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Born
and raised in communist Bulgaria,
Krassy Halatchev
(Icicle) grew up with a few tight friends who were true music maniacs. Being
one of them as well, he studied and analyzed every note of the repertoire of
his favourite bands (Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Police, The B-52’s, Depeche Mode,
The Cure, The Clash…). With a little help from his friends (and band mates)
he bought his first bass guitar – a Fender Music Master. It proved to be the
best investment he ever made, for it changed Krassy’s life.
Following years of ardent practicing and playing in garages and clubs, the skilled
musician fled from his native country and landed in Montreal one freezing-cold
winter day in 1990. His brother-like peers from the band The Clouds accompanied
him in this new and exiting adventure. At the time they were passionately devoted
to the 90’s psychedelic rock. After many subway and club gigs, considerable
magazine and newspaper coverage, and two full-length albums, the members of
the band decided to explore new horizons, this time separately.
In 1996 Krassy joined the band Chiwawa. Produced by Steve Whitfield (The Cure,
The Mission, The Trash Can Sinatras) and recorded at The Mission’s studio in
Bristol, Chiwawa’s first album The Sick World of Yona won the attention of the
media. Becoming a core member of the group, Krassy composed and sang a major
part of Chiwawa’s seven albums worth of material.
In 2014 Icicle released his first solo album, Resurgence.
Multifaceted and very seasoned, this 13-piece oeuvre represents a passage door
between the past and the future, a quintessence of lessons learned and dreams
that lay ahead.
His second album, Theorems (2015) cemented Icicle’s broad musical path where
rock, pop and funk elements stir a mixture of fresh, innovative and genre defiant
sound – Icicle’s specialty.
Full Album show
of
October 8
with the
Album: Prudence
About the Album
This forthcoming, 13th to date studio album, is another excellent example of
Icicle’s unique sound and poignant lyrics.
Written and recorded by the songwriter/bassist/singer in his Montreal
studio, the album taps into the sonic palettes and lyrical themes of its
predecessors.
“PRUDENCE is a record that I’ve been working on for a while,” Halatchev
says. “I’d like to think that it captures the ups and downs of modern life
and all the small print in between”.
The groove-led first single ‘Not at Ease’ (track 10) reveals Halatchev’s
look back on his turbulent and traumatic childhood. It is blunt and does not
shy away from exposing the weight it poses on him to this day. “Our traumas
and our memories are what defines us. Confronting them is the only way to
heal and grow.”
The second single ‘You Got Me Running’ (track 9) is about a heavy period he
endured with his long-time partner.
“The feeling of love and all its complications and the reality of a life
without that love…
It’s basically saying, albeit with a few dark edges, ‘My life is better with
you in it’.”
Halatchev continues – “I think this song is very much light and dark in
equal measures. Those contradictions are like love itself – exuberant and
painful; blissful and melancholic…”
The closing song (track 12) ‘Beetle on My Thumb’ draws on lyrics by
Halatchev’s said partner in crime, Antonia Gueorguieva.
“This is not her first rodeo” he chuckles. “In fact, she has written a
number of lyrics for Icicle over the years for which I am grateful and
humbled. All I can add is that I couldn’t have put it better!”
For more info please visit
Icicle’s website.
Full Album show
of
June 5, 2023
with the
Album: Bareness Vol. 1
About the Album
Stripped down, semi-acoustic (unplugged) collection of songs
Volume 1 of 3
For more info please visit
Icicle’s website.
Full Album show
of
March 1, 2023
with the
Album:
Coalescence
Herd
Records Is Proud to Announce COALESCENCE
by Icicle
Krassy Halatchev (Icicle) has proven with his 11 studio albums to date that
he has a lot of colours in his musical palette.
COALESCENCE is the 12th studio record, and yet another milestone in Icicle’s
fascinating and unpredictable music journey.
The record unfolds as an intoxicating rainbow of auditory treats, making it
a winter smash for the spring season.
The first single, Think Fast and Slow Dance, is a contagious funky number
that grabs you from the get go. The lyrics reminisce and reflect while
riding the wave of a melodic and instantly memorable chorus. Backup vocals
are courtesy of the amazing Kat Howell.
The second single, Fall, is a pure contrast to the former. It is a heavy
guitar driven track with a hefty amount of vigour and intensity. The subject
matter is about overcoming life’s hard knocks –
“We were meant to understand
You gotta get beat to become a man”
The closing track, Reluctant Jesus, features lyrics by Joel Jenkins – a long
time pen-partner of Icicle’s. It is a simple, soft and calm piano-and-vocal
song that is sure to leave you pondering.
COALESCENCE is another kaleidoscopic palette of sonic shapes and moods,
conjuring mental rainbows while tempos, rhythms, melodies, even volume
levels shift to near collapse, before locking together into undeniable hooks
that defy their underlying complexity.
Fans can pre-order the album on BandCamp starting March 1, 2023.
For more info please visit Icicle’s website.
Full Album show
of
April 15, 2022
Album: Axioms
Herd
Records Proudly Presents AXIOMS by Icicle
Krassy Halatchev (Icicle) has proven with his 9 studio albums to date that
he has a lot of colours in his musical palette.
Axioms is no exception with its 12 tracks of driven alt rock/pop that is
chock-full of imagination and good beats. The sound is as eclectic as it is
manic, but it is the quirkiness that unifies it all.
It’s the same kind of musical Krazy-Glue that bonds such acts as Foals, The
Stone Roses, Arctic Monkeys, Beck, Spoon, Blur, Kasabian, Talking Heads… to
name a few.
Halatchev handles the vast majority of the vocals but occasionally, as in
previous records, would invite singers on lead and/or backups. This time it
is the Brit Kat Howell who takes charge of the fairy-tail-ish One Bad Boy
for Every Girl (track 4), duets in Stand Tall, and completes the choruses on
The Force Within (track 2).
Axioms goes in many directions throughout its 12 compositions but the manic,
head-spinning theme continues throughout. Snowman at My Door (track 2) is a
cool, hypnotic trip well backed by acoustic guitar and keys, with the latter
breaking into subtle shimmering stars at the choice moment. This is Not a
Love Song (second single/track 9) is another enjoyable sing-along tune based
around a P.I.L.-esque vocal hook and some hip-hop style well stitched
verses. Desert Tree (first single/track 11) is a beautiful heartfelt piece
about the colliding forces of science and ambition. It should well provide
some clues to the other strange places that Icicle will lead you to
throughout this record. Meanwhile, bluesy guitar grooves provide the
perfectly askew backdrop for White Horse, You Against You and Tone It Down a
Little.
Full Album show
of
February 11, 2021
Full Album show
of
October 21, 2019
Senescence
(Icicle’s latest offering), in its essence, is about death, mortality and
the finality of things.
Full Album show
of
January 17, 2019
Album: Provenance
(2019)
Provenance,
the latest album by Montreal-based Icicle, is set to release March 12, 2019.
The album will be available to download and stream through all major online
retailers. Fans can also purchase hard copy CDs through BandCamp.
In line with Icicle’s previous work, described as “genre-bending” (Darcia Helle,
Sound Waves Review) and “pushing his own sound to the forefront” (Richard Lyne,
The Appetizer), these 12 new tracks playfully point to highly eclectic influences,
all the while furthering Icicle’s ever-shifting, distinctive sound.
Krassy Halatchev, the composer, singer, bass player and driving force behind
Icicle, describes the album as life-affirming, built around themes of beginnings,
growth, evolution, and love: “It reveres the miracle of life, birth, and growth,
as well as strength, endurance, persistence, fight — all the necessary elements
for one’s survival. Of course, love is the backbone of it all. As David Bowie
says, ‘The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in
return.’”
Fans who’ve come to know what Jeremy Bregman from Medium.com called Icicle’s
“giant melting pot of different sounds, ranging from groovy, bouncy bass lines
to tracks with a new wave, 80’s feel” won’t be disappointed with the buoyant
Let It Snow or the defiant I Had Enough. The 11th track, Because You Asked,
features lyrics by Antonia Gueorguieva, based off a verbatim-style notation
of a conversation with Halatchev. The record also features vocals on select
tracks by Laurie Gordon and Kat Howell.
Halatchev has charmed Canadian and international audiences for over two decades,
following his defection from communist Bulgaria with the band The Clouds. From
1996 to 2012, he was a core member of the Montreal-based band Chiwawa. Since
going on his own in 2013 as Icicle, he has released six albums. - Provenance
now marks Icicle’s seventh solo LP..
| # | Name | length | Rating |
| 1 | Trans-Siberian Express | 04:44 | 4 |
| 2 | Let It Snow | 03:00 | 4 |
| 3 | Better Pin Me Down | 04:05 | 4 |
| 4 | Set To Go | 03:52 | 4 |
| 5 | Carry It On | 04:26 | 4 |
| 6 | Gone For Good | 03:24 | 4 |
| 7 | Smile | 03:37 | 4 |
| 8 | What A Way To Start The Day | 03:57 | 4 |
| 9 | Gallop | 03:07 | 4 |
| 10 | Blue Is Power | 04:05 | 4 |
| 11 | Because You Asked | 04:40 | 4 |
| 12 | I Had Enough | 06:18 | 4 |
| # | Name | length | Rating |
| 1 | Best Not Talk | 03:32 | 4 |
| 2 | My Heart | 05:02 | 4 |
| 3 | Silent Screams | 04:08 | 4 |
| 4 | Winding Road | 03:20 | 4 |
| 5 | Life's A Stage | 03:45 | 4 |
| 6 | Move On (Earth) | 03:51 | 4 |
| 7 | The Two Of Us | 04:34 | 4 |
| 8 | JJ3 | 03:24 | 4 |
| 9 | The Same Mistake | 04:18 | 4 |
| 10 | Move On (Water) | 03:54 | 4 |
| 11 | Hope | 04:34 | 4 |
| 12 | Faith | 03:50 | 4 |
| 13 | Love | 06:36 | 4 |
Icicle’s newest record Silence is one of the finest
in his acclaimed catalogue, taking him down yet
another new sonic path, 5 albums into his career.
This is an act whose name has been built on the
endless evolution of its own aural dynamics,
innovative compositions, brilliant arrangements, and
in that respect, Silence does not disappoint.
It is a bold, upfront, driving album, relying on
grooves of pulsing keyboard twists, infectious
guitar hooks and the off-kilter, slinky rhythms to
carry the vocals of singer/bassist Krassy Halatchev.
These songs are some of the most sensual,
serendipitous, sparse recording to come from Icicle,
showcasing a new dimension in his songwriting and
marking Silence as that crucial next sonic step
forward for one of Montreal’s best artists.
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