Biography

Alpha is the Bristol, UK-based partnership of Corin Dingley and Andy Jenks. Signed to Massive Attack's label, Melankolic, they share their fellow Bristolians' Portishead's passion for atmospheric obscure film soundtracks and emotive singers, such as Jacques Brel and Scott Walker. Other interests that manifest themselves in their music are traditional US songwriters such as Jimmy Webb and Lee Hazlewood, both composers who combined intimate lyricism with rich orchestration. Their 1997 debut, Come From Heaven, clearly demonstrated this fascination with the kind of emotional mood music created by an artist such as Walker. Featuring the vocals of Wendy Stubbs, Helen White and Martin Barnard, the album presented drifting, hazy soundscapes and unsettling, twisted love songs with an overriding melancholic edge. Pepper, released the following year, featured new songs, b-sides and remixes of earlier material including Tim Simenon's (aka Bomb The Bass) remix of "Sometime Later". The duo employed the same vocalists on their second album proper, The Impossible Thrill, but conjured up a more organic sound by largely eschewing the studio trickery of their debut.
DISCOGRAPHY: Come From Heaven (Melankolic 1997)****, The Impossible Thrill (Melankolic 2001)****, Stargazing (Don't Touch 2003)***.
COMPILATIONS: Pepper (Melankolic 1998)***.

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