VA - Cherry Stars Collide: Dream Pop, Shoegaze and Ethereal Rock 1986-1995 (2023) {4CD Box Set}

• 4CD JOURNEY THROUGH KEY TRACKS, LESSER KNOWN HALF-LIT GEMS AND SLEEPY POP NUGGETS OF THE 1980S AND 90S.

• FEATURING MAZZY STAR, A.R. KANE, COCTEAU TWINS, SPIRITUALIZED, THIS MORTAL COIL, SLOWDIVE, CHAPTERHOUSE, BEL CANTO, JULEE CRUISE, THE CHAMELEONS, DEAD CAN DANCE, TALK TALK, LUSH, LOW AND MANY MORE.

• A COMPANION SET TO 2016’S ‘STILL IN A DREAM’ SET.

During the latter half of the 1980s, a wave of alternative artists began to explore a gentler, more ethereal sound, bringing a dream-like aesthetic to the rock and pop idiom. Taking its lead from the UK (and the 4AD label in particular), this refined approach soon spread, particularly to the United States, slowly picking up the moniker “dream pop” – a catch-all term rather than a genre within itself.

Curated by the same team as our successful ‘Still In A Dream’ 2016 shoegaze set, ‘Cherry Stars Collide’ explores that sound as it emerged in the mid-80s and proceeded to define a less grounded, more thoughtful approach to musical expression than was offered elsewhere. Fusing and blending with other genres along the way. – from the guitar driven shoegaze movement and proto-Britpop to the post ‘C-86’ generation and the nascent leftfield clubbing scene – that sound both drew in artists already operating elsewhere and inspired new artists to embark their own journey.

Best listened to in the dark!