The British shoegaze quartet Seefeel got their start in London in 1992, releasing an EP, More Like Space, and finding a kindred spirit in fast-rising electronica star Aphex Twin. Before long, they were carving out an entirely new sound. “There was a sharp shift to wanting to do something definitive, because this is what I began to respect in others — a sense of striking out, of urgency,” says guitarist Mark Clifford in the extensive liner notes by Dave Segal accompanying the reissue of their debut full length Quique.
Quique, pronounced ‘keek’, first oscillated into the world in July 1993 via UK label Too Pure, joining the dots between Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine and Aphex Twin. Its most striking quality was its sheer sense of invention – and the fact it was instrumental except for wordless vocals from singer/guitarist Sarah Peacock, lying low in the mix and treated as another instrument.
Seefeel left Too Pure for the more electronically-oriented Warp Records after Quique, and with the move assumed a more severe electronic approach. However, Quique remains a touchstone record in the ambient and shoegaze movement, a dreamy confluence of shoegaze, dub, abstract electronic music and minimalist composition techniques.
