Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
Encyclopedia
Wasp Star is the thirteenth and last studio album
by XTC
, released on Cooking Vinyl
/Idea Records
on 23 May 2000. It is the second volume of the Apple Venus set.
This album was the first album featuring only Partridge and Moulding as XTC. Partridge's daughter Holly made her singing debut on record singing backup vocals in the song "Playground"; she now sings and plays guitar in the English pop-rock group The SheBeats.
In 2002 XTC released an instrumental version of the album entitled Waspstrumental
.
Additional musicians
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, released on Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
/Idea Records
Idea Records
Idea Records is a British independent record label. It was established in the late 1990s by Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, the two main members of the British rock band XTC, and was set up to release the band's own recordings...
on 23 May 2000. It is the second volume of the Apple Venus set.
This album was the first album featuring only Partridge and Moulding as XTC. Partridge's daughter Holly made her singing debut on record singing backup vocals in the song "Playground"; she now sings and plays guitar in the English pop-rock group The SheBeats.
In 2002 XTC released an instrumental version of the album entitled Waspstrumental
Waspstrumental
Waspstrumental is a 2002 instrumental version of XTC's Wasp Star album released in 2000 by Idea Records.-UK CD: IDEACD 006:All songs written by Andy Partridge, except where noted.#"Playground" – 4:19...
.
UK CD: COOKCD 194
Personnel
XTC- Colin MouldingColin MouldingColin Ivor Moulding is a bassist, songwriter and vocalist. He is a founding member of the band XTC. Though less prolific than bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote many of the group's most popular songs, including their first three UK hit singles: "Life Begins At The Hop", "Making Plans For...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
on "In Another Life", guitar on "Boarded Up" - Andy PartridgeAndy PartridgeAndrew John "Andy" Partridge is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.Partridge also...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
Additional musicians
- Caroline DaleCaroline DaleCaroline Dale is a widely-recorded British cellist who has performed music for numerous films, including Truly, Madly, Deeply, Hilary and Jackie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and 2007's Academy Award winner Atonement...
– celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - Nick Davis – keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
- Simon Gardner – flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
- Patrick Kiernan – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Peter Lale – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Holly Partridge – backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on "Playground" - Prairie PrincePrairie PrincePrairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2, 3, 4, 12) - Chuck Sabo – drums (1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Kate St. John – oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- Matt Vaughn – programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
- Gavin WrightGavin WrightGavin Wright is an economic historian and the William Robertson Coe Professor of American Economic History at Stanford University.Most of Wright's research has focused on the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement.- Works :...
– violin
Production
- Haydn BendallHaydn BendallHaydn Bendall is a British music record producer, engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engineer in 2009.-Career:...
– recording engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Nick Davis – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, recording engineering - Simon Dawson – mix engineer
- Alan Douglas – recording engineering
- Barry Hammond – recording engineering
- Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
40 |
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
108 |