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Interview conducted
in May 2004
NEXT RELEASE:
"Particle & Waves" |
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| |  | |    | | By Bertrand Hamonou | | Photos Janne |
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Crane's first recordings were made on the band's first demo tape, "Fuse", recorded in 1986 and never released. From those trials, only the track Fuse will be kept and will appear on their 1989 first album, "SELF-NON-SELF". The blend is curious and sets the basis for a new style, where Jim Shaw's tortured arrangements find echo in the lullabies his sister Alison sings.
"WINGS OF JOY", with a CD re-release of "Self-Non-Self", appears in 1991. More accomplished than the previous album, it presents a warmer sound and less tortured compositions. Then comes "FOREVER" in 1993, the album of all successes and acknowledgement. Not only they now have classics considered songs like Adrift, Cloudless or Jewel, but the band comes under Robert Smith’s thumb and affords a worldwide tour with The Cure. The contact is the best they could imagine, and the cranes settle on the building site of "Forever Remixes", on which participate Robert Smith, Ivo Watts-Russel (who will latter cover a Cranes song with his The Hope Blister project) and Foetus' J.G. Thirlwell. Alison's so charming voice even becomes evil on the remix J.G. Thirlwell does for Clear.
The following year sees another jewel coming out, "LOVED", which brings a few more classics like Shining Road and Paris and Rome. Guitars are a bit out of tune, and the album is better thanks to that, as the band hasn't lost anything from his odd creativity.
Exit both the guitars and the English language for "La Tragédie d’Orestre et Electre", on which Alison reads "Les Mouches" by Jean-Paul Sartre, in a French language that she likes much more than she masters. Released in 1996 as a limited edition of 10.000, that album is made out of samplers, keyboards and flutes, but doesn’t really convince anyone.
They find their guitars again and release "POPULATION FOUR" in 1997 which lacks of seduction because too much clean and conventional for such a peculiar band. The songs are less valuable than they used to be on the previous albums, on which Cranes will capitalize the same year with the "EP Collection, Vols 1 & 2", a summary of the highlights of the previous episodes.
The band remains quiet for almost four years, and after an aborted album in 1998, they release the bluffing "FUTURE SONGS" in 2001, a more electronic record than ever, which defines a new sound direction for the band. Back on the road, the band records "Live in Italy" in 2003 and starts to write their latest album to date, the both luminous and cold "PARTICLES & WAVES", true follow up to "Future Songs". | | |  | | | | | |        | |
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