Wasn’t feeling that well yesterday. So Monday’s post is being published today Tuesday. I’ll post something tomorrow too, no worries!
The Reds, Pinks & Purples: there are good news by the great San Francisco band that I keep featuring on the blog. They are working on an album titled “Anxiety Art” for our friend Javi’s label “Pretty Olivia”. But that’s not all, there are three new jangly tracks to listen: “City Gardens”, “Running Up Dead-End Streets” and “Desperate Parties (kitchen ver)”.
Black Sand: this New Zealand band has a new album called “Around the Sun” out now on tape. It has 10 songs of psychedelic shoegazy sounds. It does look like the tape is very limited and at the time of writing this review only 2 copies were left. It also looks like the band is actually one man, A. Evans. My favourite track? “What Do You See?”
Telever: a cool sounding shoegaze Thai band! What a discovery. I have to thank my friend David for this one. They are formed by Tae, Team, James Jansontima and Zee. Their latest is an EP titled “Have a Good Healthy” with 4 songs. My favourite song out of the four is the last one, “Everything”!
No Suits in Miami: wow, where did this band from Lund, Sweden, come from? Why am I only listening to them now? They sound great! They have an album of 8 songs available now on Bandcamp titled “I Hope That No One Sees Me”. And it is superb, jangly, catchy, with great female lyrics. I really hope they get a physical release. They deserve it. Very good!! Just how I like my indiepop!
The Metatrons: this band from Hitchin in the UK makes some terribly catchy fuzzy pop! Their music is not as new but they just showed up on Bandcamp and I’m discovering them. Their latest was the 2016 album “Pattern of Chaos” that is available on CD and vinyl. It has 9 songs on it and it is actually their second album after “Between Planets”. Good stuff.
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Turn for the letter N.
Jacques Speyser was the person behind the French band Non Stop Kazoo Organization. The band only released two records, two singles, in the early nineties and then disappeared into oblivion. Or did they?
I know very little about them, so I will try to find out, as usual, any good details about them.
The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a “buzzing” timbral quality to a player’s voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, one of a class of instruments which modifies its player’s voice by way of a vibrating membrane of goldbeater’s skin or material with similar characteristics.
The first release was a single sided flexi that was released by the Ad Libitum Pop !? label (ad lib 1) in 1992. This is a fine label, where all releases are worth collecting like Budgie Jacket, Tree Fort Angst, The Pale Seashell and more. The first release on this label happened to be this flexi, with the songs “Mystery Pet” and “Song About a Happy Day to Come”. Both songs were recorded by Rémi who also played lead guitar and keyboards on the first song. On that same song Renaud Sachet did backing vocals. Renaud was one of the people behind the Herzfeld label from Strasbourg and had been in bands like Buggy, Herzfeld Orchestra and Les Molies.
The next release was to be put out by the Cornflakes Zoo (ZOO 3) label. This was another French label that was run by Stéphane Teynié who when he started the label was a writer on the Anorak fanzine and also a distributor through the Anorak Mail Order. For this second release, the “Something Strange EP”, Jacques added more people to the recording sessions. Renaud did backing vocals again but also Jean-Christophe. Claire played clarinet, Francesco drums, Franck guitar, Hélène the saxophone and violin and Yves the trumpet. All songs were recorded by Didier Houbre, a French engineer owner of Downtown Studio in Strasbourg. Does this mean that Non Stop Kazoo Organization was a Strasbourg band? Looks like it. This EP was released in 1993 and included three songs. The A side had “Your Hand For an Hour” while the B side had “My Heart With Yours in the Air” and “Something Strange”. Didier Houbre played guitar on the last song.
Discogs only lists two compilations appearances by the band. The first one dates from 1990 so I’m guessing these might be among the first recordings for the band. The song “Big Mac For You and Me” was included in the cassette compilation “Heol Daou” that was released by Katiho (Katiho 002). This tape has been mentioned in the blog before when talking about Die Blinzeelberen.
Then in 1992, on another French compilation tape, one called “Whoops!” (HOUPLA01) the band contributed the song “Onion Soup”. This tape also includes a superb lineup of bands like Acid House Kings, Even As we Speak, The Tables and many more top bands.
We know too that Jacques Speyser was involved with more bands. We know he was in Les Mollies alongside the producer of the first record, Renaud Sachet. He was also in Grand Hotel and Original Folks. He has also played in records yb Buggy, Marxer and Herzfeld Orchestra.
I can’t find any other worthy information about the band. There are a few mentions of Non Stop Kazoo Organization on articles about Original Folks. But that’s about it. I would definitely like to know the story of the band. What happened with them? Are there more recordings? Was it a bedroom band? Did they play live much?
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