Shikhee (vocals, keys)
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| Android Lust Shikhee (vocals, keys) |
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"Android Lust began in the autumn of 1995. Borrowing elements of rock, industrial, gothic and classical, Android Lust presents a blend of music that is dark, icy, and fiercely emotional. Born in Bangladesh, schooled in England and the United States, Shikhee's background is as varied as her musical influences, ranging from classical to contemporary. After several attempts at traditional band situations, Shikhee finally decided to take a new approach as a solo artist, thus the creation of Android Lust. "
-- androidlust.com
"Shikhee stands out not only for being a one-woman powerhouse (as singer, writer, producer of Android Lust), but also for her keen, uncompromising ear for fresh electronic sound, allying her with talents such as Trent Reznor. "
-- Celine, The Sentimentalist
 ¾
1998:
Resolution "Shikhee's first, full-length album, 'Resolution', released in 1998 under the Tinman Records label, is a testament to the musician's ability to take that which she values from the genres of classical, industrial and synth-pop and combine them together beneath vocal styling that is haunting, if not chilling in some respects. Tracks such as Refuse and Suffer The Flesh made it onto some of the more enlightened dance floors across North America and Europe. While Shikhee did not receive immediate, worldwide recognition for her work, she did turn heads and form a formidable wall of a fan-base around her music. (...) Despite the deception implied by her delicate form and stature, Shikhee moves and sways like a queen wasp while she performs. The overwhelming effect of her movements coupled with vocals that sound as though they are being hissed from between the widening jaws of a Burmese python alongside hypnotic, infectiously venomous beats and rhythms is, quite simply, hellish...and I mean that in the best, possible way. "
-- Shannon Hennessy, Ink19.com
1999: Evolution "An enhanced remix album. Contains five new tracks, including a cover of Bauhaus' Slice of Life, and remixes by I, Parasite, Cydonia, Gridlock, Crocodile Shop and Occultechnologies. Noisier and more abrasive than 'Resolution'. Also, includes a live video of Refuse shot at The Bank in New York City. Evolution is just that, an evolution of Android Lust's sound, a link between the debut album 'Resolution' and their forthcoming full length. The CD features high energy industrial dancefloor tracks next to harsh instumentals, bringing together aspects of electro and an ominous atmosphere."
projekt.com
¾ 2003:
The Dividing "With her new album, Shikhee defies all boundaries of industrial music clichés. By far her most intimate and open work to date, 'The Dividing' presents a blend of industrial, goth, classical, or yet avant-garde rock. It holds a blend of dark and icy tracks with tortured emotional vocals. The album reveals such a sonic wealth and mood diversity that it brings you from euphoria to deep depression in no time. For the first time as well, Android Lust is using some real instruments including flute, viola, and a little bit of acoustic guitar, that adds a more organic dimension to her dense and intricate electronic arrangements. Shikhee's female vocals are also much more present on this release and reveal a hypnotizing wide vocal range that left me breathless...From the over distorted screamed laments that take you at the throat and tease with chaos (Sex and Mutilation or the great Kingdom of One), to the smothered spoken words (Another Void, Fall to Fragments) that give you the chill, through the nearly unprocessed clean moving chants (Burn). I really love when the voice goes through various filters and effects throughout the same song jumping from a sung chorus to angrier verses. Follow is a real pearl in that genre next to the pervious single title track The Want! 'The Dividing' is that kind of album that one might define as timeless, and that is bound to become a classic for sure! Android Lust is unique and shines through the sensual and sensitive person of Shikhee who has nothing to envy of Trent Reznor, the artist she might be the closest to, if any comparison would really be requested. Painfully beautiful? beautifully painful."
-- Séba Dolimont, Side-Line
½
2005:
Devour, Rise and Take Flight
Tracklisting: 1.Lover Thine 2. Hole Solution 3. Dragonfly 4. Wicked Days 5.The Body 6. Leah 7. Sense of it All 8. Fell The Empty Mask 9. Memory Game 10.Thomael 11.Linguae 12.Unrecognize 13. Leave It Behind (Bonus Track) "Shikhee has been making quite the name for herself in the indie electronic music community. Her music evolves with each release, showing a greater musical range than the plethora of unoriginal and copycat bands in the scene. Shikhee redefines herself with 'Devour, Rise, and Take Flight', with complex rhythms supporting multi-layered vocal melodies, and textural sounding electronica that somehow conjures minimalism with a surprisingly layered and lush sound. A glutted genre receives much deserved nobility."
-- press release
"Songwriter/musician Shikhee returns with her latest album
of unstable electrogoth. I'm not a huge fan of this style of music, but I gotta
admit, Shikhee does it better than just about anybody. She's equally adept at
harsh, pounding tracks like The Bodyand Lover Thine as she is
more pop-friendly loads like Wicked Days and Hole Solution.
There's also a genuine exorcist feel here; this is the sound of someone working
out her demons in a way as friendly to the masses as she's capable of doing.
Nine Inch Nails hasn't been this interesting since
1993."
-- Michael Toland, highbias.com, 2/06
2010:
The Human Animal Tracklisting: 1.Intimate Stranger 2.Rub Me Raw 3.Saint Over 4.God in the Hole 5.It's on You 6.The Return 7.A New Heaven 8.Into the Sun 9.One World 10.Flow (of impermanence) 11.God in the Hole (version) - remix by Jerome Dillon and Anthony Baldino "...[Shikhee has] finally released her new full-length record 'The Human Animal' through her own label, and the latest evolution of her seductively sinister sound still has the power to haunt your dreams. Blending solid electronic compositions, found sounds gathered from NYC streets and subways via portable recorder, and contributions from Shikhee's live band, 'The Human Animal' is a macabre collage of layers and textures, all wired, patched and welded into a harsh electro-rock framework to the point where it's often hard to pick out where one element ends and the next begins... but everything is tied together by the brooding lyrics, which explore feelings of isolation, lust and pain through Shikhee's unique and powerful vocals. While not strictly a concept album, this project does stick to a theme, which Shikhee has described as “a journey through the psyche of man, as man realizes the futility of living in the grips of ego and surrenders to seek answers within.” That theme becomes immediately apparent as the chaotic street noises and vocal samples of Intimate Stranger kick off the album with a note of tension and uncertainty, finally dissolving into white noise. But the sexually-charged Rub Me Raw manages to release that tension, becoming one of the strongest entries on the album both lyrically and vocally, and features a great throbbing (yes, throbbing) bass & rhythm line. (...) Cryptic, shuffling synth pulses and surreal, dissonant guitar leads make God in the Hole a decidedly dark mid-tempo dance number that should score major marks in goth circles. Former NIN drummer Jerome Dillon later gives God in the Hole a surprisingly romantic remix treatment, soaking Shikhee's voice with reverb – while still retaining the intimacy of her lyrics – before slipping a dark, muffled piano and synthetic rhythms underneath. The imprint of Shikhee's backing band comes through most effectively in tracks like Into the Sun, where fuzzy percussion samples and low bass create a gritty vibe – an interesting contrast to the surprisingly optimistic lyrics – and climaxes with an incredibly cool guitar riff. This more uplifting mood continues in the cosmic groove of One World, which features some smooth and subtle layers of electric and acoustic guitar..."
-- Gregory Burkart, fearnet.com, 8/10
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