After The Flood (AE) 1996
ATF's self titled debut was originally a cassette release on the
Manna label in 1991. Caroline Davenport and Dale Lloyd
operated the label from 1990 to 1992, releasing local groups
and artists in Seattle.
The first ATF featured contributions from members of My Diva,
Sage, Sky Cries Mary, The Blackouts, Biota, Forever And A
Day, Agra Mecca, Control Freak, Maxine, Vertigo Bus, and
Sound Color.
In 1993, Clark Von Trotha and Dale started the AE label and
proposed to re-release ATF on the cd format. The album was
remixed and new tracks were added, with some original tracks
replaced. It was released in 1995.
"After The Flood are a loose collective of Seattle musicians,
some of whom also contribute to Lucid. It's all too confusing to
sort out all the players; suffice it to say that they share
sensibilities and a liking for non-rock instruments like zither,
accordian, clavinet, harpsichord, keymonica, etc. ATF are
miniaturists, making songs as exquisitely crafted and
downscaled as an architect's model of Byzantium. There's no
propulsion to these 22 songs; they waft like expensive perfume
in well appointed drawing rooms. At times the various male and
female voices assume a Dead Can Dance-like
overbearingness but the music consisitently satisfies with it's
delicate shapeliness. ATF (and Lucid) sound at once ancient
and fresh. I think I've heard the future of music... of did I dream
it?"
(Dave Segal) Alternative Press 3/96
"Regardless of who exactly is behind After The Flood, or even
if there's one chief person in particular coordinating everything,
the debut album is a lovely piece of work, equivalent in it's own
way to 4AD's This Mortal Coil and Hope Blister projects, or
Projekt's Black Tape For A Blue Girl, in drawing together a
variety of different performers under one umbrella to create a
haunting, ambient-influenced final release. If nothing else, it
could hardly have been conceived as a unified project unless
somebody was extremely dedicated from the start --- recording
dates given are from 1989 to 1994! The CD starts brilliantly
with "It's All In The Sun", with Washington cult art/rock figure
Maxine providing guitar and tape music while
multi-instrumentalist Dale Lloyd, as close to being the lead
figure on the album as anyone (and even he doesn't appear on
all the songs), adds soft voice and further orchestrations to
create a swirling, mysterious introduction to the album. Tracks
range from brief acoustic fragments to more fully developed
songs, some with fairly detailed arrangements and multiple
instruments and/or singers, with everything definitely pitched to
the more shadowy side of things --- even the banjo on
"Abandoned Ship" sounds desolate in context, set against
Lloyd's heavily delayed guitar work. The varied instrumentation
cleverly links the album's mood to a number of traditions; the
accordian on "Glissando" calls to mind downbeat French
cabaret songs, while the keening vocals on "Morning Come,
Bottle Dry" suggest everything from Yoko Ono to traditional
cries of lament from many areas of the world. If anything, the
chamber folk of such performers as Nick Drake and Tom Rapp
could be considered the basic touchstones, but nothing on
After The Flood is so easily reduced to such comparisons.
Lovely and underappreciated, After The Flood is well worth
investigating."
(Ned Raggett) - All Music Guide
After The Flood 2 (AE/World Domination) 1998
In 1996, work on the second ATF began, with the support and
encouragement of Clark Von Trotha of the AE label. ATF2
featured contributions from members of Cindytalk, Bowery
Electric, Windy & Carl, Labradford, Climax Golden Twins, Lucid,
My Diva, and artists Cyndia Pickering (aka: Sylvi Alli), Marc
Olsen (Sage, Sky Cries Mary), Warren Defever (His Name Is
Alive), Mark Holt (Trick Deck), Maxine and Steve Ball (League
Of Crafty Guitarists).
ATF was released in 1999 on the AE label in coordination with
the World Domination label. As such, there were errors in the
liner notes and credits. The following are corrections for ATF2:
Originally, a contribution from Robert Fripp was included but
removed at the last minute due to miscommunication between
Clark and Robert and time constraints incurred by World
Domination. After producing the release and making initial
decisions regarding the cover art, Dale Lloyd relinquished
further involvement due to a serious illness and was not able to
oversee the final result of ATF2, hence the following errors on
the liner notes: Track 6 on disc one is titled "Perhaps Good,
Not Understood" and was mistakenly omitted. Credits for track
6 are: Mark Taylor-Canfield - electronics; Dale Lloyd - tape and
treatments; and Bowery Electric - drones. The tracks following
"Perhaps Good..." are numbered accordingly.There are
spelling errors for Stuart Arentzen, Cyndia Pickering, and
Jeffery Taylor who also should have been credited as being
with the Climax Golden Twins.
"This surprisingly good album (ATF2) seems to have been
produced by Dale Lloyd, who collaborates on most of the
songs with guest artists such as Windy & Carl, Labradford,
Gordon Sharp (of Cindytalk), etc. It's cohesive and consistently
good in it's measured, layered, spacerock-meets-4AD sonic
vibe. Reasonabl price for two discs (one instrumental, one with
vocals) in such a lovely package, complete with lovely full color
individual cards."
Aquarius Records. 7/98
