I used to really enjoy making lists of my favorite records or records that were influential. I'm not that big of a fan of it nowadays, but I racked my brain and came up with what greatly inspired what I do as Pink Priest. I left a lot off and forgot about even more. Sorry if it's not obscure enough for you, I tried.
Slowdive , Souvlaki (1993)
I love all that hazy shoegazer, dream pop stuff very much. My Bloody Valentine is up there, obviously, being totally majestic. Ride's Nowhere is a big deal. However, Souvlaki wins out because of one song in particular, “When The Sun Hits.” It's managed to be on practically ever single bummer mixtape or mixtape for a girl I've ever made. It's a perfect song.
Suicide, Suicide (2nd Album) (1980)
A lot of times, I totally want to make music that is this dark and gritty, and also this catchy. The first Suicide album is classic, for sure, but this one has more songs that I love. It's got a bit more of a groove too, in my opinion. I love how absolutely fuckin' bleak the first one was, but this one is a party. In some fantasy world, Pink Priest would totally sound like this album and I'd just smoke unfiltered cigarettes and get laid non-stop.
SPK, Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers (1986)
First time I heard this record, it was spine-chilling, super intense, frightening. It's so goddamn dark. When listening to this record, your mind takes you to all these fucked up, scary places, and it's fascinating, but nerve-wracking. This is the type of music that plays in a Rocky montage before someone goes to fight demons. This taught me a lot about how absolutely terrifying music can be, while still being beautiful and without being super-extreme or hokey and bullshit. Totally menacing vibrations.
Spacemen 3, Dreamweapon (1990)
I'll just say that this shit is epic.
James Ferraro, Heaven's Gate (2009)
I just heard this fairly recently, and it's pretty much perfect. I hear this dude and Skaters vibes in a lot of household name type bands these days, and that's rad. You can't really help but become completely immersed in it and then it's like an hour later and you totally fuckin' lost your noggin the whole time. It's a head trip, and this jam is just straight up super-bliss. Hugely inspirational stuff.
Brian Eno & Harold Budd, Ambient 2/The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)
I hate to be super dead set about something like this, but I think this record is the most influential for me. This album, along with Ambient 1, pretty much opened my mind, officially, into the realm that is ambient music. I'd dabbled here and there, hearing artists who also dabbled in the field. This album just kind of set the bar for me. I am a fan of Eno, both his more soundscape-driven stuff and his pop music, and Harold Budd's work is phenomenal. This is easily, one of the most gorgeous records I've ever had the pleasure of sitting through. Total ear candy. I still haven't done this enough justice. Oh well.
