ZITA SWOON

Nieuw: Zita Swoon "Live at the Jet Studio's Brussels" Registratie van een akoestisch optreden in de Brusselse Jet Studio's (voor TMF) met versies vanMy Heart Belongs To Someone Else, Hot Hotter Hottest, Fun For Free, People are like Slamming Doors, Josiewitchgirl and Moving Through Life as Prey. >>> Koop deze EP bij Proxis <<< >>> 415 Bfr - 10,29 Euro - 9.09 $ (op 10 okt. 2001) <<<

Zita Swoon, or Moondog Jr. as it was previously named, is the band of Stef Kamil Carlens, the former bass-player of dEUS.

The predecessors of Zita Swoon existed already before dEUS, or Kiss My Jazz (another band in which Karlens has participated) were founded. At the time, the band of Stef Kamil Carlens was called "SKC Moondog". They didn't release any material under that name.

A second name for the group was "A Beatband", who released "Jintro travels the word in a skirt". The musicians that perform on the album are different for every song, but Klaas Janszoons and Jules de Borgher who later also became part of dEUS were among them. This CD has remained fairly obscure.

It wasn't until the sudden breakthrough of dEUS and their contract with Virgin England that the group of Carlens was to gain some fame. In 1995 he got a chance to record a full album for the same record company, this time under the name "Moondog Jr.".

A pre-release single "TV Song / Moondog" was released and the group performed these songs on MTV's Most Wanted. A bit later the album "Everyday I wear a greasy black feather on my hat" and a second single "Jintro & The Great Luna" followed. In the reviews, of course the parallel with dEUS gets mentioned quite often, but there's also a lot of talk about the similarities with Tom Waits' of Captain Beefheart's music . It was no coincidence that the album was produced by Michael Blair, who earned his fame through his work with Elvis Costello and Tom Waits.

The album made quite an impression and brings them e.a. to the stage of the Pinkpop Festival in Holland.
In 1996, Stef Kamil Carlens decided to leave dEUS (the reasons being : some dissatisfaction with his role in dEUS, some dissatisfaction with Island who were putting Moondog Jr back and the fact that playing in two successful bands was taking too much of him). However, he still occasionally performs with the group on stage and even on the album "In a bar under the sea". In his own words "he's still a big fan of dEUS".

In 1997, the group was compelled to change it's name because a blues artist (Louis Hardin, an American blues musician who performs in Germany under his artist name Moondog) had some complaints about the similarity of their names. Stef changed it to Zita Swoon (Zita = intense, Swoon = desire). When the "original" Moondog, died in 2000, Zita Swoon didn't change their name back again.

The first release of the newly named band was "Music for Sunrise", the music for an old silent movie (Sunrise - A Tale of Two Cities, by F.W. Murnau) that was composed by the band and performed live in 1996. A single "Couldn't she get drowned" is also released.

Two members of the group (Benjamin Boutreur and Tom Pintens) also enjoy quite a bit of success with their own group Flowers For Breakfast. The first one left both groups in 1998, to begin forming the bigband mambo orchestra El Tattoo Del Tigre.

In 1998, the band receives a couple of ZAMU-awards, signs a record deal with Warner and released the album "I paint pictures on a wedding dress", a phenomenal album recorded in New Orleans. Preceded by the Jeff Buckley-ode "Song for a dead singer", the album got a very good reception in Belgium and Holland. In the first release, the album was accompanied by another free CD called "The Sound Hobbyist" with 9 extra tracks, apparently because the band was not completely satisfied with the way producer Malcolm Burn had done his job.

In 1999, the band also received quite a big thankyou from the Flemish government for their "artistic merits" : after dEUS (who were awarded the title "Cultural ambassador of Flanders) in 1998, Zita Swoon has also found the way to the money-vault. The group was awarded a grant under the new Flemish musicbill. The group from Antwerp received 1,5 million BEF. Manager Teddy Hillaert reacted to the news of the government decision in Het Nieuwsblad "This is a mighty precedent : the members of the group realize that their responsibility is huge. If they don't do well, other rock-groups won't receive a dime the next time round (in 2002). We have an obligation towards the others to make something out of it".

In February, the song "About The Successful Emotional Recovery of a Gal Named Maria" was the second single of the album, in May "My Bond with You And Your Planet DISCO!" the third one. The last track - performed live in a medley with seventies and eighties cover - even got Zita Swoon into the hitparades for a short while here in Belgium, and was elected "song of the year" by Humo & Zamu. There was also a remix-album of the track, with contributions by artists such as Dead Man Ray, Starflam & Soulwax). A tour in smaller concert halls gave them a reputation that made the organizers of festivals as diverse as Pinkpop, Dranouter and Werchter sign them for the summer.

The group (or at least Stef, Bjorn & Aarich) then started touring with "Plage Tattoo", a music & dance & theater play in association with Les Ballets C de la B. As the bio says "It is an energetic fusion of the raw, exhibitionistic dance style of Augustijnen and Okano and the fragmentary, melancholy songs of Zita Swoon. With this project the band confirm that they cannot be consigned to the pop world. The bridge to other art forms is firmly in place: their sound also lends itself to theatre, film and dance.", although most of the attention went to a (female) underwear-wearing Stef Kamil on the stage. A CD "Plage Tattoo / Circumstances" with impressions (not really "songs" as such) of the play came out in 2000.

In 2001, it was time yet again for a "less experimental" album. The band hired the theater hall Ringtheater, decorated it with skulls, wolves and rabbits (which would also be the cover theme of the album), and set up a complete recording studio in this temporary setting. The result of this endeavour was "Life = A Sexy Sanctuary", the aim to make a "sexy pop album". This time, they did it without a producer (soundengineer Karel De Backer took on that role). This aim was most obvious in the singles than came out before the release "Hot Hotter Hottest", and just after "The Bananaqueen" (with an impressive 3D-art video). The album itself gathered very positive reactions, although most reviewers thought it was not quite up to the level of the (in hindsight better and better) "Pictures on a Wedding Dress".
The band of course did also a tour to promote the album, and earned a closing spot at the Werchter Festival (which made Stef Kamil Carlens - this time with a red David Bowie anno 1970 hairdo - the artist who has most often performed on a Werchter stage).
In September 2001, a third single from the album came out, the less exuberant "My Heart belongs to someone else (I which it was mine)", while in October they'll release a live-session, which was recorded in the Jet Studio in Brussels, as a CD in a deal with music tv-chain TMF.

Members :
- Stef Kamil Carlens (guitar, bass, vocals ...)
- Benjamin Boutreur / Bjorn Ericksson (sax, piano ...)
- Aarich Jespers (drums, percussion)
- Tom Pintens (vocals, keyboards)
- Tomas de Smet (bass etc..)
- Piet Jorens (percussion)
- Klaas Janszoons
- etc etc ... 

Koop CD's van deze groep bij

Albums :
- A Beatband "Jintro travels the word in a skirt" (EP, 1993, Bang!)
- Moondog Jr. "Every day I wear a greasy black feather on my hat" - (Island, 1995)
- Music inspired by Sunrise (Play it again Sam!, 1997)
- I paint pictures on a wedding dress (Warner Bros, 1998 - the first pressing came with a mini-cd "The Sound Hobbyist")
- Disco! Adventures (WEA, 1999 - remixes of My Bond .. Disco!)
- Plage Tattoo / Circumstances (Chicaree - WEA, 2000)
- Life = A Sexy Sanctuary (WEA, 2001)

Websites :
- Zitaswoon.com, de official site
- Mijn besprekingen van "Disco! Adventures", van "Plage Tattoo / Circumstances", en van "Life=A Sexy Sanctuary".
- De oudste site is die van Paul Van Gorp.
- You want a Bond with Me tonight? Zitaswoonmusic.com site van Baby Genius
- Tabs voor de meeste Zita Swoon songs op guitarfiles.be

- Minisite op Wanadoo ter ere van de lancering van "Life= A Sexy Sanctuary"
- Knap Oor-interview uit 2001 (nederlands)
- Zita Swoon Teksten op Waltertje's Lyrics Site

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