|
LEVINHURST
Laurence
"Lol" Tolhurst was born on the Third of February
1959, years later he would discover that it was
the very day that Buddy Holly passed on...
...five
years later two little boys at their first day of
school would meet...
Lol
Tolhurst and Robert Smith would start
on a journey that would take them to the very pinnacle
of musical success. In adolescence, Lol and Robert
discovered that they shared a similar vision to form
a group like the ones that influenced them. This simple
inspiration would create one of the most influential,
critically acclaimed and commercially successful groups
of modern times: The Cure. From 1978
onwards, Lol and The Cure would chart an impressive
selection of achievements:
- Well over 27 million units sold worldwide
- Extensive touring covering all the continents
- 40 Platinum and Gold plaques in the US, Europe
and Japan
- Co-writing many of the group's big hits including
"Let's Go To Bed", "The Walk" and "The Caterpillar"
- Over 20 landmark award-winning music videos
Now, fast forward into the 21st century. Hot new artists ranging from
Coldplay to The Rapture and Hot Hot Heat have repeatedly cited The
Cure as a major influence. The strident beats/drums of the Cure’s
masterpiece Pornography and innovative, new wave keyboard licks he
pioneered in classic albums like Head On The Door are now being
constantly referenced by throwback bands such as The Faint and
Fischerspooner. Upon feeling this resurgence, Lol dove headfirst back
into the studio with his new project: Levinhurst. Levinhurst is a
suave, exotic group comprised of Lol's keyboards, beats, and sonic
landscaping against the stirring vocals of Cindy Levinson and
intricate musical crafting by Dayton Borders. Cindy's Eurasian lineage
adds an ethereal, dreamy feel that incorporates everything from rock,
trip-hop, blues and even Middle Eastern ragaas. Layer that on top of
Lol's mixture of retro keyboard phrases/riffs/colors with Dayton's
intriguing instrumental work and the result leaps into the future as
much as it acknowledges his past. The resulting album, Perfect Life,
covers that gamut quite nicely with a wider musical range than most
electro artists attempt to fill. The minimalist approach of "Let's Go"
fits nicely with the down-beat sitar tinged "Sad Man." The Giorgio
Moroder-pulsing bassline of "Sorrow" feels just at home near the
tribal beats that "More/Mad" devolves into. Add in addictive
songwriting and you have an album that will appeal to old Cure fans
alongside newcomers to the Electro genre. The album will be released
by Full Contact in March 2004.
"I
wanted to do something positive now as I have felt
inspired by recent trends in music," says Lol. "It
feels to me like when I first started making music,
which seemed like a good enough reason to do some
more!" It is this inspiration that Lol used as a
start off point for further sonic experiments. "Listening
to new artists utilize the sound I helped develop
inspired me to reach now for new sounds in the studio.
The finished CD, Perfect Life, is easily
the most exhilarating project I've been able to
work on since the early Cure records." The timing
for Perfect Life couldn't be more perfect
as 2003 marks the 25th anniversary
of The Cure. In addition to first time eligibility
for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
active plans are in the works for remastering the
entire Cure catalog. "It's amazing to me that The
Cure still has this much viability and resonance
so many years later," remarks Lol. "If you had told
the schoolboy versions of Robert and myself this
is where we'd end up, we wouldn't have believed
it!" It sounds like Perfect Life was the
most appropriate title Laurence could have given
to the Levinhurst CD.
#
#
#
For more information or to interview Lol & Cindy please
contact Lynn Hasty at Green Galactic, 323-466-5141
or email lynn@greengalactic.com. |
|
|