Glad You Were Born, the debut album by Heliconia, was released in summer 2006 on Isolation Recordings (Isolation 07).
Heliconia, whose guitar-driven sound has been described as neo-shoegazer, have played with German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss and previously recorded for Isolation and AC30.
Glad You Were Born, which includes work done with producer Pat Collier (Primal Scream, House of Love), captures the band's distinctive combination of laidback stoner grooves alternating with sheets of guitar and distortion.
Whether it’s the plaintive but powerful Bliss, a wall of noise rising from stuttering drums and resigned vocals; the delicately haunting Girl I Need You – music for walking along rainy 4am streets; the bass-sculpted Loose Ends, all jittery guitars, angst and adrenalin; or the hushed boy/girl vocals, reciting some private mantra, of Deep In Winter.
The three-piece have gigged extensively in London and Brighton area over the past couple of years honing their powerful live sound.
A review of a pre-release copy of Glad You Were Born on webzine shotgunreviews.com commented on Heliconia’s “dynamic mix of neo and classic shoegaze”, concluding that the album “should bring the band some of the attention and respect they so richly deserve”.
The band’s corrosive take on Ride classic Drive Blind for the Club AC30 compilation Never Lose That Feeling was described by starvox.net as “adding a dreamier/druggier edge to the verse, but leaving the impeccable dynamics untouched”.
Heliconia have gigged frequently in London and Brighton in the past couple of years, at venues including The Marquee - where the band headlined, The Comedy, The Water Rats and Freebutt.
Many gigs were played with highly acclaimed German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss, who been impressed by the band's debut EP Girl I Need You, and was keen to work with Heliconia.
In the future Ulrich may produce some Heliconia tracks, or contribute remixes.
Girl I Need You
Girl I Need You was released on on Isolation in June 2003. A review of demo versions of some of the tracks described them as "beautiful".
The title track, underpinned by a simple keyboard motif and offset by off-kilter samples, was described as "stunning" by Organart magazine.
Shapes in the Dark is all guitar and distorted vocals; powerful, effective.
The Organart review said in another time and place this would have been a shoegazing classic in the Chapterhouse/Slowdive mould.
Innerise — who has contributed a track to the Flunk remix album — takes the Heliconia sound in a very different direction in his remix of Girl I Need You, building a dark, brooding ambientscape around fragments of Heidi's vocals.
Walking Without Moving combines haunting, chiming guitars with breathless vocal lines which give way to a soaring sound.
"This is one of the most beautiful things we've heard in a long long time," said Organart. "It glows."
