My Bloody Valentine

Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine Since Loveless

"People think its all pedals, but all my pedals are graphic equalizers and tone controls. Its all in the tone." (Kevin Shields to Steve Double, NME November 9, 1991, pg. 14)

Kevin Shields, born May 21, 1963, fronts a band called My Bloody Valentine which will be reuniting this summer for its first shows in 15 years.

What this web site contains

Documentation of Kevin Shields' output as guitar player, remixer, and producer under his own name and under the My Bloody Valentine moniker, most of which was done after 1992; musical contributions by Bilinda Butcher outside of My Bloody Valentine; any useful links about the band or its other two members, Colm O'Ciosoig and Deb Googe.

Maybe most useful is item #6 which summaries the career of My Bloody Valentine and highlights their best releases. This is followed by a list Kevin Shields' best solo work as producer, remixer, and guitar player outside of My Bloody Valentine.

(CLICK ON HYPERLINKS BELOW OR SCROLL DOWN.)

A. Latest News: Last Update 2/9/08
1. Various Contributions by Kevin Shields
2. Remixes by Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine
3. Rare Original Recordings Credited to My Bloody Valentine/Kevin Shields
4. Remixes of My Bloody Valentine
5. Contributions by Bilinda Butcher outside My Bloody Valentine
6. More than Loveless: A Selected Discography of Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine (Unedited Filter Magazine Article w/ 'Best of' List of Side Projects)
7. Other Links and Information

I own most all of the stuff on contained herein so if I've included something in my list, chances are its documented pretty well. I have a huge archive of hard to find print articles on MBV should someone need a particular article for research purpsoes. Any additions or corrections to the site would be appreciated and can be sent to me at aperer@gmail.com.

A. Latest News about Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine (updated 2/9/08)

The first reunion shows are officially scheduled in Europe for this coming summer. And new product should be in the pipeline within the next year or so one would hope. Go to www.mybloodvalentine.co.uk for all the shows. Tickets for sold out shows can be found on Ebay. (2/9/08)

I've heard from friends of Colm that he will be playing with the band. I didn't really see how they could play as My Bloody Valentine without Colm. So that bodes really well for the coming reunion shows. It sounds like all four original members will be participating. Supposedly, there are going to to be shows scheduled for the United States, some kind of short tour only including major cities. But it wont't include the Coachella Music Festival.(2/9/08)

Kevin did a long video interview at http://www.vbs.tv/softfocus/ that's worth checking out. He says that one album of old material from the 90's will be rounded out and a new album will be worked in the near future.(12/27/07)

For those who want more of Bilinda's otherworldy voice, I highly recommend you get her two song vocal contribution to the album by Collapsed Lung listed on this page from 1996. It shows how unique she is in any setting and they are the only lead vocals I know of outside of MBV. Its worth tracking down on Gemm.com or Ebay.com and should be very inexpensive. Don't bother with any single remixes of the songs as they offer nothing not already on the album.

Kevin recently told some visiting musicians of his plans to record an album with Bilinda singing. He's always maintained that she was key to the band, specifically her singing and rhythm, so this makes a lot of sense. Whether he'll actually use the MBV moniker is not known (and not important). Let's hope these plans get hashed out before we're all dead.

Kevin backed up Patti Smith while she read poetry called The Coral Sea. Its floating around on the peer to peer networks but one report said they are commiting the upcoming performance to tape for a release.

Kevin remixed two tracks for 2006 Sophia Coppola film Marie Antoinette. Tracks are "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow and "Fools Rush In" also performed by Bow Wow Wow. "I Want Candy" is a must have as Kevin improves upon the original by changing the rhythm slightly

Also Kevin's remix for The Go Team entitled "Lady Flash" has been out for a while but I didn't understand what the point was.

A little known contribution by Kevin Shields is his co-writing credit on Le Volume Courbe's album "I Killed My Best Friend". He co-wrote, plays acoustic guitar, and did some additional mixing on three tracks. And Colm O'Coisoig also played drums produced two other tracks. But not the tracks Kevin is on. No reunion here. I don't find the album too interesting but you might. The songs are very basic and have an improvised feel.

1. Various Contributions by Kevin Shields
(unless noted Kevin Shields was not involved in the mixing or production)
KEY: "Song Title" or Album - Band Name: contribution (my source, record company and/or catalogue number, year of release)

3396 - Undark: 'sulphur & zugzwang guitars', tracks not specified (3396, Em:t Records 3396, 1996). This record was later re-titled Strange Familiar

"Accelerator" - Primal Scream: guitar and mixing (XTRMNTR, Creation CRCD239, 2000)

American Whip - Joy Zipper: mixing on tracks 2,4,7, & 8 and additional production on track 10 (American Whip, Mercury Records Limited 9866090, 2004)

"Beyond the Pale" - Experimental Audio Research: 'treated guitar loop' (Beyond the Pale, Big Cat ABB96CD, 1996)

Bad Feeling single - The Beatings (UK): all tracks produced and mixed by Kevin Shields (Bad Feeling single, Fantastic Plastic FPS034, 2002)

Black Rays Defence - The Beat-Ups (formerly The Beatings): all ten tracks produced and mixed by Kevin Shields (Fantastic Plastic, 2005) (Also all singles and b-sides related to the album are produced and mixed by Kevin Shields)

"City" - Primal Scream: 'skunk guitar' and production (Evil Heat, Sony 508923, 2002)

Evil Heat - Primal Scream: production for tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 (Evil Heat , Sony 508923, 2002)

"Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children" - The Manic Street Preachers: (uncredited) guitar (Know Your Enemy, Virgin 10113, 2001)

"Freight Train" - Le Volume Courbe: mixed by Brendan Lynch, Andrew Innes, and Kevin Shields (Freight Train 7", Trouble Records Dude 2002, 2007)

Hand it Over - Dinosaur Jr.: 'some other stuff recorded at MBV studio with Kevin Shields' (Hand It Over, Reprise 9 46506-2, 1996)

How Do You Do It? single - The Impossibles (UK): Tracks 2,3,and 4 produced by The Impossibles and Kevin Shields (How Do You Do It? single, Fontana POSCD1, 1990)

"I Don't Think" - Dinosaur Jr.: vocals (Hand It Over, Reprise 9 46506-2, 1996)

I Killed My Best Friend - Le Volume Courbe: co-wrote tracks 6,8, and 12; mixed track 4 with C. Marionneau; additional mixing on tracks 6, 7, 8 and 9 (I Killed My Best Friend Hot John's Records HJRCD14X, 2005)

Jailhouse single - The Beatings (UK): all tracks produced and mixed by Kevin Shields (Jailhouse single, Fantastic Plastic 2002)

The Köner Experiment - Experimental Audio Research: Guitar [Treated] (The Köner Experiment, Mille Plateaux CDMille Plateaux 36, 1997)

"Message Personnel" - Dot Allison: guitar (Afterglow, Arista 16600, 1999)

More Light - Jay Mascis and The Fog: 'Kevin Shields brought Andrew Wilkinson to twiddle the knobs while they were here. This was a period of about 7 weeks where Kevin was producing, playing some guitar, percussion, and singing' (More Light, Ultimatum Music 76665-2, 2000)

No Flies on Frank EP - O'Neill: mixed by Damian O'Neill and Kevin Shields (No Flies on Frank EP, Artefact ART16, 1999)

"Never Bought It" - Dinosaur Jr.: vocals (Hand It Over, Reprise 9 46506-2, 1996)

"Perish" - Curve: guitar (Gift, Hip-O 159819, 2001)

Primal Scream Live in Japan - Primal Scream: guitar on all tracks, mixed by Kevin Shields and Mads Bjerke (Primal Scream Live in Japan, Sony Music International, SIPC 390)

"Rapper's Relight" - DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid: guitar (Subliminal Minded - The E.P., Outpost Recordings, 1999)

"Shoot Speed Kill Light" - Primal Scream: produced by Kevin Shields and Tim Holmes (XTRMNTR, Creation CRCD239, 2000)

"Some Velvet Morning " - Primal Scream: Mixed by Andrew Innes, Kevin Shields, and Jagz Kooner (Some Velvet Morning single, Sony 674402 2, 2003)

"Want More Need Less" - Curve: guitar (Gift, Hip-O 159819, 2001)

"When the Kingdom Comes" - Primal Scream: guitar credited as 'feedback sonically speaking' (Accelerator single, Creation CRESCD333P, 2000)

2. Remixes by Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine
KEY: "Song Title (Remix Name)" - Band Name (my source of song, record company and/or catalogue number, year of release)

"Londinium (Kevin Shields Mix) - Archive (12")

"Coming Up Roses (Kevin Shields Mix)" - Curve (Coming Up Roses single, Universal UMDX80489, 1998)

"Tunnel (Electro Convulsive Mix)" - God (remixed from The Anatomy of Addiction, Big Cat ABB79XCD, 1995)

"Rising High (My Bloody Valentine Mix)" - Hurricane #1 (The Greatest High single, Creation CRESCD 309X, 1999)

"Sweetness and Light (The Orange Squash Mix)" - Lush (From soundtrack to the motion picture Splendor, Astralwerks ASW6282, 1998)

"Cycle (remixed by My Bloody Valentine)" - The Pastels (Illuminati, Domino, 1998)

"Magic Nights (remixed by My Bloody Valentine)" - The Pastels (Illuminati, Domino, 1998)

"Pure Morning (MBV Remix)" - Placebo (Black-Eyed single, 724389797022, 1998)

"Take Me Through This Life (Remixed by Kevin Shields)" - The Frank and Walters (Something Happened to Me single, SETCD074, 1999)

"La Piscine (My Bloody Valentine Mix)" - The Little Rabbits (Yeah! and Remixed By, PY873 ROB9858, 1998)

"Autumn Sweater (Remixed by Kevin Shields)" - Yo La Tengo (Autumn Sweater EP, Matador, 1997)

"Fear Satan (My Bloody Valentine Remix)" - Mogwai (Fear Satan Remixes EP, EYEUK032CD, 1998)

"MBV Arkestra" aka "If They Move, Kill'Em (MBV Arkestra)" - Primal Scream (XTRMNTR, Creation CRCD239, 2000)

3. Rare Original Recordings Credited to My Bloody Valentine/Kevin Shields
(an excellent standard discography can be found at http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~yo-zep/mbv2.e.html)
KEY: "Song Title" - (my source of song, record company and/or catalogue number, year of release)

2 - (soundtrack for Édouard Lock's La La La Humans Steps dance troupe show 2, bootleg only, 1995)

"Glider" (extended mix) - (Glider EP Remixes 12", Creation CRE073X, 1990)

"Sugar" (Free Flexi given out with The Catalogue magazine #67, Catalogue FLX CAT067, 1989) (also available in digital format on rare promo CD given to subscribers of French magazine "Les Inrockuptibles")

"Kevin Shields No. 1", "Kevin Shields No. 2", "Kevin Shields No. 3" - (soundtrack for Édouard Lock's La La La Humans Steps dance troupe show Salt, 1998)
(See http://www.lalalahumansteps.com/htmen/2_7_5fr.htm for availability.)

"Incidental One" - (Offbeat: A Red Hot Sound Trip compilation, TVT 7238-2, 1996)(A much clearer version of this song is available without Mark Eitzel speaking over it. It was given out as a promo only sampler for the compilation and is 20 seconds longer. This version makes clear what a beautiful little segueway the piece is.)

"Instrumental A"/"Instrumental B" (free 7" given with first 5000 initial copies of Isn't Anything LP, Creation CREFRE4, 1988)
(Instrumental A is also available digitally on rare promo CD Doing It For the Frogs, SA2106, given to subscribers of French magazine "Les Inrockuptibles")
(Instrumental B is also available digitally on Pensioners on Ecstasy, Creation CRECD082, 1990)

"Map Ref 41 North 93 West" - (Whore: Various Artists Play Wire, WMO 2CD, 1996)

"Outro" - (You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think is Right compilation, GEOG12CD, 2001) - credits read 'written by Kevin Shields in response to the Pastels "Intro" '; songwriting credits are McRobbie/Mitchell/Shields

"We Have All the Time in the World" - (Peace Together compilation, Island Records, 1993)

"City Girl", "Goodybye", "Ikebana", "Are You Awake?" and "City Girl"– (From soundtrack to the motion picture Lost in Translation, Emperor Norton 1993)

4. Remixes of My Bloody Valentine
KEY: "Song Title (Remix Name)" - Remixer (my source of song, catalogue number if available, year of release)

"Incidental Peace" (remix of "Incidental One") - Skylab (Offbeat: A Red Hot Sound Trip compilation, TVT 7238-2, 1996)

"Soon (Andrew Weatherall mix)" - Andrew Weatherall (Glider EP Remixes 12", Creation CRE073X, 1990)
(Also available digitally on Keeping the Faith, Creation CRECD081, 1991)

5. Contributions by Bilinda Butcher outside My Bloody Valentine
KEY: "Song Title" or Album - Band Name: Contribution (my source, record company and/or catalogue number, year of release)

"I Don't Think" - Dinosaur Jr.: vocals (Hand It Over, 9 46506-2 Reprise, 1996)

"Ballad Night" - Collapsed Lung: vocals (Cooler, Deceptive Records 828 780-2, 1996)

"Casino Kisschase" - Collapsed Lung: vocal (Cooler, Deceptive Records 828 780-2, 1996)

6. Unedited Filter Magazine (Issue #8) Article and Kevin Shields 'Best of' Since Loveless

More than Loveless: A Selected Discography of Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine By Andrew Perer (Published in Filter Magazine in 2003)

This is Your Bloody Valentine LP (Tycoon 1985)

Geek EP (Fever 1985)

The New Record EP (Kaleidoscope Sound 1986)

Sunny Sundae Smile EP (Lazy 1987)

Kevin Shields has rightfully advised fans to save their money and avoid this early incarnation of the band with Dave Conway on vocals. Although Kevin Shields did write all the music, these first immature releases represent an altogether different sound than the world would come to know.

Strawberry Wine Single (Lazy 1987)

Ecstasy EP (Lazy 1987)

Ecstasy and Wine LP (Lazy 1989)

The proper story of My Bloody Valentine really begins here with the second single for Lazy records. Dave Conway left to be replaced by Bilinda Butcher who began sharing vocals duties with Kevin. This line-up: Kevin, Belinda, Colm O’Ciosoig on drums, and Deb Googe on bass, would be the team that would imbue the phrase “My Bloody Valentine” with more significance than the cheesy horror flick that is the band’s namesake.

Sweeter than sweet confections like “Strawberry Wine,” “She Loves You No Less,” and “Safe in Your Sleep” remain popular among fans and show the band moments before they would find their own voice. The song “Claire” and the extended version during their live performances would help point them in the new direction, not yet arrived at, until signing with Creation Records. The Strawberry Wine single and the Ecstasy EP were collected together on one record and CD in 1989 as Ecstasy and Wine.

You Made Me Realise EP (Creation 1988)

Feed Me With Your Kiss EP (Creation 1988)

Isn’t Anything LP (Creation 1988)

The band has called the recordings for Lazy a mistake and the group was left on the verge of breaking up at this point. With nothing to lose and unafraid to indulge their every whim for the first time, they would fire a shot across the bow with the You Made Me Realise EP followed quickly by the Feed Me With Your Kiss EP. You Made Me Realise and Feed Me With Your Kiss paired ferocious music with seductive melodies exemplifying their stated goal of mixing “pure noise . . . with pure melody.” While slower songs like “I Believe” and “Slow” evoked a sense of lust and yearning that spoke distinctly to their generation. Their first real long player, Isn’t Anything, showed their full range leaving critics searching for new ways to combine words like lust, bliss, ethereal, hallucinatory, heavy, ambient, androgynous, and dislocation.

Many would be surprised to find out that these releases for Creation and subsequent recordings would feature on average two or three guitar tracks with the bulk of the sound coming from one guitar. No clichéd guitar pedals or feedback are to be found on these records. Shields has explained that part of what distinguishes his band from most of his contemporaries is what they don’t use: reverb, flangers, chorus, delay or feedback. "People think its all pedals, but all my pedals are graphic equalizers and tone controls. Its all in the tone," Shields explained to NME in 1991. Shields main tools would be his creative use of the studio with help from the unique tremolo mechanisms on Fender Jazzmasters and Jaguars and often reverse reverb from a Yamaha SPX90.

Glider EP (Creation 1990)

Tremolo EP (Creation 1991)

Loveless (Creation 1991)

“Soon,” off the Glider EP, with its hip-hop beat would continue to garner the band new fans with Brian Eno lending his support, calling the song, “a new standard in pop . . . the vaguest piece of music ever to be a U.K. hit.” The following year saw the release of the seven-song Tremolo EP (only four tracks are named), a worthy companion to the forthcoming Loveless. An inordinate amount of time (and money) would be spent on Shields’ pursuit of “textural rhythm” on “To Here Knows When,” with the result being as new and otherworldly as the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” in its day.

MBV’s long-awaited masterpiece Loveless was released at the end of 1991 and was met by near universal praise. Featuring more sampling of guitar and voice and loops as previewed on the Tremolo EP, Loveless had no antecedents in rock. One magazine extolled it’s virtues saying, “My Bloody Valentine has redefined rock…Loveless is not just ‘now’ – its far ahead of its time…Excepting perhaps the Beatles’ wildest sonic flights and the work of minimalist composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass, it simply doesn’t sound like anything else.” Tracks like “Only Shallow,” “Loomer,” “To Here Knows When” and “Soon” are wildly avant-garde while still retaining the form of rock songs.

The rumored price tag of between $350,000 to $500,000 for Loveless was closer to $200,000 and actually represented the cost of Loveless plus the two previous EP’s and four accompanying videos. Low quality versions of all six of MBV's videos can be found on youtube.com. But to see the last four videos in all their glory, you will need the only original source available, The History of Creation vhs. Fans of Loveless, Tremolo, and Glider should should do themselves a favor and track down The History of Creation VHS compilation which contains four psychedelic MBV videos, as well as videos by Ride and Primal Scream. "Only Shallow" in particular loses its lustre when you see a low grade version of it.

A meticulous discography of My Bloody Valentine can be found at http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~yo-zep/mbv2.e.html.

####'Best of' List of Side Projects#### Post Loveless (written in 2003)

If one didn’t follow the music press very closely after Loveless, they may have been under the impression that Shields hadn’t worked on anything until Sophia Coppola’s Lost In Translation this year. Actually Shields (and occasionally in conjunction with sole remaining member of MBV Bilinda Butcher) has worked with over 20 different artists these past 12 years. He has put his inimitable skills to work as composer, guitar player, producer, remixer, and even scored music for a dance troupe. Songs included below take the form of sound sculptures, guitar freak-outs and everything in between. Fans of My Bloody Valentine seeking a fix in the form of new music from Kevin Shields should know that these tracks could very well be what they are seeking.

Guitar and Production: Those interested in the Stooges or MC5 and their progeny should check out these tracks to see how Shields radicalizes things even further with his production and mixing.

“Accelerator” and "Shoot Speed Kill Light" - Primal Scream: guitar, mixing, and production (XTRMNTR, Creation CRCD239, 2000).

Evil Heat - Primal Scream: production and mixing for tracks 1,4,5,6,7, and 9 (Evil Heat, Sony 508923, 2002)

"Bad Feeling" - The Beatings (UK): all tracks produced and mixed by Kevin Shields (Bad Feeling single, Fantastic Plastic FPS034, 2002)

Black Rays Defence - The Beat-Ups (formerly The Beatings): all ten tracks produced and mixed by Kevin Shields (Fantastic Plastic, 2005)

Remixes: Shields brings his fascination of all things rhythmic to the fore in these recordings without the confines of a four-minute pop song. Many of these songs have little relation to the source material and stand as original works.