Malka Spigel -- My Pet Fish -- Swim~ Records

1. One
2. Humans
3. Dreamwalking
4. I Said, You Said
5. Parasites
6. Like Machines
7. 4D
8. The Fisheries And The Shining Sea
9. Memory Of Tomorrow
10. Fly
12. It's Odd

About Malka Spigal
* Malka first gained prominence as a founder member and bassist of Minimal Compact the Israeli/Dutch group based in Amsterdam and Brussels in the '80s. They released several recordings on Brussels based label Crammed Discs and toured extensively throughout continental Europe during that time, gaining a loyal following.
* The group disbanded in 1989 with guitarists Rami Fortis and Berry Sakharov returning to Israel to pursue solo careers, Malka and singer Samy Birnbach stayed on in Brussels with drummer Max Franken returning to his native Amsterdam. During the second half of the eighties, Malka married Wire member Colin Newman, the couple met while Newman was producing Minimal's "Raging Souls" recording, and worked with him on his two Crammed albums
(Commercial Suicide & It Seems).
* Not only has Malka been continuously producing music since 1981 but has also become increasingly involved in the visual aspect of her and other's work having taken photos featured on both her own, Immersion & Colin's album as well as publicity photos for Berry Sakharov, Rami Fortis & Colin Newman.
* Immersion have also made an installation in the museum of Modern Art in Dublin in 1996. 1998 saw the release of what may be not only the most important Malka Spigel record to date but also the finest work the collaboration the pair has produced in the shape of My Pet Fish . This was followed up by a tour in Europe from which the mail order only live album came. [Taken From Swim~ Web Site]

Guests on this release:
Yoram Gur -- Guitar
Ben Newman -- Guitar
Charles Snider -- Guitar
-- Atmospheres and Elements --
Robin Rimbaud, Mark Gage, Ian Hartley
All other instruments by Malka Spigel

     "My Pet Fish" is Israeli native Malka Spigel's third solo release for Swim~ Records. I was pretty amazed to find out when I was surfing for Spigel on the web that she is a woman! woo! Another great addition to the females in the industry.
    The type of music ranges on this release from bubble gumish space rock to a more electronic/smooth guitar synth-popish blend. Jazzy, melodic, deep synth sounds, rich bass, snappy beats/backbeats and dance oriented rhythms are a few of the words to define some of the sounds on this CD. The vocals at times actually remind me of some of the earlier works by the Beatles ! Oh boy what a treat. The whole CD is delightful and polished in terms of the music, it's quite professionally done, but then you can't expect anything less that that from Swim~ Records.
    It is great music to "chill out" with after a busy day or with company as background music. I haven't heard other works by Malka, so a comparison isn't possible. I would however like to hear more from her back catalog and future releases.