Colm Ó Cíosóig

Colm Ó Cíosóig (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkʊlˠmˠ oː ˈciːsˠoɟ]; born 31 October 1964) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and a founding member of the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine.

Biography

My Bloody Valentine

Originally formed in 1983, My Bloody Valentine had gone through a few lineup changes before they forged a signature sound that was to become known by the music press as "shoegazing" in the late 80s and early 90s.

Along with Kevin Shields' guitar work and Bilinda Butcher's ethereal vocals, Ó Cíosóig's off-kilter and snare-heavy drumming had become a key element of the band's sound. Ó Cíosóig has co-written songs for My Bloody Valentine and has contributed production work to many of their releases.

Due to illness and homelessness during the recording of Loveless, Ó Cíosóig had played drum patterns that were sampled and looped on most of the tracks. He later recovered and was well enough to play live on two tracks, "Only Shallow" and "Touched". "Touched" was done solely by Ó Cíosóig without any contribution from the other members of the band.^[1]

During My Bloody Valentine's hiatus since the early 90s, Ó Cíosóig had been quietly prolific with various musical collaborations and guest appearances.

As of November 2007, he has resumed his role in My Bloody Valentine along with members Kevin Shields, Debbie Googe, and Bilinda Butcher.

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions

His best known work outside My Bloody Valentine is with Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Ó Cíosóig had co-written, produced and played several instruments on their 2001 album Bavarian Fruit Bread. The band's second album Through the Devil Softly was released on September 29, 2009.^[2]

Other projects

In 1994, Ó Cíosóig produced and contributed "sampled keyboards" to Wreakage, the fifth album by Dublin-based artist/musician Stano.^[3] In 1997, he was a guest musician on Fire in a Dream Cage by L.^[4] Both albums were released on Hue Records. Ó Cíosóig was credited with "Digital Editing" on Laika's 1995 debut "Silver Apples of the Moon"

Ó Cíosóig had formed the short-lived band Clear Spot with Stereolab bassist Simon Johns. They had released a 7" vinyl single Moonman Bop on Duophonic Records in 1998.^[5]

In 2004, Ó Cíosóig was a guest drummer on Vetiver's self-titled album. In 2005, he, along with Shields and Sandoval, contributed to Le Volume Courbe's debut album, and he was a guest musician on Film School's 2007 release Hideout.

Ó Cíosóig also recorded songs for The Tigerbeat, a San Francisco-based band that features his sister Fionnuala.^[6]

References