Kurtis Knight programming, keyboards, samples, mixing

Margot Day's full-length CD SACRED! will take you somewhere you've never been and let you remember what you've always known. There is real Magic & Mystery here. Danceable and full of Lust & Love, singable with melodies you can't forget, Trance-able into other Dimensions, it's an Experience.. Interview with Margot Day 2000 Interview with Margot Day 1999 Margot Day's Bio

Margot Day vocals, flute,Songwriting programming, samples

Reviews of the SACRED! CD At last here comes one real masterpiece ‘cause this is the only description for MARGOT DAY’s “SACRED” cd.The journey beyond boundaries of one’s imagination.The voice of Shaman-the code written deeply unto conscious of everyone of us-unfolding,revealing,unweaving beauty.If you want to step through the doors of perception swallow this!”SACRED” is scary because it is that good.and it’s spooky because nothing else is that good.Such bomb all over the universe.Turn the volume to the maximum and try not to die while listening this CD.The future already begins and belongs to MARGOT DAY,definitely. by Steva Mijatovic Radio "Politika" (read on the radio in “sospiri” show) SACRED! cd at Starvox review by Mike Ventarola Margot Day has already garnered many accolades for her work with Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch and Nada Surf’s Ira Elliot as well as many other musical luminaries. Her website hits range in the 2k arena daily which indicates a growing underground phenomenon via word of mouth and club play. Clearly the solo work by this artist is forging new sonic frontiers, not unlike what Lene Lovich did in the 80’s. Day’s vocals manage to collide with the stratosphere and pierce it from the inside. Not since Lovich has any female singer come forth with an infectious style that is at once unusual, danceable, and unlike anything you may have heard before. The artist was classically trained in voice and flute, yet she demonstrates the ability to take it five steps beyond. She incorporates a hybrid of pop, goth, rock, techno, and industrial and whips it into a frothing new shape then delivers it back to the audience in a myriad of ways they would least expect. "CyberDreams" starts as though it would be goth, transmutes into electro/industrial and then becomes something other worldly. Is it danceable? Hell yes. It also replays in your head and pulls us down the path that Day is marching us towards. One can’t help but feel that she is smirking and innocently saying to us to unleash our minds from any expectations. She will fill in any blanks you may have. "Neptune" weaves dark percussion and electro EBM. The sonic blender is on frappe creating something that is 20 years ahead of itself. Vocally she starts out in a lower register, then soars the octaves through the layers of music offering elements of a dramatic futuristic opera diva . "Wicked & Wize" mixes a touch of hip hop, EBM, industrial and middle eastern flavored vocals. At this point, it seems as if the artist is daring us to ignore her. It is impossible to do so. Just sit back and enjoy the ride because this is not something just anyone can attempt to create and make palatable."Radiating" is a funky grooving song that yet again pushes the envelope to flirt, undulate and castigate all at once. "Sacred Life" dramatically opens with gothic style gongs,interlaced with militaristic drums and ambient sounds. Day has slowed the music down only momentarily to pull us into the drama of her world and vision. "HereAfter" sounds like a post apocalyptic ambient lamentation where Day makes us feel devastation. Just when you think the song is going to stay relaxed, she becomes the growling banshee of retribution, rocking into the night. Here she takes her vocals on an excursion of high end soprano notes to low end rasp to push her message across. "25th Hour" plays with sound samples and loops and just about any thing else she could get her hands on. This is Dali’s surrealistic clock painting come alive through sound."SoBeautifulSoDeadly" nods towards early punk rock but again mixes with so many hybrids that it is unclassifiable. This is the nano-second reinterpretation of Rilke’s quote about the terror of beauty. "Sacred Dance" is an amalgamation of goth, industrial, illbient,EBM and pop all rolled into the vortex of a sonic Goddess who seems to have more mental tones in her head than the average human. "Zenotopia" is probably the closest we come to traditional goth with the wolf howls, bubbling cauldron sounds, and wicked laughter. Day doesn’t stop there though. She includes a metronomic percussion to keep time with the bubbling and the wind which whips through the song at pertinent intervals. This is yet again another song, this time gothic, that is 20 years ahead of itself. The Daydream section incorporates a live improvisation of tracks 11 through 13. It is not for the nervous and those less inclined to expand upon their exposure to something different.This part of the disc can be quite unnerving. If Day demonstrates that she can take ordinary genres and recreate them, imagine what she can do to totally terrify you! Let’s just say this section is the Exorcist meets Diamanda Galas and Jarboe and goes beyond THAT.In some ways, Day is like Alice in the proverbial wonderland, only she is playing the role of Mad Hatter. She takes the boundaries of sound to swoop and swirl like a mad queen bee in a psychotic dive bomb. Despite the amount of movement and focus on switching the parameters of sound, you secretly get the feeling that Day is peering out of the corner of her eye,anticipating our next reaction. She stays focused and makes it appear as if she is not aware that we are present in her psychedelic world, but she is in full control of this work and knows just how to grab each reaction from us, her captive audience. STARVOX MARGOT DAY Sacred "Sacred," is a plum ripe for the picking. This is Margot's follow up to her self titled debut released last year. That album saw a lot of radio, US, UK, and Canadian club play. I don't think this album will be any exception. It's ripe for some cool remixes. You may be asking yourself, "Who is Margot Day?" Well,as lead singer of The Plague, she was present at the birth of NYC's Goth scene. She's credentialed and has a diversity of tastes that I found intrigueingly fascinating. She's worked with Adam Yauch, of Beastie Boys and Jim Thirwell of N.I.N., among others. Without further ado, let me introduce you to Margot's "Sacred." There's so much to praise about this album. It's no secret I like best what speaks to my heart and mind. Margot accomplishes both with great writing and musicianship. The album opens with "CyberDreams." It is a lush, otherworldly landscape of small house beats and synth, joined to vocals that entwined themselves about the whole. Sound waves of pleasure lifting me up on their crest, only to set me gently down again. "Sacred life," starts out with an almost martial beat. It proceeded to glide effortlessly, back and forth between martial and mystic. A marching song for ones spiritual journey. "25th Hour," was a potpourri of sounds. It was fascinating to listen to as a lesson in training the ear. It was like an audio Easter egg hunt. That spelled fun for me. My ear appreciated the challenge. These are only a sampling of the plums I picked from Margot's tree. I really liked this album. There's so much out there that offers nothing new. If it is a repeat of the old it is more often then not, badly done. Margot has imagination, depth, talent, and most importantly, something to share. The fact that she can share it in a fresh and intriguing manner,makes her worth looking into. Anthony Flores MOJO (London England) Its obvious from her second solo outing Sacred!, That Margot Day worships at the temple of St. Siouxsie of Sioux and our Lady Kate of The Bush. But Retains a native twang which occasionally makes her sound like Cyndie Lauper singing girls just wanna have fun in a graveyard. Generally, however her formidable vox goth marries well with Curtis Knight's tribal electro and often achieves something rare in the genre: funkiness. Joe Cushley Oklahoma Gothic There are few who can rival the vision or voice of Margot Day. Something of a cultural icon in the industry, Margot Day has inspired more groups than one can conceivably identify. Sacred! shows why. With a vocal style that can conjured a number of musicians to mind, and a kaleidoscope of expressions put to melodic articulation the album is a treat, an aural hide-and-seek where discovery becomes precious. At times whimsical, at times fearful and ominous, no one says it nearly as well as Margot. This is how "gothic" music should sound more often. Dark Father DK   OUTBURN 5 of 5(highest rating) Eclectic gothic pop with some experimental tracks: Margot Day breaks out of the standard goth sound with her potent vocals and resourceful instrumentation. The songs are so unusual, yet they work remarkably well. You may remember her debut 5 song CDR reviewed in the Alcove of Outburn #6, And I am happy to report that this new release has shown great improvement. Margot Day is defiantly something to check out. --Octavia's Alcove Nocturnal Movements Margot Day brings you the best in new Gothic decadence. The self-titled debut presents a flirtatious symmetry of spiralling vocal excellence. SACRED!, now available, will draw you into the depths of outer space and back to Earth again. Gentle experimentation, sensual dalliances, and the seductive siren Margot Day converge to present you with a new cd that you must discover for yourself. --Jett Black The Gothic Preservation Society Margot Day is NOT "the gothic Kate Bush." Her voice is neither screechy nor insipid. Nor do the fumbling Tori Amos parallels make any sense - Day has no use for the breathy-little-FuckMe-girl effect except as just that, a special effect to be used when it benefits the overall song. Day's lightning shifts from Disco Diva to demented operatic soprano to 1-900-VAMPIRE to swamp-sorceress chant to werecat-caught-in-mid-transition are hard enough to keep up with - categorizing her is a lost cause. She's her MOST precise in her stunning upper register, too - this girl knows what she's doing. I really can't come up with a useful comparison for this CD at all. Not even Day's previous release, with its bare-bones production and painfully sweetsie singing, really has much in common with SACRED! at all. This stuff is totally new. Her use of loops and samples is evocative and fun. Far from rendering SACRED! a patchwork of plagiarism or a sound-effects jamboree, the blurps and plinks and other "real-life-music" snippets add an almost tactile richness to the song structures, binding them into deep-textured units rather than intruding. Can you dance to it? Much of it makes it difficult NOT to dance, or at least squirm/sway/bounce a bit. Does it live up to the stunning cover art? Blows it out of the water. Can you seduce someone to it? Probably too distracting, but you never know. I personally would like to use it for a soundtrack for a candlelight scenario involving drizzling warm claret sauce over a blindfolded and possibly otherwise incapacitated.... Huh? Oh. Just buy this CD. Trust me... --Columbine   Grinding into Emptiness The shiny gold paper that the inserts were printed on wasn't a bit too extravagant for this release. And if it doesn't get your attention, the music will. Day's new release is more electronic, full of bass-filled synthlines and drum loops. "Sacred!" is much more polished than her self-titled CD, but still features the obscure compositions of music and Margot's extremely talented voice. The first few songs on the CD are upbeat and very organized. A much different style of music is explored in comparison with her previous release. The instrumentation in this release seems to work even better with Margot's voice. The music strays away from the traditional instruments that were used quite a bit in her self-titled EP. Several live tracks appear on "Sacred!," including the incredible "Hereafter." Even more is put into the live versions. Margot's voice remains as crisp and clear live as it does in her studio recordings. "Sacred!" is even more impressive than Margot's first release. Any fan of her self-titled EP should be more than pleased to hear what she'd been up to recently. Any fan of Diamanda Galas's lighter side should really enjoy it. Visit www.margotday.com for more information on obtaining this release. --Scott Mallonee

Perpetual Nightmare Give in to your ancient passions: listen to Margot Day's delicate, soft yet moody voice, which at times sounds like an ethereal Deborah Harry (listen to "Neptune"), and at other times like a wandering, hauntingly beautiful wraith who craves futuristic, funky, and dramatic synth beats. Calming yet very much alive, completely uninhibited and very powerful within itself, Margot's music holds a mystical, dreamy view on very realistic emotions. All of the tracks on Sacred! have many layers, each a different, completely unique way of expressing beauty without guilt. Vocally and instrumentally, the moods soar and fall with gracefulness across the vistas of gothic darkness. A catchy, glam edge pervades the penetrating vibe of introspective mystery. With "CyberDreams," it's all about innocent, soft vocals, which are very feminine with an almost Celtic lilt about them; the title is perfect because cyber-dreamy is the best way to describe the feel of this song. Next is "Neptune," with an aura of shadow. "Wicked and Wize" starts off with a danceable beat and keeps a sprite-like, childish tone, yet still shows Margot's ability to soar to various vocal heights. "Radiating" is another amazing track, slightly secretive, hiding behind a mystical shadow. While "Sacred Life" breathes an ethereally classic feel of despair and drama, "HereAfter" sounds quite angry, at times strained with emotion, and the beats have that catchy, glam yet darkened sound. Next is "SoBeautifulSoDeadly," flirting with the idea of deadly beauty and mysterious passion; like all of the songs on Sacred! this one has a lot of personality and explores the freedoms of self-expression. "Sacred Dance" contains half-whispered vocals and fluid music; setting the mood to fall into the world of "Zenatopia," a tune with cool, creepy samples and awesome lyrics: "Can you taste the pain… dripping through our veins?" All of the tracks on Margot Day's Sacred! are enchanting and energizing; this is the perfect soundtrack for a rainy night of silence at home with the lights off and candles burning, alone or with company. --Michelle Baker     LEGENDS editors note--"...we stop by Vermont on the way back to talk to Margot Day, legendary in her New York period as front woman for post-punk group The Plague." Review by Dan Century Vermont land of snow, crunchy hippie entrepreneur types, Subarus, maple syrup and Margot Day. My question is: Why would Margot forsake the Manhattan life style that fueled her early career? Vermont is an OK place I guess- Its quiet, simple, with lots of down to earth, creative people, a few legendary electronic bands(Hexdump, Syntax Error) and lots of nature. I could see using Vermont as an escape, but not as a place to foster a career as a wild gothic rock star. I guess the key to understanding Margot and her music is she likes to do her own thing--let me tell you, it’s pretty scary. Imagine the Wicked Witch of the East on angel dust singing pirate songs. Image a whole CD of that. There’s not a moment of this disc that I’m not waiting for the winged monkeys to come flying through my window. To quote Wicked & Wize: “There’s no rest for the wicked and the wise,” well there’s no rest for the listener either. I dare you to listen to this disc and try to concentrate on something else--it’s impossible. Margot’s nursery rhyme melodies and manic good girl/bad witch persona demand your full attention, and possibly at the cost of your sanity.  OK, before the flying chimpanzees break through my door and scalp me, let me say a few positive words about Scared! Margot has an incredible voice, comparable to Kate Bush, sure, but it’s more like a Bernadette Peters or some other Broadway actress. Margot’s vocals are more theatre than pop (or gothic-industrial or whatever label makes you comfortable). What Margot does, after all is theatre--acting, illusion, performance, smoke and mirrors.  The music on Scared! is what you would expect: programmed, samples, beats and keyboards; and a little guitar. Margot doesn’t stick to one sound, borrowing ideas from techno, NYC noise, classical nursery rhymes, theatre and video games, which suits her manic/theatric style well. Fans of slower electronic music, especially pre`92 stuff, will find plenty to enjoy. Compared to other electronic music out today Sacred! is unique- it actually supports the vocals in tone, rhythm and melody, unlike a lot of bands that just sing over techno or noise or need guitars to provide a melody. Margot’s music is low-fi, gritty and natural, like the music for Neptune--real chunky and guttural like a Wiseblood or Foetus tune.  For the most part Margot is a little too spooky and manic for me, but I’m sure plenty of Legend’s readers would enjoy her... I have to go... I hear wings flapping outside my window. VAE SOLIS rating: 5 of 6 SACRED! is the second official output from this girl, and I liked this thousand times better than her former self-titled MCD. This is much more thoughtout, better composed and performed....Her voice also sounds more impressive and pleasant for the ear(s)… Musically, this is some gothic / dark wave stuff, based on electronics (no guitars here!), with non-typical female voice, well produced and enough original. SACRED! divides into two parts - the first one consists of ten songs, rather typical for Margot ("Sacred Life" is the best one when it comes to this part), while the second one appears as a 'live improvisation', featuring three tracks of pure experimental, ambient-alike stuff made with fantasy and extremely exciting. I just love these tracks! Are you into Diamanda Galas and others of that ilk? Then this is a must for you. Are you just the fan of mild gothic rock? Check it out. Or, perhaps, you're a freak on the bands like ILDFROST? Ha, then try it anyway! --Herr Flipside I got this right before I went to Convergence in New Orleans. I had listened to it once and was surprised that I recognized a song off it one night at a club there. The first few tracks of this CD-”CyberDreams”“Neptune”and “Wicked & Wize are indeed quite danceable in a techno/goth kind of way. The crowd seemed to like it. Margot’s voice is clear and commanding and the mixing is good. It’s full of surprisingly odd but fun “sounds” throughout. The latter half of the CD gets more atmospheric and drops the club beat altogether. A few songs annoyed me a bit with their repetitive nature, but the inclusion of the flute was an intriguing twist. All in all, this is a gutsy album by an artist who’s only begun to tap her musical potential. --Blu Delirium In "A Lion in Winter," King Henry advises a young French king to use all his voices, a focal point in authority. A high-wire acrobatic act in warm-up, I suspect Margot Day has voices kept in reserve. She has been compared to Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Diamanda Galas and Yoko Ono, on her first CD, the voice was sometimes incongruous with the music, making it sound, at times, quirky. On her new CD, Sacred, a gothic cabaret with a loose nautical theme, her voice is more confident (sometimes to the point of self-indulgence and what's wrong with that?,) the music self-assured and a better match for her controlled vocal acrobatics. It has gained a smoky feel, especially the live version of "Hereafter," a guided tour of Day's voices. She ranges from eerily dramatic to post-punk fun, as in "So Beautiful, So Deadly." The mix and rhythms were rich with subliminal nods reminiscent of "I am the Walrus," Jethro Tull's "Passion Play," "Exorcist II" and a snatch of melody from Shanghai Lil, with surprisingly catchy melodic lines, especially the hooks. I daydreamed during "Daydream," a meditative journey through Margot's reverb unit. The aural landscape that blankets the voice is hypnotic with found sounds that each of part of the body can tune into. Who knows? It may even raise a chakra. Like the ocean, Sacred is lulling with some waves and an occasional white cap. --Tony Sokol Album Reviews I don't have much information. This is a trio that is fronted by Margot Day. She sings, plays flute, programs, samples and producing. This appears to be a demo as the packaging is quite minimal, but nice with it's gold leaf j-cards and blank print. The opening track of the album, "Cyber Dreams" gets things off to somewhat of an annoying beginning with it's tribal rhythm and over the top electronics. "Neptune" is pretty cool with a similar vibe at times to certain Rasputina tracks, but with different instrumentation. "Wicked & Wize" pushes the envelope a bit further. At this point, a pattern begins to emerge though. There are parts of Margot's songs that works while other ones seem clearly less effective. "Sacred Life" is one of my favorite tracks. It contains a little less weirdness than the others, but it remains quite unique. I like the use of the bells. This reminds me of some of the cooler goth stuff where rock meets the ethereal. The following track, "25th Hour," is one of the weirder ones on the CD and challenge to find how to listen to it. The part of the CD that I really didn't care very much for was the closing. It is comprised of various live improvisations and they bugged me more than anything. One thing is for sure, over the course of the CD, Margot Day really creates their own atmosphere and distinct style. It's hard to classify, maybe impossible to. I think this will appeal most to goths with an open mind to trippy music with somewhat bizarre electronics. Some of the programming is a little over the top or annoying and at times this album could have been mixed better, but overall there is enough here to make it worth owning. [Victor Mejia]