Friday, 18 March 2022

OCD050 : Baby Fire / Grace

 


Cover art by Alice Smith



OCD050 : Baby Fire / Grace

Emerging from the back alleys of the Brussels alternative scene, Baby Fire (see also  OCD018OCD033ODG070 and ODG120) is a trio defined by a rock style which is full of rage, haunted, powerful and refined. 

Body and soul of the project, the guitar player, Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock, grew up between London and the European capital. Music lover and avid record collector, she did the rounds of the hard rock circuit as well as the great bastions of punk such as the famous London Marquee Club. One evening at a concert in Brussels, she crossed paths with Ronnie James Dio, the emblematic voice of Rainbow and heavy metal culture hero. He listened to her first demo tape and encouraged her to keep singing.


Close to the aesthetic defended by artists such as P. J. Harvey, Shannon Wright or Carla Bozulich, Dominique began to shape her universe through contacts with personalities she met at venues in her own country and abroad. Among these are Eugene Robinson (Oxbow), Dana Schechter (Insect Ark, Swans) as well as Eve Libertine and Penny Rimbaud of Crass. In 2014 'The Red Robe' album came into being in the heart of Dial House, mythic headquarters of the British punk collective.

Among the guests of Baby Fire’s 5th album one finds Laetitia Shériff (‘Eternal’), Mike Moya from Godspeed You! Black Emperor (‘Grace’), as well as two punk legends united on one track: Eve Libertine and G.W. Sok (‘Love’).


The artwork by Alice Smith is a reference to Dominique breaking her shoulder shortly before the ‘Grace’ recordings. Following this accident new songs and new themes emerged: the deconstruction and reconstruction of the self, and the search for grace.


Line-up: Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock (voice, guitar, loops & theremin), Lucile Beauvais (guitar, keyboards & backing vox), Cécile Gonay (bass, violin & backing vox).



Dominique and Lucile - pics by Yves Collard

The beautiful video of 'A Spell':



A nice review in French here.

Digital release on the 18th of March 2022.

Track listing:

1: A Spell
2: Fleur de feu
3: Love
4: This Is a Love Song
5: Grace
6: Dance
7: Prayer
8: Sing in Brightness
9: Like William Blake
10: Eternal


Physical and digital on the Baby Fire Bandcamp!

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