This past weekend I followed, on Facebook and Instagram, many friends that were at Indietracks posting photos and videos. I felt nostalgia and a bitter feeling for not being there. I hope it was great for those who attended and that everyone had a good time. That there were some bands that surprised, and others that confirmed their greatness. Hope beer was cold, and that the weather was perfect. I hope to hear from people about their experiences. Or read about them. I don’t think no one does Indietracks reviews anymore on blogs, but hopefully some of you will post some photo albums on Facebook, or perhaps write something somewhere so me, and everyone else that missed it, had a good picture of your experience.

Now, today after Indietracks was over, I’ve read already a couple of posts on Facebook saying that the label Fortuna Pop is no more. I looked in the label’s Facebook page but there’s nothing there saying so. Perhaps it was an announcement made at Indietracks? I wonder what happened. When I saw Sean at NYC Popfest a couple of months ago, it seemed Fortuna Pop was going strongly, supporting important bands that drew crowds bigger than your indiepop standard. Maybe after so many years he got tired? What has happened?

The past week I’ve been exchanging emails with a label from China. From Shenzhen specifically. That is the area in China that is immediately north from Hong Kong. I guess that may explain a bit that they are an indiepop label. The only other Chinese indiepop I’ve heard before in my life hails from Hong Kong. Not saying indiepop can’t happen in Xinjiang, but definitely is more possible in Shenzhen I think.

The label is called Boring Productions and so far they have four releases. The first one, a compilation called “Our Secret World”, includes covers of indiepop classics like “Anorak City” by A Hidden Trace or “Sensitive” by Zoo. From this first release we can already figure out what sort of sound this label champions, that of a bedroom produced dreampop.  A lo-fi shoegaze that is very appealing to me.

On this first compilation released in August 2015 we find 15 different bands. None of the names in the album is familiar to me. All new. I couldn’t say where they come from. Are they all from Shenzhen?

The second release on the label is an album by a band called Chestnut Bakery. This band appears on the “Our Secret World” compilation with the song “Saturday Afternoon”. The album titled “Diaries” seems to be the only one that has sold out. There are 10 songs that are classic indiepop. They are described as the most 90s shoegaze band in China in their bandcamp. The band is formed by Rye on guitar and vocals, Leo on guitar, Nadia on bass and Sango on drums. I think they might be my favourite band and the favourite release on Boring Productions. This is a great album and wish I had discovered them sooner so I could have a copy!

Third release is a tape just titled “Promo Tape: Bedroom Pop rules the Wolrd”. It seems there is a typo on world indeed on the cover photo. There are just four songs, one each for Milkmustache, The Cheers Cheers, Dripping Wet and Atta Girl. I don’t think this tape is actually part of the catalog but just a promo release for the next releases that will be out on the label. We know then that Milkmustache hails from Shenzhen, The Cheers Cheers from Shaoxing, Dripping Wet from Texast (?!) and Atta Girl we don’t know where from China.

Fourth and last release so far is the Milkmustache 4-song CD that came out just a week or so ago. The songs are “Shell Button”, “Dolphin”, “Submarine” and “Oh!Overload”. The CD comes with a very cool presentation, with what looks like a board game called Boring Productions adventure. It all looks so fresh and exciting with this label. Feels like the early days of a cool scene that is brewing in their area, reminding me of what Yay! did many years ago in Oxnard, California. I wonder what will happen next with Boring Productions and what amazing bands will introduce to indiepop fans. Efforts like this are what makes one keep faith in indiepop, there are still pockets in the world were music inspire and make people come together.

———————————————————-

Ages ago when the last Leamington Spa compilation was being put together there were a bunch of bands I had never heard before that were going to appear in that CD. Hugebigmassive was one of them. And always thought that at some point I should try to track their records and songs. I’ve tried believe me, but still I have heard just a few of them and haven’t had the luck to get my hands on their 2 records.

I still don’t know how to write their name, is it Hugebigmassive or Huge Big Massive? I see them written both ways. I’ll go with the first style as Discogs has it that way, but I wonder what was the band’s preference?

On the Leamington Spa #7 they go with the second option, all words spaced and there is a tiny bio:
Formed in 1986 originally as a three piece with surviving members from previous band Sister Crow – Andrew Sharman (guitar/vocals), Stuart Simpson (guitar/keys/backing vocals) and Karl Traae (bass). The drum machine was usurped in 1989 with the arrival of Kevin Tucker and his drums. Building a large following in their home town of Leicester HBM toured nationally playing on many high profile tours with the likes of Suede, Dodgy, Teenage Fanclub and Ocean Colour Scene resulting in numerous TV and radio appearances. HBM released two twelve inch EPs ‘Who wants more?’ and ‘Out of my mind’. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall they toured extensively in what was Czechoslovakia. Despite many approaches from record companies the band were deemed to be too ‘laddie’ in the pre Brit Pop era. Eventually in 1992 after playing themselves to death, HBM decided to call it a day of pursuing different musical outlets. All four members remain friends and keep in contact with each other (just).

The first of these EPs, “Who Wants More”. Came out on Tasty Records in 1991 (catalog TR 01), 5 years after forming. One can only wonder why didn’t they release anything else before. Perhaps they did some demo tapes? In any case the truth is that this record included three songs. On the A side we only find “Who Wants More” whereas on the B side there’s “Unfair” and “You Crazy People Kill Me”. The first one written by Simpson while the two on the B side by Sharman. I also think is safe to assume that Tasty Records was their own label as it seems the only two records released by this label were the two HBM releases.

On the Discogs page for this release we find a press sheet where their tour dates appear! We then know they played in 12 different venues in then Czechoslovakia in places like Plzen, Sokolov, Litvinov, Prague, Decin, Pardubice, Trebuc, Bratislava, Brno and Zdar. In the UK they also promoted this release playing in Leicester’s Princess Charlotte, at the Stoke Poly, Coventry’s “Tic Toc”, Nottingham Grand Central Diner, Cambridge Junction, Windsor Psykik Dance Hall, Oxford Jerico Tavern, Scraptoft Leicester Poly, Warwick University, Derby, and London ULU.

A year later three more songs would see the light of day. “Out of My Mind”, on the A side, and “Make it Happen” and “Here to Stay” on the B side, would appear on a new 12″ in 1991. Again released by Tasty Records (catalog TR 02), this record was produced by Paul Sampson from The Primitives.

It is the last song on this record, “Here to Stay” that appears on The Sound of Leamington Spa #7 released by Firestation Records some years ago. Don’t know if they had any other compilation appearances. But what I did find were some TV interview/appearances on Youtube. I don’t know exactly which TV program these recordings come from but there are two. The first one seems to show a promo video of the band and some bits of interview and the second one another interview and a live performance.

From the comments on these Youtube videos we find out some more song names like “Coming Down”, “Trouser Press” and “I’m Not a Policeman”. Also that they had played at Coalville Tech Students Union and Peterborough. Another Youtuber mentions that Andy Sharman used to be a delivery guy for a co-op in Wigston. All these fans do believe that this band should have been massive and seem to agree that it was just bad timing, that they appeared a bit too late in the indie wave. It was the early 90s with grunge taking it over.

A cassette titled “The Good, The Band and the Slightly Shop Soiled” seems to have existed as well as one called “The Elvis Underground” definitely confirming that they recorded more songs.

From what I could gather Karl Traee continued making music, he went to be in Perfume and releasing many many records after the demise of HBM. The only other member from HMB that continued involved in music afterwards was Andy Sharman, on a Leicester Mercury article I could find that he was also frontman of The Charmers and Sourpus and that lately he was leading a band called Produkty. Sharman says they are Leicester’s answer to Abba, though for sure this is rock n’roll. This is their bandcamp.

I wonder about HBM, about those tapes, about their name, about touring Bohemia, seems there’s a story to be told. And definitely “Here to Stay” should have been a hit.

Edit:
Gary Strickland from Honeyrider (and now Seafang) told me a couple of interesting facts about the band on Facebook. First that Tasty Records was started by Andy Wright who ran The Princess Charlotte in Leicester and also managed HBM. Also Stuart Simpson joined him in the band Whirl from San Diego, flying all the way to California. When Whirl went to record with Paul Sampson (thanks to the HBM connection) in the UK Karl Traae was to join Whirl as well. Stuart would later be part of a band called Minithin that had two songs on the compilation Sunny Sunday Smile Volume 2 that Sunday Records released in 2000. The songs were “When We Were Something” and “The Next Life”. Thanks Gary!

Another new find is that Hugebigmassive played the Abbey Park Festival in 1991 and the songs “More than This”, “Maybe”, “Here to Stay” and “Like You Do” are available in the festival’s archive soundcloud page! Really cool!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Hugebigmassive – Here to Stay