Belle & Sebastian - The State I Am In
I gave myself to sin. I gave myself to providence.
Album: Tigermilk [debut album]
Recorded: Glasgow, Scotland
Genre: Twee Pop
Album Release: June 6th 1996
Length: 3.27
Producer: Alan Rankine
Vocalist: Stuart Murdoch [age 27]
Label: Electric Honey
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Spotify: 6,700,000 +
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Pitchfork Top 200 Songs of the 90s: #17
Credits
Details
- The album was recorded in the space of three days.
- The band take their name from a 1965 French television series for children about a six year old orphan boy called Sebastian who lives in the Alps with his dog Belle.
- 'Tigermilk' was the name of a song that was recorded but left off the album. The albums cover features a woman breastfeeding a tiger shaped cuddly toy in honour of the title. The cover is in black and white and feels artistic but playful as it has a nearly naked woman (Murdoch's then girlfriend) playing with a childrens toy. Even though the woman is beautiful the photograph isn't sexy. It is however intimate and has a humorous innocence that reflects the music well.
- Stuart Murdoch became a songwriter out of isolation. He was unable to work for seven years after developing chronic fatigue syndrome and wrote songs to pass the time. As the years went by his work developed a religiosity which is evident on 'The State I Am In' with lyrics such as "so I gave myself to God". Murdoch has said that he found himself humming hymns and didn't know why until one Sunday he went to a church service and has been going every week since.
Murdoch's musical nucleus formed while he was was sat fatigued for all those years thinking about God and songwriting and reminiscing about his childhood. His band is named after a childrens television series after all. The music has a wistful quality to it like it's looking back on the past fondly, but with some regret, as if he is sad that his childhood is gone. Maybe he thinks about what he could have done with those lost years. 'Tigermilk' features a song called 'We Rule the School' but it's sang by a 27 year old man. The title isn't 'We Ruled the School' as in past tense but rule as in the present as if it's not a memory but an experience that is being relived. The entire album has a sense of nostalgia and melancholy that the band carried forward into the rest of their career. - Electric Honey is a student label set up by Stow College in Glasgow as a way of helping students gain first hand experience of working in the music industry. It also provided a place for them to showcase their songs. The labels first album was 'Tigermilk' which came out in 1996. They would go on to release efforts by notable Scottish acts such as Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol which goes to show how effective these programs can be.
- As it was a student label Electric Honey only released 1000 copies of the album. The record was well received by critics and after featuring on BBC radio the resulting surge in demand drove the price of the album up to £600 per copy. A reissue was released in 1999 on Jeepster Recordings. The original is now highly sought after by collectors.
Artwork
