![]() Dot AllisonCountry of origin:Scotland Type of music generally:Ectronica, pop Status:Most recent release, Pioneers 1—Dot Allison (2012) See also:Dot Allison's site Comparisons:More ectronic than Dido, less so than Kym Brown. Vocally, a lot like Sarah McLachlan. Covers/own material:Own and co-written General comments:Dot Allison, formerly of the early '90s band One Dove, has put out a great debut. Material ranges over the ectronic spectrum, with some songs softer and less produced (along the lines of Dido and Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing) and some more trip-hoppy. (JoAnn Whetsell) Recommended first album:Afterglow is her first solo album Recordings:
AfterglowRelease info:1999—Arista—07822-16600-2 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Dot Allison—vocals, keyboards, programming, piano, Hammond, vocoder, guitar, tabular bells, mini-squeeze box Guest artists:Magnus Fiennes—keyboards, piano, Rhodes piano, Harmonium Produced by:Dot Allison, Magnus Fiennes, Chris Allison, Richard Fearless, Tim Holmes Comments:I have Dot Allison's single "Colour Me", it's so great, I have the full album on order. (John.Drummond) We Are ScienceRelease info:2002—Mantra Recordings (PO Box 95 Ellicott Station, Buffalo, NY 14205)—RBR029-D Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Dot Allison—vocals, keyboards, guitar, glockenspiel, programming, string arrangement Guest artists:Keith Tenniswood—programming, additional keyboards, additional engineering Produced by:Dot Allison, D. Fridmann, Keith Tenniswood, Orde Mekle, Stuart McMillan Comments:Dot Allison's new album is something of a surprise, partly because I didn't know she was making one and because of the album itself, and because of how much I like it. It has links with her debut, Afterglow, but it's very different too. I could see someone liking one album but not the other. Me, I like both. We Are Science has a techno, retro-'80s feel to it, and some of the electronic noises annoy me a little, but are less unsettling with repeated listenings. There are a few songs like "We're Only Science" that eschew traditional songwriting and instead repeat the title words like a mantra. So the album begins with a vocalization (an "oh" or "ah") followed by a driving beat, and the first words come nearly a minute and a half into the song. There are some other lyrics further in, but you can't understand them (at least I can't). Other songs have a more traditional verse-refrain structure, and one near the end even reminds me of something from Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See. The US release comes with a video for "Strung Out" and remixes of 2 tracks that are actually very good and add something to the songs. (JoAnn Whetsell) Further info:Dot Allison remixed "Beefheart" for Ruby's Altered and Proud (The Short Staffed Remixes) (2001). Compilation work includes: Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
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