The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord that was manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from 1964 to the early 1980s. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has featured most prominently in funk, jazz-funk, rock, and soul songs. (More from Wikipedia)
Their opening album, Awake in a Dream (1991) was praised by Alex Henderson in Allmusic: “Eleven was a so-called alternative rock trio of the early 1990’s that drew heavily on the psychedelic rock and soul music of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Awake in a Dream is much too guitar-oriented to have been played on a Black radio station in 1970 or 1973; and yet, enjoyable selections like ‘Before Your Eyes’, 'All Together' and ‘Rainbow’s End’ make it clear that singer/guitarist Alain Johannes, bassist/singer/organist Natasha Shneider and drummer Jack Irons have spent a lot of time listening to the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Ike and Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder. Shneider is also heard on the clavinet, a synthesizer that was prominent in 1970’s soul and funk but was seldom used in the urban contemporary music that followed in the 1980’s and 1990’s.”
(April 2015/1)
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Natasha Shneider shows up on even more records for her prowess on keyboards. In addition to the many songs that have already been mentioned, she plays clavinet on the Soundgarden song “Fresh Tendrils” from their album Superunknown (1994); harpsichord on the song “Guilt by Association” by the garage rock band Louis XIV on their album Slick Dogs and Ponies (2008); synthesizer on the song “Each to Each” on the Gutter Twins album, Saturnalia (2008); and Moog Bass and Synthesizer on the track “WYUT” – which Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider co-wrote with Natalie Imbruglia – on her album Come to Life (2009).
(April 2015/2)
