The Spirit Girls DEBUT RELEASE "Forever Free"

Forever Free is the debut album by LA’s favorite avant-rockers The Spirit Girls. The band has an interesting origin – it grew out of “The Spirit Girls: Songs that Never Die,” a rock opera created by noted LA artist Marnie Weber. The opera follows a group of ghost girls on a fairytale-like journey as they search for a place to perform their songs and tell their stories.

Forever Free chronicles the lives and deaths of the Spirit Girls through expressive, multi-dimensional vocals, powerful, melodic guitars, thick psychedelic synths, and mournful cello riffs. The Spirit Girls’ sound has been described as something of a cross between Sonic Youth, King Crimson and 17th Century French Romantic paintings.

After performing “Songs That Never Die” to sellout crowds, Marnie decided to expand her original concept into a separate, but unique musical group. As an original member of LA’s legendary ‘80s band The Party Boys, Marnie had little trouble recruiting the musicians she needed. Such notable musicians as Dani Tull (Polar Bear), Tamara Sussman (Bertha Mason and The Polio Kids), Tanya Haden (Silver Sun Pickups & the Haden Three) and Debbie Spinelli (Rad Waste, 17 Pygmies) all signed on as active members of the Spirit Girls.

And so the saga of this band of ghost girls continues, as they wander through a series of imaginary landscapes similar to those in the collages and films of Marnie Weber. With the renewed interest in ‘80s “post-punk” music, Forever Free is sure to play well to today’s “alternative” audience while still appealing to the original punk set that still like to take a walk on the wild side.

Visit www.trakwerx.com to hear audio samples.

Lunar Hypnosis review of The Spirit Girls

The Spirit Girls - Forever Free
Trakwerx/End Is Here Records - 2006
1. Anthem For ofelia
2. Milk Maid
3. The Hunted Little Green Grass Girl
4. Comforting The Bears
5. Small Town
6. Airstream Dream
7. Haunted Horse
8. Graveyard Song
9. Song For The spirit Girls
10. The Ship Song

This is the release CD by a band called "The Spirit Girls" which apparently have caused quite a buzz in their native California. Comprised of 5 female members, this band's music is firmly entrenched in what would be considered "avant-garde" music these days.

This band grew out of a rock opera called "The Spirit Girls: Songs That Never Die" by Marnie Weber. I had never heard of such a piece of work myself, but for some this will be familiar.

Simply judging this band by the cover should give you pretty much a good idea of what they are about, because the cover and the artwork alone remind me so much of some of the art that used to be prevalent in the 70s with some of the prog bands.

The music then more or less follows the artwork on the cover and the rest of the CD. This is pretty much music that will not follow the ordinary path and thus cannot be considered commercial. The backbone of all the songs on this CD are more or less morose and laid back vocals by most of the members of this ensemble, accompanied by all kinds of keyboards and of all things a cello, which makes the music even more laid back but also gives it a more or less restless character.

For me the song that easily stands out the most is "graveyard Song" which reminded me so much of parts of the fantastic Tiamat "Wildhoney" album with the laid back guitars and the ever present. Immediately after that song they switch to a track that reminds me of some of the experimental punk music in the 80s with bands like "Chrome" with the added ambiance by the cello sound.

If you think you will be getting a happy go along album in the vein of the old Tom Tom Club you are in for a surprise. These women can actually play and all the compositions have a very strong personality, making this an album that you have to pay attention to.

Finally, in my opinion they did a fantastic job in the actual recording of the whole enchilada. This sounds pretty much like a true stereo album, just like the ones they used to do in the 70s on vinyl. Why? Because in addition to the excellent sound across the board they actually mixed it up with both vocals and sound effects going from side to side as well as all over the soundstage the recording creates. This of course does not make it a "live" sounding CD, but definitely complements the music to perfection.

January 6, 2007
By Carlos
8 of 10

The 17th Pygmy & The Spirit Girls Downtown Holiday Spectacular

WHAT: The 17th Pygmy Record Release Party & Holiday Spectacular with the Spirit Girls
WHERE: Dangerous Curve, 1020 E. Fourth Place, LA, CA 90013, 213-617-8483
WHEN: Saturday December 15, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
COST: $10.00 Suggested Donation

LOS ANGELES- After a possibly symbolic 17 year hiatus, influential L.A. postpunk band 17 Pygmies has regrouped under the name of The 17th Pygmy. Now with "Ballade of Tristram's Last Harping" (Trakwerx) they release their second CD of 2007, a follow up to the well-reviewed "13 Blackbirds." Still led by guitarist/provocateur Jaxon Del Rey (late of Savage Republic), the new name reflects the growing influence of late 1960s psychedelia and early 1970s classic rock.

Of their live show, Lucid Culture raves "If it's possible for a sometimes quirky, often transcendentally beautiful art-rock band toslay, [the 17th Pygmy] slayed, bringing to mind other great, artsy jangle bands like the Church, the Byrds or Fairport Convention. Mixing major and minor chords, verses that built slowly to towering refrains and then subsided again, the band held the audience spellbound. If the live show is any indication, the new album must be amazing. This is a
band you should get to know."

Appearing with The 17th Pygmy at their record release and holiday spectacular is The Spirit Girls, multimedia artist Marnie Weber's experimental pop combo whose Noh-style masks and ghost girl gowns lend an eerie visual impact to their avant-prog compositions. Billed as "something of a cross between Sonic Youth, King Crimson and 17th Century French Romantic paintings," the Spirit Girls present songs from their recent Trakwerx release "Forever Free." Reviewing the album, Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover says "Not quite goth, this still conjures the post-Bowie/Eno Berlin collaboration '80s, when dark-chilly post-punk employed murky, doomy edges against textural beauty, like The Cure, Red Temple Spirits, Strange Times Chameleons,
and Shiva Burlesque. This is a tribal ritual and child nightmare about scary hobo clowns, haunted horses and worried bears; music that makesyou feel strange."

For more on Trakwerx and the 17th Pygmy, visit
http://www.trakwerx.blogspot.com
http://www.trakwerx.com/label.htm
http://www.myspace.com/17pygmies

For more on Dangerous Curve gallery, visit http://www.dangerouscurve.org

Jaxon Del Rey (AKA The 17th Pygmy) is available for interviews, and review copies of the 17th Pygmy's "Ballade of Tristram's Last Harping" and the Spirit Girls' "Forever Free" are available upon request.
Contact Meg Maryatt at Trakwerx, info@trakwerx.com

High Bias' LiveJournal Reviews "Forever Free"

January 25, 2007

THE SPIRIT GIRLS
Forever Free…
(Trakwerx/End is Here)
Rock bands that grow out of other projects—in this case a rock opera called The Spirit Girls: Songs that Never Die—are often a dicey proposition at best. Fortunately, artist/songwriter Marnie Weber’s group the Spirit Girls (which includes cellist Tanya Haden, of the well-traveled Haden clan) is no failure. Weber’s muse flits hither and yon, from acid folk (“The Hunted Little Green Grass Girl”) to industrial hard rock (“Small Town”) to gothic drone (“Haunted Horse”) to avant pop (“Airstream Dream”) to psychedelic instrumentals (“Graveyard Song”). Her serviceable melodies and forceful singing link the menagerie together, and the band brings each vision to colorful life. Forever Free… is more of a promising beginning than any kind of masterpiece, but as art projects-turned-bands go, the Spirit Girls are more substantial than ephemeral. Michael Toland

THE NEXT BIG THING Reviews Trakwerx releases

January 30 Posted 8:12 AM by Lindsay Hutton

“The Spirit Girls sound has been described as something of a cross between Sonic Youth, King Crimson and 17th Century French Romantic paintings”, it sez in the blurb. Well I never heard any of The Paintings stuff but I don’t recognise a lot of similarity with the other two. “Forever Free” is a concept piece that floats these souls through the imaginary landscapes en route to their billet in the afterlife. It has a folky edge tempered with that LA-pop ethic. It’s actually pretty unusual and coming as it does in some nifty digi-packaging it looks like something on Sympathy. I think it sounds like Sandy Denny just found out she was Buffy and has to deal with it… no actually that’s bollocks but I’m not sure this thing can be pigeonholed. “Milk Maid” (track 2) recalls Angel CC, mainly because of the accordion. Otherwise it has an almost classical rock feel. Not classic rock dumbass, more of a symphonic afterburn. My other immediate favourite was “Small Town” with it’s Ministry type industrial segue into Burundi drumming and back to the gothosphere. I imagine that this section is breathtaking in a live situ. “Haunted Horse” is one of the great titles, so it’s an extra that it’s a cool song also with a kind of toytown Suicideness about it. “Song for the Spirit Girls” would be Abby from NCIS’s favourite I think. The Spirit Girls have been kissed with a little of that David Lynch soundtrack fairy dust. As a whole “Forever Free” has that detached void feel pretty much down pat while still selecting the odd heartstring to pluck. Peculiar but well worth the effort. Also check out lead SG Marni Weber’s arthaus!

Del Rey and The Sun Kings “Battleship Potemkin” is a homage to the silent Eisenstien movie. The director had stated that he hoped that a new soundtrack for the film might be composed every 10 years. The film is now 82 years old or thereabouts and I think that onetime Savage Republic man Jackson Del Rey was horrified that the most recent attempt was by The Pet Shop Boys. This somewhat ambient score somehow seems more fitting and I wonder if there have actually been public screenings with this providing the sonic backdrop. As composition goes, the kraut-rockish elements interweave with more traditional instrumentation. I don’t have the credentials to even begin to tell you how this guy has succeeded in such an astronomical task. But he has.

17 Pygmies were active in the 80’s but I don’t recall them at all. Their musical stylings have been dubbed “arcanica” by themselves. Apparently it means no-hit wonders. This "13 Blackbirds/13 Lotus" doublepack isn’t something you can stick on and instantly become acquainted with. It’s intricate and practically baroque. Folk but not as you reporter is familiar with the form. The pastoral piano shards of “Bley” other-world music are better soaked up in a peaceful environment. I tried playing it loud but it made much more sense at a more gentle volume. Maybe they could come up with some kind of pod for you to climb into for best results. Like a flotation tank.

Visit Trakwerx and check out these strange, NEW, sounds for yourself. The proof of the pudding after all…http://www.trakwerx.com/label.htm

Amazing Sounds Reviews Trakwerx Releases!

THE SPIRIT GIRLS:
"FOREVER FREE"
Trakwerx
The Spirit Girls are an interesting band born thanks to a Rock opera created by the versatile artist Marnie Weber, about the ghosts of five girls. The band is constituted by Marnie Weber, Tamara Sussman, Debbie Spinelli, Tanya Hayden and Dani Tull. The image presiding the cover of the album, the first one by the band, where five girls appear in the image of corpses, fits perfectly well with the music, a kind of Gothic Pop-Rock, with mysterious female vocals and dark electronic textures.
ALEJANDRO HINOJOSA

http://www.trakwerx.com

DEL REY & THE SUN KINGS:
"BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN"
Trakwerx
In this interesting album, Jackson Del Rey pays homage to the director of mythic silent movie "Battleship Potemkin", as if it were the soundtrack for the movie. It is soon appreciated that this project has been given the best of creative energy, taking care of even the slightest details, all that in the spirit of this legendary film, and taking into account the artistic guidelines of Sergei Eisenstein. The result is no doubt impressive. The album is overflowing with very original instrumental music, with classical and industrial reminiscences merging in an absolutely natural manner, as well as a great power in all compositions.
EDUARDO FONTANA

http://www.trakwerx.com

17 PYGMIES:
"13 BLACKBIRDS / 13 LOTUS"
Trakwerx
The band 17 Pygmies, which became a thorough success in the 1980's, has returned after 17 years of silence, with this new double album. In the new stage of the band we find Jackson Del Rey, Jeff Brenneman, Louise Bialik, Meg Maryatt, Jean Sudbury, Tanya Haden and Jacquie James. The work, displaying a careful presentation which includes graphic art with an impressive effect of weathered photograph where only true mildew is missing, tends towards a Pop-Rock with Gothic trends, but we also find experimental touches, dark electronic textures and a suggestive orientation toward neofolk and romanticism.
ALEJANDRO HINOJOSA

http://www.trakwerx.com

Outsight Radio plays Trakwerx releases

3/11/2007 7-9:00 pm

17 Pygmies - "Lotus" Original Mix
The Spirit Girls - "Milk Maid"
The Spirit Girls - "anthem For Ophelia"
Del Rey & The Sun Kings - "The Men & The Maggots"
Del Rey & The Sun Kings - "Main Title"

Thanks OUTSIGHT RADIO!!!



http://www.outsight.mu/playlists/playlist_393_348.html

The Spirit Girls RECORD RELEASE PARTY

The Spirit Girls will be performing LIVE at the Los Angeles venue Marvimon.

To purchase tickets and learn more go to:
www.marvimon.com

Sonic Reducer review of "Forever Free"

Sonic Reducer
By Marisa Demarco



The Spirit Girls Forever Free (The End is Here Records)
If angry porcelain dolls made art rock, this is what it would sound like, though such a narrow label does this disc little justice. Lush with archetypal symbolism (ships, nests, bears, Ophelia), the chanted words yank your dream head from its murky depths. Don't listen to The Spirit Girls while operating heavy machinery--not unless you're using it to construct a life-sized dollhouse for your ghostly interior self, the one who's right at home with these pale, ethereal rock moppets. Be prepared to drift through long beds of soundscape with cellos, excessive panning and mostly tasteful vintage effects. Though not inaccessible, this album won't work for you if you're looking for something opaque, solid and tangible—in a word, easy.

MICK MERCER REVIEWS "FOREVER FREE"

THE SPIRIT GIRLS
FOREVER FREE
End Is Here

Some people are so out there you’re genuinely glad you’re not with them, and this is the case with these surreal harpies. Creating a record which is fascinating rather than enjoyable they present something of an experience, which will have you gawping at the lyrics and staring at the confusing images of circus folk and bears and cows, of girls with a deathly pallor, making sure you have all exists covered. These people could be anywhere, and you wouldn’t know it.

At first all seems calm enough with ‘Anthem For Ophelia’ with twittery, swirly synth, a strong hazy vocals sound and drifting cello, especially as it slowly gathers form, shunts forward rhythmically somewhat severely, while the vocals really press forward, like a resentful ghost. Vinegary Ethereal with bluster you might say, and I wouldn’t contradict you. ‘Milk Maid appears, as simple a bleary wilting folk song about a cow as can be imagined, with other sounds slopped in to fill up the spaces. ‘The Hunted Little Green Grass Girl’ makes you realise they’re not quite on the same territory as kitsch melodic terrorists Flaming Fire, but utilising wobblier sub-dance squiggles, with brash, blaring guitar and genuinely weird vocals, big and slow. A quiet, almost graceful farmyard sing-along. Why?!!

‘Comforting The Bears’ is even stranger, with sweeping lines coursing through a serious synth moan, tough splodges of drums splattering morose detached indie and an oddly demanding vocal drone. ‘Small Town’ is instrumental, from buzzy atmospherics to a collision of crumpled drums and angry, determined guitar which is suddenly all there is there. ‘Airstream Dream’ could be an ethereal grunge experiment by Patti Smith, except that it questions why you’d question a pig bottled-fed by a clown. (“You think you’ve lost your mind It was gone all the time.”)

‘Haunted Horse’ clomps away dowdy and cloudy, ‘Graveyard Song’ sets idle, twanging high guitar to a fog of distorted vocals; a convincingly bare artistic drama, and then ‘Song For The Spirit Girl’ is almost a conventional delight of mottled, brooding pop with yammering vocals., vibrant grubby guitar, captivating strings and strident drums. ‘The Ship Gong’ disappoints as a farewell song, being a bit drab, but by then you’ve withstood it all and feel pretty damn virtuous.

So if you’re concerned for the whereabouts of women capable of setting up a nativity scene in a miniature replica of the Bates Motel don’t worry. They’re here.

http://www.marnieweber.com/spiritgirls.html - great pics!

EAR CANDY Reviews "Forever Free" & "Battleship Potemkin"

Music Reviews: March 2007
The Spirit Girls,"Forever Free"
(Trakwerx / End Is Here Records)

This album has one disturbingly freaky looking cover. I thought for sure I had a cd full of hardcore or nu metal songs by a female version of Slipknot or something. But, as the case may be, I was way off the mark. This gets a bit weird at times but it’s much mellower than Slipknot. This band project grew from a rock opera by noted L.A. artist Marnie Weber. The opera is about a group of ghost girls on a journey to find a place to perform their songs and tell their stories. The music is much more like the soundtrack to a surreal dream or nightmare. Favorite track: “Comforting The Bears”. _www.trakwerx.com _
Rating: 3 out of 5 (Moments of Brilliance)
Review by J.R. Oliver


Del Rey & The Sun Kings,"Battleship Potemkin" (Trakwerx)
Director Sergei Eisenstein was a man with a vision. He wanted a new score to be written every ten years for his silent film Battleship Potemkin. His thinking was that this would keep the film updated enough that subsequent generations would enjoy his work. Eighty three years later we have the latest score to hit the masses. Admittedly, I have not seen the film but the first thought I had after listening was that it sounded like the soundtrack to the raising of the Titanic. Well, if the raising of the Titanic had a soundtrack. This is intense. _www.trakwerx.com _
Rating: 3 out of 5 (Moments of Brilliance)
Review by J.R. Oliver

17 Pygmies rides again

After a "brief" 17 year absence, '80s icon band 17 Pygmies strikes back with not a one, but a two disc set of new and unusual compositions that not only enompass the elements that made the band a cult curiosity, but in fact includes and expands upon those sounds in a manner assuring them of yet another foothold (but a stronger one) in the world of musical obscurity.

Visit the Trakwerx label site to hear audio samples and pre-order CDs. www.trakwerx.com
Other releases from Jackson Del Rey and The Spirit Girls are available on this site.

Visit the parent company, Maryatt Music Group Inc., website to hear audio and order CDs and inquire about music licensing. www.maryattmusic.com.

17 Pygmies has a myspace site at www.myspace.com/17pygmies including audio samples and downloads from the lastest new 7" Vinyl single release "Last Train". Due out December 1st, this single release includes a song Jackson Del Rey (founding member of Savage Republic & 17 Pygmies) wrote as 17 Pygmies were going their separate ways.

WUNH 93.1fm

WUNH 93.1 FM Duham, NH

ADDS to PLAYLIST JAN. 2007

The Spirit Girls "Forever Free"
17 Pygmies "13 Blackbirds"

http://newserver.wunh.org/index.php?menutype=Charts&page=charts.php

LIVE SHOW with The 17th Pygmy & The Spirit Girls at Dangerous Curve

Sunday December 15th 7:00 p.m.

For more details go to http://dangerouscurve.org/

Forever Free Review

THE BIG TAKE-OVER
Review by Jack Rabid – Issue 59

The Spirit Girls

FOREVER FREE (TRAKWERX/END IS HERE)

These five ghostly women are veterans from unusual L.A. bands going back 20 years, such as drummer Debbie Spinelli from Radwaste and Party Boys, and one of the Haden sisters, cellis Tanya. Trakwerx is run by Jackson Del Rey out of Savage Republic and 17 Pygmies. (So the foldout and booklet are top notch.) Forever Free…then, is supreme genre-busting. Haden’s sweet cello contrasts Tani Tull’s dark, Breeders-gone-moody guitars, bolstering Marnie Weber’s phalanz of nine sinister synthesizers and ominous vocals. Not quite goth, this still conjures the post-Bowie/Eno Berlin collaboration ‘80s, when dark-chilly post-punk employed murky, doomy edges against textural beauty, like The Cure, Red Temple Spirits, Strange Times Chameleons, and Shiva Burlesque. This is a tribal ritual and child nightmare about scary hobo clowns, haunted horses and worried bears; music that makes you feel strange. (trakwerx.com)