photo by e. katie holm
THE BAND:
Julianna Towns • vocals & guitar
Lisa Feuer • flute & backing vocals
Sam Rosenthal • vocals & electronics
L.A. Weekly — A symphonic mix of poetic vocals and ethereal atmosphere. Chicago’s black tape for a blue girl incorporates orchestral elegance with New Age-ish spirituality and literary introspection.
Sam writes: Back when the band was only 12 years into our nearly-40-year career — in the summer of 1998 — we staged our only tour with vocalist Julianna Towns (vocals/guitar) joining Lisa Feuer (flute/backing vocals), and myself (Sam Rosenthal, electronics/vocals). This recently unearthed recording captures emotional and intense performances ranging from the searing “For you will burn your wings upon the sun” to the ethereal wave of “Given” & “Seireenien lumoama.”
At the time of this concert, our 7th album As one aflame laid bare by desire was finished and had a release date scheduled 6 months later in January 1999. We performed three songs from the upcoming album and a selection of earlier tracks originally recorded by different vocalists; Julianna made them her own with sultry vocals and dramatic delivery. I fleshed out Blacktape’s male/female balance singing 4 ambientesque tracks.
This live album is sourced from three shows recorded to stereo Hi8 video (7/21/98 Boston at The Middle East, 7/24/98 Projektfest-New York City at Irving Plaza, and 7/25/98 Projektfest-Philadelphia at The Trocadero). The album is named for the Boston show, the only one where the entire 13-song set was performed, which was presented by Laura Wilson of Bats in the Belfry on WMBR 88.1 FM. The concert video includes a bit of footage from a fourth show 7/29/98 Norwalk, CT at The Sound Cafe.
Los Angeles Times — Orange County Edition: Best Bets Orange County Today. black tape for a blue girl, a trio is gothic in the traditional, medieval European sense, making ethereal music that moves like a candle flickering through a dark catacomb. blacktape’s return offers a brand of ambient pop seldom heard locally.
San Francisco Chronicle — On blacktape’s seventh release, founding member Sam Rosenthal collaborates with gifted vocalist Julianna Towns to create something of a concept album. Aflame explores psychological aspects of love, lust and passion, from the first blush of infatuation through lovers being stripped bare of their physical and emotional trappings to the inevitable end of the relationship. Through spare orchestration and intriguing storytelling, they create an arresting and thought-provoking storyline.