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

Marble: is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. The word “marble” derives from the Greek “μάρμαρον” (mármaron),[2] from “μάρμαρος” (mármaros), “crystalline rock”, “shining stone”, perhaps from the verb “μαρμαίρω” (marmaírō), “to flash, sparkle, gleam”. This stem is also the basis for the English word marmoreal, meaning “marble-like.”Whilst the English term resembles the French marbre, most other European languages (e.g. Spanish mármol, Italian marmo, Portuguese mármore, German, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish marmor, Dutch marmer, Polish marmur, Turkish mermer, Czech mramor and Russian мрáмор ) follow the original Greek.

Orchard: An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production.

News abound at Cloudberry HQ. First of all beginning next year the label will be based in New York City. Not sure where exactly, but in the next couple of weeks I should be traveling there to find a place (any suggestions?) I’m really excited about it as I’m starting a better job there, with a view to the Hudson, and also because I think is a step forward for Cloudberry. There’s not only NYC Popfest in town, but also plenty of gigs unlike Miami. Hopefully I’ll be able to take part on this, I’d love to start booking some bands, you know? A mini-Cloudberry fest would be fantastic. More news on this soon. Just giving you the heads up as your orders won’t come from sunny Miami no more, but from massive New York instead.

By now most of your favourite mailorders should be carrying the Youngfuck 7″s. If not, their copies should be arriving this week as the latest. The record has been selling quite well, even though the band’s last gig was in February. That proves that when music is good, you don’t need a band gigging all the time to promote it. And talking about promoting, we are working on a video for “Black Tulips”. Keep your eyes peeled.

Those who have visited the Cloudberry Rcords site you must have noticed that the Feverfew CD is already listed, tracklist and all. You can even preview one of the tracks: “Crimson Gloom”. As stated there, the CD includes 17 remastered tracks (which comprises all their recorded output), a booklet with liner notes by Phil Ball (bassist of Feverfew), and for the first 100 orders, a pin that has the original design of the pins Feverfew used to have back in the 80s. The digipack is custom made for our new series, the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen, were I plan to bring the best albums, retrospective mostly but new too. No fillers. So start making space in your book shelves, you’ll like to line these up. Future releases include…

… I won’t say yet.

But the start couldn’t be more promising. Feverfew’s “Something of Nothing” must be by far the best retrospective album of this year. It is really that good. Keith Girdler’s genius is all over it. And this was pre-Blueboy. Great lyrics, great vocals, great musicianship, a youthful edge, catchy melodies, it just has it all. You don’t want to miss it.

Alright, let’s move onto something else. The CDs on rotation this week:
1. Dot Dash – Spark>Flame>Ember (The Beautiful Music)
2. Various Artists – Amen (Richmond)
3. My Darling YOU! – AK Art (Luxury)
4. Almedal – Till Kyrkogården (Luxury)
5. Makthaverskan – Makthaverskan (Luxury)

And our obscure band of the week: Marble Orchard.

Looking at their Discogs page, I would have never thought they were obscure as they have 7 releases. But googling about the band members you barely find any information. My knowledge about the band is zero if I’m honest. I came into one of their songs, “Our Love is Up To You”, on my friend Heinz’s Youtube account. I thought it was a very nice tune. I looked around. I found the 7″ on ebay, I bought it. All of this, just today in the morning while working on some PDFs for a Sexual Health campaign in London. The cover of the 7″ is quite peculiar. It has a woman, it has a lamb, and it has cacti. Seem as if it was painted with watercolours. The woman looks like a Greek amphora painting. On the cover of this 7″, the title track is written in red, “Paradise”. This record was released by the German label September Gurls in 1994 and is catalog number SGs12.

On the label site there’s a little review of the title track: “Once you have listened to “Paradise” you will be hooked by melody, harmony and memories. Flip is outtake from session for 1st CD. Great twelve string 60’s style.” It seems you can also order the record from there for around 4 euros plus postage. Not bad, though I found it for 4 dollars. And talking about September Gurls, I do have some records by them, now that I think about it. I believe some Throw That Beat in the Garbagecan. So yeah, seems like a fine label I should explore more.

Anyhow, it’s the flipside the one I know and been enjoying all morning long. To my surprise this song doesn’t belong to one of those hundreds of bands that during the 80s contributed songs on different tape compilations in the UK. This band, even though it sounds like those other bands from Britain, is from Portland, Oregon. Go figure! Well, if you do look at the picture on Discogs of the band, well, two of the guys have long hair, that’s very American, isn’t it? So, there you go.

The track is really inspired, they remind me a lot to the most recent band The Librarians who had a release here in Cloudberry. Also they sound a bit like The Dupont Circles from Washington DC. Lots of sixties influences, but with that 80s production, perhaps could be a good description? A lot like the Perfect Pop releases in the early nineties too! Scroll down and have a shot I say.

The Marble Orchard were Jayson Breeton, Ron Kleim and Steve Frothingham. Prior to this 7″ they had an album called “Savage Sleep” released in 1991, and two 7″ singles: “Something Happens” (1990) and “It’s my Time” (1992). All of these releases were put out by Estrus Records, off from Bellingham, Washington. And after the September Gurl 7″ it seems they continued with the German imprint and released the albums “Agent Invisible” and “Adventures in Mutation” as well as a split 7″ in 2003 shared with Surf Trio. Surf Trio being the latest band of Ron Kleim.

The description for these albums don’t really catch my attention to be honest: “”Adventures in Mutation” shows the band’s versatility: heavy melodic Wiper-esque rock thunder, surf metal…”  Not sure I want to listen to surf metal! But well, I wonder if anyone has listened to these records and can tell me I should give them a chance. For now I enjoy this one track, waiting for my 7″ to arrive from the ebay seller from Port Lucie, FL, and hoping Paradise is another great jangly track!

And as always, please do share if you have any more information about the Marble Orchard!

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Listen
Marble Orchard – Our Love is Up To You

Blue: The word itself was loaned into Middle English from the Old French word bleu, blo ” “pale, pallid, discoloured; blue, blue-gray”, itself from an Old Frankish blao.

Siege: is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for “to sit”. Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity for negotiation between combatants is not uncommon, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy.

It kind of feels as if I’m under siege here. So much work to do. I have managed to get into three freelance deals this past week and I have worked non-stop at home after the daily 8 hours at the office. One of them is the usual freelance I do for an art dealer: add, delete, change, some art pieces in his web catalog. Then I’m doing a sexual health poster for a London organization and last, I’m working on a site for some physician here that works with penile implants for erectile dysfunction. I know, very very odd. But it pays the bills. Anyhow, I still haven’t finished all of it, I’m almost there though. I should be done in a couple of hours, but I needed a break. Introspect a bit, write, blog. I have finished sending orders of the newly released Youngfuck 7″ though. That’s quite an achievement as there were plenty of pre-orders and orders. There are some things still due at Cloudberry HQ like finishing the Feverfew artwork (which is at a 99% stage), and then setting up the website with information for this new release. I will work hastily today to try to get that done. If not, there will be news during the week definitely.

You’ll forgive my short post today, I hope. I also have my mum visiting so you can imagine time is really something luxurious at the moment. I do have some interviews coming up for this week, so worry not, the blog won’t be left on a side.

The CDs that have been on rotation this week were:
1. The Jordans – Hallelujah Mine! (Constant)
2. The Jordans – Early & Not So (self-released CDR)
3. The Sundays – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (Geffen)
4. The Rileys – The World And His Wife (A Turntable Friend)
5. Skansros – Vårsol (Luxury)

The obscure band for this week is Blue Siege. Blue being my favorite color.

Ed at Shelflife had already recommended them some time ago, but I didn’t pay them any attention then. The track he posted, “Into the Swing”, which according to him is better than the A side of their first 7″ (which I have never heard, so I trust him). The title track is called “Waiting River” and this 7″ was released by Pride Communications. Catalog number was 001. The cool part about this record is that it was produced by Chris Layhe from The Icicle Works at The Park in Liverpool. The photography of the sleeve was taken by Nick Kemp. Also four last names are credited on this record: Cumming, Gibbons, Rylance, Hall. Because of a comment on Youtube, we know the bass player was a girl. Which of the last names belonged to her? Not sure. And do you think it would be a safe guess to think they were all from Liverpool?

It was 1986 when that first 7″ was released. It was the same year when their second release came to life, a 12″ record. And this is the one I enjoy, especially because of the first track: “Ruins No Longer Remain”. I don’t have the record yet, but I have managed to secure a copy earlier today, hopefully arriving in a week or two from the UK. It doesn’t look difficult to track down as I found many offers in different pages. The cheapest, the one I got, was from a seller on Musicstack. So if interested, have a look there. You can find copies of this great record for 5 dollars or so plus postage.

Anyways, a nice tint of purple for the sleeve. Shouldn’t it be blue? That’s what I wonder. It was released again by Pride Communications, with catalog number LP001. Sounds as if the label was their own, right? Why Pride though? anything to do with gay pride? Who knows. Perhaps in 1986 it wasn’t like that, but these days, when I think of the word pride, I think of gay pride. Moving on. This is not an album, but a mini-album. It includes 6 songs, being the first 2 the best of the bunch. The tracklist is:
A1 Ruins No Longer Remain
A2 Stolen Daylight
A3 Like Red Rags To The Bull (Soweto)
B1 Hollow Man
B2 River Has Gone
B3 Drifting Apart

The sound of the 12″ is in between post-punk and indiepop. A bit like This Final Frame I’d say. Keyboards, great melodic jangle, but a bit darker and less luminous than your standard Bodines-like C86 indiepop. In any case it’s great, it’s not dreary and depressive post-punk, but catchy. Just give a try to the song. I’ve been enjoying it a lot today, a rainy autumn Sunday.

And after putting Google under a siege, that’s all the information I’ve been able to gather online. If you know anything else about this band, please share. Would be great to know a bit more about them!

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Listen
Blue Siege – Ruins No Longer Remain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Listen
Tropical Fish Invasion – La Di Da

October. Now this blog has 4 years! I didn’t expect to write or interview bands this long to be honest. It’s funny, Emma, who pushed me to blog again, and helped me back in the day coming up with questions for the interviews, has been back in my life this week after a whole year of silence. Don’t know if that means anything, but it’s something really nice. She is one of my dearest friends and I had missed her during all this time. It’s true that she is out of the loop now when it comes to indiepop (she is into Beyoncé and that kind of things), and long are the days when we would talk about friends like The Pinefox, love_tropicana or the “sad girl”. Those were the early days of this blog. I remember many of the great questions she came up with for my interviews, some that I wouldn’t have even thought about asking! Like, when she asked if the Pink Noise’s vocalist hair was real blonde or not (!).

Also since August I have a new great friend, Yuiko, who has been pushing me even further, in making more and more interviews. Sometimes I feel I just blog for her. And I enjoy that idea. She was the one who has made the b-flower interview possible, first by translating my questions to Japanese, and then translating Hideshi’s answers to English. Lots of work, and just for the love of indiepop. Also she was the one who asked me to do interviews with The Thieves, Episode Four and East Village. On the pipeline there are other interviews she has requested like the one with Newsflash or Sugarfrost Records’ Akiko. Hopefully those will be up soon. And you know what’s funny, I’ve never met Yuiko, but before emailing, in July, we both attended the same Jasmine Minks gig in London. Who would have known. Small world.

So yes, I’m thanking those who have kept me blogging as you can already tell. I do blog for my own entertainment to be honest, as I’m a terribly curious person, and need to know the story behind the records and songs I have. It’s all like a big jigsaw for me, trying always to put the pieces together. But, there are people that share that same passion and that have given me feedback and inspiration for keeping this blog alive, even when there were catastrophic moments here earlier this year, and made me wonder if indiepop was dead or not. I figured out this month that indiepop has a chronic disease too, sometimes it feels great, vibrant, but sometimes it gets really ill.

Another person I want to thank is Bart Cummings for talking about every single band he has been in and always having the most interesting answers, he knows what I want to read! And yes, there’s a Bart & Friends interview coming up too these days. What is left? Hydroplane?

Helping me get in touch with bands both Uwe and Jessel have been fantastic through the years.

Also I want to thank Phil Ball for his support and all the great chats about lost bands. Someday I know he’ll digitise his tapes and lots of great obscure bands will be re-discovered. Same goes to my dear friend Andreas that really needs to fix his tape player! One of the few that I know that has the blog on an RSS reader 🙂

Thanks to William Jones from Friends & Summerhouse Records for being an inspiration. Always spaghetti carbonara with him.

Last but not least, to Jennifer for being such a big supporter through all these years. I know she prefers my blog posts to be shorter, but well, I can’t help it. One day I promise that I will retake the book idea for compiling interviews from the blog, so you can all read them just before going to sleep just like I do with my Tintins, comfortably in bed.

I know this blog won’t be as popular as those who offer the whole record for download. People enjoy the easiest route always, one click. Aside from those blogs making music throwaway, making these great songs have no value whatsoever, I believe in the challenge of finding out for yourself, going through the depths of ebay, musicstack, record stores, gemm, discogs, and the entire whole wide web trying to find a record. That’s way more rewarding than one click. So to all the readers who have stuck around, a big THANK YOU. And especially, those that leave comments, you make my day.

And to those that think that I steal their “finds”. Just a couple of words, grow up.

Moving on…

The CDs that have been played at home this week were:
1. The Haywains – A37 Revisited (Cider City)
2. Various Artists – The Legendary B Sides (Richmond)
3. The Ethnobabes – Thoughts on Barbecuing (Perfect Pop)
4. Blackberry Wine – Modern Living in a Survival Handbook (Pony Proof)
5. Sambassadeur – Coastal Affairs (Labrador)
6. Paisley & Charlie – Songs in Black and White (Pebble)

And listening to the Legendary B Sides of what was  él Records, I was struck on track number 14 of the second CD, repeating it over and over. I’d say it’s a very Cloudberry song, if that’s a thing you could say. The track was “Valediction” by a band called Ambassador 277. Immediately I started to google about them, to find out who made such a catchy and nostalgic song at the same time. Sad and upbeat. I wanted to know who was singing with breezy vocals, who was the girl that was doing such delicious backing vocals, and who came up with all these great different instrument arrangements all over the song. It’s just a perfect song!

First things first. What’s a valediction? A valediction (derivation from Latin vale dicere, ‘to say farewell’), or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message, or the act of saying parting words- whether brief, or extensive.

And to make things even more clear, an ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization. But what about the number 277? Is it a secret code?

I wasn’t surprised to find absolutely nothing about them. That’s the story of my life, haha. According to Twee.net and the liner notes of the B sides compilation CD, there was just one release. A 10″ that had on the A side the song “Pop Up Man” and on the B side this new favourite of mine, “Valediction”. I wonder why the 10″ format for just two songs. Could be one of Mike Alway eccentricities? From what I’ve read on many liner notes, él always was usually short on money, so they could have saved some pounds if this was released on 7″, right? But I’m sure there was a reason to do it on a 10″. If there was a label that had reasons to do something for aesthetic purposes and leave the economic reasons behind, that was él.

So now I’m listening to the “Pop Up Man” and it sounds very familiar to me. A little research and I figure out why. This song was covered by the great Minneapolis band Ninian Hawick on the “All Done with Mirrors” compilation released on Le Grand Magistery. It’s a very strange version of the song though, very eclectic. For starters it’s all electronic and has a dancey feel. Not really my thing. And it’s sung in French. I usually skipped this song when playing that compilation.

On the other hand, the original “Pop Up Man” is great, it has a sixties feel with it’s guitar riffs and soft trumpets in the chorus. Just so you know, don’t be deceived by the Minnesota version!  In any case,  for me, the winner on the record, is “Valediction”. That’s my song. I still don’t have this record, and I haven’t had the chance to see the sleeve. It’s not even listed on Discogs. I wonder if on the sleeve there are more details about this band. Probably. At least some last names.

The band did appear on many compilations usually with “Pop Up Man”. You can check many of these compilation albums here.

And that’s about all I could gather about them. I guess they were long forgotten, hard to compete in a label catalog that included the likes of The Monochrome Set, Momus, The Would Be Goods or Louis Philippe. If you happen to know anything else about them, or if you know what the 277 number means, please leave a nice comment down below. You’ll make my day!

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Listen
Ambassador 277 – Valediction

A week that things have had a normal flow. Any worries or doubts concerning the past weeks are left behind. I feel that what’s coming up is really exciting. Can’t believe than in a mere 5 months Cloudberry will be 5 years old, and that next month this blog will be 4 years old. That’s more or less what my old blog lasted before it was hacked. Hopefully this one doesn’t get hacked. I save a copy of every post these days, and it also gets copied to the Cloudberry facebook page. So I think it’s safe.

I had plans for traveling next month to Europe, but for one reason or another I couldn’t make it. So next stop for me will be Toronto in November. Hopefully it won’t be too cold and I can make it all the way to Niagara Falls. I’d love that. As for Europe goes, I’ll make sure to go to Madrid Popfest and travel around Spain. For sure I’d love to go to Toledo and Segovia. I might be there for a week there and another in Sweden, hopefully this time going to Goteborg at last. That’s what I’m planning.

As for Cloudberry news, the Youngfuck 7″ has a release date now: October 10th. So pre-order now! Sadly the pressing plant has raised the price of making vinyl and I believe this Youngfuck 7″ will be the last that will be 4 dollars plus postage (domestic =$7, international =$10). The next 7″s will be a bit more expensive, probably around 50 cents more. I wish I didn’t have to raise the prices but at least I have to break even. But for now, let’s not worry about it. Just giving the heads up.

Now we have Japanese illustrator Reiko Kimura working on the Cassolette artwork and it’s looking great. Hopefully this one will be out by the end of the year. Also keep your eyes peeled for the Nixon 7″ which now counts with the fantastic vocals of Christin from The Garlands on one of the tracks.

On the new Cloudberry Cake series of retrospective releases, we have some fantastic news concerning some great bands from the 80s. But for now let’s keep all our attention on the Feverfew release. We are looking into a November release. Masters are ready. Now it’s just a matter to get everything else sorted out. I think during this week there will be a pre-order button for the album!

Among non Cloudberry news, for me the best thing was that at last the Pushy Parents single was unveiled. I’ve been loving and listening this song for many months now but I had promised to keep it as a secret, it was hard as it was so good! Anyhow, happy to let you know that it is released on Elefant Records and it’s the new project by dear Amanda and Roger. Please check it out here on this video (note: these people on the video are NOT them, just actors!). The release date for the single is October 3rd.

And before moving on to our obscure band, here’s what I’ve been listening on the CD player this week:
1. The Relict – Tomorrow is Again (Vegas Morn)
2. The Vaselines – Sex with an X (Sub Pop)
3. Various Artists – Abracadabra (Richmond)
4. The Incredible Blondes – Where do I Stand? (No Strings)
5. Playing For Time – The Unreleased Sessions 1984-1989 (Firestation)

Wise: having or showing the ability to make good judgments, based on a deep understanding and experience of life

Acre: One acre comprises 4,840 square yards, 43,560 square feet or about 4,050 square metres (0.405 hectares). The acre is often used to express areas of land in the U.S and in countries where the Imperial System is still in use. As of 2010, the acre is not used officially in the United Kingdom. In the metric system, the hectare is commonly used for the same purpose. An acre is approximately 40% of a hectare.

Put that together and that’s The Wise Acres? Not so sure. The name doesn’t make much sense but I feel it’s a good band name. Maybe it means something totally different, maybe they were quoting something. No clue. The information about them is absolutely none on the internet. We only know there was one 7″ released by Cherry Red on 1986 and that’s about it. So let’s grab that record and see what else we can find.

First mystery for me. There’s a big butterfly as the cover artwork. Or is it a moth? I don’t know. If it’s one or another, what species is it?

The catalog number is Cherry 095 and as far as I can tell there was no 12″ version for this EP that included 4 fantastic songs. On the A side we find “So Finally Sweet” and “One Day” and on the B Side “Stay” and “Glow”. Simple names for the songs, they don’t tell us much. The record was released on the heyday of indiepop, 1986. The four members of the band are listed but doesn’t say what they play on the band. The names are John White, Sharon Bain, Robert Mitchell and Margo Strachan. We know that John White wrote the songs, so most probably he was the guitar player.

The songs are a bit like the Shop Assistants or The Vultures, maybe a bit rockier than them on “Stay” though, but great still. Catchy. The guitars usually have some exciting distortion that would make the hipsters today love them. On the other hand “Glow” is the melancholic piece, and it’s just precious.

A friend told me about two other songs “David” and “Cuts Me Deep”, but I’m not sure where he has listened to them. Were they on another release? Or maybe on a compilation? Don’t know. It is fair to think there were more songs than those 4 on the 7″, at least on demo form I’m sure. I wonder where they were based, if they played live often, and why did they break up. Also I come to think, how come there is nothing on the web about them,  aside from Bruce including them on his podcasts back in 2008!

So if you know anything else about them, please give me a shout! I’d love to learn more about them!

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Listen
The Wise Acres – One Day

The days of youth are over. Forgive the lack of updates on the blog on the last couple of weeks. After coming back from a great Labour Day weekend traveling around Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria, I ended up at the hospital. I was diagnosed a chronic disease. After five days I was discharged and started adapting to a new routine. I’m not ready yet though; I had to cancel a New York flight that I had scheduled this weekend, but I feel more comfortable each day that passes. I will be fine, and I look positively to what comes ahead. But I can’t deny that time has been a bit of a luxury this past week. Anyways, the world won’t halt its spinning for me, and nothing can make my projects and dreams crumble. So let’s make some good use of our time, let’s continue celebrating the music we love! Let’s keep up the fight! Nothing can stop indiepop!

As expected I haven’t listened to many CDs in these two weeks. These are the ones that have been on rotation at home:
1. Amor de Días – Street of the Love of Days (Merge)
2. Various Artists – Too Good To Be True: The Very Best of El Records 1985-1988 (Cherry Red)
3. The Cherry Orchard – These Restless Days (Firestation)
4. The What Gives – Up All Night With the What Gives (Bus Stop)
5. The Mondo Crescendo – Young, Naked and Happy With It (Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club)
6. The Kick Inside – Ever the Optimist (Promo CD)

Now onto some Cloudberry news. I have started working on the artwork for the Feverfew reissue. I feel a great excitement to work on a new format. The release will be part of a new series of records that I hope turn to be a success. Probably on next weekend’s post I’ll have the cover artwork and the tracklist to show. We are hoping for a November release. I’ll be keeping you updated. On the 7″ front the Youngfuck test pressings should be arriving this week. We are on schedule. Also artwork has been started for both upcoming 7″s by Nixon and Cassolette. And that’s it for now. Starting this week things will start moving faster again.

Many moons ago when I was in university I had to put together a portfolio with my work to graduate. As many as you know I was studying graphic design and ended up, trying to be overtly creative, a huge Victorian tin cookie box as my portfolio. It looked great and classy. It looked more like a treasure box than anything else. In there. I glued a folder binder onto the back side of the top flap and set up my printed works on there. Inside, as there was so much space in it, I could also transport the magazines, brochures, CDs, and more. It was perfect. Every time I went to an interview with it, the interviewer was fascinated about it. It felt good, nonetheless these days, I would rather just show a website with my work instead of carrying this huge box around! So I have my huge Victorian tin stored in one of my closets alongside scarfs and jackets that barely see the day of light in humid Miami.

Today I look tanned. Swimming in the Atlantic alongside some jellyfish has been my kind of fun this weekend . Lonely days ahead as my father has just left today after being with me for the past week. During the afternoons it always changes. Around 6pm it becomes rainy weather. It pours and the stray cats hide under the cars. These are the days of youth, my last ones. But I’m sure I’ll always be young at heart. And now I daydream of moving to Sweden in a year or two. And that’s where the obscure band of the week comes from, from that great country of lingonberry and pancakes.

Victorian Tin were from Karlstad, Sweden. A city that derives its name from the King Charles IX, and that lies on the river delta of Sweden’s longest river, Klarälven, which runs into Sweden’s largest lake, Vänern. It was a two piece formed by Erik Bergqvist and Christian Gustafsson. There were no proper releases but a 7 song tape that was distributed by Everlasting Records from Cambridge, UK, the same label that released the likes of Emily or A Riot of Colour. The story says that the band sent them a demo tape and the label suggested them to put a tape together with their best songs. There was a catalog number for it, “Bait2”. I wonder what was “Bait1”.  This may also mean that there were more recordings than these seven songs. And that would be great news!

The songs on the tape were: “Agony Flower”, “Alienation”, “Lonely Days”, “Fragments of Roses”, “Silvery Mouths”, “In My Rainy Weather”, “The Days of Youth”. And I believe this tape was put out at some point in 1990. The guys will later get involved with a band called “Searching for Beatrice” which you can listen on myspace. Other bands they were involved with were Scapegoat Palace, Phone a fish, Popetree, Stoker, Recidius Catonium, Emelies Garden, Baren med Vin & Josefin, and The Wonder Boys. I can only hope, feeling very curious, that they they continued making great jangle pop in the same tradition as Victorian Tin.

The last news from the guys were from 1999 when they formed Ephemeron. They have a myspace set up for this band as well but they haven’t logged in a couple of months. Who can blame them. Myspace is the messiest mess.

Supposedly there was a couple of years ago a Swedish fanzine that interviewed them. I believe the name of the zine was Billig Underhållning. If anyone has a copy of the interview and would be kind to translate to English, please do! I’m sure I’m not the only one interested in it.

And that’s about it. Six great songs, and one fantastic song that should have been an A side of a 7″ back in the day: “The Days of Youth”. Perhaps listening it many times works as the fountain of youth or something. I feel great when the first chords start chiming, a big smile on my face, and I think, nothing is lost, there’s so much to hope still.

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Listen
Victorian Tin – The Days of Youth

I’m on a shoegazy mood today. I’ve been playing the first 12″ single by The Suncharms after lunch. It’s been spinning for an hour today. Mind you, it only has four songs. But I’m not bored or anything by it. I actually enjoy it, puts me on a good mood while playing some computer games on a relaxing summer Sunday. Yes, I stayed indoors this weekend, the weather is way too hot to walk a block and not be bathed in your own sweat. One of those reasons you would never want to live in this swamp called Miami.

The good news is that I’ve got a lot of things done. I got back on track and I’m up to date with almost everything. Just missing to answer some emails, but that won’t be any problem during the week. I finally sent to press the Youngfuck 7″ and I can say the release date will be within the first half of October. When the test pressings arrive I’ll set the release date. There has been many pre-orders and that is quite something as the band decided to split after that beautiful gig at London Popfest earlier this year. Still remember going backstage and convincing all of them to come for pizza. But that’s a story for another day. On other Cloudberry news, Very Truly Yours have just unveiled a video for the single “Girls Tell You Secrets” that we just put out less than a month ago. Please click here and have a look at this precious piece of Super 8 video.

Next weekend there won’t be a Cloudberry update on the blog or an obscure band of the week. I’ll be traveling to Seattle and Vancouver, possibly Victoria too, for the Labour Day weekend. Should be fun. I will try to update during the week. In any case, I’ve been conducting many interviews during the past weeks, so hopefully there will be answers and that will be posted on the blog. Talking about the blog, I know I had mentioned before about making a couple of books containing the posts and interviews. I may pick up that again starting October. It’s just that the past months have been really busy! Also the blog will have it’s on label, the Cloudberry Cake Library. First release is shaping up and hopefully it will be successful enough for more releases. More news on that soon. You’ll be really surprised!

By this time of the day the Let’s Kiss and Make Up festival, their Indie Pop Days, must be over. I feel gutted that I couldn’t attend. Last years was among my favourite weekends ever. I’m sure it was a success. I have all the intention to go next year. I have a dream of working together with them into making a Cloudberry special event for the 5 years of the label. Would anyone be interested in that?

Talking about LKAMU, that might be the reason I’m all shoegazy today. My dear friend Kat, one of the organizers, is one of those that dies for shoegaze. She knows much more about it of course, and she likes the more spacey shoegaze as well. I like the poppy one. I’m a bit jealous of her having the chance to watch Sundae play live. Cristóbal’s band doesn’t play often, even less outside their native Spain. Their sound is not that far away from The Suncharms,  with a Spanish edge if you know what I mean. Like Suncharms mixed with Dar Ful Ful. That would be something. And then the hefeweizen pouring at the Kreuzberg Wasserturm, how would I not like to be there?! And the table football! Wonder if anyone could beat Anders this year. Good times for indiepop!

This week I’ve also got to listen quite a bit of CDs:
1. Jasmine Minks – Poppy White (Oatcake)
2. Tiny Fireflies – Your Love (Little Treasure)
3. The Bicycle Thieves – 1986-1990 (CDR compiled by the band)
4. Northern Picturel Library – Alaska / Love Song for the Dead Che (LTM)
5. Various Artists – All Done with Mirrors (Le Grand Magistery)
6. The Candy Dates – Yep! (Twang)
7. Burning Hearts – Into the Wilderness (Shelflife)

A couple of weeks ago I managed to get a copy of the Suncharms EP 12″ from ebay. Today I ordered the second 12″. I don’t think that would change my mind about this band. I’ve heard the tracks already and they are as good. The information on the band is scarce on the web but there’s one page, that like an oasis, has very valuable information. That is the Birdpoo page.

The band was formed by Marcus Palmer on vocals, Matt Neale and John Malone on guitars, Richard Farnell on bass and Chris Ridley on drums. They hailed from Huddersfield and got their name from a soft drinks factory from their home town that sold Dandelion and Burdock Lemonade in glass bottles. But before settling on that name they released one track on a compilation album called “Rubberoid” under the name “Charming Seed”. The song on this album was “Where’s Your Mind Gone”. Sadly I haven’t had the chance to hear the song or the album. And no results on google.

Not long after they signed with Norwich’s (which is not a barren land at all) Wilde Club Records, home of Catherine Wheel. With them they will release their first 12″, simply named “EP” being catalog number WILDE 6 and then later the “Tranquil Day” EP, also a 12″, catalog number WILDE 8. Both of them are a burst of guitars, layers and layers, and the whispered vocals of Marcus. The sound is addictive, feels big and it swoons, and then it swirls, it’s not dreamy shoegaze, it’s quite aggressive, it has that C86 edge and nerve that I love. “Sparkle” has also that psychedelic vibe, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was played at a club and the dancefloor got on fire. Well, at least in my dreams it would happen. I should try DJing it next time.

The tracks on the first 12″ are: “Sparkle”, “Reflections”, “Time Will Tell” and “One I See”. It was recorded at Epic Head Studies in Sheffield and remixed at Purple Rain Studios in Norfolk. The contact information doesn’t say Huddersfield though, but Broomhall which is a district of Sheffield to the west of the city centre. It occupies the land that once belonged to Broom Hall, a historic mansion still in existence today, which dates from at least the 15th century. Maybe a place to visit next time? Never been to Sheffield.

On the second 12″ we find the songs: “Tranquil Day”, “Wash Away”, She Feels” and “Space Ship”. Don’t have much more information on this record, but when it gets delivered to my house I could do an update. It is worth mention that “Wash Away” also appears on a Wilde Club Records CD compilation called “I Might Walk Home Alone”. Also “Sparkle” from the first 12″ appears on this compilation album. I’ve been looking for this compilation for a while as it includes tracks by Shine! and The Bardots as well. If you have a spare copy, don’t be shy! Send it my way 🙂

In 1992, a big highlight happens in The Suncharms career. They get invited to record a Peel Session. On April 26 of that year they record four songs: “Magic Carpet”, “Into the Sun”, Space Ship” and “On Reflection”. These were produced by Mark Engles. Might be great to hear those songs at some point!

From the Birdpoo page we also learn that they played at the Radio One’s “Sound City” festival in 1993. I believe Pulp and Aphex Twin played this festival. I don’t like these bands but them playing means this festival was quite big. After that they kind of split, not officially though.

Doing some research I found two videos on Youtube. One for Sparkle and another for Space Ship. The Sparkle one seems to be not a proper video but an edition of live clips, whereas Space Ship does look like a proper video. Do check them out! The user who upload them seems to be part of the band as it’s name is “charmingseed”. As you remember that was the first incarnation of  The Suncharms. Sadly he hasn’t been online since 2008.

And that’s about it. No more traces of this great band. Whatever happened to them? Two EPs and no album? Maybe they had more recordings and we don’t know. Would be great to know more about them. If anyone has any more information about them, please let me know.

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Listen
The Suncharms – Sparkle