The band consists of Rachel Goswell (vocals/guitar), Neil Halstead (vocals/guitar), Nick Chaplin (bass), Christian Savill (guitar), and Simon Scott (drums, 1990-1994, 2014-present); additionally, Ian McCutcheon replaced Scott from 1994-1995. Goswell and Halstead had known each other since early childhood in Reading, Berkshire.
Initial demos were released as the Slowdive EP in late 1990; the band's sound was influenced by the Cocteau Twins and Creation labelmates My Bloody Valentine, featuring heavy use of guitar effects and muted vocals. Reviews in Melody Maker and the NME were enthusiastic, and two further well-regarded EPs followed in 1991 (Morningrise & Holding Our Breath). Their debut LP Just for a Day was written and recorded in six weeks, and was generally felt to be a disappointment at the time. At the same time, the UK music press had started to pick up on the American grunge scene, and the more introspective sounds of Slowdive, labelmates Ride, Chapterhouse and other "shoegazing" bands had fallen from critical favour. American label SBK pushed back the release of Just for a Day after a disastrous viral marketing campaign (involving vandalism of a public statue). In early 1992, the band toured the USA with Ride, and then returned to the UK to record a second album.
The band's second album, Souvlaki, would later become generally the band's most popular and well-received record. The album broke new ground for the band: two songs featured contributions from Brian Eno; "Souvlaki Space Station" was influenced by dub reggae; tracks such as "Dagger" and "Here She Comes" would become indications of the country-rock direction Halstead and Goswell would take a few years later; and several songs such as "When the Sun Hits" and "Alison" continued the style of the first album, but with improved songwriting. Initial copies of the UK version came with Blue Day, a compilation of most of the early EP tracks originally released as a separate album in Japan and some European countries. Later in the year, the band also released the 5 EP, containing four songs showcasing the influence of ambient techno; the lead track "In Mind" was also remixed by Bandulu and Reload (both then signed to Creation's dance label).
As with the first album, SBK delayed Souvlaki's release, and the band found themselves touring the USA in the summer of 1993 as Catherine Wheel's supporting act with no product to promote. The US version of Souvlaki was eventually released in early 1994, and included "Some Velvet Morning" (originally recorded for the Volume 7 compilation) and three of the tracks from the 5 EP. When Slowdive were finally able to tour America to support the album, SBK withdrew their funding halfway through; two further tours in 1994 were entirely funded by the band.
Simon Scott left amidst creative differences in 1994; he was replaced on drums by Ian McCutcheon. The band had almost become a Halstead solo project by the recording of their final album, 1995's Pygmalion. A critically misunderstood and widely-misinterpreted "ambient" record, Pygmalion took the dreamy guitar sound and warm-yet-solemn tone of earlier Slowdive to a newer, more minimalist extreme, similar to earlier dream pop bands such as A R Kane, or bands such as Labradford.
Slowdive was dropped by Creation in 1995 a week after the release of Pygmalion; Halstead had been warned before the recording of the album that the relationship with the label would end unless he delivered a "pop album". A legend arose that the band was dropped due to the Gallagher brothers refusing to sign Oasis to Creation if Slowdive and their counterparts remained on the label's roster, although Oasis had in fact released their debut single almost a year before Pygmalion.
After being dropped from Creation, Slowdive eventually went on hiatus later in 1995. Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon recorded an album of country-influenced songs, and were signed to label 4AD, changing the band name to Mojave 3. Halstead and Goswell have also both released solo albums for 4AD.
Christian Savill went on to form Monster Movie, a dream pop group that continued where Slowdive left off. They have released three albums thus far, Last Night Something Happened, To The Moon, Transistor, and—most recently—All Lost.
Simon Scott formed Televise in 2004, a group which developed the lengthy noise swells and experimental song structures that helped define shoegaze while (also) including a more electronic brand of indie rock.
Eventually, all of Slowdive's albums were reissued in late 2005. Just For a Day included a bonus disc with all tracks from the first three EPs, and the three songs recorded for a John Peel session on 26 March 1991. Souvlaki included a bonus disc with all the remaining EP tracks, as well as "Some Velvet Morning" (originally recorded for a compilation). Pygmalion—which had become a collector's item in the years since its release due to it never being issued in the USA—contained no extra material, however.
On January 28, 2014, following a 12-day countdown and the appearance of an official website and Twitter account for the band, Slowdive announced their reunion with the Just for a Day/Souvlaki-era line-up including Simon Scott as drummer. The band was confirmed the same day to be playing the 2014 Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain. 2014 saw the band go on a 5 month, 40 date long tour. In January 2017, Slowdive released their first new single in 22 years on the Dead Oceans label. Another single and a self titled fourth album followed in May 2017, preceded by another single, "Sugar for the Pill".
In September 2020, Slowdive announced they had begun work on their fifth studio album. In April 2023, the band confirmed on a podcast that they had finished their new album. The lead single "Kisses" was released on 20 June 2023, and later that month the band played the Glastonbury Festival for the first time. The album's second single "Skin in the Game" was released on 18 July 2023, followed by "The Slab" and "Alife" in August, and the album Everything Is Alive, was released on 1 September 2023.
Sleep
Slowdive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through dreams of perfect sleep
Sleep away from me
You know what's in my mind
When you go I'm crying
Dream dream away from me
When the Lord embrace you
When I close my eyes
Your fate shall be free
When I see you drowning
I'll dream dream away from you
The lyrics to "Sleep" by Slowdive exhibit a bittersweet tone filled with a combination of hope, sadness, and longing. The main theme of the song is about a lover being separated from the singer. The opening line "I can see you laughing through dreams of perfect sleep" showcases that the lover is present in the singer's dreams, where they can see them in perfect happiness. However, the next two lines "Sleep away from me/You know what's in my mind" suggest that despite the lover being present in their dreams, they cannot be with each other in reality, and the singer is left alone and pining for them.
The second stanza begins with "When the Lord embrace you/Bow down, spare the reed," which may imply that the lover is leaving or has died. The following line, "When I close my eyes/ Your fate shall be free," reinforces this interpretation, as the singer is saying that when they think of the lover, they will release them and let go of any hold they had on them. The final line, "When I see you drowning/I'll dream dream away from you," adds a sense of despair, indicating that the singer cannot save their lover from whatever they are going through, and can only mourn from afar.
Overall, "Sleep" is a melancholic but beautiful expression of a love that is no longer possible. The lyrics are haunting and evoke a strong sense of emotion, making the song one of Slowdive's most memorable compositions.
Line by Line Meaning
I can see you laughing
I am aware of the fact that you are happy
Through dreams of perfect sleep
You seem content and peaceful in your dreams
Sleep away from me
Go to sleep somewhere else, away from me
You know what's in my mind
You are familiar with my thoughts and feelings
When you go I'm crying
I am sad when you leave
Dream dream away from me
Please have your dreams somewhere else, not around me
When the Lord embrace you
When God welcomes you into his embrace
Bow down, spare the reed
Submit to God and spare the weak
When I close my eyes
When I go to sleep
Your fate shall be free
You will be released from your destiny
When I see you drowning
If I witness you struggling and in trouble
I'll dream dream away from you
I will try to escape you by dreaming elsewhere
Contributed by Micah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@user-ip9yu7lp1q
Lyrics
I can see you laughing
Through dreams of perfect sleep
Sleep away from me
You know what's in my mind
When you go I'm crying
Dream dream away from me
When the Lord embrace you
Bow down, spare the reed
When I close my eyes
Your fate shall be free
When I see you drowning
I'll dream dream away from you
@sofiesteves2929
Lyrics:
I can see you laughing
Through dreams of perfect sleep
Sleep away from me
You know what's in my mind
When you go I'm crying
Dream dream away from me
When the Lord embrace you
Bow down, spare the reed
When I close my eyes
Your fate shall be free
When I see you drowning
I'll dream dream away from you
@SWard-oe8oj
[Verse 1]
I can see you laughing
Through dreams of perfect sleep
Sleep away from me
You know what's in my mind
When you go I'm crying
Dream, dream away from me
[Verse 2]
When the Lord embrace you
Bow down, spare the reed
When I close my eyes
Your fate shall be free
When I see you drowning
I'll dream, dream away from you
@lorandsilye1464
I'm speechless, feel worthless,
I hope that you'll return to me.
My soul will wait until
You return and stay 'till the end of times.
I'm crying, while sleeping
I want you to be here next to me.
I love you, I feel you,
But you're so far away from me.
... Just a little poem I wrote to the beat, don't judge me please...
@feathers2620
If you are 15-19 plz make every moment count man....talk to ur crush, go make friends, make memories with them, smile, laugh a lot, hug ur mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, time flies so fast and u can not go back, my heart aches so much because I took my teen years for granted, All the nights I stayed home instead of hanging with my friends cuz I was mad at something so little...now we all are splitting up and going into our own little universes, we’re so small and life and time is so precious plz make it count, cuz one day it’ll all be over and you’ll be looking back with the same heart ache I have, love u all ❤️
@berinchtein
Trying to do that but I still can't get over the fact that i will lose this life in a couple years and I feel like that's the thing that ruins it for me. I should just not think about it but it's so hard hearing adults speaking about how they miss their teen years and it just feels like so much pressure to enjoy everything even though there are up's and downs
@eduardoo31
@@berinchtein i think it's less about 'trying to enjoy everything' than not closing yourself off to outside possibilities. which was what many of us did, what many of us regret having done when we reach old age (26 years in my case hahaha)
@johndon2536
Sucks to be you lol 😂
@Imsboy
')
@hcc942
Haha, life does not end at 19, or 25, or 30, or ever until it does. Between 15-19 those are fun years owing to minimum responsibility but you are naive and likely broke at that age and putting too great an emphasis on things. I am 32, enjoyed my teenage years but would not go back in a heartbeat. The difference is now, I have money so can travel pretty much wherever and whenever I want, I have old and cherished friendships from when I was 15-19, no ridiculous social pressures of school or wanting to be "cool", and still party when I want (although a few friends have dropped off partying to start families and I myself am the godfather to two of my friends kids). If you are 15-19 you have so much youth left, I didn't consider myself a proper "adult" until 28 (despite finishing university and having multiple professional jobs from the age of 23). The point is, you are only as old as you feel, I know 40 year olds who go to festivals, surf, skate and travel the world. You would not catch those guys being upset that their so-called "best years" are behind them. That being said, do cherish your older relatives and your friends
@winrenos
I was only 19 when I first discovered this song. I am now 35 years old.
I wish you all a happy life.
@redbullriders222
time goes by so fast, wow
@TheBergenCity
I am 40 years old, found this song today. Greetings from Norway:)
@vishalsingh9417
@@TheBergenCity one of my dream is to visit Bergen one day...and then go further North to Trømso to see the northern lights