Built on piano, synthesizers and Daou’s mesmerizing, Billie Holiday-like vocals, 'Zipless' strikes an exquisite balance between pop and jazz by weaving together the strengths of both styles.
Zipless: Songs from the Works of Erica Jong, the landmark 1994 album which launched Vanessa Daou’s solo career, is set for its long-awaited vinyl debut on December 7, 2018. The LP will be available via Daou’s own DRKR Records imprint in association with KID Recordings.
Various exclusive pre-order offers of the remastered, limited edition heavyweight 180gm black vinyl LP will be available from PledgeMusic. Options include fold-out poster, signed limited edition print, signed handwritten lyric sheet, signed and dedicated LP test pressing, and digital download. See 'Purchase' link below for full details.
“Built on piano, synthesizers and Daou’s mesmerizing, Billie Holiday-like vocals, Zipless strikes an exquisite balance between pop and jazz by weaving together the strengths of both styles,” observed Time Magazine in 1995. “The songs flow along on smooth, toe-tapping grooves punctuated by saxophone and piano solos. The music conjures the cool mood of an urban nightscape.”
Zipless celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. This ten-track selection of songs/spoken word pieces derived its name from Erica Jong’s best-selling novel 'Fear of Flying' (27 million copies sold), which became an immediate sensation upon publication in 1973. Seemingly overnight, the term “Zipless” became a feminist catchphrase and entered the lexicon as shorthand for a casual, consequence-free sexual encounter. That particular, limited, interpretation of the phrase has endured over time, although Jong, and later, Vanessa, would expand on its meaning into philosophical and intellectual realms.
Erica and Vanessa are more than just kindred spirits; they are also related by family. Vanessa was married to Jong’s nephew, Peter Daou, for 12 years, whom she met while she was a student at Barnard College, Jong’s Alma Mater. First as Vandal in the early 1990s, then later known as The Daou, Peter and Vanessa collaborated on predominantly experimental underground dance music. The Daou signed to Columbia Records and released the album Head Music in 1992, which yielded the debut single—and now club classic—“Surrender Yourself,” remixed by Danny Tenaglia, which bolted to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and remained there for 11 weeks. As a producer/engineer/keyboardist, Peter would go on to work with Bjork, Miles Davis, and Mariah Carey, as well as arrange and play the lion’s share of the instrumentation on Zipless. The album originally appeared on MCA Records.
Over the decades, Zipless has proven to be an enduring touchstone among the true music cognoscenti. It is viewed as influential in the genres of acid jazz, chillout, spoken word, and house music. The sultry video for the album's debut single, “Near the Black Forest," was featured in heavy rotation on VH1. Its follow-up single, “Sunday Afternoons," was remixed by Tenaglia and reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. An anonymously-submitted, audio-only video for “Sunday Afternoons" surfaced on YouTube in 2007 and has reached over one million views. Daou has gone on to record additional albums with strong jazz undercurrents, including 1999’s Dear John Coltrane and 2008’s exploration of Prohibition-era speakeasies, Joe Sent Me.
Various exclusive pre-order offers of the remastered, limited edition heavyweight 180gm black vinyl LP will be available from PledgeMusic. Options include fold-out poster, signed limited edition print, signed handwritten lyric sheet, signed and dedicated LP test pressing, and digital download. See 'Purchase' link below for full details.
“Built on piano, synthesizers and Daou’s mesmerizing, Billie Holiday-like vocals, Zipless strikes an exquisite balance between pop and jazz by weaving together the strengths of both styles,” observed Time Magazine in 1995. “The songs flow along on smooth, toe-tapping grooves punctuated by saxophone and piano solos. The music conjures the cool mood of an urban nightscape.”
Zipless celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. This ten-track selection of songs/spoken word pieces derived its name from Erica Jong’s best-selling novel 'Fear of Flying' (27 million copies sold), which became an immediate sensation upon publication in 1973. Seemingly overnight, the term “Zipless” became a feminist catchphrase and entered the lexicon as shorthand for a casual, consequence-free sexual encounter. That particular, limited, interpretation of the phrase has endured over time, although Jong, and later, Vanessa, would expand on its meaning into philosophical and intellectual realms.
Erica and Vanessa are more than just kindred spirits; they are also related by family. Vanessa was married to Jong’s nephew, Peter Daou, for 12 years, whom she met while she was a student at Barnard College, Jong’s Alma Mater. First as Vandal in the early 1990s, then later known as The Daou, Peter and Vanessa collaborated on predominantly experimental underground dance music. The Daou signed to Columbia Records and released the album Head Music in 1992, which yielded the debut single—and now club classic—“Surrender Yourself,” remixed by Danny Tenaglia, which bolted to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and remained there for 11 weeks. As a producer/engineer/keyboardist, Peter would go on to work with Bjork, Miles Davis, and Mariah Carey, as well as arrange and play the lion’s share of the instrumentation on Zipless. The album originally appeared on MCA Records.
Over the decades, Zipless has proven to be an enduring touchstone among the true music cognoscenti. It is viewed as influential in the genres of acid jazz, chillout, spoken word, and house music. The sultry video for the album's debut single, “Near the Black Forest," was featured in heavy rotation on VH1. Its follow-up single, “Sunday Afternoons," was remixed by Tenaglia and reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. An anonymously-submitted, audio-only video for “Sunday Afternoons" surfaced on YouTube in 2007 and has reached over one million views. Daou has gone on to record additional albums with strong jazz undercurrents, including 1999’s Dear John Coltrane and 2008’s exploration of Prohibition-era speakeasies, Joe Sent Me.
Track Listing
- The Long Tunnel of Wanting You
- Dear Anne Sexton
- Alcestis on the Poetry Circuit
- Sunday Afternoons
- Autumn Perspective
- Near the Black Forest
- My Love Is Too Much
- Becoming a Nun
- Smoke
- Autumn Reprise
For more information contact Prime Mover Media.
