Livonia (album)
| Livonia | ||||
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| Studio album by His Name Is Alive | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1985-1990 | |||
| Studio | Warren's house, Livonia, Michigan; Garageland Studios, New Boston, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Dream pop, ethereal wave | |||
| Length | 35:28 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Warren Defever, Ivo Watts-Russell, and John Fryer | |||
| His Name Is Alive chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Livonia | ||||
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| Allmusic |    |
Livonia is the debut album by His Name Is Alive. It was originally released by 4AD on June 25, 1990 in the United Kingdom and in 1992 on 4AD/Rykodisc in the United States.
Livonia is the debut LP by Livonia, Michigan's His Name Is Alive (or HNIA). Frontman Warren Defever began recording on a 4-track recorder in his parent's basement while still in high school. As a result, this album is made up of material originally recorded from 1985 through 1989, rough versions of which appeared in 1988 on a self-released cassette called I Had Sex With God.
In a 2006 interview, Defever recounts that he sent the cassette to 4AD label president Ivo Watts-Russell in 1988, who initially felt that Defever and his band "needed a lot of work." Ivo also said he wasn't interested in signing any more American bands, due to the difficulty of time zone differences and finding USA distribution. He also suggested that Defever try Rough Trade's USA branch. Defever responded that he had already been rejected by that label, and continued to submit cassettes to 4AD, with revised and improved versions of the songs appearing on each new tape.
Over time, Ivo and his This Mortal Coil partner John Fryer felt they could actually mix Defever's home recordings into something that 4AD could release, and the album finally appeared in the summer of 1990. Due to Ivo and Fryer's contribution, along with other superficial similarities, HNIA were often compared to This Mortal Coil during their early years.
The recordings originally consisted of Defever providing the bulk of the music, with Angie Carozzo providing vocals. Once Defever met Karin Oliver in college, he recruited her to become the band's primary vocalist. The album still credits Carozzo as a member, although very few of her vocals remain in the finished product (tracks 10 and 11), and she left the band shortly after the album's release.
The album was only available in the USA as an import until 1992, when Rykodisc reissued the album on CD, with an instrumental bonus track called "Livonia" appearing at the end of the album. The track was only available on the Rykodisc pressing and was not included on any subsequent 4AD reissues.
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