Anna Domino
Country of origin:
Born in Japan, used to live in Canada and Belgium, now living in the U.S.
Type of music generally:
(Ethereal) alternative pop
Status:
Most recent release, Dreamback: The Best of Anna Domino (compilation, 2004); most recent release of new material, Favorite Songs from the Twilight Years 1984-1990 (1997)
See also:
Wikipedia's Anna Domino entry, her page in the Belgian Pop & Rock archivesThe Ectophiles' Guide entry for a group side project, Snakefarm
Comparisons:
anna domino is another person that heidi berry fans should check out, though she has more of an european twist. (woj@smoe.org)
Covers/own material:
Mostly own material
General comments:
Gave me a near chill to see this: sometimes you forget that you're not really the only person on the planet who's ever hear of Anna Domino; it just seems like that. I say she should be given Ecto-goddess status. (lissener@wwa.com)I don't know her music by heart, most songs seem to run together unless they're *really* special like "Rhythm" or "Lake" but by vocals alone, she ranks right up there. Golden honey flowing and all that. (vickie@enteract.com)
I sure like her work a lot. I just got Mysteries of America a month or two ago and like it a *lot*. (justicek@edge.ercnet.com)
I enjoy listening to Colouring in the Edge and the Outline, Mysteries of America, and The Twilight Years compilation but I don't really love them. Two of her earlier discs (Anna Domino and This Time) flew in and out of my collection several years ago—they just seemed bland pop to me—it wasn't until I got the Colouring in the Edge and the Outline ep that I finally understood why people were talking about her with such appreciation. I like her work from then on quite a bit, but it still hasn't seriously impressed itself on my memory or consciousness. (Neile)
I always thought of Anna Domino as a Euro-pop diva. The liner notes from her new CD say that she was born in Tokyo and spent time in Italy and Canada when she was growing up. She moved to New York City in the late 1970s where she worked as a designer and played in several bands. Her first release came out in 1984. She has mostly recorded on the Crepuscule label. At some point during the height of her fame she had a nervous breakdown, which inspired some of the songs from the current collection. (valerie@smoe.org)
Recommended first album:
I would recommend her new CD Favorite Songs from the Twilight Years 1984-1990, which includes her best songs from several different albums. (valerie@smoe.org)
Recordings:
- East and West (EP, 1984)
- Anna Domino (1986)
- This Time (1987)
- Colouring in the Edge and the Outside (EP, 1988)
- L'Amour Fou (compilation, 1989)
- Mysteries of America (1990)
- Favorite Songs from the Twilight Years 1984-1990 (1997) (1997)
- Dreamback: The Best of Anna Domino (compilation, 2004)
East and West
Release info:
1984—Les Disques du Crepuscule—TWI 187
Availability:
Difficult to find
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals, keyboards, guitars, rhythms
Comments:
This might be my favourite of all her stuff, but I can't be very subjective about it, as it formed part of the soundtrack to my late adolescence. At one stage I played almost nothing except this record, Mathilde Santing's Water Under The Bridge, and Rickie Lee Jones's Girl At Her Volcano. It's very spare. (jac@millipede.demon.co.uk)
Anna Domino
Release info:
1986—Les Disques du Crepuscule—TWI 600/Polydor Germany—831 086-2
Availability:
Difficult to find, possibly still available in Japan; slated for re-release February 2004.
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals, keyboards, guitars, rhythms
Guest artists:
Alan Rankine—keyboards, guitars, bass, rhythms program
Marc Moulin—keyboards, programming
Steven Brown—clarinet
Dan Lacksman—fairlight program
Michel Delory—guitar
Rudy Sybert—electric bass
Produced by:
Alan Rankine
Comments:
This disc lies between this time and Mysteries of America in wonderfulness. especially noteworthy are "rythm" [sic], "koo koo", and a cover of "sixteen tons". It's very good '80s pop. (justin@cam.org)
This Time
Release info:
1987—Les Disques du Crepuscule—TWI 777/London Records (PolyGram) in Canada/Polydor Germany—835 022-2 (German pressing contains 2 bonus tracks, "Hammer" and "Chaos")
Availability:
Difficult to find, possibly still available in Japan
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals
Michel Delory—guitars
Guest artists:
Frank Michiels—percussion
Evert Verhees—bass
Walter Mets—drums
B.J. Scott—vocals
Piet van den Heuvel—vocals
Alan Rankine—vocals
Produced by:
Flood
Comments:
i find that this time is rather tedious; it has some good stuff on it, including the song "lake" which is colouring in the edge material, but it's not a great album. it should be not impossible to find used—i think it's probably the one of her albums that was the best promoted and distributed. (justin@cam.org)I have speak up in defense of This Time, though I agree that it's not as good as Colouring in the Edge and the Outline. A little too much of the "I'm being produced by Flood so I might as well try to sound like Yaz" effect, perhaps, but not really a bad little album. "Lake" is gorgeous, "This Time" is a must on any tape of truly bitter music, and "Just Once" and "Change To Come" are happy (musically anyway) bouncy spring music that, come to think of it, I wouldn't mind hearing right about...now. (drumz@best.com)
"Lake" was the very first song I heard from Anna Domino and it's still one of my favourites by her. I don't care much for the rest of this album though, there are only a couple of other tracks that I like. Most are too much '80s synthesized dance pop for me. (Marion)
Colouring in the Edge and the Outline ep
Release info:
1988—Les Disques du Crepuscule—TWI 865 / Polydor Germany—871 331-2 / Giant Records, P.O. Box 800, Rockville Centre, NY 11571, U.S.A.—GR16041-2
Availability:
Difficult to find, but shows up every now and then
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals
Michel Delory—guitars
Guest artists:
Francous Garny—bass
Jean Pierre Onraedt—drums
Vincent Kenis—accordion
Produced by:
Michel Delory (one song by Anna Domino, Michel Delory & Gilles Martin)
Comments:
Colouring in the Edge and the Outline is marvellous (in my opinion). (justin@cam.org)This is a 6 song EP. It begins sounding mainstream and forgettable, but later songs are more individual and interesting. It grew on me, unlike her previous albums. (Neile)
I like this ep very much, it could well be my favourite Anna Domino album, even though I probably agree Mysteries of America is a better album—I guess I just haven't listened to that one enough yet. It leaves the dance pop of This Time behind and continues more in the ethereal pop direction started with songs like "Lake" and the title track of the previous album "This time". Colouring in the edge... does fulfill the promise for more songs like these. (Marion)
Mysteries of America
Release info:
1990—Les Disques du Crepuscule—TWI 888
Availability:
Difficult to find, possibly still available in Japan
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals, accordion
Michel Delory—guitars, tipple, programming, midi guitar
Guest artists:
Anton Sanko—keyboards
Mike Visceglia—bass guitar
Frank Vilardi—drums, drum programming
Erik Sanko—bass guitar
Frank Michiels—percussion
Produced by:
Anton Sanko
Comments:
My personal favorite is Mysteries of America, which is better than everything before it and worth paying expensive prices for. Unfortunately, unlike her previous work, it was never released in North America and is not easy to find. Mysteries of America is brilliant. (justin@cam.org)Mysteries of America was produced by Anton Sanko, who used to play with Suzanne Vega and also co-produced her album Days of open hand. Other former Suzanne Vega band members Mike Visceglia and Frank Vilardi also play on this album. The opening of the first track "Home" sounds very much like a song from Days of open hand but as soon as Anna starts singing the comparison fades, though the Suzanne Vega references are recognizable here and there. I like this album a lot, and it may indeed be her best album, but somehow I think I still love Colouring in the edge and the outline better. Probably because I know that album much better. (Marion)
Favorite Songs from the Twilight Years 1984-1990
Release info:
1997—Janken Pon—RPS-000
Availability:
Currently difficult to find
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Anna Domino—vocals, accordion
Michel Delory—guitars, tipple, programming, midi guitar
Comments:
this is a compilation of anna domino's favorite tracks (hence the name) from her hard-to-find-in-america european-only albums. there are a couple new tracks as well for the die-hards (two live tracks recorded in new york last summer and one new version of an old song). it's only whetted my appetite for the albums of hers i don't have (the first self-titled one and mysteries of america). (woj@smoe.org)I haven't listened to this nearly enough, but it is a wonderful collection. (meth@smoe.org)
A delightful collection of her best work. Really. I wasn't too interested in her earlier discs, but started finding her work with the Colouring in the Edge and the Outside ep intriguing enough to follow her and track down her hard-to-find discs. This is the best because it focuses on her best work. Ethereal, a touch experimental. Very ecto. (Neile)
This compilation contains an excellent choice of songs including one never before released and two new, improved versions, as well as brief personal notes on each of the songs. It's in a very attractive paper sleeve whose design is based on the classic Penguin Books cover of the late 1940s. (justin@cam.org)
Further info:
She did some stuff on one of Matt Johnson's "The The" records. She also did lead vocals on one track of The 6ths' Wasp's Nests, and has a track on a Kerouac spoken-word album. Also somewhat bizarrely had a track on a Luc Van Acker EP many years ago. (jac@millipede.demon.co.uk)
Thanks to Dirk Kastens and Marion Kippers for work on this entry.
