Gazelle Twin – Shadow Dogs (Invada) – The much awaited album of “ghost” or “shadow” versions of tracks from Gazelle Twin’s fourth studio album Black Dog featuring reinterpretations by a host of artists: Keeley Forsyth, Gary Numan, Mark Jenkin, Marta Salogni, Penelope Trappes, Sealionwoman and BEAK> 

Where to start? The original Black Dog album was and is something very very special (indeed our album of the year back in 2023), as were the Black Dog live performances from composer, producer, and performance artist Elizabeth Bernholz (AKA Gazelle Twin) were gloriously dark, and really how could any of the re-mixers here get it wrong? They haven’t of course and yes, they have done enough to make this album essential, The Mark Jenkin remix of Sweet Dreams is particularly wonderful, achingly so, it glows, it teases, it peers through the cracks and lets just the right amount of light in, it would be wrong to say much more for fear of spoiling it and the way it leads into Sealionwoman’s richness. Seven dark rich reverential reworkings, each re-mixer respectful and not needing to over impose on the finery of the original pieces of art. 

And I really can’t find fault in any one of the beautiful new versions. The tendency with some re-mixers is to let their own egos trample all over the original, no on has come anywhere near that here, this is obviously an honour for each of them and this is a proper piece of art in the most real of ways. Yes I did already pick out the minimalist refinements of Mark Jenkin but it really is wrong to suggest any of the tracks stand out (or indeed dip) and of course the opening coming together of Gary Numan and Gazelle Twin for the title track is just deliciously dark in colour, his voice, that voice, in there with hers, the deep deep breaths and the forgetting on the rest, it is just brilliant, it is, for want of a better term, kind of lovely.   
Billy Fuller from BEAK>: “We were honoured to be asked by Elizabeth to do a version of ‘Fear Keeps Us Alive’ for her Shadow Dogs album. We’ve attempted to do it as if BEAK> were playing it onstage live with her, and hope you like it!”

Keeley Forsyth: “I decided not to stray (ha) too far from Elizabeth’s original. It was mostly an exercise in reduction and omission. Listening intently to the individual stems sent over I chose the elements from the composition that instinctively mattered or spoke more to me”, before going on to explain, “I, of course, forefront Elizabeth’s voice with some additional effects. I wanted to bring a spectral feel to the voice. Manipulating a multitracked Elizabeth I layered devilish mutterings and whispers that are suggestive of possession. Which is perhaps what a reworking is: a possession of a piece of music. To stretch the metaphor even further I wanted to accompany Elizabeth’s disembodied voice with a companion spectre for a chat in purgatory whilst fates are decided.”

Talking about Shadow Dogs, Bernholz says, “When making Black Dog, a persistent obsession I had was the link between audio-visual tech and the nature of ghosts. I thought about Edison’s Ghost Machine, early EVP experiments, and the “ghosting” of transmitted images on the first televisions. All recordings are ghosts of sorts, and so came the idea of inviting musicians that I really admire, to create ghost or shadow versions of these songs, and together form a new pack – Shadow Dogs.”

These are beautiful versions, radiant re-workings, perfect in every way. Painterly, full of colour, full of so much, never overbearing, never too much, everything just right, does anything more need to be said? An essential addition to the original. (sw)

Bandcamp / Website

Previous Organ coverage, there is quite a bit of it.

ORGAN THING: Gazelle Twin and Sealionwoman at London’s Bush Hall – if this was just a gig then it was a very special one, but it wasn’t just a gig was it, this was something more…

ORGAN THING: There is so much here, so much up those dark dark stairs, up there with her black dog, Gazelle Twin’s darkly beautiful new album unwrapped…

ORGAN THING: Musics from Summerisle at the Barbican, celebrating The Wicker Man. The Summerisle Stramash Ensemble were wonderful, Gazelle Twin and NYX were just wow!

Next up: GAZELLE TWIN, 18th January 2025 – London, Kings Place – We Wax. We Shall Not Wane

ORGAN THING: We Wax. We Shall Not Wane, an unexpected midnight release conjured up by Gazelle Twin and perfectly voiced by Maxine Peake…

Further notes should you need them…

“Composer, producer, and performance artist Elizabeth Bernholz (AKA Gazelle Twin) created this “transformative” performance persona in 2009 to encompass; composition, studio albums, soundtracks, art installations and live performance, intended to openly address a deep-rooted aversion to traditional and contemporary norms across the music industry, particularly for women. Her ever-changing, identity-warping personas based on powerful, emotional themes and a fiercely independent spirit has driven her output and many collaborations since.
 
Bernholz has independently released three critically acclaimed studio albums to date; The Entire City (2011), Unflesh (2014), and Pastoral (2018), together with three soundtrack LPs from album off-shoot performance projects; Out of Body (2015), Kingdom Come (2017), and Deep England with NYX Electronic Drone Choir (2021). As a newly established soundtrack composer, her credits for Film, TV, and Video games include: AMC’s The Walking Dead, The Virtues (C4), Cyberpunk 2077, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Netflix), Nocturne (Amazon/Blumhouse), The Power (BFI/Shudder) and Then You Run (Kudos/Sky). Her collaborations as vocalist and producer include Gary Numan, Halsey (through Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), Maxine Peake, Perc, Blanck Mass, DJ Dave Clarke and more. Her latest album, Black Dog (2023), is out now on Invada Records”.