One Dove Takes FLIGHT...

"MORNING DOVE WHITE" , the debut album by the ambient dub/trance trio known as One Dove may be the finest freshman effort of the season. The band, whose first American single "White Love" made the playlists of every discerning DJ in the final months of 1993, hail from Glasgow, Scotland. The group is comprised of the very beautiful Dot Allison (our cover girl!) on vocals and keyboards, Jim McKinven on guitars and samplers, and Ian Carmichael on keys, samples and other complicated electronics (far beyond the Project X comprehension level,), but the band stresses the importance of each member in crafting their music. With boy genius Andrew Weatherall (Boy's Own, Sabres of Paradise, and countless remixes) on production duties, One Dove have captured on vinyl some of the most emotion-filled electronic music since the techno-revolution began.

Project X met with the threesome upon their first visit to New York. We found them not only to be extremely cooperative (i.e. Dot was forced to wear scuba gear by our uncompromising stylist), but to be three of the sweetest most genuine artists to ever grace these pages. The Dove explained their philosophy and intentions - to much enthusiasm from Pro X's Sloan Mandell:

Sloan: What do you want to achieve on your first visit to the U.S? Ian and Jim: America has such a rich history of rock and dance music and we'd love to become part of that. The environment for experimentation seems so much fresher here. I mean if Chicago House had never happened, there would probably be no U.K. dance scene. England has always taken its musical basis from America, we have just reinvented it and given it back in a new form.

Did working with andy weatherall have a lot of influence on your sound?
Dot: He didn't change us radically. I think the reason he worked with us was because he was attracted to our ideas. One of his characteristics is that he'll only work with a band that already proclaims its manifesto. We learned a lot from him about production, but I think he learned about classic song construction from us.

Do you think that "rave" has had an overall positive effect on music?
I+J: Yeah definitely, you get ideas in your head and then technology enables you to get them out. Traditional musicians criticize the sampler, but really it's just a new instrument - people said the same thing about the electric guitar.

What groups do you see as your contemporaries?
I+J: Ultramarine, Underworld - groups whose music projects honesty.

What's you're musical background?
Jim: Mine is as a guitarist.
Dot: I'm classically trained on piano, but it's weird because now I'm writing in an environment where a lot of what you learn from classical training can almost hinder you, because a lot of music is technically wrong - like the blues - yet it can sound quite beautiful. So I had to dismiss a lot of what I'd learned and go back to square one.

It seems that the DJ is the force behind dance music. Who are your favorite djs and where do you go out?
Ian: I definitely like Andy Weatherall.
Jim: I'd have to say Darrin Emerson at the moment and I love dark, hot, heavy clubs where people are totally into the music. Not full of people standing around posing. Dot: I think an environment where you can relax and feel safe is important. I like to be inspired by my experience of going out - since I mainly write from experience. I like to go out and listen to music that's experimental - not compromising to whatever is the trendy format.

What message do you want to send to the young listeners of "morning dove white?"
Dot: I think firstly one of peace. I can't advocate any more constructed message, because I think a lot of what popular musicians say is very flippant and not very thorough, but fans take it very seriously and it could push someone in the wrong direction. I'd love to think that if a young person is going through some sort of trauma or depression they could listen to our music and really identify with it and feel cleansed by it.

That's quite an inspiring outlook.
Dot: I just remember the feeling I had when I turned seventeen, of the vastness of the world in front of me and wondering how to penetrate it. I think between the ages of 12 and 19 music has a great impact on what you learn - more than from school or from teachers. So I want to send out human messages of a social and ethical nature. Everyone has their own personal struggles and if our music can make it easier for someone, then that's the way it should be.

That's a brilliant outlook. Let's end the interview on a lighter note for our trend-addicted readers . Why the hair color change? (Dot has posed for the cover photo with flame red hair, on the album cover it's bright white.)
Dot: It's just to keep my outlook totally fresh and to keep renewing ideas. I think it helps - not that if you keep the same hair color you mentally stagnate or anything - but it accelerates things and makes you more aware of every part of your character. It makes me more vibrant. I've always changed my hair because I get sort of bored - I've had it every color from baby pink to powder blue, canary yellow, black, jade, auburn. They have so many weird and wonderful colors and some I just take to. I once had it this color called `peach parfait', a sort of apricot pink which was lovely - but these colors can look like mistakes if you don't get them done professionally - So I've always got to have a colorist close at hand.

That is truly a project x quote.
Dot: Really the most important message through style is - don'tever loose or compromise your identity!

Originally appeared in Project X issue 27 winter 1993. Copyright © Copyright, Project X All Rights Reserved.

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