Absinthee is a band between Gordon Raphael and Anna Mercedes started in Seattle then transplanted to NYC. Gordon was developing a basement studio in the Sky Cries Mary house (U-district/Seattle) and would spend all his touring days finding old analog synthesizers and sound shifters. From pawn shops in Arizona came Castle Flangers and Phasers, from Hollywood cane old Roland Poly-synths, San Francisco yielded an ARP Odyssey (his first one burnt up in a church fire, and his second was unwiseley and uncontrollably sold cheap for drugs in Manhattan) and Trading Musician in Ravenna, Seattle offered a haunted Les Paul, an epic SG and a now famous 1972 Fender P-Bass (used extensively by almost every band that Gordon has recorded since, including the great bassline on the song Is This It).
With this arsenal of sound making devices, lovingly snatched from the road across America- many experimental/artistic songs were being developed in his ‘Lektronic Dungeon’. After enough material was recorded, Gordon set out on a quest for a female singer that could bring to life a vision of cold hard soundtracks fighting with a tender emotional heartfelt vocal.The idea was trying to represent organic life, nature and gorgeous flowers trying to grow in an atmosphere of automobile filled traffic jam highways, ugly ever expanding cement buildings and the machinery of “modern” civilization.
Anna Mercedes was introduced to Gordon by Ryan Hadlock, who was then a very young man carrying on a tradition of learning how to be a brilliant, caring producer of music. (He is now mightily respected and regarded for his work with Blonde Redhead and The Gossip). Ryan also became a central figure along with Joe Hadlock in recording and co-producing the first Absinthee record, at a rtime when Gordon Raphael had never used a compressor in his life, and knew nothing about vintage microphones or Trident mixing consoles!
When Gordon heard Anna sing, he was immediately impressed and feared that she was far to accomplished and powerful to want to work with him on his “basementy, lo-fidelity, experimental insanity music”! In those days Seattle was still having some glory and many bands were signed and doing well. Gordon truly beileved that Anna would be picked up by a more traditional rock band, and might have a better chance by doing so. HOWEVER, Anna was already interested in a very broad range of music from Ella Fizgerald’s original jazz singing, to The Legendary Pink Dots mental space music. Somehow the idea of working as a duo, mixing the pure clarity of her voice with the complete chaos and attack of his music seemed to make sense.
“I had ten instrumental songs recorded, and gave them to Anna to try and make songs out of them. A week later she called me back and came over. She sang and I recorded vocals for about seven of them, and I was truly shocked at the results. I had no idea what these songs were going to become, and I was so completely surprised at how well she had done with the melodies and lyrics, that I just had to laugh for a long time”. Immediately new tracks were being co-written, a group of musicians gathered, and some shows were booked. Along with this came extensive recording sessions at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington- a gorgeous music place inside a small forest near a river, with horses, tall, tall Pine and Cedar trees and wild skies almost always. In this environment, most of the first Absinthee record was manifested. It is hereby released as “Seattle Stars”, and has many mysteries and adventures contained within it.
Seattle Stars is a very emotional album. The sounds and styles are not sticking to one simple formula, and there is a huge mixture between smooth, gorgeous paintings of sound, and very harsh scratching tones that almost seem to cut you from the inside out! Perhaps the ideas and display of Absinthee is a very private world of experiences and reactions, or else it may may be a set of feelings that many people will recognize from their own life’s pathways. “In releasing this music now, we want to see if all of this is only in our heads, hearts and minds- or if anyone else can relate to it. Its a dangerous risk, because its such a personal vision- and means alot to both Anna and myself; as artists and human beings.”
There is a second set of Absinthee songs, performed, written and recorded in
New York City. It is called “Manhattan Moonlight”, and was made in Chateau Relaxo studio and Transporterraum NYC. A revolving circus of musicians and guests helped flesh out this record, and many shows were done in small nightclubs like Luna Lounge, Continental, and Don Hills. Oddly enough, 3 different Berlin musicians show up on this record, which is an interesting lead-up to Gordon Raphael deciding to move there in 2005. “I am so inspired by the version of Mary Song that Absinthee pulled together in New York. Anna’s expression and power on that song is really stunning”, says Gordon, “also the pretty songs such as Questions and Shallow Then Halo really put me in a bit of a trance”.
So here is Absinthee with two different records being released at the same time which show the creative output of musicians ready to work together, expressing a shared view of their worlds through sound, poetry and images.