Gillian Anderson: actor, activist, writer…
pop star?
Released in 1997, Extremis was Gillian’s only credible stab at the pop charts. The actor met
musical collective Hal when Gillian narrated BBC documentary series Future
Fantastic. Hal - a quartet that included house
producer Pascal Derycke, Duncan Lomax – a.k.a Savage - Padi Staid and Raheem,
the stage name of the late Paul Gallagher – produced the soundtrack for the
series and Gillian let it be known that she would like to work with them. Extremis, built around a tune the musicians had already composed for the
title sequence, was the result.
It’s not actually that bad, in a Madonna Erotica kind of way, but it doesn’t really go anywhere, and the lyrics are
just awful:
A melting of minds, a cerebral mesh,
A union of liquid and virtual flesh.
Automaton love, your caress is pneumatic.
I'm a slave to your touch, my response
automatic.
The circuits burn out, and the paradigm
shift,
It’s elision. My emotions drift.
Two of the band appeared with Miss Anderson
on TV to promote the single. As Gillian told it: ‘I don’t sing [but] Virgin was
interested in doing something if I put down some sort of vocal something… it’s
their music and I just kind of slipped in and put down a few words.’ The original
release featured four different mixes of the same song. Thankfully the team
decided not to reunite for a follow up, although Anderson did compile a double
CD of electronica, which featured the track as well as other music by Brian
Eno, Harold Budd and others.
Released at the height of X-Files mania, Extremis made the UK Top 30
and, apparently, did rather well in a number of other countries. It was denied
the Number One spot in Greece by the Spice Girls. Derycke, as Halspirit, is
still making ambient music today.
‘We had a lot of fun, and that, basically,
is what this has been about,’ Gillian told Rodrigo Stecher of Axcess magazine. ‘It’s not about me putting out a single, and it’s not
about me and my song, and it’s not, “Hey, look at me, I have an album,” you
know? It’s got nothing to do with that. It was just an idea that expanded and
expanded and we have a little song. I did not for one second feel that this is
the beginning of a pop career, nor do I want it to be.’ I like her attitude.
As there's only one track today, I've also included the video.
Enjoy!
Download Extremis HERE
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