Artist description Whispers in the Shadow were formed by Ashley Dayour in the summer of 1995; they describe their music as Dark Gothic Wave, in the style of the nineteen-eighties. Their music does not acknowledge any compromises or influence attributable to the nineties. Whispers also reject every esoteric and mystical relationship; the music (together with the texts) stands alone. Ashley alone is responsible for the latter and is happy in this regard to be inspired by Edgar Alan Poe. Nevertheless, personal experiences and views occupy the main role in his frequently not entirely unambiguous texts. The objective Whispers have set themselves for their first album is to keep the music as sombre as possible and to forego positive influences to a large degree. Laudanum, the title of the debut, is, by the way, a beverage that was favoured by old poets, such as Poe, Byron and others. But also composers of classical music, such as Mozart and Beethoven partook of this drink which consisted of 80% alcohol and 20% opium. But in most cases, excessive consumption of Laudanum led to the artist’s slow but inevitable end. The aim of Whispers in the Shadow for their first album is to capture this mood of ruin, to lead the listener down into a gloomy pit of selfdoubt, despair and resignation. The band is now alos increasingly engaged in live performances and time will tell which path the three Gothic Wavers from Austria will take.

Music Style Dark Trip Wave

Musical Influences The Cure

Similar Artists The Cure

Group Members Ashley Dayour - Vocals, Guitar, Programming

Instruments 2 x Guitars, Bass, Drum-Computer, Sequencer

Albums Nebeltanz (Tape), Schattendämmerung (Tape), Live 22.11.96 Grauzone - St. Georgen (Tape), Descent (CD), Laudanum (CD)

Press Reviews There is one adjective to describe Whispers in the Shadow: gloomy. This is gloomy music. Really really gloomy. gloom-goth, with lots of gloom thrown in on top of that. It is not at all bombastic or overly dramatic; rather, the understatement and hiddenness of the name pervades the music. What it recalls for me most of all is the hayday of The Cure, when they were gloomy enough to put out those masterpieces of gloom, "Faith" and "Pornography". Whispers in the Shadow has that same palpable texture to it: it's midafternoon, overcast, rainy, and cold. There is a certain relish in it to be sure, but it chins nonetheless. The musical structures could hardly be termed elaborate, but neither are they simplistic. The Familiar elements are there: throbbing percussion, moaning bass line, reverberating guitar, angsty - I might even say gloomy -vocals. As far as the lyrics go, Whispers in the Shadow fares significantly better than many other European bands who sing in English. The lyrics are neither overdone nor flirting with unintelligibility, and they surrealistically and fairly artistically deal with psychological issues without being too terribly trite. Whispers in the Shadow is not really breakin any new ground but it is rather well-done.

Location Vienna - Austria

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