Elysian Fields For House Cats And Sea Fans

Elysian Fields came out of New York's legendary Knitting Factory, a hotbed of musical exploration and genre mixing and a hub of the vibrant 1990s downtown scene.

Drawn together by a mutual love of The Beatles, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Captain Beefheart, Ravi Shankar, Frédéric Chopin and Olivier Messiaen, founders Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow had traveled parallel paths in Washington, D.C.

and New York until a scholarship to New York University's drama department drew Jennifer to New York.

Both had been to see the Bad Brains and Lounge Lizards (for whom Oren would play bass in the early '90s), both worshiped Woody Allen and Fellini, both went to alternative high schools and both had become independent at an early age.

Their newest collection, and ninth release For House Cats And Sea Fans is a lush musical journey, spanning emotion and genre, at times paying tribute to the no wave they both cut their teeth on.

John Lurie made the cover painting. We asked the enigmatic duo to speak about their latest collection.