For a brief and almost forgotten time shoegazing dominated what passed for the British indie scene. In the early 90's – right after Madchester and right before Brit-Pop – bands such as Lush found their way into the top 40, Ride headlined Reading festival and Curve were the darlings of the music weeklies (this was a time when you could still speak of them in plural). Influenced by the distorted swirling guitar sounds of My Bloody Valentine and the ethereal quality of Cocteau Twins songs, the music of shoegazing bands was – as US journalist Corey DuBrowa writes – most accurately expressed in liquid derivatives: „Waves of distortion, cascading guitar feedback, oceanic swirls of keyboard and percussion, rainswept sonic vistas, washes of sound where no one voice (human or instrumental) was distinguishable from another." Named "shoegazers" by Meldoy Maker's Steve Sutherland for their on-stage habit of staring down at their shoes and numerous effect pedals, these groups wedded blissfull guitar feedback with dreamy vocal melodies often sung by women such as Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson (Lush) and Toni Halliday. Many of the bands came from the Thames Valley area of outheastern England, toured together and attended each other's concerts – the reason why they were also dubbed the "the scene that celebrates itself" by the indie press. The shoegazers were more reflective and introspective than groups such as The Happy Mondays and Stones Roses who came before and others like Oasis that came after them. Their music was one "born in the bedroom rather than on the dancefloor" (Face 1991). The shoegazing scene didn't last long – only few of the bands succeeded in matching the quality and success of their early releases again. Today - more than a decade beyond the shoegazing scene's initial impact – the sounds of these groups surfaces again. Their sound had an impact on bands such as Sigur Ros, Mogwai and Mew and also feeds back in the music of melodic electronic producers like Ulrich Schnauss and M83. In Portland/Oregon indie label Reverb recently released a compilation of like minded west coast bands called NWshoegazerbliss, while Berlin's Morr Music issued a record of electronic Slowdive cover versions called Blue Skied An Clear. This compilation offers an opportunity to listen once again to the original shoegazers - most of whose records unfortunately remain out of print. Tracklisting: 1. Revolver "Heaven Sent An Angel" 2. Moose "Last Night I Fell Again" 3. The Telescopes "All A Dreams" 4. Ride "Like A Daydream" 5. Blind Mr Jones "Small Caravan" 6. Slowdive "Catch The Breeze" 7. Pale Saints "Sea of Sound" 8. Lush "De-Luxe" 9. Drop Nineteens "Winona" 10. Adorable "Sunshine Smile" 11. Swervedriver "Rave Down" - featuring out of print shoegazing/dreampop classics by bands such as Ride, Slowdive, Lush and Pale Saints - extensive linernotes including a history of shoegazing and band biographies - booklike CD package by Herzog-Idex (Asthmatic Worm, Jazzanova, Disco Nouveau...) - artwork by Julian House/Intro (Primal Scream, Stereolab, Broadcast, Asthmatic Worm...)