Serena Maneesh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Serena Maneesh | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Country | Oslo, Norway |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Genres | Indie, Shoegaze, Noise pop, Alternative |
| Labels | HoneyMilk / Hype City / VME / PlayLouder / TouchMe / Remote Control / Naīve |
Serena Maneesh (sometimes spelled Serena-Maneesh or shortened to S-M) is an alternative rockband from Oslo, Norway.
In an interview with Village Indian, Emil Nikolaisen, the songwriter of the band, explains the rather mysterious word-constellation the following way:
’Serena’ is an adaptation of the Norwegian word for veil...The name came out from this veil you can see, you can see the melody through a stressful storm of noise. That’s what I love about music – you can work with this veil. There is so much stress in the world, you know? Serena could also mean serenity, serene. There are all these connotations. Then you see glints -- you see something incredible, but it’s in the moment. It’s through this veil. ‘Maneesh’ is a rewriting of the Norwegian word manesje, which is the area around a stage. Sirkus Merano, remember that? We later found out it was also the Hindu Lord of the Mind. But it is more a picture…if you look at a stage in a circus or opera, there’s an area surrounding the stage containing a lot of elements. Small, subtle elements that make the stage presence that much more powerful. That’s incredible. If you take that to the sound world…The whole thing is talking about the sound elements...For that reason, it's perfect. If ever two words conjured the elemental nature of this band’s sound, they are Serena-Maneesh.
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[edit] Biography
The network of musicians who each contribute to its unique sound is organized around its main protagonist and songwriter Emil Nikolaisen. Emil has previously appeared as a guitarist and songwriter in the indieband Royal, played the drums in Norwegian punk rock band Silver as well as in the retro-pop orchestra The Loch Ness Mouse. He even has a past as guitarist in the metal band Extol.
Important sources of musical inspiration are amongst others Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, The Stooges, Suicide, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Stereolab, Royal Trux, Neu!, and George Gershwin. As these names indicate, Serena Maneesh is a band built upon a love of musical tensions. Intense noise and pulsating rhythms often hide beautiful harmonies and melodies. Crooked and distorted blues-riffs are replaced by psychedelic strings and vague vibes, flutes and organs, and the structure of the songs are often unorthodox. The vocals of Serena Maneesh serves its function as an instrument amongst others, yet the merely decipherable words reflect the very same tensions as the music itself: the struggle within a soul simultaneously threatened to be choked by darkness, despair and superficiality, yet searching for light, hope and spiritual depth.
In late 2005, the band toured Europe in support of The Dandy Warhols. In early 2006, Serena Maneesh landed the opening gig for British band Oasis during its UK tour. They have been selected to support Nine Inch Nails on the Australia/Japan leg of their 2007 world tour. [1]
The highly acclaimed self-titled debut album was released on the Norwegian record-label HoneyMilk in the autumn of 2005. In December of the same year, the Norwegian vinyl label Hype City released an LP print featuring two exclusive tracks, and the Spanish indie distributor Touchme Records published the CD. In March 2006, the band announced its transfer to the PlayLouder-branch of the Beggars-group established in Europe (UK, Germany & Italy), North America (United States & Canada) and Oceania (Australia). In June 2006, the band released an international edition of its self-titled album (both CD & LP) through the international label PlayLouder.
[edit] Band members
Current members:
- Emil Nikolaisen, vocals and guitar.
- Hilma Nikolaisen, bass.
- Eivind Schou, viola.
- Einar Lukerstuen, drums.
- Øystein Sandsdalen, guitar.
- Tommy Akerholdt, drums.
- Anders Møller, percussion
Previous members:
- Sondre T. Midttun, guitar.
- Ann Sung-An Lee, vocals, percussion and organ.
- Lina Holmstroem, vocals, percussion and organ.
- Håvard Krogedal, organ and cello
- Marco Storm, Drums
[edit] Discography
 Zurück EP '05 |
 Fixxations EP '02 |
[edit] Albums
- Serena Maneesh (bonus) - 2LP
- (December 20, 2005)
Hype City Recordings HCR-011 - (May 9, 2006)
Playlouder Recordings/Beggars Group PLAYR4LP - (May 23, 2006)
Playlouder Recordings/Beggars Group PLAYR4LP - (June 23, 2006)
Indigo/Beggars Group 80041 - (June 24, 2006)
Remote Control Records/Beggars Group PLAYR4LP - (June 26, 2006)
Playlouder Recordings/Beggars Group PLOU42 - (June 27, 2006)
Naïve Records/Beggars Group PLAYR4LP
- (December 20, 2005)
- Serena Maneesh - CD
- (Aug 29, 2005) HoneyMilk Records HONEY020
- (December 11, 2005)
TouchMe Records - (May 9, 2006) Playlouder Recordings/Beggars Group PLAYR4CD
- (June 23, 2006) Indigo/Beggars Group 80042
- (June 24, 2006) Remote Control Records/Beggars Group PLAYR4CD
- (June 26, 2006) Playlouder Recordings/Beggars Group PLOU41
- (June 27, 2006) Naïve Records/Beggars Group PLAYR4CD
- (Aug 29, 2005)
[edit] EPs
- Zurück: Retrospectives 1999-2003 - ECD (June 20, 2005) HoneyMilk Records HONEY019
- Fixxations (bonus) - 12" (September 22, 2003) Hype City Recordings HCR-005
- Fixxations - CD (December, 2002) HoneyMilk Records HONEY002
[edit] Singles
- Drain Cosmetics (bonus) - ECD (June 12, 2006) Playlouder Recordings PLAYR7CD
- Drain Cosmetics (Pt.2) - 7"SP (June 12, 2006) Playlouder Recordings PLAYR7S
- Drain Cosmetics (Pt.1) - 12"SP (May 23, 2005) Playlouder Recordings PLAYR7T
[edit] Splits
- Sapphire Eyes (Serena-Maneesh Refix) 3:12
- Serena Maneesh / The Parkas: Singles Club #4 - 7" (2004) Low Transit Industries LTID012
- Drive Me Home The Lonely Nights 3:13
[edit] Compilations
- Counter Culture 05 - 2CD
- (February 17, 2006) Pinnacle I/Rough Trade Shops VVR1037732
- (January 23, 2006) V2/Rough Trade Shops VVR1037732
- (February 17, 2006)
- Drive Me Home The Lonely Nights 3:13
- Leipziger Love Life 8:02
- Blues Like Beehive 3:23
[edit] Digital Singles
- Drain Cosmetics - MP3/WMA/AAC (February 12, 2006) PlayLouder
- Drain Cosmetics promo video (Podcast) 3:16
[edit] Serena-Maneesh LP promo
[edit] Fixxations EP promo
- Drive Me Home The Lonely Nights (promo video) - (May 1, 2003) written & directed by Ola Bratt
[edit] Media links
Serena Maneesh LP
- Drain Cosmetics promo Hi-Fi QuickTime for Win/Mac
Drain Cosmetics SP
- Sapphire Eyes (Refix) legal MP3
Fixxations EP
- Blues Like Beehive legal MP3 (DowloadRoom! from GrandRockStation.tk)
- Drive Me Home The Lonely Nights promo Quicktime for Win/Mac (Reactive Flyer from GrandRockStation.tk)
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Drain Cosmetics PodCast
- Drain Cosmetic official fanpage
- Official Myspace
- Subculture Magazine's review of "Serena Maneesh"
- Serena Maneesh@HoneyMilk (domestic label)
- Serena Maneesh@HypeCity (domestic label)
- Serena Maneesh@Beggars US (USA label)
- Serena Maneesh@Indigo/Beggars Group (German label)
| Serena Maneesh |
| Emil Nikolaisen | Lina Holmström | Hilma Nikolaisen | Eivind Schou | Håvard Krogedal | Sondre Midttun |
| Anders Møller | David Wallumrød |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Serena-Maneesh (bonus) | Serena-Maneesh |
| Extended plays: Zurück: Retrospectives 1999-2003 | Fixxations (bonus) | Fixxations |
| Single plays: Drain Cosmetics |
