Mimi
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Beautiful & fierce alternative pop with an experimental flavour
Status:
Most recent release, Songs for Persephone (with Ben Neill, 2011)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry for Mimi GoeseThe Ectophiles' Guide entry for her previous band, Hugo Largo
Comparisons:
Hugo Largo, Garbage, Lamb, Björk, Massive Attack, Moby
Covers/own material:
Own, occasional covers
General comments:
I really like Mimi's voice—with the technical range and scope of an opera diva, but with the emotional heft of a raw nerve. (tugboat@channel1.com)
Comments about live performance:
I managed to catch the last night of Mimi's residency at Fez. Love that Mimi girl. Hearing the songs translated live with such gusto was amazing, and her sense of theatrics would make her boss, Luaka Bop labelhead/erstwhile horny robot with a nervous tic David Byrne proud. The voice in particular got me...*swoon*. She played with some blond guy who looked like Flea (sorry dude, can't remember your name) and the wondrous Syd Straw, with whom Mimi sang a duet of "Clues of You". (tugboat@channel1.com)
Recommended first album:
Soak only solo album to date
Recordings:
- Soak (1998)
- Songs for Persephone (with Ben Neill, 2011)
Soak
Release info:
1998—Luaka Bop/Warner
Availability:
Wide in U.S.
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for fans of offbeat and complex music
Group members:
Mimi Goese—vocals
Guest artists:
Tony Maimone—bass
Samm Bennett—drums, percussion, loop, sampling
Damian O'Neill—guitar, loop, sampling
Hahn Rowe—guitar
Porl Thompson—acoustic guitar
Tony Maimone—bass
Hahn Rowe—multi instruments
Hector Zazou—rhythm
Produced by:
Hahn Rowe and Hector Zazou
Comments:
Yes, I know it's not Hugo Largo and it's not as melodic, but I love the Mimi-girl's voice. I must admit, I like it. I like it a whole lot. What I hear in the breakbeats and in Mimi's raw nerve of a voice is the sound of a city. Are any of you fans of the filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai? Soak is the great soundtrack for a film of his yet to come. Like the vision of Hong Kong portrayed in Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, the music of Soak is big, synthetic, lit on 1000 kilowatts of primary-colored neon and running at a million miles an hour, but underneath it all beating to a human pulse.
This seems like a continuation of some musical ideas from Hugo Largo carried out on less organic instruments, and the inhuman-sounding breakbeats might make something sound even less traditionally melodic. (tugboat@channel1.com)It doesn't really sound like Hugo Largo, though my roommate said it sounded a bit like them only more techno-y/modern. Has a tinge of Garbage in it, maybe some Lamb. I have listened to it a few times and it is really growing on me. This one will probably get quite a few spins. Not sure if I can categorize it too well...great voice, interesting music, a little spacious, a little driving. Help!?? (Horter3)
Though it took me a while, this album did grow on me and I now like it very much. It's far more melodic than I thought at first, though its edginess hides that at first. It's not an easy ride—there's nothing immediately catchy except of course Mimi's powerful performance—and so it's a disc can take a while to come into focus. It definitely rewards getting to know it. And, oh that song "Fire and Roses"—it's stunning. (Neile)
I really really dig Soak. At moments, it reminds me of Garbage, Björk, and Moby (which is understandable since she did vocals on his album Everything is Wrong). (paul2k@aol.com)
Discovery and CD of the year (1998). I seem to be alone in my obsession. Not a song I don't like, even her space-lounge version of "Black Hole Sun." The entire CD is so surreal and unlike anything I've heard before. I love her voice, the lyrics, plus she creates some truly unforgettable images like "Then fireflies taking snap shots in the park, Take a picture of me." What a great compliment to the Eno binge I've been on all year. Soak has been compared to Massive Attack's Mezzanine. While they are slightly similar in some ways, Mimi is a thousand times better, in my opinion. Her songs are more melodic, structured, atmospheric, and the percussion is original & creative (not that tick-toc-metronome beat that I find a little annoying on Mezzanine). I would have thought Soak would have had many more ecto admirers than it does. If you like the songs on Mezzanine with female vocals I think you'd love Soak. (spike45@sos.net)
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