A peculiar promotion started when the band decided to record with their own money in a professional studio. The song "Don't Tell Me", which became the first big hit of "Bruno…" came from these sessions.
Soon after, some changes were made. Leszek Rakowski started studying at the High Pedagogical School in Zielona Gora. He spent one evening at a philharmonic concert - listening to the classical academic choir. It wouldn't be so important for the band if had not seen a female singer with a wonderful voice. After the show, Leszek found her, and after a short conversation, asked if she would like to sing in a rock group. Kasia Ziemek said 'yes' and started ground work with "Bruno ...".
In 1992, an independent German label SPV started in Poland. One of bands which were 'signed,' along with the likes of Closterkeller and Agressiva 69, was "Bruno The Questionable".
The album from this contract was "Black Horse", which has 10 songs and was produced by Daniel Kleczynski - well known on the Polish techno stage ("Trumpets And Drums", Freenternetry, Gagarin 108 ). On this first album, we could see their unique style and their dark atmosphere within the context of the music
1993 was a turning point. The album "Black Horse" was out, and De Coy and Leszek were married. After the release, the premiere song "Black Horse" became "number one" on many radio and TV stations. The doors to fame were open.
Bruno The Questionable was a frequent guest on the radio, and there were also many interviews and reviews in the press. Some reviewers were saying that music of the band is nothing new, it sounds like Sisters of Mercy or U2. Some of the reviewers though were enchanted with the talent and the freshness of the band.
At that moment, De Coy joined that group of "most-important-Polish-rock vocalists".
In 1993, legendary gothic band Love Like Blood came to Poland. They played a concert in Warsaw, and Bruno the Questionable was the opening-night band. Love Like Blood liked the music of 'Bruno...' so much, that Gunnar Eysell, took a cassette of 'Black Horse' to Germany to show it to some people from the music line.
They were not waiting too long for an answer. Some European music labels were interested in music of the band. The best proposals came from Nuclear Blast and Dion Fortune Records. Previously, Nuclear Blast wanted them to sign the contract, but finally Dion Fortune Records became the publisher of 'Bruno...', maybe because they proposed best clauses.
At the moment there were other changes in the band. Artur Przybylak left the band, and Slawek Kwiatkowski was replaced with Tytus de Ville - the guitar player and leader of the most cultivated Polish gothic band Pornografia.
With help from Gunnar Eysell, Bruno The Questionable went to Impulse TonStudio in Hamburg (Love Like Blood recorded their "Odyssey" album) in the helpful hands of Jean Pierre (producer of Love Like Blood and Lacrimosa). During their time there, they mixed all the material and record a few new songs. As they said in later reviews - this new sound of 'Bruno...' was what they had always wanted ...
And now everything was ready for publishing. There was only one more condition of Dion Fortune, they wanted to change the name of Bruno The Questionable. It was not commercial and difficult to say, so the new name chosen was Fading Colours. The world premiere of album was scheduled for spring 1995...
The Polish edition of the cassette "Black Horse" was out January 1995. It was released at the same time the single "Lie" was out in the rest of Europe. The music from this album was very original for a Polish rock band. The hard sound of guitars joined with the atmospheric melodies of the keyboards and the perfect vocal of De Coy.
The single "Lie" soon stepped onto the top of play-lists on many European radio stations. The CD "Black Horse" was out in the late spring of 1995. The wait for public response then begun.
Soon, many good reviews appeared and voiced of the cd's delights. Many music magazines from all over the world were writing about Fading Colours. For example, "Sonic Seducer", "Drowning News", "Back Again", "Intro", "Side Line", reviewers of "Neuro Style" gave "Black Horse" 8 of 10 points, magazine "Doom Rock" called "Black Horse" debut of the month - same as German "Zillo" and French "Dark World". One of the Spanish music magazines reckoned "Black Horse" among the ten best rock albums of the past five years.
At this time, there was another important event for De Coy and Leszek - their son Filip was born.
Autumn 1995 was very 'industrious' for Fading Colours. At the end of August, they played a concert on the German rock festival Pop Komm. It was the first opportunity to introduce the band to such a big audience. During the same month, they were the main stars of the Polish prioritic gothic festival "Castle Party" in Grodziec. They previously had a really hot public reaction there while being a support band to "Psyche".
Few weeks later came time for the European tour side by side with Garden Of Delight.
In 1996, the band (a trio: De Coy, Leszek Rakowski & Krzysztof Rakowski ) stepped again into studio to record material for a new album. They chose a new kind of music and a new way of releasing these ideals. It didn't have anything in common with the album "Black Horse". A few of these songs arose before the recording of the debut album - previously created for a solo album of De Coy - which, unfortunately, has never been released. The rest of the new material was a voice of their new fascinations. De Coy avowed that she used to be a frequent guest at techno-parties, and this music - which contains such big energy - enchanted her. All the material for the EP "Time" was recorded in Poland and mastered in Germany with the help of Andreas Bruhn - author of the music for two versions of "Lie", Darrin Huss - a second vocal in the track "Time," and Daniel Kleczyński responsible for remixes of a few tracks..
The EP "Time" was out in the spring of 96 - one year after the premiere of the debut album. Many people were surprised from its sound when it appeared in shops. The band was also afraid of being unaccepted in this new format, but the reaction of the fans was just as spontaneous as it was for the first album. At the end of the summer of 96, Fading Colours played a wonderful concert at "Castle Party" in Grodziec, with such known Polish bands as Artrosis and Closterkeller. In November, the band was a guest at the European controversial goth festival "The Carnival Of Souls" in England. After this gig, they played a lot of concerts in Germany and U.K. until spring '97.
In between this time, Fading Colours were featured on a few compilations. They recorded their own version of Depeche's Mode's "Clean." The track "Spring" was used for the compilation "Dive Ex Machina" - a presentation of the best, female-lead gothic 'n' wave groups.
In January 1997, Leszek Rakowski and Daniel Kleczynski created their production company "Deep Space Productions" (they are also both members of another techno-trance group - Mesmerisa), which have produced other Polish techno bands. Their first album was compilation "Hipnotic Drum'n'Bass" published in July.
Also in July of 1997, there appeared rumours of a new Fading Colours album.
Work on new album started in the spring of 1997. The band decided to record this album with their own equipment, with the help of only a few friends. The vocals of De Coy were recorded at SPAART studio in PL, and the rest of the music was made with synthesizers, sequencers and computers. Andreas Bruhn helped them with the song "In This Garden Of Mine", and Anne Clark, who is an old friend of the band appeared on track "Eveline." The co-author of the lyrics for this song was Tomasz Beksinski.
The new album "I'm Scared Of..." was out in March 1998. Response for this album was immediate. One of the most important music magazines in Germany, "Zillo" called "I'm Scared Of..." - "Talent Of The Month" and made extra promotion for the band. Additionally, the World of Music decided to promote the album in its shops, and it was placed on separate shelf with the possibility to hear it before buying.
In April, the band played few concerts at the "Dion Fortune Spring Festival" in Germany. They were invited to play at "ZeitGeist Festival" in U.K. and to "Castle Party '98" in Poland during the summer.
The spring of 1998 brought another "Castle Party" (It's sixth edition!). This fest is now the biggest gothic-darkwave fest in mid Europe. The bands at the fest this time were: Attrition (UK), Inkubus Sukkubus (UK), Fading Colours, Closterkeller, Artrosis, Aion, God's Own Medicine, T.R.H., P.Vampire (USA) and contest bands. It was the 10th anniversary of Closterkeller, and they have made it big!
Fading Colours played on the second day, before Closterkeller. De Coy, Leszek and Krzysiek appeared against a techno, fluoro-background, between and within the flashes of stroboscope lights. De Coy looked and sang stunningly. Those who didn't see the gig - shall regret it! They started with "Lorelei", then in turn "Enchanted", "Clean", "Hypocrisy", later "Time", "Lie" and then a total shock - 2 pieces from the "Black Horse" album - "Colours" and the title song - both in completely changed, electrified, very danceable versions. At the end, they played "Eveline," whose original was performed with Anne Clark on the "I'm Scared Of..." album...
Traditionally, the year 1999 brought us another great performance at "Castle Party" and an announcement of a new album - scheduled for release somewhen in the 2002...
still
Fading Colours Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the glow of your eyes
My fear
Still lingers by my side
Still you dwell in my mind
You open my eyes
And breathe your life
Into my mouth
You cannot take away my fear
Crumpled sheets
Reminders of the night
Words drift in silence
Clocks tick away the time
And I'm afraid
To spread my wings and fly
My mortal fear
Still lingers by my side
You are unaware
It's winter in my eyes
You kiss my freezing lips
I'm Death in Love's disguise
Hypocrisy
Between heaven and earth
A piece of mind held
And given away
Like the last supper bread
Idealistic story
Of kingdom come glory
Too sweet to believe
Makes me throw up instead
So I'm looking for
A new food for my soul
This burden's
Too heavy to hold
And in the flood of dirt
I'm waiting for the world To reconcile
Lies, death and love
The lyrics of Fading Colours's "Still" talks about the overwhelming emotions that come with being in love and how it can be difficult to shake off the fears that come with it. The singer expresses how they bask in the glow of their lover's eyes, but at the same time, fear still lingers by their side, making it hard for them to spread their wings and fly. The lover is all the singer can think about; they open their eyes and breathe life into them, but they cannot take away the fear that comes with being in love.
The crumpled sheets, reminders of the night, bring back memories of the emotions felt in the moment. The words that were spoken during that time now drift away in silence, with the clock ticking away the time. The singer is afraid of what the future holds, of moving forward and taking risks - their mortal fear lingers by their side.
The hypocrisy of it all is highlighted in the song. The singer talks about the kiss of their lover on their freezing lips, yet they're Death in Love's disguise. They're torn between heaven and earth, with a piece of their mind held and given away, like the last supper bread. The idealistic story of kingdom come glory is too sweet to believe, so they throw up instead. They're now looking for new food for their soul as the burden of all that's happening is too heavy to hold. In the flood of dirt, they are waiting for the world to reconcile. Lies, death, and love - all three are heavy and can take a toll on one's emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Still I bask
I am continuously enjoying the warm feeling of being with you
In the glow of your eyes
I am still absorbed by the intensity of your gaze
My fear
I continue to be afraid
Still lingers by my side
It is constantly present with me
Still you dwell in my mind
I cannot shake you from my thoughts
You open my eyes
You allow me to see things differently
And breathe your life
You infuse your energy and spirit
Into my mouth
Into the very core of my being
But still
However,
You cannot take away my fear
You cannot remove my anxiety entirely
Crumpled sheets
The bedsheets are in disarray
Reminders of the night
A reminder of the night we shared
Words drift in silence
There is a peaceful silence between us
Clocks tick away the time
The passage of time is marked by the sounds of the ticking clocks
And I'm afraid
I am still filled with fear
To spread my wings and fly
I am scared to take risks and move forward
My mortal fear
My deepest fear
Still lingers by my side
It remains with me
You are unaware
You do not realize
It's winter in my eyes
I am feeling cold and sad inside
You kiss my freezing lips
Your kiss does not warm me up
I'm Death in Love's disguise
I am in love, but I feel like I am dying inside
Hypocrisy
There is a contradiction between my feelings and my actions
Between heaven and earth
In the realm between the spiritual and the physical
A piece of mind held
A sense of peace and stability being maintained
And given away
And then suddenly relinquished
Like the last supper bread
As if it were the final thing that I was going to offer
Idealistic story
A dreamy and optimistic narrative
Of kingdom come glory
Of a grand and majestic future
Too sweet to believe
Too fanciful to accept as reality
Makes me throw up instead
What I thought was beautiful actually makes me feel sick
So I'm looking for
Therefore I am searching for
A new food for my soul
Something that will nourish me spiritually
This burden's
This heavy load I am carrying is
Too heavy to hold
Unbearable to keep carrying on my own
And in the flood of dirt
Amidst the chaos and degradation
I'm waiting for the world to reconcile
I am waiting for the world to come together and find peace
Lies, death and love
The harsh and paradoxical realities of life
Contributed by Kaylee G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.