There’s no football today, but it is also a holiday here in the US. The famous 4th of July. So not many news but a few finds from the previous days and of course our obscure band of the day.

The BV’s: two new demos by one of our favourite bands!! That is terrific news, isn’t it? Check out “Mould” and “Reflection” on the band’s Bandcamp. The band is at the moment recording their 2nd album and to show they are not forgetting about their fans they are sharing these two beauties!

Hater: there are two songs available to stream from the new album by Hater. The brilliant Malmö, Sweden, band are releasing “Siesta” on September 15th and you can preview their pretty Scandipop by listening to “It’s So Easy” and “I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You”.  The album will be released on vinyl LP and CD by Fire Records.

Dan Dan Dero: the Lima, Peru, band has been recommended many times on the blog, so they are not new by any means to the readers. They have a new song called “Las Antorchas” that sounds really pretty, so thought pointing it out to you all? Why not?

Marble Gods: this is yet another band that have appeared on the blog time and time again as they are really good! So if the trend continues, if they continue being this good, I will keep recommending any new song I find on the web. The Glasgow based band have a new tape on Marry Me Records. Yes, again a tape. I so wish it was a different format, but at least they are releasing stuff. The bad thing for many of you that do buy tapes is that it is already sold out. But then, do know that this release was actually a compilation of their previous tapes releases. So if you have those already, then you are good. In any case it is always a good reminder to listen to this top jangly fun songs!

Gentle Ivanhoe Death Skulls: what an odd name for this Stockholm band. This is another band that I discover by stalking my friend David on Bandcamp. The band’s releases are not that new. Their latest dates from November 15th last year. They are all digital releases. This last one has two songs, as if it was a digital single, with “Green Hang Ten” and “Beaches”. It is a bit shoegazy, a bit noisy, and dreamy too. Upbeat as well. They are really good songs! How come they fly under everyone’s radar? Perhaps because they haven’t tagged their music and that might prove hard to find them? Who knows, but this is really good and would love to hear more by them!

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The first of the Kittenish CD series was put together by Ceilidh Productions in Sweden. These mid-90s series were sort of a sampler of what the label was into at the time, and not necessarily showcasing only the label’s releases as it was the case of this first CD. These CDs were put together by the labels but they were actually released by a music magazine called Ultra Magazine. That’s what I’ve understood by a quick search on the web.

I don’t own any of these Kittenish CDs but would love to have the first one. I should make an effort and just get it through Discogs.  The next one, the 2nd one, was released by the Beat That! label, while the 3rd one by MNW Dance and the 4th doesn’t seem to have a label as far as I know. Not sure if there were more releases in the series.

Anyhow, was just checking out some of the bands on the first Kittenish CD (CEI 037) released by Ultra Magazine and Ceilidh Productions, checking out a bunch of unknown bands for me  and discovered a few that are worth featuring on the blog. See if we can find more information about them. I decided, for no special reason, other than I liked the song on the compilation, to start with the band Soapflakes. All right, I also thought the band name was kind of cool for a pop band.

On this compilation, that also includes important bands like The Cardigans or the super Stevepops, the Soapflakes appear almost at the end, on the 17th track out of 18th with the song “Impossible”. There is a small credit on the back cover for this song, it is credited to someone named L. Björn. Perhaps this will help me dig info on Google?

Discogs also has another song listed for the band on a 2013 triple CD compilation called “Håll Käft! The Gräjtest Rock’N Roll Swindle Vol. 1, 2 & 3” released by Position Förlag (POS005). It does look like these compilation are a mixed bag of styles, not just guitar pop but also some synth pop, hardcore, goth, and even metal. Everything thrown in together. Must be hard to listen I think!

This compilation wasn’t really sold on its own. But it actually came along a book called “Håll Käft! Den Nakna, Analoga, Uppkäftiga Och Nästan Kompletta Sanningen Om Musiklivet I Västerviks Kommun” that is an anthology of the local scene of Västervik in Sweden, between the years 1974 and 1992.

Västervik is a city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 21,140 inhabitants in 2010. Västervik is one of three coastal towns with a notable population size in the province of Småland, with Kalmar County being the only coastal county in the province. Every year since 1966 there is a folk music festival in Västervik, at the ruins of the Stegeholm castle. Being a summer town popular with yachtspeople, campers, daytrippers, and returning former residents, Västervik experiences an annual revival in July. Västervik offers an outdoor life of climbing, canoeing and sailing or islands to visit and stay at. Björn Ulvaeus, a band member of international ABBA who grew up in Västervik is building a complex consisting of hotel, restaurant, and apartments in the bay near Stegeholm castle, which will be a tourist attraction for Västervik.

So we can place the band in time, the early to mid 90s. We know they hailed from Västervik, which means west bay, in Sweden. And we know there was someone in the band called L. Björn. We don’t know of any proper releases though. We do know two songs.

Through the Scandinavian Indie email list I could find that the L stands for Lasse. So It was Lasse Björn. With that information in hand I could find that a band called Dung mentions Lasse on a post back in June 2007. So this band Dung was recording their 3rd album and they were to give the recordings for Lasse to mix them. Here they mention a few interesting things, Lasse had also been in a band called Seventh Wave and at the time, 2007, he was in a band called The Anhyzers. The curious thing then, is that there is an old myspace for this band, and it is listed as a band based in Studio City, California. Is that right?

Then I stumble upon the blog Mr. Zaines Kosertarkiv, a gig archive obviously, and here there is one Soapflakes gig listed, with poster and all. This gig happened at the Kalmar Nation, in Uppsala on September 10th of 1993.

What about Seventh Wave? It seems this was the band he was involved afterwards, a surf band, that released a record called “Always Offshore” in an Australian label called Corduroy Records, in 1995. I wonder if any of the bandmates in Seventh Wave were in Soapflakes as well? Later on, in 2009, this band was to release a mini CD too. Another band that is listed under Lasse’s name is Tamburmajoren who put out a few records on the label Drop Out Records. Then it seems he was involved with Sounds of Distortion as a producer and Weaselface as a technician.

Something interesting for sure is that there is a famous retired hockey player with the same name that keeps popping up. But in the end I stumble upon some interesting details, that Lasse works these days for the Sveriges Ljudmigreingscentrum (SLC) in Västervik. I believe that is a Sound Studio of some sort, Sound Migration Center.

Then I make a connection. I’ve seen SLC mentioned alongside the name Drop Out Studios a couple of times. I believe then that Drop Out Records, that released the Tamburmajoren CDs, is actually Lasse’s own label.

That’s quite some info about him. But I can’t find out who the other members were. Or how come there were no releases by Soapflakes. Maybe there were tapes. Or how come he hasn’t re-released with Drop Out some of the Soapflakes material. I’m curious. But it seems this early 90s band is kind of forgotten. At least I’ve heard one of their songs. Maybe with luck I could track the one included in the triple CD compilation. It is interesting though, that this must be the first time I feature a band from Västervik on the blog.

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Listen
Soapflakes – Impossible

Thanks so much to Rob Cross-Menzies for the fantastic interview! I wrote about The Ferocious Apaches some time ago on the blog and was lucky that Robert stumbled upon my post and got in touch! And I was even luckier that he was up for answering many of my questions about the story of the band and finally painting a picture of this obscure Tamworth, UK, band!

++ Hi Rob! Thanks so much for being up for this interview and getting in touch! How are you? Are you still based in Tamworth? Still making music?

I left Tamworth in the late 80s and moved to Liverpool, ostensibly to study but in reality I just wanted to leave Tamworth.  At the time I had a real beef with the place I disliked the small town-ness of it and I thought musically it was squaresville daddy-o.  It took some time but I came to realise it actually had a great music scene for a small town I couldn’t see that as I had no comparison to draw from.  I had a ‘Tamworth’ pin badge which I had scrawled ‘I hate’ above the word Tamworth (based on an original idea from John Lydon’s  Pink Floyd T-shirt, as modelled by Paul Cook) and wore proudly.  Yes I still make music, can’t seem to help myself.

++ Let’s start from the beginning. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

My first musical memories are getting ready for school and listening to BRMB radio breakfast show (the Birmingham station) playing the hits of the day which would have been ABBA, Leo Sayer and if you were really lucky you might get something like Madness or the Jam.  My parents had mostly  crooner stuff and jazz in their record collection, but amongst that was Alan Freeman’s History of Pop which literally shaped my musical tastes – at least side 4 is pretty much did – even Hermans Hermits, who I give a pass to for launching bubblegum pop. My First instrument was a Kays catalogue guitar which came with the typical instruction book that taught you the wrong way to play, but did have chord diagrams so you could do E, A, D and blow me it’s the Gloria riff.  The first records I owned were the Jam, Who, Beatles – in England around the end of the 70s/start of the 80s there was a MOD revival thing going on which I and my Jnr school friends latched onto and carried into our early teens  (I got a MOD kangaroo trial for buying the Clash’s first album!  You could not be a Mod and a punk that was verboten).  Then came Echo & the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, The Cure, Birthday Party, The Smiths, and of course the Jesus and Mary Chain.

++ Were you involved in other bands before The Ferocious Apaches? 

No.  But…..I think Mark & I made our live debut as drummer and guitarist at Emma Gibbs Love Badges debut gig at the Rathole.  We did a few covers, definitely a Velvets tune (as was obligatory at the time), possibly the Stooges. Then Mark & I got unceremoniously booted off stage as we didn’t have the chops for Paint it Black, so we fired off a volley of candles that we had found from fuck knows where at the new line up – the Rathole was that kind of place.

++ You were based in Tamworth, right? Were all of you originally from there?

No, I moved to Tamworth at about age7 as part of the ‘scumbag’ Birmingham overspill.  Mark was certainly in Tamworth before me but not sure if ‘born and bred’, John lived in Hansacre a few miles away and original bassist Bob was from a satellite village.  Has Tamworth become cool – did I miss a meeting?

++ How was around Tamworth back then? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

As I said above, I thought Tamworth was dire but it was actually pretty good for bands/music scene ,fair enough most of it was terrible metal/’eavy rock but there were actually bands and venues.  There were some pockets – the band Love On Board were great, the Dream Factory took a much wider view of the music world and played all over the place and were all the better for it.  The most likely place to see a band was the arts centre until the Rathole opened, which also seemed to coincide with a number of new bands doing stuff that could be described as fitting in to the indie bracket. There was quite a lot of goth as well!

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

We started around 1986.  Mark & I were school mates and Mark met John at art college, to this day I have no recollection of how we teamed up with Bob or how he became detached from the group.  I met Gavin who drummed in the second line up through him asking me to play guitar in his psychedelic garage band Hamilton Hammond and the Extension (which is a whole other brilliant story), Gavin & I went on to do Liberty Caps with our friends Dan & Mark (another ridiculous story) and then he joined Ferocious Apaches before sodding off to join Primal Scream.  Recruiting was just a case of ‘we like you, you’re in’.

++ Why the name The Ferocious Apaches? 

After Big John of the June Brides’ fanzine.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

The process was whatever we could get away with, initially the songs were short sharp shocks written by Mark after overdosing on the Shop Assistants!  Then as senior musician John came up with some good stuff and I threw in some Jesus & Mary Chain/Sonic Youth things. Our ‘signature’ tune Loop was a bass line by Bob that we played 1 chord over for what seemed like a ludicrous amount of time.  We practiced in garages – as is the correct method.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

The Jesus and Marychain and by extension the Velvet Underground.

++ So as I understand you didn’t have a clue about the existence of the Are You Ready? tape where the song “Golden” was included. How do you think it might have ended up there?

Ha!  I have no idea, it was great to see though as there are some bands I was a fan of on there: Pale Saints, Dandelion Adventure.  Judging from the song attributed to the Liberty Caps that is on there Gavin may have passed the stuff on.  Hell, I may have even sent the stuff to someone in the fanzine network who then spread it around until it ended up on the comp.

++ This is a great song, so I wonder if you can tell me the story behind this song? What inspired it?

John wrote it and it was possibly the first one we played where we were looking at each other going ‘I think we actually sound okay’.  I think it started off as a ‘Then He Kissed Me’ drum beat (by which I really mean Just Like Honey) but got speeded up when we recorded it. Inspiration?  You’d have to ask John.

++ And were you in any other compilations that you remember of?

Nothing I know of.

++ I read that you recorded songs at Expresso Bongo studios. What can you tell me about this place? And how was the experience recording there?

The studio was owned and run by Paul Speare, an ex Attraction (of the Elvis Costello kind) and a Dexys Midnight Runner.  Mark Mortimer of the Dream Factory decided we should go in there and organised it.  It had just been converted to 16 track and we were the first to use the upgraded equipment – we had 2 tracks for drums, 1 for bass, 1 for vocals, 2 for guitars and the rest we filled up with layers of feedback – of course it doesn’t sound like that as Isn’t Anything was still a few years away and we couldn’t rip it off yet.  Paul was very good about the whole thing and engineered it stoically.  I think most of the recordings by 1980s Tamworth bands were done there.

++ How many songs did you record? Do you remember the names? Were they released in any way?

We did Golden, Babies Ivory and Loop.  Also a couple of quick run throughs of the Modern Lovers She Cracked and the Creation’s Making Time.  Well apparently one got realised on a compilation. We later did a few more tracks on a bedroom 4 track.

++ Why weren’t there any proper releases?

No one wanted to release them and we didn’t know how to do it ourselves.

++ Was there any interest about any labels?

No.

++ And what about this patronage you got from Ian Gibbons from The Rathole? What did it consist of?

Ian – what a dude!  First time I saw him he was standing (possibly slumping) in middle entry (rubbish 70s bit of Tamworth town centre) with a bucket raising money for Live Aid, I did a double take thinking it was Geldof himself.  We got to know him through frequenting the Rathole and he liked the idea of our fanzines that were basically a ‘go fuck yourself Tamworth’ statement in cheap photocopy.  That cheap photocopy still wasn’t free so when the Rathole moved to the Arts Centre and Mark & I were somehow incoporated we took full advantage of the grant funded photocopier and our circulation expanded.  But we also ‘advised’ on bands, did posters (mostly Mark who is a visual genius) and played records, handed out fliers, put up posters and generally acted as ambassadors for the indie scene very few people in Tamworth wanted.  We also got some gigs thanks to Ian.  But what we mostly got was some great nights out and lots of anecdotes!  Ian was a bit of a situationist and along with his business partner Chippy (the 4^th furry freak brother) a kind of Lynchian anarchy prevailed – great moments included putting out the slogan ‘Councillor Dicks is NOT gay’ to bend a local councillor’s brain….”Who is saying I’m gay?  And who are these people I don’t know who are defending me?”, and putting out an advert for psycho-billy band the Meteors in the paper as revenge on a local pub for pulling a gig on us.  The last I heard Ian was trying to get into politics – god help us.

++ What do you think of the c86 term? Do you like it? Would you say The Ferocious Apaches was a c86 band?

C86 is kinda odd as it has become a byword for a certain type of indie music which is only partly represented on the NME C86 tape.  Among Primal Scream, Soup Dragons, Pastels there is also Age of Chance, Bogshed, Stump, Big Flame, A Wtness who don’t fit the c86 stereotype. Latterly C86 has become a pejorative term for a kind of wimpy, fey, wilfully childish type of music (Tallulah Gosh spring to mind) and I don’t think Ferocious Apaches really fit that model, but having ‘been there at the time’ I am completely comfortable with the axiom that Ferocious Apaches are a c86 band – I think the term ‘shambling’ is useful here.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Definitely under 20, maybe even under 10!

++ How important was the Tamworth Arts Centre for you and the bands in town?

It went up and down depending on who was in charge at the time.  The author John Garforth took over the running for a while and he was great, he had put on gigs by various punk luminaries – Pistols, Clash, Jam in a previous life.  Other managers were more interested in theatre, poetry, yoga, etc – nothing  wrong with that but they seemed to consider rock music an anathema.

++ And were there any bad gigs at all? 

The worse they were the better they were.  We generally liked the idea of being an affront to the local music community.  We played the local biker bar doing our weirdest set including a version of Paranoid done Velvets 3^rd style and they loved it.  Probably the worst gig was the last one simply because we were all so wasted, but at the same time it was so loud and virtually industrial (for the time) that it was one of the best – we managed to pretty much send everyone running on the obnoxious basis of frequency and volume.

++ When and why did The Ferocious Apaches stop making music? 

1989, we all went off to do other things in other places.

++ Did you continue making music with any other bands afterwards?

Many and varied.

++ You had been in other bands as mentioned like Herb Garden, Big Muff, Liberty Caps, The Hamilton Hammond, Mr Ray’s Wig World and Extension. Wondering if you could tell me a bit about them? Were they also guitar pop bands?

That’s quite a list.  Big Muff were a band that did covers of the covers Spacemen 3 and Loop did and being in Tamworth no one had heard of Spacemen 3 and Loop, so people thought we were innovative, especially the goths for some reason.  The Herb Garden were more a ‘proper’ band and I feel I wrote the songs (this maybe contested!) but after I left they continued with new songs and did quite well.  The Liberty Caps were genuine confrontational noise that became an experiment in mainstream media manipulation.  Thee Hamilton Hammond Extension was a musically brilliant lie.  Mr Ray’s Wig World came when I moved to Liverpool and were actually successful, indie chart top tens and even an NME debut single award type thing that we shared with Radiohead and Suede – wonder whatever happened to those guys – and a few tours with people like (our friends) Boo Radleys, Verve, Cornershop (who started out supporting us until they had hits, then we supported them), Peel sessions and actual proper radio play/interviews.

++ You uploaded two live videos on Youtube, for the songs “Sunrise” and “She Cracked“. Were were these recorded? Do you have more video recordings of the band?

2 gigs were recorded, one at the Tamworth rock festival (She Cracked) and the second was a gig we put on as a kind of protest at the cost of local gigs – we considered £3 for 2 local bands an outrage so we put 6 on for 50 pence.  The second one (Sunrise) was actually the final gig.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio or press?

The local paper gave us the usual nice write ups until they got pissed off at our constant attacks at what we considered ‘their scene’, then they gave us bad write ups.  But never anything above local and no radio – there was very little option except John Peel who would play that kind of stuff and we were nowhere near that level.

++ What about from fanzines?

I don’t remember being in any fanzines apart from our own – and we were mercilessly slagged off in that.

++ You still enjoy indiepop, that’s clear, and still follow it. What are the last records you have enjoyed? 

The last thing I brought was the Courtney Barnett album (actually a present for my wife, who is a proper musician who plays flute, piano, guitar, ocarina, reads music and all that stuff you actually have to spend time learning).  Oh Sees, Liminanas, Goat, Klaus Joynson (a Dr Who concept album no less!), the mighty Lovely Eggs.  But I suppose the majority of my record collection is psychedelia – Golden Dawn, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Factory, Kaleidoscope, and later stuff like Dukes of Stratosphear, Rain Parade.  And a ridiculous amount of Velvet Underground stuff for a band who released 4 albums.  I still love stuff like June Brides, Wolfhounds, Felt, TVPs, The Loft, etc, etc.

++ And today, aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I still do the odd fanzine when the mood takes, and the occasional trip out on the skateboard (although this gets less and less as time goes on).

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

It was all great – we were snotty little bastards and people got wound up by us when we weren’t even trying.  I remember coming off stage and a chap in a local ‘proper’ band called Spiritlake was fuming at the side of the stage and shouting ‘my son can play better than you lot and he’s 9 fucking years old’.  So when we actively tried to wind people up it tended to get very stupid very quick, I got threatened a few times but it was only ever words.

++ Never visited Tamworth, though I have been many times to the UK. So maybe I can ask for some suggestions? Like what are the sights I shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Hmm, I wouldn’t recommend Tamworth particularly as an interesting tourist destination – nice castle, was once the capital of Mercia (ye olde English province).  The house Julian Cope lived in?  In the Ferocious Apaches days we lived on a steady diet of cheap vermouth and nothing, but again, I wouldn’t recommend it!  Sorry – that’s honest but not very helpful.

++ Thanks again Rob! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for taking an interest, the nice words and alerting us to the 30 year old compilation we didn’t know we were on!

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Listen
The Ferocious Apaches – Golden

Here are a few discoveries to kick off this week!

The Suncharms: “Red Dust” is the new song and new video for Sheffield’s The Suncharms. The band who were around in the early 90s and who released with us a great retrospective compilation reformed a few years ago. They worked on new material, new songs, and so the band has recorded a few new songs and two of them will be released as a 7″ on Slumberland Records as part of the 7″ singles club that the label is putting together as part of their 30th anniversary. Check it out!

Esperando el Otoño: this Chilean band has a few members from My Light Shines For You so that can only mean that the band should be great, right? The band recorded a few video sessions for the studio Sesiones 8874 and I’m linking here to the song “Abrázame”. There is also a second one for the songs “Eres Para Mi” and “¿Qué va a pasar?”.

Gizpel: two new songs by this Indonesian band, “Your Loss” and “False 9”, are available now on Bandcamp. These two songs should be released by Kolibri Records in some way (?). The band is formed by Fadillah Ananto on vocals and bass, Dika Raka Prayuga on synth, Joshua Emmanuel on guitar and Alit Wedhantara on drums.

Leave the Planet: the project of Nathalie Bruno and Jack Milwaukee from London, UK, released the “Nowhere EP”on March 2016. I missed it as I miss many things.  I’m only discovering it now. There are 6 dreamy shoegazy songs on it, “Forever”, “Sirius B”, “White Astra”, “Surrender”, “Seashore” and “Desert Son”. This was their last release as far as I know. Their first releases date from 2014 on Bandcamp. Maybe they are no more? Who knows, but this is good.

Deafcult: “if Slowdive was Australian” that’s what I read and that’s how I stumbled upon this Brisbane band. Their 2nd vinyl pressing of their album “Auras” is still available on the band’s Bandcamp. It is also available on CD. This is their debut album and it includes  12 songs of sweet dreampop. The band is formed by Kelly, Matt, Allan, Innez, Nate and Stevie. Will keep an eye on this band!

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If someone knows where their name comes from, please let me know. I’ve always been very curious about it.

I must say that I had seen their name, Bibi Hanuk, on many obscure indiepop collectors list for years until somehow, I happily found a copy of their 7″ at a Berlin record store that Uwe Firestation took me for me to check out many years ago. I think if Uwe hadn’t come with me I would probably wouldn’t find this record as the clerks got a box from the back for us. Maybe if I just went by myself they wouldn’t have showed me this treasure box where I found a few good records. Among them of course the “Camping EP” by this Finnish late 80s band.

As it happens with many of these obscure releases we don’t know much about the bands. So after many years I make the decision that I need to do a proper, a serious, investigation. So why don’t you join me, see what we can dig out.

Discogs actually has a small bio that I wonder who wrote it. It says that the band hailed from Helsinki, Finland, and they were influenced by Bowie, The Smiths and The Talking Heads. I start longing for Helsinki, which I visited last year around this time of the year. I loved it there. I had a very good time in Finland in general, wouldn’t mind visiting again or even moving there. Of course, the language is not easy at all! Perhaps that’s why they choose to sing in English.

The band formed in 1984 and it revolved around Marko von Konow (guitars and vocals) and his sister Milla von Konow (bass and vocals) and their architecture student friends Timo Vikkula (lead guitar) and Jarmo “Elukka” Eskelinen (drums and percussion). I believe that “Elukka” means animal in English. The band lasted until 1990.

Before Bibi Hanuk existed they were in a band called The Walking Deads, a project that covered The Talking Heads. But that was not all, they were also involved in Pete & the Shelleyettes, another covers band, this time covering the Buzzcocks.

As mentioned Bibi Hanuk only released one record while they were around, the “Camping EP”,  a 7″ that was released in 1988 by Sonic Records (Sonic 2). This was a Finnish label that released a bunch of 7″s and LPs in the late 80s and early 90s.

The record included 4 songs, 2 on each side. The A side had the superb “Take a Walk” (written by Marko and Timo) and “A Tuesday Evening” (composed by Marko and lyrics by Jarmo). The B side had “Missed the Point (composed by Marko and lyrics again by Jarmo) and “Hamster Waltz” (composed by Milla). So everyone added their talents to the songs, everyone contributed. All songs were recorded at Soundtrack Studios in Helsinki between the 14th and 16th of May, 1988, and they were also mixed there. It seems these studios still exist these days but they were renamed to E-Studio in 2010.

The art for the jacket was a collaboration between the band and Marjut Vikkula (may it be Timo’s sister?), while the photography of the inner sleeve was done by Riitta Sourander. The engineer and producer for the record was Kari Kalén who seems to have been involved in many bands especially during the 80s. None that I know sadly. There is also another producer listed, Gabi Hakanen, who also played some percussion in the record. And aside from their usual instruments Milla played piano on “Hamster Waltz” while Timo Vikkula played piano on “A Tuesday Evening”. It is important to mention that the inner sleeve came with the lyrics printed so anyone could sing along!

There are two compilation appearances for them. The first dating from 1990, a tape released by Twang! Records from Berlin, Germany, called “Under the Midnight Sun – A Compilation of Finnish Rock Vol. 3”. This tape was actually compiled by Mikael Karvajalka and it included “mainly the “hits””. He had compiled a few of these tapes in 1990, I believe there were 4 volumes of this compilation. On this 3rd volume, the band contributes “Take a Walk”. Another great song, a favourite of mine is included here too like Poverty Stinks’ “I Wanna Be With You”.

The other compilation is a most recent one, from 2000. The compilation “Sivulliset – Valikoima Suomalaista Vaihtoehtorockia Vuosilta 1985-2000” released by Poko Records (VALOSA1) was a 4 CD set doing a retrospective of the best of garage, power pop, punk, guitar pop and other “indie” genres. I have mentioned this boxset before, when I wrote about The Kidneys some time ago. Well, Bibi Hanuk is also on it, on the first CD with “Take a Walk”. I would love to explore these compilations, maybe I should try to find a copy for myself. I’m sure there will be many surprises in it.

And that’s about all you can find about the band. But what about the band members? Well in 2017 I see a long review of a record from Von Konow called “Lieder” on a website called Brutal Resonance. Here it mentions that Marko had not just been in Bibi Hanuk but afterwards joined a power pop band called Tweed during the 90s. Van Konow  had released a few digital singles on Youtube, the latest being “On a Hill“, released 4 months ago. The music is pretty good too. A bit more new wavey for sure, but it keeps the pop sensibilities that make us love Bibi Hanuk.

I look for other projects the band members had been involved with and see that Marko had done some backing vocals for Taikatuu, led a band called Moonage Daydream who did a tribute album for Bowie and was involved with a band called J. Huimapää & Tanssiorkesteri who released a few records in the late 80s.

Timo had also been in many bands, especially on one called Shadowplay that also released records on Sonic Records. He also contributed to Taikatuu, Maritta Kuula & Karvanopat, Kauko Röyhkä, Moonage Daydream and Them Bird Things.

The scene seems a bit small as the bands they seem to have been involved with repeat themselves. Jarmo played with J. Huimapää & Tanssiorkesteri and Milla played bass on Taikatuu.

But what about Tweed? I can’t seem to find them on Discogs, but I do find a shop that sells a CD single for the song “Alone” that was recorded in 1988.

Something cool that I found was a Yelp age for Marko. He is an Art Director these days. The cool thing being that his office is on the street Uudenmaankatu. That is the same street where I stayed in Helsinki! And then I spot a Facebook page, and I see that Von Konow is not a solo project but a band where Timo Vikkula still works with him playing guitars and keyboards. And that the band is based both in Helsinki and Lisbon. And there is quite a lot of information about it, but not about Bibi Hanuk.

What about Milla? I believe she is now a photographer based in Lohja, Finland. Timo Vikkula continues his architecture career working at the Museum of Finish Architecture. And Jarmo seems to be now in London, as a director of Future Cities Catapult.

So we do know Marko and Timo continue making music, but what about Jarmo and Milla? And of course my most important question is if there are more Bibi Hanuk songs other than the 4 on the 7″? There must be! I mean they were around since 1984 and lasted till 1990, they can’t just have 4 songs. And how come there are no mentions of gigs on the web? I did find that they were played on Swedish radio. And it is interesting that they had a song on a German label. But how come they didn’t release more records? And especially how complicated was to be a guitar pop bands in Finland when we all know it as a metal music country.

I wonder, if any of my Finnish friends remember them? Would be great to find out more about this terrific Helsinki band!

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Listen
Bibi Hanuk – Take a Walk

No World Cup today. It feels weird. But can’t wait for the matches tomorrow. Aside from that not much more to tell you all. There is my trip to Mexico in two weeks and I already have received a few orders for me to bring and save shipping costs. Oh! And that I have no more copies of the My Favorite LP as the last copies are going to Mexico where the band seem to be popular as most people were requesting this record to me.

By Monday I hope to have some more exciting news! There is one new Cloudberry Cake Kitchen compilation confirmed too which I hope to announce very soon. Now what have I found the last few days?

Fragile Flowers: where from this beautiful music came from? Sure, it does say Japan on their Bandcamp, but how come I’m only coming across it? This is a 4 piece formed back in 2016 with members Tamaki, Riko, Atsumi, Tigo and Blue from our friends Boyish.  I don’t think they have released any physical records yet, but there are a few digital ones to check out. Their latest is a 6 song EP called “Sheltering Sky/4rd Love”. It sounds great, dreamy and upbeat. Definitely a band to keep an eye.

La Naissance: an Italian shoegaze/indiepop band… that is a novelty. There are only a few good Italian indiepop bands that I can think of, very very few. Well, this Roman band does sound good at first listen. Their self-titled EP includes 5 songs, and to be honest I don’t know much about them. I’m checking their Facebook page but it doesn’t mention the names of the band members or if this is their first release. I suppose they are very new and they do like some mystery.

Sightlines: “Love Ethic” EP is the latest from this guitar pop band from Vancouver, Canada. It is available digitally and also on a blue green vinyl 7″. There are 4 songs, “Love Ethic”, “Colours”, “(We Don’t Have to Be) Friends Forever” and “Bedfellows” and it was released last May. This is their newest work since 2016’s album “North”. The band is formed by C.A. Chux, Graeme McDonald and Eric Axen. This choppy guitar pop record is being c0-released by Double Lunch and Alarum Records.

Shrouded Amps: from the last band’s Bandcamp I followed the recommendations and stumbled upon another guitar pop band from Vancouver. Their latest release is not as new, it dates from last November, but as they are new to me, I am having a listen and recommending to you all to have a listen. The band formed by Tracey Vath, Matthew Budden and Eirinn M have 2 other releases on Bandcamp that I will check afterwards, but now I listen one by one these songs. The first song doesn’t gets my whole attention, but things pick up with the 2nd, “She Spun Out”, but perhaps it is “Mannequins”, the 3rd one, with its quirkyness that I decide this is a band I want to follow!

Rush Week: . I’m not sure about this record at first listen. It is released by the most important indiepop label from Spain, Elefant Records, that’s why I want to know what you think. Do you like it? Is it worth ordering? It sounds like it doesn’t fit within the label, right? I mean it is not bad, but it sounds kind of mainstream to my ears. I saw some comparisons to Club 8, but I don’t see it. It sounds It makes me cringe seeing an indiepop label tagging their records with names like Daft Punk or the XX, I don’t know if that is a big disappointment for you too, it just doesn’t feel like this is an indiepop record, not even an indie record. Thoughts please?

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I was thinking about Plutonita the other day. A trip down memory lane. To the early 2000s when I was obsessed with Spanish indiepop. A time where I was looking for more and more songs, especially from very little known bands, bands that had only released demos on CDR. One of the bands I remember the most was Plutonita, from Murcia.

I wonder why. I loved their two releases, “En la Casa de las Locas” and “El Efecto Minipimer”. I had them on MP3. I didn’t get physical copies of the demos from that period. Maybe only a few. So I was trying to find in old hard drives for their songs, thinking that I must have saved them somewhere. But I couldn’t find them.  And that is a shame.

Their two releases don’t appear on Discogs. But I do remember a few details about them.

“En la Casa de las Locas” was released in 2000 and included the songs “Fiesta Despedida Glam”, “Supergirl”, “30º”, “Planeta de Cristal”, “Cybercita”, “Silvia Fantasía”, “Si Algún Día” and “Quiero Sentirme Flotar”.

Their next release happened in 2002, “El Efecto Minipimer”. This demo had four songs, “Claudio”, “Freetanga”, “Top Modern” and “****”.

On the Murcia Rock website, on an article from January 2003, it mentions that the band was formed by Esther Ganga on vocals, Paco Ganga on guitars and vocals, Juan Alfonso Moreno on guitars, Roberto Puffins on keyboards, Nando Robles on bass and Pedro Marco on drums. It also mentions that they won a prize called Villa de San Adrián and came on second on a Lérida based awards Directe 02 where they got 1,800 euros as prize money.

There are also some other interesting details here, first that the band was formed in 1999 around two members, Paco Ganga and José Ángel Frutos. They released a first demo with three songs “Ácido acetilisalicílico”, “Planeta de Cristal” and “Quiero Sentirme Flotar”. I haven’t heard any of these songs sadly, so can’t say how they sound like. After this demo José Ángel left the band to focus on his main project that was called Second.

Afterwards, now with Esther on vocals, there was another demo called “Mi Barrio Pop”. I don’t know what songs were on it. I only know that thanks to this demo they won a local award called Creajoven 2000.

I also noticed that the band represented at the Youth Biennale in Sarajevo in 2001. But I can’t seem to find much more information about it. Did they go and play there?

On the Yellow Melodies fanzine website there is a review of a 2000 demo CDR called “Silvia Fantasía” that had 5 songs: “Silvia Fantasía”, “Supergirl”, “Cibercita”, “Fiesta Despedida al Clan”, “30º” and “Planeta de Cristal”. Another entry that mentions the band in this Murcia fanzine by Rafa Skam from Vacaciones, mentions a gig at the venue called Garage de la Tía María where they shared the bill with Popiflor, Zipi Zape and Vacaciones.

There is also another article on this website dating from March 2001. Here they mention that the band played at the Villa de Bilbao contest where they qualified to the semi finals and playing at a venue called BilboRock. It seems they had beat Gasca, a band that were on the Elefant label. There is also a mention of a gig on April 5th that year at a venue called La Puerta Falsa in their hometown of Murcia.

On another article, one that is an interview to the band Noisebox, I learn that the practice space they used was named “La Casa de las Locas” and it was also the place were Plutonita, Second and another bands practiced.

Another thing I notice, on many articles on the newspaper La Verdad, is that the band gets compared to The Sundays, Ivy and The Cardigans. And I believe they might be right. Also something curious was that I found that the band played together a gig with Galáctica who I had featured not too long ago on the blog.

I believe also that after the release of the “El Efecto Minipimer” EP, Nando Robles and Pedro Marco decided it was time to only focus on the band Second who was gaining success in Spain. Plutonita was left behind.

I start to wonder about the name of the band. I notice there is a chewing gum, a sour one, with that name that is manufactured in Brazil by the brand Arcor.

Then what are the band members doing these days? It seems Esther is still involved with music as a DJ. I notice that just a month ago she was performing with Mamen Garcia as the Women Beat DJs at the La Verdad festival on the Rendibú night in Murcia. Actually most of the hits I get on Google are about Esther as a DJ as she now uses the name Plutonita for all her DJing.

Not much more on the web about this shortly lived Murcia band who surprisingly didn’t end up on a label other than their own. For me it is strange, they had quality songs and they seem confident in their music until of course, their other band started to do much better in terms of exposure. Then Plutonita was no more. But I do wonder what happened in between with Esther for example, between Plutonita and she being a DJ Plutonita. Or with Paco Ganga? I suppose Roberto Puffins was in a band called Puffins, but what about José Ángel Moreno. What did he do afterwards?

I’m sure my Spanish friends remember them as they have with Galáctica when I decided to feature them. Would be great to find out more about Plutonita!

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Listen
Plutonita – Claudio

Wow, Germany is out of the World Cup. It is hard to believe, right? And yesterday my dear Peru, playing their worst game in the tournament, could score and win a game. Pisses me off though, when we played better we couldn’t get a result. We were an exciting team, played well football, and it does annoy me that Denmark with its boring and pragmatic style is in the next round. Nothing against Danes, I love the Danish Dynamite team back in the day. But this team has no flair at all. France has the talent, so they were going to go through, and always thought we’d come in second. Australia didn’t have much quality though so really had no chance. But well, for many that wasn’t an upset as it was for me. And no one really would care about it. But yeah, today’s Germany’s elimination and Sweden topping that group, that is definitely a surprise. I feel sad for my German friends, but very happy for Sweden (even though I don’t like their play style) and Mexico of course.

Speaking of Mexico, in about two weeks I’ll be visiting the country and if anyone would love me to bring records so you can save on shipping costs please let me know.

Some new video finds today!

Catenary Wires: Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey’s band has a new 7″. I had recommended that a few posts ago. But now there is also a new video for the song “Was That Love?” that I can’t not just pass, I need to let you know about it.  The 7″ is available now from WIAWYA, the label of Mr. John Jervis of course. I still haven’t ordered it, which I’m not happy about. I hope it ends up being available on Jigsaw Records.

Cooper: another video, this time by the superb León, Spain, band. This song, “Ya Llegó el Verano”, is included on the “Tiempo, Temperatura, Agitación”, album that Elefant has already released on vinyl LP and CD. Another top song by Alex Diez, the ex-frontman of the legendary band Los Flechazos. And yes, as the song says, summer is here, though the World Cup is not letting me go out as much as other summers!

Wave and So: seems today I’m having a video review on the blog. Now is the turn for the song “Sun” by one of the best Thai bands today, Wave and So. I don’t understand the details on the Youtube link, but I do know that this song will be included in their new album that is to be released this year on the label Parinam Music. Would be great if this band’s releases were easily available, perhaps distributed here in the US, or at least in Europe, like it is happening with for example the Korean band Say Sue Me.

I Saw You Yesterday: and if was just talking about a Thai band, then there is this Japanese band that I’ve featured before that has actually filmed their last video, for the song “City Girl”, in Bangkok. The band had visited the city when they participated in the Pow Fest in that city in January 2018. That’s when all this footage was recorded. So cool. It made me remember my visit to Thailand in 2016. Such a good time. I hope to go back to Asia again soon. The song is available in the band’s latest EP, “Topia”, which is available from the label Space Shower Music.

Watoo Watoo: and the last new video that I want to recommend is the one for “Au Fond Des Allées” by Watoo Watoo. True, I just recommended their album but at that moment I wasn’t aware there was a video for the song included in “Modern Express”, their fifth and last album, that was just released by Jigsaw Records. So I would say the same thing, this is top French indiepop. Elegant and playful at the same time. The classic French band still shows to be in top form.

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So I finally ended up ordering all the Messthetics collection. A bit late indeed. But as the saying goes, better late than never.

I have actually featured a few bands that appear in those compilations on the blog, the ones I consider as proto-indiepop like Cinematics or Scissor Fits. DIY bands but with a pop sensibility. I am by no means an expert in that period, the early 80s, so I’m actually hoping to discover many bands through these CDs. The first band I had never heard before that caught my attention was the Dundee, Scotland, band Scrotum Poles and their infectious song “Pick the Cat’s Eyes Out”.

As I know very little about them, as they are new to me, I’m doing my investigation now. Discogs describes them as an indie/punk band. And it seems that back in the day they only released one proper record, one 7″, on the label One Tone (ERECT 1). It is actually the only record on this label so I believe it is safe to think this was the band’s own label. The 5 song 7″ EP was titled “Revelation” and had the A side stamped the word “SAD” and the B side had “HAPPY” stamped and had a sticker with two “Hazchem” symbols printed in red ink and stamped “ONE TONE”.

The songs on the record were on the A side, “Why Don’t You Come Out Tonight?” and “Night Train”. While on the B side we find “Pick the Cat’s Eyes Out”, “Helicopter Honeymoon” and “Radio Tay”. There are credits too on the back cover of the record:
Sid ‘Bones’ Gripple – vocals and bass
Burt Spurt – drums
Stripey Sleep – guitar
Smeg Pole – vocals
The songs were mastered by Porky, the famous George Peckham, the famous Porky prime cut. And of course we know those are not the real names of the band members. So, Sid was actually Steve Grimmond, Burt was Glenn Connell, Stripey was Colin Smith and Smeg was Craig Methven.

Other interesting info about this first record was that there was backing vocals by the fabulous “Scrotettes” and that it was recorded by Wilfred Smarties. The design of the sleeve was created by Steve Grimmond.

There are two versions of this 7″. There is the one that has a black and white sleeve and there is one with a yellow sleeve that has a different band logo and illustration. This yellow one actually comes with some inserts with lyrics for the songs. According to a comment on a blog called The Street lamp Doesn’t Cast, what happened was that this sleeve was produced by a dealer who bought the remaining 200 or so copies of the single from their bass player in the mid eighties. The real official sleeve is the black and white one (as the band could never have afforded colour).

Later on, this 7″ was to see some reissues. In 2009 the label Rightback Records released a CDR version of the single and included 3 more songs on it as bonus tracks: “Put an End to it All”, “On the Street Where You Live” and “Eye to Eye”. This CDR came with liner notes by Craig Methven and there it tells that the band took their name from the book “The Choirboys” while he and Colin studied at the Dundee College of Education in 1978. Their first songs were “This is Love”, “Pillars” and “Victims of Vietnam”.

They first released a tape that was limited to 100 copies. “Auchmithie Calling” was released in 1979. At this point Craig and Colin had added Steve Grimmond, Matho and Ronnie Lawson to the band. It seems that after they put out this tape Matho and Ronnie left the band. Glen Connell joined soon afterwards.

According to the story on these liner notes, the band opened for The Exploited and the Thompson Twins. And they were able to raise five hundred pounds to do the “Revelation” 7″. It seems Colin drove down to London with Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue to get the songs mixed in London. The final gig by the band happened at the Tayside Bar in Dundee. The last song they played live was “Memories”.

And then two years later, in 2011, the American label Dulc-I-Tone (TT-013) was to re-release the 7″, as a 7″, with the original tracklist.

This same label had released two years before an LP full of rare Scrotum Poles songs. The “Auchmithie Forever” (TT 012) LP included tracks from the “Auchmitie Calling” tape (A1-A2), “The Bedroom Tapes” (A3-A10) and “A Shot in the Dark go Pop” (A11 & B1-B11). All of these songs were mastered by Weasel Walter and were recorded by Alan Officer. The songs were, on the A side, “It Just Ain’t Fucking Funny”, “Just Another Number”, “Be No More”, “Pick the Cats Eyes Out”, “On the Street Where You Live”, “This is Love”, “The Smile”, “Pillars”, “Roadrunner”, “Apocalypse” and “Swing Baby”. On the B side there was “Helicopter Honeymoon”, “Fast Changes”, “You Can’t Say Anything Nowadays”, “Undivided Loyalty”, “Circumstances”, “Pick the Cats Eyes Out”, “Hold Me Tight”, “City Limits”, “Cocaine”, “Birthday Boy” and “Put an End to it All”.

The band have a bunch of compilation appearances but to be honest they are mostly from a later period. Not from the 80s.

On “Back to the Front Vol.2” by Incognito Records the band contributes the song “Radio Tay”. That LP and CD compilation came out in 1993 on this German label.

On the “Thrilled by Dearth” CDR comp released in the US label Pop Con (02), they had the song “Helicopter Honeymoon”. It seems this wasn’t an official release, instead it was just a CDR that was compiled and given away at the 3rd EMP Pop Conference in Seattle. Only 25 copies were made.

Next up is “Pick The Cat’s Eyes Out” on the Messthetics Greatest Hits CD compilation on Hyped to Death (Messthetics #1050) that was released in 2006. This is the CD I was listening and which made me discover them. And they are on another of the Messthetics compilations, on the “Messthetics #105, “DIY 77-81 Scotland” from 2007. On this one they have the song “Helicopter Honeymoon”. I have yet to listen to this one, I’m going in order with the compilations!

Then there is a tape called “Halloween 2012” released by Eat the Life Records from 2012 that incldues the song “Why Don’t you Come Out Tonight?”

And lastly on the partially unofficial compilation “Kilt By Death: The Sound of Old Scotland (1977-1984)” they have two songs, “Helicopter Honeymoon” and “Radio Tay”. These three CDs were compiled by an American DIY and Scottish punk enthusiast named Michael Train.

I look for more info and I find a post on the website Punk77. Here they are compared to the Television Personalities. They say that after they split the band members went to play in Pigs are Cute, Aaga, Synthetic Dreams and the Summerbees (featuring Red Snapper and Beth Orton bassis Ali Friend). Steve Grimmond went to be Director of Music and Art and Cultural Services at Dundee District Council. It also seems at some point there was a proper Scrotum Poles website. The band used to have a Myspace too.

Sadly I stumble upon band news. On the Courier newspaper I find that on May 21st of 2015 the vocalist Craig Methven died aged 54. At that time he was living in Tunbridge Wells and it seems he was a big supporter of Tunbridge Wells FC, whose website he developed too. At this point in time we know too that Steve Grimmond was Fife Council’s chief executive.

Lastly a Facebook page. And it hasn’t been updated since 2015 when they shared these sad news. There is really not many new details about the band here aside that it is clear they were big fans of the TVPs. Some links for songs by Aaga, the band Grimmond formed afterwards, are perhaps the most interesting finds in here.

But perhaps the best anecdotes are shared on the liner notes of the Messthetics compilations:
“Pick the Cats Eyes Out” featured lyrics found on the back of a set list by one of the first Dundee punk bands, Bread Poultice and the Running Sores (a band once fronted by Billy McKenzie of The Associates). “Cats Eyes” are what Brits call those little orange highway reflectors embedded in the pavement: “Cats Eyes Out Ahead” used to be a common roadside warning.”

All very interesting. Now I should try to get a copy of the 7″ reissue. Start there. I couldn’t find much info about gigs. I’m sure they played many. I guess that would be something I would like to ask them. And also why they didn’t get to release more records.

Do you remember them?

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Listen
Scrotum Poles – Pick the Cat’s Eyes Out

Thanks so much to Osamu Shimada for the interview! The Caraway hail from Tokyo and they have been for quite some time now. They have released in the past a bunch of self-released EPs and an album on the brilliant BlueBadge Records. There has been some silence for the last few years but The Caraway is back with new songs and new plans for the near future. So I thought it was a great chance to learn more about them and also introduce this band to those who haven’t heard them yet!

++ Hi Osamu! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? How is life in Tokyo?

Hi, Roque! Thank you too. I’m so fine. I live happily with my family everyday.

++ I was surprised to see that you are still making music these days. You have a new single, isn’t that right? the “Apple of My Eyes” EP? What can one expect from it? Which songs will be included?

Yes. And I am planning to release a new album. Each title song of EP is going to enter a new album. (“Apple of my Eyes” & “Starry Eyes”). I have not decided when to release, but I’d like to release it soon.

++ And also you are planning a summer tour this year. Whereabouts will you be playing? How many gigs? What expectations do you have?

I will play at Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan. 4 gigs. I expecting many people to come to my gigs.

++ Let’s start from the beginning. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

I played drums for the first time when I was a high school student. After school, I gathered in a music room with my friend and was doing a band. I learned it by myself. At that time,I was listening to punk rock and heavy metal music. (Ramones, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Metallica…).

++ You were involved in Swinging Popsicle before being in The Caraway, right? Would love to do a Swinging Popsicle interview next time. But do tell me have you been involved in any other bands aside these two?

Yes, that’s right. I have been involved in many bands. I often help my friend’s bands, Snow Ball, My Coffee Moment, Bitter Cherry Jam, Three Berry Icecream.

++ And how would you compare Swinging Popsicle and The Caraway? Are they similar or different between each other?

I think that the musicality is different between the two bands. I think The Caraway is more like indie pop.

++ When did the The Caraway start as a band? Were you based in Tokyo or which city?

The Caraway started in 2003 in Tokyo.

++ How was this city back then? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

I think that Tokyo is an exciting city. There are lots of shops and it is very convenient. I usually go to see my friend’s band gig.I recommend a band called Re-peat and a band called Linustate. The two bands are very good with a sound like a Teenage Fanclub.
Record shop, especially I love Disk Union and disques blue-very.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

We gathered by recruiting members.I choosed member intuitively.

++ What’s the story behind the name The Caraway?

My friend gave my band name. Caraway is a herb. I heard that the meaning of that herb is meaningful as a popular person.

++ How was the creative process for the band?

I make perfect demo song. And I will let the members listen to the demo songs. So then we jam session in the studio.

++ Where did you usually practice?

Alone in my room. Bands in the studio.

++ And who would you say were influences of the band?

I am influenced by many bands. My favorite band is True Love Always or Johnny Dee.

++ What would be your top five Japanese indiepop bands all-time?

Red Go-Cart, Bitter Cherry Jam, Three Berry Icecream, Flipper’s Guitar, Johnny Dee.

++ Are all your songs in English? Or are there Japanese language songs? And why do you prefer English for indiepop?

Basically The Caraway songs are in English. When I covered Kaji Hideki, I sang in Japanese. But I like singing in English better.

++ Before your album you released 5 EPs, is that right? Were they self-released? And who used to do the very cool illustrations for them?

Oh,Good eye.I distributed it at my gig.It was demo songs in the CD-R. I drew illustrations of each EP. I’m so happy to you said so.

++ In what format where they released? Are they rare? Like how many copies were made of them?

We distributed it at the gig venue about ten years ago. It’s very rare. But I can make that copies very easy.Because they are demo songs on my PC.

++ Where were these EPs recorded? Had there been any other recordings by The Caraway prior to these EPs?

These EPs recorded in my room. This was the first recording for us. Most of these EP songs were recorded in the first album as complete version.

++ Your album came out on the superb BlueBadge label in Japan. I’ve always wondered about this label. Who were behind it? And how did you know them?

The owner of BlueBadge label is Higuma. He was introduced to my common friend and got acquainted. He operated a small indie pop label in Tokyo, but now he is paused.

++ What did you remember about the recording sessions for the album? Who produced it? What studio did you use? What sort of food and drinks did you eat and drink while making these wonderful songs? Did it take many days?

I played all instruments except bass and chorus in the first album. Of course, I produced it. Drum recording was on Studio in Tokyo.Other instruments in my room at home. It took about one year in total. While I was making an album, I usually ate my wife’s cooking.

++ I believe that now there has been CDR self-releases of your first album, is that right? Is it that hard to find a copy of the original release? And where can one find it or buy it? And what about these bonus tracks? What are their names and when were they recorded?

Since it has not been manufactured already,I think it is difficult to find the original album. There is no way but to check the auction frequently. As a bonus track of self-released CDR, I added a song called Lost Girl of BMX Bandits.

++ How was your relationship with them and with other bands in the label? Perhaps you were good friends with a few of them? Or played gigs together?

Label mate Spaghetti Vabune often played gigs together. I think they are the best guitar pop band.

++ Last question about this album, who is laying on the grass on the cover photo? Is that you? And where was this taken? A park?

That’s me. The video was filmed at Yoyogi Park in Japan.

++ There’s also the CD single “Starry Eyes”. Who is Chocolate Fountain Records who are releasing it? And what songs are included in it? Is it much different to the first album?

Chocolate Fountain Records is my private label. First releasing is Starry eyes EP. I feel like Starry Eyes song is follow the first album. I think that the coupling song are different from the songs that have been so far.

++ You appeared, in 2007, on the “Headstart Happiness” compilation released by TKO Records. Who are TKO? Were they an indiepop label?

At that time, TKO was just an event organizer. He invited in a compilation album so many bands.

++ Also you had two songs on two different AIRS compilation, on the “AirsPort Terminal 01/Wanderlust” and “AirsPort Terminal 1.5/Deep Wanderlust”. Who were AIRS? First time I hear this label’s name.

“AIRS” is originally a graphic designer. He likes music very much, and seems to be managing the label sometimes, but I do not know in detail.

++ Then there’s a compilation called “Find the Answer” which was a Perfect Pop compilation. And this is not the Norwegian Perfect Pop label, but a Japanese one. And I think they had something to do with UFO Club, right? What can you tell me about it?

Certainly it is a different label. The name of the club event that was once held in Tokyo was the name Perfect Pop. The Caraway often appeared on the event. It was a compilation album that collected the band that appeared at the event, but it was a free CDR.

++ And the -“Bluebadge Night! Special Sampler” compilation, I suppose it was given away at a special Bluebadge night. How was it? Who played at that gig? Where did it happen?

It was a special exclusive CDR limited for the venue. I don’t have that. I played with many bands at Shibuya nest in Tokyo. Cleandistortion, Spaghetti Vabune!, Earlybird, Margarets Hope*, Quarry (opening act).

++ I know you appeared on the “Guitar Pop Crazy!” and “SweetSplash Blue” compilations that were released by Bluebadge also. Did you appear in any other compilations?

8 years ago We joined the i tunes-only compilation album called “TOKYO Auto-Reverse”, but the distribution has been suspended now.

++ And how come there were no more releases by The Caraway during those early, mid 2000s? Was there any interest from other labels?

There was no release. During that time, The Caraway did not go very well. Or I was busy with the activities of Swinging Popsicle.

++ I read that you were working and recording a second album already in 2007. Whatever happened to that record? Did you ever finish it?

That’s fact.Because the member has left the band, I quit creating the album halfway. But I am going to complete it.

++ Are there more unreleased songs by the band?

I have many unreleased song. I want to release it soon.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? What were the best gigs that you remember?

63 gigs in 15 years.Every time is the best gig.

++ And were there any bad gigs at all? Any anecdotes you could share?

There are a few mistakes every time, but I do not mind. I think that it is important to satisfy the audience rather than that.

++ I found a live gig on your Youtube account, four songs, “Mockingbird Hill”, “Tandem Bicycle”, “Sunday Clothes” and “Snowflakes”. Where was this gig? There’s no info about it!

I think that the video I played at the AMP cafe in Koenji in Japan in 2015.

++ Was there a ever a break, a hiatus? Or did The Caraway have been going steady since day one?

Band activities in the first few years were stable. However, after members left, I took a day off for the band.

++ And what about the other band members? Have they been involved in other bands?

No ,other band members did not involved other bands.

++ There is a top video for the song “The Rainy Day” that I love. Where was the video recorded? And who are all the people in it? Friends? What was the best of recording it and working with director Norihisa Nakama?

That promotion video. It was special gift (exclusive CD) for the first album release. He was a competent video creator that my friends introduced. Anyway, his shooting was so fun.

++ And of course, I really love this song, can I ask what inspired you to write it? What’s the story behind it?

Suddenly I came up with that melody.Prior to that, I was listening to many guitar pop bands. The Smiths, Teenage Fanclub,  Fountains of Wayne, and many many more. I don’t know what it is. however I think that it is a melody given by God.

++ For you what would be your favourite The Caraway song and why?

“Treasure for Me”. Because it’s dreamy.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio or press?

Unfortunately, little attention was given.

++ What about from fanzines?

There have been articles published in Japanese music magazine “Cookie Scene”.

++ And today, aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I like playing with my son.

++ Looking back in time, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

This interview 🙂 Cloudberry is my yearning label.

++ Never visited Tokyo. So maybe I can ask for some suggestions? Like what are the sights in your town that I shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

I think you should eat sushi. Especially conveyor-belt sushi is recommended. And Harajuku Tokyo is a very fun city.

++ Thanks again Osamu! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I appreciate the fans who listening the Caraway song for a long time. Thank you so much.

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Listen
The Caraway – The Rainy Day

A new week of World Cup, and I just hope tomorrow Peru beats Australia. We are out that is true but would love to say goodbye to this World Cup experience by winning a game and also scoring a goal, or more. It has been quite disappointing not getting the results but it did feel good to see the team in the big stage and playing good football.

I hope your team is doing well and that it goes far. I have friends from many countries that are competing in the World Cup, so it is hard to say I prefer a team over another, but because of very important reasons I’m going to be supporting Mexico from now. 🙂

Also just letting everyone that placed pre-orders of the Salt Lake Alley 7″ just know that they have been shipped. Also Jigsaw Records will have copies shortly and also Rough Trade in the UK. I’ll let you know when other mailorders carry our latest release.

Now a bunch of great finds for this Monday!

Red Sleeping Beauty: “Always on Your Side” EP. Look for it on June 22nd. A 4 song CD EP that Sunday Records (yes! the classic US label is back) are releasing by the legendary Swedish band. Classic, legendary. Both label and band are household names for any indiepop fan. And so this release makes us all happy and we can only look forward to it! The four songs on the record are “Always On Your Side”, “Falling Out of Love”, “Just For Fun” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”. You can preorder it for $6 plus shipping and do keep an eye on the new releases Sunday will be announcing shortly!

Ring Snuten: a few posts ago I was sharing a song by Patrik Lindgren’s alter ego, Ring Snuten, and I didn’t have to wait long to find a new song worth recommending, “Solkatter Eldvatten”. I wonder what intentions Patrik has with these songs? Maybe working on an album? Or just releasing them digitally? It is great to see two new songs within a month after a silence of at least a year!

Dylan Mondegreen: the Norwegian has just revealed a video for the first single for his upcoming fifth album. The video directed by Katalina Bakradze features the song “A Place in the Sun” which sounds very much like Dylan Mondegreen. No surprises there. I haven’t followed him for many years I have to admit, it must be since Shelflife released one of their albums. Maybe I should start doing so again?

Helen Love: “Double Denim” is the latest by one of the best bands ever. And it is going to be on a 7″ that will be released on Alcopop Records. And here I’m sharing the video which of course has the Helen Love aesthetics we all love. It is just perfect. What I don’t know is if this is the A side or if there are any other songs included in the record. I went to the label’s website where one can order the record but couldn’t find any information really.

Sharesprings: two new songs by one of our favourite Indonesian bands! “Something Soon” and “So Comely (Live)” make up the new digital single. There are more good news though, they are announcing a full length very soon. This is out for now on Dismantled Records.

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“Aiken Drum” is a popular Scottish folk song and nursery rhyme, which probably has its origins in a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715). It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2571.

This Aiken Drum wasn’t Scottish. It was Irish. And I must admit I discovered their music recently thanks to the Fanning Sessions Blog. And now I’m only going through the few recordings that are available on the band’s SoundCloud page. All the recordings, and the blog post, everything dates from 7 years ago or so. So I am coming late to the party once again. But still, for me this is all new music and I’m enjoying it. That’s what matters in the end, and I hope the same will happen for you.

The band was formed by Martin McCann, Pat Morrissey and Dave Morrissey around 1985. Pat and Dave were brothers.

They didn’t last long, according to Irisrock.org, they split a year later, in 1986. They hailed from Finglas. I must admit it is the first time I hear that name. I have a trip pending to Ireland. I would really love to go soon.

Finglas is a northwestern outer suburb of the city of Dublin, Ireland. The suburb mainly lies in the postal district of Dublin 11. A couple of kilometres from Dublin Airport, it is situated at Junction 5 of the M50 and the N2 national primary road leading to Ashbourne and beyond. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun, while the rural village of St. Margaret’s is around 2 km to the north. The name Finglas (Irish: Fionnghlas), meaning a clear streamlet, is derived from the Finglas River, a stream which flows through the village and joins the Tolka at Finglas Bridge.

The band only had one song properly released and that happened in 1986 when they appeared on the “Street Carnival Rock” 7″ compilation with the song “The Hearing”. On this compilation they appear first, on the A side. Joining them in that side were Flex and the Fastweather and on the flipside the great A House and The Golden Horde. These recordings were actually all taken from various session recordings for the Dave Fanning Show on Radio 2. All of them were produced by Ian Wilson.

The deal with this 7″, that had no label nor catalog number, was that it was released as part of the 1986 Dublin Street Carnival that was going to be held on June 21st and 22nd of that year and was organized by Radio 2 and Hot Press. The four bands on the 7″ were the ones that were scheduled to play on that bill. All royalties were also going to be donated to the festival.

Irishrock mentions other songs by the band like “The Real Me” or a cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly”. Also other important details about them was that after the demise of the band, Martin McCann later was in Lord John White and Sack, Pat Morrissey became an audio engineer at a studio located in Christchurch Cathedral and Dave Morrissey later played keyboards in A House.

Thanks to the Soundcloud we know that there were three songs recorded for the Fanning Session: “A Day in the Country” (which is become quickly a favourite), “Penny by Penny” and “The Hearing”. And that there was a two song demo titled “Great Strand Street”. This demo tape had two songs, “Force Fed” and “The Real Me”.

Reading the comments on the Fanning Sessions blog I also learn a bit about the band. For example that they played at “The South Band Show” in Finglas and in Dun Laoghaire. Another person comments that he has a copy of the song “Laura” that was included in a Fanning demo/session. Was this song part of that 3-song session I mentioned early? Or was there a 2nd session by the band?

These days I believe Martin McCann continues making music with the band Elevens.

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Listen
Aiken Drum – A Day in the Country

I’m very disappointed and sad with my Peruvian team. We played well both games. We just couldn’t score. We weren’t good at finishing our chances. We weren’t clinical. But we played with flair, with passion and excitement. It makes me sad that teams that have been playing mediocre football will go on the next round like Denmark, Uruguay, or even Portugal. But that’s how it is. France was better yesterday on the 1st half. But we did a good second half, and had some chances through the game. But we knew this was the hardest game of the group. We lost our good chances against Denmark. That was the game.

We lack experience at this level. That was the truth. Being away from World Cups for so long truly affected our minds. It is no surprise that teams that have been away from this event for many years, like Morocco, Egypt or us, are already out. If you go often to the World Cup and have that experience, you can fare better, be more practical and know how to react in different situations of the game. I think for us, what we’ve learned this time around will be very valuable for the next qualifiers, for Qatar, that I believe we have good chances to go to.

Anyways…

Important news. You know Salt Lake Alley 7″ is now available right? Have you ordered your copy already? You can listen to “Deals at the Crossroads”, the opening track on this link. This is the debut release by the band! Salt Lake Alley consists of Gustav Tranback (Paper Hearts, Dismal Plight) and Mikael Carlsson (The Honeydrips, Dorotea). 7″ EP out on Cloudberry Records this spring, and it is a winner!! Salt Lake Alley sound like Teenage Fanclub and Popsicle swapping Sarah singles. They call their music orthodox indie pop. Includes 3 more songs: “So Differently”, “When We’ll Meet Again” and “Matter of Fact”. I’m very happy with this release whose art was created exclusively for this release by Mexican illustrator Alex Herrerías. I hope you like it!! And once again thanks a lot for your support!

And when it comes to new finds, here are my latest:

The Wolfhounds: what great news! “Hands in the Til – the complete John Peel Sessions” by The Wolfhounds will be released on July 20th on A Turntable Friend Records and Slumberland on both vinyl LP and CD. This is amazing news. One of the best bands from the C86 period gets this long-awaited release. This record comes with 12 songs, taken from the three sessions the band recorded for the legendary John Peel in 1986, 1987 and 1988. Right now you can stream two of the songs from the band’s Bandcamp, “The Anti-Midas Touch” and “Disgusted E7”.

Randy Jupiter: a nice discovery thanks to my friend David. Randy Jupiter is a Winnipeg, Canada, band that seems to be new. They have two songs on their Bandcamp, “Hypersped” and “Big on U”. It seems to be a digital only release but these are two fine jangle songs, especially the second song, “Big on U” which is a terrific fuzz pop track. The band is formed by Brady, Randy and Arthur, and I hope to hear more from them, especially if they sound more like “Big on U”!

Starmine: I don’t usually recommend much electropop on the blog, but this band from Tokyo, sounds pretty good to me. Their latest EP, “Starmine is Dead”, was released digitally and on CD last May. The duo formed by Derek and Ryan say that this release is a prologue to their debut LP that they should be releasing in the near future. There are 5 songs on the EP and I think my favourite might be the opening track, “Never Heard So Much Before”.

Homecomings: one of my favourite Japanese bands is Homecomings. That is no surprise. I was happy to include them once on a compilation CD and I’m happy to see that they continue releasing great music. The latest is this new video for their song “Songbirds” which is the A side for their new 7″ on Second Royal Records which has on the B side the track “Songbirds (Miniascape Sunset)”. It is also included in the “Songbirds” CD which includes one extra song, “Play Yard Symphony (for New Neighbors)”. I need both records. That is very clear to me.

Plastic Girl in Closet: another Japanese band with a new video. I have recommended this band before because it sounds amazing. So why not recommend them again with this video that looks vintage, from the 80s. This new official video for the song “Like a Strawberry” looks cool and sounds better. It is included in the new album “Lesson 1”.

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I continue with this trend I started last year of rotating the countries of the bands being featured on the blog. Sure, I can’t do it like last year were I showcased bands from almost 50 countries back to back, but I can manage to share with you bands from all over, right? So today is the turn for Japan.

I wanted to do some digging details about a band I know very little about. A band that as far as I know had no proper releases but just a few compilation appearances. Compilations I don’t own, and I wish I did. That’s the case with many Japanese releases for me. Wish I had more.

I would love to know where the name of this band comes from. Like who was Margaret? The only facts I know from the start, before writing this post is that they were on two compilations on the legendary Bluebadge Label in the early 2000s.

They had the song “Sunny Day” on the label’s second release, “Bluebadge Compilation Vol. 2 Pop Comes Up!” (BBCD 002) from 2002. They actually had the first song on the CD. This compilation includes many bands that I’m not familiar with and that I wish to explore. The ones i know are only a few like Hairsalon, Mondialito or Hazel Nuts Chocolate.

Their second compilation appearance is on the superb CD compilation “Guitar Pop Crazy! (Bluebadge Compilation Vol.3)” (BBCD 009) from 2005. This time they had the fifth song on the CD and they share this compilation with classic bands like The Caraway, Spaghetti Vabune! or Sloppy Joe who have been featured on the blog! The song the band contributed was “春街日和”. The song name in English would be “Sunflower of Spring Town”.

I keep looking for more information. I find a Mixi community group for the band. There is not much information sadly. It does seem as the band used to have a website. Now it doesn’t exist anymore.  But I do find an interesting detail, the vocalist was named Mayumi Hozaki. And she actually performed solo for the first time in 5 years in Tokyo in 2012.

I was then to find a Soundcloud with a few songs by the band. It is an account by Hideaki Hamada who I believe was also part of the band. There are a few compilations he has made of his favourite pop songs, including a lot of indiepop and most importantly some songs by Margarets* Hope like “春街日和“, “赤いスィートピー“, “ひこうき雲“, “One Year” and “From June to July“. The sound quality on some of them is not the best, maybe they were recorded live. But still it is worth checking out!

From what I gather these days Hideaki is a photographer who has worked in many projects and has had exhibitions all over Japan and also Taiwan. He was born in Aawaji Island in Hyogo and these days he lives in Osaka. That makes me wonder if Margarets* Hope was based in Osaka? Or maybe in Tokyo as Mayumi played a solo show there.

Also why the asterisk on the band’s name?

I stumble upon a blog that shows what may have been a proper release, an EP for “Sunny Day”. The images seem to be broken, so I can’t say if it existed at this point. But 5 songs are listed for it, “Sunny Day”, “Be Happy Again (Rock ver./demo)”, “Now I Know (demo)”, “Square of Summer Sky (live recording)” and “Snowy Street (live recording)”. There are some credits too, Mayumi Hozaki is credited for vocals, flute, chorus, percussion and programming (yamaha qy70) and Hideaki Hamada on guitars, chorus and programming (logic audio).

The band also used to have a Myspace back in the day. Today there’s nothing in it. But I could see that Mayumi had a profile too where it shows she was based in Temma, Kansai. All these locations are confusing to me. Can’t figure out where the band was based.

Then on the Japan Live blog, I notice an entry from 2011 where it mentions that the band was based in Osaka. At last! Someone confirms it. This post mentions that Mayumi was to play in an event called Pop Planet in Seoul, Korea. Actually it does seem as Mayumi had released a CD album though I can’t figure out much as it is all written in Japanese. I believe it is called in English “Wind and Hitomi” and included 5 songs and released by Lepus Records. On the description it mentions that Margarets* Hope was started in 2001 and split in 2007.

I find a listing where it mentions that Margarets Hope* played on September 30th 2006 at a gig commemorating the release of Philia Records’ “Good Day”. The bands that played that night were Kunoshibi, Kobayashi Shinano, Haydon, Trans Alphabet and The Sweet Onions.  There is another gig I found from January 20th of the same year, 2006. This one at the Cyclone venue where they joined Humming Parlour, Orange Noise Shortcut and Three Berry Icecream.

Lastly I found another song on Youtube, one called “夕暮れ通り“.

I could confirm the band hailed from Osaka and also the names of the band members. I couldn’t find if they were involved in any other bands. Or if they had proper releases. It looks like they did have one, a “Sunny Day” EP, but maybe it doesn’t even exist. Would be great to find out more about them! Do any of my Japanese friends remember them?

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Listen
Margarets Hope* – Sunny Day

Thanks so much to Miki and Koichi for the interview! I discovered not too long ago The Vegetablets, the band they have these days but before that they had been in a few bands, one of them being Bitter Cherry Jam, which was a terrific Nagoya band from the first decade of this century. These days they have a very good compilation that could be a great introduction for anyone curious about their music: “Road to the Vegetablets“.

++ Hi Miki and Koichi! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? 

We are excited!

++ You are making music these days with the band The Vegetablets, what is new with the band? Any new releases coming up? Or perhaps some gigs?

As the Vegetablets, we released two cassette tapes in 2017, and now a CD including all songs in the tapes is available. And we think we will make a new mini album this year. We’ll do a gig with the Caraway, Red Go-cart and Three Berry Icecream in Nagoya on July 14th.

++ Let’s start from the beginning. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

When we were children, we were listening to Japanese popular songs. Those songs were composed by real composers, not rock artists. And began listening to rock music when we were teenagers.

Koichi: My first instrument was piano, but I didn’t like it and learned for only a few month. I bought a guitar when I was in college and learned it myself.

Miki: My first instrument was also piano. I learned to play until high school. I bought a bass when we just married and decided to start Cherry Letter.

++ You were involved in the band Cherry Letter before, right? How different was this band to Bitter Cherry Jam? Was it the same lineup? Was the sound similar or not? 

A drummer Masafumi Hiramatsu was also a member of Cherry Letter. We wanted to be a live band, so most songs were recorded live.

++ When did Bitter Cherry Jam start as a band? And how was Nagoya back then? What were the venues to play or catch good bands? The good record stores? Were there many like-minded bands that you were friendly with? 

When we started Bitter Cherry Jam, we were in Nara. When Miki was in a hospital because of joint disease, we couldn’t continue the band and Masafumi left us. And we planned a new unit in the hospital room and named it Bitter Cherry Jam. It was in 2001. But Nagoya is Koichi’s home town, so we sometimes came back to Nagoya. Galaxy Train was an important label and Toru was a friend of ours. They released good records of like Flower Bellcow, Tricorollars and so on.
And there were two important record shops in Nagoya, rail and arch records. They were selling good indie music. After they closed, File-under is an important record shop. Recently the owner of arch records started a new record shop called Andy 10 years after arch records closed.

++ Why the name Bitter Cherry Jam? 

We wanted to leave the word cherry. And basically our songs are sweet, but sometimes they get bitter.

++ How was the creative process for you? 

Cherry Letter was a live band, butBitter Cherry Jam was not. We recorded songs track by track. We could use more instruments other than guitar, bass and drums. It was fun.

++ I notice you have songs in both Japanese and English. Do you have any preference? What is easier for you? 

Of course Japanese is easier. But sometimes English is suitable for melodies.

++ Where did you usually practice?

In our room, and sometimes we used rehearsal studio.

++ And who would you say were influences of the band?

So many. We were influenced by music of Brian Wilson, Mari Wilson and Tot Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish, Dukes Of Stratosphear, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach, Tony Hatch, Sly and the Family Stone, and many more.

++ What would be your top five Japanese indiepop bands all-time?

We don’t know well, but our friends are making good songs. Red Go-Cart, the Caraway, Shino Kobayashi, Dronjo Kept by 4.

++ I’m aware of your releases on Galaxy Train and Tulip House. I believe your first releases were on Galaxy Train, so wondering how did you end up releasing with this label? How was your relationship with the label and also the bands in the label?

No, our first release was a split 12″ with Cherry Letter on Tulip House, our own label in 2001. And then Galaxy Train released a CDR called Departure in 2002. Then we released 6 CDRs on Tulip House before 2012. I think our relationship with Galaxy Train was good until we and Takayuki broke up. But still members of Red Go-cart are our good friends. Recently members of Dronjo Kept by 4 are also friendly to us.

++ The first release I’m aware of was the “Where Does the World Exist?” tape in 2014. Did you find out the answer for that question? Where does the world exist?

So “Where Does the World Exist?” was the first release after Takayuki joined us.
Yes. The world you see exists in you.

++ Some songs on the tape were recorded at K.D Japon, August 2013. What was this event? 

It was fun. After Takayuki joined us, our sound became more alternative rock style. So we used live tracks.

++ The next release was another tape called “In Your Own Space” that came out also on Galaxy Train. I wonder why most of your releases came out on tape? Perhaps it is your favourite format? 

We also like tapes, but Toru, the owner of Galaxy Train, loves cassette tapes more.

++ And this tape has a song called “Akashic Records”, which really strikes me. These are the record of a soul’s journey, is that, right? I don’t know much about these theories, but I do wonder if you are into it?

Yes, some people say all information in the world are recorded in Akashic Records. We tend to think everything is controlled by us, individuals, but recently we feel we are more controlled by the universe.

++ Then there is another tape called “Sayonara”. And with that name it does feel like a goodbye. Was that the intention? That these 4 songs were to be the last release by the band? 

Yes, it became a goodbye to Bitter Cherry Jam.

++ I got introduced to the band thanks to the compilation “Road to the Vegetablets” that was released by Tulip House Records. Is this a full compilation with all of your recordings? Or is it a selection of yours?

A selection between 2003 and 2012. Actually most songs were recorded before 2006. In fact there were also dark songs because Koichi was depressed then, but we didn’t want to make the compilation album dark, so we excluded those songs.

++ This is a great compilation, I really loved it. One thing that caught my attention was the great art for the cover. Who made that?

We made it. Koichi was also an engineer and he made a laser cutting machine. So we could cut felt cloth with it.

++ This album has so many favourite songs, for example “Strawberry Taste”, which might be my favourite. If it is not much to ask, what’s the story behind this song?

Strawberry Taste was a song by Koichi’s solo unit called Chain Letter before Cherry Letter. We re-recorded it. It is too old, so I don’t remember well. BTW, the caraway, a friend of mine Osamu Shinada’s band, also covered this song. This song seems popular. Osamu also played drums on a song called Love Each Other in the compilation CD.

++ And if you had to choose one Bitter Cherry Jam song as your favourite, which one would it be?

Maybe “She is my POP star”.

++ There is another tape called “2012” on your label that was actually a re-release of a 2012 CDR. Who released the original CDR? 

We, Tulip House, released it ourselves.

++ And there are other releases prior to this one, right? I saw a photo of a vinyl record dating from 2001that was Tulip House #10. What was this release? Can you tell me a bit about it? How many songs were included?

Yes, the 12″ was a split album with Cherry Letter. 7 Cherry Letter’s songs, 4 Bitter Cherry Jam’s songs and one cover version song.

++ And how come there’s a Todd Rundgren cover? What other cover songs did you use to do?

Because we are big fans of Todd Rundgren.
I Saw The Light of Raspberries. Not Todd’s one. It was included in Bitter Cherry Jam’s “I just want to call you up ep” CDR in 2003.
Thirty-one Love of Tot Taylor. It was included in Bitter Cherry Jam’s “live for love ep” CDR in 2004.
On Christmas Day of Brian Wilson. Included in Bitter Cherry Jam’s “she is my POP star ep” in 2006.
We also played Chega de Saudade of Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim in 2001.

++ And Tulip House Records, that is your own label isn’t that right?

Yes.

++ How come there were no more releases by Bitter Cherry Jam? Are all of the tapes and CDRs I mentioned your full discography?

Bitter Cherry Jam’s first release was a split 12″ in 2001. Then Galaxy Train released Departure CDR in 2002. And we, Tulip House, released a full album CDR “restaurant” in 2003, “i just call you up ep” CDR in 2003, “live for love ep” CDR in 2004, “like a show ep” CDR in 2005 and “she is my POP star ep” CDR in 2006 and “2012” CDR in 2012.

++ Were there any compilation appearances by the band?

We don’t remember all but,
Bitter Cherry Jam’s “Sentimental Journey”, my charm ornament #6 voyage a la mode
Bitter Cherry Jam’s “Our Brand-New Old-Fashioned Show”, “headstart for happiness” compilation on TKO label
Cherry Letter’s weekend song, “Pop Jingu 3” compilation on Clover Records, and “boys (& girls) wonder” compilation on TKO label.
Cherry Letter “First Christmas”, galaxy Xmas on Galaxy Train.
Chain Letter’s “How Long Can I Be With You”, “picnic basket” compilation on Shelflife Records.
Chain Letter’s “spring is here”, 9 pieces of BROWNIE compilation on Brownie Records.

++ Are there more unreleased songs by the band? 

No.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? What were the best gigs you remember?

Not many. Recent The Vegetablets’ performance was the best.

++ And were there any bad gigs at all? 

Most gigs were not satisfying. We were not good at playing in front of people. But nowadays it is fun.

++ When and why did Bitter Cherry Jam stop making music? Was there a break in between Bitter Cherry Jam and The Vegetablets or did that happen immediately after? 

Takayuki liked more alternative rock style. Loud drums and noisy guitar. And we prefered more pop style. In rehearsal Miki’s voice was always hoarse because drums were too loud. Our direction was different. He seemed to have his own style, and we thought the style was not suitable for us. We didn’t want to argue anymore. We started to make songs just after Bitter Cherry Jam broke up.

++ And what about Takayuki? Was he involved in other bands?

He was also doing a band called Blue Tapes and now he is doing a band called Furnas.

++ There was a video for the song “ゆめはあしもとに“, where was this recorded? And are there more videos by the band?

It is the only music video of Bitter Cherry Jam. We recorded it in Kamiishizu, Gifu, Miki’s home town, with help of Galaxy Train.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio or press?

I didn’t think so, but recently Pitchfork introduced the vegetablets’ song called “まぜるなきけん Don’t Mix Danger”. Then some radio stations around the world played it. Recently KEXP-FM played “それもまぼろし It’s also Fantasy”.

++ What about from fanzines?

When Koichi was doing Chain Letter and Miki was doing Cherry Honeymoon before Cherry Letter, many fanzines were interested in our songs.

++ And today, aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Koichi: My hobby is making electronic things, and it’s getting my real work. I also make games for old video game consoles.

Miki: I’m making handmade crafts and have a brand called Happy Time.

++ Looking back in time, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

We wanted to make real pop songs. We recorded a song “I just want to call you up” in 2003 and continued to make pop songs until 2006. That period was the biggest highlight. So you can enjoy them with the compilation CD.

++ Never visited Nagoya. So maybe I can ask for some suggestions? Like what are the sights in your town that I shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try? 

We don’t go out so often, so we can’t make a good suggestion, but Nagoya Castle will be rebuilt in the future. It was destroyed in WW II and now it is made of concrete. And it is going to be rebuilt with wood again.

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Listen
Bitter Cherry Jam – Strawberry Taste

It is kind of strange, some labels and bands are starting to send me songs and links for me to review. I’m not used to it. I usually find the news by myself, digging on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook and other websites. Of course it is nice to get some links from other people but I hope they understand the way I do things. For example I don’t want private links. I want to share with people the music I’m talking about. Even if it is just one song, I had no problem recommending one song, you know?

Anyhow, tomorrow Peru plays France. And I can’t wait for the game, it is making me so anxious! Hopefully we can get a good result this time.

Watoo Watoo: the fifth and final album by Pascale & Michaël is out now on Jigsaw Records. It is titled “Modern Express” and at first listen I must say I will have to order this asap! The Bordeaux based band who has been releasing records for decades now, with great quality and on top labels released this beautiful 10 song CD just a few days ago, on June 15th. If you like whimsy and classy indiepop, this is definitely for you.

Neonic Sundrive: just discovered this Russian band through my friend David. Their latest song, from May 18th, is a superb female/male vocals popsong. It is called “I Can’t See Your Eyes” and it is terrific, surely influenced by the JAMC and other noisy pop bands. This song is taken from the debut album “Lie Paradise” that is said to be released sometime soon. Will have to keep an eye on them!

Lost Jackets: “Above and Beyond” is the name of the song that has introduced me to this guitar pop combo from Melbourne, Australia. It was released just a month ago, on May 22nd, ontheir Bandcamp as a digital single. This band, formed by Hamza Siddiqi, Peter Russell and Nick Economou, have a few more songs, and I suggest checking their 2016 EP “Don’t Turn Your Back to the Sea” that  has a terrific song called “Caitlin”. Good new find.

Fantasmamidi: the latest from the Spanish label Discos de Kirlian is the debut album by this Murcia band with a strange name. The band formed by Borja Martínez, Carmen Espín and Pedro Bayona, have crafted 10 fun pop songs that I’m totally loving. They remind me a bit vocal-wise to Patrullero Mancuso but the music is a bit happier (?). And lyrics-wise they do have a good sense of humor. I hope Jigsaw gets some copies of this limited to 100 CD.

Últim Cavall: another band I have recommended in the past is this Barcelona band. A favourite one of mine for sure. They sing in Catalan, you might notice that, or maybe not. But I find that interesting. The band has just unveiled a new version of the song “La Casa Cremant”  which was included in a 2015 EP and I must say that this renewed recording sounds superb~!

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Here’s a band I’ve always been curious about. I do have the one 7″ they released but only recently I found out the band had put out a tape with a bunch of songs I’ve never heard before. One of them being “Julie Christie”, the song I’m sharing on this post, which quickly became my favourite song by them. I wonder though if that tape style is different to the 7″. The 7″ is rockier, while this song is jangly. Maybe one day I’ll listen to the tape.

The 7″ was the “Neurotica EP” that was released by the great German label Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 6). It only included two songs, on the A side “Down Fall Down” and “Yours For the Taking” on the B side. Both songs were recorded at Birdsong Studio in 1993 and they are credited to Coleman/Chester.

This wasn’t the only collaboration with Jörg Kruckemeyer’s label. They had participated in tape compilations on this Wörth/Main label. They had four songs on the compilation “Limited Europopsongs” (MEL 21) that came as a bundle with the first 100 copies of the compilation tape “Europopsongs” that was also released by this label. The songs they had were “Everyone Will Tell You” and “Pinstripe Stripper” on the A side. On the B side there was “Julie Christie” and “Unlikely Poet”. This compilation had other good bands like Friends Ahoj (which have been featured on the blog), The Keatons, Driver 8 or Polar Bear.

Before that tape comp, there was another one called “Ha Ha, Funny Feeling!” (MEL 15). Sadly I can’t find release dates for any of these tapes, but because of the catalog number I assume this one came first. On this tape the band appears with 3 songs, “I Think You Know” and “Doubtful” on the A side and “Starry Eyed Girl” on the B side. Some other great bands in this comp are Dan Dare (featured on the blog), The Waiting List or even Milky Wimpshake.

There is one tape compilation on Meller Welle that does have a release date, 1992. That one is “Sandcastles in the Sun” (MEL 10) which actually came out before the 7″. Maybe this was the start of the relationship between band and label. Kennedy has three songs on it, “I Know I Shouldn’t Laugh”, “Lilac Painted Sky” and “Miserable”.

They also had a song, “Everyone Will Tell You”, on the “Cerulean Sky!” tape that was released by Grapefruit (Grapefruit 07) and Bliss Aquamarine (BLISS 005) in 1993. I have mentioned this tape before on the blog, on the post about the French band Nothing Else, though there are bands on it that are still a mystery to me like Rentboy, Lovehappy or So-So among others. Would be nice to listen to the whole thing someday.

And the last compilation they were on is a 7″ that I actually own. It was a 7″ compilation called “Does Your Dog Moult? EP” that was released by Happy Dog Rekordz (BONE 001) in 1993. This 7″ that came with a fanzine of the same name was limited to 500 copies. Kennedy appears last on the B side with the track “Prude with Violin”. I had actually talked quite a bit about this 7″ when I featured the band Snog 6 and later interviewed them!

That was the discography I knew until a few days ago. But then, thanks to an upload to Youtube by Heinz, I could find out the band had put a tape in 1995 called “Oh What a Beautiful Mourning” on the Bliss Aquamarine label (BLISS 016). This label founded by our friend Kim Harten in the UK, to go along with her fanzine, released a bunch of tapes between 1993 and 2000. It wasn’t just indiepop on it, but there was quite a lot, and a lot of good stuff!

This tape has some great artwork I think. Simple, in black and white, but iconic. And I believe that is true too for their 7″. They must have a good sense of design. maybe one of them was a designer. This tape had in total 16 songs. Maybe it was a collection of all of their recordings. It was released in 1995, years after the release of the 7″. Maybe the band was no more at this point. I wish it had been released on CD, would be easier to find a copy perhaps. The songs that appear on this tape were on the A side: “I Know I Shouldn’t Laugh”, “Lilac Painted Sky”, “Miserable”, “I Think You Know”, “Doubtful”, “Starry Eyed Girl”, “She Pleasantly Murders” and “Flattered”. The B side had: “Fin”, “Everyone Will Tell You”, “Pinstripe Stripper”, “Julie Christie”, “Unlikely Poet”, “Down Fall Down”, “Yours For the Taking” and “Prude with Violin.” As you notice all of their previously released songs appear on this tape, that’s why I have the hunch it was a sort of retrospective comp.

I start looking for any other information about them and stumble upon Lee Coleman’s SoundCloud page. On it there are many Kennedy recordings! We can find the “Down Fall Down (7 version)”, “Yours For the Taking”, “Flattered”, “Starry Eyed Girl” and “I Think You Know”. Wow! It is great to be able to listen to these songs that were unknown to me until now!

The band also used to have a Myspace. Thanks to it I figure something out, they were based in Scunthorpe, England.

Scunthorpe is a large town in North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 65,163 according to the 2011 census. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom’s largest steel processing centre, is also known as the “Industrial Garden Town”. It is the third largest settlement in Lincolnshire, after Lincoln and Grimsby.

What other guitar pop bands hailed from that area? Who do you remember? I then look at the photos that had been uploaded to Myspace and see a few flyers for gigs. For example a couple with a band called Timothy supporting them at Glanford Park and at the Jug in Doncaster. Also another gig at the Lincoln Imp. Then there is one at the Little ‘Un with support by the Dead Beats. Or at The Robey or at King’s Head.

I start wondering too why they named themselves Kennedy. I suppose because of John F. Kennedy? Or another Kennedy?

But I keep digging and I finally find their names. Kennedy were Richard Chester on vocals and guitars, Sean Coleman on guitars, Matthew Lambert on bass and guitar and Tom Lambert on drums. Were the last two brothers? And so Sean was Lee?

If he was called Lee Coleman I believe he is a visual artist now as well as a paramedic and still living in Scunthorpe.

There isn’t much on the web written about them. Of course having the name Kennedy is not easy when it come to looking for them. I couldn’t find much information about the band members. Had they been involved in other bands. Did they play many gigs? What happened to them? Did they release anything else?

Anyone out there remembers them?

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Listen
Kennedy – Julie Christie