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Kevin Shields (born May 21, 1963) is an
Ireland|Irish rock guitarist and
producer who fronted the London-based shoegazer
band My Bloody Valentine in the late 1980s and
early 1990s. He has also played in Primal Scream
since 1997 and recently contributed music to the
motion picture Lost In Translation.

He was born in Queens, New York City on May 21,
1963 and raised in Dublin, Ireland after moving
there with his family as a child.

When creating My Bloody Valentine's album
Loveless, Shields became a relentless
perfectionist. He went through 14 recording
engineers before finishing. Other eccentricities
included not allowing the engineers to hear him or
Bilinda Butcher singing while recording. These
drawn out, expensive sessions nearly drove
Creation Records bankrupt.

Shields' unique guitar sounds lies in his approach
to playing the instrument. Using Fender
Jaguar|Fender Jaguars and Jazzmaster|Jazzmasters,
he manipulates the tremolo arm while strumming
chords, which he claims contributes a lot to the
overall sound of My Bloody Valentine. He combines
this playing technique with excessive playing
volumes (to produce better sustain), modulation
effects (tremolo pedals), and reverb effects
(specifically, reverse reverb). Many have tried to
replicate the guitar sounds found on Loveless,
with some bands coming close. Shields even had
trouble reproducing the sounds himself, as his
live guitar sounds varied greatly from those on
the record.

After Loveless Kevin Shields and Belinda Butcher,
the then "remaining" members of My Bloody
Valentine, signed the band to major label Island
Records. Island ended up empty handed after years
of financing the band (amounting to £500,000),
forcing them to terminate the contract in 2001. In
the meanwhile Shields wrote some songs but never
released them. He also did remixes and
recording/mixing for other artists. After having
worked with and remixed Primal Scream, Kevin
joined them on tour and has contributed some
guitars on their latest albums.

Shields has a younger brother, Jimi Shields, who
fronted the British band Lotus Crown.