Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate vocalist Imogen Heap (later a solo artist, half of Frou Frou and a collaborator with

Urban Species Urban Species is a British hip-hop band, best known for several hit singles during the 1990s. The band's music draws on a diverse range of influences (including reggae, blues, funk, dub, jazz, ragga and acoustic folk) and combines live playing ...

and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

). Though never commercially successful, Acacia attracted a good deal of underground attention during their existence and were notable for their eclectic musical approach and for Nilere's unorthodox, polysexual image. Other musicians who played with Acacia were drummer

Eshan Khadaroo Eshan may refer to: * Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Yuxi, Yunnan Province, China * Eshan Hilal, Indian belly dancer * Eshan Nayeck (died 1987), Mauritian convicted murderer See also * Eshani, a town and union council of Barkhan District, Balochistan ...

( Cirque Du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Psapp, Bow Wow Wow), guitarists Luca Ramelli and Maurizio Anzalone, and percussionist/world instrument player Ansuman Biswas (better known as a performance poet). Talvin Singh was also a member during the early days of the group. The band should not be confused with the Detroit-based techno artist Acacia a.k.a.

Kelli Hand Kelley Hand (September 15, 1964 – August 3, 2021), known professionally as Kelli Hand and K-HAND, was a musician and DJ from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Hand was widely credited with opening the door for Black women's participation in the ...

Sound and influences

Acacia's music combined elements of

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, sampling, nu-soul, thrash metal, indie rock, R'n'B and club music. Core Acacia members Sigsworth and Nilere had originally bonded over a mutual interest in

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

and Karlheinz Stockhausen,Account of band history on Acacia's MySpace page
retrieved 30 January 2009 but retained their parallel (and more commercial) interest in "pop melodies with very strange arrangements."
(interview in Sound On Sound magazine, published May 1996, retrieved 30 January 2009) Nilere had first learned to play the guitar to Chinese and Balinese scales (before being introduced to R'n'B forms) and the band's songs were strongly influenced by this factor.Acacia biography @ New Musical Express
, retrieved 3 April 2009 The band were known to describe their sound as "liquid music", due to the distinctive "underwater tabla" sound. Nilere once described Acacia as "a fourth world band, because the music's alien to everyone."

History

Roots and formation

Alexander Nilere (the son of a wealthy and prominent Nigerian family based in the UK) had originally been scheduled to travel to America and study medicine. More interested in music, he fooled his parents by faking his departure from Heathrow Airport and subsequently settled in the London squat scene. During this period, he was introduced to Guy Sigsworth, a former harpsichord student obsessed by Stravinsky and electronic music. Sigsworth had already made a considerable mark for himself as a rising keyboard player, songwriter and junior producer on the British pop scene. In 1991, he had played and recorded with Bomb The Bass and Seal (co-writing the latter's hit single "Crazy"), and had followed this up in 1992 by working with Hector Zazou, Naked Truth and Seal's former musical partner Adamski. By the time he met Nilere, he had moved on to become

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

's keyboard player and musical director of her live band. Initially forming Acacia as a duo project, Nilere and Sigsworth subsequently recruited Maurizio Anzalone (a self-taught Spanish/Italian guitarist who'd developed a playing style blending punk and the avant-garde). As percussionist, they recruited future world-music/British-Asian club music star Talvin Singh, who'd already established himself as a live performer with

Siouxsie And The Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

and the On-U Sound System. Singh stayed with Acacia for "about three gigs". He was replaced by another British Asian: Ansuman Biswas, an experimental poet and performance artist who happened to play tabla, percussion and santoor.

Early singles

Acacia spent much of 1993 working on their music, and subsequently began to sell it via home-made cassette. They released their debut single, "Maddening Shroud" in April 1994 - a song fusing Balkan gypsy voices and gamelans to "an insistent nursery rhyme melody". "Maddening Shroud" was followed with a witty electronic soul-pop cover of

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

's "

The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" is a song by English singer-songwriter Morrissey, co-written by Boz Boorer released as a single on 28 February 1994. It was taken from the then-unreleased '' Vauxhall and I'' album and was the first Mor ...

". Both singles, plus the interest built up by the band's compelling live concerts, attracted enough attention and then a deal from London label

Radar Records Radar Records was a UK-based record label formed in late 1977 by Martin Davis (managing director) who had previously worked at United Artists Records, and Andrew Lauder, who had previously been head of A&R at the UK divisions of Liberty Recor ...

. This gave Sigsworth enough immediate financial security to enable him to leave Björk's live band and to begin recording Acacia's debut album in his home studio at a basement flat near

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

Singles for Radar Records

Acacia's third single (and their first release for Radar Records) was 1995's "Hate" EP. By this time, Acacia had gained a part-time fifth member in the shape of backing singer Imogen Heap, who was recruited to the project by Sigsworth after he had heard her voice on a demo tape. Although Heap would never become a full-time member of the band, she was featured prominently on almost every song the band recorded from then on, and would perform at Acacia's live gigs whenever possible. Members of Acacia would return the favour by performing in Heap's backing band for her 1996 showcase at the Prince's Trust Concert in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, London. Acacia's fourth single, released later in 1996, was "Sway", a song of bisexual intrigue which gained the band some more press attention (although not much mainstream attention).

Line-up changes and further singles

Maurizio Anzalone left the band following the release of "Sway". He was replaced by Luca Ramelli - an Italian guitarist and sound designer based in London - who finished off the remaining guitar tracks on the album. Shortly afterward Ansuman Biswas also left the band to resume his solo work. Biswas was replaced by versatile session drummer/percussionist

(aka Eshan K).Account of life in Acacia on Luca Ramelli's MySpace page
retrieved 30 January 2009 Signing a new deal with Warner Music UK, the new Acacia lineup re-recorded their first single, "Maddening Shroud". This gained the band the most interest they'd received so far and was promoted by a striking video. The band also played a UK tour (upgraded to a headline slot after original headline act Orlando pulled out) and also played two concerts in Los Angeles at the Viper Room and Whiskey (as part of a possible deal with Interscope Records). A sixth single - the rave-inflected "Wired" - followed.

''Cradle'', and the end of the band

The band toured the UK nationally in early 1997. Originally these dates were to have been in support of Romo band Orlando. (Acacia themselves had already been loosely associated with Romo, playing dates at Arcadia and Club Skinny.) After Orlando pulled out, citing how the schedule of dates had become a logistical mess, Acacia went ahead regardless with the tour, upgraded to headline act for all shows. Completed in 1996, the Acacia debut album - ''

Cradle Cradle may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Cradling (paintin ...

'' - was released in early 1997 and looked set to take the band to the next stage. However, problems with contract issues between Warner Music UK and Interscope were revealed which caused the album to be pulled from record stores at the last moment. (Enough copies of the album reached press and public to generate a few reviews and promote some mild cult interest.) While the details of the legal problems are yet to be disclosed, they proved to be serious enough to entirely halt Acacia's career. With their impetus and opportunity apparently lost, the members of Acacia opted to split up the band.

Life after Acacia

The breakup of Acacia was entirely amicable, with several members continuing to work together on other projects. In particular, Guy Sigsworth and Alexander Nilere maintained their writing partnership, working together on songs for both Imogen Heap and for British soul singer Hinda Hicks. Post-Acacia, Sigsworth also resumed his work as keyboard player and producer, going on to work with Mandalay, Badmarsh & Shri, Goldie, Robyn and Lamb. He has since moved into the premier league of pop sessions and productions thanks to his collaborations with

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

(for the latter, he co-wrote and produced the smash hit single " What It Feels Like for a Girl"). During the last days of Acacia, Sigsworth and Imogen Heap had been working on Heap's debut solo album ''I Megaphone'', for which Sigsworth co-wrote and produced the debut single "Getting Scared". Sigsworth and Heap subsequently formed the pop duo

Frou-Frou ''Frou-Frou'', is a French comedy film from 1955, directed by Augusto Genina, written by A. E. Carr, starring Dany Robin and Louis de Funès. The film is also known as "A Girl from Paris". Plot Frou-Frou is a 16-year-old peddler. She comes to ...

(who recorded a cover of "Maddening Shroud" for their ''Details'' album). Although Frou Frou was a short-lived project (due to problems with record companies and Heap's desire to produce herself) the two remain friends and occasional collaborators. Alexander Nilere went on (under the new pseudonym of "Blackmoth") to form the R'n'B/club music project Hexdragon with Nellee Hooper, which produced the singles "Da Boogaloo" and "Two Summers". Unfortunately, the debut Hexdragon album suffered the same fate as Acacia's ''Cradle'' and was pulled on the eve of its release for undisclosed reasons. Alternating between his own name and the Blackmoth pseudonym, Nilere then went on to a solo career and has also worked with

, Peyton, Saian Supa Crew and

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

. After his stint in Acacia,

went on to drum with Blue Man Group, Bow Wow Wow, Psapp, Incognito, Jon Hassell, Bonnie McKee,

Gemma Hayes Gemma Hayes (born 11 August 1977) is an Irish musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments, including the piano and the harmonica. She is also a m ...

Badmarsh & Shri Badmarsh & Shri are an English electronic dance music duo from London. The pair consists of DJ Mohammed Akber Ali, aka Badmarsh, who was born in Yemen, and tabla player Shrikanth Sriram, aka Shri, who is from India. They have released two alb ...

and his former Acacia bandmate Imogen Heap. He is one of the many members of Cirque Du Soleil. Both Talvin Singh and Ansuman Biswas resumed their own solo careers after leaving Acacia. Luca Ramelli left London to return to Italy in 1999. He now mostly creates music for commercials and fashion events, but remains very enthusiastic about Acacia and has expressed interest in participating in a reunion should it ever happen. In 2012, Acacia finally regained rights to their recordings and began a reissue programme. ''Cradle'' was re-released via

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in May 2012 (followed by an iTunes reissue of the "Maddening Shroud" single in September).Acacia page on iTunes
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Members

(final lineup) *Alexander Nilere - vocals, acoustic guitar * Guy Sigsworth - keyboards, sampler, programming, "guitar facsimile" *Luca Ramelli - guitar and guitar treatments *

- drums, percussion (former members) *Maurizio Anzalone - guitar and guitar treatments *Ansuman Biswas - percussion, tabla, santoor, noise * Talvin Singh - tabla, percussion (associated members) * Imogen Heap - vocals

Discography

Albums * ''

'' (Warner Music, 1997) Singles * "Maddening Shroud" (1994) * "

" (1994) * "Hate" (Radar Records, 1995) * "Sway" (Radar Records, 1995) * "Maddening Shroud" (Warner Music, 1996) * "Wired" (Warner Music, 1996)

References

External links

Acacia @ MySpace"Maddening Shroud" video
(on YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Acacia (Band) English pop music groups Romo Radar Records artists Musical groups from London