What a busy week this was! I guess I will have to get used to going out many days in a row, during workdays, if I’m going to live in New York.

As many of you know this past week was the Chickfactor 20th anniversary, with shows in DC, New Jersey and New York. 3 nights of 90s nostalgia, bringing back to stage the likes of Black Tambourine, Small Factory, Honeybunch, The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, The Aislers Set, Pipas, and more. Two of these NY nights were sold out, packed, with not many hipsters to my surprise. It was mostly these nostalgic people, a half generation older than me, with their own indiepop stories. Stories I was a stranger to. I wasn’t around the heyday of the Chickfactor ‘scene’, so at first I did feel a bit displaced. But eventually, things kicked in again. It’s only indiepop you know.

So on Sunday, our first international friend arrived: Vernon from Singapore. A little group of us joined him and Alex who was just passing by that day in New York from Melbourne, via DC and Chickfactor, on her way to Malta. We had some thai food, which I found a bit bland, but nonetheless it was a great evening, talking and catching up. It was almost a year since the last time I saw them. I stayed up late that night. On Monday I would stay up late again after a long day of work. Kristine and Lisle were arriving to New York and I was hosting them at my place. Their plane from Chicago was delayed, which is no surprise. And of course, we stayed up late chatting and chatting. I don’t really know where Kristine got their energy from, she had attended the DC shows already and she was craving for more in NYC. I must becoming an old man, because I can’t figure this out.

And then of course it all started. Taking the R train all the way to the Bellhouse in Brooklyn. On that dirty and old train with it’s yellow and orange seats. Never a good ride on the R. And finding a place to eat around the Bellhouse, that’s another problem to solve. Not my favourite venue at all, the Bellhouse seems to host many indiepop gigs for some reason. The lightning of the stage is terrible, so hard to get good pictures, or even shoot video. So against all odds, as I use my camera as a bona fide machine gun, I took around 10 pictures total in 3 nights. Not very me.

Hoegaarden pint in hand, I didn’t raze the merch table either. Prices were not from the 90s but from the 00s. I guess that makes sense, but I was expecting $2 7″s instead of $5. That’s what they cost back in the day, right? Maybe I’m naive, but why raise the price 15 years after? Anyhow, I already had most of these records, but the ones I didn’t have, I bought, which were a few. I did get a Softies t-shirt. Though I’m not a big fan. But I like Tiger Trap and Go Sailor a lot. So, why not support Rose Melberg?

I didn’t get to meet the 90s luminaries of American indiepop. No one new in my book. I did get to finally meet Brian and Yvonne from the Tartans and they were great. But from the older generation, no. I find that those jangly heroes of mine from UK  or Europe are way more friendly, more reachable, than the American ones. I can’t grasp why yet. But one day I’ll write a whole discernation about it. This is something that puzzles me.

The festival was well organized, you could tell they took care of every detail, and having someone to ‘host’ each night, to present every band with some little background story was a great idea. My only complains of course, and I assume many would agree, was that it was hosted during weekdays, from Tuesday to Thursday. Not very inviting for people that live and work in New York. And the other complain I have is the overpriced tickets. 80-90 dollars for 3 nights is a bit too much in the indiepop world. NYC Popfest, a true New York analogy, charges 50 dollars for 4 days and more bands. And during a weekend. And bands that are as good. Can we agree on that? I think so. And my last complain the special guests. They weren’t really special. I mean, it’s great to see Franklin Bruno or the guy from Love True Always, but come on, let them play with the whole band. Just a guy and a guitar doesn’t feel like a special guest to me. That was a bit boring to be honest.

But after that first hour of special guests everything turned upside down, so many great bands that made every night worth it! I can’t thank enough having the opportunity to see The Aislers Set live. I thought it was never going to happen. Or another favourite of mine, The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, who share my last name and wrote two of my favourite albums ever. Or seeing Pipas again after 6 years! True, as you can see, it was the Wednesday lineup the one that I enjoyed the most. That was the big night for me, for my taste. I know everyone was head over heels for Tuesday, with the mighty Black Tambourine headlining. I may say something here that won’t please many, but Black Tambourine is my least favourite Pam Berry band. I think “Throw Aggi from the Bridge” is a monumental song, but the rest of their songs are just alright. For me Pam Berry’s best are either Glo-Worm or The Pines. And hey, The Pines did play Chickfactor, on Thursday, and that was pure bliss. They even covered Aurora by The Cat’s Miaow as I requested Joe when I saw him the prior Thursday while we walked over the High Line Park.

And as soon as it all ended, I slept eleven hours straight. And I booked a plane ticket to London, to attend Indietracks. There was an empty hole to fill and I didn’t found a better way to do it. So, even though I’m not invited to DJ anywhere in the UK this time, I’m heading to Indietracks! And after Indietracks I’ll spend a week in Wales visiting castles with my favourite girl. Can’t ask for more at this point. It’s all perfect.

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Let’s save the Cloudberry news and label stuff for next week. Let’s move to our obscure band of the week: The deBuchias.

I actually was in touch with Justin Salmon, one of the members of the band, not so long ago. Asked him to do an interview and he was up for it. But still haven’t heard from him. Probably life got in the way. It happens. Thing is that last week I finally managed to get a copy of the one and only 12″ The deBuchias released and that song on the A side is so so good, that I need you all to know it. It’s called “Introducing Jane” and it’s beautiful.

The band was formed by John Bramwell on vocals and guitars, Tig on bass, Steve Perry on drums and Justin Salmon on harmonizing electric guitar. You might have heard the name John Bramwell. He would later from the well known band I Am Kloot. On this 12″ the band is introduced to us as “The deBuchias featuring Johnny Dangerously”. This Johnny Dangerously is John Bramwell of course, and he had already released a 12″ on his own, the “You, Me and Alarm Clock”. I still have to manage to track a copy of that one, but having head the songs I say, if you see it, snatch it.

But the deBuchias single, on Village Records, catalog number 111, with it’s yellow jacket and mysterious black and white photographs of women putting on make up, is something else. And you can still find it for reasonable prices on Discogs especially. This record included two more songs on the B side, “Tearing it Down” and “Subway Life”. The first one was already released on the previous 12″ Johnny had released, and “Subway Life” was a track that had already appeared on the “Manchester North of England” compilation. The record was engineered by Graham Massey and Jez at Real to Rell in Macclesfield. And the photographs of the sleeve were courtesy of Michele Jones.

The only other bit of information I could find was the the band played a couple of important gigs like the Glasgow Mayfest, the Green Room and the Manchester International. They supported Tom Robinson and Billy Bragg at Nottingham Festival as well. And that was 1990. The nostalgic era I didn’t get to see.

And that’s all there is about this band. Who was this mysterious Jane they sing about? Did they ever record more songs? Why did they split? And what happened to them? If you know anything else, please share! Would love to know!

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Listen
The deBuchias – Introducing Jane

A couple of days ago Yago, one of the nice guys that took care of my merch during Madrid Popfest, asked me about Velasco, an almost forgotten band from Spain. He had seen a blog post, dating July 2009, were Adrià, one of Papa Topo’s half, was raving about this obscure duo. On that same post Adrià mentions my name, alongside Felipe Fresón’s…

It might be one of the few times were my name is going to be written next to one of my indiepop heroes; it seems both me and him shared the second demo CD-R with Papa Topo’s black rimmed glasses frontman, and he was thanking both of us. Yago, smartly assumed that there is only one Roque involved in what we call indiepop, and got in touch with me. He did his detective job. Now it’s my time to try to solve this mystery.

Back in 2004 I was already dreaming of starting a label. Those were days of indiepop discovery for me but my ties were still closer to the Peruvian music scene than to the indiepop community. My connections to the worldwide indiepop community revolved to the few friends I knew on the Twee Folks and the Viajeros Polares channel on soulseek. Those were rather uneventful days too. I was living in San Antonio, Texas, a place not known for their great indie acts but for some iconic landmark called The Alamo, which is such a disappointment when you finally see it. It’s tiny. And looks like any other catholic church in the Peruvian highlands. I skipped classes often, I wasn’t motivated, and in the end, the exams were pretty easy for me to get straight As. If this was literature, then I didn’t need to go to classes, really, I thought. And I had a writer’s block. And of course, my grammar was never something to be proud of. But let’s say they were “literary licenses” I took. Anyhow, I was pretty involved in the Peruvian scene as I said, and I spent hours and hours chatting with bands and fans back in my home country.

There were a couple of indie magazines back in Lima. There was “Interzona”, “Freak Out” and “69”. The most popular was the latter, and not because of it’s terrible name. They had evolved from a prior magazine, one called “Caleta” that had reached cult status among the music fans in Lima. Music fans that spent their hours in the seedy stores of the Galerías Brasil mall in the Breña district. Small stores that specialized in different genres, stores that had the latest bootlegs, CD-Rs of Elefant Records releases, and overpriced vinyl records. In this same mall you could find fanzine stores, emo clothing stores, and even porn dvd stores. On the first floor there were stores where you could rent a Playstation and play some Pro Evolution Soccer against other people. I miss doing that, especially in those days when PES was such a great game and it didn’t try to resemble to the FIFA titles. Also you could find a small cafe with cheese and ham sandwiches and Inca Kola, print shops and also some electronic stores. I read this week that this mall was closed by the city not so long ago.

So the “69” magazine. People who wrote in that magazine were snobbish, and didn’t have the best taste I’d say. Third world country taste, you know. But the editor, Percy, had better taste than the rest of the writers. He was a big fan of La Buena Vida I remember. And also he loved All Girl Summer Fun Band. We chatted quite a bit on soulseek and exchanged emails during that 2004. By then I had already started my blog Mira El Péndulo that turned out to be quite successful among Spanish speakers. It astonishes me that people still remember it. Just a few weeks ago in Spain, during the Popfest, there were some guys that were really excited to meet me, not because of the labels, but because of that damned blog. How can you explain that? Many of them told me they had bought the C-06 tape. I’m so flattered.

The “69” had already released a CD compilation with Peruvian bands and it turn out to be the best selling issue in their short life. So I had no better idea than to pitch Percy an international indiepop compilation. I didn’t want anything in exchange, I would contact the bands and put together the compilation. Ok, I did ask for some complimentary copies, but that was it. I didn’t have money to start my own label then, but I thought that it would be a rewarding experience, to showcase some international bands in my home country. The “69” would have to fund the CD pressing, which back then was dirty cheap in Peru, and I would get all the songs for a very fine record. On top of that I was asked to write an article for the magazine. That was my first published piece, and it wasn’t very good. I had to explain what indiepop is and how much of a worldwide phenomenon it was.

I titled the CD “Es Pop Mamá”, nodding to the great Christina y los Neumáticos song that was later covered by the so amazing TCR (with Felipe Fresón on guitars).  Some “bigger” names included on the CD were those of Tullycraft or Pale Sunday to name a few. Most of the bands were from Latin America though, but there were a couple from Spain as well. And Velasco was one of those Spanish bands included.

I didn’t know much about them back then. I remember listening to their two demo CD-Rs and loving them. Actually, not listening them from the actual CD-Rs, but from MP3s. A shame that I never managed to get proper copies of their demos. I should have asked back then. But I wasn’t that indie savvy when 20 years old. The first demo included the songs: “Recuerdas” (You Remember), “Estar Contigo” (Be With You), and “Agosto” (August). It was recorded on the summer of 2002 and the artwork is really nice, with a floral design. The second demo, titled Bijou (French for jewel), included the songs “El Viento” (The Wind), “Tú” (You), “Velasco”, “En Mi Ciudad” (In My City) and “La Luna” (The Moon). The artwork for this second demo is a just married couple. The couple seems familiar but I can’t pinpoint who they are. Any clues? The song I finally included in “Es Pop Mamá” was “En Mi Ciudad”. A pretty and naive song.

Velasco (also Belasco or Belasko) is a Spanish family name and masculine first name derived from the Basque bel- meaning ‘raven’ or ‘crow’ and the diminutive suffix -sco.

The last name Velasco is associated with an evil dictator in Peru. The only left-wing dictator in South America during the 70s. He ruled from 1968 to 1975 and screwed the country, taking the country through dark times. Music-wise, Peru, famous for it’s 60’s garage legacy with Los Saicos, Los Yorks, Los Shains and more, went into a halt. Everything that was somehow “American”, which of course includes rock, pop or garage, was not supported or approved by the dictatorship. The exciting music scene from those years died silently. I guess the only good thing from that period was winning the Copa America with Cubillas and Sotil for the 2nd time, something our Chilean brothers who think so highly of themselves still haven’t been able to achieve.

My emails with Velasco are long lost to my hacked email account. I can’t recall them clearly, but a safe guess was that they were short and sweet. We must have agreed on a song and that was it. I remember that I emailed with Maite, who was the vocalist in Velasco. The only other member was Paco, who played guitars. Where they a couple? Could be. I believe this appearance on the compilation was their only proper “release” aside from their demos. I don’t think they appeared in any other record. A real shame if you happen to listen to their sweet songs. You wonder if they were too early or too late, 2004 wasn’t really a good year for indiepop. Not many things were happening there. No such thing as Popfests back then.

That is all that I remember about this cute and small band. I don’t remember where they were based in Spain? I want to say Valencia, but I would probably be wrong. And what happened to Paco and Maite? Did they stop playing music? It’s hard to believe. I wonder if they made more songs. Where are they now? If they ever played live?

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Listen
Velasco – En mi Ciudad

When Ignacio told me, during the Friday night shows, that Tiny Fireflies was his favorite band ever, I was a bit surprised. I asked him again if he meant ever. And he did. The main man of the new label Cerillas Garibaldi was totally charmed by them and for the first time he was going to see them live. I lost track of him as soon as the gig started. I wonder if he was one of the many that got the new split with Lily of the Valley and got it autographed by Kristine and Lisle. I know there were many humble fans in Spain who got the signatures of the pretty Tiny Fireflies.

I’m not sure exactly which songs they played that night. I can remember that they played all the songs they have released, but no Club 8 cover. I didn’t get their tracklist this time, not because I didn’t want to, but because Jorge was collecting them for the Madrid Popfest archive. So here’s a tip for bands, make at least 3 tracklists. Because  I need one for sure.

The gig was beautiful, as always. The fragility and tenderness that Tiny Fireflies evoke can’t be compared to any band these days. I don’t think anyone comes close either. Their sound is just way too dreamy, and deliciously sweet. Kristine’s angelic voice blends so perfect with the electronic beats and Lisle’s jangly guitar. One only wonders how this sound was achieved in Chicago, three blocks away from the Division subway station on the blue line. No, it doesn’t make sense.

All the copies the band brought to Madrid were sold. Success for a tour that started in their hometown a week before and later spanning some cities in Wisconsin. Their first Tiny Fireflies tour. Though last year they did play a couple of gigs in the UK, but the main tour then was the one by Very Truly Yours, their “other” band. I remember clearly the gigs at the ROTA, opening for the Sunny Street and Amor de Días, and the one at Indietracks. By this time they had their first release out, the magical 3″CD on Cris’ label Little Treasure. I got my copy that sunny Friday in Nottingham, when a big group of Indietracks’ goers met at the Ye Olde Jerusalem Inn for lunch. These memories make me want to go so much to Indietracks this year. Time to break the piggy bank?

I’ve seen Kristine and Lisle play so many times, even more than Allo Darlin’ or The Smittens, which is already something.  I am a declared fan of their musical talents, and their sensitivity to write songs. Moreover I consider them great friends. Can’t wait to see them next month here in New York to hang out and attend the Chickfactor 20 gigs. To which I ask, why were these gigs scheduled on weekdays? I’ll be dead tired, exhausted, trying to wake up the morning after to go to work. And I will have to control how many beers I can drink.

We met Tiny Fireflies on Wednesday, outside of Alonso Martínez station. Along with Zipper, we all headed to a very cool bar whose name I have forgotten. There we had wine and beer and tried the classic tortilla de patatas. Kristine was impressed by the fluffiness of it and asked for the recipe. Among laughs, and “getting to know each other”, as it seems Zipper and Tiny Fireflies each missed their gigs at last year’s Indietracks, we had a great time. That’s when we decided to hop to another bar, a more traditional Spanish one, you know, one that serves sausages and other treats along your drinks for free.

The next days I would become Tiny Fireflies official translator. Was it an upgrade from last year’s Very Truly Yours roadie? We would meet around 1pm, a bit ashamed of looking for lunch that early for Spanish standards. And so, we would go looking for restaurants that served a daily menu, something we really enjoyed. For around 10 or 11 euros we could eat well, a proper meal consisting of an appetizer, an entree, dessert, and a drink. Plus bread. A really good deal. And so Kristine and me tried many different things, mostly thinks done with pork. Alexandra stuck to having salmon, while Lisle enjoyed “bocaditos” made of ham or the brilliant “roman” style calamari. I would translate the menu and they would always laugh when we would find “gallo” which is rooster on the menu. It wasn’t an easy task to translate as I didn’t know the meaning of many things, the Spanish from Spain, when it comes to food, differs a lot from the one I know from Peru.

We traced every room of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art. We got in for free, just by chance, as they were having a free entrance that day because of some sort of women related celebrations. Was it international women’s day? Could be. And then we also visited and took some Tiny Fireflies promo pictures at the Madrid Botanical Gardens, where I ended up being asked by many tourists to take pictures of them. There was this couple that asked me to take a picture of them with the “tree of love” as a backdrop. As it wasn’t spring yet, the tree was gloomy, very far to convey any sense of love. More of a Halloween picture if you ask me, not very romantic. And then we also enjoyed riding up and down, many times, the clear crystal elevators of the Reina Sofía museum, to get beautiful, panoramic views of Madrid. And there we also went for free, as there’s a nice deal on Saturdays after 3 pm. While at Reina Sofía we ended up speechless upon finding the impressive Guernica by Picasso. Stunning really.

Meeting on Saturday at Puerta del Sol, taking pictures under the “bear and the tree” statue, symbol of Madrid, and walking around and bumping with Miguel Navarro, guitar extraordinaire of The Felt Tips, we waited for Cris and Madidi to arrive, for one last lunch in Spain (at least for us). When we were altogether we headed into one of these menu restaurants I’ve been raving. We loved the name of it, “La Soberbia” (The Arrogance), and we enjoyed some beers to start. I remember trying that day Salmorejo, a delicious cold soup made out of tomatoes, and the delicious Solomillo made out of pork. Cris had the same as me, Kristine got the Solomillo and a salad, Madidi got the paella, Alexandra went for some peppers filled with fish that she didn’t like much, and Lisle a ham bocadito. Then Cris had to run for sound check, as he was in charge of making The Close Lobsters sound good for their historic show later that night. And then, when we asked for the check (or the bill as you say in the UK), Kristine had the best idea of getting rid of all her Euro change. And so we paid the check mostly on coins, and coins, and coins. Brilliant.

It was just a couple of weeks back since we released the Tiny Fireflies split CD. And now I hope that in the not so distant future we’ll get their songs on vinyl. At least that’s what I would love to do.

And now onto some obscure band, and to make it a bit more relevant, a US band that doesn’t sound American at all: Mouse Boy, Mouse Girl. Well, I’m not very sure if they were a band or not, but I do know this one song that I’ve really been enjoying for the past week since Alexandra e-mailed to me. I wonder how such a pretty song have been unattended, unexplored, unheard, by me. I will blame it to my anglophile-ness when it comes to indiepop. The song is called “Make Like We’re Not Sad” and it’s such a delicious slice of fragile indiepop.

The song was part of a compilation put together back in 1998 by the now sleepy indiepop-list. The compilation was called “The Family Twee”. The idea behind the compilation was to have songs by the members of the list. Not surprised to see Mario’s Zapato, Chris’ Suretoss, in their for example. But I wasn’t around in the list back in 1998, so I’m unfamiliar with many of the bands, and the people behind them. A little research and I found out how this was organized by “Skippy”:

September 1997 – An invitation is made to members of the list to submit a song/whatever, that is under 2 minutes long. We will create 2 cd’s filled with their tracks upon getting enough people to do it (60!) and it will become a ‘snapshot’ of the current state of the list. A postcard if you will.November 1997 – By this time, we’ve had 85 people say they definitely want to do it. We await the first 60’s tracks and then open it up to the remainder.

December 1997 – We’ve received only 46 of the promised tracks. People flake, that’s life. I have list members Jim Curran and Anne Zender over for a holiday cocktail and to ‘sequence’ and ‘rate’ what we have. January 1998 – I moved everything I own from Chicago to NYC. I get the track total up to 60, pulling teeth, but this also means that some people haven’t ‘contributed’ if you know what I mean.

March 1998 – I give the 60 songs to pal and Kindercore cat, Ryan, who will inexpensively master the thing.

April 1998 – Apparently there are some problems with a track or two and we need to get the original from the person.

June 1998 – CD is mastered and prepared for pressing. Skippy loses artwork that Andy Blanchard so generous drew because he didn’t have a ‘song’ contribution. We await Andy’s duplicates.

August 1998 – The two CD set arrives here in spindles (the state of CD manufacturing took 7 weeks!). As soon as we whip up some art, we can package these babies up and get them out. Of course, I seem to have underestimated the costs of the project and am now in the hole for about $600.September 1998 – I receive the plastic booklets we will use. Artwork is shipped to a friend who can do it ‘cheap’. I haven’t heard from him since. November 1998 – I decide enough is enough, make some ‘bootleg’ style artwork and begin the arduous task of packaging 1,000 double CD’s with inserts in my spare time (with my girlfriend’s help)

December 2, 1998 – All systems go! The CD’s are ready to ship. Problem is, some of you have changed your home address and your e-mail addresses. I have saved enough money to ship these (there’s quite a few international ones, y’all), but I don’t want to start sending to addresses that you gave me back in November last year because I don’t want to get it returned.

After a bit of investigation to find out at least one name behind Mouse Boy, Mouse Girl. It seems it was Tony Gauslin who was behind this precious song. This was prior the days of him making songs with Laura Watling under the name of “Color and Shapes”. And that’s really all I know. Did they make any more songs? Did he ever receive a copy of the Family Twee CD (he complains in 1999, a year after, of not having received a copy!)? and did they release any songs? maybe on other compilations? And what is he up to? I’m sure the talent is not gone!

Any clues, hints, or anecdotes you want to share, you know what to do in the comments section!

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Listen
Boy Mouse, Girl Mouse – Make Like We’re Not Sad

Back from Madrid Popfest. Back from Spain and the many cities I visited. Back to New York. Back to work, to the label, to the routines. I’m still in the process of figuring out how to put in words what happened in Madrid. It is one of the best times ever. Indiepop-wise and not. In the next couple of weeks I will review it, hopefully convince you to go next year. It’s worth it. And having attended many Popfests I can truly say that when it comes to fun, when it comes to camaraderie, to admiration to the bands, to fans that give their heart out every night, Madrid is the best. And they get some damn fine bands too.

I got the best company during the trip. And she knows. To Toledo, Avila, Segovia, and more, we traveled. We visited a handful of cathedrals, castles and ruins. We walked on top of medieval walls, ate the town’s specialties, and took hundreds of pictures. The “Cercanías” trains were great and cheap. And at night we had beer, and danced, and met with friends. A haze, a blur, it all so seems so far away but so close too. I need another festival soon to put Madrid in perspective. Around the corner is the Chickfactor one. Will that make me sane again? I don’t want this happiness to go away though. But there’s plenty of news for Cloudberry. I really want to go through them, let’s talk about Madrid next week. Promise.

First of all, there’s a couple of new releases out:

– The Time Capsules : this is part of the Cloudberry Classics releases. It includes 6 wonderful songs in the vein of The Jazz Butcher, Lotus Eaters and Jim Jiminee. The Time Capsules were a Japanese band active during the late 90s. They only released a tape back then. This release includes all their songs (but their demos, though you can download one of them from the Cloudberry page). These days Kouishi Ono, the lead guy behind The Time Capsules goes under the name Alvysinger and he still has it. Great stuff!

– Tiny Fireflies / Lily of the Valley : please don’t mistake them with “My” Lily of the Valley who were Swedish and appeared on Cloudberry’s 100th release. This Lily of the Valley hails from Japan and they make great shoegazy tunes. And what to say about Tiny Fireflies who are making a splash everywhere. From New York to London and then to Indietracks and now Madrid. Seen them four times and everytime they get closer to pop perfection. Delicious vocals by Kristine, two perfectly penned songs, with hooks, dreams and reveries. This is a split 3″CD!

Also you might have noticed that most prices on the store have been raised by a dollar. Even though I didn’t want to do it, I had no better option. The postal service has raised their prices. Nothing we can do about it. It’s been 5 years keeping the same prices on Cloudberry, but now there’s no way for me to cut expenses on other things and keep the prices the same. Hope you understand.

On the 7″ front the Cassolette 7″ is almost ready. This week I should be announcing the release date. It should be in the early days of April. It’s been a long wait, but it will definitely be worth it.

And then the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen is also ready with a new baked goodie: The Deddingtons album. All the artwork is ready and will try to send it to press very soon. There will be more info about this release later on the Cloudberry site.

Also I feel it’s time to start working on a new fanzine. Any ideas on who to feature? What color ink to use?

But now it’s time for our obscure band of the week: Ostrich Cult.

Ostrich:  is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member(s) of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies. Ostriches share the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, emus, and other ratites. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at maximum speeds of about 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph), the top land speed of any bird The Ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest egg of any living bird (extinct elephant birds of Madagascar and the giant moa of New Zealand did lay larger eggs). The diet of Ostriches mainly consists of plant matter, though it also eats invertebrates. It lives in nomadic groups which contain between five and fifty birds. When threatened, the Ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or will run away. If cornered, it can attack with a kick from its powerful legs. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females. These fights usually last just minutes, but they can easily cause death through slamming their heads into opponents. The Ostrich is farmed around the world, particularly for its feathers, which are decorative and are also used as feather dusters. Its skin is used for leather products[6] and its meat is marketed commercially.

Cult: The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre.  The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices. The word was first used in the early 17th century denoting homage paid to a divinity and derived from the French culte or Latin cultus, ‘worship’, from cult-, ‘inhabited, cultivated, worshipped,’ from the verb colere, ‘care, cultivation’. In the 1930s cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs. In the 1970s the anticult movement arose, partly motivated by acts of violence and other crimes committed by members of some cults (notably the Manson Family and People’s Temple). Some of the claims of the anticult movement have been disputed by other scholars, leading to further controversies.

With my head daydreaming of Sweden, I have no better idea to write about this band, an obsession of mine. An obsession for two reasons. First because I don’t have their 7″ and have never heard the songs on it. And second, they were the predecessors of one of my favourite bands, Happydeadmen.

The only song I’ve ever heard from them is the one posted here on the blog. I heard it for first time on Youtube, and it seems it’s from 1986. I think someone translated it to English for me once. I can’t remember.  I will go through my emails and see if I can find that. I know the song name means “A Dying Man”. Magnus Karlsson is on vocals.

The sound is different to Happydeadmen, though you can already hear some great guitar riffs. The jangle was about to come. Still I enjoy this song a lot. But this song is just a demo, this song wasn’t properly released, which probably means that the two songs that were released on the 7″ might be superior. I don’t know, just an educated guess here.

The 7″ was a private press, 500 copies as usual. The catalogue is MOK-S-01. The song on the A side is “Skymningsland” which means ‘Land of Dusk’ and on the flip side we find “Resa Utan Mal”, ‘Journey Without End”. The sleeve artwork reminds me a bit of those by Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, offset print in blue.

I don’t have a clue where to find a copy, and I’ve been trying for some years now. If anyone cares to help, please let me know. Or at least MP3s of these two songs, I would love to listen. Worst case scenario, if you happen to have more songs from the demo, please share. This band is a true mystery to me and would love to know more. I love Happydeadmen, knowing more about Ostrich Cult is imperative!

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Listen
Ostrich Cult – En Döende Man

There was a time, back in 2002, when my world revolved around Spanish pop. We were young and foolish in a town that was neither Spanish or American. Half the day we spoke Spanish, the other English. We always tuned in the Spanish Pop  show on Sundays at 7pm at a Salsa radio station. We didn’t really care what the dj Kike Posada would play. He was awful. We just tuned in and called the station to request songs. Our little convenience store, a block away from the beach and Ocean Drive and the tourist flock, was almost empty by 7pm. Most people would leave the beach on Sundays around 6pm, thus from 6:30 to midnight (when our shift ended), we just restocked the refrigerators and the shelves. We had five hours to do that. It didn’t take us that much so we had time to be on hold on the phone trying to request some of our favourite Spanish Pop tunes. The show lasted a couple of hours. It was called Boom. And again, it was awful.

Jose, Chozzy for friends, and me, had been working at this convenience store for some time now. We were very young, like 17 or 18 when we started. We had hacked the audio system of the store and we had managed to connect a portable CD player to it. By far this store had the best music in Miami. Those days we played lots of Spanish Pop and more often than you could imagine people would recognize the songs and tell us stories about the days when they danced to them. Or when they went to see them back in their home countries. We shared the same memories. It was the music we listened on the radio back home when we were growing up. The 80s and the early 90s wasn’t c86 for us. It was the so called “Rock en español” were both rock and pop were bagged in the same tag.

We requested Los Nikis many times. The dj didn’t have a clue who they were. For me that was blasphemy. It was always like this: we requested a first song, he didn’t have it. We requested a second, he didn’t have it. We always felt bad with her secretary or the radio station operator, a girl with a Venezuelan accent, that by the third song request we would just stick to a song that had Alaska on it, most usually a Dinarama song. And then we would call again. And we’d request songs the stupid dj didn’t know. One could only wonder how he had any following in the city. It was always a mystery for us. He sucked and we deserved to have our own radio show. But we weren’t friends with Emilio or Gloria Estefan I suppose.

Our apartment was 10 blocks away from the convenience store and we were piling CD-Rs with bootlegs by Aviador Dro and rare tracks by Los Vegetales. We shared a big studio and payed 250 dollars each. We had for the first time in our life fast DSL internet and spent hours, days, researching and downloading Spanish Pop. And then we started buying what we could. It was hard and damn expensive. Since then I experienced the abominable postage prices the Spanish postal service charges. At some point I must have paid 100 dollars worth of postage on a single order. It was outrageous. Suddenly my drawers starting piling with t-shirts by Cola Jet Set, La Casa Azul, Fangoria and more. I was really into it.

I always thought it was going to be Spain the country I was to visit first in Europe. It didn’t turn out that way. For me it was obvious, I spoke the language, in high school I had read Cervantes, Quevedo and even Cela. I had watched every single movie by Alex de la Iglesia and watched la Liga religiously every weekend. I was a big fan of Raul, and Mendieta. And of course, the music I loved, and my favourite band, my beloved TCR, came from Spain. However I went first to Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland and England.

Next weekend I head to Madrid. It will be my first time in Spain and I’m thrilled. The first thing that comes to mind is that song by Flash Strato “Madrid in Tecnicolor” that was kind of a hit back in Lima in the 80s. It seems in Spain it wasn’t that popular, just a handful knows about it. But that’s how things work, as my grandma would often say, “Nadie es profeta en su tierra.” Translated to English it is “No one is a prophet in their own land.” The quotation is from Christ himself in Luke 4, 21-30. Perhaps there’s a similar saying in English, but you see my point. That happened a lot with Spanish bands, many of them made a splash in Mexico or Peru, but not in their home country.

It was one of those dead afternoons at the convenience store that I would rediscover this gem. Carlos who worked at a garage a block away came with a couple of CDs for me to play at the store. They were Spanish pop, songs he would play back in Peru. He had been djing in Lima for a couple of years before leaving to the US. He was a bit older than me and remembered much better the 80s and the songs that were played during that time. He lend me his CDs, just for that afternoon. One of the songs was “Madrid in Tecnicolor”. Suddenly I had flashes, the song was very familiar and I even recalled the lyrics. It took me back to evenings stuck in the lazy traffic of Lima’s tight side streets. The cab driver reading his football daily paper with a half-naked woman on the cover waiting for the light to turn green. And the cassette radio, brand-less and black, playing some of these Spanish gems on the background.

I still don’t know where the name Flash Strato came from. Perhaps it has no meaning. The band was formed in 1980s by four chaps, Emilio Huertas (guitars), Enrique Bastante (vocals and guitars), Victor Martín (bass) and Toti Árboles (drums). They lasted only 3 years, saying farewell in 1983 with just two releases on their hands.

The first release was the “Cristales Molidos” single on Carnaby Records. This record also included “Fue tu Culpa” and “Búscame”. It was released in 1982 and it seems no one picked it up. It’s a shame, I love “Cristales Molidos”. It has some great jangly and upbeat guitars. But who knows, perhaps these days their records are sought after and pretty expensive. I don’t know. Would love to have a copy, but as said before, I already decided not to buy online from Spanish record stores. The postage prices are not right. But I will surely keep an eye for their records now that I visit Madrid.

The second release was “Madrid in Tecnicolor” (1983), a maxi-single, on Columbia. This is their ‘song’ and could have been an anthem of that era. Great melodies, power-pop melodies, jangly guitars and a fun and bouncy keyboard at the chorus. A very catchy song that for some reason not many cared for it in Spain when it was released. That’s why it is amazing to see the amount of Peruvians commenting on Youtube about this song. It’s hard to believe.

The band split just after releasing this record. Toti would join Alaska y los Pegamoides and Enrique, Seres Vacíos. It didn’t matter if they had good songs and two very strong releases. It didn’t matter if they had played gigs along Alaska y Dinarama, Paralisis Permanent or Gabinete Caligari, three big names of the Spanish Pop Golden Era. They were destined to be forgotten. But far away from the Iberian peninsula, in foggy and grey Lima, we pictured Madrid as a fun place, a place painted in technicolor, were no one could stop partying.

Many years later I will experience Madrid in Technicolor, were the parties go on past midnight until the next morning. I can’t wait. I’ll see you there next week.

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Listen
Flash Strato – Madrid en Tecnicolor

Now I can say that I’m up to date with Cloudberry after several trips to the post office this week. Cassolette 7″ is being pressed and the artwork for The Time Capsules CD is ready. This  long weekend (Monday is a holiday, President’s Day) The Deddingtons and the Tiny Fireflies/Lily of the Valley CDs artwork should be ready. I can leave to Spain without worries.

I do feel I haven’t taken care of the blog as much as I would have like to. There are plenty of comments I haven’t answered. Some bands have gotten in touch and I haven’t replied back. Shame on me. I haven’t conducted any interviews in the past two months. And that’s something that is unacceptable I think. But I’ll make up for it. I also would love to retake the indiepop book project, compiling this blog on in and paper. That’d be something. It wasn’t long ago that I met with my archaelogist (and Brighter fan) friend Brian in a bar in the Lower East side and he was quite inquisitive about this project. I do believe there will be some interest in it. I can see the point that my blog, as it’s articles are quite long, is more suitable to a print format than digital format I already use.

There is a very nice news coming from Japan. It seems there will be a Japanese edition for the Feverfew release, limited to just 125 copies. It will have an OBI strip and also the liner notes in Japanese. I seems it will also include the interview to Paul and Phil that appeared in the blog translated to Japanese and hopefully the lyrics to all the songs. I will try to get some copies of them, but can’t really promise much. I’ll keep you all updated.

For the past three months in NYC I’ve been attending to Mondo, the indie dance party that Maz from NY Popfest organizes. I’ve been very impressed on how packed his nights are. Yesterday was no exception even though the night moved to Manhattan for a one-off at Le Poisson Rouge. It usually happens in hipster-infested Williamsburg, at Cameo, a venue I really like. It was an odd night yesterday as there was some sort of hip-hop event at the top floor of the Poisson Rouge. It was said that Spike Lee and Vin Diesel were around. There was some character too called Grandmaster Flash that Maz was very excited about. He told me he was the grandfather of hip hop. Mind you, I don’t know nothing about hip hop. I really dislike that music. But anyhow, this Grandmaster guy told Maz that Mondo was a great party. And I can only agree with him. It is a great party. And I hope it keeps happening for years to come.

There are three DJs at the club and without hurting any susceptibilities, I hope, my favourite is Maz. He plays lots of indiepop staples and yesterday was no exception. We all danced to  Another Sunny Day “You Should All Be Murdered”, The Clean’s “Tally Ho” and The Pastels’ “Truck Train Tractor” among other tunes by Josef K, Summer Cats, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, Acid House Kings and Orange Juice. He has great taste. I know that for a fact, I mean, he has been booking fantastic bands to NYC Popfest the past 4 years! If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to see Go Sailor, Days, Caucus, Gold-Bears and many others. I’m very grateful for that. And I’m sure this 2012 edition won’t be an exception, it will be thrilling again. I have already heard some “rumours” of bands playing this year and I can only tell it’s very promising.

Then there’s Miss Modular who, I learned yesterday, is originally from Miami. Just like Cloudberry Records. She mostly plays girl bands from 50s, 60s. I’m not much into that stuff, but now and then I can enjoy some Shangri-Las. It depends on my mood. This is the time when I like buying a new lager and talking with friends that are around. Yesterday it was catching up with Mark Olivan, who I met last year at NYC Popfest. He was the one who recorded on video most of the band’s performances during the festival, if not all! Great guy, and always very well dressed. At some point we were interrupted by some girls that were looking for boys clearly. One of them asked me about my Madrid Popfest t-shirt. Then she asked where was my accent from and what I was doing there. Then she was just “American” and said she couldn’t understand my accent. Funny. I guess I missed out her loving skills. It’s ok, I wasn’t interested!

And the third DJ is Kevington who I believe caters to the bigger crowd. This is the time where “This Charming Man”, “Boys Don’t Cry” and *that* song by Le Tigre get played. Usually this is also the time when most people get excited and dance. Not me. But that’s ok. I understand how a club runs and you need the mainstream songs. You need people to keep coming, and they do keep coming. It’s a compromise. So that works out perfectly. It’s fine with me. I do need to rest, I’m not that 18 year old anymore and can’t be bouncing to Altered Images all night long! No complains here, Mondo sells itself as an indie-dance party, not an indiepop party. So fine by me. I know what to expect and I don’t feel tricked when The Go Team is resonating through the speakers.

I haven’t timed the DJs but I think they change every hour and the party starts quite late, around 10 or 11. Im usually exhausted by 2am mind you, but I think it goes on until 3 or 4? Not sure. Anyhow, they make me happy. Listening once a month “C is the Heavenly Option” that loud is good enough for me. And if not, I can count them to play “Crush the Flowers”. They do play it every month. I think it’s Mondo’s anthem somehow.

Today, after 6 hour sleep and four pints of Hoegaarden, I woke up fine. Went to the post office and dispatched the last batch of orders. Went to the Manhattan and tried Burmese food for the first time. I tried Mohinga, which is rice noodles in fish soup. It was heavenly. Got me warm immediately even though it was not that cold today, just 6 degrees Celsius. It was spicy and very flavourful. Upon coming home the first record I picked for today was Truck Train Tractor’s “Starforce (USA)” 7″. I guess I was inspired by yesterday’s, or should I say today in the early hours, dancing to the Pastels song. But sure, this is not The Pastels track. I don’t have on vinyl the Pastels track. This is a totally different band, completely different, from far away. From Adelaide, Australia. Not from Glasgow. But for some reason back in the early nineties they decided to name their band after The Pastels. And suddenly I became very curious and asked myself: why?

The gold and yellow 7″ could well be an Ikea or a Best Buy ad. But it’s a Summershine release. Catalog number 032. Summershine, the Australian Sarah. A label that released fabulous bands like Tender Engines or The Rainyard. And they released Truck Train Tractor in 1993. The A side includes just one track, “Starforce (USA)” and it spins at 45rpm. The B side spins at 33rpm and has two songs “Away” and “Starting at the End Again”. From the three, the last one is the one I like the most. It’s fast, it’s punchy and the guitars sound like The Pastels!

The band was formed by Brett on guitar, Karl on vocals and guitars, Marty on vocals and drums, and Tim on bass and vocals. The cover art of the record was done by Gerry Wedd, who I believe is a surfer and also a ceramist and a potter. Looking around online it seems some of the band members went into bands like Terrance Dicks and Hermetic Music. But there’s not much information on them or what are they up to these days. The songs were recorded at ABC studio 521 (the couch potato set) in Adelaide, on the spring of 92. It was recorded without the use of any digital technology whatsoever.

And then there is. The biggest mystery. They thank Stephen Pastel on the record. So yes, this confirms that they took the name from The Pastels (I know i was obvious, but as a journalist you have to be 100% sure!). But how were they in touch? Old school letters? Or maybe Stephen had been in Adelaide? Or perhaps the TTT guys had been on vacations in Glasgow pre-Monorail times. Who knows. They were big fans. And that’s what matters. And I like Truck Train Tractor as a band name. What other Pastels song could be a good band name? Holy Moly?

And that’s all there is about this elusive band. I wonder if there’s any more songs by them. It seems this was their only release. Im sure they recorded more songs. I have a hunch that they did. What are they doing these days? Still making music? Would love to know more about Truck Train Tractor. If you know anything else, please share!

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Listen
Truck Train Tractor – Stating at the End Again

It’s being quite a long time. Two months? Something like that. Hope I was missed. I did post some interviews during the past weeks. Happily some bands remembered to send me their answers. Still there are plenty that haven’t. But that’s ok. Now I’m finally settled in New York. All my stuff is here. Last Monday the moving truck finally arrived and none of my records seem broken. That’s an achievement, isn’t it? I did pack them well mind you, I feel five years sending records overseas have taught me a thing or two. I’m the master of bubble wrap.

My computers are back too. And all the Cloudberry stock. There were plenty of orders that were delayed for this reason. All of them have been shipped or will be shipped this Monday. I appreciate the patience of everyone. From now on things will run smoothly as they used to be. I’ve finished unpacking everything. I do need new shelves, new racks, new furniture. But the “factory” is up and running again. I’ve supplied it with different size mailers, padding cartons, custom forms, etc. Blank CDs, paper, ink, you name it.

Cloudberry is excited as ever! There are many releases coming up. You sure know about the Cassolette and Nixon 7″s. Sure they were delayed due to me moving. It sucks a bit, I wished they were ready by now. That was the plan though, to have Cassolette ready by February. But logistics impeded me so. For once, I didn’t have an address until early January. So where would the pressing plant send the records?! Anyhow, bands have been understanding, I hope you two. So what’s going to happen is this: Cassolette 7″ is going to the pressing plant this Monday. Hopefully by late March it will be ready. Sounds good?

The Nixon 7″: It’s been mixed at the moment by Patrik Lindgren, and soon we’ll have some news. But it’s happening. And after that release there are a couple 7″s lined up. Can’t spill the beans yet! But do keep an eye on the Cloudberry page. Or the Facebook page? Both if you want to play it safe.

This weekend I’ve set myself to finish the first draft of the second Cloudberry Cake release, The Deddingtons. It already sounds great. Now it’s just a matter to make it look great. And it will be. Hopefully this fabulous album can go to the pressing plant by the end of February. I’ll keep you updated. And what about the Feverfew release?! There are just some pins lefts and the record is selling away FAST. So get your copy as soon as possible. I hate answering emails saying a record is “sold out”. Wish I could press infinite copies sometimes. But sometimes, you end up with a whole lot of stock sitting there too. And to move that from city to city, or wait, state to state, believe me, records are damn heavy. It is expensive to move a record collection.

But the weekend doesn’t end up there. There’s more to do. Much more. The past weekends I had been very busy, had my mum in town and it meant hopscotching all the way to the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Met and other landmarks in the Big Apple. One by one, from dawn to dusk. Actually, much later than dusk. This weekend I’m working in the new Cloudberry Classic. It’s a Japanese band for a change. It’s the fabulous Time Capsules! I interviewed them not so long ago, and you can check there my favorite song of theirs, a beautiful mix of Jim Jiminee, Pale Fountains and Jazz Butcher.

And then I’m bringing back to live the split 3″CD series with Tiny Fireflies and My Lily of the Valley from Japan!

Around the corner we have Madrid Popfest too. We are heading there. Very excited! And I’ll get to DJ one of the nights. It’s very exciting. I should start preparing the arsenal of indiepop hits!

Probably I’m forgetting more Cloudberry news and treats, but I’ll come back next week as I used to and keep you updating. Perhaps I can tell you about some of the gigs I’ve attended here so far? or the record store findings? or go back to memory lane? feels good to be back to this quaint blog!

Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth’s rotation. The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment when the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon in the west. The ray path of light from the setting Sun is highly distorted near the horizon because of atmospheric refraction, making the sunset appear to occur when the Sun’s disk is already about one diameter below the horizon. Sunset is distinct from dusk, which is the moment at which darkness falls, which occurs when the Sun is approximately eighteen degrees below the horizon. The period between sunset and dusk is called twilight. Locations north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle experience no sunset or sunrise at least one day of the year, when the polar day or the polar night persist continuously for 24 hours. Sunset creates unique atmospheric conditions such as the often intense orange and red colors of the Sun and the surrounding sky.

One of the things that one could say I will miss from Florida are sunsets. I don’t. I don’t miss the heat. And I don’t mind the cold weather. It hasn’t been that cold anyways. But sunsets, I don’t know, I was never impressed by them. I remember back in Lima, lovers at 6pm bathed on golden glow., holding hands at the seafront, on top of the cliffs that face the Pacific ocean. The ice cream bicycle carts doing their last rounds before everything went dark. Kisses and fondling at the seafront. Sunsets. The sun hiding slowly in the murky and fish-abundant waters of Lima. Orange, bright orange, as orange cake mix.

I picked up today from my record boxes this 7″ by Watercolor Sunset. It was the first time I paid attention to it. I only got it some days ago as it was one of the few I was missing from the Sunday Records catalog.

Watercolor, also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood, and canvas. Watercolors are usually transparent, and appear luminous because the pigments are laid down in a relatively pure form with few fillers obscuring the pigment colors. Watercolor can also be made opaque by adding Chinese white. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Fingerpainting with watercolor paints originated in China.

I was terrible with watercolors. In high school and in college, I had such a hard time with them. I was never good with brushes and paint. I did enjoy the watercolor Caran D’ache pencils I had. That big tin box with hundreds of them. I didn’t mix them with water though. I would have made a mess, I know it. I stuck to painting as if they were pencils, I never took the advantage of their watercolor skills. It was dangerous, I could have stained my clothes, or someone else’s clothes. These days I stick to Photoshop. How convenient, how safe. Anyhow, I wouldn’t have been able to top Monet’s “Sunset at the Cliff in Etretat”.

So, did Jim Rao and Joe Maddalena had any painting skills? They did for music for sure. And perhaps they did long for sunsets in Connecticut. Days must be bleak there. It was 1994 when they joined forces to release their one and only 7″ under this name. It was on the fab Sunday Records, catalog number 033. Two songs, one on each side. Side A is “International Pop Star” and Side B is “The Mirror Tells a Joke”. Both pretty similar I’d say. Jangly and sad. Perfect for the winter, not for summer sunsets.

But Jim and Joe were pretty well known back in the mid-nineties and I’m sure many remember them fondly. Jim was of course Orange Cake Mix, a staple of American indiepop. Joe was in Monsterland and Names for Pebbles (their Motorway 7″ is a true favorite of mine!). I wonder how they met, how did they know each other. Whereas Monsterland would play many gigs, I doubt Orange Cake Mix played many. I wasn’t around at that time here in the North East, but something tells me it was like that. Or maybe Watercolor Sunset was before Orange Cake Mix and Monsterland? Where’s that indiepop indiepop family tree?

They had a third song, on the “The Amazing Phantom Third Channel” compilation 7″ released on Cher Doll (catalog 004), called “Hollywood Decay”. Never heard it. Would love to get my hands on that record. Doesn’t seem easy to track. Well, I haven’t tried yet. I will. But as Neutral Milk Hotel is in that record I feel it will be a wasted endeavor.  I need to clear my eBay saved searches to start. We’ll see.

In 2000 Sunday Records released a CD compilation called “Rolling Meadows Songs About Our Past Vol 2″ (which I don’t have; though I do happen to have two copies of Vol 1, go figure) and on that CD the A side of the 7”, “International Pop Star” was included. So enjoy this little and nice song, their B side, “The Mirror Tells a Joke”.

Where are Jim and Joe these days? Still making music? Did they record more songs under Watercolor Paintings? Did they play gigs? I feel akin to the Northeast area of the US since I moved. I’m very curious of what was happening around back in the day. For further reading I found this small piece on Connecticut’s bedroom pop scene.

Be back next week.

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Listen
Watercolor Sunset – The Mirror Tells a Joke

Essen, Germany. That was the first city I visited in Europe. Not Paris, no Rome, no Athens. Essen. I flew on a direct flight from Miami to Dusseldorf on Air Berlin. They treated me like a terrorist. Probably because I wasn’t the palest in the plane. Perhaps because I didn’t hold a European Union passport. Who knows. But it was the worst experience I’ve ever had with an airline. Never again I fly with them. They made me wait and wait because they had to “clear” my name with the FBI. According to the airline counter woman there was a terrorist with my name. Bollocks. I fly often and I know that’s not the case. She could have been smarter and said I shared my name with a drug trafficker, that’s much closer to the Peruvian stereotype and our beloved coca leaf; but no, I was a terrorist. And I was a terrorist at the counter of Miami airport, and then when leaving Germany, at the Dusseldorf airport counter too. Air Berlin sucks.

That was April 2007. Late April, almost May. It was still cold in Germany but a sweater was more than enough. My mom has been living in Essen for approximately 10 years and it was the first time I was visiting her there. I remember clearly the train platform in Dusseldorf. We bought our tickets and headed to Essen. The train passed by Dortmund and thought of Stephane Chapuisat and Borussia Dortmund. Glory days when I was a kid and watched European football on cable TV. Then we arrived in Essen. Grim town. Not much going on here, I thought.

Happily in Essen I had a friend, a dear friend: Nana. I remember our first emails about St. Christopher, and later chats about her punk rock apartment walls. Her love for The Tender Whiskers and The Flowerpornoes. We hanged out quite a lot during my time there. Even going to Hamburg and Berlin. Chorizo and orange juice for breakfast, chorizo, salad and beer for dinner. Chorizo cut in heart-shapes. I guess that’s a girlie thing. Going through her record collection, and me telling her for how much she could sell particular CDs on eBay. Not that I recommend doing, but I don’t know, must be an instinct thing. Her huge keyboard she had just bought, but I’m not sure she could play. The courtyard from her window.

The day in Hattingen raining cats and dogs. Umbrella heaven. Her little car. Rolling tobacco for her, but doing it wrong. Astra beer. She changed it for Jever years later. Giving me stylish haircut. Her wooden table and the sharp stainless steel knives. The posters next to the shower. The shoes at the entrance of the apartment, something that I would used to see in Europe later, but so new to me. The coats. The computer connected to her audio system. The hip café with the cute waitress and the vintage furniture. And the great music, just fabulous music played all the time. That was Essen for me.

Food-wise I don’t think I ate any specialty from Essen. I remember having Turkish food, Greek food, and a couple of times traditional German, you know, schnitzel, sausages, a good chunk of lamb. Good stuff. Beer was always good. I still prefer white bread over brown bread though. But I guess one can get used to it. It was also the first time when I noticed the lack of plastic bags at stores. Also my first time at a Lidl. My first time at a castle, Broich castle in nearby Mulheim, though it wasn’t really a proper castle. The day trip to Cologne. That was fab. And the tram in Essen, that was my means of transport. Going up the hill, watching the whole town from up top. The wonders of geography after living so long in Miami, such a flat place.

But culturally it seemed to me like a hellhole. Nothing good could have ever came out of here I thought. Well, after 4 years of having that thought, I can say I was wrong. There is one good band from Essen and they were called The Mirror Images. Sadly, I came into their music too late.

They were exactly from Essen-Borbeck-Mitte is the central borough of Borbeck, the fourth suburban district of Essen, Germany. Together with the other boroughs of the district, it was incorporated on April 1, 1915. Borbeck-Mitte has a population of roughly 13,500 people and a total area of 3.19 km2/1.23 sq mi. The name Borbeck derives from Bor(a)thbeki, which means either river in a fertile lowland or river of the Bructeri. Wikipedia says that “Borbeck-Mitte has a distinctive cultural life, mainly on personal initiative. Several church choirs exist, as well as six carnival and six sport-shooting associations and three amateur theater groups. The cultural historical society maintains a small museum and meeting place in the Alte Cuesterey near the central market place.” I would agree with this, it must have been a personal initiative to have a band, to be The Mirror Images.

It is surprising though, that the sounds of C86, of jangle pop, arrived to Essen. How? There was no internet back then. Perhaps it was the John Peel shows that were transmitted by German Radio, as Peter Hahndorf told me once. That could be the clue and the key factor to explain why so many great bands appeared in Germany during the late 80s. Because, back then, it wasn’s Sweden the one doing great indiepop in the continent, it was Germany let me tell you. Germany had a fabulous and healthy scene, with plenty of bands and plenty of small labels.

It was Uwe Firestation who, on one of the many emails we have exchanged, recommended me The Mirror Images. I still haven’t had any luck finding their records. But luckily I found one song, just one song, on Youtube. It’s called “Eight Arms to Hold You”. And it’s just GREAT! Catchy, powerful, with lots of nerve. Just how I like my pop. This song was released in 1991 on their album aptly titled “Welcome to the Borbeck Fashion Gallery”. On this record they included 19 songs, where many of them are less than 3 minutes long. From what I gather, it was released on CD. Perhaps there was an LP version? Maybe, not sure.

But from what I’ve found online, which is not much, their previous release would have dated from 1989 and it’s an LP called “The Early Days”. Not sure what’s included in this record. From the name it sounds more like a compilation, but most probably not. On the artwork there’s a funny teddy bear inside a shape that looks like a country’s border. It’s not Germany, could it be something else? Perhaps a city?

On the next release, “Welcome to the Borbeck Fashion Gallery” we see three kids, all of them with jackets. The cold German weather, right. The three kids are blonde, not terrorists. Two of them wear red socks almost up to their knees. Must have been the fashion of those days. A bit of Google shows me there was no Borbeck Fashion Gallery. But perhaps back in 91 there was. Perhaps these three kids represented the members of the band? There were three guys in The Mirror Images, Bernd Donner (bass, vocals), Marque Beutel (guitar, vocals) and Jan Stachel (drums).

But let’s keep going back in time, now 1988. This year they released “Carl EP” which I assume was their first ever release. Who was Carl? And again, a lot of kids in the cover artwork. Perhaps the kids represent the joyful and fun ridden guitar chops of the band? Then later in 1990, a single release of the track “This Year, It’s Christmas!” A kid painting, people flying and a teddy bear, on the artwork. Last but not least, in 1992 another single “Herzlichen Glückwunsch Herr Rühmann!”. A tribute song to Heinz Rühmann who of course was born in Essen. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle (Those Three from the Gas Station) led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor (and sometime singer) throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

No tracklist for any of these records I’ve found. No more songs I’ve been able to track down. I wonder if anyone can help. Do you know anymore about this great band? Their whereabouts? If they are still making music? If they had more releases? If you have any spare copies to share with me? Did you attend to their gigs? Anything really, please leave a comment!

PS. I’m leaving to Toronto next weekend, and then to NYC the one after. So probably won’t be having an obscure band during the next weeks. I have some interviews lined up, so hopefully the blog keeps running! Thanks again for reading. It’s nice.

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Listen
The Mirror Images – Eight Hands to Hold You

I was gladly surprised and satisfied when I found that at the Alfreton Tesco they sold 2 liter Diet Irn Bru. I haven’t seen this fizzy drink since I fell in love with it in Glasgow three days earlier. Since then I’ve been in Manchester, London and Nottingham acting more or less like a roadie for Very Truly Yours. I believe it all started in New York Popfest, I’d say I’ve been carrying Kristine’s keyboard for an accumulated time of 24 hours. Not exaggerating. It’s damn heavy by the way. Right, the Diet Irn Bru, with it’s platinum colored label, and that great taste that reminded me to Colombiana Postobon or the Jamaican Kola Champagne, was sitting pretty on my shopping cart along some croissants, a two litter bottle of cloudy lemonade and a Kopparberg 6-pack. Everything was gone by the end of Indietracks but the Diet Irn Bru. I saved it as a precious treasure. Sadly I couldn’t fly back to the US with it. So I had to drink it.

I can’t believe I didn’t have this soda back in February when I first visited Glasgow. Now that I remember, I don’t think I had anything but beer to drink while I was there. It’s funny as I haven’t had a sip of beer since August now. The second time around, while walking around and looking for a hotel were Very Truly Yours could stay, somewhere central, I went into one of the little convenience stores to buy a postcard for my future wife. I couldn’t resist trying the Irn Bru this time around as The Orchids mention them in “I’ve Got a Habit”: “So I’m drinking Irn-Bru / And I’m thinking of you / You’ve got the sunshine in your eyes.” I took the Diet version as I really dislike sweets. I know, that’s not very indiepop of me. I run away when they start cutting and serving the cake at parties. It’s always hard to explain to people that I don’t like cake, no one understands.

The Travelodge at Alfreton only provides you with very basic stuff like towels and some Liliput size plastic cups. Plastic cups made of the cheapest plastic around as they don’t weight nothing at all. Very risky to take them outside to the sole picnic table to have a drink. The wind would just carry them away. But it was just like that how the race to finish the 2 little bottle started. After breakfast, sausage roll and orange juice, and then having a painful time buying a vegetarian sandwich for Jennifer (because the Little Chef had ran out of tomatoes and cheese, and everything!!), I finally opened the 2 liter bottle. Tim didn’t want any. No one wanted to have a cup of Diet Irn Bru. It was just myself and Irn Bru. And I was thinking of you.

I finally had an Irn Bru drinking partner on the train back to London. The always so well-dressed Krister Bladh and I shared stories, gossip and complains, about the whole weekend over plastic cups filled with the orange fizzy drink. The melancholy of leaving the best place on Earth for indiepop pictured next to us where Leo and Vanessa were silent, cuddling and eating crisps. A bit further away Emelie and Gustav sleeping on the not so comfortable train seats. Exhausted. It was over. And soon, more or less when the train was passing by Leicester, we had finished the Irn Bru. Jennifer, sitting next to us, didn’t try a sip. It was the end. Next day I was leaving the UK. On the way back to Brockley I stopped once again at a convenience store. There was no Diet Irn Bru. Time to try Ribena I thought, but they didn’t have a diet version. I really dislike sweets.

I do miss one sweet though, Marabou milk chocolate.

—

After a couple of very busy weeks, I’m having much more time in my hands. I’m taking some time to relax now as the next month will be very tiring with the move and all. As far as Cloudberry goes, as you know, all orders will continue shipping normally as far as I know. I do hope to find a place in NYC close to a post office. Right now, here in Miami Beach, I have a post office just 4 blocks away. It’s really helpful. The only record in production right now is Feverfew but as soon as I’m settled in I will resume the production of the 7″s with Cassolette and Nixon. Also it seems that at last The Deddingtons remastered songs will be sent to me! That means that hopefully early next year we may have a Deddingtons release at last. I’ll keep you updated.

The CDs on rotation at home this week were:
1. John Wood – Quite Storm (Excellent)
2. Veronica Falls – S/T (Slumberland)
3. The Wedding Present – John Peel Sessions 1992-1995 (Cooking Vinyl)
4. Beaumont – This Is… (Siesta)
5. Brideshead – Some People Have all the Fun (Marsh-Marigold)

—

Another band I discovered through Heinz’s Youtube uploads was Purdey. Sadly there is absolutely no information about them whatsoever in the internet. But let’s try to put some pieces together, alright?

Purdey is just a family name as far as I’m concerned. There’s fabulous song by Spanish punkies Siniestro Total called “Purdey”, there are some shotguns manufactured by some Purdey company and there’s also a drink called Purdey’s that is sold in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Holland and Belgium. It is sold in 330ml brown glass bottles with a silver or gold plastic label that covers the whole bottle. There are two variants: Purdey’s Activation (formerly known as Active Body) – This is marketed as a healthy energy drink and contains a combination of sugars and also tastes very sweet. And Purdey’s Rejuvenation (formerly known as Active Life) – This has no added sugar (but is sweet nonetheless) and is sold in a silver bottle. Both variants are made of fruit juices and carbonated water and are fortified with vitamins. They also contain Damiana and Ginseng. None of them are as good as Irn Bru.

But the name of the band most probably comes from the character named Purdey in the British TV series The New Avengers played by Joanna Lumley from 1976-77. She was a spy working for British intelligence in that show.

There’s only one release we know exists. It was a 7″ released on Acetone Records from France in 1996. It includes two songs: “Mirrors” and “My Name is Henry”. Catalog Number SOLVE 005. So far I’ve only had the chance to listen to the first track. Some months ago I found out a website for Acetone Records and wrote them, but they never answered. The site looked very much outdated, with a very 90s “geocities” style design, if you know what I mean. I’m not sure where Purdey were from, but a safe guess is that they were from France too. We know that the lyrics were written by an Eric, which is not very uncommon for French to have that name. Eric Cantona for example 🙂

The other, and most important clue, that makes me think they were French is that the record was recorded at Pôle Nord Studio by Mini & Fabius. Not sure if this recording studio exists anymore, but clearly the name is French. Translated: North Pole Studio.

Only 500 copies made and the artwork done by someone called Gijom who also contributed his artistic skills on another Acetone release, on a Sportsguitar 7″. That’s about it.

So if anyone knows anything else, has a spare copy, or wants to share any memories, please do! Now do enjoy this fabulous Pooh Sticks influenced track that is “Mirrors”. It’s GREAT!

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Listen
Mirrors – Purdey

Ah! It’s been two weeks since the last obscure band, isn’t it? Hope you forgive me being sloppy. My grandma was in town and I was pretty busy pushing her wheelchair all over Marshalls, Ross, and the like, for 4 days. I hate going out for shopping. Though, having a wheelchair saved us from waiting in those long, damn long, lines that form at these stores’ checkout counters. We breezed by all the people thanks to some very bright store managers. Can’t thank them enough.

My energy, which was sucked up by the bright lights of cosmetic stores, is slowly regenerating and this week already conducted a couple of interviews for the blog. And I have a couple more that I have to write this weekend. Still very much excited to research and document indiepop. Which brings up to my mind what Yuiko was asking me the other day, that a Western version of the great Japanese Neo-Acoustic Guide should be done. I think it is a great idea, I’d love to organize it, but I wonder if there will be enough people willing to buy a copy. What do you say? If you are not familiar with this  guide, it compiles/recommends hundreds of records that are indiepop with a little photo and a blurb. It even has a checkbox with each entry to mark which records you already own. Records are broken up in records from the 80s and then from the 90s-00s. On each of these categories they are broken up again in singles and albums.  Many great people helped with recommendations in the book like Hitoshi Oka from Sloppy Joe or Toshiko Matsumoto from Apple Crumble Record. So I would think we could do something similar with help from Mike Slumberland, Ed Shelflife, Jörgen Fraction Discs, Uwe Firestation, etc, right? Could be very interesting. Worst case scenario it could be an e-book? Not so sure about that. I haven’t read an e-book ever and don’t own a kindle or whatever is used these days to read those.

So this week I posted the Feverfew master to the pressing plant. Hopefully it gets pressed soon. Our target release date will be December 15th, but I’m waiting a confirmation from the pressing plant just to know that’s a safe date. Pre-orders are already been taken. Remember, the first 100 orders (the ones straight from our Cloudberry page not international mailorders), will receive three pins (or badges as they call them here in the US) that are an exact copy of the pins Feverfew used to have back in the 80s.

After this release you’ll probably hear little from me as I will be in the middle of moving to NYC. Sadly this means that the release of Cassolette and Nixon 7″s will be pushed down a bit to early 2012, as I need to settle and have an address to be able to press these records. Bear with me. In the next couple of weeks we should have an MP3 teaser for the Nixon 7″. Songs are already recorded and they sound great. Just waiting for the final mixes.

And that’s about it about Cloudberry. If I remember of some other news, will post them next week.

These are the lot of CDs that have been played at home these past two weeks:
1. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going to be OK (Matinée)
2. Harper Lee – All Things Can Be Mended (Matinée)
3. Slipslide – The World Can Wait (Matinée)
4. Boat Club – Caught the Breeze (Luxury)
5. The Wedding Present – Evening Sessions 1986-1994 (Strange Fruit)
6. Various Artists – As Rare as a Kiss (Greek compilation CD-R)
7. The Sunny Street – Hidden for Decades (Plastilina)
8. My Darling YOU! – Saying Things You Don’t Want to Hear (Luxury)

And today I noticed that even though I utterly adore Spanish indiepop I haven’t presented you all any obscure Spanish band. So weird. So I want to introduce you the lush and beautiful El Viaje de las Flores (The Flower’s Trip).

Earlier today I was checking cities close to Madrid that I want to visit while I’m in Spain for Madrid Popfest. I already knew that I wanted to go to Segovia, Toledo and Avila. Those are classic tourist destinations. That’s 3 days. . I hope to arrive on the previous Saturday, and that day visit El Prado. So Sunday thru Tuesday are already booked. I was looking into another place to visit on Wednesday. I thought El Escorial, but I think I can do El Escorial on Thursday before the Popfest starts, return kind of early. So I believe in the end I’ll end up going to Cuenca on Wednesday, though one of the options was Valladolid. And it was when I was doing a wee research about Valladolid that I remembered this fabulous band.

As many boys, the first time I heard about Valladolid was through football. I remember Real Valladolid in La Liga. I always found kind of exciting that they had two Bolivian players in their team: Juan Manuel Peña (who lasted many seasons) and Marco Sandy (for one season). I’m no Bolivian, but I have a very strong bond with them, they are like Peru’s little brother, if it wasn’t for Bolivar’s stupidity we’d still be one single country. We  are the same people, though ok, Bolivians are a bit slower and nicer.

About Valladolid, well, it is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid. And it’s name origin seems to come from a derivation from the demonym Vallisoletano, which was, in fact, the Spanish demonym of the city, and means “from sunny valley”. Supporting this are texts from the Middle Ages, which use Vallisoletum, a word which continued to be used as late as the 16th century.

So let’s go there back in time. To December 1989 to be exact.That’s when Oskar Vizán (guitars, vocals), Espe Laburu (vocals), Luis Gil (bass) left the band La Red and together with Miguel Alonso, who had just left Los Invasores, formed this great band. The story says that they practiced and practiced around 20 brand new songs until they got them right. That’s when they play their first show in May 1990. It was at a venue called Pigalle. This venue in the past seems to have been a whorehouse and these days I believe it’s called Tío Molonio. After a couple of gigs, the band sign a contract with Los 40 Principales to go on tour and play all over Spain. Mind you,  Los 40 Principales is the main musical radio station in Spain with more than 4,000,000 listeners.

What happens next is their only and sole release. It was a split flexi with St.Christopher on the Stamp label. St. Christopher, who I assume everyone reading this post knows, contributed the song  “If I Could Capture” and El Viaje de las Flores, “No Te Estoy Mintiendo” (I’m not lying to you). I’m not sure if Miguel Stamp who ran the small label along his fanzine was still living in the UK when this release happened or he was already back in Madrid. He is such a mysterious man, but a very nice one indeed. Very knowledgeable of indiepop. Had many interesting email exchanges during the years, and I used to be an avid reader of his blog Federica Pulla Dixit which closed in December 2010. Anyhow, hope to meet you in Madrid Miguel!

Last time I asked him about the band he replied to me:

“El Viaje de las Flores was a guitar group from Valladolid, with a girl vocalist, very much in the same style of the British bands from the 80s that we loved (Darling Buds, Primitives, Popguns, etc). They sent us their demos and we were amazed. We didn’t doubt to ask them straight away to be part of one of our flexis, which over time, became the only release they ever did. They also played at the STAMP party where they left all the crowd asking for more as their live sets were strong and powerful. It is very curious that they had never heard these British bands I mentioned earlier, they were more into the psychedelic stuff, which as you know it somehow connected all these bands. The thing is, that they had EVERYTHING to take over the scene, songs, a live set, and looks, but like it happens many times, they trusted those who offered them the moon and the stars, and them who could have been HUGE ended up in very little. I still have their demos and I still think they are EXPLOSIVE. Hopefully one day they are rescued and giving the value they deserve as it just happened with Ataque de Caspa”

This single, “No te Estoy Mintiendo”, gets a lot of airplay in Spanish radio during 1990. Sadly that same year, in October, Miguel, the drummer, leaves the band and starts his own project called “Los Substitutos”, a 60s inspired pop band. This is when Diego  Martinfrom Celtas Cortos joins as a drummer but the band’s run was about to end soon. In 1991 Oskar leaves the band to join “Rosas en Blanco y Negro” and this is when El Viaje de las Flores decide that it’s time to fold. A shame.

There are a couple more songs by the band to listen at their Myspace (or maybe it’s a fan made Myspace, not sure). Here you can listen the fabulous “Tinieblas y Rosas” and “Chica Mala” that are from the same time more or less as “No the Estoy Mintiendo”, a time which the band considers their first period where they were more into pop music. The two other songs on the player, “En el Infierno” and “Devuelveme tu Amor” are from the second period, when Diego Martin had already joined the band. With him the songs became more rockier as you can hear. With these two songs they came out 3rd on the Gordon’s y 40 Principales contest of 1991.

For those who know Spanish and have good vision, I suggest reading these clips from newspapers from those days: Article in El Espectador, Interview 16/09/1991, Article 20/07/1991, Article in El Norte de Castilla.

And that’s about it. If you know more, want to share any memories, or you have a spare copy of that flexi, please get in touch. Now enjoy this fabulous track, one of the best of Spanish indiepop history!

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Listen
El Viaje de las Flores – No Te Estoy Mintiendo