Ann Hadlock was my musical & writing partner in our band ABSINTHEE. I first met her in 1996 while I was still keyboarding with Sky Cries Mary (recording our fourth albun, Moonbathing On Sleeping Leaves, for Warner Bros. Records). Working with Ann was a dream because her poetry was powerful and dark. I loved the way her clear voice and massive screaming tones fit with my most heartfelt crazy synthesizer sounds and chaotic industrial themes. She was also a gifted photographer, sculptor and painter. Ann and I played shows and recorded our Absinthee songs in Seattle at Bear Creek Studio before moving to New York in 1998. She helped me build Transporterraum NYC Studio and after The Strokes recorded there, we both moved to London for more rock ‘n roll adventures.
These next images are things that Ann showed me from her artbook/notebook/sketchbook when I first met her at Cafe Paradiso on Pine Street –in Seattle. I met her to discuss having her sing on my basement-made industrial electronic compositions. I was looking for someone to really scream/screetch over the top of these drum-machiney, analog synth, and sampled noise soundscapes. To be honest, her artwork poetry and photos actually shocked me, and I wondered how someone so young could have such depth, imagination and artistic vision.
