Heliotrope | id

There are three performers that go by the name "Heliotrope," one an Early Music ensemble, one an European techno solo artist, and the other a Japanese band. 1.Heliotope is a California-based Early Music ensemble that performs medieval chant, polyphonic choral music, and instrumentals under the leadership of Joyce Todd (later Joyce Todd-McBride). Their first cd, The Romance Of The Rose - Feminine Voices From Medieval France, was released in 1995 and featured songs composed by, for, and about women, particularly songs in the French troubadour tradition of the 11th through 13th centuries. It was followed in 1998 by The Fire...

Heliotropes hail from Brooklyn, NY. With a sound described as "doomy pop" - containing elements of shoegaze, goth and classic psych metal - Heliotropes blend influences from Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Black Sabbath and My Bloody Valentine. On this lo-fi EP, the guitar riffs are murky, the drums are bludgeoning, and the shrills of the violin are haunting. But it is California native Jessica Numsuwankijkul's detached, wistful vocals - which bring to mind Richard Ashcroft meets Mazzy Star - that turn spacey dissonance into beautiful hypnotic rock. III is an EP that shows a lot of potential for a group of...