Cay (band)
Encyclopedia
Cay were a London
-based alternative rock
band (containing members from the Netherlands
, Sweden
, England
and Northern Ireland
) as who were active in the late 1990s. The band released one album and recorded several radio sessions for the BBC
.
, London
in the mid-1990s around the nucleus of Dutch singer/rhythm guitarist Anet Mook and Swedish guitarist/pianist Nicky Olofsson, who were musical and romantic partners. The lineup solidified with the addition of London bass guitarist Tom Harrison and Northern Irish drummer Mark Bullock. The band name was hastily improvised from the initials of one of their demo tracks ("Cool As You") when Mook was talking to a record company.
Cay drew on a variety of influences, predominantly “punky, grungy” material such as Nirvana
, Sonic Youth
and The Sex Pistols (which, in tandem with Mook’s hoarse and lacerating vocals, brought them comparisons to Hole
which they ultimately found unwelcome). However, the band would also cite more diverse influences (such as Robert Fripp
, or Mook’s childhood love of diva singers including Diana Ross
, Barbara Streisand and Billie Holiday
). The band's approach was often more technically exploratory than many of their peers, leading to further comparisons with bands such as Gang of Four
and Nomeansno
.
Cay's first release was the Better Than Myself EP
, released on Org Records
in 1998, with the band’s first Peel Session
for BBC Radio 1
being broadcast on 20 September. The single and session (and the band’s appearance at that year's In the City music festival in Manchester
) attracted the attention of various record labels including EastWest Records, who signed the band. Two further singles followed on EastWest in early 1999 - "Neurons Like Brandy" and "Princes & Princesses" – with the band gaining further press attention. NME
reviewed a London gig in January commenting that "Cay are simply following in that great Camden tradition of stealing what's best from America and coating it in north London grime."
Cay's debut (and only) album, Nature Creates Freaks was released in July 1999. Reviews were favourable, with the band being compared to the likes of Sonic Youth
, Robert Fripp
and The Breeders
and the NME commenting "this is the album (which Hole
's) Celebrity Skin
should have been. It's the most genuinely angry album you'll hear this year," as well as describing the band’s sound as being "like the devil's own daughter gargling razor blades over the rawest hardcore." The album was followed by a third EastWest single, also called "Nature Creates Freaks". On 3 June 1999, the band recorded its second Peel Session (this time in the "Nearly Live" sequence) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
as part of the Sound City events. The band also won the Best British Newcomer award at the 1999 Kerrang!
Awards.
Despite Cay’s early promise, the band had by now become dogged by substance abuse and infighting which ultimately disrupted their activities and career to such an extent that by the following year the band had been dropped by both their label and their management. In April 2000, both Bullock and Harrison left the band. Mook and Olofsson recruited a new rhythm section for Cay (Chris Hall on drums and Ed Sonriso on bass guitar) and returned to Org Records
, who issued their final single "Resurrexit". The single received airplay on Radio 1 and the band played at the Glastonbury festival on 23 June (with their performance being recorded for a third Peel Session, broadcast the following day), followed by an appearance at Guildford Live Festival in July.
However, the band's internal problems remained unresolved. After a final Peel Session recording on 22 November 2000 (broadcast on 5 December) featuring four new songs – "Sung Through the Rain", "Flying Fools Through Icy Attitudes", "FUNY (A Celebration of New York)" and "Part of the Show" - Cay simply disappeared. There was no formal notification of a split and the songs unveiled in the final Peel Session were never released. Cay’s former drummer Mark Bullock would go on to play on Feeder
's Australian tour in 2000 (he would also play on the band’s Top of the Pops
performance of the "Just A Day" single in late 2001). Despite ongoing curiosity about the whereabouts of Anet Mook and Nicky Olofsson, or news of subsequent musical projects, further news on either was rare or insubstantial over the course of the following decade.
On 15 June 2011, Org Records
founder Sean Organ announced on his Organart site that he had been informed in an e-mail from Mark Bullock of Anet Mook's passing. Mook had been struck by a moving vehicle in Holland. On 16 June 2011, Mark Bullock confirmed in his blog, "Sink of Swirling Stars", that Anet Mook had passed away the previous week, adding that she had struggled with drug addiction for many years. Bullock later clarified the cause of Mook's death by stating that she was struck by a train and was sober and of sound mind at the time. Her funeral was held on the day of Bullock's posting.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band (containing members from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
) as who were active in the late 1990s. The band released one album and recorded several radio sessions for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
History
Cay formed in CamdenCamden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the mid-1990s around the nucleus of Dutch singer/rhythm guitarist Anet Mook and Swedish guitarist/pianist Nicky Olofsson, who were musical and romantic partners. The lineup solidified with the addition of London bass guitarist Tom Harrison and Northern Irish drummer Mark Bullock. The band name was hastily improvised from the initials of one of their demo tracks ("Cool As You") when Mook was talking to a record company.
Cay drew on a variety of influences, predominantly “punky, grungy” material such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and The Sex Pistols (which, in tandem with Mook’s hoarse and lacerating vocals, brought them comparisons to Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
which they ultimately found unwelcome). However, the band would also cite more diverse influences (such as Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, or Mook’s childhood love of diva singers including Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Barbara Streisand and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
). The band's approach was often more technically exploratory than many of their peers, leading to further comparisons with bands such as Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
and Nomeansno
Nomeansno
NoMeansNo is a Canadian progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia and now located in Vancouver.The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe...
.
Cay's first release was the Better Than Myself EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, released on Org Records
Organ (magazine)
Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years...
in 1998, with the band’s first Peel Session
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
being broadcast on 20 September. The single and session (and the band’s appearance at that year's In the City music festival in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
) attracted the attention of various record labels including EastWest Records, who signed the band. Two further singles followed on EastWest in early 1999 - "Neurons Like Brandy" and "Princes & Princesses" – with the band gaining further press attention. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reviewed a London gig in January commenting that "Cay are simply following in that great Camden tradition of stealing what's best from America and coating it in north London grime."
Cay's debut (and only) album, Nature Creates Freaks was released in July 1999. Reviews were favourable, with the band being compared to the likes of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
and The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...
and the NME commenting "this is the album (which Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
's) Celebrity Skin
Celebrity Skin
Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released worldwide by Geffen Records on September 7, 1998 and one day later in the United States...
should have been. It's the most genuinely angry album you'll hear this year," as well as describing the band’s sound as being "like the devil's own daughter gargling razor blades over the rawest hardcore." The album was followed by a third EastWest single, also called "Nature Creates Freaks". On 3 June 1999, the band recorded its second Peel Session (this time in the "Nearly Live" sequence) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
as part of the Sound City events. The band also won the Best British Newcomer award at the 1999 Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
Awards.
Despite Cay’s early promise, the band had by now become dogged by substance abuse and infighting which ultimately disrupted their activities and career to such an extent that by the following year the band had been dropped by both their label and their management. In April 2000, both Bullock and Harrison left the band. Mook and Olofsson recruited a new rhythm section for Cay (Chris Hall on drums and Ed Sonriso on bass guitar) and returned to Org Records
Organ (magazine)
Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years...
, who issued their final single "Resurrexit". The single received airplay on Radio 1 and the band played at the Glastonbury festival on 23 June (with their performance being recorded for a third Peel Session, broadcast the following day), followed by an appearance at Guildford Live Festival in July.
However, the band's internal problems remained unresolved. After a final Peel Session recording on 22 November 2000 (broadcast on 5 December) featuring four new songs – "Sung Through the Rain", "Flying Fools Through Icy Attitudes", "FUNY (A Celebration of New York)" and "Part of the Show" - Cay simply disappeared. There was no formal notification of a split and the songs unveiled in the final Peel Session were never released. Cay’s former drummer Mark Bullock would go on to play on Feeder
Feeder (band)
Feeder are an alternative rock band, formed in Newport, Wales in 1991. Feeder's original line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist Grant Nicholas, drummer Jon Lee and bass player Taka Hirose...
's Australian tour in 2000 (he would also play on the band’s Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
performance of the "Just A Day" single in late 2001). Despite ongoing curiosity about the whereabouts of Anet Mook and Nicky Olofsson, or news of subsequent musical projects, further news on either was rare or insubstantial over the course of the following decade.
On 15 June 2011, Org Records
Organ (magazine)
Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years...
founder Sean Organ announced on his Organart site that he had been informed in an e-mail from Mark Bullock of Anet Mook's passing. Mook had been struck by a moving vehicle in Holland. On 16 June 2011, Mark Bullock confirmed in his blog, "Sink of Swirling Stars", that Anet Mook had passed away the previous week, adding that she had struggled with drug addiction for many years. Bullock later clarified the cause of Mook's death by stating that she was struck by a train and was sober and of sound mind at the time. Her funeral was held on the day of Bullock's posting.
Singles
- Better Than Myself EP (1998) Org RecordsOrgan (magazine)Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years...
- "Neurons Like Brandy" (1999) EastWest
- "Princes & Princesses" (1999) EastWest
- "Nature Creates Freaks" (1999) EastWest
- "Resurrexit" (2000) Org RecordsOrgan (magazine)Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years...