Alice Cohen

Alice Cohen (former stage name "Alice Desoto") is a New York City based American singer, songwriter and fine artist.

The Vels

Cohen is best known for her years as the primary songwriter and lead singer of The Vels, the Philadelphia band she co-created in the early 1980s. They were signed in 1984 to the Mercury label under which they released two albums. They had one minor hit ("Look My Way") and a successful MTV music video.

The Vels toured the U.S. in 1986, opening for The Psychedelic Furs.

Musical History

In 1980, Alice Cohen wrote Karen Young's Atlantic Records disco track "Deetour",^[1] recently re-released on Horse Meat Disco ^[2]

After The Vels dissolved in 1987, Cohen's work changed direction and she became active in the indie/underground and touring scene. Cohen's best-known venture in this period was the band Die Monster Die. DMD released two albums: 1992's Chrome Molly, on Dutch East, and 1994's Withdrawal Method on Roadrunner Records.^[3] The band broke up soon after. (N.B. that in 1995, another band called Die Monster Die was founded in Utah; this band is unrelated to the band Cohen was in.^[4])

In 1996, Cohen sang a track (on camera) in the Martin Scorsese-produced movie Grace of My Heart (1996), directed by Allison Anders.

In recent years, Cohen has performed frequently as a solo act, as well as collaborating with a number of groups including LYDSOD, Long Lost, Raw Thrills,^[5] Castles, and Espadrille.^[6]

With the release of Cohen's solo records, she became active in video and animation, creating music videos to accompany her own releases,^[7][8] as well as composing soundtracks for other animations and video projects.

Visual Arts

Cohen's collages and paintings have appeared in galleries in New York City, San Francisco and elsewhere.

In 2008, Cohen began to produce animated music videos for artists such as Ducktails,^[9] Coasting,^[10] Broken Deer,^[11] and Greatest Hits,^[12] using found imagery and objects in traditional cut-out & stop-motion animation style.

Other video/animation work includes "Single Sentence Animations" for the literary journal Electric Literature ^[13] as well as gallery and installation work. Cohen animated 17 episodes of the 2016 TV show "Single + Swiping" for Full Screen Network.

In 2010, Cohen had her first solo exhibition of visual works including video, collage, and installation, which took place at Live With Animals gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.^[14][15]

Her work has been screened at Anthology Film Archives, The Filmmaker's Co-op, Printed Matter, Microscope Gallery, Millennium Film Workshop, The New Museum, The Morbid Anatomy Museum, and The Palace of Science and Culture in Warsaw, Poland.

She has made music videos for dozens of indie bands and musicians, and recently animated the online television show, "Single and Swiping" for the Fullscreen Network.

Discography

Solo Releases

• "Into the Grey Salons (2016) (Olde English Spelling Bee & Crinoline Records)
• "Wild Vines & Tenement Shrines (2013) (Sixteen Tambourines Records)
• Pink Keys (2012) (Olde English Spelling Bee & Crinoline Records)
• Walking Up Walls (2009) (Olde English Spelling Bee)
• Sky Flowers (2008) (Crinoline Records)

With "The Vels" (Mercury Records)

• Velocity (1984)
• Private World/Hieroglyphics 12" Dub (1984)
• Look My Way/Tell Me Something 12" Dub (1984)
• House of Miracles (1986)
• Girl Most Likely To 12" Dub (1986)

With "Die Monster Die"

• "Withdrawal Method" (Roadrunner Records)(1994)
• "Chrome Molly" (Johnson Brothers Music/Dutch East India Trading) (1993)
• "Barknuckle b/w Wallflower Garden" 7" (Funky Mushroom Records) (1993)
• "Slumber b/w Pennies" 7" (Roadrunner Records) (1993)
• "Planet b/w Blackwater Trailer Park Blue" 7" (Deadbolt Records) (1992)

With "Espadrille" (Spare Me Records)

• "Swimmeret" (2001)
• " Bikini Girl" b/w Hollow Sidewalk 7" (1999)

With "Moroccos"

• "3D Sound B/W Soul Safari" 7" (t.m.i Products)(1982)
• "t.m.i. 015 A Compilation" (t.m.i Products) (1982)

With "Helivator" (Lungcast)

• "Gasoline T-Shirt" (1994)

Appearing on

• "Radio Scenic Glow Vol. 1" (Upstairs) (2009)
• "Africa Germany Germany Mexico Turkey Australia" (Olde English Spelling Bee) (2009)
• "Breakout" (Chrysalis Records) (1979)
• "Deetour" (songwriter) (Atlantic Records) (1980)
• "Greetings From Port Authority" Benna Evil Teen Records (1996)
• "The Best of Nilsson" BMG (1998)

Filmography

Music Videos

• "Landrunner" - Ducktails (2009)
• "Ichthus Hop" - Talbot Tagora (2009)
• "Black Pepper" - Alice Cohen (2009)
• "Memories of Glaciers" - Alice Cohen (2009)
• "White Woman" - Broken Deer (2010)
• "Kids" - Coasting (2010)
• "Ambulance" - Greatest Hits (2010)
• "Totem" - Weekends (2010)
• "Marsupial Shenanigans" - Linda Hagood (2010)
• "The Gutter" - K-Holes (2011)
• "The Phantom's Theme" - Ruckus Roboticus (2013)
• "Black Magic" - Maria Minerva (2013)

Art Videos

• "Spools" (2009)
• "Trance Actions" (2010)
• "Mirror Moves for Private Eyes" (2010)
• "Ear Candy" (2010)
• "For Claire" (2011)
• "Perfumes of Venus" (2014)
• "Elegant Interiors" (2014)
• "Spirit of the Magpie" (2015)

Other Commissioned Work

• "Three Girls" -Single Sentence Animation for Electric Literature (2009)
• "Baba Iaga and the Pelican Child" -Single Sentence Animation for Electric Literature (2010)
• "The BJ Rubin Show" Cable Access Television Show (2014-2016)
• "Single + Swiping" - TV Docu-series (Full Screen Media Network) (2016)

References

External links

• Olde English Spelling Bee Blog
• Video archive of live Vels performances (while on tour with The Psychedelic Furs)
• Robert Christgau review of The Vels Velocity
• Interview with Alice Cohen in the Philadelphia City Paper
• Foxy Digitalis review of Walking Up Walls LP
• The Deli review of Sky Flowers