Sister Soleil - Soularium (1998)

Almost two years ago now (!!) I posted the brilliant pop album from 2001 by aspiring pop starlet Stella Soleil aka Stella Katsoudas. Unfortunately, her solo attempt at mainstream pop stardom never caught on despite great songs. I kept forgetting, until now, to post her debut musical foray as part of group (though really it was mostly her baby) Sister Soleil. According to legend, the Chicago native recorded a 7 track demo EP, and after getting no reaction from labels, created her own label Katharis and acted as her own A&R rep, eventually releasing the EP as Drown Me In You. Universal Records were impressed and signed her, re-recording some tracks from Drown Me In You and releasing them as part of a full album. She got a band together and though they had some underground success, they failed to catch on. As I mentioned previously, the music was very rock-oriented, with large doses of techno and industrial, reminiscent of Garbage or previous Isle postees like Transister. It was even less accessible than those groups, IMO, and remained an acquired taste, with the singles "Torch", "Blind" (which utilizes vocal "inspiration" from Peter Gabriel) and "Butterfly" relegated to late night alt-rock radio. Stella took some time off to reassess her career and 'Stella Soleil' was born a couple years later. After the failure of the Stella Soleil project, she made some guest vocal appearances and formed the rock group Whorse in 2002. They released one self-titled album in 2003 and then split. Eventually Stella reclaimed the name and sound of Sister Soleil. A few demos as Sister Soleil and an EP as Stella Soleil later appeared but that project once again ended when she formed an experimental rock group with Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan in 2009 called Dirty Little Rabbits, who released an album in 2009. But Stella was drawn back to the Sister Soleil project and they most recently independently released a mini-album in 2011 entitled Eskimo, focusing on a more accessible sound. Check out the first video for "Water".

UPDATE: I just found a link to Dirty Little Rabbits' debut album! It's a very strange trip indeed! Go HERE.

Video for Torch

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1		Feel My Love
2		Red
3		HB's Dream In Red
4		Torch
5		Chair
6		Stella's Obsession With Satie
7		AOL
8		Dial Up
9		Hit Me
10		Little Girl
11		Blind
12		"Alright"
13		Liar
14		Strength
15		Lounge Lizard
16		Jacquie And The Bob-Elvis
17		Butterfly

Stella Soleil – Dirty Little Secret (2001)

Around the time that Garbage hit big, there were many female fronted techno-rock groups emerging as well. One of these was Sister Soleil, fronted by blonde beauty Stella Katsoudas. Sister Soleil’s debut album was very hard, very synthy and very strange, not to everyone’s tastes to be sure. As a result, the album went nowhere and Stella branched out on her own in the hopes of attracting a more mainstream audience. As Stella Soleil, she released her only solo album. And what a gem it is! With a voice and look similar to Gwen Stefani, and backed by a battalion of pop and rock producers, Stella crafted perfect dance-pop-rock songs. She should have been huge, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. However, obviously some people took note of the album’s brilliance: her first semi-hit single “Kiss Kiss” (itself a reworking of Turkish star Tarkan’s “Simarik”) was later a hit by Holly Valance, and Aqua lead singer Lene released a version of “Pretty Young Thing” as her second solo single. The album is a pure pop pleasure. Ms. Soleil went on to form the rock group Whorse in 2002, and they released only one album the following year. She also recorded a song with Dolphin in 2003 entitled "Eyes". Eventually she joined the hard funk metal/industrial group Dirty Little Rabbits, who released one self-titled album in 2009.  A couple of years later reformed with Sister Soleil, who self-released a mini album entitled Eskimo in 2011. Check out the video for "Water" for a sample. (And also check out Lastfm, for a free download of over 30 B-Sides & Rarities.)  In 2013, Stella revealed her new alter ego, DubWitch, and released several videos and eventually an album in 2014, which you can download for free at Bandcamp!  You MUST check it out, as it contains the best elements of all of Stella's previous bands and solo work, including a dark electronic twist and her unmistakable vocals.  The girl just keeps going strong!

Video for Kiss Kiss

Download Dirty Little Secret

1		Kiss Kiss
2		Pretty Young Thing
3		You
4		Imperfect
5		Runaway Crush
6		Stand Up
7		Love You To Death
8		Angel Face
9		Twilight
10		Look My Way
11		Let's Just Go To Bed
12		Dance With Me