Jessie Evans (Vanishing) and Bettina Köster (Malaria!) have just completed their album : Autonervous which will be out on CD/Vinyl November on Cochon Records via Red Eye Distribution, also available to download on these sites:
ENDMIX
TONSPION
MP3.DE
FINETUNES
AUDIO LUNCHBOX
|
Listen to our new songs on http://www.myspace.com/autonervous
|
PRESS:
Jessie relives Bettina's Playboy past on the cover of GLU. 19 page interview with Bettina and more... In GLU Magazine
Album out: 17.10.06
songs written and composed by*: drums evans recorded at fraulein studios berlin and un im himmel Anchors Aweigh Still Kaltes *Gold cover photo Alyssa de Luccia |
Coming Soon
For more: http://www.myspace.com/jessieevansmusic
Discography...
Subtonix "Trophy" 7"
No Love 2001
Subtonix "Rich Boys" 7"
Vida Loca 2002
Subtonix/Glass Candy split 7"
Troubleman Unlimited 2002
Subtonix "Tarantism" LP/CD
Troubleman unlimited 2002
Troubleman Mix Tape
Troubleman Unlimited 2001
Troubleman Sampler
Troubleman Unlimited 2003
Knives Cassette Ep
2002
The Vanishing "In the Bat Haus" Ep/CD
Cochon Records 2002
The Vanishing/Lost Sounds split 7"
Cochon Records 2003
GSL/skyscraper mag comp
Goldstandardlabs 2003
The Vanishing "Songs for Psychotic Children" LP/CD
Gold Standard Labs 2003
Naked Kiss of Death Split 7"
Release the Bats 2004
The Vanishing/The Phantom Limbs split 7"
Hungry Eye 2003
The Vanishing/Sixteens split 12"/CD
Gold Standard Labs 2003
The Vanishing/Von Iva split 12"
Princehouse Records 2004
Nostalgia del Buio
Cochon Records 2004
Witches of the West compilation
This Starcraft 2004
Vanishing "Still Lifes are Failing" LP/CD
Gold Standard Labs and Fatal-Recordings 2005
Autonervous/Zonetech split cassette EP
Autonervous "Fetalities" 12" EP
Duchess Archive 2004
Berlin Insane II Compilation (rmx of "Lovesick")
Pale Music
2005
Glass Candy 5 song EP
Spring 2004
Glass Candy "Life After Sundown" 12 Single/EP Troubleman Unlimited 2005
Hanin Elias "Future Noir" Remix of "Idle Eyes"
Invisible Recordings 2005
Coming Soon
For more: http://www.myspace.com/bettinakoster
Discography...
Malaria 'Zensor' 12" EP
Malaria 'New York Passage' 12"
Cachalot, Eric Dufaure
Malaria 'How do you like my new dog? 12"
Single Les Disques du Crepuscule
Malaria 'White Water' 12"
Les Disques du Crepuscule
Malaria 'Emotion' LP/CD
Les Disques du Crepuscule, Moabit, Jochen Huelder
Malaria 'Beat the Distance' LP
Rebel Records, Dimitri Hegemann
Malaria 'Revisited' CD
Roir, also out on Danceteria Rights lie with Malaria Life
John Peel Session BBC radio
Kid Jensen Session BBC radio
Malaria 'Cheerio' LP/CD
Moabit
'Peppermills' directed by Isabel Hegner
'Burma: Anatomy of Terror' directed by Isabel Hegner
Berlin Insane II Compilation 2CD 'Crime Don't Pay'
Pale Music
"Possibly the best concert of the year."
"Street theatre and grand opera at the same time."
"Symbiotic and Erotic"
In 2005, the Vanishing's singer/sax player Jessie Evans moved to Berlin. Then, like a personal ad from God in an alternate universe, she met Bettina Koster, singer/sax player from the pioneering, John Peel-beloved post-punk band Malaria!. A year later, the two are the (what else?) vox/sax duo Autonervous, with a self-titled debut album out June 6 on Cochon Records (the label Evans co-runs)
Autonervous mixes two undergrounds, Berlin 1980 (Koster) and San Francisco 2000 (Evans). There's an Amanda Lear cover ("Gold"), a German-language reworking of the Vanishing's "Still Lifes" ("Still Kaltes") and, natürlich, lyrics about love 'n chains.
A TBA track from the above will be included on Girl Monster, the upcoming compilation from Chicks on Speed's Alex Murray-Leslie. The collection will have over 60 rollerskate jams from female post-punk/electroclashers. Sweet Jesus.
"With Bettina Köster and Jessie Evans two outstanding personalities have been looking for and found each other. Both singers and saxophone players, they complement each other like Ying and Yang. During the whole set, every sound, every move was perfect. Where Jessie seems vulnerable, Bettina is forceful, while Bettina pulls her hair, Jessie pulls the seam of her dress, natural and unchoreographed. Musically on the highest level of No-no-no Dance, they spawn their own cult and I assume that also in the future they will move on the other side of packaged taste."
Interview in G L U magazine.
http://www.glumagazine.com
"The latest deal from Jessie Evans (The Vanishing) and Bettina Köster of Malaria! fame. The EP I recieved had a gorgeous ambience, bringing to mind the early Winston Tong or a more mature Malaria; soft, distant saxaphones melded into minimal synths, with Bettina's husky captivating voclas often at the forefront. The live experience, however, is a wild, shimmying extravaganza, a deranged cabaret experience. For anyone who misses (or missed) the early years of minimal, this is the band for you. "
Musically, the album is a portrait of diversity in sounds and styles, instruments and grooves, blurring the lines between punk rock, new wave, jazz and dance. And yet this genre-bending duo does not for one second lose their way on some politically correct crusade to avoid program pigeonholing. Perhaps that clarity of musical vision is the result of the fact that Köster and Evans take on the albums entire responsibilities for the instruments heard. Credits for drums are by Evans, with guitar by Köster, and then bass, synthesizer, vocals, and saxophone by Köster and Evans both.
Yes that’s right, both play sax and as they do when sharing vocal responsibilities this dynamic duo is constantly weaving sultry and sexy verses and poetically correct lyrics. At times Jessie is decisively playful and firmly feminine while Bettina whispers breathy enunciations of deceptive incantations. Together they seem to revel in their ability to effortlessly take turns leading a lyrical dance with the listener, cutting in on each other through the distortion, depths and decay of this richly produced strong and sure affair.
What stands to mention last is the overall solid musical credibility evident here and a fish netted feeling of sincere punk sensibilities amplified by a blood red lipstick punctuation mark. This aint no flavor of the month electroclashing chicks on speed, these are some authentic street smarts sounds so, listen up kids, you just might learn something.
Who or what is Autonervous? A new project put together by Jessie Evans, formerly of The Vanishing, it appears. There's no band - all of a sudden we're in the cabaret zone, with a costumes-and-poses performance acted out to a backing track groove. Jessie's partner in crime for this project is Bettina Köster, ex-of Malaria, and the two of them strut and swagger around the stage, toting saxophones like AK47s and almost literally throwing their personalities out into the crowd. Surprisingly, the assembled audience of punks, goths, and deathrockers takes to the show with great good humour. I'd assumed that the distinct absence of anything remotely related to rock 'n' roll would've counted against Autonervous at this event, but not so. The combination of sax-squawks and bump 'n' grind rhythms, the assertive, confident demeanour of the performers on stage, and the feeling of Berlin-underground dissolution which the Autonervous experience instantly conjures up, all combine to create a show that works. I'll bet Andi Sex Gang, connessieur of cabaret decadence that he is, would've loved it. At the end, Bettina signs off with a cheery 'Thanks - that was fun!' 'No it wasn't!' contradicts Jessie, immediately contrary and mock-peevish. But I think they both had a good time - and, somewhat unexpectedly, so did the audience.
After the demise of The Vanishing, Jessie Evans
decided to team up with Bettina Koster (ex-Malaria!).
The result is Autonervous. This self-titled debut is a
mix of all kinds of styles: pop, new wave, rocksteady,
trip-hop, krautrock, latin, disco, deathrock, film and
free jazz. It turns it into something peculiar.
Bettina's low, sensual vocals and Jessie's pliant
voice supplement and enrich each other very well,
despite (or maybe because of) the major differences.
Rhythm is an integral part of the album, strange
cadence breaks add to the jazzy touches the album has.
The synths don't have much melody, they are mostly the
servant of the percussion or the vocals. The other
instruments (bass, sax) meander through all of this,
following a deviant path. "Anchors aweigh" is a dark
dance track, together with "Gold" and "Sax new age"
the most accessible song on the album. "Don't wait"
features lovely unisono vocals, the bass creates his
own vibe. It flows over in "Still kaltes", which is
based upon The Vanishing's "Still lifes". This
re-written version has a sultry undertone. The Amanda
Lear cover "Gold" isn't an odd choice, Bettina and
Jessie turn it into a song they could have written
themselves. It fits in with the rest of the album
perfectly. On "Hello lovers" Jessie takes the lead,
she curles her voice around the slow, relaxing flow.
"Sax new age" has already reached the playlist of some
parties, it has the most gloomy atmosphere of the
album and is beckoningly attractive. The unpolished
repetitive synths of "Easter bunny" suddenly make way
for a Brazilian-like melody at one point. Such unusual
transitions are one of the things that bring about the
daring nature of Autonervous. The lyrics on "Why
shiver" are one of reflection: "What if Elvis hadn't
picked up the guitar? What if James Dean hadn't
crashed his car?" And what if Bettina and Jessie
hadn't decided to form Autonervous? In that case the
world would not have been able to listen to this very
distinct record. It's certainly not a catchy or an
easy album, it needs some time to sink in. But when
you've discovered it's elegance, you'll find it to be
rewarding.
Mit nur einigen wenigen Konzerten konnten AUTONERVOUS
einiges an Aufsehen erregen. Kein Wunder, haben sich
hier doch zwei Frauen zusammengetan, die jede für sich
schon einiges geleistet hat, was Einträge ins große
Buch der Musikgeschichte angeht. Dabei sind die
Gegensätze eigentlich ziemlich groß...
Bettina Köster war Anfang der 80er Jahre aus der
Berliner Musikszene heraus mit Malaria! weltweit
erfolgreich und musikalisch Weg weisend. Bis heute
gehört Malaria! zu den wichtigsten deutschen Bands der
letzten 30 Jahre. Die US-Amerikanerin Jessie Evans
konnte rund 20 Jahre später vor allem mit ihrer
eigenwilligen Band The Vanishing in der
Gothic-/Wave-Szene auf sich aufmerksam machen. In
Berlin lernten die beiden Damen sich kennen und
begannen zusammen Musik zu machen. Als AUTONERVOUS
liegt nun ihr erstes gemeinsames Album vor und das
entzieht sich eigentlich jeder Kategorisierung, weil
es etwas ganz Besonderes ist. Die beiden Musikerinnen
haben es ziemlich perfekt geschafft, ihre
musikalischen Wurzeln zu kombinieren und dazu noch aus
allen möglichen anderen Musikrichtungen Einflüsse zu
integrieren. Das dabei nicht ein unhomogenes Album mit
einzelnen Songs entstanden ist, sondern eine
atmosphärisch dichte, sehr spannende Platte, ist die
wahre Kunst. Zwischen Wave, Avantgarde und
Eingängigkeit klingen die einzelnen Songs manchmal
etwas nach Malaria! und dann doch wieder ganz anders.
Man würfle Siouxsie Sioux, Marlene Dietrich, Hildegard
Knef, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovic, Malaria! und The
Vanishing zusammen, verrühre das Ganze ordentlich und
heraus kommt AUTONERVOUS mit einem ganz eigenen Sound.
Aufgrund der musikalischen Vergangenheit von Evans und
Köster wird natürlich eine relativ breite Hörerschaft
vom Punk bis zum „After Work Club“-Besucher
angesprochen, aber die beeindruckende Leistung der
Damen ist, dass alle diese Hörer mit diesem Album
klarkommen werden. Eine sehr gute, zurückhaltende
Produktion tut das Übrige, was aber nicht heißt, dass
nicht der ein oder andere Track sowohl in
Underground-Clubs, als auch in angesagten Szene-Club
für Bewegung sorgen könnte.
Ich bin wirklich fasziniert von diesem Album, auf dem
keinerlei Ausfälle zu finden sind und bin sicher, dass
es in meinen Jahres-Top 5 in 2006 sein wird. (A.P.)
VANISHING
MALARIA!
NAMOSH
VON IVA
GLASS CANDY
ANTIQUARK
TOBY DAMMIT
DAME DARCY
GALLERIE ELIAS
REVERSIBLE EYE
DEATHROCK.COM
DROP DEAD MAGAZINE
COCHON RECORDS
MOABIT MUSIK
GSL
RED EYE DISTRIBUTION
DUTCHESS ARCHIVE
GSSH GSSH
LOBOTOM RECORDS
PALE MUSIC
TROUBLEMAN UNLIMITED
RELEASE THE BATS
VIDA LOCA
PANIK RECORDS
ENDMIX.COM
FREIBANK
CLAUDIA SKODA
|
![]() |