46bliss

David Cooper, Clare Veniot, and Jack Freudenheim are 46bliss, the sophisticated electronica band taking over the pop culture landscape by stealth, and not a moment too soon. Showing up on Fox-TV’s Jonny Zero and UPN’s Veronica Mars is one thing, but when the Washington Post does a front page story on their culture assault, it’s official. 46bliss is on the move.

Clare Veniot’s stunning vocals open “In a Long Time” beautifully, setting an ambiance of ethereal mystery. Her velvety tone is perfectly suited for these dreamy soundscapes of taut melodies and throbbing beats. The hypnotically pulsating “Desire Give Way” was featured on Jonny Zero, immediately instigating a flurry of activity on FOX-TV’s website. Electronica band of high excellence spotted on airwaves, high alert. The smoldering “Love in Vision” brings more punchy-pop rhythms to the party, guitar riffs escalating throughout as Jack Freudenheim’s driving percussives keep their feet to the fire.

The richly textured “Yabaseo” stands out for its jungle sounds, percolating rhythms, and sweet strings. This music, each song, is filled with a confident, sensuous complexity; not a tune falls short. The deliberate discordance of “Three Days to Live” only adds to the haunting questions posed in the passionate lyrics. The spacey intro to “Inner Sensation” sets you up for the insistent rock groove to come. This tune is followed perfectly by the spooky subterranean “The Way You Are (Part 2)." 46bliss has put together a palette of solid, mesmerizing works that can only whet your appetite for more. Don’t miss this one.

- Indie-Music.com - April 2nd 2005

"BLISSED OUT: Remember when bands like Depeche Mode, OMD, and Blancmange were all the synth-pop rage? Apparently, David Cooper, Clare Veniot and Jack Freudenheim do. Working together under the band name 46bliss, they've molded a sound that combines elements of that lovely era in '80s music with modern trance/electronica.

Their album, "Pistachio Home," offers an engaging melange of percolating rhythms, taut melodies, and poetic lyrics. There's much here for the pop-minded, including the hypnotically catchy "O Mayday" and the funk-infused potential single "Boy Behind The Veil." Although the material works extremely well in recorded form, the New York-rooted 46bliss comes to far more vivid life onstage. In fact, it is developing a cult following that's turning its gigs into hippy-like love-ins, replete with crowd sing-alongs and lots of hand-holding. It's quite the experience." - Billboard Magazine

New York City electronic pop outfit 46bliss characterizes its unique blend of acid house and dark, edgy post-New Wave as "transformative, raging calm." Based on the torrential mood storm of found sounds, streamlined grooves and hypnotically engaging vocal arrangements that carry the trio's promising debut album, no description could be closer to the truth. With a range that encompasses everything from deep trance to Galaxie 500-esque guitar swirl to Celtic and South Indian sounds, Pistachio Home is a sheer melting pot of dreamy soundscapes and non-stop rhythms that defy the trappings of the electronica genre. The group even bears a rock 'n' roll heart inside its computer software soul with futuristic renditions of the Beatles' "Across The Universe" and flowerpower diva Melanie's hippie anthem "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)." - CMJ

46 Bliss
electro pop heaven
by Nancy Chow


Largely based on synthetic elements, the electro pop trio 46bliss also has pronounced, eclectic influences from funk to rock. They list The Beatles, Mono and Edith Piaf among their more evident influences such as Depeche Mode and Kate Bush. On their latest record “Wish Me Away,” Clare Veniot and David Cooper trade off vocal duties to exhibit their distinct vocal talents: Veniot has a potent, resilient female voice, whereas Cooper inflects a stoic resonance. Veniot takes lead vocal duties on “You’re Not God,” a song influenced by the homophobic Fred Phelps protesting at military funerals, channeling an admirably defiant Shirley Manson. The track sounds like Garbage returning from their hiatus harder, better, faster and stronger. Following on the theme of laudable female figures, “Joan of Arc” narrates the tale of one of the bravest women in history with a serenading reverence while maintaining an intriguing European air. Sexy, chic and poignant, 46bliss threads intelligence and palpable emotions into a glossy sound.

What’s the story behind the name?
David Cooper: David was traveling on the No. 7 train one day, kind of dozing off in Queens. Then, he heard the conductor say, ��bliss, next stop 46bliss” (kinda like that “Twilight Zone” episode about Willoughby). Turns out there was a 46th St./Bliss St. stop on that line, now simply known as 46th St. So he took note, and about a year later when the band was looking for a name, he brought it up. He didn’t realize it at the time, but Jack Freudenheim had once lived in Queens and got off every day at that stop, and David’s grandfather used to own a bowling alley called “Bliss Lanes” in the same area.
What sets the latest album, “Wish Me Away,” apart from your previous recordings?
Clare Veniot: I’d say it’s a natural growth from out past work. We’ve been collaborating for a number of years and like any partnership, we’ve developed a kind of telepathy! We began with a few jams and a theme emerged from our collective musings – questions about purpose, longing, transcendence, death, and power. A musical imprint of our lives. Musically, we’ve always been somewhat eclectic, tending toward electronic instrumentation. This time we stretched our boundaries, bringing in more acoustic and electric guitars and even theremin and French horns, playing with pop and rock forms as well as electronic and ambient excursions.

You remixed a version of “Silent Night” sung by Mahalia Jackson. How was remixing such a traditional song?
David Cooper: We picked that song out of 30 different ones that were offered. Mahalia Jackson’s voice was just so moving and strong. We were hoping to do something with respect to her – that she might approve of if she were here to hear it. I think we accomplished that. Still gives me chills when she hits that high note. The song originally was in 3/4, and we changed it to 4/4, but it seemed to make the transition very well without messing up the feel.

And now the tables have turned. Acid Planet is holding a remix contest for “You’re Not God” on its site.
Jack Freudenheim: We’re having a great time listening to the remixes coming out of the contest. There are about 150 up there so far and we’re the judges, so we have a ton of listening to do! We encouraged people to be creative and take chances, and there is really everything from punky to funky to industrial to trance, all using Clare’s vocals – at all kinds of tempos. It’s really a trip. I guess we’re hoping to hear things we never would have imagined doing ourselves, and that’s definitely already happened. We might release some of them on our site or maybe combine the best with other remixes we have of other tracks and put out an EP.

- TheDeliMagazine.com