Nico "The Marble Index" (Elektra, 1968)

Artist: Nico
Album: "The Marble Index"
Label: Elektra
Release Date: 1968
Genre: Experimental, Drone, Avant-Garde, Minimalism, Neo-Classical
Mood: Cold, Somber, Detached, Ethereal
Reminds Of: John Cale, The Velvet Underground, LaMonte Young
What people think: AllMusicGuide, EveningOfLight, LastFM
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Tracklist
1. Prelude
2. Lawns Of Dawn
3. No One Is There
4. Ari's Song
5. Facing The Wind
6. Julius Caesar (Memento Hodie)
7. Frozen Warnings
8. Evening Of Light
9. Roses In The Snow
10. Nibelungen

The Marble Index is the name of a gothic-folk album with neoclassical and avant-garde elements, recorded and released by Nico in 1968.The album featured long-term associate John Cale, an experimental musician who had worked briefly with Nico during her stint in The Velvet Underground. Cale had an extensive background in various avant-garde settings, working with minimalist composer LaMonte Young, among others. Cale and Nico created an album that radically deviated from traditional rock music song structures. Cale said it was the first rock album to do so. He also said that The Marble Index had made a seminal contribution to the body of modern classical music.Nico wrote all her own songs on this album and accompanied herself on the harmonium, which has also been referred to as an "Indian pump organ". The arrangements are abstract and, musically speaking, "cold". The effect is kindred to the psychological sound experimentation of electronic and serial composer, Karlheinz Stockhausen. The Marble Index has been described as a "nightmare in sound". It has influenced a wide array of genres in contemporary independent music. Artists such as Coil, Jocelyn Pook and Dead Can Dance, as well as numerous contemporary goth bands have all cited Nico as a seminal influence.

(Source: en.wikipedia.org)

I wanna spend the rest of my days listening to this one...

Watch Nico performing "Frozen Warnings"...
Watch John Cale covering Nico's "Frozen Warnings"...

Further Reading