Hope Sandoval

All Music Guide:

After the breakup of Mazzy Star, vocalist Hope Sandoval joined with Colm O'Ciosoig (formerly of My Bloody Valentine) to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. The project retained the laid-back, slowcore sound of Mazzy Star, and much like Mazzy Star, featured Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice. However, it replaced the psychedelic leanings that Mazzy Star was known for with spare, subtle arrangements that reinforced Sandoval's gentle vocal style. In 2000, Sandoval issued her first EP with the Warm Inventions, At the Doorway Again, and followed it up with her debut full-length, Bavarian Fruit Bread, a year later.

Wikipedia:

Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer for Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions.

Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including vocals on Massive Attack's "Paradise Circus" from their 2010 album Heligoland. Recent interest in her unique vocal style has been ignited by the release of "Gears of War 3" trailer, featuring Mazzy Star's "Into Dust".Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Early life[edit]

Hope Sandoval grew up in a Roman Catholic Mexican American family in East Los Angeles, California. She attended Mark Keppel High School. In 1986, she formed the folk music duo Going Home with Sylvia Gomez, and recorded one album produced by David Roback, which has never been released.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Contents

Career[edit]

Opal and Mazzy Star[edit]

Sandoval performed with the band Opal in the late 1980s alongside David Roback and long-time Roback collaborator Kendra Smith. After Smith's abrupt departure during a tour of the UK (hurling her guitar to the floor at the Hammersmith gig), Sandoval took over lead vocals. At the end of the tour, Roback and Sandoval began writing together and formed the alternative/dream pop band Mazzy Star.

The first Mazzy Star album, She Hangs Brightly, was released in 1990. While not a commercial success, this album did establish Mazzy Star as a band with a unique sound. The band had a surprise breakthrough hit single released in October 1993. "Fade into You" — from its second album So Tonight That I Might See — was recorded one year before it became a success. There is a continuity between the sounds and moods established on Mazzy Star's first two albums and its third and last album to date, Among My Swan.

Post-Mazzy Star[edit]

After 1996, Sandoval collaborated with a series of artists, including Air, Bert Jansch, Death in Vegas, Le Volume Courbe, Richard X, The Chemical Brothers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Twilight Singers, Vetiver, and Massive Attack.

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions[edit]

Sandoval formed The Warm Inventions in 2000 and released her first solo album Bavarian Fruit Bread in 2001, which she recorded with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. The album differed in terms of theme, voice, and instrumentation from that of her work with Mazzy Star. Bert Jansch plays guitar on two tracks, and the album features two covers, "Butterfly Mornings" from the film The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) and Jesus and Mary Chain's "Drop". The Warm Inventions released two EPs, At the Doorway Again in 2000 and Suzanne in 2002 but did not win commercial success, with one video on MTV and little radio play. Sandoval recorded a song, "Wild Roses", for a compilation CD released by Air France, In the Air (2008).

Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions released their second album, Through the Devil Softly, on September 29, 2009.

Sandoval and her band were chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England. The group also played the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010 at the request of film director Jim Jarmusch.

Mazzy Star reformation[edit]

In 2009, Sandoval confirmed in an interview with Rolling Stone that Mazzy Star was still active: "It's true we're still together. We're almost finished [with the record]. But I have no idea what that means." In October 2011, the group released the single "Common Burn"/"Lay Myself Down", their first material in 15 years. The group stated that they had plans to release the album in 2012. In July 2013, "California", the first single from the new album was released. It was announced that the new album would be called Seasons of Your Day and was set for release in September 2013.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Performing style[edit]

During live performances, Sandoval prefers to sing in near-darkness with only a dim backlight, playing the tambourine, harmonica, glockenspiel or shaker. She is reputed to have a shy personality. Her stage presence has been described as "idly withdrawn, barely acknowledging the audience".Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).