Attention, Storm Warning!
Handful of Snowdrops' 1991 sophomore effort returns rejuvenated.
Quebec, August 2nd, 2010 — Yes, nearly twenty years after its original release, NanoGénésie® is proud to announce the reissue of Handful of Snowdrops' sophomore album, Dans l'Oeil de la Tempête. This version has not only been completely remastered from the original master tape, but it has also been expanded with three bonus tracks. Two of which were only available as part of C'est La Mort Records' Doctor Death Compilation volume 4 and 5, and a previously unreleased mix of Hush closes the track listing.
If this storm isn't big enough for you yet, here's another blow that should give it the F5 status on the Fujita Scale! A new volume of Handful of Snowdrops' Demo Archive (1990-1992) is also released on the same day. This final chapter of the Archive titled Storm Debris and Astronaut Remains features five tracks from the first draft of demos for Dans l'Oeil de la Tempête, as well as the very last HOS demo. This one was intended to showcase songs for a third studio album. As you all know this album, tentatively titled Astronauts, would never be recorded as the band called it off in 1993. So this is the only chance you'll ever get to hear this material.
Both albums will be released as hi resolution mp3 digital file format ONLY, and with a full graphic and lyrics digital Booklet. They will be available for download exclusively from Handful of Snowdrops' website on Monday August 2nd, individually or bundled.
BUY Dans L'Oeil de la Tempête NOW! ›››
For more information and interview requests, contact:
Jean-Pierre Mercier
Email
Website
Myspace
Facebook
Spaceful of Astronauts...
The lost album from Handful of Snowdrops' alter ego is out!
Quebec, October 30th, 2009 — In 1993, after the demise of Handful of Snowdrops Jean-Pierre Mercier, writer and composer of the band, began a new journey into instrumental electronic music under the new moniker Spaceful of Astronauts. After a couple of performances in rave events at the beginning of the 90s, he redirected his focus toward a more open and ambient sound that would culminate a few years later.
"Nanomusique" is the title of the long forgotten Spaceful of Astonauts' album. Originally recorder in 1995, but never release for lack of resources, it has been completely remastered for the occasion of its official release as well as extended with two bonus tracks from the same era, namely Orion and Big Black Bubble.
You can now stream excerpts of every track of this mesmerizing electronic and instrumental work from the new SoA Mypace profile.
The 1 hour, 19 minutes and 11 seconds ambient epic is ONLY available as a DOWNLOADABLE DIGITAL ALBUM directly from the Handful of Snowdrops website shop and the Spaceful of Astronauts official Myspace profile.
As the Phoenix...
Legendary 80s band Handful of Snowdrops make a surprise comeback!
Quebec, August 12th, 2009 — It's true! It's confirmed! Handful of Snowdrop will launch the expanded and remastered reedition of their Land of the Damned album, just over 16 years after their last release, the live album Mort en Direct.
In addition to it's superior sound quality, the album has been expanded with the track Gabrielle MMIX, a totally new version of their seminal smash hit, Gabrielle. But furthermore, each CD copy of this very limited reedition will allow collectors to download a compilation of early demos titlted Groundwork for Fundamentals, literally a sonic history of the band's first few years.
In The Beggining
HoS is an alternative techno-rock band from Quebec City, Canada. Born out of the ashes of some false start bands of friends and brothers, the first line up of the band got together in 1984 with Jean-François Plamondon on vocals, Michel Mercier on drums, Jacques De Varennes of bass, Marlène Sinclair on keyboards and Jean-Pierre Mercier on guitars.
The band had to create a scene in a city where there was none, renting venues and PAs was the only way to go in their home town as local bars were exclusively booking cover bands. Slowly but surely building a strong following with the help of some friends plastering the town with poster and stickers and Montreal's CHOM FM and Musique Plus dj/vj Benoît Dufresne. Very prolific from the start they recorded numerous demos in the first five years of their existence but without succeeding to get serious attentions from major canadian labels. During that period the core of the group remained very unstable as many members left the band leaving the Mercier brothers as the only surviver.
Land of the Damned
It's in 1986, with their last line up consisting of Michel Mercier on drums, brother Jean-Pierre on guitar and vocals, Christian Lefebvre and Michel Plamondon, younger brother of original signer Jean-François Plamondon on keyboards, that they recorded a four track demo including what was to become their most famous song, Gabrielle. This demo would become the groundwork for their first album, "Land of the Damned" which they would release independently with the help of some friends from Montreal. Their editor would later take this recording to New York City were he met with Woodrow Dumas of Louisiana's C'est La Mort Records (Controlled Bleeding, Area) who agreed to released "Land of the Damned" in the US.
The Sequel
With Gabrielle's video gaining airplay on Musique Plus, Much Music and even MTV, the band began working on their second record "Dans l'oeil de la tempête" which they would record in Montreal in 1990 on the same shoestring budget that plagued their first release. Their sophomore effort was stylistically quite different from their first LP but it managed to be more popular than Land of the Damned in Quebec. Rumours of touring with Ian McCullough and Xymox never concretize and the album went practically unnoticed in the US as C'est la mort distributor Rough Trade went bankrupt.
The End
In 1993, when HoS submitted a demo of a tentative but once again quite different third album to their editor who decided to turn it down, Jean-Pierre express is desire to retire to his bandmates. The band decided to record their two march 1993 farewell concerts and released the output titled "Mort en direct", the same year before calling it quits for good.
Michel Plamondon would become an influential Quebec DJ very implicated in the growing electronic music scene of the 90's. Jean-Pierre Mercier would record an instrumental electronic album called "Nanomusique" under the named Spaceful of Astronauts, but would never managed to release it. Michel Mercier would quit music and Christian Lefebvre would seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
Hope
In 2009, after a regain of interest in south america and europe, Jean-Pierre Mercier decided to release a 20th anniversary edition of "Land of the Damned" which was to feature a brand new recording of Gabrielle called Gabrielle MMIX, on his own label NanoGénésie®. His brother Michel would finally form a new band the same year with original and founding HoS member, bassist Jacques De Varennes.
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