| Lovesliescrushing | |
|---|---|
| Origin | East Lansing, Michigan |
| Genres | Dream pop, lo-fi, ambient, noise |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | 12k/LINE Projekt Records Sonic Syrup Automatic Entertainment |
| Members | |
| Scott Cortez (guitars, loops, treatments) Melissa Arpin-Duimstra(vocals) |
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| Past members | |
| Andrew Prinz Ana Breton Alyssa Brown Michael Anderson Drekka |
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Lovesliescrushing (often misspelled Loveliescrushing, and actually spelled as all lowercased "lovesliescrushing") is a dream pop, lo-fi, ambient, noise band, that formed in the fall of 1991 in East Lansing, Michigan and later moved to Tucson, Arizona. The two primary members of the band are Scott Cortez (guitars, loops, treatments) and Melissa Arpin-Duimstra (vocals). Other musicians join the group for live performances. Auxiliary members have included Andrew Prinz, Alyssa Browne of Mahogany, and Michael Anderson Drekka.
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Their sound has been compared mainly to that of My Bloody Valentine. Unlike MBV, however, Lovesliescrushing has a sound less dependent on traditional song structures and vocals. With a penchant for guitar tonality and soft vocals, while burying the result under layers of effects, they combine noise and melody in unique ways. The emphasis has always been on texture, hence the unorthodox manner of playing strings with metal, nails, chopsticks, screwdrivers, vibrators and violin bows, to create new tones, much like Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth and Einstürzende Neubauten did in the '80s, but to a different end. They are often accused of using keyboards on their albums, an honest mistake due to the otherworldly sound that they achieve. Cortez was proud of the fact that guitar and voice were the only sound sources and that all of their music was done on a 4 track. This is an important and oft-forgotten note, hence the lo-fi tag. They eschew keyboards and the studio due to aesthetic and economic reasons. The Lovesliescrushing sound is typefied by loops and has always been identified by its lack of drums and its reliance on Scott Cortez' skill at "wreaking all manner of beautiful sonic mayhem from his guitar."
Between 1996 and 2002, Scott Cortez left Projekt Records to front Astrobrite on the Sonic Syrup label.
In 1997, Cortez and Michael Anderson (of Drekka) formed two short lived projects, entitled Transient Stellar and Vir. Transient Stellar performed as lovesliescrushing at Projektfest 1997, utilizing an early melding of jungle and shoegaze. The decidedly more experimental Vir released a 7" on Drone Records, a lovesliescrushing remix on Bluesanct, a compilation tracks for the magazine 'Losing Yesterday' and an interpretation of a work by Japanese sound artist Aube for the 'Rewriting the Book' compilation on Elsie & Jack Recordings. Many unreleased recordings by both groups exist and may come out at some point.
In 2000 Cortez began experimenting with the digital realm by dumping his 4 track recordings into a computer to expand production. The process resulted in two sister albums released as glissceule and voirshn. Cortez dubbed the new sound "glitch bliss," due to the digital manipulations of signature voice and guitar wash layers. Bands that covered similar terrain were Seefeel, Zoviet France, Windy & Carl, Main (band), Flying Saucer Attack, and Cocteau Twins; new progenitors are artists like Fennesz and Belong.
In 2005 lovesliescrushing eshewed guitar altogether to release an a cappella album. His latest project STAR can be seen and heard on their website.