''Liquid'' is the fifth studio album by

Recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

, released by Mute Records on March 21, 2000. It was recorded at

Alan Wilder Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called Recoil b ...

's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex, during sessions that lasted from July 1998 to June 1999. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with production assistance and co-ordination by Hepzibah Sessa, and additional production and sound design by PK. ''Liquid'' is Recoil's fifth album release. ''Liquids music continues in much the same vein as his previous album, ''

Unsound Methods ''Unsound Methods'' is the fourth studio album by Recoil, released in 1997. It was recorded at Alan Wilder's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex, during sessions that lasted from September 1996 to March 1997. The album was produced by Alan Wil ...

'', but it considered to be a concept album revolving around a near-death experience in 1994. Wilder and his partner, Hepzibah Sessa, were driving in Scotland and a Tornado Bomber hit a hillside in front of them, and two airmen were killed. The idea of the album, especially the bookending track "Black Box" (read by Reto Bühler), centered on what was going through the pilot's last moments of life. Recoil again picked a diverse set guest vocalists - internationally acclaimed (and fellow

Mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

artist)

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, and soprano. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involve ...

, 1940s

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singers the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, New York

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

performers

Nicole Blackman Nicole Blackman (born November 30, 1971) is a New York City–born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist. Literary career Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word, and transgressive literature scenes. Blackman sel ...

and Samantha Coerbell, and

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narrator (and Recoil fan) Rosa Torras. Additional musicians utilized were

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

Dean Garcia Dean Garcia (born 3 May 1958) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician, best known as a member of the alternative rock duo Curve from 1990 to 2005. He also released solo work and collaborated with many other artists. Biography Garcia was ...

( bass) and Steve Monti ( drums),

Ian Dury and the Blockheads Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

' Merlin Rhys-Jones (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

), and

Miranda Sex Garden Miranda Sex Garden are an English music group from London. They were originally active from 1990 to 2000, reforming in 2022. Biography Formed in 1990, Katharine Blake, Kelly McCusker and Jocelyn West were originally a trio of madrigal singe ...

's Hepzibah Sessa (

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

). Of note is the track "Jezebel", which features the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet. There is some debate that it was inspired by the Moby album ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' (released a year prior to ''Liquid'') and its use of Alan Lomax field recordings. However, a similar track appears on Recoil's 1992 ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...

'' album, "Electro Blues for Bukka White", dispelling this idea. Furthermore, Moby appeared on the Bloodline album. Nine Inch Nails played the ''Liquid'' album before taking the stage during their Fragility tour in 2000.

Track listing

All music written by Alan Wilder #"Black Box, Part 1" (Words: Alan Wilder) #"Want" (Words:

) #"Jezebel" (Words: Traditional/ Orlandus Wilson) #"Breath Control" (Words:

) #"Last Call for Liquid Courage" (Words: Samantha Coerbell) #"Strange Hours" (Words: Diamanda Galás) #" Vertigen" (Words: Rosa M. Torras) #"Supreme" (Words: Coerbell) #"Chrome" (Words:

) #"Black Box, Part 2" (Words: Alan Wilder)

Credits and personnel

*Alan Wilder – all music and production * Paul Kendall – additional production and sound design * Reto Bühler –

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

on "Black Box Part 1" and "Black Box Part 2" *

– lead vocals on "Want", "Breath Control", and "Chrome" * Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet – lead vocals on "Jezebel" *Samantha Coerbell – lead vocals on "Last Call for Liquid Courage", "Supreme" and "New York Nights" *

– lead vocals on "Strange Hours", additional vocals on "Jezebel" and " Vertigen" * Rosa M. Torras – lead vocals on "Vertigen", background vocals on "Black Box" (Complete) * Sonya Madan – lead vocals on "Don't Look Back" *

– Additional bass &

* Steven Monti – drum sources * Merlin Rhys-Jones – guitar sources * Hepzibah Sessa –

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Lee Funnell – photography *Michael Williams at Intro – art direction/design

Singles

"Strange Hours"

CD: Mute / CD MUTE 232 (UK)

#"Strange Hours" (Radio Edit, by Wilder) #"Jezebel" (Filthy Dog Mix, by Wilder) #"New York Nights" (also credited as "Manhattan". Non-album track; Music: Wilder, Words: Samantha Coerbell) #"Don't Look Back" (Non-album track; Music: Wilder, Words: Sonya Madan) #"Strange Hours" (Video) #"Drifting" (Video, from the album ''Unsound Methods'') #"Stalker" (Video, from ''Unsound Methods'') #"Faith Healer" (Video, from the album ''

'')

"Jezebel"

CD: Mute / CD MUTE 233 (UK)

#"Jezebel" (Radio Edit) #"Jezebel" (The Slick Sixty vs. RJ remix) #"Electro Blues for Bukka White" (2000 Version; Music: Wilder, Words:

Bukka White Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White (November 12, 1906 February 26, 1977) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. Biography White was born south of Houston, Mississippi. He was a first cousin of B.B. King's mother (White's mother and ...

) #"Black Box" (Complete) #"Jezebel" (Video)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liquid (Album) 2000 albums Mute Records albums Recoil (band) albums