Selected Press

Thomas Simon, musician without frontiers How globalization can be anti-globalist Thomas Simon - producer, film maker, musician and composer - toured the U.S., Canada, (and beyond)... and here he is now with his "Thomas Simon Musiciens sans Frontieres" formula playing in the Bucharest club Utopia. Would I offend any Americans if I said you can tell miles away he's not American? He's Austrian but he moved to New York, probably so that he and his French named band would have some place to take off into the world from. Either way, the band is a great indie rock traveler since they came to perform in front of the "Utopian" audience from Bucharest. On stage, Jillie Simon is the feminine voice that counterbalances Thomas Simon's rough vocals. I think she usually wears white and she is always almost painfully sensual since most of the reviews describe her as being "the light in the dark atmosphere" of the band's music. She has a delicate voice that seems to penetrate dramatically more than musically - like Melanie's voice did, if anyone still remembers her. The band is more than just a geographical wanderer, they also stroll through different musical territories - critics mention the Dead Can Dance tribalism, the Nine Inch Nails twilight, Moby's funk, etc. This means that, as their French name discloses, they are diligently tearing down frontiers; only that which they globalize is not commercial waste. So how could I then associate them with the unappealing concept of globalism? Is it possible that we are dealing, aside from the antiglobalist movement, with underglobalism?

MUSIC WITHOUT FRONTIERS. This evening the Roland Garros club is hosting the concert of American band Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres (MSF). This is the first performance of a New York cult band in Romania.

In search of traditional music
The Thomas Simon MSF concert takes place tonight in Roland Garros at 9pm. The presence of the New York band in Cluj is due mostly to the guys from KUMM. Leaning on the side of the piano in the Insomnia cafe Thomas and Jillie reveal details about their music, the jobs that help them support themselves and their artists outside the stage, about Romania and the internet. They're anxious to play and especially to capture some of the essence of Romanian music. "The name of our band says a lot about us. Our music has three components: the experience we had with the "Love Alien" formula, the ambient style and something entirely new to which we added traditional music from India, Nepal or Brazil. I'm very anxious to learn more about your music…" said Thomas. They found Romania to be civilized ever since they crossed the border. "The guards at customs were nice and we crossed the border quickly and without the drastic controls that we were expecting", said Jillie. They were impressed by the architecture in Cluj and the nice people, especially the youth.

Artists with several jobs
"We still can't live off music alone. Just living in New York involves huge expenses" Thomas confesses. Therefore they have to juggle their work as musicians with bartending in clubs or driving trucks for art shows. Jillie is also an actress and recently she lent her voice to an animation series, while the other members of the band are "borrowed" by other bands or involved in side projects. "We are not trying to create hit songs, we only play what we feel and we are happy to see people of all ages coming to our shows", Thomas adds. "Back home kids download one or two tracks from the internet and then they buy the album. You can't expect them to spend money on something they know nothing about..." he adds about the positive influence of the internet. Playing for the Cluj audience tonight are Jillie Simon (vocals), Thomas Simon (guitar, vocals, sound experiments), Johnny Pisano (bass) and Rodney Ledbetter (drums). The band will also play in Bucharest on Friday and in Buzau, performing at the TopT festival, on Saturday.
[Photo: The CBGB spirit will animate the Roland Garros club in Cluj Napoca this evening]

The Thomas Simon MSF concert marks the first event by a New York cult band in Romania, bringing with it something of the old CBGB spirit, a New York club famous around the world. The club closed its doors in 2006 after more than three decades of activity; the closing was sealed with a Patti Smith concert. However, the "feel" of the place is being kept alive by the music of those who performed there, from the Ramones to Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth or Thomas Simon.

MUSIC WITHOUT FRONTIERS. Thomas Simon
An alternative to Bregovic
Tuesday, while part of the people in Cluj Napoca were attending the Goran Bregovic concert, alternative rock lovers gathered in Roland Garros where the New York band Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres (photo) concert took place. The band's powerful recital started around 10pm and it lasted until midnight when the audience called them back on stage for an encore. For the audience this was an opportunity to sense the difference between Romanian and American bands and Thomas Simon's sound was exceptional. Stage presence was also at the highest level as singer Jillie Simon has worked in television and is also an actress. Her acting experience was clearly visible and she is for the most part responsible for the great show that Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres had to offer.

MUSIC WITHOUT FRONTIERS. Thomas Simon plays music without borders
GOTH & GRUNGE AT THE GRABOVSKI
St.Wolfgang.
Thursday May 18th, experimental-rock musician, Thomas Simon will perform with his band at the Grabovski for the first time. The Vienna born New York Multi Media Artist has reached a lot of acclaim with his experimental progressive fusing of Goth and Grunge. By creating a sensitive web of space and rhythm, Simon leads his listeners, with a noir-ish style, through the myriad of his musical works. Trent Reznor was a definite inspiration. I.W.

MUSIC WITHOUT FRONTIERS. Frontiers Are Falling Down!
Cluj started "tearing down" the frontiers between musicians. Proof of this is tonight's concert in Roland Garros where New York based rock band Thomas Simon Musiciens sans Frontieres takes the stage. The artists are now on tour promoting their latest album, "Satellite".

"Their music is very energetic and diverse, and also very interesting because of the singer's cool stage presence."
- Andras Kovacs from KUMM about Thomas Simon Musiciens sans Frontieres

NEWSDAY
LOVE THAT FUSION: Their band is like a fusion of Screaming Trees and Sophie B Hawkins. They have a slightly grungy psychedelic sound, and Jill Margolis has a sensuous stage presence and breathy vocals that seem to owe a bit to performance art. It's an intriguing and original sound that is often riveting."

Village Voice
"THE DAMNED, a rock musical featuring Thomas Simon has made this town take notice. Clever, moving performances have made this show a huge success and a hot ticket not to miss. "

CMJ New Music Report - JACKPOT!
- FUTURES -
TakePat Benatar, cross her with Souxie Souix, dress her in a thrift shop burial gown, and the result might look and sound something like Jill Margolis, Love Alien's resident goth/goddess. Margolis has been garnering rave reviews ( and probably more than her share of stalkers) as front-person for this busy NYC combo. The band itself musically quotes everyone from Echo & the Bunnymen to Love & Rockets, filtering it all through a Bauhausian psychedelic vibe. The electric buzz of the band's sound, combined with Margolis's cooing, forms a spiraling blend of solid... musical ideas. Margolis's voice would sound right at home at the bottom of some trip-hop groove or even (if produced properly) in the Top 40 dance-pop arena. Together, these two disparate elements - band and vocalist - combine to create a sound all their own; call it trip -grunge or maybe, grunge-hop. Whatever the label... if this wiry ensemble can capitalize on their own strengths, they might just escape the gravitational pull of New York's dark underbelly and explode into the limelight." - Greg Correo

“- an interesting amalgam of psychedelic space / alterna-rock with ethereal female vocals: mysticism collides with metal and sparks fly. I can understand the band's popularity with it's fans” - RA

Musician's Exchange

Infinity Press

Spat out from the bowels of the dark big city... and they sound exactly how the gritty grinding city should sound: dark and loud, like a delicate midnight train wreck. - their songs are pushed together by trademark nasty, detuned guitar lines and Austrian singer Thomas Simon's gravelly baritone voice. Bassist Francios Gehin slaps down the song's framework with thick force, as drummer Lior Shulman sparks the music up with his bright notes and amazing chops. The band's secret weapon is exotic vocalist Jill Margolis, who spins together a chanteuse style of glimmer and fury and commands a stage presence of erotic force... a holdback from a rock star mold which required a woman to look her best, yet have the talent to back up her flawless image. The songs throw together the best elements of each player, pulling toward Simon's deep vocals in one chorus while anchored down in Francois Gehin's throbbing bass the next. Margolis's songs are equally excitable, as she drives her sticky sweet vocals into the heart of the dingy Love Alien rock machine. . "Blue Planet preview... a collection of soulful dry rhythms and a shifty midtempo despair soundtrack. "Blue Moon" kicks off the record and with good reason: the song burns in with feedback and a tight snare riff and slides along with Simon's spooky drudging vocals and Margolis's sweet whispers and ultra-sexy moans. Caught between the songs are bits of keyboard noise annd glazed feedback, the glue which holds the band together. "I just wanna play as much as possible, anywhere, that's why it's always so exciting to me to tour and meet people" Simon says. But the songs must back up the sound, and Margolis stitches together lyrics from all elements of her world: "I write about whatever I feel passionate about, whether from a conversation, something I read, relationship stuff, or whatever. If it stimulates or strikes a chord with people, that's fantastic, that's what I want to do. I want to excite people."

The invitation is open. Come see the excitement first-hand. But be prepared to melt under the white light of Margolis's voice and the blistering noise of Simon and the rest of Love Alien". - Joey Zielazinski

Sound Monitor, Australia
THOMAS SIMON
WalkAbout: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(Endorphin)
Multi-instrumentalist Thomas Simon has been there, done that, and recorded the experience for proof. Austrian born, Simon relocated to New York City to further his musical career – a move which saw him gain experience in the ofttraveled indie-rock live circuit, score composition and the ever-expanding multimedia sector. So with film scores, live drama production and numerous independently released rock albums under his belt, there was only one thing left to do: travel the world armed with a camera, sound recording equipment and vague idea about a film and soundtrack release. Documenting his trips to Nepal, India, Brazil and back home to Austria, Simon invited musicians from the area to record with him. The sounds were then taken back to NYC, manipulated and fused together. As such the list of musicians and the instruments played read is a veritable tome of street-performers and spontaneous artists.

Sonically, it all comes together in an unusual mix of Dead Can Dance tribalism, Nine Inch Nails darkness, Moby funk, ... indie and Ennio Morricone squalls. Extensive tribal ‘jams’ are fused with big rock beats and sournote vocals, with dashes of industrialized rhythms.

‘Music is the Cure’ reminds this listener of the few Shihad b-sides that droned in lo-fi post-rock, while ‘Rock Jog’ comes off as a mid-eastern Led Zeppelin with it’s 70’s prog guitar tones and it’s tabla, flute and myriad of other instruments, while album closer ‘Wo Kann Mann Noch Leben’ further explores lo-fi post-rock with Brazilian percussion and dark vocals.

In summary, WalkAbout is an interesting if not necessarily cohesive recording, at times rockin’, at others soothing, and others still noisily disturbing, It is an album that’ll have the listener dreaming of places never visited, inspiring a longing for long-distance travel. - Warren Wheeler

Flagstaff Live
"The group cut it's teeth in Europe, performing around the continent to appreciative crowds and garnering the support of the European press (written up in Finnish music mag RYTMI and various Austrian papers). Love Alien has been equally well received here in the states, having just completed a successful US tour which took them through 12 cities and appearances at a number of high profile clubs like CBGB's and Webster Hall. Love Alien plays to the gap between goth and grunge - then effortlessly slips in and begins building a slender bridge for the daring to walk across. Love Alien's sound is both beautiful and heavy, dark and soaring - tension and release. Musically, the band nods to everyone from Love and Rockets to Iggy Pop to Screaming Trees, blanketing a rock-solid rhythm section with a psychedelic wash of buzzing guitar. Margolis's sensuous stage presence and ethereal cooing vocals - somewhere between Souxie Sioux and the Cocteau Twins - complete the package..." - Joe Collier

Jersey Beat

Grunged-up, highly ominous and uniquely psychedelicized Gothic-style sonic rumbling. Jill Margolis' haunting, purring moan and Thomas Simon's husky growl trade off on the vocals, complementing each other beautifully. Simon's searing, fiercely lingering guitar rifts, Liorr Shulman's gutty drums, and Francois Gehin's dense, bottom-heavy bass lines vividly create a calmly flowing, throbbing, very brooding and sinister aural witch's brew that's every bit as creepy and compelling as it ought to be. - Joe Wawyrzniak

Get Out (Phoenix, AZ)
- "If I had a box, Love Alien would be in there with the Melvins and Trunk Federation" - Heather Nova

“one of the most promising up & comers in the N.Y. scene”

Network of the World (NOW) UK

“be prepared to melt under the white light of Margolis's voice and the blistering noise of Simon and the rest of Love Alien”

Infinity Press