A very busy week at Cloudberry HQ. To start, today, October 10th, we have a new 7″ out. A lush two-track vinyl record by Sweden’s Youngfuck. All pre-orders will be sent first thing in the morning. Also in a week or two, you should be able to find the record in your favourite online mailorder. Also this week we have unveiled the fanstastic artwork that Ray Kimura has done for the next 7″ in our catalog. This one is by Sarasota, Florida, darlings’ Cassolette. This slab of plastic has “Stay Heavy” on the A side and “Two Candles” on the B side. You can preview the first track in the Cloudberry page of course. And last but not least, the four songs that will be included in the Nixon 7″ have been also unveiled. See? Plenty of things happening here.

Also, on the new Cloudberry Cake series, the Feverfew artwork is almost done and I know the master CD is already crossing the Atlantic. What does this mean? This means that the album will be pressed very soon! I’m very excited to start this series after the really disappointing times I had releasing albums with my ex-partner Jalito in Plastilina. I do much better alone I’ve learned. Please stay tuned for more news on this series of retrospecive albums, you won’t be disappointed.

Life has got in the way too as my mum is visiting here for two weeks. She is funny, she thinks indie music means music from India. I can’t really explain to her what Cloudberry is. She just says every record sleeve is so pretty. She is the kind that needs attention and wants to go to the supermarket every single day. As you can imagine, she keeps me quite busy. There has been some great news on some legal matters for me, and also there might be even better news job-wise. I might relocate and leave this tropical city, but well, that’s yet to be seen.

It feels a bit like crunch time these days. A bit stressed as things are moving fast and not so much time to sit down, brainstorm, think, ponder. But at the same time, very hopeful as these are all opportunity windows that might open to me. It may take a bit to adapt and set up Cloudberry in another place indeed, but I won’t stop. This is what I enjoy the most.

This week I’ve listened not that many CDs:
1. Sambassadeur – Between the Lines (Labrador)
2. Various Artists – Dream Topping (Richmond)
3. The Jordans – Katydid (Sonorama)
4. Various Artists – A Young Person’s Guide to Felicité Singles Club (Vollwert)
5. Sad Day for Puppets – Shift to Another Color (Fastcut)

It must have been a year ago that two of my best friends stopped having a fish tank at home. They lived together, they were roomates, and in each room, they had their own fish tank, with their own fish, and their own shellfish. Also they had different decorations, from a scuba diver to a sunken castle. The pebbles in the tank were very colorful and matched the palette of the fish that swam in circles around the coral. Even though I don’t like taking care of fish (they all died very fast in my childhood experience and my grandma says they bring bad luck) I understood the passion they had in collecting different and rarer fish. It is the same for me with records.

Eventually to their two freshwater tanks they added a sea water tank where they started collecting much more exciting fish, but also more expensive. My knowledge of fish encompasses mostly the one that becomes seafood of course. Seafood is a staple of my city’s, Lima, cuisine. From flounder to sea bass, or the skipjack tuna or the grouper, all familiar faces in the traditional ceviche. But the fish they had, I had never seen.

Most of the fish that aquariums have, here in Miami, are caught in freshwater areas in South and Central America. You can find zebras, clowns, tiger barbs, cherry barbs, tetras, gouramis and swordtails, among others. The ones that come from saltwater come from down south, from the keys, were you can see these fish roam free while snorkeling or scuba diving, two very popular attractions in the area. Just drive a couple of hours south from here, to Key Largo or Islamorada. Or to Marathon, were I was last time with Tom from The Happy Couple as he wanted to see the Gulf of Mexico.

I’ve read that because of global warming and also when El Niño occurs, a tropical fish invasion happens in many cold water areas. Makes sense. No so long ago, in March, this happened in Northland in New Zealand.  “Eyestripe surgeon fish, yellow boxfish, black-spot goatfish, two-tone wrasse and an unknown species of damselfish have been found by divers off the east coast of Northland this month. Marine expert Wade Doak says they’re an indicator of climate change. “They come down in larval form from places like Lord Howe Island and the Kermadecs and spend the long voyage in a suspended state.” Doak said the fish travelled as far as islands in the Bay of Plenty but didn’t survive long enough to breed. As waters became warmer though, “sooner or later they’ll find it acceptable”.”

My friends eventually gave up their fish tank. One found a girlfriend and moved with her. The other gave Halo Reach on Xbox, all of his time.

So who were the Tropical Fish Invasion? Who knows. But maybe the mystery can be solved knowing that they were from Derby.

There was a healthy scene back in the early 90s there and they seem to have been part of it. You had the wonderful Peru, The Millers, The Almanacs, White Town and I believe Evergreen and The Fantastics were from there too. Perhaps there was some sort of connection with these other bands. The strange part is that Derbyshire doesn’t really have any coast, and even with global warming, there won’t be a tropical fish invasion. Which makes me wonder, perhaps some of the band members had fish tanks and that crazy passion my old friends had? Or was it just a random name?

There was at least one release and it was a flexi. The flexi included just ONE song. And well, it’s a great song that I didn’t mind paying 3.99 pounds plus postage for it.  The song is called “La Di Da” and it’s no tribute to the label of the same name that Grant Lyons used to run from Brighton. It’s such a catchy tune and has that great keyboard sound that I have only heard in bands like The Apple Moths or Windy Miller. This flexi was probably self-released. The catalog number is OCTY 6-5000, and there’s a big octupus printed on the flexi. Maybe the label was Octopus Records? Don’t know. The flexi is sleeve-less, it just came on a generic white paper jacket.

The other song I know by them is “Ring a Ding” that appeared on the “Seahorses” tape that was released by the Red Roses for Me fanzine. On this tape the likes of Whirlpool Heart, Girl of the World, and The Jordans, three bands that I’ve covered on the blog already, appear. Again, this is a super catchy song and I can only keep asking for more. Looking at some old eBay auctions, it seems in August a tape by Tropical Fish Invasion was put up for auction and no one bid for it. It was just 0.99 pounds. Shame on all of us. Wonder what tracks did this demo included. But I think this confirms that there were more than just two tracks recorded by the band.

The only other information I could gather comes from Youtube were someone has uploaded the “La Di Da” track. A comment there says two interesting facts. First, that the drummer was called Andy. And second that he was roomate with Andy at Ilkeston 8 Wilmot St. That’s just half a block away from Long Eaton Pet Sitters.

Ilkeston is a town within the Borough of Erewash, in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the River Erewash, from which the local borough takes its name. Its population at the 2001 census was 37,550. Its major industries were traditionally coal mining, iron working and lace making / textiles, but these have all but disappeared in the last few decades. The town is close to both Derby and Nottingham and is near to the M1 motorway. Although Ilkeston lies within Derbyshire, it is closer to Nottingham. The eastern boundary of Ilkeston is only two miles from Nottingham’s western edge. Ilkeston is considered by the Office for National Statistics to be part of Nottingham metropolitan area. Ilkeston was probably founded in the 6th century AD, and gets its name from its supposed founder, Elch or Elcha, who was an Anglian chieftain (“Elka’s Tun” = Elka’s Town). The town appears as Tilchestune in the Domesday Book when it was owned principally by Gilbert de Ghent. Gilbert also controlled nearby Shipley, West Hallam and Stanton by Dale. Ilkeston was created a borough by Queen Victoria in 1887. Ilkeston is one of the few places where the distinctive dialect of East Midlands English is extensively spoken. Ilkeston is referred to as ‘Ilson’ in this dialect. One might greet a friend with “Eh up, me duck!” or “Ah do?”. Did the guys in the band speak like that?

And that’s all I could find.  Maybe you all can help me fill in the blanks? Who were the Tropical Fish Invasion? Which years were they active? Did they collect fish? Did they love seafood? Did they have more songs?

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Listen
Tropical Fish Invasion – La Di Da