Thanks so much to Ryan Marquez for the interview! Many of us know Ryan’s bands in the US like the super Apple Orchard who graced an early Cloudberry 3″ CD and nowadays the band Golden Teardrops who are releasing a new record. But before all that, back in the Philippines he was involved with a band called Sodajerk that was heavily influenced by Scottish Pop! They didn’t release much but they have put most of their recordings up on Bandcamp. And because of that I thought it was a great opportunity to learn more about Sodajerk and Ryan too!

++ Hi Ryan! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? We met many years ago thanks to your band The Apple Orchard. What happened to the band? Still going?

Hey Roque! Yes it seems so long ago! We met at the NYC Popfest 2010, was it? Hope you’re doing good. Apple Orchard is currently on hiatus. Dale and I haven’t really called it quits. We’re just not writing material for it.

++ I noticed that you have just released a new record with your new band Golden Teardrops, care telling me a bit about it?

I actually recorded a demo in 2005 with my then girlfriend (now wife) called “A Summer Escape”. I always wanted to do something like it, like a mix of 60s pop and indiepop. Then in around 2014, I wrote a couple of songs which we liked, and that’s when the idea of recording an album came about.

++ You’ve been in many bands but of course, I wanted to interview you about Sodajerk, hopefully in the future we can talk about the rest of the bands! But let’s talk about your 90s, early 2000s, band! You must have been very young when you started Sodajerk, right? Was it your first band or had you been involved in other bands before being in Sodajerk?

I was 19 years old when Sodajerk formed. It was my second band. My first band was Go Figure? (yes, with a question mark), which was only a few months prior to Sodajerk. Go Figure? was a Pavement-cover band when I joined, and I had a Pavement-phase during those years. I was the guitar player there for a while. I only lasted a few months (totalling less than 10 gigs). It didn’t work out because I live far from the rest of my bandmates, and that I had to come back to the States for a few months. They also wanted me to “rock out” because I just stood whenever I play the guitar. I do not remember if I got fired. They’re really good musicians though and I learned a lot from them, like drop D tuning and stuff.

++ And what about the rest of Sodajerk? Have they been involved in other bands? 

Ronald (bass) and John (guitar) were in a band called Noise Behavior. I saw their band once, and they covered songs by Seam, and Superchunk. Manny used to be in a Black Sabbath cover band!

++ 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 music memory was my grandfather listening to this radio station that played 50’s music. He listened to it every afternoonand played the music really loud! He also played cassette tapes of Elvis and Nat King Cole. He had records too but his record player broke, so cassette tapes were big in the family then.

The first instrument I played was keyboards. I was probably 12 or 13. My brother and sister took piano lessons, but I didn’t. My brother taught me the basic piano chords like D, G, and A, and I wrote my first song on a small electric keyboard, but I never really liked playing it. My dad bought me my first guitar when I was 15 loved it! I studied “The Beatles Songbook” with the help of a chord chart and that’s how I learned to play the guitar.

When I was about 10 years old, my brother Dale, who’s 4 years older than me, introduced me to New Wave and all that, and I got into The Cure. I remember getting “The Head On The Door” on cassette. He used to buy these compilation tapes, andvinyl. I remember hearing The Pale Fountains and The Lotus Eaters on one compilation LP called “London Calling”, where they have 2 or 3 songs each. I think The Blue Nile was in there as well. I also bought cassette compilations whenever I have money, so I can discover more bands. So yeah growing up, I listened to whatever my brother was listening to: New Order, The Smiths, Echo And The Bunnymen, China Crisis, Aztec Camera. I remember at a young age, being obssessed to Aztec Camera’s “We Could Send Letters”. I still love that song up to now.

++ You were based in Valenzuela City in the Philippines. Were all of you originally from there?

Three of us were originally from Valenzuela City. Ronald (bass) grew up in Tarlac City then moved to Valenzuela after high school.

++ How was around Manila 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 learned about the Manila Indie scene from Dale. He was in a band already (Sonnet LVIII), and they had been playing at a place called Club Dredd. This was probably early ’94. Sonnett LVIII was a very good live band, and was starting to make a name for themselves. I’ve seen plenty of local bands around that time, but I particularly liked Bad Days For Mary, Smashed Little Creatures, and Aspirin was pretty good too. The mid to late 90s spawned more good bands like Fingernail Cocktail, Uranus, Soft Pillow Kisses, Smile Plenty… Most of these bands have no recorded output. It’s just that it’s hard for an indie band to get signed those days, and studios cost a lot to record.

As for record stores, there was a place called Groove Nation, where you can order stuff. Later on it was Tower Records. There was another place, but I forgot the name, CD Warehouse or something, where you can place an order then pick it up after a couple of months!

Club Dredd was the best venue to see bands during those years. They had this horrible “ticket selling” process there where smaller bands had to sell a certain amount of tickets in order to play. We used to pay for those tickets ourselves just to play. Dumb, right? But we were young, and all that mattered was playing live. There’s another club called Mayric’s that became home to a lot of indie/indiepop bands. They scrapped that “ticket selling” thing over there, which was a relief!

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

One afternoon, I had a visit from Ron Cajayon, the guitar player from Sonnet LVIII, who is a friend of my brother, and I knew him since I was little. He asked me to form a band with a couple of guys he knew, and that he’s willing to play the drums. I just left Go Figure?, and have been frequenting Sonnet LVIII rehearsals, and even did a guest guitarist spot on one of their shows. I wanted to start a band with a friend of mine but he moved out of town. Ron then set up a meeting at his place, where I met John and Ronald. This was the second time I met them actually, because I saw their band Noise Behavior previously, and we had a quick chat then, and I told them that I liked the Superchunk cover they did, and they recognized me from Go Figure? They were really cool and funny guys, and they like Teenage Fanclub, too, so we hit it off right away.

++ Why the name Sodajerk? 

Sodajerk was suggested by our bass player, Ronald. We were a couple of weeks away from our first gig, and we didn’t have a name yet. We had a discussion about band names, and I asked Ronald about this recently, and he said we considered names like Lube and Fuel, because our drummer’s house have these boxes of Lube and Fuel stacked somewhere inside the house. So we were looking around and Ronald had a mixtape with him with the song Sodajerk by Buffalo Tom. We all thought it was a good name, though none of us were huge Buffalo Tom fans.

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

Usually, one of us had a song written, but all of us contributed in arranging the songs during rehearsals. It just happened that I wrote more songs, but it was more of a collective effort.

We were more of a live band so we used to practice once a week, and more than that when we were starting out. In the beginning, we used to practice at Ron’s (our first drummer) house, as early as 9 in the morning. Then later when Manny joined as the drummer, we practiced at several rehearsal studios, for 2 hours a week, and sometimes more. At times, we would rehearse at Ronald’s brother’s apartment.

++ Did you ever sang or considered singing in Tagalog at all?

We never wrote a song in Tagalog. I don’t think we even discussed it. It’s because of the style of music we’re interested in. We like Scottish Pop! In the Philippines, most of the hits were in Tagalog, of course, so we might have had a hit if we had a Tagalog song!

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

We all had mutual fondness for Teenage Fanclub. Then later on, we discovered these bands who are somewhat connected to the Fannies, like BMX Bandits, Eugenius, Superstar, Speedboat, and The Pastels, and tried to incorporate a little bit of each to our own sound.

++ I only know of one release by Sodajerk, a tape on the Italian label Best Kept Secret titled “Pop On!”. Was this the only ever release by the band? Or have there been any other releases?

Aside from that tape, we released a split CDEP with Carnival Park titled “That Happy Glow” on Dorothy Records in early 2000.

++ Also this tape came out in 2004, was the band still going at the time? And how did you end up releasing with this Italian label, I suppose you never met the label people? 

This tape came out around the time I permanently moved to the States. So, Sodajerk was put on hold. I knew Alessandro of Best Kept Secret through Myspace. He included an Apple Orchard song in one of his compilation tapes prior to hearing Sodajerk. I’ve uploaded a few Sodajerk songs in Myspace, and he heard it and wanted to release an album. Since we did not have enough songs for an album, it became a compilation.

++ There’s a song called “Weekend Make-Up” on this tape that is said to be recorded live on the Fridge Radio session. What was that session about? What is Fridge Radio?

The Fridge was a radio show, mostly dedicated to indie/indiepop music. They also did guestings of indie bands, where the band members play their favorite songs during the show, along with a live performance. I think we played 4 songs there. It was a really cool short-lived radio show.

++ You did appear on a few compilations in the early 2000s. For example “Training Wheels” appeared on Factory Girl Records’ “Working Titles” comp. Who were behind this label? This comp has a terrific tracklist!

A guy named Mario Serrano was behind Factory Girl. There might be another person involved but I forgot who. Mario was also one of the hosts in The Fridge radio show, and was one of the producers of the indie compilation, “Mutual Admiration Society”.

++ Also “Things You Say” appeared on Dorothy Records’ “Dashboard Teddy Version 1.0”. I always think of Dorothy as the main Filipino label. I don’t know much about them, so perhaps you could tell me about them a bit? 

Dorothy Records was ran by a friend of mine, Mike Dy. It was a CDr label. He released the aforementioned Sodajerk/Carnival Park EP, and re-released Carnival Park’s “Her Kindercrush”, as well as Creamy Bicycle’s one and only album, before they switched their name to Spring Boutique (their singer is my wife). Later on, Dorothy co-released a Balloon Derby 7” with Apple Crumble in Japan. I may be missing a few releases, but yeah, it might be the main indie Filipino label!

++ And I have found out on Bandcamp that just a few days ago you uploaded a sort of Sodajerk retrospective called “My Sweet Dream”. I wonder if there is any intention of putting out in a physical format?

I have been talking to the rest of the guys in Sodajerk for a while now, and I realized that we do not have anything available online. There used to be songs on Myspace but I’m not sure if they’re still there. I just rediscovered Bandcamp, and I wanted to document the songs for ourselves. Unfortunately, there’d be no physical format for the release. I don’t think I have the energy in self-releasing things these days. It’s so hard!

++ And are these all the recordings ever made by Sodajerk o are there more unreleased songs by the band? 

We had a few more demos that were not included on the Bandcamp release, but unfortunately I lost the tapes!

++ Was there any interest from labels to put your music out?

In Manila, there was no interest at all! During that time, you can never get signed unless you have hit potential. I do not know of any indie labels at that time. Maybe just bands self-releasing their own. I don’t think we were playing just to get signed. My thought was, if we’re able to record something, we can put it out ourselves. As I mentioned previously, we did get to release something on Dorothy Records. Mike from Dorothy had always been a fan of Sodajerk. Aside from Dorothy, Best Kept Secret was the only other label that was semi-enthusiatic about the Sodajerk songs.

++ You made covers by BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub, what other bands would you have loved to cover? Or perhaps you did when playing live?

We’ve done a lot of Teenage Fanclub covers in the early years, but later on, we began excluding covers to focus on the originals. We did “Million Tears” by The Pastels, which was the most indiepop we could get. We always threw in “Cut Your Hair” by Pavement in our last days, because we all loved that song. I always wanted to cover The Pastels’ “Classic Line-up” and Teenage Fanclub’s “Radio”, but we never got to them.

++ I read you formed in 1995 but your first recordings seem to be from 1997. What happened in between?

We had a 3 song demo in early 1996, recorded on cassette at our former drummer’s house. I lost the tape though. Around this time, we were always looking to play live.

++ The song “Jackpot Queen” was recorded live. Live where?

That song was recorded live in Ronald’s brother’s apartment during a rehearsal. We used one karaoke mic!

++ For me it is hard to pick a song, but I usually ask a band to tell me the story behind one or two of their songs, usually the ones that are my favourites! So maybe I will ask if you can tell me the story behind “Honeysuckle” and “Heartcrusher”? What inspired them?

For “Honeysuckle”, I got the idea for the song when I saw an air freshener with a “Honeysuckle” scent near the supermarket counters where I was buying food. I already had a riff in mind. I was still young when I wrote this, so the lyrics were just play on words. Musically, it was a very different sound for us because of the chord progressions. We used to just write repetitive chord patterns. Our bassist, Ronald, told me once that it was the song that turned it around for us, music-wise.

For “Heartcrusher”, it was inspired by the song “That Kind Of Girl”, by a BMX Bandits-related band called Cheeky Monkey. It was a very jangly song for us. Around this time, we were trying to stay away from the distortion pedals. There’s a lot of love-related angst in that song.

++ And where do you usually record your songs? Who produced them?

For the Bandcamp songs, the 1997 demo was produced by our former drummer and recorded in a church where all the instruments were plugged directly to a soundboard. We recorded & self-produced “Honeysuckle”, “Deadstopper”, “Training Wheels”, “Heartcrusher” and “The Things You Say” in an old studio with a worn out Reel-to-Reel analogue recorder. The engineer was probably 70 years old. I was telling him to make the vocals sound like it was recorded in the 60s, but he was like, “I don’t know how to do that!”. We recorded the songs live with minimal overdubs, and ignored the mistakes to save money. Then we self-produced “My Sweet Dream” and “Weekend Makeup” in a digital studio. The engineer accidentally deleted some of my guitar parts at the end of “My Sweet Dream”. Some of the other songs in the Bandcamp release were solo 4-track tape to digital recordings.

++ On Youtube there is a video for the song “Weekend Make-Up“. Who made it? And how was the experience of making the video? 

I made this video using the clips of the TV guesting we had. I always liked that song by John.

++ Did you play many gigs in total? All over the Philippines?

I am not sure. It felt like it was close to 50, or even close to a hundred…I don’t know, really. Most of the gigs were in Manila. We only had a few out of town shows.

++ And were there any bad gigs at all? 

Yes, there were. We had some line-up issues over the years. In one show, both John and Manny were unavailable. We had a different set up, we asked Ronald’s cousin to fill in with the drums, and we asked someone to play keyboards for us. He was not really a keyboard player, but he was good during practice. At the time of the show, he completely forgot all his lines, and everything came crashing down. There was another time when my leg got dipped in a puddle of really dark mud after the gig which kind of summed up my feelings about the show!

++ When and why did Sodajerk stop making music? 

It was 2002 when I moved to California for good. That was beginning of the end of the band. When I visited Manila in 2004, we got back to record a few songs. I think they were all married by then. So that, and me living in another country were the reasons why we stopped. We had a couple of reunion shows in 2005, and the last one in 2012.

++ After the demise of Sodajerk, what band did you start? Apple Orchard? Trying to put together a chronology! 

I was involved in a lot of bands while playing with Sodajerk. At different points, I played bass for Supergloo, Dorian Of Juniper Bells, and Carnival Park, and also played guitar for Mono Workshop, then there was this short-lived band called Wadaiko, where I was the singer, and a couple of one-gig bands. Apple Orchard was already a side project when Sodajerk was still around. After Sodajerk, I concentrated more on Apple Orchard.

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

Very minimal. We did a couple of radio guesting at this show called “In The Raw” in a station called NU107, although it was only me and Ronald who showed up for both. The host liked us, and he played our songs, and even invited us to do a video shoot for the TV version of “In The Raw”. The only press writeup we had was a review of the Sodajerk/Carnival Park split EP…It was in the music section of a newspaper though, not a music magazine, and that doesn’t happen often to an indie band, so we were proud of that.

++ What about from fanzines?

There were a few fanzines back then. Scenester and Nine (or 9ine) I think. I am unsure if we were even featured in one of them. I was a contributor in a fanzine called “Taste Like Tea”, which was Mike Dy’s (of Dorothy Records) idea, and we made sure we mentioned our own bands! Haha!

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

Yes, I still enjoy Indiepop, although I am mostly unaware of the younger bands that are coming out. Some records that I have been playing recently are:
1. Overgrown Path By Chris Cohen
2. Adiós Señor Pussycat by Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band
3. Fragments & Curiosities by Armstrong
4. Love is Enough by Lia Pamina
5. Tracyanne & Danny by Tracyanne & Danny

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

I just got interested in gardening. We have a small garden so I think I can manage.

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

When our split CDEP was reviewed in the paper. I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t really a big deal but it was pretty cool.

++ Never visited Manila, would love to go to the Philippines some day. 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?

I am probably not the best tour guide there, but I recommend you visit Jollibee, and try the Filipino spaghetti! You should also try halo-halo, which is kind of like a dessert/drink with fruits, milk, flan, purple yam etc., over shaved ice. I hear there are some good record shops there now, and I see some postings of DJ nights occasionally.

++ And I must say I’ve liked most of the filipino indiepop bands I’ve heard. But maybe you can recommend me a few that I might have never heard before?

There are so many! Just on the top of my head: Archaster, Balloon Derby, Bubble Based Boy, Under Shooting Stars, Spring Boutique, The Gentle Isolation, Sunday Picnic Love Affair, Outerhope, The Wentletraps, Popular Days.

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

Thanks Roque! I had a lot of fun strolling back down memory lane!

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Listen
Sodajerk – Heartcrusher

Starting a new week, now it is June and the World Cup will start in less than two weeks. Probably there will be less posts on the blog during the weeks it lasts. One can’t help it. Especially as it is a World Cup that is very important to me as Peru is going to be in it for the first time since Spain 1982 and it will be the first time I will see them participate since I’m alive. So this means a lot. I’m very happy, very excited, and I look forward to June 16th for the first game against Denmark.

Also this month I should be receiving the Salt Lake Alley 7″. I can’t wait any longer!! And hopefully will be able to announce one or two forthcoming releases. I hope this will be a good month for everyone!

Now onto some new indiepop finds!

Nubes en mi Casa: the Buenos Aires, Argentina, have a new video for their song “¿Qué viene después?” which will be part of the album “Duelos” that Plastilina Records will be releasing this August. It seems the band has shrinked, now from what I understand from the press release only Josefina Mac Loughlin and Hernán Dadamo are left. But that doesn’t mean the band has changed their sound much. “Duelos” will be their third album and as soon as there is more info about it, I’ll be happy to share with you all.

Japanese Summer Orange: I got this recommendation through an email from Minasamaz from Japan. The band is Japanese and from what I was told the person behind it is a 23-year old boy who seems to like the band Fazerdaze.  “Let Me Get You Some Beers” is the song that was shared with me. It actually has a video. I was told in the email that I was going to like the sweet and bitter sounds like marmalade. But I’m not totally hooked. I think it is okay. What do you think?

The Caraway: another recommendation from Japan. This one came from Twitter. And I this is much more my style. It sounds really great if I must say so. I was shared this beautiful song “Apple of My Eye”, though it is just a teaser on Soundcloud. Now I’m looking for more. It sounds fantastic! But, are there any releases by this band? I had to find them on Youtube where I got to listen to “The Rainy Day”. Now, I’m curious. On Discogs only a compilation appearance from 2005. Maybe I should interview them and find out more?

Cariño: a new video for the song “Canción de Pop de Amor” that will be included in the 10″ mini-lp “Pop para la Bajona”. I had recommended the band before and now I have to do it again as the video is really great too! The band formed by Paola Rivero on guitars, Alicia Ros on bass and Maria Talaverano on keys and vocals, is definitely one of the most exciting bands to appear on Elefant in a long time. Makes me glad that the label is going back to its root and not releasing so much boring 60s sounding stuff. This is much much better. Definitely a must for me.

BMX Bandits: and there’s not one but two videos coming from the Spanish label Elefant. The legendary BMX Bandits have unveiled a video for the song “Way of the Wolf (With Dr. Cosmo’s tape Lab)” which sounds great, great, GREAT. One can only wonder how can Duglas do it again and again. This song is included in their last album, “BMX Bandits Forever”.

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Pomme Cannelle, the sugar apple, or sweetsop or Custard apple is the fruit of Annona squamosa, the most widely grown species of Annona and a native of the tropical Americas and West Indies. The Spanish traders of Manila galleons brought it to Asia where its old Mexican name ate may still be found in Bengali ata, Nepalese aati, Sinhalese mati anoda, Burmese awzar thee, and atis in the Philippines. It is also known as custard apple in India, (mainly Annona reticulata) in the Philippines and in Australia. The name is also used in Portuguese as ata.

The fruit is spherical through conical, 5–10 cm in diameter and 6–10 cm  long, and weighing 100–240 g, with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The color is typically pale green through blue-green, with a deep pink blush in certain varieties, and typically has a bloom. It is unique among Annona fruits in being segmented, and the segments tend to separate when ripe, exposing the interior. The flesh is fragrant and sweet, creamy white through light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. It is found adhering to 13-to-16-millimetre-long (0.51 to 0.63 in) seeds forming individual segments arranged in a single layer around a conical core. It is soft, slightly grainy, and slippery. The hard, shiny seeds may number 20–40 or more per fruit and have a brown to black coat, although varieties exist that are almost seedless.

Is it popular in the US? I haven’t really seen this fruit at supermarkets nor at markets. I actually didn’t think it existed. When I saw the photo of it I thought it was a chirimoya, a fruit native to my home country Peru, which is really popular. It seems they are from the same family, Annona, but they are two different fruits. I wonder how it tastes.

I ask if it is popular in the USA because there was a band here once that used that fruit’s name. Well, its name in French. Maybe the band members saw the fruit while in France and tried it there? It is a possibility. If only I would know the names of these band members. They were part of the indiepop-list at some point. At the end of the 90s for sure. That’s the time when the only song I know by them was included in a compilation I’ve been going back a lot lately, “The Family Twee”.

As I mentioned on the posts about The Autumn Teen Sound, The Imaginary Friend and Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse, this double CD compilation was put together by participating members of the Eskimo indiepop list in 1998. It wasn’t released by any label, so someone in the list might have put it together. I believe it was Skippy from March Records who was the one behind The Autumn Teen Sound. I looked on the archives of the indiepop-list for any information about this compilation and there is not much. It was released around Christmas 1998 and I see on the list posts from early 1999 mentioning that listees were receiving their copies. It looks like that most people didn’t think much of the bands on it. Most seem to say that it sucked. That only a few songs were good enough. I haven’t listened to all of the songs yet. So couldn’t say.

But Pomme Cannelle’s “Paper Kisses” is a blissful little tune with female vocals. Who knows who was behind this band. I’m sure some indiepop fans might know, and I hope someone will share that information. Many of the bands that appear on this compilation had been involved with other bands and used different names to appear on this compilation.

Would be interesting to find out if there were more songs by them!

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Listen
Pomme Cannelle – Paper Kisses

Time to end the week. A lovely Friday and a good week in general. I announced the Okama Flannel Boy 7″ and now just waiting for the Salt Lake Alley 7″ to arrive soon. Also talking to some bands about the chance to do a retrospective compilation as part of the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen. So, I’m quite busy with the label and soon should be able to announce another 7″! So please keep an eye on this blog, where you get indiepop news, sometimes late, but at least I try to cover them all!

Candybomber: our friends Stewart who used to be in The Kensingtons has just released a new EP with his latest band, Candybomber. Now based in Australia and not in the UK, his new project is not canonical indiepop but a very cool  and catchy powerpop record. There are 4 songs on it, “Not Completely Sure”, “Everybody Knows”, “Industrial Strength” and “Naive” and is out now in digital and CD formats by Jigsaw Records.

Talulah Gosh: last Wednesday many of my friends started sharing this live footage of the legendary Talulah Gosh from a gig at Bay 63 in November 27th 1986. Even Amelia Fletcher shared it surprised! Where did this come from?!  I, who wasn’t around that time,  was transported to the heyday of indiepop. It gave me goosebumps even if the quality is not the best. There is no way to escape falling under the spell of Talulah Gosh, it is bewitching! I love one of the comments on the video mentioning that he spoke to the guitarist after the gig to see if they’d play at his university and he said he would only charge 50 pounds.

Megrim: another release on Jigsaw Records is the debut album titled “Megrim” by this French band that is fronted by Olivier Doreille from the classic 90s band Les Autres. There are 10 songs and as it is usual with Jigsaw releases it is available digitally and CD. The label compares the music with Lorelei and Hood and I can definitely see that. It is within the rockier side of indiepop and very 90s sounding if I may say that.

Cozy Slippers: continuing with this good review of the latest by Jigsaw Records now a Seattle trio with dual-lead female vocals. When I read that description, it caught my attention immediately. I wanted to listen to them. So I checked out their “Postcards EP” on Bandcamp. There are 5 songs on it, “Not Hard to Say Goodbye”, “En Francais”, “Cozy Love Song”, “Back and Forth” and “You Started This”, and I must say that this is great! It seems the band had self-released an EP in 2017, so I should try to track that down. This one is a winner.

Adrian Teacher and the Subs: discovered this Vancouver, Canada, band thanks to a recommendation by my friend David from Madrid. He is always discovering great music, one has to keep an eye on his Facebook shares. In this case he shared the song “Pop Medicine” and I thought that it was pretty good! It seems the album is only available digitally and that is a surprise as the band was touring the US and I would have supposed they would have some merch! But who knows! The album where this song is included is called “Anxious Love” and was released on May 9th. It is a 9 song record and the band is formed by Adrian Teacher, Amanda P and Robbie N.

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What is Peat Moss? Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as peat moss. Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16–26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions. Hence, as sphagnum moss grows, it can slowly spread into drier conditions, forming larger mires, both raised bogs and blanket bogs.These peat accumulations then provide habitat for a wide array of peatland plants, including sedges and ericaceous shrubs, as well as orchids and carnivorous plants. Sphagnum and the peat formed from it do not decay readily because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss’s cell walls. In addition, bogs, like all wetlands, develop anaerobic soil conditions, which produces slower anaerobic decay rather than aerobic microbial action. Peat moss can also acidify its surroundings by taking up cations, such as calcium and magnesium, and releasing hydrogen ions. Under the right conditions, peat can accumulate to a depth of many meters. Different species of Sphagnum have different tolerance limits for flooding and pH, so any one peatland may have a number of different Sphagnum species.

A band that named themselves after a species of moss? Sure thing. And it happened in Japan in the mid 90s. I was looking the other day for their records, see if they were available to buy here in the US as I wasn’t in the mood of paying much for shipping. Sadly there was no luck. Bu in doing so I found three songs on Youtube and some information about this obscure Japanese band that I will happily share with you all.

The band had two proper releases, both in 1996. The one that seems to be easier to find is a 7″ released by Sonorama Records (Sonorama 002). This was a Los Angeles, USA, based indie label and that’s why I’m surprised there were no copies by American sellers. I do own one of the releases from their catalog, The Jordans superb album “Katydid” from 1996. The 7″ that had a cute photo of a Japanese kid falling asleep on the cover had four songs. On the A side there was “Earl Grey Tea” and “Many Suns” while on the B side we find “To My Little Friends” and “Mad Cow Disease”. Indeed, those were the years when that disease was all over the news. Maybe the younger readers of the blog aren’t aware of it but Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that may be passed to humans who have eaten infected flesh. BSE causes a spongiform degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, of 2.5 to 5 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years. BSE is caused by a misfolded protein—a prion. In the United Kingdom, more than 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million slaughtered during the eradication program. According to statistical estimates made in the 2006, 44,800 French cattle were infected by BSE between 1987 and 1997.

The 7″ is said to have come with an insert. I should track a copy and find out what it said. Maybe there were credits too on the back cover.

The other release listed by them on Discogs is a 4 song tape that was released in 1996 by Clover Records (C-034). Clover was a superb Japanese label by the way who had release tons of great records, from 800 Cherries to Red Go Cart. This tape came with artwork on green tracing paper and it was numbered. I’m not sure how limited this release was though. The songs on it were on the A side “Mess” and “Picnic” while on the B side there’s “D’yer Wanna Dance With Kids?” and “Out of the Room”.

There are three compilation appearances. The first, the 1997 CD comp “Pop Jingu Vol 1 – A Japanese Compilation”, was my introduction to the band. I remember I had MP3s for this CD back in the Soulseek days and used to play it a lot. Thanks to this compilation I also discovered Red Go Cart, one of my favourite Japanese bands! The compilation was actually a co-release by Sonorama (Sonorama 004) and Clover (CLCD 11101), the two labels that had previously put out stuff by the band. The songs the band contributed were the last two from the tape,”D’yer Wanna Dance With Kids?” and “Out of the Room”. The CD was compiled by Dan Goldwag, Masato Saito and Rich Stephens. The last two were involved in the band Kactus and I suppose Dan Goldwag was running Sonorama Records.

On the inner sleeve of the compilation we find the names of the band members:
Manami Kurusu: vocals
Masato Saito: guitar
Julia Mitsuyama: melodion
Kotaro Sugino: guitar
Chikako Nakata: percussion

So, Masato Saito’s name appears again. Now we know he was also part of the band. He compiled the CD. He was also part of the band Maples and Pervenche. Things start to make some sense. Also I notice that the Kactus connection wasn’t only of Masato. Julia and Kotaro were also part of that band.

The second compilation listed dates from 1998. It was called “Splash Dive – Cream Cone Compilation Vol.0” which was released by Cream Cone Records (CCCC-2000), another Japanese label.  I don’t know much about this label to be honest. On this record the band appears with a song that wasn’t previously released, “Blue Painting”.

Lastly their song “Mess” appeared on the 2001 CD compilation that accompanied the music mag Indies Magazine Vol.47 from Japan. Was the band still around in 2001 then?

I keep looking on the web and there are more compilations, for example, one called “Analogue Master”, that was released in 1996 by Clover (C-020). This was a tape too with a bunch of obscure bands that I’ve never heard before like Boosted Goners, Cherry Straw or Gum Gum Punch. On this tape the band Peatmos appears with “Earl Grey Tea”.

Also there is “Feelie Pop!” that was released in 1995 by Clover and it seems it was the first ever release as it has the catalog C-000. On this tape the band Peatmos appears with the song “Many Suns”.

But then a big surprise. The band actually had another proper release. The band released on Clover (C-003) a tape a year before the “Mess” cassette. The “Rich Time For You” tape came out in 1995 and included 5 songs. There is “Long Good Bye” and “Hey!” on the A side and “Happy Town”, “Many Suns” and “How Do You Do” on the flip.

I keep digging and find out something that was starting to become quite obvious. Masato Saito was the owner of the label Clover Records. There is even a cool chronology of the history of the label on the Clover website. Now it makes even more sense that many of his bands were being released by Clover. He was a very active indiepop fan! Being in so many bands and also running a label.

I have actually mentioned Peatmos before on the blog, on the Flower Bellcow post. I said:  This one is for Galaxy Train events. Flower Bellcow played many of them it seems. The first one they played was the 2nd event where they shared the bill with Peatmos and Smiley at the West Dart Club. 

I keep digging and actually find a Bandcamp by an Ohio band by the same name that released a tape in 1990. It is quite different to the Japanese Peatmoss.

And finally, perhaps the best find in all of this indiepop digging, a new song, one I’ve never heard before and that sounds pretty pretty. If I was wondering if the band was still around in 2001, now I know that at least they were still going until mid 2003. That’s what it says on the name of the song, that “Play the Wind” was recorded on July 13th of 2003. And I go crazy because it sounds lovely and I am sure there must be more songs from this recording session! Where are they? And how come they weren’t released?

So many questions, and not many answers. As usual it is not easy to find the proper story of Japanese bands because of the language, it makes it very hard for me to search on Google. But I found important details, and I hope that some of the Japanese readers of the blog will fill in the blanks. Where are the band members now? Had they been in other bands other than Peatmos? When did the band split? Are there more unreleased recordings? Did they hail from Tokyo? Did they play many gigs? What do you remember about them?

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Listen
Peatmos – D’yer Wanna Dance With Kids?

I can start this post with good news! And I’m very happy about it. I sent to press, earlier this week, our 44th 7″ vinyl record! Isn’t that exciting?

Also I’m very excited as it will be the first time the label is releasing a band from Mexico City. Since the label started in 2007 it was very clear our approach in supporting a worldwide scene, that it didn’t matter where a band came from. So please let me introduce you to Okama Flannel Boy!
Okama Flannel Boy is the moniker for the Mexican musician and composer Fernando Torres. Based in Tlalpan, in the south of Mexico City, he’s been writing and recording jangly guitar driven songs inspired in 60’s bubblegum pop, soul and “the sound of young Scotland” since the beginning of 2017. This will be his debut single and the record includes 4 songs: “Carolina St.”, “Low Life”, “Motivational by Default” and “Wanted Man”. It should be released later this summer (if the pressing plant doesn’t take all the time in the world) and the sleeve has original art by British illustrator Louise Logsdon.

As a taster, I’ve uploaded the opening track to the label’s Soundcloud, so check “Carolina St.” here. And also we are taking pre-orders on our website www.cloudberryrecords.com

Thanks again for your support, and hope you like it!

Now, some new finds!

The Goon Sax: I was recommending the song “She Knows” not so long ago after it was unveiled on Youtube. Now there is a video for the song also on Youtube. It makes me wonder why don’t release just the video? There must be some case study in what works well for selling songs or records that this might be the way to do it. Anyways, the song is a cracking one, and the video too. Next week I should be seeing the band for the first time her in NYC. And I’m really looking forward to it.

Charlie Big Time: these very good Cloudberry friends have just released a new song called “This is the final song” and it comes alongside a video. See, some people do it this way too. This is the first song the band has put out since 4 years ago! So it is a treat. We don’t get that many of these classy and elegant  songs by them, so every time there’s a new one we all become terribly happy. Now will the song be released in any way? I hope so. And I also wish them to record more songs!

Oddshore: this is a new Singapore band that my friend Vernon recommended me last week. I don’t know much about them but this video and song “Do You Remember” is quite a lovely pop slice. It sounds a bit Swedish, right? perhaps that is just me. There is not much info on their Facebook or on the video on who is in the band or if they have any releases available, but at least they define themselves as indiepop. That is always good in my book! Check them out!

The Golden Rail: don’t really know how “Electric Trails From Nowhere” wasn’t recommended here. I had recommended some of their previous digital singles but not this hell of an album. The Perth, Australia, band that is kind of a super band, one that includes members Jeff Baker, Dave Chadwick, Ian Freeman and Saki Garth of classic and legendary bands like The Rainyard, Summer Suns and The Palisades among others released earlier this year this album and you can even stream it on their Bandcamp. For all of us that are a bit old-school, the 10 songs are also available on CD. And if you are even more old-school, our friend Javi at Pretty Olivia Records has a vinyl LP version of it. If you like classic pop songs, jangly guitars, hooks and smart arrangements, this is a winner. If you don’t, then it is a winner too. Just have a listen!

Gentle Brontosaurus: I recommended their album “Bees of the Invisible” a couple of weeks ago and this is more of an update really. Thing is I could recommend the album by this Madison, Wisconsin, band again, because it sounds fantastic. And sure I’ll do that. But this update has to do with the album being available now in physical formats. You can order it now as CD and also as a tape! So do that now. That’s what I will do right now!

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Every time there’s little time and I’m on a computer I try to look for new music. And “new” doesn’t mean music from 2018. It means just music I’ve never heard before. Even if I had just a few minutes in my hands.

I stumbled upon the Swedish band Dream on Youtube while looking for other bands. I love how these connections happen! I was actually looking at the flexis that were given away by the legendary Swedish magazine Sound Affects. The 10th flexi (SAF 010) caught my attention.

In 1991 the split flexi with Dream and Whipped Cream was released. It came accompanying the Sound Affects Music Magazine #11 and I believe the flexi, which was limited to 100 copies, was only given to the subscribers. It wasn’t on sale. Dream opened the flexi with the song “She Bangs the Door” while Whipped Cream appears after with “Mr Green”.

The name “She Bangs the Door” of course reminds one of “She Bangs the Drums” by The Stone Roses. I wonder if that was their intention.

Dream’s only proper release happened the same year of the flexi, 1991. It was a 7″ that was released by the classic label Ceilidh Productions (CEI 021) It had two songs, on the A side there was “Love’s a Drug” and on the B side we find “Nothing’s To Say”. The first song was recorded at Music-A-Matic during June 1991 while the second song was recorded at Studio Gig in February 1991. The engineer and co-producer for “Nothing To Say” was Stefan Arningsmark (who had been in bands like Love and Noblesse Oblige) while “Love’s A Drug” was produced by the band, Jörgen Cremonese and Ulf Ekerot. Cremonese had been in many bands like Blue For Two & Co., It’s My Head and Whipped Cream who Dream had shared the flexi with.

The artwork for the single was done by Eddie Andersson with drawings by Jörgen Lundquist. The photography on the back cover is credited to Johannes Fosséus.

But we also learn the names of the band members on this record. Per Eriksson was the vocalist and guitar player, Per Liljesson played bass and vocals and Teresa Fritzson drummed and also sang.

On Discogs I find that Per Liljesson sldo played in a band called Yoni, who released a CD single in 1996. Later I would find that Teresa was also part of this band.

There are two compilation appearances. The first dates from 1992 on a double CD compilation called “Café Kristina The CD”. It seems this compilation came with a 90 page booklet. That’s huge! I wonder what this was about? Dream appears with the song “My World” and I’m curious to know if perhaps Café Kristina was a venue. I found that there was a venue with that name in the city of Växjö. Perhaps the band hailed from that town?

The other compilation they were on was the “Ceilidh 039 Singles & Vinyls” that was released in 1997,  which was a sort of a comp with songs from the past, from the back catalogue of the Ceilidh label. You see classic bands on this one like The Cardigans, Cod Lovers, Happydeadmen, Saturday Kids and more. Dream appears with their single “Love’s A Drug”.

I start digging deeper and find a review on Sound Affects, no. 11, from June/July 1991. Sadly there is not much details about the band here. Just the reviewer, Terry Ericsson, mentioning that he likes the 7″ and he emphasizes that the band has a sense of humor.

I could find more information on the Musikon website. Here I find even more bands Per Eriksson had been involved. But first here they suspect that Dream hailed from Norrköping though the website is not sure, they have a ? next to the city name. Other bands that Per was involved were Lolita Pop, The Line, Vantage, Razorblade and Paradise. The strange thing is that these bands, all of them, hail from different cities. I start to suspect that it may be that the name Per Eriksson is a bit common in Sweden, and that there might be many Per Erikssons involved in bands. Or not?

I couldn’t find much more about them. It is true that it is hard to google a band with the name Dream. It is impossible. But there must be more music by them or their members. Just one 7″ feels like too little!

Do my Swedish friends remember them? Where were they based? Why no more releases? Did they gig a lot? What are they up to today? Would be interesting to find out!

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Listen
Dream – She Bangs the Door

Thanks so much to Nick Batterham for the interview! I got in touch with Nick on Twitter (thanks Wally!) after I had written about Blindside on the blog. The band was around in the early 90s in Melbourne, Australia, and released a string of singles and an album on the renowned Summershine Records. Aside when it comes to their releases, there was not much written about the band on the web. So I took the chance to ask Nick as many questions as I could! Hope you enjoy!

++ Hi Nick! Thanks so much for getting in touch! How are you? Where are you based now? Still in Melbourne? Are you still involved with music?

I’m still making music in Melbourne, including with my oldest friend Hamish from Blindside. We’re currently working on a new project together. I’ve also just released another solo album, seems to be a habit that I can’t get rid of.

++ Let’s start from the beginning. Like what are your first musical memories? What was the first instrument did you get and how? 

I come from a musical family so I grew up with a piano and an organ in the house. I studied cello from a very young age but gave it up at the start of high school. Around that time Hamish and I became school friends and I began to absorb his musical tastes. About age 15, I started learning guitar from his father Jim and by playing along to the records we were worshipping. My brother quit playing the flute when he got braces on his teeth. I pawned his flute and used the money to buy my first guitar from the pawn shop. I taught myself enough to justify getting a better guitar for my 16th birthday – a red Canora acoustic with a pickup. I soldered a cable to RCA plugs and ran it through our home stereo until it tore the speakers. Hamish and I tried busking playing covers of U2, The Cure and REM around Frankston. We didn’t make any money, but we didn’t get punched up either. Still a good definition of success.

++ Had any of you been involved with other bands prior to Blindside? When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process? Why the name Blindside?

Blindside was our first proper band – using two other friends from our school, drummer Nick and bass player Chris. I can’t remember where the name came from. We were a little bit goth at that time, so it was probably an attempt to sound dark and mysterious. We had previously called ourselves Mourning Cloud and taken photographs playing guitars in the cemetery! We rehearsed on weekend in Chris’s loungeroom or in Nick’s parents garage. Nick’s older brother Manu worked at Missing Link records and had a great record collection that we immersed ourselves in…. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation, Dinosaur Jr – Bug, Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey. We’d listen to records then go to the garage and try our best to sound like the bands we loved. The common thread was noisy guitars. We were remarkably lucky to have our formative years when we did. The influencing forces were strong and our tastes were dynamic. We absorbed everything and started writing our own songs.

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

++ All of your releases came out on Summershine Records. How did you end up on that label and how was your relationship with them?

I don’t remember if Jason had seen us play or not. I gave him a cassette and I think he gave us some cash to mix it properly. None of us really knew what we were doing but our desire was strong and we thought we were the best thing ever.

++ Your releases came both on vinyl and CD. That was kind of unusual then, and today it seems very difficult to do that for an indie band. I suppose the band had quite a following and it wasn’t as complicated to sell these records back then? And which of the two formats would you say you prefer and why?

7 inch singles were the norm and CDs were kinda new. It felt like a life defining moment to get your music on a vinyl record the first time. CDs took over through the 90s. To me vinyl still has a feeling of permanence that making a CD doesn’t have. Getting vinyl back from pressing is just as thrilling today as it was the first time. Now I only play CDs in my car – because it is old enough to have a 10 stack CD player!

++ Your first release was the “Endless” single. Here the 7″ and the CD have different songs and tracklist. I also notice that you designed the art for your records. Were you a designer by trade? And how important were the aesthetics of your releases for you?

I don’t remember what songs were on the different releases. I was studying design at university and getting into doing my own black and white photography. I dropped out during second year because I knew all I wanted to do was play music. I was playing lots of gigs with Blindside and touring with The Earthmen. The sleeve pictures were my early photographic experiments and the design… I remember cutting out the text from a bromide machine! I still like doing the artwork on my records. Really, I see the sleeves and the recording and video clips all as the same activity, it’s an elaborate craft project to keep myself occupied.

++ You worked for many of the records with Simon Grounds as producer and engineer, how was that experience?

Simon Grounds was a live sound engineer that did our early shows. He offered to record us at his house, he was a bit older than us and seemed to know about recording. He was an eminent figure within the St Kilda music scene. We probably didn’t fully appreciate his achievements at that time. I remember he had tree branches inside the house and boiled coffee beans in a big pot. The studio was a cat playground. We were just thrilled to be capturing our sounds properly for the first time. Until then I had been recording everything on my 4 track cassette so the rapid expansion of knowledge was exhilarating. He certainly captured where we were at.

++ I love the song “Plague” from this first single, wondering if you could tell me the story behind it? What inspired it? 

Thanks! Funny I couldn’t remember what Plague sounded like so I googled it. I think the YouTube track called Plague (with a picture of Hamish on the 7 inch sleeve) is actually the song called To Be Found. It was a double A side, perhaps with the labels on the wrong sides. It’s an angsty teenage song about feeling like an outsider and trying to belong. All the tragic teenage stuff you can only sing when you’re hiding behind your floppy fringe. Very strange listening to it now after so long. I can hear how much I loved the Smiths and the guitar is all Dinosaur Jr. The rhythm and chord progressions are something I have repeated a lot over the years.

++ On the 2nd single, “Idle Eyes”, there is a photo of a girl called Christine on the art. Who was she? 

Christine was my girlfriend. I remember the photo was taken during a party in a hotel room after a hair show. Her sister Suzanne was a hairdresser and Christine had been a hair model in the show. Suzanne had won a prize. The room phone rang and she answered “Hello, winners!” I guess you had to be there, but it is forever stuck in my memory. It’s over 25 years ago but I still call my home wifi network “winners”.

++ Your 3rd single “Teenage Goth Suicide Cult” has a very interesting title. This time around I suppose you weren’t totally happy as the 7″ didn’t get proper artwork? But something that caught my attention was that you appear as Beebaa and Laalaa. Or Hamish Cowan as Biggest Muff. What is the story behind these names?

The title was from some tabloid magazine headline. The BeeBaa was my fuzz pedal and the Big Muff was Hamish’s fuzz pedal. And Laalaa was for me being the singer. I was smoking weed obviously.

++ After the singles you released an album called “Hopes Rise”. How different was to record it compared to the singles? Was it a better experience? And are the songs on the album that were on the single recorded again?

The recording sessions for the album followed closely after the single sessions. We were paying as we went so it was in dribs and drabs. I think we were just recording the songs as quickly as we wrote them. It has an acoustic version of To Be Found on it.

++ The band appeared on a few compilations. One that caught my attention was the “Youngblood 4” one that was a compilation supporting young new bands from Australia. How did you end up contributing to this RooArt compilation, and was there any other sort of support by them, perhaps a gig, other than appearing on the CD?

That was a year or two later. RooArt offered Blindside a recording contract for our second album. I turned it down because the money was less than what I already had debts for at Metropolis studios where we were recording overnight in down time.

++ Are there more unreleased songs by the band? 

There are about 15 songs recorded for that second album that never saw the light of day. At the time I thought they were all a mess. In reality, I was the mess. We were recording from 9pm until 9am every night. I got pleurisy from going too hard. At that time The Earthmen had just signed in the US were going over on tour, which seemed more exciting, so I put all my eggs in that basket and let Blindside fizzle. It really is a shame. Blindside were really happening and I lost perspective. The album didn’t get finished and all that exists are the desk mixes.

++ Was there any interest from other label?

We turned down a deal from Homestead Records too. Hamish still reminds me about that quite frequently. What might’ve been?

++ What about gigs? You even played big gigs, supporting Smashing Pumpkins, right? Any anecdotes that you can share?

I remember they had giant racks of weird guitar effects and were a bit too heavy metal for my taste. We supported the Breeders a few nights later.

++ Did you play many gigs in total? All over Australia perhaps?

Blindside played a lot but only ever in Melbourne I think. The Earthmen ended up playing all over in their later years

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

We were pretty shambolic at the best of times. We equated noisy with good, so in that way the gigs were always good.

++ When and why did Blindside stop making music? And what happened immediately after?

See above. The Earthmen toured overseas, half disbanded, then signed to Warners and made a major label album all in the two years after Blindside ended. Hamish started Cordrazine in that time.

++ You’ve been in other bands, tell me if I’m missing any, like Cordrazine, The Earthmen or your solo project. How different would you say are your other music ventures to Blindside? 

All the bands are as different as the personnel involved. The Earthmen were a noisy band that got cleaner over the years. My own music has gradually become quieter. I still enjoy playing noisy guitar, just doesn’t happen very often. My voice has changed a lot over the years too. That whiney teenager is pretty hard to listen to. I can hear all the formative influences and trace how they’ve had a lasting impact on my writing and recording style.

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

Blindside got local community radio play and street press, but no more than any other indie band at that time. Somehow Summershine managed to get us some amazing press in the UK. Indie guitar music especially was having a great period of broader mainstream appeal so there was plenty of limelight to go around.

++ What about from fanzines?

A bit, not much.

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

I work in film doing sound and music and I run a recording studio where I produce music for all sorts of things. Somehow I’ve managed to avoid what feels like a real job and have my hobby as my life. I still get to spend time turning knobs and trying to create satisfying tones of distortion.

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

n 1993 we got single of the week in UK Spin magazine in the same week they reviewed new releases by our heroes The Cure and Dinosaur Jr, which at the time felt like we’d arrived. The real highlight in retrospect is being part of the great Summershine collection of bands, at a time of such vitality in local music. It set up my life path and some core friendships.

++ Never visited Melbourne, would love to go to Australia one day, but would love to go one day, maybe I can ask for some suggestions? Like what are the sights I shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks I should try?

I’m a bit of a homebody so probably not the best tour guide. I’d certainly avoid any foods served as being “traditional”. It’s a good town for coffee, but you don’t need to fly 18 hours for that.

++ And I must say I’m a big fan of guitar pop made in Australia, but would love to ask what are your top all-time bands from your country? And if you could recommend me a few obscure bands too?

The Sugargliders are my all time top pick. Used to love seeing Ripe and The Glory Box play live and the Dirty Three when they started.

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

Thanks for taking an interest in such obscure things from so long ago! It was a special time in my life, remembered very fondly.

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Listen
Blindside – To Be Found

A new week! And I heard at last from Mobineko after many angry emails. They are telling me that the problem was that the automated shipping dates were causing them trouble (?). That the records still take around 14 weeks to press (that is 3 months and a half max) and that they had transitioned over from MPO (I don’t know what MPO means, do you?) and tried to be as open and transparent as possible and stated in the order confirmation page that orders placed at that time will take up to 14-16 weeks. FYI if we would have kept the orders at MPO there would have been 7 months minimum turn time, hence the decision to move quickly. Anyways they say that all the print parts and plates for the Salt Lake Alley 7″ are finished and they are just waiting for the sleeves. So supposedly they should be shipped out shortly. Crossing fingers.

So new finds? Yes, a few!

Ciudad Gragea: the Trujillo, Peru, band has been featured on the blog in the past with their brand of fun pop reminiscent of 80s Spanish pop. Now the band seems to be working on new songs, perhaps a new release, and they have shared a video for their song “La Noche”.

Youthcomics: I still haven’t been able to get the Sailyard Records releases. Perhaps it is my fault for trusting that I was going to trade them with the Japanese label as was agreed. But well, maybe I should just buy them on Discogs or somewhere else. In any case I will have to add one more to the list! The superb Youthcomics is releasing “April Transit”, a 6 song EP, on June 20th. The Osaka band has now shared one of the songs from this record, one called “Weekend”, which is terrific. Also I really like the artwork for this release, a bit Cloudberry-style if I may say so!

The Orchids: the Glasgow legends will be back on August 7th with two brand new songs on a lovely 7″. “I Never Learn” and “Echos (Have Hope)” will appear on the 7″ series that WIAWYA has been putting out this year. The same that included 7″s by the Catenary Wires or Birdie. At the moment of writing this post only the B side, “Echos (Have Hope)”, is available to stream and I can only say that it beautiful as usual as everything The Orchids do. The A side, I assume, would be as good if not better, as it was chosen to be an A side, right?  Looking forward to it!

The Amber List: I saw that Mick and Scrub from the 80s band Big Red Bus have a new song under the name The Amber List called “Guiding Star”. It is the first time I’m hearing their music and it is actually not their only song available on SoundCloud. There are 3 more, “Back on Board”, “Pink and Orange Sky” and “Well the Wind” which seem to be 4 months old. It is always good tom hear what the classic bands from the indiepop days are doing now! Good stuff! And a Big Red Bus interview would be good too, right? Especially after they released that retrospective on Firestation.

Blues Lawyer: one thing I have due is ordering more records from Flagstaff’s Emotional Response Records. If only I had tons of money! But hopefully next month it can happen. There are so many records I need, and I just discovered one more that I would like in my collection, Blues Lawyers’ “Guess Work”. This ten song album is out now vinyl and from listening to it on Bandcamp I can see why the label compares them to the TVPs or The Vaselines. The band hails from Oakland, California, and is formed by Rob, Elyse, Nic and Alejandra. It says that the band started when Rob and Elyse bonded over The Clean and The Bats. Well, anything that has to do with The Bats in my book is a good thing.

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A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid.[1] Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., applesauce or hummus. The term is of French origin, where it meant in Old French (13th century) purified or refined.

Yes, that’s what the Spanish word Puré means in English. Not much mystery in there. I don’t know much about this Spanish band that released only one 7″ back in 1999 on Elefant Records. I don’t even own the record. Wish I had. Spanish postage prices were never friendly. Back in the day I used to complain a lot about that. Now that the US has worst prices than those of Spain, I know how annoying it is for those selling records. And for those buying too! It is a big headache!

Anyhow, their “Tanto Peor” 7″ was supposed to introduce a great band. A band that I believe Elefant had high hopes according to the small press note that appears on the Bandcamp were the label has uploaded the 4 songs by the band. It says: Another Spanish debut. Every song is a surprise: they sometimes sing in French, weird guitar bridges, toy-like jazz instrumentals… they will become huge.

Huge, they didn’t become. But they left these 4 songs, “Gérôme”, “Nana”, “B Explosion” and “Tant Pis”. Two on each side of the record. The vinyl record came out on October of 1999 and had the catalog number ER-213. It is an interesting band. They sing two songs in French, one in Spanish and there’s one instrumental. Why? I must say that the opening song, “Gérôme”, which is sung in French, is by far my favourite.

They did have another song released, but it happened 5 years later on a rarities compilation released by Elefant called “Momentos Perdidos” (ER-1115). On this compilation of unreleased tracks, B-sides and other rarities, the band appears with the song “La Vaca” which means the cow. Where does this song come from? From an earlier demo? Or perhaps a demo recorded after the 7″? It is not clear.

What else there is about this band to know? It seems to be very little, but I won’t give up and will continue my search. My first stop is a 2012 blog post on the blog Fantail Musica. It mentions that the band was formed in the town of Villaviciosa. That is around Madrid. Villaviciosa de Odón is a municipality in the western zone of the Community of Madrid in Spain. The town is located 15 km west of Madrid’s city center, in the western zone of the metro area. The Spanish Air Force Museum and the Universidad Europea de Madrid are located within the municipality. Villaviciosa’s quiet lifestyle and its proximity to Madrid propitiated rapid and extensive development during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Because of its proximity to the Universidad Europea de Madrid, it has become a university town, with well-developed residential area and amenities for students. The town contains the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón.

It also mentions the first names of the band members, Irene, Begoña, Ana, Javi and Carlos. If only the last names were written down… perhaps it would be easier to track them down. I believe Irene was the vocalist as on the Elefant biography it mentions she is singing on “Tant Pis”. It is a good deduction I believe. So what did the other members play?

It seems there is a compilation called “Candy Box” that featured only Elefant bands that was made for the Japanese market. It was released in 2005 and it includes the song “Gérôme” by Puré. I can’t seem to find it on Discogs though.

I think on this streaming service called Deezer the band members are properly credited. The thing is I need to pay to access this website. What a stupid thing. Hate it. I can only read thanks to the metadata on Google that they were Irene Trascasa Muñoz de la Peña, Begoña Nuñez Biorrun Boluda González, Javier Herce Uralde, Carlos Carrión Martin Torres Hernández and Ana María Gómez López Morata Alvarez .

So now I have something to go on. And I find that Irene Tascasa was living in Lisbon and recording with a band called Pakita Pouco. They had a 2011 self-titled EP and you can actually listen to it on Bandcamp. There is a Javier Herce who is a writer, photographer and singer. Winner of the Premio Odisea in 2007 for his book “Desde Aquí Hasta tu Ventana”. Wonder if he is the same Javier as the Javier in Puré. Sadly the other members have very common names so it is hard to actually have any luck in searching them. There is a Carlos Carrión that lives in Madrid and works for wholesale for example, but as it is nothing to do with music it is hard to even suspect that it might be him. Ana María Gómez López, well there are many, but there is an artist, but then she was born in Minneapolis. Sounds farfetched, right?

About the band in particular I can’t find much more. Would be nice to know if they had been involved in any other bands or find out about any other recordings by them. I love their song “Gérôme” and I wonder, if Elefant was supportive of them, saying they were going to be huge, what happened to them? Why with a big indie label supporting them, they didn’t live to expectations? Does anyone remember them?

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Listen
Puré – Gérôme

I suppose the big news for this week was the announcement of a new box set featuring indiepop bands called “C89” to be released on Cherry Red. As much as one can dislike that label, as I’ve said before, it is a good thing for more people to be introduced to the sounds of indiepop. Especially it is nice to see many bands that have been featured on the blog.

Of course one would love these boxsets to have more unreleased tracks, or rare ones. But we all understand that it is kind of a “Greatest Hits” kind of set. Also we wish there was more info on the bands on the booklet, not just a few lines. And even more so that bands were contacted and asked to be part of these compilations. I know of many that have been included without being asked. Maybe they ask the labels that released them, I don’t know, but the truth is that many of the bands own the recordings and not the labels.

The 3 CD set will be out on July 27th.

Anyways, here is the tracklist for this compilation:

DISC ONE:
1. COME IN COME OUT –The La’s
2. TOM VERLAINE – The Family Cat
3. WHICH WAY SHOULD I JUMP – Milltown Brothers
4. NOTHING – The Telescopes
5. INSIDE OUT – Brighter
6. LIONS – New Fast Automatic Daffodils
7. LET IT HAPPEN – Red Chair Fadeaway
8. DO IT AGAIN – Korova Milk Bar
9. ADAM’S SONG – The Sun And The Moon
10. WHITE PEARL – Bobby Scarlet
11. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY – The Ogdens
12. FREEDOM TRIP – The Seers
13. THAT’S WHERE CAROLINE LIVES – The Candy Darlings
14. BREAK THE STRAIN – The Rainkings
15. CONFIDENCE – Po!
16. SAD ANNE – The Bardots
17. SUN AND MOON – The Onset
18. DAYS IN THE SUN – The Ammonites
19. CAPTAIN ELASTIC – Rorschach
20. ANOTHER FRIENDLY FACE – How Many Beans Make Five
21. COMMONPLACE – Hey Paulette
22. THAT’S MY GIRL – Jane Pow
23. CHEATIN’ MY HEART – Kit
24. SHERIFF FATMAN – Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

DISC TWO:
1. GOING DOWN – The Stone Roses
2. WAITING FOR THE WINTER – The Popguns
3. WICKER MAN – The Mock Turtles
4. WHAT WILL WE DO NEXT? – The Orchids
5. MY LOVE IS LIKE A GIFT YOU CAN’T RETURN – The Man From Delmonte
6. GREEN SEA BLUE – The Revolving Paint Dream
7. I KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ALAN McGEE QUITE WELL – The Pooh Sticks
8. JUST GOOD FRIENDS – Bridewell Taxis
9. YOU SHOULD ALL BE MURDERED – Another Sunny Day
10. DOCTOR GOOD AND HIS INCREDIBLE LIFE SAVING SOAP – The Driscolls
11. HOW CAN YOU SAY YOU REALLY FEEL?- The Charlottes
12. SWIMMING IN THE HEART OF JANE – Treebound Story
13. FINGERDIPS – The Prayers
14. DOLE BOYS ON FUTONS – The Snapdragons
15. ONE THING – Barbel
16. BRIAR ROSE – Choo Choo Train
17. SKYRIDER – Holidaymakers
18. IT’S UP TO YOU – Fallover 24 (previously unissued)
19. BISCUITS IN A TIN – Thrilled Skinny
20. A MILLION MILES – Brian
21. PLASTIC BAG FROM TESCOS – The Wilderness Children
22. 10,000 MILES – The Moss Poles (previously unissued)
23. FISHERMAN’S FRIEND – The Haywains
24. BOMBS AWAY ON HARPURHEY – King Of The Slums

DISC THREE:
1. PICKING UP THE BITTER LITTLE PIECES – The Claim
2. SWALLOW – A Riot Of Colour
3. FRIENDS – Daisycutters
4. TONY HADLEY – Peruvian Hipsters
5. THIS BIG LOVE – The Cherry Orchard
6. WELCOME – Ambitious Beggars
7. THOMAS WOLFE – The DaVincis
8. BIG CAR – Avo-8
9. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN TOWN – The Becketts
10. BUBBLE BUS – Sunflowers
11. PASSION – The Magnificent Lkage
12. TELL ME NOW – Strawberry Story
13. WHEREVER I GO (DEMO)- Newsflash
14. ALL YOU EVER SAY – The Mayfields
15. BURN YOUR BOOKS & JOIN MY LIFE – The Ruth Ellis Swing Band
16. YOUR LOVE IS… – Christine’s Cat
17. SAY WHAT YOU FEEL – Said Liquidator
18. ANNABEL LEE – Jane From Occupied Europe
19. SUN STILL SHINES – Big Red Bus
20. THE COLDEST WATER – Men Of Westenesse
21. MR. WATT SAID – The Church Grims
22. PULL THE PLUG – Jactars
23. SURFING DAYS – Me And Dean Martin
24. SEVEN RED APPLES – The Rain

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What would I do without the Heinz’s Youtube account. I keep discovering bands thanks to it. Archaic Smile is the latest, and now I’m hoping to find their one and only release on Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club.

The very old, or old-fashioned, smile. That is what the unusual name of the band means. And they hailed from Japan. I wonder how come their first and only release was on a US label instead of a Japanese one. Perhaps there are some releases in Japan that are not listed on Discogs. I’ll need to investigate.

What we do know is that “In This Night, The Red Guitar Whispers”, a 7 song mini-album, came out in 1999 on the Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club (BBPTC  148). The songs on it were “Behind Your Eyes”, “Square Love”, “She and I”, “The Under Water Life for a Rainy Day”, “Mica”, “It Makes Me Blind” and “The Boy”. So far, I’ve only heard two of the songs, so can’t wait to listen to the rest. Hopefully I can find a copy of the CD sometime soon.

On the credits I notice that the band was formed by:
Yuichi Abe: acoustic guitar, guitar, bass, drums, programming and vocals
Osamu Sakai: acoustic guitar, guitar, bass, drums and vocals
Kumiko Kikuchi: organ, keyboards, vocals

The lyrics are credited like this: Yuichi Abe penned 1,2 and 3. Osamu wrote 3 and 6, while Kumiko had 4 and 5.

It seems the CD was very DIY. It came on a fold over construction paper sleeve. Maybe even in different colors.

Aside from this release there are 3 compilation appearances listed with songs that weren’t included in the album. On “Pop Japanese Style!” released by Flavour of Sound Ltd (TFCC 87589) in 1998 the band appears with the song “And Birds Are Singing”. On this CD compilation I see some names I know like Corniche Camomile or Naivepop or Petitfool but most of the bands don’t ring a bell to me. I should explore, maybe I find some great indiepop songs here!

On the compilation “Blackbean and Placenta CD Compilation #4, Autumn 2000” (BBPTC 144), released by this label in 2000 the band contributes the song “I Don’t Know What You Meant To Say”. This looks like a fine compilation indeed with Nixon, Rabbit in Red, Didi and Dexter, Boyish Charms and more.

Their song “A Young Is… (We Respect Your Style, Softies)” appears on the Hong Kong compilation “Shining Sun” on Sofa Records (Sofa 2) from 2001. This CD comp came with a 44 page fanzine, so I’m supposing that in that zine there was more information about the band? Maybe someone has it and can confirm my suspicions? This compilation paints a good picture of those years with classic bands like Fosca, Goldstoned, Jumprope and more.

There is actually something else listed. And that is a VHS titled “Black Bean & Placenta Video Comp Volume 2”. On it there was a video of the band’s song “Square Love”. Sadly I couldn’t find it on Youtube. I would love to watch this video!

About other music involvements, I noticed that Yuichi Abe wrote the song “Weekend’s Daydream” that was included in Three Berry Icecream’s “Rain Drops” mini-album from 2006. It also seems that around the early 2000s he played some gigs by himself, solo. I could find a gig at Shelter in Shimokitazawa in Tokyo with Three Berry Icecream, Common Bill and Elikabass (June 5 2000). Nothing else. By him or the other two members of Archaic Smile.

And is it is the case with many Japanese bands, perhaps because most of its story is written with different characters on the web, it is impossible to find any information on the web. I wonder in which other bands they had been involved, before or after. Where are they now? Why no more releases? How did they release a record in the US? And how come they didn’t release anything on a Japanese label? Many questions, and no answers on the web. Hopefully our Japanese friends can help!

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Listen
Archaic Smile – It Makes Me Blind

My Wednesday post. Trying to figure out what to do with Mobineko, the pressing plant I’ve been using to press records. Now they want to take up to 6 months for pressing our next 7″. I’m beyond furious. It is not serious at all. This makes my release schedule useless. Other bands whose release I want to put out have to wait now. It is unfair. It has never taken this long. At the most 3 months. Now it is taking double. What should I do? Perhaps looking for another pressing plant is the solution. I was happy with Mobineko since I changed from United Record to them. They had a very good price and it was great to get the records and sleeves printed together. But this terrible service I’m getting today is unbearable. Seriously, this is stuff of nightmares for me. What should I do?

Well, having said that, how can one get happy? It is hard. It is stressful.

I will try with some good music for you.

Optic Sevens: I ordered this series of monthly 7″ reissues. I must say it is very pricey but thought I’d treat myself. The label Optic Nerve Recordings who have reissued a few of very good and classic records will start pressing 500 copies of legendary 7″s of the indiepop golden days. There will be 12 of them. So far they have announced all but one of them. The 11 that have been announced are: Apple Boutique’s “Love Resistance”, East Village’s “Cubans in the Bluefields”, McCarthy’s “Red Sleeping Beauty”, One Thousand Violins’ “Halcyon Days”, Pale Fountains’ “(There’s Always) Something on My Mind”, Pooh Sticks’ “On Tape”, Pulp’s “Everybody’s Problem”, The Servants’ “The Sun a Small Star”, The Siddeleys’ “What Went Wrong This Time” and The Wake’s “Pale Spectre”.

Guitar Pop Festa: maybe my Japanese friends can help me track this new double CD compilation of Japanese guitar pop bands that was just released. It came out on the 19th of this month on the label Thistime Records and includes 44 tracks in total. There are many bands I have no clue about but would love to listen like Belinda May, Strike Three!, You Said Something and mode. There are a few though that are familiar names too like Cattle, Spaghetti Vabune! or Boyish. Would be interesting if someone distributes this compilation in the US as it seems to paint a good picture of the Japanese scene.

Nelories: speaking of Japanese bands it was a BIG surprise to learn that the label Fish Prints from Boston, Massachusetts, will be reissuing the 1990 demo tape of the Nelories. Sadly it is reissued on tape, which as you all know I’m not a big fan but still. Would love a copy. Sadly it is sold out already. Life is hard. Just 50 copies were made. That explains it. But why not make some CDR copies? Please? There are 6 songs on this tape, and three of them are available to stream on the label’s Bandcamp. The songs on the cassette are “The Chestnutfield Family (demo)”, “Cadillac for Montevideo (demo)”, “Glass Chocolate”, “Keith (demo)”, “May” and “Plasticky (demo)”.

Sodajerk: this was the Valenzuela City, Philippines, band that our friend Ryan Marquez used to have with Remi John Noman, Ronald Santiago and Manny Gallo back in the mid 90s. Most of their songs, I don’t think, were easily available. Heavily influenced by Scottish pop (BMX Bandits, Teenage Fanclub, Eugenius), the  band recorded a bunch of demos and now they are all compiled on their Bandcamp page. And that’s not all, some live tracks, radio session tracks, are added to make it a very comprehensive look at the band’s life. It would be interesting to do an interview with Sodajerk, right? Talk about those years in pinoy indiepop! Ryan are you up for it?

The Yetis: the latest from the Barcelona label Discos de Kirlian is a 4 song 7″ by this Allentown, Pennsylvania band. There are four sunny songs on it, “Little Surfer Girl”, “Warm California”, “Where You Goin'” and “Mysterion”, that feels like the band was really longing for summer. The band is formed by Christian, Nick, Stefan and Patrick.

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An inflated whoopee cushion A whoopee (or whoopie) cushion, also known as a farting bag, poo-poo cushion, windy blaster, and Razzberry Cushion, is a practical joke device involving flatulence humour, which produces a noise resembling a “raspberry” or human flatulence. It is made from two sheets of rubber that are glued together at the edges. There is a small opening with a flap at one end for air to enter and leave the cushion.

As you know of my favourite time periods for pop music was the early and mid 2000s with the explosion of indiepop bands in Sweden. Bands that wore indiepop in their sleeves. There were so many. And many labels and clubs too. That’s why I put together the first volume of “The Sound of Starke Adolf” and would have loved to continue doing them if only bands had been more supportive and interested in documenting that period of time. For me it is one of the biggest disappointments as I would have loved to continue the series and release a 2nd, a 3rd and even a 4th volume.

I contacted many bands as I said, but many I couldn’t find any information about. There were very obscure I suppose. Remember that most of their releases happened to be very limited CDRs. Maybe 50 copies, sometimes no more than 10 copies. Their songs were shared on Soulseek and that’s how I discovered many of them. I discovered a whole scene, that had their own festivals, and their fanzines. One of these fanzines was Picknick from Umeå. I believe that zine was ran by a girl called Elin. There might have been a Teresa too. In today’s story, a story that has many blanks and little certainties, they have a main role.

You see, I’m trying to find out more information about a band called Whoopie Cushions! Until some days ago I thought their only song available was one called “The Only Way I Know How” that appeared on a tape compilation called “Picknick Picks” in 2003. I have actually talked about this tape time ago, when I was trying to find out more about Fibi Frap. Probably you don’t remember. This tape, which was “a compilation of Swedish Twee Pop hand-picked by Picknick fanzine!” was actually released by a California label called Popgun Recordings which is no other than the tape label Raoulie de la Cruz used to run. This tape had the catalog number 055 and to make it more cooler it hadArgentinean comic strip cult hero Mafalda on the cover. It included five songs by five Swedish indiepop bands, The Tidy Ups, Strawberry Fair, Whoopie Cushions, Hormones in Abundance and Fibi Frap. Maybe one day all of them will grace the blog.

So I was saying that until a few days ago I thought the song that appeared on that tape, “The Only Way I Know How”, was their only song recorded. I haven’t been aware of any demos, or CDRs by them. Not even know who was behind it. It seems like a bedroom band. It sounds lo-fi, but with that charm from the Swedish bands that I haven’t encountered again. Well, I stumbled on Youtube with a song called “So You See; We Are Perfect For Each Other”.

This song was uploaded back in February, but as you know, it is hard to keep up with everything! It was uploaded by the great indiepop connoisseur David Chalé from Barcelona. He has posted an image, a cover of what looks like a CDR that has the title “Razorblades and Lemonades”. This might be a hint. We know that this was also the name of a legendary club in Göteborg back in those years. Was this some sort of sampler or compilation of bands that played there? Or perhaps bands that were friendly with the club’s organizers? Nothing is clear, I can’t find information about this release anywhere.

But, this might mean that the band hailed from Göteborg. Many did. One of the bands I tried to contact, Sugar Spun Charge, were involved in the organization of the club. I wrote about them too time ago. But I still haven’t been able to get in touch. I wonder who has the answers about Whoopie Cushions! and most importantly let me know if they had any more songs?

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Listen
Whoopie Cushions! – So You Seel We Are Perfect For Each Other

Starting the week very early as things are changing at work. I’m so sleepy. There are not many news on my side, though I hope very soon, maybe next week, I’ll be announcing our next release. So keep an eye on that. Now, what you came for, new music!

Dream, Ivory: some beautiful guitar pop, gorgeous actually, by this band from Lake Elsinore in California. Their self-titled EP is a winner. I wonder how come it took me years to discover it. It dates from 2016. The band is formed by two brothers I believe, Christian Baello on guitar, drums, synths and Louie Baello on vocals and bass. I wonder how this has been in anyone’s radar. I have never heard of them before and they sound superbly good. The EP has 8 songs and there is actually another song available to stream on Bandcamp called “Welcome and Goodbye” which is a digital single. Whatever happened to them?

Your Favourite Colour: Two completed demos by this obscure British band, that’s what their Bandcamp offers us. There is no information at all. Doesn’t say which city they are based in or who are the band members. Just two songs, “Former Life” and “A Quick Goodbye”. The thing is that both songs are really good. Proper indiepop. So I had to recommend them. That’s all!

Jetstream Pony: I love this band. Their few releases are already in my collection. So I can’t understand how their last song on Bandcamp went unnoticed to me. Probably all of you have heard “Charms Around Your Wrist” already, but I hadn’t. It was released on Christmas day last year. I was abroad. That may explain why I missed it. It actually is a cover version of The Softies. And it sounds lovely.

Por No.: Interesting to find an Ecuadorian band. This might be the first one ever for me. Here on their “Horribles” EP they cover some songs, like JAMC or Aventuras de Kirlián. I’m mostly curious to know if they are the only indiepop band in the whole of Ecuador? Or at least in Quito? They are formed by Pablo, Gabu, Dávalos and Alejo. Their previous stuff is not really my taste, but this EP is good! I look forward to any new songs the band!

Red Red Eyes: I recommended the single “Untold” time ago on the blog. Now the news is that Red Red Eyes is releasing an album, on CD and vinyl, on WIAWYA on May 18th. The 9 song album is called “Horology” and includes “Untold”. Right now the label’s Bandcamp has that song and another one, “Empty Land”, to stream. The duo formed by Laura McMaho and Xavier Watkins is a very interesting band, their sound is hard to pinpoint, but they do craft some beautiful songs.

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Dudley  is a large town in the West Midlands of England, 9.7 km south-east of Wolverhampton and 16.9 km north-west of Birmingham. The town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and in 2011 had a population of 79,379. The Metropolitan Borough, which includes the towns of Stourbridge and Halesowen, had a population of 312,900. Dudley is sometimes called the capital of the Black Country. Originally a market town, Dudley was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and grew into an industrial centre in the 19th century with its iron, coal, and limestone industries before their decline and the relocation of its commercial centre to the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the 1980s. Tourist attractions include Dudley Zoo and Castle, the 12th century priory ruins, and the Black Country Living Museum.

Yes, today a band from Dudley. First time a band from that town will be featured on the blog. Dudley has been mentioned once on the blog though, when I interviewed Russ Hunt from The Libertines he mentioned that they played a venue called JB’s in Dudley. So let’s see what I can find about this obscure band with a very strange name, the Mercenary Tree Freaks.

Discogs doesn’t offer me much information. No proper releases, no band members names. Just compilation appearances. One of them I know, that’s the one that introduced me to their music: “La Línea del Arco” 7″ released by Elefant (ER-102) in 1992. On this 7″ the band appeared on the A side, as the first song of the record with a song called “Michelin Man”. This 7″ came with a fanzine. The zine had the same name, “La Línea del Arco” and the one accompanying this 7″ was the 3rd volume. Sadly when I bought the 7″ it didn’t come with the fanzine. Not sure then if there is any information about the band on it. The other bands on the 7″ were Usura, La Sintesis and The Lovelies.

This same song, “Michelin Man”, appears on “Foreign Intervention” (DANNY 7), a tape compilation that was released by Fluff Records. I actually interviewed DMLC from the label ages ago. It is interesting to see that both Usura and La Sintesis are also on this tape. Other well known bands on it are Tramway, Boyracer or Antiseptic Beauty.

In 1991 the band contributed the song “Mr. Twilight” to the compilation “123456 Road Runner” that was released by Glidge Records (Glidge 001). I have never listened to this compilation in full. I know a few songs on it, and a few bands on it, but there are many obscure bands in there like The Chamberlains, Couch Potatoes or Nuclear Sheep among others. Are they all indiepop?

Elefant Records had also featured them a year before the release of the 7″. In 1991 the Spanish label had put out a tape called “La Línea del Arco – La Banda Sonora 3” (ER-1) to accompany another of their fanzines I suppose. This was the first ever Elefant release I think, at least it has the first number of their catalog. Here, on the A side, the Mercenary Tree Freaks have two songs: “Bitter End”m and “Shot Down Big Sky”. This is a top tape, there are brilliant bands that I’ve interviewed in the past like Home and Abroad, Bulldozer Crash, Marmite Sisters or Hardy Boys.

Elefant Records must have been the label that most believed in them. They had them on yet one more cassette compilation in 1992. Their song “One For the Disco Kids” appear on the “Around the World Again” (ER-020) tape. Same tape I mentioned in my previous post, the one about The Marigolds. Small world.  Now, how come Elefant didn’t offer them a release? Or perhaps they did? I find it odd the band never put out a proper record.

I start looking for them on the web, see if I can find anything else about them. Happily I immediately stumble upon a Youtube account with a bunch of live videos of the Mercenary Tree Freaks. The account owner is named Geoff Scott. Was he in the band? It seems he was, he says for this video of them playing the song “Cynicism“: I was 18 and full of dreams of making it in the music bizz, we recorded this for a Japanese music TV show- Me and Matt were so drunk we couldnt stand up!

Now we know there was a Matt in the band too. Little by little we are starting to put the pieces together. Interesting that there was interest in them in Japan. How come no release in Japan either. Or even compilation appearances on the many Japanese labels from the time?

There’s another video from that Japanese show that was called “Bandbreakers”. On this video the band plays the song “Beautifully Absurd“. It is very short, just 1 minute or so. The idea it seems was that the band had to play a minute-long version of a song to get through the qualifying stage.

I start to suspect Geoff was the drummer. Now I’m watching videos of the band playing the venue I mentioned earlier, small world, JB’s. Here they are playing the song “Shot Down Big Sky” and according to the description of the video it must have been around 1989. There are few more videos from JB’s. First there is one from October 1991 where the band is playing the song “Colonel Lutz” plus a small intro. Then from the same gig, there’s “Cynicism” and “Bitter End“. Lastly it seems the whole gig from Oct. 1991 has been uploaded in its entirety, almost 37 minutes of footage. Check it out here.

A website?? Well, it looks like it! One were I can play 4 of their songs: “Beautifully Absurd”, “Michelin Man”, “Colonel Clutz” and “Silly Stupid Eyes”. It seems they are part of an EP called “The Cogwinder”. These studio versions of the songs I was listening on live gigs on Youtube sound brilliant! Now, can I download them somehow? There is no information other than the songs on the site, though I do notice the names of the band members at last! Matt Rothwell, Martin Fardon, Steve Powers and Geoff Scott. Who played which instruments? With some answers we get new questions.

Actually there’s a link for Matt Rothwell that takes me to Amazon. Yes, Amazon. he is an author! He has published two books: “Drunk in Charge of a Foreign Language: The Diary of a Spanish Misadventure” and “The Electric Guitar Daydream Quest“. There is a small bio where it says that he was born in Birmingham in 1966 and grew up on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. Then on a Stourbridge News article I learn he had been involved in a band called Wincee Spider. How did that band sound like?

What about Geoff Scott? Well it seems he is still making music, now with a Birmingham-based band called Agents of Evolution. On another article of Stourbridge News it mentions that the Mercenary Tree Freaks had supported Blur back in the day.

There’s not much more written about them on the web. It is quite a shame. A shame too that there are no records. Listening to the songs on the website, those 4 songs, I can tell they had quality tunes. If the songs were uploaded chronologically I could see some sort of departure of their poppier songs on “Silly Stupid Eyes”, or perhaps their songs were quite varied. I wonder. It seems they recorded at least two demo tapes according to a comment I read on a blog on the web. How many songs were recorded is a mystery to me.

I wonder what happened to them. If they continue making music afterwards? If they had been involved in other bands before or after? What are they up to today? And honestly, how come they didn’t put a 7″ or something back in the day?! Anyone remembers them?

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Listen
Mercenary Tree Freaks – Michelin Man

Thanks so much to Simó and Antoni! I know Simó for many years thanks to his current band Marlovers (and before Marlo) who I reviewed on my old blog Mira el Péndulo ages ago. But I wasn’t aware at that time, the mid 2000s, that he had been in other bands. Then I discovered The Aprons on a blog post by Adrià Papa Topo in 2009 on his blog Tweeranosaurus! A year later I was to find two more songs by them thanks to the Annika Records double-CD compilation “Your Wonderful Parade”. These songs, “Full of Love” and “A Beautiful End”, were gorgeous too! But what remained a mystery to me was why no one had paid attention to them, to such beautiful songs. Why no releases!!
So again I conducted the interview in Spanish, after a request of my Serbian friend Nikola who loves this band, so forgive me if there are mistakes on the translation (and you can read the Spanish version of the interview on this Word document). And I’m very happy with the outcome! I learned more about the band, and hopefully one day we all will be able to hear the rest of The Aprons recordings!

++ Hi! thanks so much for the interview! How are you? Where are you these days? Still in Mallorca?

Hi! Thanks so much Roque for remembering The Aprons. The band was formed by four people: two brothers (Antoni and Simó), who are very happy to answer the questions and remembering those days of the 90s, and a couple (Joan y Nuria). All of us continue in the island of Mallorca.

++ When was the last time you picked up your instruments? Are you still involved with music?

Antoni drummed, up to 20003, for Riviera (a post The Aprons band) and hasn’t played again. Joan (guitar and vocals) and Nuria (keyboards) abandoned the music scene in 2000 when The Aprons was no more.

Simó: I still pick up my guitar some days of the week. The band I play with is called “Marlovers”. We have just finished recording our last record. Without doubt we have written some great songs that we hope people like them. In any case it is always a pleasure to sit down and compose songs without any other pretense other than enjoying being seized by creativity, and sometimes, taste a pleasant pop melody.

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

Simó: My first music memory is that I don’t have one. I can’t say those striking quotes that many musicians have of having 7 or 8 years old and they remember The Beatles in the Ed Sullivan show or the frenetic rhythm of the chords of the songs of Elvis in their home speakers.

My first instrument was the bass. I believe that I thought that it would be the easiest instrument to play and as my brother already played drums, well, we were the first rhythm section of the first band we had. It was your usual band of mates from college that try to play like their favourite bands. We called ourselves “Nuevas Criaturas”, a name we took from a poetry book by Jim Morrison. The vocalist was a fan of The Doors even though we didn’t get any close to sound like The Doors or a 60s band. I suppose we sounded more like a post-punk band, with a lot of distortion so the technical mistakes weren’t that obvious.

I learned to play bass, but to be honest I don’t know how to play it, thanks to Joan (guitar, vocals and lyricist).  Joan was the typical musician that you see in every band that has this innate ability to make music. He was an exceptional guitarist and who could write great songs. Everything that I know I learned because of him, so I’m very grateful to him.

At home we didn’t listen to any music in particular. My first encounter with the music world was during my teenage years bewildered by bands like The Cure, early U2, Joy Division…

++ Were you in bands prior before being in The Aprons? Red Poppy was the band that came before The Aprons, right?

After Nuevas Criaturas, which was a five-piece band, we formed a band called L’Encruïa that had a very dark sound influenced by the noisepop of The Jesus and Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine. Later, and not counting anymore with the vocalist and lyricist of the latter band, we formed a new band called Redpoppy which was influenced by the sound of C86 and Sarah Records.

To be honest Redpoppy and The Aprons were the same band. Simple, with the name Redpoppy we couldn’t sign to any interesting indie label so we “strategically” thought about changing names and so try our luck with a new name. In any case our luck, in relation to our expectations, kept being elusive.

++ Simó, you now live in Inca, in Mallorca. Were you always based there? Or where were you based? How was the scene in the island back then? Were there any like-minded bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Any sort of scene?

The band was based in the town of Inca, a curious name for a place in the Mediterranean. All of the band members were originally from Inca. The music scene of the island was very active. There were many bands and many styles and sounds. Most of the interesting things were in Palma, the capital of the island.

The record store that was the center for the scene was called “Runaway”. The store was run by Peter Terrassa, and many musicians and fans used to stop by. There you could find the first singles on Elefant Records and singles by many obscure indiepop bands that Elefant used to distribute.  Later we would learn that these records were brought to the store by Joan Vich, who would end up forming the band The Frankeboties and many other projects and events within the scene. Also a venue called Sonotone popped up and at this place we enjoyed gigs by many indie bands from Spain and abroad that had never been in Mallorca like The Jayhawks, Luna, Gigolo Aunts, Los Planetas, Hefner…

However the indiepop style that we played with The Aprons was a rara avis in the island. Most of the bands played rock music, though of course there were some bands that made some pop with shoegaze influence like Honey Langstrumpf or there were many others that tried to sound like Pixies, Dinosaur Jr or Sonic Youth. The bands that were more successful in Mallorca were Sexy Sadie, The Frankeboties and The Cicely Satellites. I think The Cicelly Satellites actually supported us as their first gig. Afterwards they became very well known.

When the band split, around 1999 and the first years of the new millennium, indiepop started to have some recognition and visibility in Spain with bands like La Buena Vida or Los Fresones Rebeldes.

A scene with a coherent sound or some homogeneity didn’t really exist, and if it existed The Aprons weren’t part of it as our sound wasn’t in tune with Sonic Youth-like guitars or sounds that were closer to the Seattle sound. I don’t think there was a sense of belonging, most of the bands were on their own. Maybe, we thought innocently, that were were competing with each other.

++ How did The Aprons start as a band? Who were in the band?

As a natural progression we (Antoni and Simó) started to opt in favour of British indie bands from the 80s (Aztec Camera, The Smiths, The Bluebells, Orange Juice), C86 (The Pastels, BMX Bandits, Talulah Gosh, The Bodines), and the early nineties (Gene, The Beautiful South, TFC, The Pale Saints) and to discover indiepop bands that appeared afterwards in labels like Sarah Records, Setanta, Marsh-Marigold, Midnight Music, Creation…

We recruited a keyboardist (Nuria) iand in the summer of 1994 we started as Redpoppy. The lineup of the band was Joan Reynés (guitars, vocals), Antoni Reus (drums), Simó REus (bass) and Núria Mestre (keyboards, vocals).

++ Why the name The Aprons?

We chose The Aprons thanks to the song “Apron Strings” by Everything But the Girl.  EBTG was, in a way, a band that projected everything an indie band could wish for: top songs, elegance, smart lyrics, social conscience… and as that wasn’t enough, they had achieved success.

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

The creative process for our songs happened mostly through the strings (guitar and vocals) of Joan. We all contributed our bit too. Sometimes some songs were contributed by Simó and there was one time Núria contributed one song (“A Beautiful End”).

For practicing we didn’t have many problems. We used part of a country house that belonged to our paternal grandparents in the outskirts of the city so we didn’t bother anyone. At least, that’s what I like to think.

++ And what would you say were your influences?

The influences were varied thanks to every band members taste, but in a way or another we agreed on bands that not necessarily were part of the indiepop canon like: Teenage Fanclub, REM, Belle and Sebastian, Ivy, The Cardigans, Gene, Luna, The Church, Lemonheads, Texas, Matthew Sweet, Velvet Crush, The Smiths, Ride, Razorcuts, Style Council, Love, Pale Fountains, The La’s, Boo Radleys, Pulp…

++ During The Aprons time the majority of Spanish pop bands were singing in Spanish. Did you consider it? Why did you sing in English?

In truth, when Redpoppy started, at the beginning of the 90s, most of the bands of the Spanish independent scene were singing in English. The biggest success story was that of Dover. In a way, these bands wanted to distance themselves of the scene that had lyrics in Spanish and they were fixated with the bands and fashion from North America and the UK. The majority of them sang in English and copied, for better or worst, their idols. There were exceptions like Los Planetas, La Buena Vida or Le Mans… and many others, that had a bigger acknowledgement than those singing in English. Some years later, the opposite happened. Now most bands stopped singing in English and started to make their songs in Spanish. It is at this moment that the Spanish indie scene started to get a much wider recognition.

The Aprons continued singing in English. I couldn’t say why. Maybe it was just inertia. The band didn’t get much recognition, perhaps due to that we never thought about going with the trends of the time. Also, singing in Spanish would mean for us a considerable effort to adapt our music that we never really considered it.

++ I remember that Adrià from the band Papa Topo shared in his blog the song “Glowing Field” by The Aprons and it was gorgeous. Where does this song come from? And what’s its story?

I think that “Glowing Field” was one of the best songs the band recorded. It was recorded on the last recording session in 1999. At this time The Aprons started to show great skills to create good pop songs but it didn’t last much longer. I can imagine that a record packed with songs like this one and recorded in good conditions would have been the perfect ending for The Aprons.

That song was Joan’s. So I can’t really say what’s the story behind it.

++ Did The Aprons publish anything? Some demos, right? How many were they?

There were no releases by Redpoppy or The Aprons. No indie label trusted in our music. Nevertheless we released one Redpoppy song on a compilation of bands from Mallorca in support of the war victims of Bosnia that was put together by the owner of the record store Runaway. We contributed with our cover of “Cling Film” of The Sea Urchins. As an anecdote, one day, Peter from the Runaway store (the meeting place for those in the scene), commented us that he received a letter from the English Society of Authors demanding their royalties! Peter didn’t know we had made a cover. Very little people knew The Sea Urchins, at least in Mallorca.

++ And what is the tracklist for those demos? How many copies were made?

There were four demos:

1st demo “Swallow” from 1994  with 10 songs: “The Sun”, “Cloudy Sky”, “Swallow”, “Everything”, “Thinking About You”, “Only”, “Calamar”, “The Cold is Blue”, “Cling film” (Sea Urchins) and “Crazy people” (Luna). Released on cassette.

2nd demo “Songs from Liliput” from 1996 with 5 songs: “Hold You”, “Inside My Sorrow”, “Little Pretty Thing”, “Verona” and “Keep Smiling”. Released on cassette.

3rd demo “Autumn Time” from 1997 with 4 songs: “It Never Comes”, “High and Low”, “Full of Love” and “Beautiful End”. Released on CDR.

4th demo “Polaroid” from 1999 with 8 songs: “Why Can’t I Sleep Tonight”, “Hold Me”, “Light Up”, “Glowing Field”, “Sleep the Clock Around” (Belle and Sebastian), “Twenty Five”, “What For?” and “My Dreams”. Released on CDR.

++ And where were they recorded? Did someone produce them? Any anecdotes from the recording sessions?

The 1st demo was recorded at Sound & Art studios in Pollença. The 2nd demo at The Independent Republic of Sound that was ran by Toni Noguera of the Mallorca band Los Valendas. The 3rd demo was recorded at the Urban studios that belonged to Rafa Rigo. They were just recordings, we didn’t have enough money to get them produced.

The 4th demo was a technical feat for the time. During 1999 two friends, Pep Ramis and Joan Florit, recorded us with the help of only one computer at the same place that we practiced. Even though the sound quality gets affected by this, the quality of the songs and the good vibes that the band had while the recording sessions ended up in being one of the best recordings of the band.

We started to record the 2nd demo the day after we attended the 2nd Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (FIB), not even giving us time to rest after many days of unending concerts.

++ In your demos there were covers of  “Cling Film” by The Sea Urchins or “Sleep The Clock Around” by Belle & Sebastian. What other covers would you have loved doing? I imagine those two songs are among your all-time favourites?

I remember we played more covers when we played live. I think some by Teenage Fanclub, The Beatles and The La’s.

These are favourite songs indeed, and there many more too.

++ Two of your songs appeared on the Annika Records compilation “Your Wonderful Parade”: “Full of Love” and “A Beautiful End”. These might be the most known songs by The Aprons. I bother you again, what inspired these two songs?

I would say that there aren’t really any known songs by the band. There wasn’t a fanbase who could like one song more than another.

I couldn’t really say much about the creative process for those songs. I’m sorry.

++ And how did you end up included in that compilation? How did you know Gregorio from Annika?

At the start of May 2000 we (Toni and Simó) went to the 4th “Entrega Premios Polares” party (organized by the radio show Viaje a los Sueños Polares by Luis Calvo) to see play live Saint Etienne, Birdie, The High Llamas, La Buena Vida and La Casa Azul.

Simó: In between bands they played music. At some point a familiar song was playing. It took me a while to understand what was going on. That feeling that you know the song but you can figure out which song it is. Suddenly I tell myself, “but it us”. I couldn’t understand how among so many well known indie songs, “Full of Love” by The Aprons” was being played to a multitude of people that was attending the event. What was going on? Where was the candid camera?

Later we got close to the DJ that was playing the music. We tried to talk to him even though the music was so loud that we couldn’t understand each other. That DJ was Gregorio Soria.

After the failed release of the Redpoppy mini-CD with the Efervescente label we changed our name to The Aprons. We recorded the fourth demo and with the addition of our 3rd demo we made a new and last demo that we gave away to different labels. One of these demos ended up on Annika Records hands. Gregorio really liked that demo. And even though it was never possible to release The Aprons as an Annika record, Gregorio included The Aprons on his compilation “Your Wonderful Parade”. The songs he picked were recorded in studio.

++ Are there any more songs that remain unreleased? 

Doing a quick roundup, 5 songs have been published in compilations. The rest of the songs remain unreleased.

++ And there was never interest from labels to release your songs?

To be honest there were some interest. There was a time when a label showed up, one we didn’t have a clue about. It was called “Efervescente” and it was related to a band that we kind of knew that was called Inoxidables. They kind of approached us though there wasn’t much of a predisposition to work with them on our side because how things developed with them. We had agreed to release a mini-CD for Redpoppy (at that time we hadn’t changed names yet). So we went to record new songs the fastest we could. We recorded our 3rd demo and that demo plus a song from our previous demo were going to be our first release. The band were part of a compilation from this label with two of our songs “Hold You” and “Inside My Sorrow”. The label was new and didn’t have much experience.

One day we were asked to play a release party for that compilation in the label’s hometown, Salamanca. Un día nos llamaron para participar en el concierto de presentación de ese recopilatorio en la ciudad del sello, Salamanca. However, the record by Redpoppy, was not released yet. The band had recorded new songs, mastered them, designed the artwork, etc. We asked for some sort of travel expense money because we needed to fly from Palama to Salamanca. Their answer didn’t go well with us, so we decided not to go. In the end the label didn’t release our record.

There were some other contacts with labels but they didn’t prosper.

Looking at it with the perspective of years past, it surprises me that with the quality we distilled no indie label supported The Aprons. Today I’ve been playing some songs and I feel the songs haven’t aged, honestly. They could have been recorded in 1986 or 1996, or even in 2006 or 2016.

++ In that post I mentioned earlier by Adrià, he said that you were planning to release all your songs on a label you were working on, April Eyes Records. What happened to that idea?

The project of starting a new label named April Eyes Records, for the time being, is still waiting to be activated. Maybe later it can become a reality.

++ If you had to choose your favourite song by The Aprons, which one would it be and why?

Simó:  “Glowing Field” is a beautiful pop song, with a solvent verse and a good chorus with the right arrangements and the necessary instrumentation. There is nothing missing nor nothing that is left over. Also its duration is of 2:50 minutes.

Antoni: “Full of Love” is pretty and, in particular, it reflects the sound and style of Redpoppy/The Aprons. I also like a lot the song “High and Low”.

++ Tell me about gigs. Did you play many? Are there any in particular that you remember?

The band didn’t really show themselves much in public. I can’t say how many gigs we played. No more than a dozen. Once we played in Madrid, in the Maravillas venue, which was the indie venue par excellence. It was a gig related to a demo contest, a battle of the bands. At that time they were very trendy these contests aiming to discover new talents. We played alongside a band from Valencia called Polar, who were great to meet. They sounded a lot like Galaxie 500 or Luna.

In another occasion the band supported Los Fresones Rebeldes. That was a great experience to meet the band members of Los Fresones who in some way we knew them through our fanzine April Eyes.

++ Were there any bad gigs? Any anecdotes you could share?

There were good and bad gigs. For sure we learned that it was indispensable to bring a sound guy if you wanted to sound decently when playing live. The Aprons, most of the times, didn’t have one.

++ When did The Aprons stop making music? Did you continue making music on your own? There’s Marlovers, right? In which other bands have you been involved with?

When The Aprons split, as it usually happens, there was on one side the couple (Joan and Núria) and on the other side the brothers (Antoni and Simó). To be honest, the internal dynamics of a band is complicated and if there are romantic relationships between the members it is even more complicated. For me, when a band doesn’t have much appreciation or recognition and the relationship between the members is not solid and you don’t share the same concerns it is very hard for the band to keep going on.

Aside from the already mentioned, there was a band in between The Aprons and Marlovers that was called Riviera. In this band there was the rhythm section of The Aprons plus three other members that would later be part of Marlovers. This band did sing in Spanish. Its sound was very much alike to British pop. There were two demos, in one of them there was a cover of “Crushed” by The Popguns in Spanish.

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

With the first demos we got airplay in Radio 3 in Julio Ruiz’s show “Disco Grande”, that at that time he was doing a sort of “Top 40” of new talents, “La Lista Grande de Maquetas”. That show had a lot of repercussion. All the Spanish indie bands before releasing any records had been played on that show.

We got a few reviews too on the music press. I remember that on the magazine “Spiral”, who aimed to create a scene and was directed by the Elefant Records people, we got a devastating review. So devastating that it was almost funny. I suppose that because they lauded and complimented in excess all the bands and records from the scene they had to compensate in some way.

Our last demo, “Polaroid” was reviewed on the Rockdelux magazine sometime around December 1999 or January 200o on an article about new up and coming bands and a year-end review of what was happening in the Spanish indiepop demo scene.

++ What about fanzines? You used to do one too, right?

We did get some mentions and probably even interviews on fanzines. I can’t remember clearly.

Toni and Simó did a fanzine called April Eyes. Everything was so different during those days. Because of interviews with bands like Heavenly (this time in person as they were playing at the first FIB festival thanks to the help of Joan Vich) or through mail with Keith Girdler of Blueboy, The Softies, Matt from Sarah Records (coinciding with the end of the label and eager to tell many anecdotes), Chitty and Carlos of Moving Pictures, it was all well worth it.

++ Today, aside from music, what other hobbies or activities do you have?

Simó: I love running on the mountains with my two Beagle dogs and my friends. Mallorca is a privileged place for this sport. I practice running on an amateur level though sometimes I do longer distances. Sometimes too I write some fiction though so far I haven’t finished anything that I feel is good enough to be published.

Antoni: Buff! My first and foremost hobbie is adding more records to the record collection I share with Simó. That’s my greatest passion. And activities? well, on weekends I got to see my son play football or go jogging (though many kilometers less than my brother Simó, who is like a wild goat around the mountains),  Mi principal hobbie es seguir ampliando la colección de vinilos, que compartimos con Simó, es mi gran pasión. Y actividades, pues los fines de semana ir a ver jugar a futbol a mi hijo, o salir a correr un poco (menos kilómetros que Simó, que es como una cabra silvestre por la montaña), or hiking around the Serra de Tramuntana….

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would be the biggest highlight for The Aprons?

I don’t know, maybe being the first band in Mallorca, maybe in Spain, that in 1994 did a cover version of a Sarah Records band.

++ How is Mallorca today? Has it changed much? And if one was to visit, as a tourist, what do you suggest checking out? What are the sights not to miss? Or maybe the traditional foods or drinks that one has to try?

Mallorca has changed a lot during the past years, probably more than what The Aprons band members have changed. I would recommend visiting the area of the Serra de Tramuntana to any visitor to the island. It is a hilly area where the most important mountains of the island  are located. There are many picturesque towns like Deià or Sóller. During the summer there are many tourists everywhere. Before if you visited areas that weren’t that known you wouldn’t encounter tourists, but today, with the internet, it is very possible for them to get to places that not even the locals know about.

The traditional cuisine is succulent and varied. I would recommend the “arròs brut” (a rice in broth with vegetables, meat and mushrooms),  “tumbet” (a vegetarian dish made of eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes), and ensaimada (made out of water, sugar, eggs and lard) accompanied by a good red Mallorquin wine.

++ Thanks again! Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks a lot Roque, and thanks for such a great blog like this so we can continue sharing our passion for music.

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Listen
The Aprons – Glowing Field