Music
Press
Singer/poet/visual artist Elizabeth Fischer mines the rich veins of inspiration found in the netherworlds of wounded/fractured consciousness, thwarted dreams and modern-day alienation. "I Looked For You" details the piercing thorns of a consuming but destructive mutual attraction, mounted upon a scaffold of resounding guitar riffs and throbbing drums/bass locks. The 11 tracks are superbly arranged by guitarist Gord Grdina, who intertwines both clean and overdriven lines with fellow guitarist Chad Macquarrie to build orchestrations of operatic grandeur, as well as whisper-in-your-ear intimacy. The cautionary tale of "Tracking the Detectives" is an exceptionally strong track. Within its hallucinatory, Brechtian cabaret vibe, Fischer warns "the meek always pay," although that seems unlikely in her case. "Driftaway" has a reverb-drenched guitar vamp on which the vocal floats, registering romanticized renunciation and abjection: losers triumph through loss; outsiders "belong" more truly than social centrists. It takes a special gift to make dismal enchanting. DarkBlueWorld do it brilliantly. (Drip Audio) - Exclaim! Magazine (June 17, 2009)
"Songs that ache with truth" - The Globe and Mail
... a searing alternative to sweetness and light - Down Beat Magazine
“Imagine and unholy union of Nina Hagen and Jim Morrison channeling Bertold Brecht and Rimbaud with a band made up of members of the Doors, the Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd and you’ll have some idea of DarkBlueWorld’s mesmerizing, hallucinatory sound...” - Coda Magazine
“... they breathe sadness and celebration in the same breath because they own that paradox, all while retaining status as pop through their brilliant narratives and insularly intricate musicianship...” - CokeMachineGlow
With her cigarette-rough voice, Fischer invites comparison to Nico or Patti Smith, though her superior range and color indicate that the similarity has more to do with persona than sound. The slow burning anger in these songs is hardly apparent at first, but finally surfaces as defiance rather than cynicism. It is the sound of a damaged romantic who cannot reconcile herself with the random blows of fate administered by an unthinking world. "Things go wrong and no one's to blame," she sings, signing a sympathy card for the broken-hearted multitudes. It's as poignant as a regretful letter to an old lover, or a face glimpsed in the window of a passing train, never to be seen again. These are the forlorn regions where Dark Blue World will take you - JunkMedia
Discography
DarkBlueWorld - the perilous beauty of madness (Drip Audio 2009)
DarkBlueWorld - s/t (Drip Audio 2006)
www.dripaudio.com
www.darkblueworld.ca
www.myspace.com/darkblueworldca
Photos
Bio
DarkBlueWorld is singer/poet Elizabeth Fischer's essential vehicle for her collaborations with noted Canadian musicians. Drawing on Fischer’s texts, expressive vocal style and the wide ranging musical influences the members bring to the group, DarkBlueWorld creates and perform songs that are emotionally layered, often acerbic or darkly satirical, with subtly complex harmonic and rhythmic structures.
DarkBlueWorld's epic sound has been noted for its paradoxical nature, simultaneously hypnotic and sullen: "blending disturbing lyrics with beautiful melodies... breathing sadness and celebration in the same breath", at times "a thrilling noise assault of feedback and percussion" [Cokemachineglow.com]. Their unique "alchemical magic" is completed by Elizabeth's "lushly dismal narratives", ranging harmonically from "a macabre growl to a keening shriek" with "superior range and color" conveyed by her "cigarette-rough voice" [CD of the Week, JunkMedia].
The group has been in existence since 2003, and records for the Canadian label Drip Audio, garnering excellent reviews from major publications. Their new CD "the perilous beauty of madness" was released on June 12, 2009.
Some Press:
"Songs that ache with truth" – CD of the Week, The Globe and Mail (Canada's national newspaper, feature article)
“... a searing alternative to sweetness and light” - Down Beat Magazine
“Imagine and unholy union of Nina Hagen and Jim Morrison channeling Bertold Brecht and Rimbaud with a band made up of members of the Doors, the Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd and you’ll have some idea of DarkBlueWorld’s mesmerizing, hallucinatory sound...” – Coda Magazine
“... they breathe sadness and celebration in the same breath because they own that paradox, all while retaining status as pop through their brilliant narratives and insularly intricate musicianship...” - CokeMachineGlow
"... With her cigarette-rough voice, Fischer invites comparison to Nico or Patti Smith, though her superior range and color indicate that the similarity has more to do with persona than sound. The slow burning anger in these songs is hardly apparent at first, but finally surfaces as defiance rather than cynicism. It is the sound of a damaged romantic who cannot reconcile herself with the random blows of fate administered by an unthinking world. "Things go wrong and no one's to blame," she sings, signing a sympathy card for the broken-hearted multitudes. It's as poignant as a regretful letter to an old lover, or a face glimpsed in the window of a passing train, never to be seen again. These are the forlorn regions where Dark Blue World will take you, and the voyage won’t be gentle; there is a deep sense of command within its drama..." - JunkMedia, CD of the week.
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