer confesses she still feels awkward.

"It's not so easy to get up in front of people and perform music that's so personal," she says. "People are used to having a physical performance. I just stand there, and I don't talk. There's a lot of pressure to chit chat with the audience. But when they're in school, people don't want to get up in front of their classroom when they have to talk about themselves or a project. It's always nerve-racking, don't you think? That's why I like to keep it as dark as possible, because it's better when I can't see the audience."

Still, Sandoval is excited about the process of putting together a band and hopeful that performing with the Warm Inventions will prove as "fun" as her London appearances with Roback. Asked if the two Mazzy Star founders have plans for any more performances before releasing their next album, Sandoval can only shrug.

"As long as we're friends, we'll play music together," she replies, managing to sound both maddeningly vague and
perfectly sensible at the same time. "We just want to explore, you know?"
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2001, NOV. 1, BILLBOARD, HOPE & COLM INTERV.

[This was found at Billboard's site, here:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/ ... eaks-bread
No photos accompany the original article]

Billboard, 2001, Nov.1

Hope Sandoval Breaks 'Bread'

Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval clearly doesn't like doing interviews. In New York to talk about her new solo
album, "Bavarian Fruit Bread" -- released Oct. 23 by Rough Trade/Sanctuary, and credited to Hope Sandoval
and the Warm Inventions -- she seems eager to do just about anything else: stare out the window, twist her hair, straighten her shirt.

She's met questions about herself, her songwriting, and even "Bavarian Fruit Bread" with blank stares and
awkward silences. But, alas, we have finally stumbled across something that's caught her attention -- Mazzy
Star's success and how being on a major-label has negatively affected her life. Not exactly what we're looking for, but we'll take it -- we'll take anything at this point.

"The larger the band gets, the more people from the label get involved," Sandoval muses of the MTV-driven
success of Mazzy Star, which scored a modern rock hit in 1993 with the lovely "Fade Into You," from the
group's Capitol album "So Tonight That I Might See." "All of a sudden, you become this sort of commodity.
You're not really looked at as a person."

Tough nut somewhat cracked, Sandoval explains that the duo's rise from obscurity to the point where she
found herself being unwillingly photographed while dining at an outdoor cafe in her native Los Angeles has
played a major role in the group -- composed of Sandoval and guitarist David Roback -- deciding to take
some time off.

"It wasn't so inspiring," she says. "Both David and I wanted to get back into music. It just wasn't a very good
place. Also, I just felt like I wanted to be alone for a while and I think David felt the same." Though she and
Roback split songwriting duties, the petite singer adds, "I think I was just very interested in playing my songs."

Though she's not much interested in providing details, Sandoval says "Bavarian" has given her a chance to
explore vocal melodies and handle guitar duties.

More atmospheric and ethereal than the blues and folk-based material Sandoval's written with Roback,
"Bavarian" includes a few songs that predate the 12-year-old Mazzy Star, including the sweet "Suzanne."

But most of the album -- which includes "Drop," a song written by former Jesus and Mary Chain leader
William Reed, with whom Sandoval dueted on the track "Sometimes Always" on that band's 1994 album
"Stoned & Dethroned" -- was written and recorded over the past two years in Oslo, London, and San
Francisco, where Sandoval now lives.

Lending a songwriting hand, as well as guitar and bass, on the 11-song affair is former My Bloody Valentine
member Colm O'Ciosoig, with whom Sandoval will play small venues in the U.S. and U.K. to support
"Bavarian."

After meeting at a Snowpony show in London about three years ago, the two found that the music each
had been writing simply "meshed" quite well. O'Ciosoig, with not much to add himself, says he found the
experience to be refreshing. "It was inspiring. The sounds that she was coming up with were really beautiful."
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2001, NOVEMBER 7, EAST BAY EXPRESS, interv. w. Hope & Colm
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/ ... id=1066411
[one photo accompanies this article ]

Magick Power
Introducing Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
By Eric Shea

Image
Caption: She hangs brightly

On the way to a San Francisco cafe in the Duboce Triangle, Hope Sandoval laughs out loud.
The journalist I talked to before you was really nice, but he called me the 'goth-rock
poster girl.' Can you believe that?!"

Of course you can't -- Sandoval's style and smile do not carry one hint of gothic melodrama.
She's elegant and engaging with a sweet-tempered laugh; she obviously doesn't take herself
as seriously as some of her more excitable fans do. But, as anyone with a Mazzy Star CD in
his or her collection knows, behind Sandoval's dainty speaking voice is one of the last in
a handful of artists who take music quite seriously.

Those who have all three Mazzy Star CDs might also know that Sandoval's bewitchingly breathy
singing first accompanied David Roback's velvet-reverb guitar tones in the band Opal during
the late '80s (following Kendra Smith's sudden departure from the band). Sandoval and Roback
played some live shows as Opal before putting the band to rest and starting anew with Mazzy
Star. They then released the ashen She Hangs Brightly, and the romantic So Tonight That I
Might See, building a strong cult following until "Fade into You" got more spins than a drunk
punk on payday. By the time that song climbed the alternative and college charts, Mazzy Star
was almost a common household (and dorm-room) name. Then the wintry Among My Swan was released
in 1996. The band became a sect phenomenon and then just seemed to disappear, dropping out of
the public eye's peripheral vision like a vanishing ghost.

During her long absence from the pages of music magazines, Internet rumors about Sandoval began
circulating. One was that she was recording with Jason Pierce and Spiritualized (actually, she
recorded a song on the Chemical Brothers' album Together, which sounds a lot like a Spiritualized
song). Another rumor stated that she was recording with the LA trio Acetone (this actually
almost happened). And then there was the story that she and My Bloody Valentine drummer
Colm O'Ciosoig were living in the Berkeley hills, putting together and recording a new project
under the name Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions (this happens to be true).

O'Ciosoig, the drummer who is partially responsible for making teenagers and twentysomethings
deaf in the late '80s and early '90s, is indeed Sandoval's musical companion and housemate.
Sandoval pursued him at a Snowpony show in London and soon the both of them began plotting a
project that has been in the works for the past two years. Sandoval brings voice and songs to
O'Ciosoig's band, and in turn he will be providing rhythm for future Mazzy Star endeavors.
But Mazzy Star's ongoing musical legacy isn't of immediate importance to either of them;
this is the time for new ideas, grand collaborations, and warm inventions.

"When I met Colm he was just getting into working with his band, the Warm Inventions," says
Sandoval. "I was about to work with Acetone, but it just didn't happen. So Colm and his friends
and I recorded a few songs together and it really just worked out well." Sandoval had come
close to rolling tape with the slow-burning tones of the underrated Acetone, whose gifted lead
singer Richie Lee committed suicide on July 23rd of this year.

"It's a real tragedy. I think they were one of the best bands. I was so excited about
working with [them]," she says. "[Mazzy Star] did two tours with them and it was unbelievable.
They mesmerized everyone; they're just amazing and beautiful people -- especially Richie.
He was so talented."

Sandoval realized, however, that she wanted to make not just three or four songs but what
she calls a "whole-sounding record."

Indeed, from the opening acoustic-strummed chimes of "Drop" (the best Jesus and Mary Chain
cover since Primal Scream's hypnotic rendition of "Darklands"), Hope Sandoval & the Warm
Inventions have rendered an aurally indulgent album of timeless tastes and gorgeous songs.
Their rich chemistry plays on the inspiration of something new, and produces a unified sound
of seasoned tunesmiths. Bavarian Fruit Bread is garnished with floating strings, warm keys,
harmonica drones, and subtly intricate rhythms and tranquilizing vocals; there is not a
grain of musical filler, not a moment wasted. As well, they got British folk god Bert
Jansch to record with them.

"He's a genius and a pioneer," says Sandoval. "He just made up all those parts for
'Butterfly Mornings,' and it's so amazing because I think that his playing is his own
interpretation of a floating butterfly.... I was in tears after every session with him.
I was crying to Colm and saying, 'This is totally unbelievable.'"

"[Jansch] would just begin picking something on his acoustic guitar," says O'Ciosoig,
"and suddenly all this sound would open up around him. He can make one guitar sound like
an entire symphony."

Sandoval recalls a mid-'90s London show that Mazzy Star played with Jansch, a Pentangle
cofounder. She gave him a demo tape of some of her songs. They got in touch when the
recordings for Bavarian Fruit Bread first began to materialize. Needless to say, Sandoval
was a bit starstruck.

"I've been into his music for so many years," she says, "and all of a sudden he was there
and we were having dinner. It's like if you're a fan of Jimi Hendrix or Keith Richards or
Brian Jones, and then you're sitting at a table with them."

She recalls their first private meeting with clarity: "Within the first fifteen minutes that
Bert came over, we all sat down on the sofa. Everybody was so nervous. And he pulls out the
guitar to tune it and everybody's just sort of quiet and sitting there on the sofa. David
[Roback] is a huge fan as well. He has this flat in Oslo, Norway that overlooks a beautiful
park across the street. And we were just sort of facing the window and Bert starts to play.
\David and I just looked at each other. It was so amazing. And later David asked him, 'When
was the first time you ever picked up a guitar?' When David asked him that I just got so
emotional -- here we were sitting at the dinner table with Bert Jansch and he started to
talk about the first time he ever played the guitar. He told us that his mother bought
him a kit. It was a 'Make Your Own Spanish Guitar' kit."

Although a few tracks for Bavarian Fruit Bread were recorded at Roback's Oslo studio, this
was definitely not a Mazzy Star effort. "Mazzy Star is a much more tight and very small
circle of people," says Sandoval. "A lot of them are people that David had been working
with even before he and I worked together. I love all those people. But I come from a
different kind of music. David comes from the Rain Parade and Opal. I came from Going Home,
a much mellower and more acoustic kind of project that I had with my best friend Sylvia."

On her most recent and ethereal endeavor, Sandoval hoped to traverse the regions of her
own music, curious to see how it fared in the hands of other musicians. "It's been nice
to sort of go back to that in a way -- to play my little songs," she says. "I wanted to
play my music and explore it with other musicians, because I've only played with the
musicians in Mazzy Star and, of course, Sylvia. I really wanted to experiment and see
what would happen. Plus Mazzy Star became this big deal and things got a bit strange."

The sudden rise in Mazzy Star's popularity made it more difficult for Sandoval to work
with some people in the music industry. "It's an awkward place to be. Suddenly there are
so many eyes on you. You have this sense that there are certain people paying attention
all of the sudden. And then people at Capitol Records would buy our shows out."

When a major-label band lands a radio hit, Hollywood industry heads are notorious for
sometimes buying out the majority of tickets to a show. These tickets are then usually
dispersed among other industry folks, turning what should be a normal gig into a schmoozy
showcase with the band thrown into a compromising position as hired background noise.
O'Ciosoig faced similar problems once My Bloody Valentine began to sell out American venues.

"It's like the first few rows of the audience would be made up of industry people, because
they would buy those entire rows out," says O'Ciosoig. "It's like you're becoming a court
musician rather than a club musician -- as if you're playing in courts for kings and
queens like a minstrel or a bard. It becomes less personal and less about the music."

"We would fight this all the time," says Sandoval, "because Capitol would buy out a small
club and start giving tickets away. Our manager would be on the phone with them nonstop,
saying, 'No, you can't do that. We can't allow you to do this.' And it became awkward
telling the record company, 'No, we don't want you to buy our show out.' We would play
a 300-capacity club, which was totally easy for the label to fill up. It became a constant
battle for us, and [the label] would say, 'Oh, they're being really difficult again.'
When you won't budge from your original ideas, you often become perceived as 'difficult'
to some in the music industry. Other than that, Capitol was really a nice label, but it
just turned into something else. Different people got involved -- a whole set of different
people that we didn't know, and I don't think they really had the kind of respect that
the first people showed."

But those days of disrespect and difficulty are behind them. Hope Sandoval & the Warm
Inventions are now signed to Rough Trade. And in today's climate of major-label money
hoarding, Sandoval seems satisfied to be back on the indie circuit where she and O'Ciosoig
have the freedom to let new ideas materialize in the form of a new band.

"It was really nice to do something with people I don't think I would have worked with if
it was a Mazzy Star project," she says. "It's a team, you know? You have to agree on things,
and sometimes people don't agree on everything. I think Colm and I had the same attitude on
this record about working with different people. And if you truly enjoy playing music, it
just makes sense to play with more than one group of people."

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2001, Nov. 30 HOPE INTERVIEW, LUNA KAFE

http://www.lunakafe.com/moon63/usca63.php
[One photo accompanies the online interview]

Luna Kafe, Nov. 30, 2001

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
Words of Hope
The Mother of Inventions and her simple plans

Image

A lot of rumours circulate about Hope Sandoval, the enigmatic singer from the amazing Mazzy Star. For instance, apparently she's not talking to David Roback anymore and Mazzy Star broke up. She's also said to be the worst interview partner, because she basically doesn't talk AT ALL. And she didn't even manage to finish her "solo" album, which was to be her first full-length release after Mazzy Star's 1996 Among My Swan. Well, it's all lies basically. Despite the fact that it's been a year since Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions - featuring erstwhile My Bloody Valentine member Colm O'Ciosoig and as a guest star British folk legend Bert Jansch - released their debut EP, their first album (Bavarian Fruit Bread - to be reviewed next full moon) was actually released on Rough Trade in late November and there's also a new Mazzy Star record in the works, possibly for release in 2002. And Hope also turned out be a shy, but very charming interview partner when she recently called me from San Francisco. Okay, so she wasn't exactly talking, only whispering at first and talked VERY slowly, but after a little warm up there were no signs of any kinda deep resentments against the media.

LuKa: You are much more the focal point of this new band (hence the name) - how democratic is the group?

Hope: "Colm and I did most of the music, although we wrote a couple of the songs with some other people,
like Colm's band mates. We also covered two songs, one that William Reid wrote [the Jesus And Mary Chain
obscurity, "Drop," that appeared as a CD-only bonus track on the band's 1989 record Automatic, and "Butterfly Mornings."

LuKa: While the William Reid song didn't come as a surprise [William and Hope apparently used to date], the other choice was a bit weird, since the other song stems from the soundtrack of a Sam Peckinpah movie, The Ballad Of Cable Hogue. And Peckinpah, best known for his excessive use of violence couldn't be further removed artistically from you. So was it just the song that attracted you or the movie or even its director?

Hope: "I just really love this song and I didn't quite know what the chords were so I made up my own and we played the song all the time and then I thought it would be nice to record it and I send a tape of the song to Bert Jansch and he really liked it. I was pretty happy that he came out and recorded with us."

LuKa: But how did you get in touch with a legend like Jansch? I guess he's probably not listed in the phone book...

Hope: "Well, Mazzy Star played a show with Bert Jansch a few back and Geoff Travis from Rough Trade knew his manager and so... Plus I would go to his shows and he remembered me from the show that we did together, so I asked him if he would be into the idea of playing some music with me and he said: 'Yeah, just send me the tape with the music! I'll let you know what I think' and I sent him and he really liked it!"

LuKa: Is Jansch really topping your list of 'people I want to work with'?

Hope: "Yeah, I think he's probably the best guitarist in the world and he's very inspiring, he's a very special person."

LuKa: Taking of inspiration: Could it be that your influences and your sources of inspiration have changed somewhat over the last five years or so? At least the new album seems to have a bigger folk element to it than the "psychedelic" Mazzy Star albums. Is that just because David Roback isn't on the album or does that reflect a change in your personal interests?

Hope: "Yeah, I think so! My first group was more acoustic music, when I first met David that's what I was doing. When we started to work together I was in a band that played more rock with a hint of acoustic sounds - and I love both. But the acoustic thing is how I started out and maybe that's why the new record does have more of an acoustic side to it than some of the Mazzy Star record."

LuKa: Does that mean you had to make less compromises on this album?

Hope: "I think with Mazzy Star we always do what Colm and I did on this record as well: We just chose songs that we really liked and played them we way wanted to hear them. A song like Suzanne - we thought about doing it with the whole band, but then we felt that it sounded nicer this [stripped down] way and we just left it."

LuKa: People have been wondering why it takes you so long to come up with a new album. It's been over five years since the last Mazzy Star album. Do you have a problem with finding the right moment to stop?

Hope: "A lot of musicians can work on a record forever if given the opportunity, but I think it's also good to decide that you're finished and then it's probably better to work on something new."

LuKa: You've recorded a number of songs on the new album in Luna Kafé country, Oslo to be precise. Why?

Hope: "David, my partner in Mazzy Star, spends a lot of time there, so he invited us out there to visit and spend time and of course David and I are working on the next Mazzy Star record. So it was kinda to do work with Mazzy Star and then we flew Bert Jansch out to Oslo and we did his recordings there, because it made more sense then for him to come all the way to San Francisco. We also spend a lot of time in England, where Colm lives. We basically recorded wherever we were."

LuKa: The last time Mazzy Star played together was on a very low-key European tour last year and you seem to keep a very low "public profile". So do you see interviews and other promotional duties as a necessary evil as well, that you rather would avoid?

Hope: "Sometimes for me interviews can be difficult. You sit down with a person you don't know and you have this anxious feeling that you don't know what the person's gonna come away saying and there are so many times where a journalist will come away and really just be vicious and nobody wants to sit down and anticipate that sort of thing. That's what makes it awkward for a lot of musicians. Sometimes you have a nice time and you talk and the person is fair, but then sometimes they don't like you and they don't want to be nice and friendly."

LuKa: So what the media says about you really does affect you? Do you read a lot of the things that get written about you?

Hope: "It's not so good to get too involved in it. I read some things when we got some press in Mazzy Star but after a while I just didn't bother, because if you get too involved you get caught up in really believing whatever they are writing. But it's only based on a meeting you have with somebody for an hour and it's practically impossible to really know person in an hour!"

LuKa: Media people aside, do you notice a difference between your audiences in, say England, mainland Europe or America?

Hope: "Yeah, sometimes when we play more pop-oriented cities like London or L.A. or New York it's very different than playing a place like Oslo or somewhere in Sweden or Italy. It could be that there is just so much happening in places like London, they have so much to choose from, they get bored more easily. I don't know what it is, but there are differences."

LuKa: Last question: With a Warm Inventions tour coming up in late January - do you see this current album just as the next step or is that going to be an important deciding factor where you go from here?

Hope: "Well, it's just a collection of songs and there's so many songs and so many more songs to write! (laughs)
The next step is to finish up the next Mazzy Star that we've already started. It's basically a very simple plan!"

Copyright © 2001 Carsten Wohlfeld
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2001, NOV., SHOUT MAG., INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM

[Text from this article was found at hopesandoval.com]

Hope Sandoval Interview

Shout, Nov. 2001

Hope Against Hope ... Has Mazzy Star Returned?
by Ron Hart

A hefty portion of us who were teens in the early nineties lost our virginity to one of two sounds: either that
of a sensual balladeer working under the banner Mazzy Star, or the cacophonous rebellion of a feedback outfit
named My Bloody Valentine. They addressed, in opposite ways, a feeling of momentousness tempered by
confusion -- and therein lies their appeal. Mazzy Star chanteuse Hope Sandoval offered a voice that massaged
the troubles of coming of age, while MBV offered release. Since that adolescent turning point, most of us
may have felt similar periods of confusion or import, but likely nothing that hastens a collective coming of
age quite the way the last couple months have. Likewise, since 1996, neither Sandoval nor MBV have made
as much as a blip on the radar screen. Now, with the release of Bavarian Fruit Bread, and under the moniker
of Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, the bands are back, at least in some form. Joined by MBV
drummer Colm O'Ciosoig, Sandoval is set to release the album that fans of both bands expect to be their
return -- or better yet, a bastard child collaboration of the two artists' former selves. In fact, it's neither.

Sparser, lighter and undoubtedly more rustic than the dreamy psychedelia of classic Mazzy albums like She
Hangs Brightly and So Tonight That I Might See, the curiously titled Bavarian Fruit Bread sounds more like
a shoegazing version of some Leonard Cohen afterworld. But for O'Ciosoig, the opportunity to create
something outside his sonic demographic was very enriching.

"The old stuff is great," he muses with regard to inspirations for BFB's eclecticism. "The quality of the oldies,
how they came out, seems like it got lost somewhere along the way. You wonder if it's lost in the psyche of
the fact that people have just gotten lazy. In the 40's and 50's, the influences of making great music with
other people were so much more relevant than they are today, be it jazz or blues or folk. But it seems like
[modern technology] has chipped away a lot of the artistry."

For Sandoval, who wrote the majority of BFB over the course of her four-year, unexplained hiatus from the
music business, one of the primary milestones of the recording process was working with, in addition to
O'Ciosoig, one of her favorite British folk guitar greats Bert Jansch.

"I don'’t play guitar very well," proclaims Sandoval. "So I asked Bert while I was working on the songs for
this album if he would be into playing on some of them. I sent him a tape and he really liked it, and said
he would do it."

Sandoval first met Jansch when Mazzy Star played a double bill with him during the Among My Swan tour.
On Fruit Bread, Jansch's legendary fretwork marks a number of tracks, including the haunting "Charlotte,"
one of Sandoval's most arresting ballads since "Fade Into You."

Sandoval says she was so pleased with the sessions between Jansch and The Warm Inventions that she might
record with him once again as a duo. "But this time it'll be a bit different because he'll be writing all the
music," she says. "For the tracks he did on Bavarian Fruit Bread, I wrote the songs. So next time it'll be all his
music."

Undoubtedly, some of Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine fans will be disappointed, if not just surprised,
by the unexpected sound of the collaboration. In fact, posts on various newsgroups and fan sites are decidedly
split on the union, having caught an early glimpse of The Warm Inventions in the form of a four-song,
import EP released last year entitled At The Doorway Again.

"It's okay, but not as moody and psychedelic as Mazzy Star," explains one poster in a Mazzy Star newsgroup.
A person writing under the handle The Other White Meat on the newsgroup fa.music.ecto champions
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions "as languid as Mazzy Star, but more liquid."

Like most artists who refuse to speak on past milestones in their careers, Sandoval and O'Ciosoig, sitting in
the Belmont Lounge in one of their first encounters with the press in quite some time, are reluctant to speak
of how the union relates to their former bands. "We're just doing the kind of music that we like doing
together," explains O'Ciosoig. "This is not some stiff, radio-ready pop record. We like all the rough edges.
It's real music, y'know. Just as long as it's not forced. If its natural, and the musicians playing the music are
enjoying it for what it is worth and what it should be, then it's gonna be alright."

They do begrudgingly admit to staying in touch with former bandmates on a personal level. O'Ciosoig
confesses to meeting up with ex-partner Kevin Shields every now and again for a beer, and Sandoval
stays in touch with her old Mazzy Star mate Dave Roback. Nevertheless, there's no sign of any imminent
reunion between the duo. But for the legions of followers who still keep the memories of Hope Sandoval's and
Colm O'Ciosoig's previous ventures in their apartments and bedrooms, online and off, no need to worry.
The chemistry between them quintessentially works under the banner of Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions.

"It's a great bread," Sandoval muses with regard to the album's title. "You really ought to try it sometime."
With the need now more than ever to return to the sounds of comfort and catharsis, her timing couldn't
be better.

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2002, JAN. 3, ROLLING STONE (GERMAN VERSION), HOPE INTERV.

[This is an English translation - hopefully not too inaccurate - from the German I pieced together from a few different translation sites. Following it is a scan of the original article in German, followed by German text of it]

Stubborn.
She speaks reluctantly, but musically,
without Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval has a lot to say.

The extremely introverted half of Mazzy Star, now solo:
Hope Sandoval.

If reports from many music journalists are to be believed, you
should already be happy if she says anything at all. She is known to
speak in half sentences, and is even said to have given phone
interviews in which the silent half of Mazzy Star said not a word
in half an hour.

Now, beguiling in her mid-thirties, she has the quite unpleasant
task, after five years since the last Mazzy Star
album, Among my Swan, of promoting new songs. At least the surroundings
are agreeable: Hope sits at home in Berkeley while her cat meows
over the phone even louder than she is able to speak.

But anyway, she speaks! "The fact that my new material so similar
sounding to Mazzy Star is so obvious as it is logical.
This time I worked, not with David Roback, but with Colm O'Ciosoig,
and we wanted to come up with a new [band] name. The name was Colm's idea,
and I like it because it includes all the other musicians who were involved
in making Bavarian Fruit Bread."

There were a total of eleven people involved, counting
O'Ciosoig (formerly of My Bloody Valentine), and surprisingly,
the legendary Bert Jansch. The now 59-year-old, born in Scotland,
whose idiosyncratic music one should shy away from calling
simply "folk", is on the Bavarian Fruit Bread recordings. "He is perhaps
the most outstanding guitarist there is in the world, and I am a big fan of his,"
says Hope in excited whispers. She is also an enthusiatic admirer of the
Rolling Stones.

"I sent a tape to him [Jansch] in London. He liked it, and played guitar
on two of my songs. We are both very shy and were, when recording the
songs in Oslo, accordingly nervous. However the tension that arose as
a result of that had a very positive impact on the music on the album."

Hope is happy new material from Mazzy Star should be forthcoming
next year, although she does not wish to reveal much information about it.

Also, the bread that gives the album its quirky title is regularly available
across many parts of Europe. The story behind the title of Bavarian Fruit Bread
is, to Hope, too private to tell. Just like the rumours she and her Mazzy Star
partner David Roback were once a couple. "If two people are together making
music, that's a very intimate affair. That's all I want to say, no more,"
Hope barely audible, while the cat is meanwhile satisfied and
asleep. -JAN WIGGER

Image

Widerspenstig
Sie spricht ungerne, doch musikalisch hat Hope Sandoval.
auch ohne Mazzy Star viel zu sagen.

Die extrem introvertierte Halfte von Mazzy Star, jetzt sol:
Hope Sandoval.

Schenkt man den Berichten zahlreicher Musikjournalisten Glauben,
so sollte man schon froh darüber sein, wenn sie überhaupt etwas sagt.
Von widerwillig hingeworfnen Halbsätzen war die Rede, es soll sogar
Telefoninterviews gegeben haben , in denen die stille Hälfte von
Mazzy Star in einer halben Stunde nicht ein einziges Wort gesagt
haben soll.

Nun muss es der betörenden Mittdreißigerin ja recht unangenehm
sein, geschlagene funf Jahre nach dem letzten Mazzy Star album
Among My Swan, neue Stücke zu promoten. Wenigstens die Umgebung
stimmt: Hope sitzt zu Hause in Berkeley, durchs Telefon maunzt
sogar ihre Katze lauter, als sie selbst in Stande ist zu sprechen.
Aber immerhin: Sie spricht! "Dass mein neues Material so ähnlich
klingt wie Mazzy Star, ist so offensichtlich wie logisch. Da ich
diesmal nicht mit David Roback, sondern mit Colm O'Ciosoig
zusammengearbeitet habe wollten wir dem Kind aber einen anderen
Namen geben. Der Name war Colms Idee, und ich mag ihn, weil
er auch all die anderen Musiker, die an, Bavarian Fruit Bread
beteiligt waren, mit einschließt."

Zu den insgesamt elf beteiligten Personen zählte neben
O'Ciosoig (ehemals My Bloody Valentine) überraschenderweise
soger der legendäre Bert Jansch. Der mittlerweile 59-jährige
gebürtige Schotte, dessen eigenwillige Musik schlicht "Folk" zu
nennen man sich scheuen sollte, war bei den Aufnahmen zu,
Bavarian Fruit Bread mindestens genauso aufgeregt wie Hope Sandoval
selbst "Er ist möglicherweise der hervorragendste Gitarrist, den
es auf der Welt gibt, und ich bin seine großster Fan," haucht Hope, außerdem
eine fantasische Verehrerin der Rolling Stones, begeistert,
"Ich schickte ihm ein Tape nach London, er mochte es
und spielte auf zwei meiner Songs Gitarre. Wir sind beide sehr
schüchtern und waren beim Einspielen der Stücke in Oslo
dementsprechend nervös. Doch die Spannung, die dadurch
enstand, hatte eine sehr positive Auswirkung auf das
Album."

Daruber, dass es im nächsten Jahr endlich wieder neues Material
von Mazzy Star gebeb soll, gibt Hope Sandoval noch gern, wenngleich
gewhont kurzangebunden, Auskunft. Auch das Brot, das Bavarian
Fruit Bread seinen skurrilen Titel gab, sei zumindest in weiten
Teilen Europas regulär erhältlich. Die Geschichte dahinter sei
ihr jedoch zu privat. Genau wie die Gerüchte, sie und ihr Mazzy
Star partner David Roback seien auch privat ein Paar. "Wenn man
zusammen Musik macht, dann ist das immer eine sehr gefuhlsbetonte und
intime Angelegenheit. Mehr möchte ich dazu nicht sagen." Hope
kichert kaum vernehmbar, die Katze ist derweil zufrieden
eingeschlafen. -JAN WIGGER
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2002, JANUARY, FLAUNT MAG., INTERVIEW W. HOPE & COLM O'CIOSOIG

[This text version was found at Hope's official site here:
http://www.hopesandoval.com/press/flaunt0102.shtml . The original article apparently had photos too
but I can't find the original online ]

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
by Aldin Vaziri, Photography by Koyoko Hamada

When Hope Sandoval and Colm O'Ciosoig, her musical partner in the Warm Inventions,
were working on their debut album, Bavarian Fruit Bread, they spent a lot of time
sleeping. It's not so much that the music on the record, all whisper-sung vocals
and deliberately-plucked acoustic guitars, lulled them into an irrevocable slumber.
It's just that the duo, wayward members of languorous independent rock icons
Mazzy Star and My Blood Valentine, respectively, found most of their inspiration
in that hazy place between the real world and slumberland. "I dream a lot about
singing well," Sandoval says. O'Ciosoig, meanwhile, claims that sometimes songs
came to him fully-formed while he was dead to the world. "It's happened a couple
times," he sniffs. "I dream the most amazing stuff."

Despite the seemingly tossed-off title, Bavarian Fruit Bread is a gorgeous record,
a low-key collection of back-porch ballads arranged with the sort of shadowy ambiance
listeners have come to expect from its two primary players. "It's a clear day out,"
Sandoval sings over and over on "Clear Day," but her weary, distant voice gives no
indication that she is interested in experiencing it herself. Later, on the
harmonica and pedal-steel adorned "On The Low," her vague, bluesy drawl deflates
with the resignation of lost love. "All this time I always held the light on for
you/But I know I'm a fool." Let's be blunt. This is the kind of howling detachment
and anxiety that you can only deal with when you're half-asleep.

Sitting at the farthest corner table of a small San Francisco coffee shop, comfortably
out of reach from the late-summer sunshine, Sandoval and O'Ciosoig, much like
"Tears of a Clown," and so on -- isn't helping O'Ciosoig's hangover. Nor is it
conducive to picking up Sandoval's barely audible words. But they are trying their
best. The duo just returned from Norway, where they finished mastering the last
few songs on Bavarian Fruit Bread. Later today, they will go over to their friend's
house to oversee the final details of the album artwork. They say they never really
intended to record together, and actually knew each other a full year before
even contemplating a collaboration. "We mostly just hung out and went to pubs and
listened to records," Sandoval says. "I don't even really remember the first time
we played together. All I remember is that it just seemed right and I felt
comfortable enough to open up."

Recorded around the world whenever they felt inclined to enter the studio, culled from
a jumble of tapes they had simply acquired, and completed entirely without label
involvement (they signed to Rough Trade after finishing the album), the process of
putting Bavarian Fruit Bread together marks a distinct change of pace for both Sandoval
and O'Ciosoig. "It's been nice," she says. "These are little songs that don't have to
be layered -- I love Mazzy Star's music, but it's nice to do something more subtle
and understated." O'Ciosoig -- veteran of My Bloody Valentine's stop-start, white-noise
symphonies and insanely extravagant production sessions -- tentatively nods in agreement.
"Sometimes it's little bit hard for me to slow down," he says.

The coffee house stereo has mercilessly moved on to a room-clearing B-52's track.
And just when it's time to move on, Sandoval and O'Ciosoig open up more than you would
ever expect. "Hope's great," he says, head slouching forward. "Colm's great," she says.
And it's not so much the words as the flash in their eyes that makes the heart sink for
one breathless moment. "We're totally inspired by each other," O'Ciosoig says.
"That's the key to the record."

Nobody would doubt them.

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2002, AUG. 15, DENVER WESTWORD. HOPE INTERV.

hopesandoval.com has a link to the original site's article, here:
http://www.westword.com/2002-08-15/musi ... invention/
One photo accompanies the article]

Image
[The caption under the photo reads: "HOPE SANDOVAL MAKES BAVARIAN FRUIT BREAD RISE"]

Mother of Invention
Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval warms up to a new project.
By Kurt Brighton Thursday, Aug 15 2002

Throughout the '90s with Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval's voice combined with
David Roback's shimmering, darkly psychedelic slide guitar to create some
of the most memorable indie music to come out of Los Angeles's so-called
paisley underground. It wasn't exactly a rocket ride to the top: The
band's flirtation with recognition was almost as languorous as Sandoval's
vocal style.

Mazzy Star's debut, She Hangs Brightly, came out on Rough Trade Records
in 1990, after which the label's American arm promptly folded. The band
was picked up by Capitol, which released So Tonight That I Might See in
1993. The album caught the ears of college-radio listeners and spawned a
minor hit with "Fade Into You," which cracked the Top 40 a year later.

Mazzy Star has been hidden so far underground for so long that many people
assume it's gone up to that great gig in the sky. After all, the band's most
recent record, Among My Swan, came out in 1996. But Sandoval, who's doing
her best to work the press in preparation for an upcoming tour with her
latest project, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, says it ain't so.

"I don't know why people are saying that [Mazzy Star] is over," Sandoval
says. "Maybe because we haven't done anything in so long. But it's not. The
band is not broken up or anything. We've been recording new songs, and
after the [Warm Inventions] tour, we're going to finish the last few
recordings and get set to make the record."

"Fade Into You" was Mazzy Star's closest brush with big-time fame, and the
experience cemented Roback and Sandoval's reputation for being elusive
with the press and the public. They became known for stopping shows in the
middle of a song if the audience was making too much noise -- as if Sandoval
and her shy, sad voice were too delicate to compete with anything beyond
the stage. The two were also fond of stonewalling interviewers with obscure,
irrelevant non-answers. Now, in a conversation made up of long stretches
of silence punctuated with actual statements, Sandoval confesses that despite
doing them for over a decade, interviews haven't gotten any more comfortable.

"I think it was easier in Mazzy Star, 'cause I was always with David and
always doing interviews together," she says. "In this project, I always do
the interviews myself."

So Sandoval is not much of a talker. Who cares? She communicates beautifully
as an artist who sings with genuine sweetness, no matter whom she's performing
with. It's difficult to imagine a voice more hauntingly ethereal,
heartbreakingly sad or vulnerable than that of the thirty-something chanteuse
from East L.A. One can almost indulge the "lost little girl" tagline that
invariably turns up in a discussion of Sandoval: She makes Margo Timmins
sound like a longshoreman with some horrible lung disease.

But Sandoval says the public perceives her in a way that is quite the opposite
of sweet.

"I've always thought that people got the impression that I was a tough sort
of ruffian type," she says, so faintly that the phone connection seems as
though it's filtering in from the distant past. "That's what people tell me."

Whether or not that's a fair characterization, Bavarian Fruit Bread, the Warm
Inventions' debut album, is anything but rough and tough. Taken as a whole,
the recording somehow plunges down a level from Mazzy Star's already subdued
style. But although the sound is muted, the Warm Inventions have little of
Mazzy Star's morose edge, opting instead for a quiet contentedness. If
Mazzy Star has the tone of longing, of lonely nighttime bedrooms filled
only with the acute memory of that special lover now long gone, the Warm
Inventions are the morning after that person has returned. Bavarian Fruit
Bread is sunshine spilling in the window onto tousled sheets, a Sunday
paper ignored in favor of less studious pleasures. It is music for lovers
entwined, uncaring, dreaming.

Translating that sleepy soundscape to a live venue is a challenge Sandoval
and her bandmates look forward to.

"We're all pretty excited," Sandoval says. "Pretty nervous, as well. I don't
think [playing live] ever gets any easier."

The band, which includes former My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosoig
and Scotland-born guitarist Bert Jansch, ambles along with nicely warm,
slow and generally cheerful tunes. Interspersed with fragments of sound --
a cymbal lightly rolled over and over; the echoing, repeated zip of a finger
sliding up a guitar string -- the songs are based on simple structures,
but elaborated upon with a soft touch. Though most of the material was
written by Sandoval alone or with O'Ciosoig -- who claims four of the
album's co-songwriting credits -- it's heavily indebted to Jansch's
intricate work on the acoustic guitar.

"Bert Jansch I met several years ago, because we did a show with him
with my other band," Sandoval says. "When I started to write the songs
that are on this record, I thought it would be nice if he could play
guitar. I sent him a tape, and he really liked it. It was really lucky
he could come out and play on the record."

Jansch has been a legend among guitar players for nearly four decades.
Based in Britain, he has been cited as an influence by people who aren't
too shabby on the instrument themselves, such as Neil Young and Jimmy Page.
His songs have even been covered by other guitar legends, including Nick
Drake. Jansch's approach differs widely from that of Mazzy Star guitarist
Roback. Instead of morphine-vampire-feedback slide guitar, he plays an
acoustic style so ornate it borders on classical in places. The arrangements
on Bavarian Fruit Breadare skeletal enough to allow his guitar to come out,
strong but supple alongside Sandoval's vocals.

Sandoval considers O'Ciosoig to be her main partner in the Warm Inventions.
Though the band's style is about as far removed as possible from the
ultra-feedback noise-pop annihilation of My Bloody Valentine, Sandoval
has said she doggedly sought him out for the project.

"Colm I met about four and a half years ago in London, and we became
friends," Sandoval says. "We shared a lot of the same musical interests,
and we just started writing together. I was traveling with a portable
studio, and we just started to record some of our ideas."

Bavarian Fruit Bread abounds with subtleties that are not immediately
apparent. The third song, "Butterfly Morning," starts off with little
more than vocals and twirling, elaborate guitar work. The song is
transcendent and hypnotic, with Sandoval's voice and Jansch's guitar
so ingeniously dovetailed that you hardly notice when a keyboard line
and a breathless harmonica enter amid Sandoval's lyrics of determined
love: "Butterfly morning/And wildflower afternoons/Gonna get me
there/If I have to climb all the mountains on the moon."

"Feeling of Gaze" has an odd but oddly engaging cello line repeated
underneath Sandoval's vocals, along with a deep background piano that's
almost impromptu, like someone sat down at a piano in a quiet house and
started tapping out nearly random notes. It is easily one of the most
intriguing songs on the disc, which opens with a nearly unidentifiable
cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Drop."

Though there was an open period in the '90s when odder, more eclectic
musical ideas could find an audience, it's possible that today the
subtleties of a musician like Sandoval might be drowned out by the
white noise of the plastic pop princesses dominating the airwaves.
But Sandoval believes that such performers tap audiences that are
fleeting at best.

"I think people don't give young women enough credit, really," she says.
"I think if you and I can agree what's going on with artists like
that, like Britney Spears, I think so can young women. Maybe it's
just sort of a phase, and they'll grow out of it. I think we all
grow up with idols and things like that. Eventually, we laugh
about it. I think it's one of those things that kids are into,
like they were into Atari and whatever else -- Duran Duran, things
like that. I think there'll always be things that kids get into that
they grow out of when they start living real life."

And as far as those audiences who were so loud as to force Mazzy Star
to stop playing, Sandoval says the band's reputation may have done some
good in that area.

"David and I did some shows a year ago in Europe, and it was unbelievable,"
she says. "It was so quiet, we got nervous. It was too quiet."

When Hope Sandoval is singing, there's no such thing.
.............................................................................................
Details
With the Souldad Brothers
8 p.m. Friday, August 16
Ogden Theatre, 3317 East Colfax Avenue
$18, 303-322-2308
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2002, AUG. 1-7, METROACTIVE, HOPE INTERVIEW

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonom ... -0231.html
[One photo accompanies the article]:

Image
The caption under the photo reads: "Dream On: Hope Sandoval, with her band The Warm Inventions, crafts dreamy, lush pop music"

Metroactive, 2002, Aug. 1-7 (Originally from North Bay Bohemian, 2002, Aug. 1 - 7 issue)

Hope Springs Eternal
Ex-Mazzy Star singer still shines brightly
By Greg Cahill

Know this about Hope Sandoval: The famously reclusive Goth-folk singer is genuinely shy and modest.
When asked about her life, she sounds, well, almost pained. Why doesn't she like doing interviews?
"For the usual reasons," she offers during a phone interview from a San Francisco rehearsal studio.

Know this about Hope Sandoval: As the singer with Mazzy Star, a showcase for her soothingly narcotic
croon and blue-lit moods, she became the voice of post-punk neo-psychedelia in the '90s. That band, with
its fuzzy guitar workouts and plaintive folk musings, recalled the Velvet Underground. Sandoval, a svelte
and sexy 36-year-old Natasha Kinski look-alike from East L.A., played a brunette Nico to guitarist David
Roback's laid-back Lou Reed.

In 1990, Roback and Sandoval released Mazzy Star's debut, She Hangs Brightly (Rough Trade). It became an
instant college-radio hit. When Rough Trade's U.S. branch went south, Capitol Records picked up the disc and
three years later released the band's follow-up, So Tonight That I Might See. It reached the Top 40 and spun
off the surprise hit "Fade into You." But Mazzy Star got minimal press. As music writer Richie Unterberger has
noted, "Roback and Sandoval remained as enigmatic and aloof as their music, rarely submitting to interviews
and offering mysterious, unhelpful replies when journalists did manage to talk to them." Some things never
change.

Know this about Hope Sandoval: She has a girlish laugh and somewhat coy demeanor that is quite refreshing
amid the look-at-me mega-acts driven by the music industry's multi-million dollar PR machine.

Know this about Hope Sandoval: She's not punching a clock. Her latest recording project, Bavarian Fruit Bread
(Rough Trade), is a partnership with Colm O'Ciosoig, former drummer with My Bloody Valentine, who heads
up her new band, the Warm Inventions. It was released last fall after a five-year span between the last Mazzy
Star recording. "I don't really think about time limits," Sandoval explains. "We just make music and it comes out
whenever it comes out, and then people remind us that it's been a long time between recording projects or
whatever."

Know this about Hope Sandoval: She doesn't get it when people say she works the dark side of the street.
"We were just playing what we felt," she says of Mazzy Star's dark tone. "Even now, with the most recent
record that Colm and I put out, people have said, 'It's so sad and dark.' But we thought it was really a
cheerful record."

Know this about Hope Sandoval: She may not like to talk about herself, but she loves to talk about the people
she admires. In fact, after 15 minutes of dodging questions, Sandoval opens up when asked about her
collaboration with Bert Jansch, the seminal Celtic folksinger, songwriter, and guitarist who contributed two
tracks to Bavarian Fruit Bread. Sandoval is in awe of Jansch.

She and Jansch met several years ago at an underground show in London. At the time, Sandoval had mentioned
to a label representative that it was a fantasy of hers to perform with Jansch, especially if he could show up and
open a gig for the band. The label rep said he believed it was possible. The proper calls were made, and
Jansch opened a gig, which turned out to be the start of a long friendship.

Sandoval has co-written and recorded a song with Jansch for his upcoming CD. "When he came out to
Norway to record with us, it was unbelievable to be in the same room with him," Sandoval enthuses.
"I mean, he's a genius. It was very emotional for me. After the sessions, I sat in my hotel room listening
to the recordings and crying."

Know this about Hope Sandoval: The title Bavarian Fruit Bread has significance for her. "There really is
such a thing as Bavarian fruit bread," she says cryptically. "But the title is sort of a secret message to someone.
" Would she like to share that secret? There's a long pause. "No," she demurs with that girlish laugh.

Nuff said.

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions bring their dream-pop to the Mystic Theatre on Thursday,
Aug. 8, at 8pm. 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Tickets are $20. The Soledad Brothers open the show.
707.765.2121.

From the August 1-7, 2002 issue of the North Bay Bohemian
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2002, WINTER, HARP MAG, HOPE INTERVIEW

[Text of this article was found at hopesandoval.com with 3 photos
embedded there that are titled as being "Harp" article photos, & are reproduced here below]

Hope Inspires

Harp, Winter 2002
With Mazzy Star on hold, Hope Sandoval continues on her music
journey -- with a little help from the Warm Inventions.
by Steven Klinge, Photography by Chris Elam

In her work with David Roback in Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval
perfected a shadowy, gauzy style that was simultaneously
intimate and remote. Beginning with 1990's She Hangs Brightly
(Rough Trade) and continuing with 1993's So Tonight That I
Might See and 1996's Among My Swan (both on Capitol),
Sandoval and Roback crafted a world where the lights and
the flowers are always blue -- unusually beautiful, but
tinged with melancholy. Sandoval's haunting, ghostly voice
in songs such as "Halah" and "Fade Into You" seems like it
would wither if it came into contact with sunlight.

Image]

That intimate/remote dichotomy goes beyond the recordings;
fronting Mazzy Star performances, Sandoval could seem idly
withdrawn, barely acknowledging the audience, although her
voice would be warm and seductive. Calling from a phone booth
near her home in San Francisco, Sandoval was often reluctant
to elaborate on her curt responses, leaving lots of silent
pauses. Asked about the current status of Mazzy Star, Sandoval
says that after Among My Swan, she and Roback "did what we
usually do. After we finished our tour, we worked on music,"
and another Mazzy Star album may be ready next year. No other
clues were forthcoming, though.

On the other hand, given the right subject, Sandoval talks
enthusiastically. Her new solo album, which she recorded with
My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosoig, isn't a radical
departure from Mazzy Star, although it's often acoustic and
spare, with folk guitars and soft keyboard washes and Sandoval's
evocative voice. Bavarian Fruit Bread (Rough Trade/ Sanctuary),
credited to Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, features
eleven moody tracks, beginning with a slow, lovely cover of
The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Drop" and ending with the long,
psychedelic-tinged "Lose Me On The Way."

Image

Sandoval met O'Ciosoig four years ago, about the time O'Ciosoig
started playing guitar. Both O'Ciosoig and Sandoval had been
working on music outside their bands, and, according to Sandoval,
"we just compared notes and felt like we could work together."
The Warm Inventions are O'Ciosoig's band, but the recording of
Bavarian Fruit Bread, which took place over two and a half years
in Oslo, London, and her home studio in San Francisco, was a
collaborative process that included enlisting Bert Jansch, of
the legendary British folk band Pentangle, for two exquisite
tracks. Roles shifted in the studios, with Sandoval and O'Ciosoig
trading keyboard and guitar parts. "We both just sort of go back
and forth," says Sandoval. "If I can't get the keyboard part,
then he can get it, or vice versa. I'd rather not play guitar,
but sometimes because I write the songs it's really difficult
for somebody else to play it, they sort of don't interpret
it the way it's supposed to be. And if he writes the song on
keyboards, it's best that he plays the keyboard part."

With Mazzy Star, Sandoval was credited primarily with the lyrics
and melody lines. Many of the songs on Bavarian Fruit Bread,
Sandoval wrote alone, but a few she created with O'Ciosoig.
"Feeling of Gaze" grew from a happy accident. "We had a cello
player come in, [Ji Yung Moon], and . . . basically what happened
was that she was playing and she was tuning, and her bow sort
of went backward on the cello and it hit a discord. It was
recording, so Colm sampled it... It was a strange sound, but
when it was sampled, it was beautiful. I was upstairs -- I have
a studio in the basement -- and I could hear this sample being
played over and over on a keyboard, which means it has different
notes. It was just really beautiful, and I said to Colm, we
should record this sample and add a different part to it on the
keyboard and I can write a song to it. We did that, and I wrote
"Feeling of Gaze" over it.

Image

"When we recorded it, we asked [Ji Yung] to come back and imitate
the sample, which was one of the hardest things to do because she's
classically trained and her ear doesn't relate to that kind of sound;
it's awkward. In order to get that song we had to have her play three
different cello parts, and two of the cello parts were just discord
all the way, and just sort of like awkward notes, like the crying
of a donkey or something. But we needed it to be grouped together
to make the sound that it made. She hated it; it was a nightmare
for her because she didn't hear any melody, which there wasn't.
There wasn't a melody until everything was done; but she came in
and recorded the cello part. That's just one crazy example of
how we work together."

"Feeling of Gaze" is a transfixing, indeed melodic, song, with
odd intervals in the cello line and Sandoval singing, "going to
play your favorite song, gonna play it all night long." She doesn't
remember if she had a specific song in mind when she wrote it, but
it's true to experience. "Recently I found my Donna Summer record
-- I forget what it's called -- I can't remember but on the cover
she's on a crescent moon [probably Four Seasons of Love]. There's
this beautiful song on that record. I get in the habit of just
playing a song over and over and over... When I wrote "Feeling of Gaze"
I was making a reference to that. Not to her song, but just to one of
those songs." It's not hard to imagine the moody and spacious
"Feeling of Gaze" as one of those songs people could play over
and over again, all night long.

On "Butterfly Morning" and "Charlotte," Sandoval enlisted Bert Jansch's
expert guitar playing; it's an impressive coup for Sandoval to play
with the folk legend. "About six years ago in London we [Mazzy Star]
played a small show, and we mentioned to Geoff Travis from RoughTrade
as just sort of a fantasy idea that wouldn't it be great if Bert
Jansch could just show up and play the show with us, and Geoff,
really confident, said, "Let me give him a call." [laughs] And we
sort of laughed about it, but two hours later we get a call from
Geoff saying, oh, he'd love to do the show, he just wants cab fare
and a hundred pounds. And he came out to the show and he was amazing.
And after that, when I was writing songs on my own, because I don't
play guitar so well, I just though, what do you have to lose, I could
ask him, the worst that could happen is he says no. So I sent him a
tape and he really liked it and said that he would be into playing
the songs. He flew out to Oslo and we did the tracks together and
it was pretty amazing. He's an incredible musician. It was a dream come
true for me. How many people can say that Bert Jansch appeared on their
record?"

Sandoval hopes that Jansch can join her when she tours with the Warm
Inventions.

While Hope Sandoval's style seems keyed in a relatively narrow range
-- one that's not at all limiting or claustrophobic, but still one that's
consistently downtempo, restrained, and whispery -- her own listening
habits range widely, and not only to Donna Summer. It's surprising to
hear of her affinity for old rhythm and blues. "I'm inspired by all
sorts of different music. I recently got a videotape of Motown bands,
like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, and I really
love that. I love some of those Smokey Robinson songs. I get inspired
by it. I mean if it's a good song, it's a good song, it doesn't matter
if it's dance or whatever all these titles are for songs. I think
good songs have the same basic roots. They come from rhythm and blues.
Rhythm and blues really taught people how to write.

"I don't know if I could describe exactly what it is that makes a song
great [laughs], but I have a feeling that one of the things that makes
a great song is that it has those basic roots that rhythm and blues has,
that it has a driving feeling. It's something that you can't help but
express through guitar or drums or vocals or words."

Sandoval's music, on Bavarian Fruit Bread or with Mazzy Star, may seem
far removed from traditional definitions of driving rhythm and blues,
but it is compelling and heartfelt and driven by depths of emotion.
"Well, I agree, if you hear those elements in the music. That's sort
of what rhythm and blues is about. Even though the tracks are not fast
and really full of heavy drums and that sort of thing, I think the basic
feelings are the same. It's a deep feeling, a drive to make these songs
that come from the heart." And, like the best of rhythm and blues, when
a song comes from the heart, it can tough the listener's heart.

The blues in Sandoval's music are of the melancholy color rather than the
twelve-bar variety. The rhythms are glacial or cyclical. But it takes only
a little bit of stretching to call Bavarian Fruit Bread soulful.

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2002, AUGUST, L.A. PRESS TELEGRAM, HOPE INTERV.
[Online somewhere, I found a scan someone had uploaded of a hard copy news clipping of the article, a single page (see below). I've divided the one original page into two separate pages here so they'll fit in this site's thread without part of a page getting cut off. This site doesn't like wide photos. The photo is an uncredited one by Luz Gallardo. Luz has since ID-ed the photo via her Instagram page as one she took at her first ever photo shoot with Hope in 2001, just before "Bavarian Fruit Bread" was released. It's the one whose colour version shows Hope wearing red with the blue sky as background. The caption under the photo in the news article below reads: "Singer Hope sandoval cut her teeth on blues and classic rock"]

Hope Sandoval's Fading Into View Again, L.A. Press Telegram, Aug., 2002
By Theo Douglas Staff Writer

IT BECOMES APPARENT that Mazzy Star lead singer Hope Sandoval is definitely a cat person
when a faint mewing comes through the phone during an interview from her Bay Area home.

The iconic, famously shy singer who found indie stardom in 1993 when the single "Fade Into You"
off the band's second album became a hit, is touring behind her solo project's first full
length record.

But like the territorial half-Siamese cat making its presence known during this conversation,
Sandoval has always set public and private boundaries in her career - limiting reporters access
and, most notably, going on record with her tolerance for live shows as something of a
necessary evil.

Fans will get a semi-rare chance to see Sandoval face her demons live with the Warm Inventions,
featuring ex-My Bloody Valentine guitarist Colm O'Ciosoig, Wednesday at the El Rey Theater
in Los Angeles.

"I think it's hard to be in front of an audience," says Sandoval, who fully realizes that the
audience's approval comes with its silence. "I think it's that way for anybody, even people who
play in front of way more people than I do: I think it's still difficult for them."

A Los Angeles native who cut her teeth on blues and classic rock from The Rolling Stones,
Sandoval first found her footing in the neopsychedelic so-called Paisley Underground music
scene of the 1980s. It was a genre typified by the bands Dream Syndicate and The Rain Parade,
whose guitarist David Roback had bigger plans. He worked with Sandoval on early acoustic
tracks, meanwhile forming a band called Opal, with exDream Syndicate musician and vocalist
Kendra Smith.

"We wanted to play soft music, David Roback told interviewer Nigel Cross in 1984, arguably
The Rain Parade's zenith. "We all loved punk rock, but we were into doing something different.
This desire hasn't changed.

When Smith left Opal after two critically acclaimed albums, Sandoval got the call to step in
and the band changed its name to Mazzy Star, releasing its first of three records,
"She Hangs Brightly." in 1990. Mazzy Star has completed just two follow-ups in the years
since, but plans are for the band to complete some unfinished studio recordings and release
a new disc later this year or early next.

"David (Roback) and I have been in touch and we've done a lot of work together during the
making of this (Warm Inventions) record. Sandoval says. "And at the same time, he and I have
been writing songs. It's very natural and very exciting. We're really happy about our songs."

No matter who Sandoval works with her bands sound remarkably similar offering an
often-languid, sometimes fuzzed-out guitar-based sound that might be easy listening were it
not for certain Goth and psychedelic overtones. She says her influences follow her,
an obvious truth given that a tune by The Jesus and Mary Chain's William Reid
(ex-Mazzy Star tour mates) is on the new Warm Inventions disc.

"I think other people's music is bound to come to play in your own music, because it's what
you play, what you've been listening to." says Singer Hope Sandoval cut her teeth on blues
and classic rock. Sandoval, who has been listening to singer-songwriter Bert Jansch,
jazz vocalist Nina Simone, rocker lan Dury's son Baxter, and L.A. alternative band Acetone,
whose guitarist Mark Lightcap is currently a Warm Invention member. (The Warm Inventions also
feature Raymond Richards on guitar. Nicole Presley on keyboards and bassist Al Browne.)

"I think Nina Simone is a brilliant singer. Baxter Dury, I think he's got a beautiful
voice, and his songs are great." Sandoval says. "Bert Jansch is a brilliant guitarist,
and he's written some beautiful songs." Not surprisingly, Jansch also offers guitar
work on the Warm Inventions "Butterfly Mornings," a recording that at times blends
untraceably into The Rain Parade-Opal-Mazzy Star triumverate.

Says Sandoval: "It's impossible for it to be so different because I come from Mazzy Star and
I'm one of the writers and one of the singers."

Theo Douglas can be reached at (562) 499-1276 or by e-mail at theo.douglas @presstelegram.com.
HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS Where: El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd.,
Los Angeles When: 8 p.m. Wednesday Tickets: $20 Information: (213) 480-3232 or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com

Image

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2009, JULY 6, ROLLING STONE, HOPE INTERV.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... s-20090706
[no photos accompany the online article]

Mazzy Star Crooner Readies Return With Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
By Kevin O'Donnell, July 6, 2009

In 1993, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval released the dream-pop gem "Fade Into You,"
a dusty, lilting ballad that served as the soundtrack to make-out sessions for
Converse-clad alterna-dorks everywhere. The notoriously reclusive Californian
hasn't cracked the mainstream since, opting to release a few records here and
there with various projects.

But there's good news: Sandoval is back. With her band Hope Sandoval and the
Warm Inventions (which features My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig),
Sandoval is gearing up to release her second record since the act's 2001 debut
Bavarian Fruit Bread. The new disc Through the Devil Softly — out September
15th — is a lovely, 11-track collection of narcotic, folk tunes centered by
Sandoval's breathy, irresistible seductive croon. So what took so long? "I
don't really notice the time," says Sandoval coyly. "We don't keep track of
the days and months. And the years."

Sandoval and Ó Cíosóig cut the disc with their crack band over the last few
years in Northern California and the countryside of Wicklow County, Ireland,
which no doubt helped imbue tunes like the winsome "Wild Roses" with a loose,
pastoral vibe. "It was really nice to go there," says Ó Cíosóig. "It's pretty
remote. There was nothing but cows next door, a lake and a little pub down
the road."

Highlights from the record include the haunting, blues-esque opener
"Blanchard" and the spare piano-and-acoustic-guitar ballad "Bluebird,"
where Sandoval's heavily echoed vocals come up so close, it's as if she's
whispering in your ear. "Is that the devil in your sky?" she asks.
"Is that what's glowing in your eyes?"

Sandoval is notoriously terrified about performing in public. But she's
willing to hit the road with her band for some intimate club shows this
fall (dates will be announced in the coming weeks). "I enjoy singing with
a band playing behind me," she says, "it's just that the audience is nerve
wracking — even if it's just 400 or 500 people."

As for Mazzy Star, Sandoval confirms her and her bandmate David Roback
haven't called it quits and they are still working on their anticipated
fourth album. But she declines to give many specifics. "It's true we're
still together," she says. "We're almost finished [with the record]. But
I have no idea what that means."

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2009, AUGUST 25, HOPE INTERV. W. SYLVAIN FESSON

HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS : THROUGH THE DEVIL SOFTLY

[this is an English translation from the French text Sylvain kindly provided me
of his interview. He originally spoke to Hope in English but no longer has the
original English audio recording, & doesn't have an English text version, only
his own French translation he made from the English. I used Google Translate,
plus made my own further alterations to replace awkwardly translated phrases
with clearer ones. Hopefully, it's not too inaccurate.

Sylvain's August 2, 2013 Mazzy Star interview with Hope & David is findable in the "Interviews 2013+" thread in a text version along with info. posted there re. Sylvain's own music & jourmalistic career with links to his own websites. Plus the audio recording of the Mazzy Star interview is listed in the boots list thread. Plus the audio's been uploaded to youtube]


SYLVAIN: Hi Hope!
HOPE: Hello. How are you doing?
S: Good and you?
HOPE: A little stressed.
S: Ah. Where are you?
HOPE: California.
S: This is where you live?
HOPE: Yes.
S: Ok. Since the hiatus of Mazzy Star, a duo with David Roback, you
have formed a new duo with Colm Ó Cíosóig as Hope Sandoval & the Warm
Inventions. He is known as the drummer of the noise band My Bloody Valentine.
Apart from that, I do not know much about his career. He must be known for doing
something other than drumming. What has he done besides play for you and My Bloody Valentine?
HOPE: Apart from that, he had other projects but most have been done with me.
We've known each other for almost 12 years since he moved to San Francisco.
So it's been 12 years that we've been making music together.
S: How did you meet?
HOPE: We met at a club in London. They told me he was there. I wanted to meet
him because I've always loved his drumming, and I thought it would be great if
we could play together, but I did not know at all what he looked like.
I expected that a third person would do the introductions.
S: You were a fan of My Bloody Valentine?
HOPE: Yes!
S: They too have stopped releasing records in a while now. Do you continue
to listen to them?
HOPE: It's been years since I have seen them play. In fact it's been since their gig
at the Roxy in Los Angeles in the early 90s (the theater where they played 5 February 1992).
But I am an absolute fan of Colm Ó Cíosóig.
S: You always seem to collaborate as a duo with men. Why?
HOPE: Well, on no album am I all alone in my corner, one is always around other people.
With me, it highlights more than with others because I am a woman, but it's the same.
I have always worked with other people and I will continue to do so always.
S: On what is the alchemy of your collaboration with Colm based?
HOPE: In addition to being good friends, we have very close musical tastes.
It allows us to work well together.
S: Do you work with Colm in the same way that you work with David?
HOPE: (Reflecting.) Yes, my writing process has not changed much except I play more guitar
with Colm than I was playing with David because David was Mazzy Star's guitarist almost always.

S: So you have more freedom to play with Colm with David?
HOPE: No, because I never feel free when I play guitar. My ability is too limited.
My relationship with this instrument is more about the need for fun. It is a must
to write my songs. Afterward, I always need someone more gifted to play it properly.
S: In Mazzy Star, so you bring to your songs a dreamy voice, warmly evanescent, that
made it hard to visualize you in instrumental songwriter, as if the world of
musical instruments was not yours.
HOPE: Yet I think some people know my relation to instruments. In any case, those who
came to my last concerts know I play several instruments besides the guitar.
S: That is to say?
HOPE: Harmonica, percussion, keyboard.
S: Do you remember your first contact with music?
HOPE: No, I do not have those kinds of memories I have always loved music.
It has always been there.
S: You produce sparingly. In 20 years of "career", you've released five discs
(three with Mazzy Star, two with The Warm Inventions). Are you the type to create music
every day, to have that kind of discipline?
HOPE: No, I have no discipline, no recipes. A song can come from a word, a melody and
I just create when either falls on me. So I go to my home studio to see where it will lead me.
S: Do you write something other than songs? I don't know, stories, or poems, for example?
HOPE: No.
S: Do you have other interests besides music?
HOPE: Yes.
S: Which ones?
HOPE: Many things. Like many people, I do lots of things.
S: You will not tell me what?
HOPE: Your curiosity makes me laugh!
S: That's something!
HOPE: (She laughs her mischievous chuckle)
Excuse me if may need to soon cut the phone call short, as my battery may
soon run out of power.
S: Ah OK. We were talking about your voice just now, your particular singing
voice that is very recognizable. Many groups have sought to magnify their songs.
Many groups have added electronica to their sound, such as The Chemical Brothers,
Air, Death In Vegas [all three bands are ones Hope has collaborated with on songs]
... Do you listen this kind of music?
HOPE: I don't really know the Chemical Brothers. But when they sent me this piece,
"Asleep From The Day" I found it so beautiful that I wanted to sing on it,
so I accepted.
S: Through the Devil Softly So is your second album as Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions.
For you, how does it differ from its predecessor, Bavarian Fruit Bread?
HOPE: About half of this album we used a band I love: Dirt Blue Gene.
S: So it is to them that we owe the arrangements of the two most voluptuously
hazy songs on the disc, "For The Rest Of Your Life" and "Sets The Blaze"?
HOPE: Yes.
S: Apart from that, overall, the album sounds pretty folk-y ...
HOPE: I think it's a little easy and simplistic to call it folk because
folk is a kind of popular music which includes lots of different music.
Many journalists do that. But that does not bother me. I've been doing the same kind
of music since age 17 and every time I put out a record it gets labeled
as country, folk, psychedelic...
S: At the same time, today, I don't know if it's related to your change of
collaborators, or your natural evolution, but I find your music more sober than
with Mazzy Star. I also heard some of your fans say they found your
songs boring without David Roback. What would you tell them?
HOPE: Who said my music was boring?
S: Mazzy Star wannabes
HOPE: Some of your friends!
S: More or less, yes.
HOPE: Well I don't know what to say except that they are not forced to listen
to my record. They do not have to force themselves into boredom (laughs)!
S: In your songs, one thing has not changed I think, your
singing voice. Despite the years, it still provides the same contrasts,
both dark and youthful, dreamy and poisonous. How do you explain this?
HOPE: I do not agree. I think my singing has changed.
S: Ah...Anyway, unlike many singers, & maybe like such as the singer Alela Diane's genre,
your singing style is something dark and sexy, which removes you from the simple
category of "folk". Are you aware of that?
HOPE: Some people tell me. (Silence.)
S: Do you play up the sexy dimension in your songs & singing?
HOPE: No, but I've realized from the time we started that people have this kind of
perception of my music.
S: When you listen to current singers like Sarabeth Tucek, we see that your
style has inflenced other singers...
HOPE: I do not know her. Again, people say this me, but I have no idea about it.
S: Do you know the music of Julee Cruise? I find there is some similarity
between your singing and music, & hers, especially those songs she did
for the soundtrack of Twin Peaks compared to the songs you did with Mazzy Star ...
HOPE: No I do not know.
S: What were your influences when you really started singing?
HOPE: My influences were the Rolling Stones, & Billie Holiday. My phone is giving
up the ghost (laughs)! It will soon be cut off.
S: Ok, just two to three issues to finish. It's said in the bio from Through The Devil Softly
that a new Mazzy Star album is underway and should soon emerge. Is this true? And why have
you waited so long to put out a new album with David?
HOPE: David and I ... we now inhabit different countries ... Look, do not get me wrong but
my phone is going out from one second to another. I just forgot to recharge it and I do
not have the charger to me.
S: A final question then. I learned that you worked with Massive Attack on their
new album. Can you tell me about this collaboration?
HOPE: I don't know what to tell you. I actually did a song with them but I don't know
at all what will hapen with it. I have not even met them. They sent me a piece
via their manager. I have added some vocal lines to it and I sent them the song
via my manager. Well, I do not know what will become of it.
...........................................................
[Here's the French text Sylvain provided me of the above interview]:

HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS : THROUGH THE DEVIL SOFTLY

25 août 2009 Paris

Bonjour Hope !
Bonjour. Comment allez-vous ?

Bien, et vous ?
Un peu stressée.

Ah. Où êtes-vous ?
En Californie.

C'est là que vous vivez ?
Oui.

Ok. Depuis la mise sous silence de Mazzy Star, votre duo avec David Roback, vous formez former un nouveau duo avec Colm Ó Cíosóig sous le nom de Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Il est connu pour être le batteur du groupe noise My Bloody Valentine. A part ça, je ne sais pas son parcours mais j'imagine qu'il n'a pas joué que pour My Bloody Valentine et qu'il doit savoir faire autre chose que de la batterie.
Hé bien, que veux-tu savoir ?

Qu'a-t-il fait à part jouer pour vous et pour My Bloody Valentine ?
A part ça, il a eu d'autres projets mais la plupart se sont faits avec moi. On se connaît depuis près de 12 ans, depuis qu'il s'est installé à San Francisco. Ça fait donc 12 ans que nous faisons de la musique ensemble.

Comment vous êtes-vous rencontrés ?
On s'est rencontré dans un club à Londres. On m'avait dit qu'il était-là. Je voulais aller à sa rencontre car j'ai toujours adoré son jeu de batterie, et je me disais que ce serait super qu'on puisse jouer ensemble, mais comme je ne savais pas du tout à quoi il ressemblait, j'ai attendu qu'une tierce personne fasse les présentations.

Vous étiez donc fan de My Bloody Valentine ?
Oui !

Eux aussi ont arrêté de sortir des disques depuis un bail maintenant. Vous continuez à les écouter ?
Ça fait des années que je ne les ai pas vu jouer. En fait depuis leur concert au Roxy de Los Angeles au début des années 90 (théâtre où ils ont joué le 5 février 92 - nda). Mais je suis une fan absolue de Colm Ó Cíosóig.

Vous semblez toujours composer en duo avec des hommes. Pourquoi ?
(Déstabilisée.) Hé bien, personne ne fait d'album tout seul dans son coin, on s'entoure toujours d'autres personnes. Chez moi, on le surligne plus que chez d'autres parce que je suis une femme, mais voilà, c'est pareil. J'ai toujours travaillé avec d'autres gens et je continuerai de le faire toujours.

Sur quoi repose l'alchimie de votre duo avec Colm ?
En plus d'être de très bons amis, nous avons des goûts musicaux très proches. Ça nous permet de bien travailler ensemble.

Composez-vous avec Colm de la même manière que vous composiez avec David ?
(Réfléchissant.) Oui, mon processus de composition n'a pas trop changé si ce n'est que joue plus de guitare avec Colm que je n'en jouais avec David, car dans Mazzy Star David les faisait presque toutes.

Vous avez donc plus de liberté de jeu avec Colm qu'avec David ?
Non, car je ne me sens jamais libre quand je joue de la guitare. Mon niveau de jeu est trop limité. Mon rapport à cet instrument est plus de l'ordre de la nécessité que du plaisir. C'est un passage obligé pour écrire mes chansons. Après j'ai toujours besoin de quelqu'un de plus doué pour jouer ça comme il faut.

Dans Mazzy Star, vous brilliez tellement par votre chant, une voix de rêve, chaudement évanescente, que du coup on a du mal à vous visualiser en pure songwritrice, comme si le monde des instruments n'était pas le votre, que vous n'étiez que pure magie...
Pourtant je crois que certaines personnes connaissent mon rapport aux instruments. En tous cas ceux qui sont venus à mes derniers concerts savent que je joue de plusieurs instruments à part la guitare.

C'est-à-dire ?
De l'harmonica, des percussions, du clavier.

Vous souvenez-vous de votre premier contact avec la musique ?
Non, je n'ai pas ce genre de souvenirs J'ai toujours aimé la musique. Elle a toujours été là.

Vous produisez avec parcimonie. En 20 ans de "carrière", vous n'avez sorti que cinq disques (trois avec Mazzy Star, 2 avec The Warm Inventions). Etes-vous du genre à composer chaque jour, à avoir ce genre de discipline ?
Non, je n'ai pas de discipline, ni de recettes. Une chanson peut venir d'un mot, d'une mélodie et je me contente de composer quand l'un ou l'autre me tombe dessus. Alors je file à mon home-studio pour voir où tout ça va me mener.

Ecrivez-vous autre chose que des chansons ? Je ne sais pas, des nouvelles, des poèmes, par exemple ?
Non.

Avez-vous d'autres passions que la musique ?
Oui.

Lesquelles ?
Plein de choses. Comme beaucoup de gens, je fais plein de choses.

Vous ne me direz pas quoi ?
Ta curiosité me fait rire !

C'est déjà ça !
(Elle rit de son petit rire mutin, s'absente deux minutes, revient.) Excuse-moi si jamais la communication coupe court, je n'ai bientôt plus de batterie.

Ah, ok. On parlait de votre voix tout à l'heure, de votre chant particulier, reconnaissable. De nombreux groupes l'ont sollicité pour magnifier leurs morceaux. Parmi eux, beaucoup de groupes à tendance électronique comme The Chemical Brothers, Air, Death In Vegas... Ecoutez-vous ce genre de musique ?
Je ne connais pas vraiment les Chemical Brothers. Mais quand ils m'ont envoyé ce morceau, "Asleep From A Day" je l'ai trouvé si beau que j'ai voulu chanter dessus, j'ai donc accepté.

Through the Devil Softly est donc ton deuxième album en tant que Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Pour toi, en quoi diffère-t-il de son prédécesseur, Bavarian Fruit Bread ?
Sur la moitié de cet album nous avons fait appel à un groupe que j'adore : Dirt Blue Gene.

C'est donc à eux que l'on doit les arrangements psychés des deux titres les plus voluptueusement brumeux du disque, "For The Rest Of Your Life" et "Sets The Blaze" ?
Oui.

A part ça, globalement, l'album sonne plutôt folk...
Je pense que c'est un peu facile et réducteur de le qualifier de folk car le folk est un genre de musique populaire qui regroupe plein de musiques différentes. Beaucoup de journalistes font ça. Mais ça ne me dérange pas. Je fais le même genre de musique depuis que j'ai 17 ans et à chaque fois que je sors un disque on le qualifie tour à tour de country, de folk, de psychédélique...

En même temps, aujourd'hui, je ne sais pas si c'est lié à votre changement de collaborateurs, ou à votre évolution naturelle, mais je trouve votre musique plus sobre que celle que vous faisiez sous Mazzy Star. J'ai d'ailleurs entendu certains de vos fans dire qu'ils trouvaient vos chansons ennuyantes sans David Roback à vos côtes. Que leur diriez-vous ?
Qui a dit que ma musique était ennuyante ?

Des amateurs de Mazzy Star.
Certains de tes amis ?!

Plus ou moins, oui.
Hé bien je ne sais pas quoi leur dire si ce n'est qu'ils ne sont pas obligés d'écouter mon disque. Ils n'ont pas à se contraindre eux-mêmes à l'ennui (rires) !

Dans vos chansons, par contre, une chose n'a pas changé je trouve, c'est votre chant. Malgré les années, il procure toujours le même trouble, à la fois sombre et juvénile, rêveur et vénéneux. Comment l'expliquez-vous ?
Je ne suis pas d'accord. Je trouve que mon chant a changé.

Ah... En tous cas, à la différence de beaucoup de chanteuses, genre Alela Diane, votre chant véhicule quelque chose d'obscur et de sexy, ce qui vous tiens d'ailleurs éloigner de la simple notion de "folk". Avez-vous conscience de ça ?
Des gens me le disent. (Silence.)

Jouez-vous de la dimension sexy de ce chant ?
Non, je n'en ai pris conscience qu'à partir du moment où on a commencé à me faire cette réflexion.

Quand on écoute des chanteuses songwritrices actuelles comme Sarabeth Tucek, pour ne citer qu'elle, on voit que votre chant a fait école...
Je ne la connais pas. Encore une fois, les gens me disent ça, mais moi je n'ai pas d'idée à ce sujet.

Connaissez-vous Julee Cruise ? Je trouve qu'il y a certaines accointances entre vos chants et vos musiques, notamment entre celles qu'elle a faites pour la BO de Twin Peaks et celles que vous avez faites pour Mazzy Star...
Non, je ne connais pas.

Quelles étaient vos influences quand vous avez vraiment commencé à chanter ?
Mes influences c'était les Rolling Stones, Billie Holiday. Mon téléphone est en train de rendre l'âme (rires) ! Ça va bientôt couper.

Ok, deux-trois questions pour finir. Il est dit dans la bio de Through The Devil Softly qu'un nouvel album de Mazzy Star est lancé et devrait bientôt voir le jour. Qu'en est-il ? Et pourquoi avoir attendu si longtemps avant de vous remettre à composer avec David ?
David et moi... Nous habitons maintenant différents pays... Ecoutes, ne le prends pas mal mais mon téléphone va s'éteindre d'une seconde à l'autre. J'ai tout simplement oublié de le recharger et je n'ai pas le chargeur sur moi.

Une ultime question alors. J'ai appris que vous veniez de collaborer avec Massive Attack pour leur nouvel album. Pouvez-vous me parler de cette collaboration ?
Je ne sais pas quoi t'en dire. J'ai effectivement fait un morceau avec eux mais je ne sais pas du tout ce que ça va donner. Je ne les ai même pas rencontrés, ils m'ont envoyé un morceau via leur manager, j'y ai posé quelques lignes de chant et je leur ai renvoyé le morceau via mon manager. Voilà, je ne sais pas ce que ça va devenir.

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2009, SEPTEMBER 8, LUNA mag
[found and contributed by site member "drugstore". Thank you drugstore]
Hope Sandoval in LA
Photo By LUZ GULLARDO, Words By CHARLOTTE SANDERS
Eighth of September 2009

What were you like when you were a little girl?
Introverted, shy and quiet.

How did you like to spend your time, and what did you think about? Riding my tricycle in a circle as I could only ride it in the yard. Meeting various imaginary townspeople and waving to them.

Where did you grow up? How did it influence the person you have become?
I grew up in Los Angeles in a very rough neighborhood, and these things always cast a shadow on your personality... I definitely have used those childhood memories in my music.

Did you have a favourite story you loved when you were small?
Thumbelina comes to mind... A sad and beautiful little fairytale. I related to it.

What is your favourite story now?
Yuri Norstein’s adaptation of Hedgehog in the Fog... Hoo hoo.

What music did you first start listening to?
I have no memory of my first moments of music, being that music has always been in my life.

Do you think that the things you loved when you were little had an influence on the music you have created as a grown-up? I loved music boxes. I had one with a little ballerina wearing a real chiffon tutu who would dance when you opened the box... I suppose that's where the idea came to use a music box sound on our record.

What music do you love to listen to now?
Beach House. They remind me a little bit of Opal. They're really good.

Did you learn to play any musical instruments when you were little?
Yes. My father bought me a guitar when I was twelve.

Can you remember how and when you started to write songs?
I was fifteen and I wrote my first song with Sylvia Gomez and it was called Shane.

When did you know that making music was what you wanted to do with your life?
I still wonder.

Did you ever think you wanted to do something else entirely?
I wanted to be Pink Panther’s lady cat.

What would you be now if you weren't making music?
A sailor with a girl in every port.

How did you discover the sound that you wanted to make through your music? Was it through collaboration, or is that kind of aesthetic something that you have always had? Obviously when you collaborate the end result is what you've created together... The best music is ideas that are shared.

How do you write your songs? Is there somewhere in particular you like to be? Do you get ideas all the time? Do you look to particular people or places or things for inspiration?All the above... There's nothing better than sitting in a restaurant and eavesdropping on the table next to you. A little bit of imagination and at the end of the night you have a story.

Do you think of the people who will listen to your songs when you write them? Of course I think about that, but one of the worst things you can do is stifle yourself with what people might think. You have to give yourself the freedom to express yourself sincerely.

How do you feel about performing? Do you feel like yourself, or do you have to pretend to be someone else? I don't perform. I sing live and I do feel like myself, though it can be a bit awkward at times.

Your songs often sound so personal and intimate - was it strange for you when people fell in love with your music so much? No, not at all. It's nice to know people have a connection.

How do you feel about 'Fade Into You' being the most romantic make-out song ever for a certain age-group? I didn't know people were making out to it. This whole time I thought they were having cookies and milk while discussing the length of their legs.

What do you love most about what you do? And what do you like least?
I love that I play my interpretation of music... The least... That fools criticise it.

What is your favourite song to go to sleep to?
And your favourite song to wake up to?
Fred Neil, The Dolphins.

Can you describe your new album a little for us?
Hedgehog in the Fog and Rosemary's Baby.

Where is home?
Home is where the heart is.

How important is fashion to you?
How old were you when you started wearing long skirts and dresses?
Ask my momma.

Do you have a favourite item of clothing? Why do you love it?
Boots... Power.

Who are your heroes, and why?
Lady the cat. Animals live the most noble life.

What did you last dream about?
Mother.

What do you hope for?
Understanding.

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2009, SEPTEMBER 16, GEORGIA STRAIGHT (VANCOUVER,BC), HOPE INTERVIEW
http://www.straight.com/article-257527/ ... ush-things
Image
[pic accompanying original article]

Hope Sandoval Has Never Been One To Rush Things
by John Lucas on Sep 16, 2009

Hope Sandoval has a reputation. The Los Angeles–based singer and songwriter is known for being a touch on the quiet side. Whatever impulse she has to express herself through music doesn't always translate to other areas, such as giving interviews. True to form, when the Georgia Straight reaches Sandoval at home in California, it makes for an awkward conversation. The artist doesn't come across as unfriendly, though—just reticent to talk about herself.

Which makes perfect sense when you consider the restrained nature of her music. Her most recent album, Through the Devil Softly, credited to Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, is at first blush an unassuming record, a resolutely laid-back wash of bluesy slide guitar and whisper-soft singing immersed in a warm bath of reverb, not far removed from Sandoval's celebrated work in Mazzy Star. But the beauty is in the details, like the delay-treated bass glissando that opens “For the Rest of Your Life” or the banjo and wood-block percussion that give “Fall Aside” its psychedelic-folk momentum.

Members of the Dublin band Dirt Blue Gene played on Through the Devil Softly and will also back Sandoval on tour. Her main partner in the Warm Inventions, however, is drummer Colm O'Cíosíoig, whose light touch here is seemingly at odds with his eardrum-punishing work in the infamously loud My Bloody Valentine.

“We met about 12 years ago in London and we knew each other's music, but we had never met,” says the invariably matter-of-fact Sandoval. “I wanted to work with him, and that's what happened. He moved out to California and we just started to hang out and play music together.”

In the Warm Inventions O'Cíosoig doesn't confine himself to the drum stool. “He takes on whatever role he feels like taking on,” Sandoval says. “He started to play guitar in the past few years, and on the new record he plays a lot more guitar. He's the type of musician, he'll just pick up an instrument and he'll learn it in a few weeks, and in a few months he'll know it really well. He plays bass, he plays keyboards, he plays guitar, he sings. He's always been creative, and he's always played music, but I think now it's a little more organic.”

That's an important consideration for the singer, who has never been one to rush things. The new Warm Inventions album comes a full eight years after the first one, Bavarian Fruit Bread. That seems like a long time until you consider that Mazzy Star, Sandoval's partnership with guitarist David Roback, hasn't put an album out since 1996. Sandoval promises that will change; she and Roback have their very own Chinese Democracy in the works, but it won't see the light of day until the Warm Inventions have wrapped up their tour.

On that subject, the notoriously shy singer would like to clear up the general misperception that she hates setting foot on-stage. “It's not so much that I don't enjoy playing live—that's one of the best parts of playing music—it's that it's nerve-racking with 300, 500 people watching,” Sandoval says. “That's a normal reaction. I would imagine anybody would feel that way."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions play the Red Room on Tuesday (September 22).
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2009, SEPTEMBER, REPEATFANZINE, Q & A WITH HOPE
http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/intervie ... ndoval.htm
[The original online article includes six photos embedded below]

Hope Sandoval
On Her Past, Present & Future…
September 2009
Introduction: Steve Bateman / Questionnaire: © Nettwerk

Possessing one of the most beautiful and spine-tingling voices in the
world – which is perhaps best associated with the dark and dreamy music
of Mazzy Star – Hope Sandoval has just released a brand new album with
her other band, The Warm Inventions, entitled, Through The Devil Softly.

Renowned for being painfully shy – both in public and onstage – Hope
recently completed a Q&A for her record label, Nettwerk, which her UK
Press Officer Laura has generously allowed R*E*P*E*A*T to reproduce
here in its entirety.

And for those of you who may not have heard this songstress singing
yet, Hope’s voice will touch you deep inside your soul…

1.What were some of the goals you had in making the new album?
“We really don't set any musical goals for ourselves. We write our little
songs and if they're still sparkling in the morning they tell us what
they want to sound like. Sometimes they stay exactly the same, sometimes
we hear ghost guitars, ghost keys or a sound that isn't necessarily an
instrument but just a sound and we try to recreate that sound.”

Image

2.What are some of the common themes of the album?
“Me, Colm and Dirt Blue Gene.”

3.What does the album title, Through The Devil Softly, mean to you?
“It's a very sensational notion.”

4.You have been held up as a star of the shoegazer scene, how does that
sit with you?
“I'm not sure what shoegazing means.”

5.How did My Bloody Valentine's reunion affect you and/or the recording of
the album?
“The My Bloody Valentine reunion did catch us off guard, but it gave me more
time to spend listening to the record and change anything that needed to be
changed, or in other words, over analyze the record and indulge myself with
more time to work on it.”

6.The album is quiet and dreamy. Do you always lean toward the softer side or
sometimes rock out?
“These were the songs that we gravitated towards. They all seem to compliment
each other. If you play them really loud they will appear to be more ‘rock’.”

Image

7.Can you talk about your relationship with Colm? How do you guys work together?
“Kooky, lumpy and loveable.”

8.How did you and Colm meet? How did that graduate to playing and writing music
together?
“We got to know each other about 12 years ago in London; we met at in a club
there. Eventually he moved out to California and we just started playing music
together.”

9.Some of the songs on the new album were written in Ireland and some in
California. Was it an even split?
“I can’t remember the exact number, but I’ll say for the most part when we were
writing, some of the members of Dirt Blue Jean were here and we did write them
together in California. Most of the songs were written here in California.”

10.Your first album was released in 2001, why the long time spans between albums?
“After what happened in New York in 2001 we became afraid and spent a lot of
time speculating and some of the speculations were more frightening than the
bombs themselves. It seemed to pale the importance of music for us, but then of
course we realized it was the best remedy.”

11.In recent years you've worked with California indie artists like Devendra
Banhart and Vetiver. How did that come about?
“We love Vetiver and when Andy asked us to be involved with their first album
we were flattered. He's an amazing songwriter. It's always good to hear new great music.”

12.You have mentioned before that Mazzy Star has another album coming; why has it
been so long?
“Both David and myself live in different countries. It makes working difficult as
we need to be together during the process and the distance stretches the time.”

Image]

13.How do you feel about live performance now and can we expect something different
for your upcoming shows?
“I wouldn't expect much to change. I'm still the same.”

14.You've lived in the Bay Area for years – what has drawn you here and kept you
here?
“I came here to work with David (Roback). It was in the month of October and I
fell in love with the beautiful atmosphere.”

On the influence of her early years…

15.What were you like growing up?
“Introverted, shy and quiet.”

16.Where did you grow up? How has that influenced who you are today?
“I grew up in Los Angeles in a very rough neighborhood and these things always
cast a shadow on your personality. I definitely have used those childhood memories
in my music.”

17.What music did you first start listening to?
“I have no memory of my first moments of music, as music has always been in my life.”

Image

18.How did you get started in music?
“My father bought me a guitar when I was 12.”

19.When did you write your first song?
“I was 15 and I wrote my first song with Sylvia Gomez and it was called Shane.”

20.When did you know that making music was what you wanted to do with your life?
“I still wonder.”

The art of songwriting and performing live …

21.How did you discover the sound that you have now? Was it through collaboration,
or is that something you have always had?
“Obviously when you collaborate the end result is what you've created together…
the best music is ideas that are shared.”

22.How do you write your songs? Where does inspiration come from for you?

Image

22“There is nothing better than sitting in a restaurant and eavesdropping on the
table next to you. With a little bit of imagination, by the end of the night you
have a story.”

23.Your songs seem to come from a personal space though. Do you worry about how
they will be perceived and of possibly giving too much away?
“I often think about that, but one of the worst things you can do is stifle
yourself with what other people might think. You have to give yourself the freedom
to express yourself sincerely.”

24.It has been well documented that you dislike performing live, is that still
the case?
“I don't perform. I sing live and I do feel like myself, though it can be a bit
awkward at times.”

25.Your songs often sound so personal and intimate – was it strange for you when
others fell in love with your music so much? Is it still strange?
“No, not at all. It's nice to know people have a connection.”

26.What do you love most about what you do? And what do you like least?
“I love that I play my interpretation of music. My least favorite is the fools
that criticize it.”

27.As you prepare to hit the road once more, what can fans expect? Will you play
the whole new album, or some older songs as well?
“It’s going to be a mixture of the old and this new record.”

28.Any guest musicians in the works? Any possible surprises?
“We haven’t decided yet, it’s possible.”

Image

A very special thanks to Laura @ Nettwerk, for granting R*E*P*E*A*T permission to
reproduce the Hope Sandoval Q&A.

http://www.hopesandoval.com
http://www.myspace.com/hopesandoval
http://www.mazzystar.nu

“Is it me that you should deceive
Is that the devil in your eyes”
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2009, SEPT. 17, HOPE INTERV., GOOD TIMES, SANTA CRUZ

[hopesandoval.com had a link to this article which appears to be dead now,
but I found another working link here:
http://www.gtweekly.com/santa-cruz-area ... arkly.html
The online article has one photo, included below]

She Hangs Darkly
Good Times, Thursday, 17 September 2009

Image

Hope Sandoval returns with the Devil on her shoulder

Despite being a seasoned performer and the enigmatic voice behind
the dreamy ’90s folk pop cult band, Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval is
notoriously pained by the thought of performing. It’s been eight
years since a major tour, and her return to the road with Colm Ó
Cíosóig in the Warm Inventions, which kicks off this Friday,
Sept. 18 at the Brookdale Lodge, is no light affair—literally and
metaphorically.

With wistful atmospherics in dimly lit venues drawing audiences into
an intimate haze of seductive, reverb-drenched lyrics, Sandoval’s
signature mystery—and fragility—perhaps stems from the fact that she
just may be the ultimate shoegazer.

“I appreciate people coming out and being supportive [at shows] but it’s
really difficult,” the 43-year-old admits from her current digs in
California; her quiet, monotone voice reaching as if it’s barely able
to makes its way through the phone lines. “I think anybody, or most
people, would feel the same. It’s awkward to get up on a stage or
platform and have 300 or 500 people watching you. I always get nervous
before shows, just the whole idea of it is pretty nerve-wracking …
I still haven’t overcome it.”

Still, Sandoval’s recordings—polished orchestrations of lush melodies,
angst-friendly heartbreak and syrupy vocals—have betrayed that fact,
starting with Mazzy Star’s 1990 debut, She Hangs Brightly.

Now, as Mazzy Star quells fears of the band’s demise and puts the
finishing touches on a highly-anticipated fourth release (“It’s almost
done, there’s not really much left to do. But I don’t know when it’s
going to come out”), Sandoval’s Warm Inventions side project picks up
the baton with its sophomore tracklist and follow-up to 2001’s Bavarian
Fruit Bread, Through the Devil Softly. And whereas in Mazzy Star she
teams up with guitarist David Roback, here she finds comfort alongside
Ó Cíosóig, ex-My Bloody Valentine drummer.

“In this project I play a lot more guitar and Colm plays guitar, but we’re
not as good as David,” she says. “That stands out [as different]. Also, I
write more of the songs on my own, whereas in Mazzy Star every song was
written together.”

While penning the soon-to-be-released Through the Devil Softly (Sept. 29),
an album she describes not-so-surprisingly as “dark,” Sandoval’s gravitation
toward the imagery of the Devil continues beyond the CD title, because,
she explains ambiguously, “it just keeps popping up.” The songs
“Bluebird” and “Sets the Blaze” both swirl with lyrics referencing that
guardian of the underworld, while “Blanchard” boasts Sandoval musing,
“I knew then that we could never be blessed / … I play death in the space
of my life / That’s how I feel, and I never think it twice.”

Her lyrics throughout, which Sandoval says embody an amalgam of both
personal anecdotes and imaginary tangents, resonate against a veil of
undulating slide guitar, vibraphone, cello, harmonica, glockenspiel
and restrained drumming. Instrumentally, Sandoval and Ó Cíosóig share
duties this time with Irish indie rockers Dirt Blue Gene, which will
tour as the opening act and backing band for the Warm Inventions. The
band co-wrote a handful of the songs on Through the Devil Softly and
performs on about half of the tracklist so, Sandoval feels, “it’s almost
just as much their record as it is ours.”

She opens up with enthusiasm when describing the band’s involvement on the
CD, which was cross-continentally recorded at home and in Ireland, and she’s
amped to finally share the stage with her latest collaborators on this tour:
“It should be fun; Dirt Blue Gene is really amazing! I’ve heard their music
but I’ve never heard their band live, so I’m looking forward to that.”

So what about her own skills live, known to silence a room and spark shivers
in the soul? At the start of each night, Sandoval still follows the same
formula to help her face her fears and get through every concert like she
did early on. And it’s one that perfectly reflects the esoteric, haunting
songs she delivers.

“I just keep it dark,” she says, “and keep my eyes closed.”
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2009, SEPT. 24, COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT, HOPE & COLM INTERV.

http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/t ... id=1442474
[the online article has one photo]

Music - Sixty Seconds

The Warm Inventions
Sixty seconds with Hope Sandoval and Colm Ó'Cíosóig
By Tom Lanham

Image

Indy: It's been eight long years since the Warm Inventions released Bavarian
Fruit Bread. Where in the hell have you been?

HS: Well, we went to L.A. for two years. And we had a blast. We didn't wanna go
at all ... But we ended up having so much fun there. We moved into a really
amazing new house and we had parties every weekend, with old friends popping
in all the time.

Indy: But you two don't seem like social butterflies.

CÓ'C: Well, you're right , we're not. But we do manage to have fun.

HS: And we have a lot of friends in L.A.

Indy: How did you know it was finally time to track Through the Devil Softly?

HS: We thought we had it a year ago. But it was missing certain ingredients.
And then we had time to think about it, because Colm went back out on tour
with Kevin [Shields, leader of Ó'Cíosóig's other outfit, My Bloody Valentine].

Indy: There's lots of religious imagery on there. You were raised Catholic, right?

HS: Yes. And I believe in prayer, too — I know it really works. If you get 20 or
30 people, and everybody's praying for the same thing, it works. I've seen it.

CÓ'C: Yeah. It's all that energy, focused on one thing.

Indy: So what's your belief system?

HS: I've started to get into Jehovah's Witness things. I don't practice it myself,
but I've talked to many people who do and I've learned a lot from them. They say
that when you die, nothing happens. And I kinda like that idea. I mean, there are
so many wonderful things here on Earth, so where would you wanna go?

At Denver's Bluebird Theater, Oct. 1.

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2009, SEPT. 24, SF EXAMINER, INTERV. W. HOPE & COLM

[hopesandoval.com had an excerpt from this with a link, now dead.
There's a working link here:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/ ... id=2142459

New inventions for Hope and Colm

Together again: Hope Sandoval and Colm O’Ciosoig of My Bloody Valentine fame are
collaborating after a long break.

Dusky diva Hope Sandoval’s vocals are unmistakable on “Through the Devil Softly,” her first
new album in eight years with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O’Ciosoig, her partner
in Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. The shy, Berkeley-based artist has kept a low profile,
but she’s been busy, teaming with old bandmate David Roback for a Mazzy Star record and
hitting the tour trail again. Sandoval — who chatted with O’Ciosoig in one of The City’s
darkest bars last week — plays The Fillmore on Saturday.

Are you two a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend?
Sandoval: Of course we’re a couple. We’re together now, aren’t we? And Colm’s a boy, he’s
my friend and I’m a girl. We’re best friends and we live together. But it’s a very big house.
O’Ciosoig: Uhhh ... the answer’s no.

How do you disappear so well into the Bay Area? No one’s seen you for eight years.
Sandoval: Well, we went to L.A. for two years. And we had a blast. We didn’t want to go at all,
we thought we’d be miserable. But we ended up having so much fun there. We moved into a
really amazing new house and we had parties, parties every weekend, with old friends popping
in all the time. For some reason, everybody wanted to hang out with us. But here [in Berkeley],
I stay home a lot. Colm goes out more often, but I really like staying in.

How did you know it was finally time to record again?
Sandoval: We thought we had this album a year ago, but it was missing certain ingredients. But
we had time to really think about it, because Colm went back out on tour with Kevin
[Shields, of My Bloody Valentine].
O’Ciosoig: Like when you’re making a meal, and you taste it and there’s that one ingredient
that’s not there. And when you finally add that extra ingredient, it makes it whole. So me
going on tour gave us time to really digest it and add all the right things.

Out of all the artists I’ve interviewed over the years, you, by far, are always the quietest.
Sandoval: But I’m not quiet! Not really! I swear!
........................................................
IF YOU GO
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions

Where: The Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $26.50
Contact: http://www.livenation.com
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2009, SEPT. 28, GAFFA.DK, HOPE INTERV. (DANISH) [w. a new improved English translation as of April, 2020]
http://gaffa.dk/artikel/34484
[one photo accompanies the online article]
[below is my improved translation made Jan., 2020. The original Danish is pasted at the end]

Image


2009, SEPT. 28, GAFFA.DK, HOPE INTERV. (DANISH)
http://gaffa.dk/artikel/34484
[one photo accompanies the online article]
[below is my improved translation made Jan., 2020. The original Danish is pasted at the end]

Hope Sandoval: Taciturn Siren, by Ole Rosenstand Svidt

The American singer is back with her first album in eight years - and agreed to give a somewhat wordless interviewAmerican singer and song writer Hope Sandoval is back with her first album in eight years, "Through The Devil Softly," which, just like her preceding album, is released under the group name Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions and recorded in close collaboration with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosiog.

Hope Sandoval made her breakthrough with the group Mazzy Star, which released three albums in 1990, 1993 and 1996, and especially their second album, "So Tonight That I Might See" made them a cult name with the underground hit "Fade Into You". The music was low-key and deeply melancholic rock / country / folk, with Hope Sandoval's almost whispered vocals up front, and as a solo singer, Sandoval has not changed her expression dramatically.

Hope Sandoval is known for not like giving interviews, and in connection with her new album she has only given eight phone interviews worldwide - ten minute interviews each. GAFFA was lucky to get one of those interviews, but ten minutes should prove more than enough in the company of the mild-mannered, low-key singer. Below is a complete transcript of GAFFA's conversation with the spherical siren, who is also quite softspoken.

Hi Hope, congratulations on your new album. I think it's excellent.
- Thank you.

Why did it take you eight years to make a new album?
- I don't know. I don't keep track of time.

Have you been constantly recording over the eight years?
- Yes, on and off.

Did you do anything else in those eight years?
- Yes, I've done what people usually do. Eaten and slept and the like.

But have you been working on music full time? You haven't had a day job?
- No I have not.

You've been able to make a living from your music?
- Yes I can do that.

You've also worked with other artists - for example, you've sung on records with The Jesus And Mary Chain, Death In Vegas and Chemical Brothers, and you've been in the studio with Massive Attack. Has it been to make money or because you liked them?
- Because I like them.

And you have thus also recorded in many different genres, from rock to electronics. You have no problem with that?
- No, it's their music, and I like it.

How would you describe your new album compared to the previous one? How have you evolved?
- I don't know. I can't say anything about that.

Why do you stick to the same low-key sryle from album to album?
- Why do people keep asking about that? They have been doing this for 15 years [Hope Sandoval raises her voice slightly. -ed.].

Maybe because your music is so interesting. Or because you have not made a good bid yet.
- Hm. I don't know.

Why did you stop with Mazzy Star to go solo?
- I didn't. We still exist.

Oh, well. When are you going to release something new?
- Soon. We've recorded most of it. We probably need a month in the studio. But now I'm going on tour, so I'm gonna take a while.

How do you think your music sets you apart from Mazzy Star?
- I don't know.

Your record is called "Through The Devil Softly." A somewhat strange title. Can you say something about it?
- No, I can't.

But you use the word "devil" in the title. That is a strong symbol.
- Maybe. It depends on who you are.

So it's not necessarily a religious thing?
- No, but maybe.

Marie Fisker asks: I just have a few questions asked by one of your great fans, the Danish singer and songwriter Marie Fisker.
- Interesting.

Are the songs written before you go to the studio? Or do they happen in the studio?
- It changes a little bit. Sometimes they are, others are not.

How do you work in the studio?
- I improvise a lot. It changes from song to song.

You work with Colm O'Ciosiog from My Bloody Valentine. Can you tell me a little about your collaboration?
- He does most of the music, and I write the lyrics.

Who else is involved in the album?
- an Irish group called Dirt Blue Gene. We know them through friends, and they're good.

Now we are back to my own questions: There's something about you not being so fond of playing, but you do it anyway?
- I like to play live, but I can get nervous about the audience. It's a bit like going to the exam. Especially if they're not quiet.

Are you going to come to Denmark soon and play?
- Not at first, but maybe later.

Have you heard any new music that inspires you?
- Yes, Beach House, they're really good. They remind me a little of my old group, Opal [a precursor to Mazzy Star. -ed.].

[Hope Sandoval's publicity-person breaks in:] - there's only time for one more question.

Thank you, I think I've been given an answer to everything. Thank you very much for the interview, Hope.
- Thank you.

[Later Edit, April 2020 - Until recently, the English translation I had of this article was a poor one via Google Translate with garbled sentences, awkward phrases, and wrong-sounding words. Recently, I spent some more time on it, comparing results of a few different translation services, and looking up some words in a Danish-English dictionary. This new English version I came up with is more readable and comprehensible, and hopefully is accurate enough. -BB]

..................................................
ORIGINAL DANISH TEXT of the same GAFFA article

Hope Sandoval: Fåmælt sirene

Den amerikanske sangerinde er tilbage med sit første album i otte år - og indvilligede i at give et noget ordfattigt interview

GAFFA | Af Ole Rosenstand Svidt
Mandag d. 28-09-2009 kl. 09:00

Den amerikanske sangerinde og sangskriver Hope Sandoval er tilbage med sit første album i otte år, "Through The Devil Softly", ligesom forgængeren udsendt under gruppenavnet Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions og indspillet i tæt samarbejde med My Bloody Valentine-trommeslageren Colm O'Ciosiog.

Hope Sandoval fik sit gennembrud med gruppen Mazzy Star, der udgav tre album i 1990, 1993 og 1996, og især deres andet album, "So Tonight That I Might See" gjorde dem til et kultnavn med undergrundshittet "Fade Into You". Musikken var lavmælt og dybt melankolsk rock/country/folk med Hope Sandovals næsten hviskende vokal i front, og som solist har Sandoval ikke ændret voldsomt på sit udtryk.

Hope Sandoval er kendt for ikke at bryde sig om at give interviews, og i forbindelse med sit nye album har hun kun givet otte telefoninterviews på verdensplan - interviews på ti minutter hver. GAFFA var heldig at få et af disse interviews, men ti minutter skulle dog vise sig at være mere end rigeligt i selskab med den mildt sagt fåmælte sangerinde. Nedenfor følger en komplet afskrift af GAFFAs samtale med den sfæriske sirene, der også er ganske sagte, når hun taler.

Hej Hope, tillykke med dit nye album. Jeg synes, det er fremragende.
- Tak.

Hvorfor tog det dig otte år at lave et nyt album?
- Det ved jeg ikke. Jeg holder ikke øje med tiden.

Har du indspillet konstant gennem de otte år?
- Ja, on and off.

Har du lavet andet i de otte år?
- Ja, jeg har lavet det, folk normalt gør. Spist og sovet og den slags.

Men du har arbejdet med musik på fuld tid? Du har ikke haft et dagjob?
- Nej, det har jeg ikke.

Du har godt kunne leve af din musik?
- Ja, det kan jeg godt.

Du har også arbejdet med andre kunstnere - eksempelvis har du sunget på plader med The Jesus And Mary Chain, Death In Vegas og Chemical Brothers, og du har været i studiet med Massive Attack. Har det været for at tjene penge, eller fordi du godt kunne lide dem?
- Fordi jeg godt kan lide dem.

Og du har dermed også indspillet i mange forskellige genrer, fra rock til elektronika. Det har du ingen problemer med?
- Nej, det er jo deres musik, og jeg kan godt lide den.

Mazzy Star lever stadig
Hvordan vil du beskrive dit nye album i forhold til det forrige? Hvordan har du udviklet dig?
- Det ved jeg ikke. Det kan jeg ikke sige noget om.

Hvorfor holder du fast i det samme lavmælte udtryk fra plade til plade?
- Hvorfor bliver folk ved med at spørge om det? Det har de gjort i 15 år (Hope Sandoval hæver til en afveksling stemmen en anelse, red.).

Måske fordi din musik er så interessant. Eller fordi du endnu ikke er kommet med et godt bud.
- Hm. Det ved jeg ikke.

Hvorfor stoppede du med Mazzy Star for at gå solo?
- Det gjorde jeg heller ikke. Vi eksisterer stadig.

Nåda. Hvornår kommer I så med noget nyt?
- Snart. Vi har indspillet det meste. Vi mangler nok en måned i studiet. Men nu skal jeg på turné, så der går nok lidt tid endnu.

Hvordan synes du, din musik adskiller dig fra Mazzy Star?
- Det ved jeg ikke.

Din plade har titlen "Through The Devil Softly". En lidt mærkelig titel. Kan du sige noget om den?
- Nej, det kan jeg ikke.

Men du bruger ordet devil i titlen. Det er da et stærkt symbol.
- Måske. Det kommer an på, hvem man er.

Så det er ikke nødvendigvis noget religiøst?
- Nej, men måske.

Marie Fisker spørger
Jeg har lige et par spørgsmål, som er stillet af en af dine store fans, den danske sanger og sangskriver Marie Fisker.
- Interessant.

Er sangene skrevet, inden du går i studiet? Eller opstår de i studiet?
- Det skifter lidt. Nogle gange er de, andre ikke.

Hvordan arbejder du i studiet?
- Jeg improviserer en del. Det skifter fra sang til sang.

Du arbejder sammen med Colm O'Ciosiog fra My Bloody Valentine. Kan du fortælle lidt om jeres samarbejde?
- Han laver det meste af musikken, og jeg skriver teksterne.

Hvem medvirker ellers på albummet?
- En irsk gruppe, der hedder Dirt Blue Gene. Vi kender dem gennem venner, og de er gode.

Nu er vi tilbage ved mine egne spørgsmål: Der er noget om, at du ikke er så glad for at spille live, men du gør det alligevel?
- Jeg kan godt lide at spille live, men jeg kan godt blive nervøs over for publikum. Det er lidt som at skulle til eksamen. Især hvis de ikke er stille.

Kommer du snart til Danmark og spiller?
- Ikke lige i første omgang, men måske senere.

Har du hørt noget nyt musik, som inspirerer dig?
- Ja, Beach House, der er virkelig gode. De minder mig lidt om min gamle gruppe, Opal (en forløber for Mazzy Star, red.).

(Hope Sandovals pr-mand bryder ind:) - Der er kun tid til ét spørgsmål mere.

Tak, jeg tror, jeg har fået svar på det hele. Mange tak for snakken, Hope.
- Selv tak.

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2009, SEPT. 28, INTERVIEW MAG., HOPE INTERV.

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/ ... il-softly#

Interview magazine, (Sept. 28, 2009?)
Hope Springs

Mazzy Star's 1994 hit radio single "Fade Into You" might very well have been the sexiest song of the of the
decade. Taking inspiration from The Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser and Lynch chanteuse Julee Cruise, Mazzy
frontwoman Hope Sandoval would whisper sweet nothings over guitarist David Roback's languid strumming
and sparse, chamber-meets-shoegazer production. In the most recent decade, she has teamed up with My
Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O'Ciosoig to form Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, releasing
Bavarian Fruit Bread in 2001. A more minimal combination of voice and multi-instrumental percolations,
with guest guitar by the legendary Bert Jansch, the album received a warm critical reception and introduced
Sandoval's enigmatic songwriting to a much wider, post-indie audience.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF NETTWERK)
After an eight year hiatus–during which time Sandoval collaborated with Air, Massive Attack and the
Chemical Brothers–the Warm Inventions returned this summer with a new single, "Blanchard." Tomorrow,
a full-length album, Through the Devil Softly, will be released on Nettwerk. "Blanchard" is a bluesy collage of
acrylic dribbles and pneumatic atmospheres, quite incomparable to anything but Sandoval's own past work.
The whole of Through the Devil Softly takes a similar tack, blending hushed guitar strums and the
tintinnabulations of various bric-a-brac–autoharps, music-boxes, vibraphones–to haunting effect. With a voice
so dolorous and melodic–only ripening and gaining complexity with age–Sandoval could vie with Morrissey
as the most distinctive singer of her generation. Last month, with the sounds of an local folk band floating
in the background, I caught up with her via phone from Ireland.

ERIK MORSE: I read that you grew up in Los Angeles, and that got me to thinking whether film or Hollywood
had a big influence on you, because your music has always had such a cinematic quality?
Hope Sandoval: Somewhat. Well, not really. I was born there and I grew up in East LA, not Hollywood.

EM: Your vocals reminds me so much of Morrissey in an odd way.

HS: I love Morrissey! I love The Smiths! The Smiths were on Rough Trade and Mazzy Star was on Rough
Trade so we were sent their first singles years and years ago. And I loved them! I turned so many people
on to The Smiths before they got huge.

EM: I have so many friends who have fallen in love with your voice, which must be such an odd thing for
you to hear from people. Have you had a similar experience falling in love with a voice?

HS: Morrissey is definitely a good example. But there many, many singers I love. I'm here with my friends
right now and we were talking about June Tabor. She's an English folk singer and she sings a lot of Irish folk
songs. She's one of the most amazing singers. Her voice is beautiful. She is that voice I fell in love with.
I'm not sure if she's making records right now but she was recording from the 60s to the 90s. She was in a
group called the Silly Sisters.

EM: Much of your music has a childlike quality to it with all these toy sounds like music boxes and vibraphones.
Is there something you bring to your albums from childhood?

HS: Maybe. Probably. They're just beautiful sounds. Especially the vibes. The vibes have a really really
warm and beautiful sound. The music box on the new record was given to me and we just decided to use it.
I actually don't know how to play the vibes. I'm just winging it! I'm pretending.

EM: Your collaborator Colm's work in My Bloody Valentine is so noisy and layered and dense, and your music
is, by contrast, really acoustic and airy. So how do you guys work together musically as a unit?

HS: I've known Colm for a really long time. And I think for Colm, [the Warm Inventions] is a completely
different world, it's so mellow. It's a quiet world. Whereas when he works with Kevin [Shields] it's really
loud, but it just sort of works. But I never really thought about it in that sort of way until we made our first
record and the journalists were saying these things about the music being so much quieter. I think it's natural
for him.
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2009, OCT. 8, MONTREAL GAZETTE, Hope & Colm interv.
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/mont ... 9157825990

Melting into the music
HOPE SANDOVAL’S voice anchors the sonic tapestry of her Warm Inventions duo

Montreal Gazette 8 Oct 2009 T’CHA
DUNLEVY
NETTWERK

Image
Caption: : Hope Sandoval and her Warm Inventions partner, Colm Ó Cíosóig, perform tonight at
Le National in support of their first album together since 2001

Image
Caption: Hope Sandoval and Colm Ó Cíosóig share a subtle sense of humour in conversation

“There’s always unsettling going on,” Hope Sandoval said.

The singer-songwriter was explaining the disconcerting undertone to her breathtaking
new album Through the Devil Softly, with partner Colm Ó Cíosóig. Together they
are Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions.

“The world is quite unsettling,” Ó Cíosóig added, “especially the past eight years.”

It has been 20 years since the two musicians entered the public sphere with their
respective bands, Sandoval as one half of L.A.-based altrock/dream-pop duo Mazzy
Star, and Ó Cíosóig as drummer for Irish shoegazer outfit My Bloody Valentine.

Both groups attained a level of mythic appeal in the early to mid-’90s – Mazzy Star for
its spare, evocative compositions hinging on Sandoval’s arresting voice, My Bloody
Valentine for its intricate layers of noise combined with rock aesthetics and pop melody.

My Bloody Valentine reunited for a series of shows last year; and Mazzy Star has a
new album that is near completion, according to Sandoval, who first joined forces with
Ó Cíosóig for their 2001 album Bavarian Fruit Bread.

The two were on speakerphone from a Toronto hotel room Tuesday evening, still shaken up
from their experience with the “crazy border guards” on their way into our country.

“They trashed the bus,” Sandoval said. “They weren’t happy with us.”
Ó Cíosóig: “They went through stuff, threw receipts around.”
“We don’t even take drugs,” Sandoval continued, exhibiting a subtle sense of humour she
shares with Ó Cíosóig. It slips into their replies, either as distraction from questions
they would rather not answer, to avoid giving too much away, or simply as a buffer
against the outside world.

Through the Devil Softly is a strikingly intimate album. It goes beyond its predecessor
in creating a veritable sonic tapestry – taking stripped-down folk to a mesmerizing place
where details become larger than life.

“Every single aspect of (the music) is important,” Ó Cíosóig said. “Every noise, every
scratch, it’s all relevant. Every little piece that’s in there has a meaning unto itself.
We like to think about all these little corners. It’s kind of like a movie for us;
it’s quite visual.”

Sandoval’s voice is, of course, the centrepoint. Lan- guorous, crestfallen, comforting,
it melts into the surrounding sounds, providing an emotional anchor.

Her fans aren’t the only ones drawn to it. Despite the extended time between albums
(Mazzy Star’s last full length was 1996’s Among My Swan, making for a five-year gap
before Sandoval’s debut with Ó Cíosóig, and another eight years until their latest),
Sandoval has been in demand as a vocalist, appearing on songs by Air, the Chemical
Brothers, Vetiver and the Jesus and Mary Chain. She sings on Massive Attack’s forthcoming
album, tentatively titled Weather Underground.

“The (Massive Attack) songs are really good,” she said. “They sent me a couple of beautiful
tracks. It was fun. I worked on them in my studio – I haven’t met them. It’s better in a way.
You don’t have so much anxiety. (It’s hard singing) with somebody you don’t know. It’s
more free, more private on your own.

“It was difficult when I did the Chemical Brothers track (Asleep from Day, off their 1999
album Surrender). I went into their studio and recorded with them. It was nerveracking. I
had never met them. They were very nice, but I’m not used to singing in front of people
I don’t know.”

It is worth noting that Sandoval’s longest answer came while talking about working with
other people. She was comparatively tight-lipped about her own music, offering short
answers that hinted at something more, without revealing too much. Her shyness, it seems,
doesn’t prevent her from working with others.

“I just love music,” she said. “If somebody sends me something good or inspiring, I’m happy
to work together. Some of the best music happens when you’re collaborating with somebody,
with writers that write together: the Rolling Stones, the Beatles.

“The sum of two things is greater than what one person would do,” Ó Cíosóig said.
“It creates its own world. It’s quite unique.”

Still looking for something, some insight into the central element driving their music,
I asked what emotion they thought their songs conveyed. “Sad,” Sandoval said. “Sadness,”
Ó Cíosóig agreed. “Loss and sadness.”

“Everyone has lost something in their lives,” Sandoval continued.

Ó Cíosóig: “Whether you lose $5 walking down the street (Sandoval laughed in the background),
or your favourite pen, or a family member.” Sandoval: “A glove, a mitten, a sock.” Ó Cíosóig:
“There’s a continuing sense of loss in our lives. We can’t find our socks, I guess.” Hope
Sandoval and the Warm Inventions perform tonight at Le National, 1220 Ste. Catherine St. E.,
with Kate Boothman. Tickets cost $ 23 in advance, $ 25 at the door. Call 514-845-2014.

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2009, OCT. 9, WASHINGTON POST, HOPE INTERV.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03895.html
[the online article includes two photos embedded below]

MusicMaker
Profile of Enigmatic Singer Hope Sandoval

Image
[Caption to photo above: "Hope Sandoval, who experiences stage fright,
doesn't engage the audience during performances and often hides behind
her hair. (By Luz Gallardo)" ]

Image

By Moira E. McLaughlin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 9, 2009

Hope Sandoval's personality, as much as can be discerned from a truncated
15-minute interview, echoes her music. She is hard to understand, mysterious
and mellow.

And she doesn't give much of herself away.

On what she has been doing during her eight-year hiatus between full-length
albums with her band, the Warm Inventions, she says, "Various things." On what
it was like being part of Mazzy Star when the band's "Fade Into You" became a
1993 hit, she recalls, "We didn't really notice." On which musicians she likes,
she notes, "I listen to many different people." Finally on whether she likes
giving interviews at all, she comments, "It's okay."

Oh, and Sandoval is barely audible on the phone over the sound of my typing.

All this makes her appear aloof and bored. Which she may be. Or, she may be just shy.

The most interesting (known) fact about Sandoval is that she suffers from
stage fright, and a quick peek at YouTube clips of live performances reveals
this firsthand.

Sandoval, 43, has been singing since high school in Los Angeles. She started
performing with David Roback's band, Opal, in 1987. In 1989 Opal became Mazzy
Star, a progressive rock band with Sandoval and Roback writing ethereal,
meandering, undefined tunes along the same vein as Cowboy Junkies, only
(even) more chilled out.

Mazzy Star released three albums in six years. Their second album sold 40,000
copies, but the band faded with the 1990s. In 2001, Sandoval released her first
album with the Warm Inventions called Bavarian Fruit Bread, collaborating with
Colm O'Ciosoig from My Bloody Valentine.

Through the years, Sandoval recorded with such bands as the Chemical Brothers
and the Jesus and Mary Chain. (Sandoval dated William Reid of the Jesus and
Mary Chain for a time.)

Yet, despite all the performances, successful recordings and tours with big
names, Sandoval remains an enigma, and she doesn't aspire to change that.

Sandoval performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain on the "Late Show With David
Letterman" in 1994 with her arms behind her back and her head down, coy and
childlike. That's true of many performances: She hides behind her long, dark
hair and looks either very cool or very scared.

"Once the music is playing and I start to sing, I can block [the audience]
out and sing. I just go inside the music and hear the music. I close my eyes,"
says Sandoval, whom reviewers often use as a point of reference to describe
other singers with moody, mumbling sopranos.

She doesn't smile on stage or engage the audience. She is a performer
uncomfortable with performing. "Anybody would feel that way," she says.
"You walk into a room and 500 people are staring at you, it would make you
nervous. It's awkward."

At the same time, she believes it is important to perform live "because it's
real. You can cheat in the studio. You can't cheat live. You have to be able
to do it note for note."

Sandoval worked closely with O'Ciosoig again on her newest album, "Through
the Devil Softly," released last month. It's what you would expect from the
singer. Sexy (sleepy?) music, good for a rainy day.

According to Sandoval, Mazzy Star has been working on a fourth album, but she
didn't know when it would be released.

The one topic that does get Sandoval excited is California. She lives in the
San Francisco Bay area and she says, "I love it there!"

But that's all she'll reveal.

Hope Sandoval Appearing Wednesday at Sixth and I Synagogue, 600 I St. NW.
Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets: $22 in advance, $25 the day of the show.
202-408-3100 or http://www.sixthandi.com. The Download: For a sampling of
Hope Sandoval, check out: From "Through the Devil Softly": -- "Wild Roses" --
"Thinking Like That" -- "Trouble" From "Bavarian Fruit Bread": -- "Drop" --
"On the Low" -- "Feeling of Gaze"

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2009, OCT. 14, BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS, HOPE INTERV.

http://brightestyoungthings.com/article ... ntions.htm
[the online article has four photos embedded below]

Hope Sandoval Interview

Brightestyoungthings.com, Oct. 14, 2009

So, Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, which comprises of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and Colm Ó Cíosóig,formerly of My Bloody Valentine, released their impressive sophomore record, Through the Devil Softly, on September 29. Lucky for you, they’re playing at 8 p.m. tonight at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Until then, enjoy this short interview with media shy Sandoval. She’s a woman of very few words.

Image

-How are you?

HS: "Good, thanks."

-How’s the tour going?

HS: "It’s going well, I think. The band is getting really tight now. We’ve been on the road for almost three weeks now."

-Do you have a favorite city to play?

HS: "No, not really."

-How do you like D.C.? Have you been here before?

HS:"Yes I have. I like D.C….It’s a nice city."

Image

-You’ve worked with so many different artists, including Air, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chemical Brothers. Does a particular collaboration stand out amongst them?

HS: "I really enjoyed working on the new Massive Attack album. We didn’t really meet up. They just sent me these beautiful tracks. I like being alone and free to sing on my own and the time and vibe to create something.
I get really, really anxious if I have to go into the studio with someone I don’t know already."

-Who were your musical heroes growing up? What music inspired you then?

HS: "Rolling Stones were a big one. I got inspiration from lots of different styles though."

Image

-Through the Devil Softly is your second record with The Warm Inventions. Is there any particular significance
to the dark/gentle sounding title?

HS: "It just sounded good when it came out…and everyone has a little devil side of them trying to get out."

-How do you think the new record differs from Bavarian Fruit Bread?

HS: "I think it’s just a continuation of Colm and I writing together. These are the songs that surfaced this time around."

-So, what’s it like working with Colm? What was the writing and recording process like during the making of the
new record?

HS: "Colm and I are now really close friends…and we’re roommates, so the comfort level is there. We are free to
create as we want to. He’s an amazing musician, so that helps too. We’re on the same wave length and things
just flow really well."

Image]
..........................
Want more? Listen here [now dead MySpace page link]. And see her live tonight @The Synagogue [Sixth & I
Historic Synagogue, Washington, DC]
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2009, OCT. 15, DALLAS OBSERVER (W. QUOTES FROM OCT. 8 MONTREAL GAZETTE INTERV.),HOPE & COLM INTERV.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/col ... al-6405530
[no photos appear in the online article]

Colm O'Ciosoig Returns To Dallas With Hope Sandoval

Dallas Observer, Thursday, Oct 15 2009

Colm O'Ciosoig is back to perform in Dallas for a second time this year,
but, this time, earplugs won't be essential equipment to perhaps preserve
your hearing. And you almost certainly won't feel your clothes fluttering
in a sonic wind this time around as his band plays a legendary set-closing
song that includes 14 minutes of jet engine-loud, mind-washing white noise.
But, as was the case when he appeared with his band My Bloody Valentine,
O'Ciosoig will still be behind the drums, this time as a member of Hope
Sandoval and the Warm Inventions. Sandoval, of course, is the narcotic
voice of the mythic Mazzy Star, a band whose music defined the category of
slow-core psychedelic. Along with O'Ciosoig, her partner in both household
and the Warm Inventions, Sandoval is touring in support of their excellent
new release Through the Devil Softly. It's something of a special occasion,
too, this release. Let's face it: "Prolific" is not a term likely to be
applied to either Sandoval or O'Ciosoig. MBV's last release was 18 years
ago, Mazzy Star's was 13 years ago, and their last as Hope Sandoval and
the Warm Inventions came in 2001.

Despite the absence of newer albums, it should be noted that neither Mazzy
Star nor My Bloody Valentine ever disbanded. According to Sandoval, a new
Mazzy Starr album is nearly complete. And, O'Ciosoig says, the Warm Inventions
tour ends in London, where he'll join Kevin Shields to rehearse for MBV's
performance at the December Nightmare Before Christmas festival (curated
by MBV for All Tomorrow's Parties) and begin recording what should be a
future My Bloody Valentine release.

Back home though, the couple maintains a low profile in the Bay Area. A
much-sought-after vocalist, Sandoval has surfaced in recent years in
tracks from Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chemical Brothers and Air, among others.
She'll also appear on the pending release from Massive Attack. Notoriously
shy, when Sandoval lends her voice to another artist's music, she usually
records her tracks in her home studio, preferring to not actually meet and
sing with people she doesn't know.

"It's better in a way," Sandoval explained to the Montreal Gazette earlier
this month. "You don't have so much anxiety. It's hard singing with somebody
you don't know. It's more free, more private on your own."

Unsurprising that theirs is a musical household: "We inspire each other to
write," O'Ciosoig says, on a tour stop in Montreal. "And we are always playing,
trying things out on each other."

As such, Sandoval and O'Ciosoig each play multiple instruments on the new
release. O'Ciosoig is generally known for his drumming skills, and the
percussion on the new Warm Inventions album is spare and atmospheric, but,
on this album, O'Ciosoig also contributes guitar. "I started playing guitar
as a kid—actually before I started drumming—so it's not something new for me,"
O'Ciosoig says. Neither are the other contributions, necessarily. Also
appearing on the record are Mazzy Star keyboardist Suki Ewers and cellist
Ji Young Moon, and, perhaps most significant, the members of Irish band
Dirt Blue Gene, all of whom are old friends of O'Ciosoig's.

"We developed the songs long-distance, sending bits of songs back and forth,"
O'Ciosoig says. "Then we flew to Ireland and went into the studio to
complete the recording." Other parts of the record were recorded in a rented
cabin in the mountains of Northern California, O'Ciosoig further explains.
"We had to get away from the distractions of home and set up our portable
studio equipment in the cabin."

And though Sandoval remains a reticent live performer, O'Ciosoig says the
duo is enjoying its time out on the road performing, where they are
accompanied by Dirt Blue Gene. They've also enjoyed the benefit of
performing in the settings they most prefer.

"We've been out on the road for three weeks now," O'Ciosoig says, "and
the band is really coming together nicely. We've played a lot of small
venues and the occasional big one to make the economics work."

So, it stands to reason, the intimacy of the Sons of Hermann Hall should
be the perfect setting for the band's Dallas performance—an added treat
to the fact that shows from either musician are rare events in the region.

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2009, OCT. 15, GALWAY ADVERTISER, HOPE INTERV.

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article ... -risn-dubh

[This article mainly mainly quotes from the same Q & A Hope interview found in the Sept. 2009 Repeatfanzine article, & in the Aug. 9, 2010 Undertheradar article, but repackaged with the Galway Advertiser's
journalist's own comments added in. No photos accompany the online article]

She hangs brightly - Hope Sandoval to play Róisín Dubh

By Kernan Andrews, 15 Oct 2009

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - featuring Ó Cíosóig and Irish band Dirt Blue Gene - will play Strange Brew at the Róisín Dubh on Thursday October 29 at 8pm.

SHE WAS the gentle but sensuous and hypnotic voice of Mazzy Star. Today she takes that voice into quieter,more sparse, musical realms backed by My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. She is Hope Sandoval. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - featuring Ó Cíosóig and Irish band Dirt Blue Gene - will play Strange Brew at the Róisín Dubh on Thursday October 29 at 8pm.

Hope was born into a large Mexican-American family in east Los Angeles in 1966. At that time, California was becoming the centre of the hippy counter culture but in LA, the Watts Riots showed there was a dark underbelly to the Sunshine State.

“I grew up in a very rough neighbourhood and these things always cast a shadow on your personality,” says Hope. “I definitely have used those childhood memoriesin my music.” By her own admission, Hope grew up “introverted, shy, and quiet” but music provided an outlet for expression. “Music has always been in my life,” she says.

Hope’s father encouraged his daughter’s interest in music by buying her a guitar when she was 12. Three years later she took her first steps as a songwriter. “I was 15 and I wrote my first song with Sylvia Gomez and it was called ‘Shane’,” she says.

Five years later, in 1986, Hope and Sylvia formed a folk duo called Going Home and recorded an album produced by songwriter and guitarist David Roback - an active member of LA’s Paisley Underground scene. Going Home’s album was never released but meeting Roback was a major turning point in Hope’s life, leading her to move to the San Francisco Bay Area.“I came here to work with David,” she said. “It was in the month of October and I fell in love with the beautiful atmosphere.”

The meeting also led to Hope becoming part of one of the most admired US alternative bands of the 1990s - Mazzy Star.Mazzy Star began as Opal, a collaboration between Roback and singer Kendra Smith, when Smith left Hope took her place and the duo changed the band’s name to Mazzy Star. The band’s dark psychedelia showed the influence of The Doors and The Velvet Underground, while, as Allmusic.com said, “their fuzzy guitar
workouts and plaintive folky compositions are often suffused in a dissociative ennui that is very much of the 1990s.”

Mazzy Star released three albums - She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), and Among My Swan (1996). Since then the band have remained inactive but in July Hope told Rolling Stone that a fourth Mazzy Star album is being planned. However she admits it is taking time owing to the geographical distance between the two members.

“Both David and myself live in different countries,” she tells me. “It makes working difficult as we need to be together during the process and the distance stretches the time.”

Since 1996 though Hope has kept herself busy by collaborating with a variety of different artists, including Air, folk great Bert Jansch, and The Chemical Brothers. She is due to appear on the next Massive Attack album and has given support to Devendra Banhart and folk-band Vetiver. “We love Vetiver,” declares Hope, “and when Andy [Cabic, band leader] asked us to be involved with their first album we were flattered. He’s an amazing songwriter. It’s always good to hear new great music.”

Hope was not destined to remain in the background and in 2001 she re-emerged with a new band Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions and in October of that year released the album Bavarian Fruit Bread. Among the members of The Warm Inventions is the former My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig, whom Hope describes as “kooky, lumpy, and loveable”. How did she come to work with him? “We got to know each other about 12 years ago in London,” she says. “We met in a club there. Eventually he moved out to California and we just started playing music together.”

As with Mazzy Star’s long awaited fourth album, Hope took a long time to release the follow-up to Bavarian Fruit Bread. It was only this year that Through The Devil Softly came out. Why the eight year gap? “After what happened in New York in 2001 we became afraid and spent a lot of time speculating and some of the speculations were more frightening than the bombs themselves,” she said. “It seemed to pale the importance of music for us, but then of course we realised it was the best remedy.”

Aside from world events, events in the music world also delayed the recording of the album. My Bloody Valentine re-formed and Ó Cíosóig was back as sticksman for Kevin Sheilds.“The My Bloody Valentine reunion did catch us off guard,” admits Hope, “but it gave me more time to spend listening to the record and change anything that needed to be changed, or in other words, over analyse therecord and indulge myself with more time to work on it.” Eventually Hope, Colm, and Dirt Blue Gene were able to resume recording Through The Devil Softly, the songs being written in California and Ireland. Inspiration, for many of Hope’s songs it seems, comes from a little bit of eavesdropping.

“There is nothing better than sitting in a restaurant and eavesdropping on the table next to you,” says Hope. “With a little bit of imagination, by the end of the night you have a story.”

When it came to recording the songs, the approach was more one of imagination than science.
“We write our little songs and if they’re still sparkling in the morning they tell us what they want to sound like,” she says. “Sometimes they stay exactly the same, sometimes we hear ghost guitars, or a sound that isn’t necessarily an instrument, just a sound we try to recreate. The best music is ideas that are shared.”

Performing them live can sometimes be daunting. Rolling Stone noted how Hope is “notoriously terrified” about performing in public. “I don’t perform,” Hope says. “I sing live and I do feel like myself though it can be a bit awkward at times.”
...................................
Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago. Gugai will be DJing afterwards.
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2009, OCT. 16, LESINROCKS.COM, HOPE INTERV.

http://www.lesinrocks.com/2009/10/16/mu ... t-1136626/
[the original article is in French. This is an English translation
pieced together from a few different online translation sites.
One photo accompanies the online article]

Hope Sandoval: Above All

Hope Sandoval, the bewitching voice of Mazzy Star, returns to haunt
rock with thistles and cotton. For practicing levitation, in seventh heaven.

Image

In 1999, no one is yet afraid of flying. Michel Gondry [French director] realizes for
Air France a dreamy TV commercial, in which we hear Asleep from Day, a song by
Chemical Brothers sung by Hope Sandoval [In 1999 this TV ad by Gondry appared & is at
youtube, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEZ6koYWA4Q ].
From a plane, all the world seems flat. For those who discover the
voice of Hope Sandoval, it is the seventh heaven, and the beginning of a
long-term passion. But for Hope Sandoval, Chemical Brothers is only a stopover:
she is officially a co-pilot of the ghost ship Mazzy Star, whose three albums,
released between 1990 and 1996, evoke the existence of a foggy Bermuda Triangle
of the American popular psyche.

The beauty (something like the younger sister of gothic Nastassja
Kinski) escapes at the beginning of the third millennium, to begin a
new group-duo with Colm O Cíosóig, the drummer of My Bloody Valentine.
Through the Devil Softly is Hope Sandoval's second album with
The Warm Inventions, eight years after the first one. "We finance our
records ourselves, so we have the luxury to be able to take our
time, to play when we want, and not according to the terms of a record company.
Eight years is a long time, but we didn't notice," explains the singer during
a rare (and rather taciturn) phone conversation. In reality, it is not so
long. In the life of a witch, it is even short.

In eight years, Hope Sandoval did not discover the freak-folk song, the
fluokids, nor auto-tune. She pursues her quest for a floating music, in levitation,
disconnected from the contingencies of space-time. Through the Devil Softly is not
different from records recorded previouslyby Hope Sandoval. It is just better.
Even more blurry, torpid, spectral, ethereal. A record of folk songs, but without
beard or plaid shirt. Stark naked with scales, instead. The best criticism of this album,
is byArthur Rimbaud who wrote it in 1870: "Here are more than a thousand years
that the sad Ophelia / Past, white ghost, on the long black river / Here are
more than a thousand years that its sweet madness / Murmers its love song
to the evening breeze. "

Hope Sandoval sings as a painless siren who drifts blind among the
seaweed, where nothing moves, nothing suffers. Songs, sloping, fragile and
elusive, drawn in the sand before the arrival of the wave. "I live in San
Francisco, near the ocean, and yes, it is very important for me to be close to
the water." Hope Sandoval also confides that today she listens to a lot of
Fred Neil and Steely Dan. In her songs, we hear the cotton-y echo of the greats
of folk-rock of yesteryear, or the surf in the ocean of the Velvet Underground.
But Hope Sandoval and Colm O Cíosóig do not just replicate the music they love.
Through the Devil Softly is a trip of snorkeling, as spare and mysterious
arrangements (soulful choruses here, a glockenspiel there, a little
harmonica elsewhere), away from the coast of banality.
The album ends on "Satellite", which should logically should be soundtrack for
a TV commercial for the first interplanetary travel, without guarantee of return.

Album: Through the Devil Softly (Nettwerk / PIAS)
............................................................
[ORIGINAL FRENCH TEXT OF ABOVE ARTICLE]:

Hope Sandoval : au dessus de tout

Hope Sandoval, la voix ensorcelante de Mazzy Star, revient hanter un
rock tout en chardons et en coton. Pour pratiquer la lévitation, au
septième ciel.

En 1999, on n’a pas encore peur de prendre l’avion.
Michel Gondry réalise pour Air France une publicité rêveuse, dans
laquelle on entend Asleep from Day, un morceau des Chemical Brothers
chanté par Hope Sandoval. Dans l’avion, tout le monde plane. Pour ceux
qui découvrent la voix de Hope Sandoval, c’est le septième ciel, et
le début d’une passion au long cours. Mais pour Hope Sandoval, les
Chemical Brothers ne sont qu’une escale : elle est officiellement
copilote du vaisseau fantôme Mazzy Star, dont les trois albums, sortis
entre 1990 et 1996, évoquent l’existence d’un embrumé triangle des
Bermudes du folk psyché américain.

La belle (quelque chose comme la petite soeur gothique de Nastassja
Kinski) s’en échappe au début du IIIe millénaire, pour commencer un
nouveau groupe duo avec Colm O Cíosóig, le batteur de My Bloody Valentine.
Through the Devil Softly est le deuxième album de Hope Sandoval &
The Warm Inventions, huit ans après le premier. “Nous finançons nos
disques nous-mêmes, nous avons donc le luxe de pouvoir prendre notre
temps, de jouer quand nous en avons envie, pas selon les échéances
d’une maison de disques. Huit ans c’est long, mais on n’a pas remarqué”,
explique la chanteuse lors d’un rare (et plutôt taiseux) entretien
téléphonique. En vrai, ce n’est pas si long. Dans une vie de sorcière,
c’est même court.

En huit ans, Hope Sandoval n’a pas découvert le freak-folk,
les fluokids ni l’auto-tune. Elle poursuit sa quête d’une musique flottante,
en lévitation, déconnectée des contingences de l’espace-temps. Through the
Devil Softly n’est pas différent des disques enregistrés précédemment par
Hope Sandoval. Il est juste meilleur. Encore plus flou, torpide, spectral,
éthéré. Un disque de folk, mais sans barbe ni chemise à carreaux. Tout nu
avec des écailles, plutôt. La meilleure critique de cet album, c’est Arthur
Rimbaud qui l’a écrite, en 1870 : “Voici plus de mille ans que la triste
Ophélie/Passe, fantôme blanc, sur le long fleuve noir/Voici plus de mille
ans que sa douce folie/Murmure sa romance à la brise du soir.”

Hope Sandoval chante comme une sirène indolente qui dérive à l’aveugle parmi
les algues, là où rien ne bouge, rien ne souffre. Des chansons déclives,
fragiles et insaisissables, dessinées dans le sable avant l’arrivée de la
vague. “Je vis à San Francisco, près de l’océan, et oui, c’est très important
pour moi d’être près de l’eau.” Hope Sandoval confie aussi qu’aujourd’hui elle
écoute beaucoup Fred Neil et Steely Dan. Dans ses chansons, on entend l’écho
ouaté des majestés folk-rock d’antan, ou le ressac dans l’Ocean du Velvet
Underground. Mais Hope Sandoval et Colm O Cíosóig ne se contentent pas de
répliquer la musique qu’ils aiment. Through the Devil Softly est un trip en
apnée, que des arrangements économes et mystérieux (des choeurs soul ici, un
glockenspiel là, un peu d’harmonica ailleurs) tiennent éloigné des côtes de
la banalité. L’album s’éteint sur Satellite, qui devrait logiquement illustrer
la publicité télé pour les premiers voyages interplanétaires, sans garantie de
retour.

Album : Through the Devil Softly (Nettwerk/PIAS)

..........................................................................................................
**********************************************************************************************************
..........................................................................................................

2009, OCT. 18. L.A. TIMES, HOPE & COLM INTERVIEW

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/18 ... ndoval18/2
[no photos accompany the online article]

Hope Sandoval: Shadowy as she was with Mazzy Star

L.A. Times,October 18, 2009, Steve Appleford

The East Los Angeles native is drawn to singing but not the spotlight.
Her latest collaboration is with Colm O'Ciosoig of My Bloody Valentine.


Hope Sandoval: Shadowy as she was with Mazzy Star
The East Los Angeles native is drawn to singing but not the spotlight.
Her latest collaboration is with Colm O'Ciosoig of My Bloody Valentine.
October 18, 2009

Hope Sandoval prefers the darkness. It's how she feels comfortable
onstage, with the lights down low, freeing the singer from the
distraction of all those strangers watching from the audience.
"I just hide and sing," she explains.

Sometimes, she hides a little too well. After a September performance
in San Francisco, four fans demanded a refund because they couldn't
see her, as if unconvinced that Sandoval had been there at all.

"It's so ridiculous," she says, more puzzled than annoyed. "What do you
want to look at?"

Sandoval's nightly retreat to the shadows fits well with the music she
makes. Fronting Mazzy Star at the beginning of the '90s, she sang with
emotional remove, her voice floating across waves of spectral folk and
haunted honky-tonk. The band's second album, 1993's "So Tonight That I
Might See," went platinum, but by the end of that decade, Mazzy Star
was essentially dormant.

Sandoval, though, remained active -- guesting on albums by Air, the
Jesus and Mary Chain and Chemical Brothers, and releasing an album as
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions in 2001. Now, the L.A. native is
embarking on something of a comeback, heading out on the road for the
first time in six years to support her newest release, "Through the
Devil Softly."

Sipping wine high up in the concrete Masonic tower overlooking Hollywood
Forever Cemetery, Sandoval remains the same waif-like figure she was a
decade ago. In a few hours, she would be in the building's small theater
with her band, performing some of that new material, from the shadows,
of course.

"It's been fun," she says of the tour, which returns her to Los Angeles
on Thursday for a performance at the Mayan Theater, "but it's been
difficult."

East L.A. roots

Sandoval's reluctance to embrace the spotlight might seem at odds with
her chosen career, but for the young girl growing up in an East L.A.
neighborhood -- one she describes as a "really, really rough area ...
...drugs, gangs. We lived on the most popular drug street" -- music
turned out to be her calling.

"There was a lot of music in my house growing up," she says. "My sister
loved country music. My mother loved Spanish music. And my dad was into
big band music and jazz."

By the time she was in high school, Sandoval was part of an acoustic
folk duo called Going Home, which she founded with her friend Sylvia
Gomez, and already was gravitating to the alternative scene. "I think
we decided that's what we were capable of," says Sandoval, who drew
inspiration from the uncompromising example of singer Exene Cervenka
of X. "That's how we could express ourselves. [Gomez] could play guitar
and I could sort of sing."

Their third show was a mid-'80s gig opening for the Minutemen and
Sonic Youth at the Anti-club in Hollywood: "It was a crazy, crazy crowd.
We just thought, 'What are we doing here?' But they were so sweet to us.
Everybody stayed really quiet and listened."

Going Home made some never-released recordings produced by David Roback,
who soon recruited Sandoval into his band Opal, which evolved into
Mazzy Star. The duo's 1990 debut, "She Hangs Brightly," earned immediate
attention from critics, but neither Sandoval nor her partner were
comfortable with the mainstream attention that soon followed.

"I had to beg to get out of my contract with Capitol," says Sandoval.
"They wanted me to work with big producers. I wanted to produce my music,
and they weren't having that. I'm sure they were happy to let me go.
I just didn't want to do what they wanted me to do."

Roback relocated to Norway, and Mazzy Star hasn't been heard from since.
But Sandoval insists "Mazzy Star was never over," and says the duo has
worked most of this decade to finish what will be its fourth album
together. It's nearly done, though she won't predict when it might
see release.

My bloody partner

For "Through the Devil Softly," Sandoval turned to a different
collaborator, Colm O'Ciosoig, also the drummer for the reunited
My Bloody Valentine. The two began working together a dozen years
ago after being introduced by the Jesus and Mary Chain's William Reid.

In contrast to the dreamy thunder O'Ciosoig makes with My Bloody
Valentine, the drummer learned to pull back for his work with Sandoval,
using brushes and mallets, hitting the drums with a much softer touch.

"I put more dynamics into it," he says. "In a way, this style of
playing is more challenging."

Sandoval and O'Ciosoig share a house in Berkeley, where much of the
new album was recorded, with additional sessions in Sonoma County
and Ireland. The result has noticeably less twang than Mazzy Star
but retains Sandoval's eerie sense of melody. There are ominous,
shimmering shades of black on "Trouble," and a delicate acoustic
vulnerability on "Baby Sam" and "Sets the Blaze."

Sandoval and O'Ciosoig were happy to work at their own pace,
indifferent to the years that passed between Warm Inventions albums.

"That could be the death of any good musician, to have to force yourself
out there and keep on writing songs," says O'Ciosoig, who also played
guitar and keyboard on the album. "It could screw up your soul to do that.
It's good to have time to just enjoy life, and not have to be running
around to feed the music industry."

The attitude might be familiar to fans of My Bloody Valentine, which broke
up just before its influence was about to be felt across the young
alternative nation. Following years of silence, My Bloody Valentine
recently reunited for live performances, including a set at the Coachella
Valley Music and Arts Festival this year.

"We were a bit of a mystery," says O'Ciosoig of the band's reputation.
"It's always good to have something you can't quite figure out. If you
leave a good repertoire of stuff behind, it makes it more interesting
than churning out stuff that isn't as good."

'Welcome back!'

Hours later, Sandoval and the Warm Inventions are performing, barely
visible in silhouette on a stage illuminated by candles and a soft
green light behind the drum kit.

The first song is "Blanchard," a ballad of swirling dark and light; a
film loop of silent-era dancers intercut with nuclear-blast footage
shimmers on a wall above the band, which plays with a quiet, swelling force.

When it's over, a fan breaks the silence to yell, "Welcome back!" Much of
the crowd cheers along to the sentiment, but Sandoval does not bow or wave.
She stays in the shadows, still happy to be heard and not seen.
--
calendar@latimes.com
--
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
Where: Mayan Theater, 1038 S. Hill St., Los Angeles
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Price: $24
Contact: (213) 746-4287
................................................................................................
************************************************************************************************
................................................................................................

2009, OCT. 23, IRISH TIMES, HOPE INTERV.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/here- ... g-1.761119
[no photos accompany the online article]

Fri Oct 23, 2009

Here's Hoping

She finds live performing strange, dislikes interviews like this one, and rarely hangs out with
other musicians. Luckily, Hope Sandoval makes gorgeous music, writes TONY
CLAYTON-LEA

HOPE SANDOVAL is on her way to Denver, and there are things on her mind. First, there's
a new side project album ( Through the Devil Softly ); second, there's the on-going job of an
album for her band Mazzy Star album (out next year), and then there's her apparent liking
for Irish musicians.

Currently working under the band name of the Warm Inventions, 43-year-old Sandoval is
touring the US and Europe with a band consisting of blokes from Tallaght. Although known
for this tour as The Warm Inventions, the lads (Al Browne, Charles Cullen, Dave Brennan,
Mick Whelan, Paul Brennan) normally go by the name of Dirt Blue Gene. Factor in, also,
that Sandoval has collaborated on a regular basis with My Bloody Valentine's drummer,
Colm Ó Cíosóig, and Atlanta-based (yet Drogheda-raised) guitarist Paul McQuillan, and it's
a reasonable assumption, surely, to note that Sandoval is partial to a bit of green-hued company.

Not that she will give anything away on this subject; indeed, Sandoval will give very little
away on any subject, for she is a most reticent interviewee. Like another notorious Ticket
interviewee, Ray LaMontagne, Sandoval's casual impulse to express herself through music
doesn't always translate to the demands of promotional duties. But it's a long way to Denver
and we've got loads of time, so as the minutes pass, we ease into something that approximates
a conversation.

A new album, for instance, is always something that even the most button-lipped musician will
talk about, and so it proves, although whether she's prodded by a sense of guilt or commerce
it's difficult to tell.

Through the Devil Softly , admits Sandoval matter-of-factly, is slightly different from her previous
work by virtue of the presence of Dirt Blue Gene and Ó Cíosóig. The former, she says, were
introduced to her by a mutual friend; she and the band clicked and began to co-write. She
met the My Bloody Valentine drummer about 12 years ago in London, stating that she had
always admired his band but wanted to work with him specifically. When the drummer moved
out to California, he and Sandoval started to hang out together and play music. She is fulsome
(or as fulsome as she can muster) in her praise for Ó Cíosóig.

"He takes on whatever role he feels like taking on. He plays bass, he plays keyboards, he plays
guitar, he sings. He's always been creative, and he's always played music, but I think now it's a
little more organic."

Organic is an apt description of Sandoval's work ethic. She seems to work only with people she
feels empathy or sensibility with, and she freely admits that she doesn't actually know very many
musicians. Sandoval, then, takes her time with things. For example, the new album is the
follow-up to 2001's debut Warm Inventions album, Bavarian Fruit Bread. Eight years seems
a long time until you realise that the forthcoming Mazzy Star record (which she is making in
partnership with her long-time cohort David Roback) is the follow-up to 1996's
Among My Swan .

Ask her why projects she commits to take so long, and she'll think about the question for some
seconds, play for time, and gradually reply with something as (frankly) insultingly vague as,
"I don't really know, we don't really keep track of time."

Despite her lack of enthusiasm to talk, there is something fascinating and gorgeous about her
music; Sandoval's whisper-singing glides along streams of bluesy slide guitar and soft reverb
- it is mellow in the extreme. It's very Mazzy Star, inevitably, but there are enough imposing,
impressive psychedelic folk moments on the new record to compensate for her slo-mo answers
and the boho abstractedness.

Of course, such an approach works subtle wonders on stage. Her live shows are a display of
utter fandom as well as an acknowledgement of the artist's right to remain silent between songs.
In short, Sandoval doesn't seem comfortable with performing live. (Indeed, two weeks ago,
at New York's Bowery Ballroom, she stormed off stage, visibly upset at what appeared to be
a continuing sound problem.) What is it about live gigs that doesn't suit you?

"It's difficult for me, awkward, as it would be for a lot of people," she says. "When you get up
on stage and are in front of 300 to 500 people, and they're just watching you for an hour,
it's a strange thing to be doing. I'm not a born entertainer, and I don't have a huge ego,
so I'm not sure where that leaves me."

And with that, it's back to driving towards Denver, looking forward to the next gig, and
dreading the next phone call.
.......................................
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions play Galway's Róisín Dubh on October 29th, and
Dublin's Vicar Street on October 31st. Through the Devil Softly is on Nettwerk Records.
.........................................................................................................
*********************************************************************************************************
.........................................................................................................

2009, NOV. 9, DIFFERENT STARS site, HOPE INTERVIEW
An improved English translation (I re-did it Jan., 2020) from the German original (plus I've pasted the German text at the end, below. One photo by Luz Gallardo accompanies the online article, a publicity photo I've seen used in many Hope articles, no doubt 'cause it's such a good one. Some quotes from Hope were kept in English in the original German article: all the ones that are in quotation marks.
...................................................................
Different Stars, Nov. 9, 2009
http://lieinthesound.de/2009/11/im-gesp ... -sandoval/

I'm talking to Hope Sandoval

Different Stars:
If your best friend had to describe you with one word, Which word would that be? "

Hope Sandoval:
"Sunny...silly."

Image

Friday 13.00 hrs - after almost all the good spirits of technology have left us, I type the number of the Park-Inn, Berlin into the keys of my mobile phone - then forwarded at lightning speed from the reception desk, I have a somewhat surprised Hope Sandoval on the phone. An outraged "We said one" sounds to me. Oh dear, I think to myself. It is 13.00.26 and I almost consider the interview as finished. Hope Sandoval is one of the most interview-shy artists of our time. Experienced music journalists have already failed in their attempts to elicit more than just monosyllabic answers from the singer. My mind is switching faster than I can think. Summer/winter time changeover, "maybe that's causing the trouble?" I offer to call again an hour later - but no, Miss Sandoval may talk to me now.

Small talk to warm up. I want to know whether she has a special relationship to Germany or Bavaria, and
refer to the name of the first Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions album "Bavarian Fruit Bread."

"It's a secret message to somebody," answers Hope. Pleasant banter on my part and hers follows. Secrets must remain secrets - the Bavarian would have interested me, as I am of Bavarian descent... She has never been to Bavaria, but would like to travel there, Hope says cheerfully; my reply, she would have more luck with the weather there than in Berlin, is acknowledged by her with an almost indignant "but the sun is shining".

Asked how her best friend would describe her in one word, Hope answered with "sunny." After a short hesitation she added a little "silly." The question of all the questions asked again and again to all songwriters: What makes them write songs?- "No Idea - I have always done it." It just is - she has always done it. She grew up surrounded by people who make music, says Hope Sandoval. "It was just supposed to be." There was not one particular songwriter or musician who inspired her. Music has always been part of her life. At the moment she is listening to the music of Beach House who she says sounds similar to Opal (note: the former band of her Mazzy Star partner David Roback) [Hope herself joined Opal in Nov. 1987, replacing Kendra Smith as Opal singer before Opal became Mazzy Star in 1989 -BB]

Part of the fascination of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions songs for me are the lyrics, which mostly speak in emotional images rather than tell stories. There was the assumption of lyrical creation apart from music. In her warm, straightforward manner, she replied: No - poems are not her thing. “Not that I hate poetry, I don’t hate poetry… I like Dylan Thomas, that’s all, he’s getting away with it.”

Back to the supposed monosyllablicity that is attributed to the singer. Asked about the fact that she only says a few words on stage - a short "hello" and thank you to the audience, and otherwise does not talk to the audience, she counters: "But I am talking to the audience. 'Cause when I sing I am talking. I am already talking...you know." In short: She speaks to the audience with her music.

She herself would not like to go to concerts where musicians talk about the songs or the weather, she goes to listen to the music. She says it's enough to say "Hello", "Thank you" and "Goodnight". People don't come to her concerts to hear her talk, and she doesn't know what to say either.

As described in our concert review and elsewhere, Hope Sandoval performs in semi-darkness, mostly turned away from the audience. Her shyness is legendary. When asked, she quickly gets to the point. Yes, she is shy, but that is normal, every normal person would feel uncomfortable if they would perform in front of 300-500 people and all eyes would be on them, she also doesn't think it is natural: " It's just not natural...it's not in our nature to do it. Some people are really good at it, but...that's not a normal thing to do."

With a torrent of words, but evasively she answers the question of whether there were any highlights on the tour that were worth the effort: Touring is important, it makes no sense to record a record and then not to play live. It's part of it... One learns very quickly when interviewing Hope Sandoval that her music is a secret is that she does not want to analyze or comment about. Asked what the difference for her is between a solo album and a Mazzy Star album, she simply replies: She works with different people, and adds she also plays guitar in Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, while she just sings and writes the songs in Mazzy Star.

Hope Sandoval likes to work together with other musicians, that soon becomes clear in conversation. The current album was created together with the members of Dirt Blue Gene, who also accompany her on tour as a live band and support act.

The plans for the next months sound promising: "A decent recording in the next couple of months." After the tour is finished, new tracks will be worked on in the studio. This time, no 8 years are to pass, but Hope Sandoval can't and won't commit herself exactly to the release date. "Soon"...whatever that means," she adds self-ironically.

More concrete is her collaboration with Massive Attack, the release of Weather Underground release [The Massive Attack album referred to is called "Heligoland" -BB] is imminent. Hope Sandoval will be a guest singer on two songs on the album*, which will be released in early 2010. Just 2 days ago she heard the finished songs for the first time. "I can absolutely relate to it. So far it's pretty amazing". It's very pleasant to work with Massive Attack, they are really talented, Hope Sandoval enthuses...Only one thing remains to be said: The damn recording device didn't want to work as it should. Either the rumors about Miss Sandoval's monosyllablicity are exaggerated, or this was the documented world exception of all time, which would have been much longer on tape ;-)

Thank you very much for the interview Hope Sandoval!

Greetings and kisses to Hamburg to Patricia Nigiani from Nettwerk for making this possible.

*[Only one Hope-collab song she sings on, "Paradise Circus," ended up on the 2010 Massive Attack album. The second song Hope mentions, "Four Walls," was released later in 2010 as a single: "Paradise Circus + Four Walls" with both songs mixed by UK artist "Burial." Massive Attack commissioned Burial to do the mixes. Hope wrote lyrics and vocal melodies for both songs. -BB]

Different Stars

[I translated from the original German text using a few different translation site tools. I previously had a poor translation (with some garbled, incoherent sentences) via Google Translate from a few years back. Today, I put some more time into it, comparing results from several different translation services. Also, I notice Google Translate has improved so it gives more accurate translations now than it used to. The German original published some of Hope's answers in English, not German. Replies by Hope the article shows in quotation marks are shown in English in the original German article. Other Hope answers (not in quotation marks), the article reports in German, not English. Those had to be translated back into English, hopefully accurately. The original German version is pasted below the English translation -Hermesacat (Bob Beatty)].
.........................................................................
[Pasted below is the same article as above but in its original form without translating the German into English]:

Im Gespräch mit Hope Sandoval

DifferentStars:

If your best friend had to describe you with one word, which word would that be?”

Hope Sandoval:
"Sunny… silly."

Freitag 13.00 Uhr – nach dem uns fast alle guten Geister der Technik verlassen haben, tippe ich die Nummer des
Park-In Berlin in die Tasten meines Handys – dann blitzschnell von der Rezeption weitergeleitet, hab ich eine etwas
überraschte Hope Sandoval am Apparat. Empört tönt mir ein “We said one” entgegen. Oh weh, denk ich mir.
Es ist 13.00.26 und ich sehen schon fast das Interview als wieder beendet an. Hope Sandoval gilt als eine der
Interview-scheusten Künstlerinnen unserer Zeit. Gestandene Musikjournalisten sind schon gescheitert am Versuch,
der Sängerinnen mehr als nur einsilbige Antworten zu entlocken. Mein Verstand schaltet schneller, als ich denken
kann. Sommerzeit-Winterzeit-Umstellung “maybe that’s causing the trouble?” Ich biete an, eine Stunde später
nochmal anzurufen – aber nein, Miss Sandoval mag doch jetzt mit mir reden.

Smalltalk zum Warmwerden. Ob sie einen besonderen Bezug zu Deutschland oder Bayern habe, will ich wissen
und beziehe mich auf den Namen des ersten Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions Albums “Bavarian Fruit Bread“.

“It’s a secret message to somebody” antwortet mir Hope. Nettes Geplänkel meiner- und ihrerseits folgt. Geheimnisse
müssen Geheimnisse bleiben – das Bavarian hätte mich interessiert, da ich bayrischer Abstammung sei… Sie wär noch
nie in Bayern gewesen, würde aber gerne mal dorthin reisen, plaudert Hope gutgelaunt, meine Erwiderung, dort
hätte sie auch mehr Glück mit dem Wetter als in Berlin, wird von ihr mit einem fast empörten “but the sun is shining”
quittiert.

Wie ihre beste Freundin sie mit einem Wort beschreiben würde, beantwortet Hope mit “sonnig” nach kurzem Zögern fügte sie noch ein kleines “töricht” hinzu.

Die Frage aller immer wieder an alle Songwriter gestellten Fragen: Was sie dazu bewege, Songs zu schreiben?– “No Idea – I have always done it”. Es ist einfach so – sie hat es schon immer gemacht. Sie sei umrundet von Menschen, die Musik machen aufgewachsen, erzählt Hope Sandoval. “It was just supposed to be”. Es gäbe nicht den einenSongwriter oder Musiker, der sie inspiriert habe. Musik war schon immer Teil ihres Lebens. Sie höre im Momentgerne die Musik von Beach House, verrät sie, diese klängen ähnlich wie Opal (Anm.: Die frühere Band ihresMazzy Star-Partners David Roback).

Teil der Faszination von Mazzy Star und Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions Songs sind für mich die Lyrics, die
meist eher in emotionalen Bildern sprechen denn Geschichten erzählen. Da lag die Vermutung nach lyrischem Schaffen
abseits der Musik nahe. In ihrer herzlich direkten Art erwiderte sie: Nein – Gedichte sind nicht ihre Sache. “Not that
I hate poetry, I don’t hate poetry… I like Dylan Thomas, that’s all, he’s getting away with it.”

Zurück zur vermeintlichen Einsilbigkeit, die der Sängerin zugeschrieben wird. Darauf angesprochen, dass sie auf der
Bühne nur wenige Worte – ein kurzes “Hallo” und Dankeschön ans Publikum richte und sonst nicht mit den Zuhörern
rede, kontert sie: ” But I am talking to the audience. Cause when I sing I am talking. I am already talking…you know”.
Kurz und knapp übersetzt: Sie spricht mit ihrer Musik zum Publikum.

Sie selber ginge nicht gerne zu Konzerten, bei denen die Musiker über die Songs redeten, oder übers Wetter, sie ginge
hin um die Musik zu hören. Es sei genug “Hello” , “Thank you” und “Goodnight” zu sagen. Die Leute kämen auch
nicht zu ihren Konzerten, um sie reden zu hören, außerdem wisse sie auch nicht, was sie sagen sollte.

Wie in unserem Konzertbericht und auch anderenorts beschrieben, Hope Sandoval tritt im Halbdunkel auf, meist
abgewandt vom Publikum. Ihre Schüchternheit ist legendär. Darauf angesprochen, kommt sie schnell auf den Punkt.
Ja, sie sei schüchtern, aber das sei normal, jeder normale Mensch würde sich unwohl fühlen, wenn er vor 300-500
Menschen auftreten würde und alle Augen auf ihn gerichtet wären, sie halte das auch nicht für natürlich: ” It’s just
not natural… it’s not in our nature to do it. Some people are really good at it, but… that’s not a normal thing to do.”

Mit einem Wortschwall und dennoch ausweichend beantwortet sie die Frage, ob es auf der Tour Highlights gegeben
habe, die die Mühe wert gewesen seien. Touren sei wichtig, es mache keinen Sinn eine Platte aufzunehmen und dann
nicht live zu spielen. Es gehöre dazu…. Man lernt sehr schnell beim Interviewen von Hope Sandoval, dass ihre Musik
ein Geheimnis ist, dass sie nicht analysieren oder kommentieren möchte. Gefragt, was für sie der Unterschied zwischen
einem Soloalbum und einem Mazzy Star-Album sei, erwidert sie schlicht und einfach: Sie arbeite mit unterschiedlichen
Menschen zusammen, fügt noch hinzu, dass sie bei Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions auch Gitarre spiele, während
sie bei Mazzy Star nur singe und die Songs mitschreibe.

Hope Sandoval arbeitet gerne mit anderen Musikern zusammen, dass wird schnell im Gespräch deutlich. Das aktuelle
Album ist zusammen mit den Mitgliedern von Dirt Blue Gene entstanden, die auch sie auch auf Tour als Liveband
begleiten und als Support-Act spielen.

Vielversprechend klingen die Pläne für die nächsten Monate: “A decent recording in the next couple of month”,
nach Abschluss der Tour wird im Studio an neuen Tracks gearbeitet. Diesmal sollen auch keine ganzen 8 Jahre
vergehen, genau kann und will sich Hope Sandoval jedoch nicht festlegen, was den Release-Termin betrifft.
“Bald”… “whatever that means”, fügt sie selbstironisch hinzu.

Konkreter wird’s was ihre Kollaboration mit Massive Attack betrifft, der Release von Weather Underground
stünde kurz bevor. Hope Sandoval wird auf dem Album, das Anfang 2010 erscheint, bei zwei Liedern als
Gastsängerin mitwirken. Gerade 2 Tage sei es her, da habe sie die fertigen Songs zum ersten Mal gehört.
“I can absolutely relate to it. So far it’s pretty amazing”. Es sei sehr angenehm mit Massive Attack zusammen
zu arbeiten, sie seien wirklich sehr talentiert, schwärmt Hope Sandoval.

Bleibt nur noch eins zu sagen: Das verdammte Aufnahmegerät wollte nicht so, wie es sollte. Entweder die
Gerüchte um Miss Sandovals Einsilbigkeit sind maßlos übertrieben, oder dies war die nun schriftlich dokumentierte
Weltausnahme aller Zeiten, die auf Band, noch viel länger geworden wäre ;-)

Vielen Lieben Dank fürs Interview Hope Sandoval!

Gruß und Kuss nach Hamburg an Patricia Nigiani von Nettwerk fürs Möglichmachen.

DifferentStars
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2009, DEC. 29, THE QUIETUS, HOPE INTERV.

]http://thequietus.com/articles/03452-the-mother-of-warm-invention-a-hope-sandoval-interview
[this article is currently still findable online at the Quietus' site. It includes three embedded youtube
videos: Hope's official video for "Suzanne," Mazzy Star's UK 1990s Jools TV show performance
of "Blue Flower," plus a third yt upload that's no longer available. There's also a blank space now where a photo originally appeared. I found the photo via a Wayback Machine internet archive search. It's by Luz Gallardo ]


The Quietus, Dec. 29, 2009
The Mother Of Warm Invention - A Hope Sandoval Interview
David Gavan , December 29th, 2009

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In an age of talent show karaoke singers, Hope Sandovalcuts an understated figure. Notably shy, on and off stage,she is hardly a rabid self-promoter. Soon after surfacing with Mazzy Star in 1990, Sandoval earned the reputation as a tough interview proposition. Early encounters were conducted in shades, as questions were fielded with Warholian, single-word replies. Over the years, Sandoval has maintained a certain reticence. Consequently, little is known of the singer, except that she was born in Los Angeles in 1966, and comes from a large, Mexican-American family.

After the stratospheric success of Mazzy Star's 1994 single, 'Fade Into You', Capitol Records began nudging the band towards big name producers: Sandoval responded by begging to be released from their contract - a wish that was regretfully granted. Since then, there's been one more Mazzy Star album, Among My Swan in 1996,
while 2001 saw the release of Bavarian Fruit Bread with My Bloody Valentine's drummer, Colm O Ciosoig,
under the name the Warm Inventions. Given their leisurely working pace, feeding rock's corporate behemoth
is clearly not on these people's agenda.

I begin by asking her about the time she hooked up with LA rock veteran, David Roback, whose early eighties
band, Rain Parade (part of the city's dubiously- named 'Paisley Underground' scene), she had so admired as a
teenager. How did it feel to be working with such a talented musician?

"I felt I was the luckiest person ever", she says with genuine wonder in her voice. She’s talking about the day
when Roback phoned her to talk about the demo tape that she and high- school friend, Sylvia Gomez, had sent
him under the name Going Home. "I could not believe that he wanted to join our band. He called me and
said: ‘I really love your music, and I want to play guitar for you guys.' A fairly good reception, then. Sandoval
subsequently joined Roback’s band, the unfeasibly overlooked Opal, which then mutated into the much
esteemed Mazzy Star.

"David definitely knew more about music and equipment than me", continues a surprisingly upbeat Sandoval in her mellow Californian drawl. "He knew more about the Velvet Underground; I didn’t really know their music.
Sylvia was really into them and I was always saying: ‘Turn that off: it’s too noisy’. But when I started working
with David, he turned me on to them. I liked modern stuff like Soul II Soul, along with Syd Barrett and the
Rolling Stones. So it worked, even though we were coming from different places."

Despite having been given her first guitar at age thirteen, she laughingly admits that she gets other people to tuneup for her nowadays. Sandoval may have an ear for a vaporously addictive tune, but musical vanity is apparently not part of her emotional repertoire. And she is quite happy to name-check her musical influences, even to her own detriment: she still vividly remembers the time when she and her Warm Inventions bandmate, Colm O Ciosoig, worked with her all-time guitar hero, Bert Jansch, on their first album, 'Bavarian Fruit Bread'.

"Bert and I did play some guitar together because he was under the impression that that would be part of the
recording process. I just thought he was going to play on his own. So when he got to the recording studio,
he wanted me to play guitar with him, which was really scary for me. In the end, we just took my guitar parts
out and kept his in!"

In Britain, many people first heard Mazzy Star when they appeared on Jools Holland’s Later show alongside Johnny Cash in ‘94. As well as counting as some endorsement, being invited to play on the same bill as the Man in Black must have been pretty mind-blowing.

"Yeah, it was amazing. Jill Emery (then Mazzy Star’s bass player) and I went to look for him. He had his own floor - a whole area blocked off at the BBC. We managed to get in somehow, but he was gone. We ran down to the parking lot just in time to see this big limo pulling away, so we just ran after it, waving and shouting ‘STOP!’ And they stopped, opened the door and there he was. He shook our hands, said he loved our songs, and told us to take the right path in life. It was incredible. We went back to our dressing room and told the rest of the band ‘You won’t believe what just happened!’ They were really jealous." The story is recounted with jovial pride, and the incongruity of Sandoval as celebrity stalker is not lost on the singer.

It turns out that the ever-reticent Sandoval - who insists on playing concerts in darkness and prefers audiences to
remain silent and still - was asked to get up and sing with Cash, but was too nervous to accept the offer. "It was hard enough to sing Mazzy Star’s songs live", she admits in such rueful tones it's hard not to smile.

This is the kind of interview terrain Sandoval feels most comfortable in - where she’s talking about music or fellow musicians. Any attempt to understand her work through the lens of biographical detail is pretty much a lost cause. Although some may suspect Sandoval of upping the enigma quotient by keeping her counsel, it’s clear from speaking with her that interviews and celebrity status are a low priority for her. This is one singer who is unlikely to be photographed lurching through some nightclub door. And, as for film premier photo calls. Forget it. Away from her preferred topics, she is guardedly polite, and not overly keen to make an impression. Leaving no trace being a more pressing concern.

"Colm is much more interesting than me and really likes to talk", she tells me, sounding like she thinks I should be talking to him rather than her. Instead, I wonder if, in the early days, being interviewed gratified Sandoval’s ego. "Well, people like attention; that’s a given", she concedes. "But now it can be awkward, especially if you’re really private."

Now Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - which mainly consists of Colm O Ciosoig, a man who can seemingly play anything that stays still long enough - are having to talk to journalists again. They have hooked up with crack Dublin band, Dirt Blue Gene, and recorded Through the Devil Softly, a collection of gorgeously-crafted gothic country-rock songs that people like to call "cinematic" (the director would, of course, be David Lynch). It sounds like Exile On Main St - era Stones jamming with the Velvets during their mellow Loaded period. After a psychedelic-folk music listening spree. The feel is more American, I suggest, than the more European-accented Bavarian Fruit Bread.

But despite her evocative songs, Sandoval has little belief in music's ability to transport the listener: "I absolutely don't understand how you can listen to a record and think it's European or American." Then she changes tack: "It sounds Irish! Everybody in the band comes from Ireland except me, so the record really is half Irish. But I don't feel left out.

She adds: "I just feel happy and lucky to have the opportunity to play with these amazing musicians." Sandoval, who met Dirt Blue Gene through their bass player, Al Browne, assures me their meeting was "meant to be: we all feel that way". It's that mixture of the down to earth and the dreamily fatalistic that intrigues.

Whether or not it’s down to their new backing band is unclear, but Sandoval and O Ciosoig’s songwriting has never seemed richer. Here the abstracted melancholy of Sandoval’s gauzy voice sounds more emotionally earthed, and the lyrics have a more intimate feel. I ask their author if she finds it hard to balance self-revelation and the maintenance of privacy.

"Well, if you were writing a novel and hid the personal stuff away, it wouldn’t be a very good book", she says
with unexpected vehemence, "because you just have to be able to express yourself. You know… you can’t put a limit on self-expression." Sandoval never discusses her lyrics - which is understandable for a singer wishing to avoid media dissection - and doesn't like singers making a big deal of their lyrics. When I tell her that her lyrics have a poetic feel, and ask her if she likes reading poetry, she’s unequivocal. Well, sort of.

"No, I don’t like poetry… unless it’s Dylan Thomas. He’s the only poet. I have no idea why. That’s the way it’s
always been."

A little later, I mention legendary LA punk band, X, and Sandoval’s defences lower slightly.

"I love X", she says warmly, "and I love Exene [Cervenka, vocals]. She’s a feisty little devil!"

Despite - or because of - her knottily likeable character, Sandoval’s reputation for being "difficult" remains. During the recent Warm Inventions tour of the States and Europe, there have been reports of her ticking off soundmen in New York, then quitting the stage in frustration, or pointedly asking audiences to be quiet. But given how musically driven she seems, one suspects this stems more from high standards than from ‘rampant ego syndrome’. Interestingly, the internet postings of Warm Inventions fans portray the band's kindness towards their audience. But what does she see as a successful show?

"Just one that sounds good and, because it's live, it should have other dimensions. If I go and see a band, it's got to feel like I'm in the music. And that would be a successful show for us. But it's difficult for me to get there -
really difficult - because I'm the one at the front, and also I'm the one who's singing the words. Sometimes it's
awkward singing live in front of 500 people."

This admission is in keeping with her tendency to avoid head shots on album sleeves, and then there are those
blurred promo videos. Paradoxically, such an allergy to limelight probably intensifies public scrutiny of a singer
who seems more girl next door than dissociative diva. I ask Sandoval, who has previously made no secret of her belief that autographs are a silly transaction, if musicians would be happier without all the media hoopla.

"That would definitely be better", she reflects, "but that's never going to happen. There are certain bands that just do it for some people. And people like to look up to something.To idolise. That's in our nature. But I do sign autographs now: I just think that it's not really necessary. I spent a long time not doing it, and I felt really bad afterwards because it hurt people's feelings, so eventually I just gave in. People are sensitive."

Indeed they are, but reports of Sandoval being a whispering waif are overstated. A canny individual who has spent the last nineteen years working with minimum fuss seems nearer the mark. Since the Warm Inventions' first album in 2001, Sandoval has made cameo appearances on albums by Air, Death in Vegas, and Bert Jansch. She will also feature on Massive Attack's new offering, which is released in the New Year. Then there's a new Mazzy Star album ready for release in 2010, and the long-awaited availability of those early Going Home songs to look forward to.

My enquiry about how the first Mazzy Star record in thirteen years sounds is dispatched in the singer's classic style.

"It's almost finished... It's there and that's all. You know, it's us playing our songs."

She may have lost the shades, but the answer is pure Warhol. Her trading of fifteen minutes' fame for nineteen years of creative obscurity is beginning to look like a good deal.

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2010-06-10, The West Australian, Hope interview

https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/mu ... -ya-209106
[no photos accompany the online article. I've added a pic of a tour poster from the 2010 Australian tour that FB Group member Mark Blair (I believe his .fr site name here is "jamband") shared in he FB group]

Mazzy Star Fades But Hope Sings Eternal
JANE ROCCA
The West Australian
Thursday, 10 June 2010

Best known as the breathy and delicate voice of 90s alternative pop outfit Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval has in one way or another found herself involved in music after that band faded.

While Mazzy Star never officially called it a day, they did stop performing in 1999 [2000 -BB] after releasing three albums. Since then Sandoval has spent the past decade collaborating with the likes of Massive Attack, the Chemical Brothers, Air and the Jesus and Mary Chain.

Now she returns with her band the Warm Inventions for the release of their sophomore album, Through the Devil Softly, which follows 2001's Bavarian Fruit Salad.

"I never stop making music," Sandoval says from her home in Ireland. "It might be eight years between Warm Inventions' albums but for me I don't miss the live band when I don't have it. But when I do have it, I enjoy playing the music live."

Sandoval teams with long-time friend and collaborator, My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig, to once again perfect a slow core sound.

The pair also recruited Irish group Dirt Blue Gene to play with them as the Warm Inventions. Sandoval moved from San Francisco to Ireland to be closer to the band.

"Ireland is home for me now and it makes sense as the band that we're working with is from Dublin, so everybody is here," she says. "It was difficult to live here at first as I hadn't spent much time in Ireland before. I am close to Colm and his family and that is very helpful."

Sandoval is as mysterious as the whispery and flighty tone she applies to her singing, keeping her answers sparse. It's difficult to tell if she's awkward talking about herself, or if she thinks it's nobody's business to ask her about her day job. She is nonetheless polite.

Through The Devil Softly is a nocturnal record driven by Sandoval's ethereal vocals, with country elements mixed with swirling beats and other effects.

It might have taken eight years to make but Sandoval isn't fussed about rushing anything she does. "Colm and I never stop working together," she says.

"We get together for a few months here and there and go into the studio and play songs. We send each other ideas, it's just that we take a while to decide what our favourite songs are and when we're going to release an album."

She says a fourth Mazzy Star record has just been completed and was recorded between Norway, where guitarist David Roback lives, and London. "I would never detach myself from Mazzy Star and working with David," she says. "He is one of the most amazing songwriters and producers I have ever known and I am very lucky to work with him."

Of that band's most successful song, Fade Into You, taken from their 1993 record So Tonight That I Might See, Sandoval says: "I really loved it when we wrote that song. David wasn't that crazy about it. It was so basic and simple to him and I just thought it was amazing and I had to talk the band into recording it. I had a good feeling about that song."

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions play the Astor Theatre in Perth on June 28. Tickets from BOCS, Moshtix and 78 Records.
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[additional info I found. -Bob Beatty (Hermesacat) ]:

Australia dates

June 23, 2010 ... Brisbane, QLD ... Tivoli Theatre
June 25, 2010 ... Sydney, NSW ... Enmore Theatre
June 27, 2010 ... Melbourne, VIC ... Forum Theatre
June 28, 2010 ... Perth, WA ... Astor Theatre
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2010, JUNE 18, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, HOPE INTERV.,
+ AT THE END ARE ADDED NOTES RE. A LOST 2010 INTERVIEW WITH HOPE RE. HER COLLAB. W. MASSIVE ATTACK ON THE SONG & FILM "PARADISE CIRCUS"

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/mus ... -yhxd.html
[the online article includes one photo reproduced below]

Mazzy's Distant Star

Smh.com.au, June 18, 2010

Hope Sandoval is a mystery, write Sacha Molitorisz and Patrick Donovan.

Image
[Caption under photo says]: Mother of invention ... indie-pop darling Hope Sandoval.

With her 1990s band Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval was an indie-pop darling. Brandishing a cool pout
and curtains of black hair, she was gorgeous, introverted and fascinating.An emo prototype.
In 1993, Mazzy Star released So Tonight That I Might See, an album that connected with a generation
of melancholy romantics and produced the dreamy hit Fade Into You. Built around Sandoval's hushed
vocals, these were love songs for narcoleptics. Her approach influenced everyone from Cat Power to Sydney's Loene Carmen.

So, which artists originally inspired Sandoval?
''I was a big fan of the Rain Parade,'' she says. ''Green on Red, X, the Rolling Stones.''

After Mazzy Star fizzled out, the chanteuse formed Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions with drummer
Colm O'Ciosoig.They released their first album, Bavarian Fruit Bread, in 2001. O'Ciosoig had played with
My Bloody Valentine, a cult indie band infamous for squealing electric guitars, but Bavarian Fruit Bread was
delicate and sparse. Last year, Sandoval and the Warm Inventions finally released their second album, Through the Devil Softly.Presumably, Sandoval spent the eight years removing instruments from recordings, rather than
adding them. The new sound is sparse.

''I didn't realise that it was sparse,'' she says, indifferent. ''You have to listen more carefully.''

She also spent her time recording collaborations with cool acts including Death in Vegas, the Chemical
Brothers and Massive Attack. One of her many standout contributions is Sometimes Always, which appeared
on the Jesus and Mary Chain album entitled Stoned and Dethroned.
What does she look for in potential collaborators?
''Good-natured people and talent.'' Her short, halting responses are no surprise. Born in the '60s, Sandoval grew up in east LA in a large Mexican-American family. Her dad was a butcher; her mum worked for a potato crisps company; they split when she was a child. Rather than compete for attention with her siblings, Sandoval avoided it entirely, just as she avoided school to stay home and listen to records.

Like Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, Sandoval is acutely shy. She has been known to perform with her back to the crowd. She rarely gives interviews; when she does, she doesn't say too much.

Sandoval's manager requested that this interview be conducted on Skype, rather than by phone.
But when we began, the computer screen remained blank and the ensuing chat was hardly free-flowing:
How was it playing the recent All Tomorrow's Parties festival curated by the creator of The Simpsons,
Matt Groening? ''It was alright. Festivals are quite difficult to me.''

Why had she finally decided to tour Australia?

''We're on tour right now, so we decided to make the trip out there. We've never been.''

What can people expect to hear at the shows? ''It's a Warm Inventions tour. So tracks off the first record
and the second record.''

Where did the inspiration come for the name Through the Devil Softly?

''It's a secret.''

Sandoval's music is mysterious; her interviews are the same.
HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS
June 25, 8pm, Enmore Theatre, $66.60-$77.10.
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ADDED NOTES RE. A LOST 2010 INTERVIEW WITH HOPE RE. HER COLLAB. W. MASSIVE ATTACK
ON "PARADISE CIRCUS" SONG & VIDEO
-There was another interview with Hope from some time in 2010 I once read somewhere but can no longer find. It was interesting for her comments re. her collaboration with Massive Attack on the song Paradise Circus (released late 2009 as a single, & on Massive Attack's album "Heligoland", Feb. 2010), a song Hope co-wrote & sings on, & for her comments re. the short (5-minute+) documentary video Massive Attack released called "Paradise Circus" which wasn't a music video, but they used her song as the video's soundtrack.

Hope said the song came about when the band sent Hope the music track which she wrote a vocal part & lyrics for, & recorded her part in the privacy of her own home studio without even meeting with the band. The video's a documentary of an interview with retired porn star, Georgina Spelvin, now a senior, including clips from her 1973 film, "The Devil in Miss Jones." The uncensored version of Massive Attack's video includes some hardcore porn scenes from the 1973 movie.

In the lost interview, Hope's asked some questions about the video. Going just from memory now, I recall she said she really liked the film/video, though she said it was "pretty wild." And I believe Hope said something to the effect that she found Georgina's comments about sex fascinating. She said the film needed her formal approval before it could be released, i.e. she said they needed her to sign off on its release since her song was featured in it. She also mentioned one of her brothers had seen it, &, amusingly said "I hope my Dad doesn't see it." That part was funny.

As of this writing, the X-rated version of the "Paradise Circus" video is viewable at Vimeo, here:
https://vimeo.com/18925628

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2010-06-23 INPRESS mag, Melbourne, Australia, Issue #1128, Interview w. Hope & Colm
https://issuu.com/spa_magazines/docs/in_1128
[one photo accompanies the article, a cropped B & W version of Luz Gallardo's 2009 pic
of Hope & Colm in a museum. But a nice ad appears a few pages later in the PDF of
the issue downloadable for free, an ad for the Melbourne show June 27, 2010. It has another
pic by Luz.

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SHE HANGS BRIGHTLY
In a rare interview before her Australian tour, HOPE SANDOVAL talks
pre-show nerves and the legacy of Mazzy Star with CYCLONE.

Many artists’ mystique is contrived, but not Hope Sandoval’s. The beguiling Mazzy Star
chanteuse, she of the disembodied voice, has influenced much contemporary music,
from art-rock to trip hop to folk, yet little is known about her. At the heart of
Sandoval’s mythology is her reluctance to grant interviews – not because of arrogance
but profound shyness. Journalists depict the Californian as inaudible, virtually
monosyllabic and demurring on the most innocuous of questions. While she’s often cited
her nervousness performing, the dream-pop icon is finally heading to Australia for her
premiere tour along with her band The Warm Inventions. However, fans will hardly see
Sandoval, who’s renowned for her tenebrous stages.

Astonishingly, when Sandoval gingerly takes the phone, although occasionally guarded,
she’s chatty, whimsical and playful. Still, she confesses that, even after years of
experience, gigging is scary. “I feel the same about it,” she says in sultry,
not hushed, tones. “It’s an awkward thing to be doing. I think anybody would feel the
same way. But it’s quite important to play the songs live after you make a record.
I feel that it’s a very important move to accomplish it live.”

Born into a modest Mexican-American family, Sandoval grew up in a dangerous Los Angeles
neighbourhood. Enamoured of The Rolling Stones, she conceived the folk duo Going Home
with school buddy Sylvia Gomez. Demos were passed to Opal (and ex-Dream Syndicate)
member Kendra Smith. Nonetheless, in a series of twists, Sandoval formed a second
outfit with Opal guitarist Dave Roback, who’d initially produced an album for
Going Home that never materialised. Roback, a key player in LA’s Paisley
Underground movement, and Sandoval were also lovers.

Signing to the indie label Rough Trade, Mazzy Star debuted with 1990’s underground
(and collegiate) She Hangs Brightly, on which they strayed into the blues – and country
– while developing a textural (and ghostly) production style. They popularised a
psychedelia for the grunge era with the follow-up, So Tonight That I Might See, its
pinnacle the shoegaze classic Fade Into You. (In later years, Into Dust, too, has
achieved cult status.) Despite pressure from their new masters, Capitol, Mazzy Star
refused to become MTV pawns.In 1996 they returned with the deeply subliminal
Among My Swan. (A Mazzy Star outtake did appear on the Batman Forever soundtrack,
with Sandoval subsequently declaring the film to be “horrible”.)

In 2001 Sandoval embarked on a ‘solo’ career with Bavarian Fruit Bread. She’d met a
new collaborator in My Bloody Valentine’s drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. He’d transplant to
California and the two now share a house in Berkeley. “Sometimes we work together and
sometimes we work separately,” Sandoval says of their dynamic. “(Ó Cíosóig has) recently
learned to play guitar – in the past six years – and he’s become really good. He’s the
type of musician who can just pick up anything and in a few months he’s pretty good at it.
So he plays a lot of guitar. I play guitar only to write my songs, ‘cause I’m not
very good.” (Speaking briefly before Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig describes The Warm Inventions
as a challenge sonically compared to MBV. “It’s quite different, really; it’s a lot
quieter, for sure!” the Irishman laughs. “It’s not loud rock music, even though we can
get a little loud at times.”)

In 2009 Sandoval broke an eight-year drought with the altogether darker Through The Devil
Softly. On first listen, The Warm Inventions’ music is not far removed from Mazzy Star
– it’s more swoon-worthy melancholia – yet the feel is folkier. Sandoval isn’t pretentious
and downplays her artistic growth between albums. “I didn’t think (Through...) was
so different,” she says. “I thought the main thing that was different was the fact
that we worked with a band (Ireland’s Dirt Blue Gene) that exist on their own – they’ve
been playing together for six years. Overall, it’s the same two people writing
the songs... I think that the records are quite similar.”

Sandoval remains enigmatic – and secretive – about her inspiration. The singer, who doesn’t
tweet, let alone blog, is bemused to hear of a discussion about Through’s lyrics
on her website forum. One poster suggests, “It’s the writer’s/musician’s/band’s prerogative
to (not illuminate) lyrics, right?” Indeed, Sandoval likes listeners to feel, not
study, her words – words that are frequently reproduced inaccurately. “Usually what
I find is that people are wrong about the lyrics. I always hate when they post their
version of the lyrics; a lot of the times it’s wrong. I just think to myself, I would never
say that,” she laughs. “But I think it’s better for people to make up their own mind
about it. I prefer to say (that they should) just keep it to themselves and not post
their versions of the lyrics.”

Sandoval has lent her vocals and songwriting skills to an array of musicians, many
electronic. She guested on The Chemical Brothers’ Balearic Asleep From Day, recorded a
version of Cherry Blossom Girl with the ‘French touch’ Air, and cut Into U with Richard X.
She just recently cameoed on Massive Attack’s Heligoland. What is her interest in
electronica? “You know, I wouldn’t have categorised them under ‘electronica’ or whatever
the term is – I don’t even know what that is! Some artists just send me their music
and, if I like it, if it inspires me, I’ll write to it. I suppose with those (electronic)
artists, they tend to do that – that’s how they make records – so that’s one of the reasons
I usually work with (them)... I don’t think any rock band would send their music out and
ask another writer from another band to help write (something) – or maybe they
would... Maybe it’s important to have the singer write their own part; maybe that’s why
they do it. It’s a good idea.”

Meanwhile, Sandoval has opened the way for a fresh wave of folk artists, such as
Devendra Banhart. Karen Elson’s The Ghost Who Walks is very Mazzy Star.

And it transpires that Among My Swan wasn’t Mazzy Star’s swansong – the pair have merely
been on an “indefinite hiatus”. (Roback disappeared to Norway.) For the better part of a
decade, Sandoval has alluded to a fourth album being in the pipeline. “It’s almost
finished, it’s almost done,” she says patiently. “I’m on tour right now and [Roback is]
doing this other project. We just have a few more things to do, and maybe a month’s work,
and it’ll be done.”

Sandoval might not sing any Mazzy Star in her Warm Inventions show, but it’s attracted
rave reviews internationally. “The band that we’re playing with, Dirty [Dirt]Blue Gene,
is the band that played on the record – and they’re an amazing band. They’re one of
the best bands I’ve heard, or seen, in a long time. I’m so lucky to be working with them.
They will be opening the shows, so they’ll do their set as Dirty [Dirt] Blue Gene, and
then, of course, they’re our backing band. They’re really good – and they’re going down
really well. People really love them.”

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
WHO: Hope Sandoval & The Warm Intentions [misspelled in the original]
WHAT: Through The Devil Softly (Shock)
WHEN & WHERE: Sunday, the Forum [Melbourne]
.......................

Image

[More Info I found re. the Australian tour -BB]:

* June 23, 2010 ... Brisbane, QLD ... Tivoli Theatre
* June 25, 2010 ... Sydney, NSW ... Enmore Theatre
* June 27, 2010 ... Melbourne, VIC ... Forum Theatre
* June 28, 2010 ... Perth, WA ... Astor Theatre
.............................................................................................
**********************************************************************************************
..............................................................................................
2010, AUG. 9, UNDER THE RADAR HOPE INTERV.

http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/utr/inte ... ndoval.utr
[This is the same Q&A interview as also appeared in the 2009, Sept.
Repeatfanzine article. One photo accompanies the online Under the Radar article,
reproduced below]

undertheradar.co.nz
Hope Sandoval
Monday, 9th August 2010

Image

Q + A with Hope Sandoval (best known for Mazzy Star) who has just released a new
album as Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions - a collaboration with Colm O'Ciosoig
of My Bloody Valentine.

-The making of the new album and collaborations…
What were some of the goals you had in making the new album?

"We really don't set any musical goals for ourselves. We write our little
songs and if they're still sparkling in the morning they tell us what they
want to sound like. Sometimes they stay exactly the same, sometimes we hear
ghost guitars, ghost keys or a sound that isn't necessarily an instrument but
just a sound and we try to recreate that sound."

-What are some of the common themes of the album?

"Me, Colm and Dirt Blue Gene"

-What does the album title, "Through the Devil Softly," mean to you?

"It's a very sensational notion"

-You have been held up as a star of the shoegazer scene, how does that sit with you?

"I'm not sure what shoegazing means."

-How did My Bloody Valentine's reunion affect you and/or the recording of the album?

"The My Bloody Valentine reunion did catch us off guard, but it gave me more time to
spend listening to the record and change anything that needed to be changed, or in
other words, over analyze the record and indulge myself with more time to work on it."

-The album is quiet and dreamy. Do you always lean toward the softer side or
sometimes rock out?

"These were the songs that we gravitated towards. They all seem to compliment each other.
If you play them really loud they will appear to be more 'rock'."

-Can you talk about your relationship with Colm? How do you guys work together?

"Kooky, lumpy and loveable."

-How did you and Colm meet? How did that graduate to playing and writing music together?

"We got to know each other about 12 years ago in London; we met at in a club there.
Eventually he moved out to California and we just started playing music together."

-Some of the songs on the new album were written in Ireland and some in California.
Was it an even split?

"I can’t remember the exact number, but I’ll say for the most part when we were writing,
some of the members of Dirt Blue Jean were here and we did write them together in
California. Most of the songs were written here in California.'

-Your first album was released in 2001, why the long time spans between albums?

"After what happened in New York in 2001 we became afraid and spent a lot of time
speculating and some of the speculations were more frightening than the bombs
themselves. It seemed to pale the importance of music for us, but then of course
we realized it was the best remedy."

-In recent years you've worked with California indie artists like Devendra Banhart
and Vetiver. How did that
come about?

"We love Vetiver and when Andy asked us to be involved with their first album we
were flattered. He's an amazing songwriter. It's always good to hear new great music."

-You have mentioned before that Mazzy Star has another album coming; why has it
been so long?

"Both David and myself live in different countries. It makes working difficult as
we need to be together during the process and the distance stretches the time."

-How do you feel about live performance now and can we expect something different
for your upcoming
shows?

"I wouldn't expect much to change. I'm still the same."

-You've lived in the Bay Area for years -- what has drawn you here and kept you here?

"I came here to work with David (Roback). It was in the month of October and I
fell in love with the beautiful atmosphere."

-On The Influence of her early years…
What were you like growing up?

"Introverted, shy and quiet"

-Where did you grow up? How has that influenced who you are today?

"I grew up in Los Angeles in a very rough neighborhood and these things always
cast a shadow on your personality. I definitely have used those childhood memories
in my music."

-What music did you first start listening to?

"I have no memory of my first moments of music, as music has always been in my life"

-How did you get started in music?

"My father bought me a guitar when I was 12"

-When did you write your first song?

-"I was 15 and I wrote my first song with Sylvia Gomez and it was called Shane"

When did you know that making music was what you wanted to do with your life?

-"I still wonder"

-The Art of Songwriting and Performing Live …
How did you discover the sound that you have now? Was it through collaboration,
or is that something you have always had?

"Obviously when you collaborate the end result is what you've created together
...the best music is ideas that are shared."

-How do you write your songs? Where does inspiration come from for you?

"There is nothing better than sitting in a restaurant and eavesdropping on the
table next to you. With a little bit of imagination, by the end of the night you
have a story."

-Your songs seem to come from a personal space though. Do you worry about how
they will be perceived and of possibly giving too much away?

"I often think about that, but one of the worst things you can do is stifle
yourself with what other people might think. You have to give yourself the
freedom to express yourself sincerely."

-It has been well documented that you dislike performing live, is that still the case?

"I don't perform. I sing live and I do feel like myself though it can be a bit
awkward at times."

-Your songs often sound so personal and intimate - was it strange for you when
others fell in love with your music so much? Is it still strange?

"No, not at all. It's nice to know people have a connection."

-What do you love most about what you do? And what do you like least?

"I love that I play my interpretation of music. My least favorite is the fools
that criticize it."

-As you prepare to hit the road once more, what can fans expect? Will you play
the whole new album, or some older songs as well?

"It’s going to be a mixture of the old and this new record."

-Any guest musicians in the works? Any possible surprises?

"We haven’t decided yet, it’s possible."
Last edited by Hermesacat on Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:59 am, edited 76 times in total.
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(28) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby Hermesacat » Thu May 28, 2015 12:49 am

It took a long while to get around to posting here all the Hope interviews I'm aware of & had stored on my computer, but now it's done. The above 32 are all the ones I know of, currently. If anyone has others, or finds some others, don't hesitate to share them in this thread.

For those articles reproduced here that have accompanying photos, where I had access to the originals with photos I've embedded those photos with their text above.

Emma helped add article photos to the Mazzy Star 1989 - 1997 (vintage) articles thread as there was a technical problem in that thread that prevented photos being embedded there. Emma got it fixed. Unfortunately, most of the articles in that Mazzy Star thread are easily findable online today only as text versions without any original photos available. So, there are lots more photos in this Hope interviews thread than in that Mazzy Star one 'cause there are lots more online originals findable of the Hope articles, complete with photos.

...Later update May 28: looking online some more today, I found three more Hope interviews I'd not read before (now posted in this thread). They keep turning up! Two of the new ones have some quite interesting Hope quotes where she comments on topics I haven't noticed her mention so specifically before. For instance, all those water imagery references in her songs (I've counted about a dozen) I like are not accidental. HOPE QUOTE: "I live in San Francisco, near the ocean, and yes, it is very important for me to be close to the water." (-from 2009, OCT. 16, LESINROCKS.COM, HOPE INTERV.) That one was fun to come across.

Other people have pointed out Hope has a fair number of references to wine in her songs too... Just so long as she doesn't indulge her love of being close to water with her love of wine too excessively. Could be courting danger!

And in the 2009, SEPT. 24, COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT HOPE & COLM INTERV. found today, the interviewer asks her about relgious imagery in her songs & gets her talking about religion a little bit, a topic she doesn't normally talk about in interviews, but I'm often curious about people's religious views. I always thought "Mary of Silence" was likely inspired by Hope's Catholic upbringing. [...Re. the Colorado Springs interv., your belief in the power of prayer is most interesting, Hope. But hey, what's with the Jehovah's Witnesses references?!]
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby alas » Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:12 am

Now this photo:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ajVT_IGu0lM/mqdefault.jpg

was in a magazine article along with two other photos. Has anyone seen it?
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby Hermesacat » Sun Jun 14, 2015 6:06 am

alas: Thanks. That photo of Hope on a firescape has been around before. I like it as it's a bit of an unusual shot. I've seen it, but it's one I no longer have on my computer & seems otherwise hard to find easily online (unless it's buried somewhere in the archives of http://fuckyeahmazzystar.tumblr.com ). And I'm pretty sure I've used it in youtube slideshows before.
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby Naskatew » Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:20 am

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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby drugstore » Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:51 am

Nice job! I didn't have the habit of storing the articles I read. Most of those old articles cannot be found on the Internet now. I'm so glad that you bring them back. And after re-reading the interviews of 09, I recall that there is an interview in which Hope said that Blanchard is the name of the street she grew up and this song somehow reflects her childhood nightmare. But I cannot find the interview now. Is it real existed or my memory is cheating on me...
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby drugstore » Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:30 am

Here is one article I have from 09. I have no idea about the original source of the article now. I just copy it from one of my 09's post in another fan site.

Hope Sandoval: Melting into the music

The singer-songwriter was explaining the disconcerting undertone to her breathtaking new album Through the Devil Softly, with partner Colm Ó Cíosóig. Together they are Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions.
“The world is quite unsettling,” Cíosóig added, “especially the past eight years.”
It has been 20 years since the two musicians entered the public sphere with their respective bands, Sandoval as one half of L.A.-based alt-rock/dream-pop duo Mazzy Star, and Cíosóig as drummer for Irish shoegazer outfit My Bloody Valentine.
Both groups attained a level of mythic appeal in the early-to-mid ’90s - Mazzy Star for its spare, evocative compositions hinging on Sandoval’s arresting voice, My Bloody Valentine for its intricate layers of noise combined with rock aesthetics and pop melody.
My Bloody Valentine reunited for a series of shows last year; and Mazzy Star has a new album that is near completion, according to Sandoval, who first joined forces with Cíosóig for their 2001 album Bavarian Fruit Bread.
The two were on speakerphone from a Toronto hotel room Tuesday evening, still shaken up from their experience with the “crazy border guards” on their way into our country.
“They trashed the bus,” Sandoval said. “They weren’t happy with us.”
Cíosóig: “They went through stuff, threw receipts around.”
“We don’t even take drugs,” Sandoval continued, exhibiting a subtle sense of humour she shares with Cíosóig. It slips into their replies, either as distraction from questions they would rather not answer, to avoid giving too much away, or simply as a buffer against the outside world.
Through the Devil Softly is a strikingly intimate album. It goes beyond its predecessor in creating a veritable sonic tapestry – taking stripped-down folk to a mesmerizing place where details become larger-than-life.
“Every single aspect of (the music) is important,” Cíosóig said. “Every noise, every scratch, it’s all relevant. Every little piece that’s in there has a meaning unto itself. We like to think about all these little corners. It’s kind of like a movie for us; it’s quite visual.”
Sandoval’s voice is, of course, the centrepoint. Languorous, crestfallen, comforting, it melts into the surrounding sounds, providing an emotional anchor.
Her fans aren’t the only ones drawn to it. Despite the extended time between albums (Mazzy Star’s last full-length was 1996’s Among My Swan, making for a five-year gap before Sandoval’s debut with Cíosóig, and another eight years until their latest), Sandoval has been in demand as a vocalist, appearing on songs by Air, the Chemical Brothers, Vetiver and the Jesus and Mary Chain. She sings on Massive Attack’s forthcoming album, tentatively titled Weather Underground.
“The (Massive Attack) songs are really good,” she said. “They sent me a couple of beautiful tracks. It was fun. I worked on them in my studio – I haven’t met them. It’s better in a way. You don’t have so much anxiety. (It’s hard singing) with somebody you don’t know. It’s more free, more private on your own.
“It was difficult when I did the Chemical Brothers track (Asleep From Day, off their 1999 album Surrender). I went into their
studio and recorded with them. It was nerve-racking. I had never met them. They were very nice, but I’m not used to singing in front of people I don’t know.”
It is worth noting that Sandoval’s longest answer came while talking about working with other people. She was comparatively tight-lipped about her own music, offering short answers that hinted at something more, without revealing too much. Her shyness, it seems, doesn’t prevent her from working with others.
“I just love music,” she said. “If somebody sends me something good or inspiring, I’m happy to work together. Some of the best music happens when you’re collaborating with somebody, with writers that write together: the Rollings Stones, the Beatles.
“The sum of two things is greater than what one person would do,” Cíosóig said. “It creates its own world. It’s quite unique.”
Still looking for something, some insight into the central element driving their music, I asked what emotion they thought their songs conveyed.
“Sad,” Sandoval said.
“Sadness,” Cíosóig agreed, “Loss and sadness.”
“Everyone has lost something in their lives,” Sandoval continued.
Cíosóig: “Whether you lose $5 walking down the street (she laughed in the background), or your favourite pen, or a family member.”
Sandoval: “A glove, a mitten, a sock.”
Cíosóig: “There’s a continuing sense of loss in our lives. We can’t find our socks, I guess.”
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby drugstore » Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:52 am

Also , there is an interview from 09 which impressed me a lot that time but I cannot find it now. It is from the Luna mag. You can even see the site below mentioned the interview and give a link , but the link is defunct now. I'd be so appreciative if someone have the interview willing to share. (I remember in the interview Hope mentioned Hedgehog in the fog is her favourate shop movie)

http://www.scout-holiday.com/blog/?p=1386
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby Hermesacat » Tue Aug 15, 2017 3:40 am

drugstore: Thanks for citing the Luna interview you liked. Hopefully, it will turn up.

I see I need to re-embed a lot of photos in this thread. Unfortunately that job will need to wait as I'll be going away for 4 weeks shortly and won't be online much.
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Re: INTERVIEWS/Articles(32) Hope Sandoval & T.W.I.,2001 to 2

Postby drugstore » Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:07 am

Finally I found a resource of the Luna interview.

Hope Sandoval in LA
Photo By LUZ GULLARDO, Words By CHARLOTTE SANDERS
Eighth of September 2009


What were you like when you were a little girl? Introverted, shy and quiet.

How did you like to spend your time, and what did you think about? Riding my tricycle in a circle as I could only ride it in the yard. Meeting various imaginary townspeople and waving to them.

Where did you grow up? How did it influence the person you have become?
I grew up in Los Angeles in a very rough neighborhood, and these things always cast a shadow on your personality... I definitely have used those childhood memories in my music.

Did you have a favourite story you loved when you were small? 
Thumbelina comes to mind... A sad and beautiful little fairytale. I related to it.

What is your favourite story now?
Yuri Norstein’s adaptation of Hedgehog in the Fog... Hoo hoo.

What music did you first start listening to?
I have no memory of my first moments of music, being that music has always been in my life.

Do you think that the things you loved when you were little had an influence on the music you have created as a grown-up? I loved music boxes. I had one with a little ballerina wearing a real chiffon tutu who would dance when you opened the box... I suppose that's where the idea came to use a music box sound on our record.

What music do you love to listen to now?
Beach House. They remind me a little bit of Opal. They're really good.

Did you learn to play any musical instruments when you were little?
Yes. My father bought me a guitar when I was twelve.

Can you remember how and when you started to write songs?
I was fifteen and I wrote my first song with Sylvia Gomez and it was called Shane.

When did you know that making music was what you wanted to do with your life?
I still wonder.

Did you ever think you wanted to do something else entirely? 
I wanted to be Pink Panther’s lady cat.

What would you be now if you weren't making music?   
A sailor with a girl in every port.

How did you discover the sound that you wanted to make through your music? Was it through collaboration, or is that kind of aesthetic something that you have always had? Obviously when you collaborate the end result is what you've created together... The best music is ideas that are shared.

How do you write your songs? Is there somewhere in particular you like to be? Do you get ideas all the time? Do you look to particular people or places or things for inspiration?All the above... There's nothing better than sitting in a restaurant and eavesdropping on the table next to you. A little bit of imagination and at the end of the night you have a story.

Do you think of the people who will listen to your songs when you write them? Of course I think about that, but one of the worst things you can do is stifle yourself with what people might think. You have to give yourself the freedom to express yourself sincerely.

How do you feel about performing? Do you feel like yourself, or do you have to pretend to be someone else? I don't perform. I sing live and I do feel like myself, though it can be a bit awkward at times.

Your songs often sound so personal and intimate - was it strange for you when people fell in love with your music so much? No, not at all. It's nice to know people have a connection.

How do you feel about 'Fade Into You' being the most romantic make-out song ever for a certain age-group? I didn't know people were making out to it. This whole time I thought they were having cookies and milk while discussing the length of their legs.

What do you love most about what you do? And what do you like least?
I love that I play my interpretation of music... The least... That fools criticise it.

What is your favourite song to go to sleep to?
And your favourite song to wake up to?
Fred Neil, The Dolphins.

Can you describe your new album a little for us?
Hedgehog in the Fog and Rosemary's Baby.

Where is home?
Home is where the heart is.

How important is fashion to you?
How old were you when you started wearing long skirts and dresses?
Ask my momma.

Do you have a favourite item of clothing? Why do you love it?
Boots... Power.

Who are your heroes, and why?
Lady the cat. Animals live the most noble life.

What did you last dream about?
Mother.

What do you hope for?   
Understanding.
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