A few more weeks of August, a few more weeks of summer. Summers are usually slow for indiepop, it was the time for festivals. Nowadays we saw the Glas-Goes Pop festival and the upcoming Paris Popfest. But maybe I am missing other ones? Would be nice if anyone aware of other festivals can share the details. I won’t be able to go, but I am sure it is still of interest!
The Photocopies: two new songs by this project from Michigan. The Londoner Sean Turner has penned “I Can’t Imagine What You See in Him” and “The Next Train Out of Here” and they are, as usual, solid indiepop songs! On top of it, he has put together “karaoke videos” so you can sing along to these songs!
Janelane: there are still tapes available for the “Okay with Dancing Alone” cassette that came out last April. Janelane is a cool project from Los Angeles by Sophie Negrini. This EP had 4 tracks that are catchy and fun. There is a new song coming out soon called “Running Away (Sure Sounds Fine)” but there is no way to listen to it.
Milet no Marukako Band: this is sadly sold out. A tape titled “First Aid”. limited to 70 copies, was released by the Japanese indiepop label Galaxy Train on August 19. The tape was an EP of 4 songs that is quite fun. Do check it out!
Chikorita: this Argentinean band from Cordoba, named after a Pokemon, has released a self-titled mini-album on An Der Pop. The band formed by Camila Callieri and Lau Torres, started in 2015, and this is a superb and lovely record. As far as I know it is only available digitally, but it is quite a nice surprise!
Oktober86: and lastly this solo project from Thresa Sandra Desfika from Jakarta. His latest release is “Yang Kurindukan”, a jangle, chiming, digital EP with three songs. I don’t think I’ve heard this band before, so I am happily surprised as well. Love to discover new sounds, especially from Indonesia. They know how to make some great indiepop.
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Rhondda, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (mawr large) and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (bach small) – so that the singular “Rhondda Valley” and the plural are both commonly used. Rhondda or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (mawr large) and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (bach small) – so that the singular “Rhondda Valley” and the plural are both commonly used.
I don’t know if the band actually hailed from Rhondda. But that’s the one location I have for some of the recordings from Deja Vu.
On a Soundcloud account by Gareth Morgan we find a bunch of the recordings of this late 80s Welsh band. I am assuming of course that Gareth was part of the band. But who else was on the band?
There is a whole gig, of 8 songs, of the band playing the Penygraig Rugby Club in Rhondda on May 24 1987. In an afternoon session that day the band played “A Poet’s Tale”, “Don’t Look Back”, “Eat the Peach”, “Long Nights”, “No Time to Lose”, “Romaine”, “Hope” and “Easy Now”.
I googled this club and was surprised that this club was actually formeed in 1877 and continues going strong. They play their matches at Graig Park ni the Rhondda Valley.
Then two of these same songs, “Long Nights” and “Don’t Look Back”, were recorded at Red Dragon Radio in May 1988. Those two songs are also available.
And I also looked to find info about Dragon Radio, and yeah, it is a regional radio that broadcasts in Wales on FM.
And what is surprising is that in 2012 Gareth decided to re-record some of his songs. After 25 years he re-recorded “Long Nights” and “Slow Waters”.
I find a Gareth Morgan in the area and you wonder if it is the same. On Twitter I find that if he is the same one, he would be the chairman of Llanrumney United Football Club, a senior team in South Wales.
And then finally a breakthrough! A bio about the band on Google Sites.
We learn the names of all members, Anthony Barrett on bass, Geraint Evans on drums, Adrian Hibbbert on keyboards, Jonathan Hibbert on guitar and Gareth Morgan on vocals.
The band was active between 1986 and 1988 and practiced in The Central in Clydach. The band played gigs at The Prince, The Pentre Hotel or at The Pandy Con. The band supported the fantastic The Peruvian Hipsters (a band I wrote about on the early days of the blog, who I tried to interview but never got answers sadly) at the Four7s Club in Maesteg and also supported Scared of the Dark in Port Talbot.
The band was also part of a festival inn Penrhiwfer.
They mention too some bands I am not familiar that they liked from their time like The Promise, The Atmospheric Cherries and Shere Khan. Would be nice to track them down.
We also learn that the songs that were recorded at the Red Dragon Radio studios in Cardiff in May 1988 didn’t have Adrian in the band. He had left. But the cool thing is that in these recordings the vocalist was Ashley Evans from The Peruvian Hipsters. Gareth wasn’t around for these recordings.
There is also another Soundcloud account. This time by Ant Barrett where we find the same songs by Deja Vu but also songs by other projects of his like Little Miracle or Meridian One.
Great! In the end I found more information about the band than I expected and even found connections to other Welsh bands!
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Listen
Deja Vu – Romaine
