Day 190. Getting close to 200 days working from home. What day are you all on? Or have you returned to your workplaces?

Puff Punch: so cool to hear this band! I believe it is the first time I am listening to the Jakarta based combo and it is a delight. Their latest release is called “Can We Go Out Now?”, a 4 song EP of catchy punky pop!

Rosehip Teahouse: I have recommending this band from Cardiff in the past, and why not do it again? They have a new song up on their Bandcamp and it sounds quite nice. It is called “I Meant What I Said” and lyrics are posted to sing along.

Still Corners: the classic London band is back with a new song called “The Last Exit”! It is a superb song and there’s even a video for it which you can check right here.

Nah..: as we know our friends Sebastian and Estella are releasing an album on Shelflife Records. It may as well be our favourite new record this year right? Top five? I can’t wait to get my hands on it. In the meantime they have unveiled a new song, not included in the album,  that sounds amazing, “Finger on the Map”!

Pet Dreams: now the bedroom project of Ryan Davis from Seattle, Washington. This is a lo-fi dreampop record, it is called “Time Away”, and it is available now on CD. It includes 6 songs, all written, recorded, mixed and mastered by himself!

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“Autumn, September” is the song by The Maybellines that I am going to choose to clear the month of September in this silly challenge of me. Good times! Do you remember this lovely Denver band?

We can go in chronological order, right?

So first time we hear about them was in 1997 on two compilations according to Discogs but I feel this may be wrong? These two compilations are for Edmonton, Canada, bands. We know the Maybellines hailed from Denver, so I will skip. So I’ll jump to 1998, there’s a compilation called “Today’s Top Girl Groups Vol. 1” with a song called “No Jive” by The Maybellines.

So those years are confusing to me. I don know that the band’s first release came in 1999 for sure. That is the band we know, The Maybellines. The 7″ was called “”Towel Off” EP and had four songs, “Our Midnight” and “What About Me?” on the A side and “Rocky Mountain High” and “Haynes Point” on the B side. We see on the sleeve the cute characteristic illustrations we’d see from the band, this time a ladybug, and we know that the record was recorded and produced by Brian Feutchtinger in 1999 at Uneven Studios in Denver.  The photo on the insert is credited to James Bludworth, Jimmy Gapinski did the drawing and we get the names of the band members, Julie, Mike, Dave and Alice.

The year 2000 would be more prolific. The band would release a split 7″ with the band The Pin Downs. This release was self-released by both bands and came with a fanzine. There is no catalog numbers. The Maybellines appear on the B side with two songs, “Bright Eyes” and “Punker”.

The band would include their song “Low-Fi” to a double CD compilation called “Local Shakedown” released by Smooch Records (SMOOTCH 01). This compilation was sold to promote local Colorado artists and Radio 1190 KCVU from Boulder. But more interestingly the band would release an 8-song album on the great Shelflife Records. It would be self-titled (LIFE 024) and the songs on it were “Sleep Over”, “Watch Out”, “Bomb Pop”, “Space Mission Bible Camp”, “Sally”, “I Hope You Like Me Too”, “One Thousand” and “Happiness Digest”. The album was recorded between January 13 and 18 at Uneven Studios. Brian Feuchtinger was the engineer as well as co-producer. Jon Chaikin did the mastering at Nonstpsound. The artwork was created by Jill from Shelflife.

In 2001 the band appeared on many comps. The song “Big Wheel” is on the “White Shirts = Stains” cassette comp released by Unread. Two songs, “Battleship” and “Oregon” appear on another US comp, the “Amateur Rocket Club” double 7″ released by Amateur Rocket Club. On this one, as in many comps they appear alongside The Breezy Porticos. The other two bands in these 7″s are The Jenni Jensens and Kudzu Towers. In the classic “Picnic Basket (A Shelflife International Pop Compilation)” (LIFE 020) the band appears with “Our Midnight”. Then the song “Oregon” appears on “Joe’s Blue Plate Special Volumes 56-59” a four CD compilation set released by Joe’s Grill. Lastly, “Sprawl Forever” does appear on “One” another Shelflife classic compilation (LIFE 040).

In 2002 the band stops releasing on Shelflife, not sure why, but they join Best Friends Records where they release their second album “Chatfield Holiday” (FR-02). This album which was recorded between September and December 2001, was again recorded by Bryan Feuchtinger and mastered by Jon Chaikin as the same places. The photography again by James Bludworth and the artwork by Jimmy Gapinski. Liner notes by Jason Heller. This CD had 11 songs, “Oregon”, “Wait for You”, “Kid Pop Unite”, “Drama Queen”, “Battleship”, “I Just had the Best Time”, “Until I Met You”, “7 Blocks Away”, “Big Wheel”, “Walking Down the Street” and “Untitled”.

More compilation appearances of course. Their song “Watermelon” gets included in the Planting Seeds Records CD comp “Dreaming Up the Perfect Pop” (PSRCD 12).

In 2003 the band continues contributing songs. “This and That” is on the “You’re Still Young at Heart” (LIFE 050) on Shelflife and “Wish You Dead” is on “I Am A Victim of this Song” CD compilation released by Baka-Poi from France. This one came with a 40 page A5 fanzine!

In 2004 they have “On & On” on the CD compilation “Happy Happy Birthday to Me Vol. 3” and also their song “Our Town” appears on “Radio 1190 Local Shakedown Vol II”.

In 2005 the EP “A La Carte” is released by Best Friends Records (FR-08) including 6 songs, “The Only One”, “Dream Vacation”, “Autumn, September”, “Come On”, “Our Hearts Keep Time” and “Night Ranger”. That same year the video for their song “Wait For You” gets included in two DVD compilations, “2005 Colorado Indie Music Video Competition” and “No Parachute, Volume 1: A Compilation of Indie Music Videos”.

Lastly in 2007 the band released a CDR on a label I don’t like (what can you do?) called “Our Secret Lives”. There are 9 songs that are actually early four-track home recordings. Only 150 copies were available. The songs are “Quietly”, “Chatfield Holiday”, “Ms. Sheriff”, “Froggy”, “Jamaholic”, “HMO”, “Maybelline”, “Stupid Love”, “Low-fi”. The label is the American Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records (HHBTM077A).

I also know that there was a live session of the band at KFJC, where they recorded at least a song that remains unreleased,”Uh Oh”.

The Maybellines video for “Wait For You” is available in Youtube of course. Check it out. Also if you want to check the two released on Best Friends Records, they are on Bandcamp.

Then I start to find articles on the web about them. We know the band played for example a CD release show for “A La Carte” at the Hi-Dive in Denver on August 26, 2005. Another show dates from November 14,  2002, at Meow Meow in Denver alongside Joy Electric and I am the World Trade Center. October 19, 2005, saw them play alongside with Broken Spindles and Porlolo at the Larimer Lounge in Denver. April 30, 2005, they played Benders Tavern with the Breezy Porticos in Denver as well. More gigs, now thanks to the Dressy Bessy gigography page. Dressy Bessy of course also a Denver band. So we know that they played together with Dressy Bessy and Mates of State on July 11th 2000 at Lions Lair, and then again with Dressy Bessy, Breezy Porticos and Kudzu Tower  at the Mike & Johannes house on October 31st, 2000. 2002, June 8th, they played at the Bluebird Theatre with Dressy Bessy and Thank God for Astronauts. Lastly another gig I found dates from October 2nd 2002 at the 15th St. Tavern with The Love Letter Band.

Aside from Denver I know they played in Durango, Colorado, at Thee Olde Shcool House Rocks on July 3rd 2005 with Bunnygrunt.

Another article by Westword mentions that Jason Heller, the one who wrote the liner notes is nowadays a renowned science-fiction writer! Wow, I found his website even.

Last.fm has a biography. I should have started there probably. I see that the band started in 1998, so yeah, those previous compilations appearances were not the same band. It says that Julie Dorough, Al Adams  and Mike Levasseur were the original band members. Actually Al and Mike had started this project and asked Julie to join them to be the singer. Then Dave Reeves was the last to join them. It mentions that for Mike and Julie this was their first band, but Dave and Al had been in previous band, Al for example was in The Hood.

Then a very cool article on the Peace Corps Online. How come? It seems Al Smith met Mike Levasseur on a plane bound for Africa as they were joining the Peace Corps! Al hailed from Virginia, Mike from Maine, and somehow both would end up in Denver. The band’s first show was at Al and Mike’s old house, the crowd were 15 friends.

It seems there used to be a video on PBS were Dave Reeves, the bass player, appears playing. The video was part of a program called Sounds on 29th and in this video they were featuring Kristin Rand & Sara Belle and Friends.

And that’s it. Quite a lot of information. Maybe there’s more online. But still would be great to find more!

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Listen
The Maybellines – Wait for You

Thanks so much to Jimmy and Gérôme for the interview! I discovered the Nantes band Nos Etés Trop Courts on the OVVK Archives Bandcamp that Jimmy runs and it was quite a surprise! I had interviewed Jimmy about his band Les Autres in the past and wasn’t aware he had been involved in this cool sounding band before Les Autres. So I immediately asked if he was up for a 2nd interview! He asked Gérôme to join too and now  thanks to them and this interview I have a better picture of the Nantes scene and the band! Hope you enjoy!

++ Hi Jimmy and Gérôme! Thanks so much for being for this interview! How are you? How is France at the moment? Have things relaxed a bit now? Are there any plans for this summer?

Gérôme: It is of course a strange period but it’s ok. Thank you interviewing us on Nos Etés Trop Courts. Some people were glad to see that our “Sunshine demo EP” from January 1992 was out, particularly Nantes indie pop underground people. We are honored to see that some people from other countries enjoy the music we made during the golden period of the shoegaze movement.

++ Last time I talked with Jimmy about Les Autres. I wasn’t aware then about this Nantes band that came before. Was wondering then if you both had been involved in other bands prior to Nos Etés Trop Courts?

Gérôme: It’s fascinating because I never talked about that with Jimmy.  l played in a few new wave/4AD style bands before Nos Etés Trop Courts. The first one, Ramsesghom that I began in 1989 (I was 19 years old) played some Joy Division, The Cure early albums and Sisters Of Mercy covers. The second, Abecurria, in 1990 was more into And Also The Trees and Cocteau Twins stuffs, the reason whythere was a loud bass played with a mediator (like the one I played in the second demo of Nos Etes Trop Courts) and some aerial guitars with delay. But Nos EtésTrop Courts which started in the first months of 1991 was my first real coherent and harmonious music experience.

Nos Etés Trop Courts was still playing when I started another band, Crash, in January 1992 which would be the more successful band I would be in (like Jimmy with Les Autres). Jimmy re-released the first (July 1992) demo of Crash in OVVK last year. When we originally released it, it was broadcasted on a national radio show, had been reviewed in Les Inrockuptibles, a national magazine dedicated to indie music. Tracks from this demo were also featured on various International indie pop cassette. compilations:  https://ovvkarchives.bandcamp.com/album/demo-1.

Between 1992 and 1996, Crash was more into Swervedriver, Dinosaur Jr or even Mudhoney pop core scene. Here is a German indie pop compilation from 1994 (Garage Flowers) with some tracks by Les Autres (with Jimmy) and Crash (with me): .

https://www.discogs.com/fr/Various-Garage-Flowers/release/4354533

In 1994, I started another band with Pascal and Pat’ (From San July), which was more into dissonant pop and post rock, Snowfan. And in 1996 I also made a side project, a hardcore skate band called Nosegrab.

Jimmy: Nos Etes Trop Courts was my first real experience in a band even if I made some rehearsals before with two girls under the moniker Chrysalide (there are no recordings from that band and believe me, only the name of the band was nice haha).

A bit before Nos Etés Trop Courts I started to write songs on the  bass influenced by various bass players such as Simon Gallup of The Cure, Peter hook of New Order and most of all at that time Ian Masters of Pale Saints especially the bass chords. Some of those songs ended up being played by the band such as Nos Etés Trop Courts, Waiting (renamed Leaves Return To Dust after I left the band), Y’A Des Jours Sans and Only Of The Night. But on the 4 track recorder we recorded the first demo, I recorded more songs, some of which I had planned for Nos Etés Trop Courts before leaving the band and songs that I had recorded up to 1992-1993 when I joined Les Autres. I’ll release them soon on Ovvk Recordings under the moniker Diaphane which was the name I originally suggested for the band but it was rejected by some of the members. These demos are “rough” and unfinished versions. Diaphane was an indie pop project strongly influenced by The Cure, The Sundays, New Order, The Wedding Present, The Lavender Faction(…) and even The Field Mice in a certain way. I plan to call the demos Indie Pop Themes as they all are instrumentals.

++ I did ask Jimmy about this last time, but would love to hear from Gérôme. What are your first musical memories? What was the first instrument did you get and how?

Gérôme: I was born in may 1970. My first musical shock was when I was 14, the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal guitar sound (Metallica, Slayer, Exodus…). But a few years later, the shoegaze scene was really fascinating because there was some loud noisy guitars with heavenly voices. Really chaotic noisy panorama landscapes with beautiful melodic voices. With Jim’ and other friends we saw Lush and Pale Saints in Nantes, January 1990. It was their first gig outside England. We loved that so much.  A revelation.

++ Who else was in Nos Etés Trop Courts? And how did the recruiting process work?

Gérôme: In February 1990, I saw an ad pinned on a wall notice board for student in the hall of the faculty of literature “noisy pop band seeks guitarist”. That’s how it worked back then, before the Internet. I called the phone number when I got home. The group had been founded a few months earlier by Pascal and Jimmy (who had met each other through classified ads), then Marielle began to sing, then Guillaume, the drummer joined them. We rehearsed in a school, Guillaume’s father was the supervisor so we had access to the premises. I arrived a week or two after Marielle started singing. This line up is the one on the first 4-track demo (recorded in June and July 1991) which was just released here: https://ovvkarchives.bandcamp.com/album/sunset-demo-ep

Then (for the 1991-1992 academic year) the group continued but Marielle went to study in Lille and was replaced by Fabrice (who later released records under the name of River). Jimmy also left at that time because he was starting university  in Rennes (where he will meet Les Autres). That’s why I play the bass on the second demo (in addition to the guitar).

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

Gérôme: Nantes was starting to get really hyped in the early 1990s. There was an indie pop group that played a lot called The Little Rabbits. We saw them in Nantes in April 1991 opening for The Pastels and then in January 1992 with Lucie Vacarme and The Boo Radleys.

There was also a young woman who was probably around 17 or 18yrs old, she published some cool fanzines, released various cassette compilations from the Sarah indie pop scene (she knew Matt and Clare). She also released minimalist pop singers from Nantes like Katerine or Dominique A. and knew musicians from the Scottish pop scene (BMX Bandits, Teenage Fanclub, The Vaselines, Captain America…). Here you can read an interview (in French) I did with her more than 20 years ago: https://section-26.fr/les-anoraks-sages/.

In Nantes, some musicians started to play shoegaze a few months after Nos Etés Trop Courts, bands like 1000 Spirales, San July or RIP. There was also a cool club, “Le Floride”, the DJ, Laurent, was the manager of the “Little Rabbits” he also had a radio show and would launch a few years later the esteemed vinyl record store “Black & Noir”.

If readers want to know more on the local scene and hear local indie pop bands of that era, there’s na 8 hour radio program I made on Jet FM (a local station from Nantes).It’s a retrospective of indie pop bands from Nantes (1989-2012) :  http://jetfm.fr/site/Vendredi-25-mars-de-13h-a-18h-en.html

There’s a cassette compilation, “Biscuits Nantais”, featuring various bands from Nantes mid 90’s indie pop scene (featuring a track by me under the moniker Norb’urt) : https://www.discogs.com/fr/Various-Biscuits-Nantais/release/12190640

I also wrote in the fanzine “Les Jolies Melodies” edited in Nantes by Franck Vergeade, who is now music Editor in chief of the national magazine Les Inrockuptibles, but it was in 1993-1994 and Nos Etés Trop Courts had already split at that time.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

Gérôme: I realize I don’t know much about that. I joined the band, partied with the musicians of the band (Marielle, Jimmy Pascal with other friends), but I don’t know anything about the lyrics either. I wasn’t involved in the writing of the lyrics. However, I know that “Nos Etés Trop Courts” was taken from a poem by Charles Baudelaire called “Chant d’Automne”. A beautiful text, a bit sad and nostalgic, full of spleen, like the lyrics Marielle used to write.

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

Gérôme: The first few months (early 1991) Jimmy would bring in basslines and we would build songs around it. Everyone did what they wanted, listening to the others. Guillaume had played in a funk band before coming with us,so we sometimes tried to ask him for baggy sound rhythms and patterns. Secondly, after a few months, I started to bring songs composed on my guitar, with a grid of chords and melodies. For example, on the second demo (Sunshine EP), late 1991, you can hear the difference between the first two tracks that Jimmy composed on the bass and the next two that I composed on the  guitar. Pascal had good ideas for arrangements. Then, especially the second year, Pascal also brought some songs.

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

Gérôme: At that time,we were really into the shoegaze news. Each month we discovered new Eps (especially Pascal). We liked Slowdive, Ride or My Bloody Valentine of course, but also The Field Mice and other bands from Sarah records, Pale Saints, Lush, Chapterhouse, Teenage Fanclub, or even Swervedriver or Aspidistra. I remember Jimmy was very fond of The Wedding Present and Talk Talk. I also listened to Jesus & Mary Chain and discovered the old albums by the Velvet Underground (I first heard about the Velvet Underground with Joy Division’s “Sister Ray” cover on the live album Still).

We were also really into the New Order first albums and The Cure (especially Faith and Desintegration). You can hear the influence on my Y’A Des Jours Sans guitar melody.

At that time there was an incredible label in Nantes called Lithium Records. We liked its bands, especially Candle and Lucie Vacarme. We also appreciated the minimalist singers’ wave (mainly in Nantes), Dominique A., Katerine, M. de Foursaings or Yann Savel.

Jimmy: I think that the two main influences are Pale Saints for the bass style and The Field Mice for the way of balancing the drum machine with the bass line and guitar chords. There’s also a bit of early Ride influences on the track Nos Etés Trop Courts. I love the guitar parts that Gérôme plays on Only Of The Night, it reminds me of The Cure in their Faith period. And when I wrote the bass line of Waiting (aka Leaves Return To Dust) I remember being influenced by several bass lines by The Sundays:  Can’t Be Sure, Hideous Town, Skin & Bones…

++ I am only aware of the second demo of the band that is up on Bandcamp. Do tell me about the 1st demo. Do you plan uploading it? What songs were on it? Where and who recorded it?

Gérôme: The first demo was recorded in June 1991 by Jimmy with his 4 track cassette recorder and his old drum machine. Pascal was doing his national service. I think he was not here, so there is only my guitar.

On the first demo Jimmy’s bass is amazing, really huge.It’s a rough analogue sound but I love it. I try a lot of different things on the guitar. “Nos Etés Trop Courts” is orthodox shoegaze, but with a clear guitar sound for the chorus, “Y’A Des Jours Sans” is influenced by New Order and “Only of the Night” is more, mellow, eery, atmospheric.

It’s Marielle singing. Marielle had no singing experience in fact, her amateur performances (she sometimes sang out of tune) were precisely what we defended. We also liked (what we heard about) the texts of Marielle, very personal and fragile, like the ones of Y’A Des Jours Sans where she explains that some days, she is depressed and does not want to get up. Pascal said that was “authentic “ indie pop and at that time I was learning what were lo-fi, DiY attitude and underground subculture. I remember it was a revelation when  Pascal, Marielle and Jimmy saw the Pastels in concert. They were shy and friendly, with a rough sound. Pascal enjoyed their show a lot. At some stage I would always play a wrong note in the guitar chorus of Nos Etés Trop Courts, right at the end of the track. My friend Jérôme (the future lead singer of the band Crash) would make a point of telling us, but Pascal would then reply “We don’t care, we play what we want”. That always stayed with me.

Jimmy: Yes, they were recorded in my bedroom at my parents. There is a first demo version of Nos Etés Trop Courts, an instrumental rehearsal version of Leaves Return To Dust (working title: Waiting), Y’A Des Jours Sans and Only Of The Night (two unreleased songs). Marielle is on vocals and wrote the lyrics.

And so yes after you sent us the questions for the interview we released it here: https://ovvkarchives.bandcamp.com/album/sunset-demo-ep

++ The second demo is titled “Sunshine EP” and has two girls on the cover. I find them very familiar but can’t figure out who are they… do tell!

Gérôme: We all had 4 cassette tracks recorders and drum machines at the time. Pascal had just bought a new drum machine and had offered to manage the recording. I thought it was a good idea (besides he recorded other pop bands in the years that followed). He had a half-hollow guitar. We can hear the subtle feedback he made at the end of “Walk Of Nones”;-).

++ Was there any other demo tapes?

No. Only rehearsal recordings

++ And normally these demo tapes you released, were they mostly for promotion purposes, to send to radio and magazines? or did you perhaps sell them to fans?

Jimmy: I think we recorded the first demo for fun. At the time we recorded it we didn’t plan to find gigs or try to have a review in a fanzine or a magazine. Also, we didn’t have a manager, we were real beginners.

++ Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased songs?

Jimmy:  The last unreleased songs are on Demo #1 and so there are some songs that I started when I was still in the band that I will release under the moniker Diaphane.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Leaves Return to Dust”,  so what’s the story behind it?

Jimmy: I can’t tell you about the lyrics, we’d have to ask Fabrice but when I wrote it on the bass I was deeply influenced by The Sundays, listen to their first album, it’s obvious 😉

++ If you were to choose your favorite Nos Etés Trop Courts song, which one would that be and why?

Jimmy: Leaves Return To Dust is probably my fav too. I think that my second fav would be Only Of The Night. Probably because I didn’t even remember that one until Gérôme told me recently he had it on a cassette. Even though I always remembered the bass line, I forgot we demoed it and didn’t hear it in 28 years. I can tell you it’s fantastic to discover a song that you wrote almost 30 years earlier!

There’s something very touching on this first demo because it’s really naïve, you can hear clearly that we’re beginners. But still, you can feel that we got the hang of writing and I love this dark/melancholic mood hesitating between a light Indie Pop mood and a darker Post-Punk / Cold Wave one.

Gérôme: My favourite song is Nos Etés Trop Courts.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Jimmy: When I was in the band, we played only one outdoor gig during the national French music day (Fête de La Musique), the 21st of June 1991. But as Gérôme said they played with the second line-up in the local Club called Melody Maker in 1992.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Jimmy: Sadly, I don’t have a good memory of that period. I think that the best anecdote is that we would almost all have amazing musical experiences with Les Autres and Crash a few years after that, opening for great bands such as The Wedding Present or The House Of Love.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Jimmy: Hopefully, no bad ones as far as I can remember 😉

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

Jimmy: Probably to play in this small but hype local club, Melody Maker.

Gérôme: Or probably being an underground band, but in the popular music avant-garde of that time, playing shoegaze at the same time as Ride or Slowdive edited their first album.

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

Jimmy:  In my last interview for Les Autres you were supposed to try crêpes in French Brittany, remember Roque? Did you try?

To be honest this part of the Atlantic coast is not the best place in France when it comes to landscapes.

But if you go a bit further north-west and you visit French Brittany, which I think you did in the past Roque, the coast is beautiful in many parts and there are really nice small islands.

You could also go to this village where Gauguin and other impressionists stayed at the end of the 19th century: Pont-Aven. There’s a nice little impressionists museum. Also in Carnac you could see what is probably the biggest site of menhirs (standing stone) in the world and which is contemporary to Stonehenge.

In Nantes the main thing is the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany. In Nantes, Anne de Bretagne was the last Duchess of the independent Brittany (connected to Great Britain) until she married the King of France (16th Century).

Gérôme: I Love Nantes and the people from Brittany. It deserves to be known!

++ Lastly one non-music question, one about football. Do you support Nantes or Rennes?

Jimmy:  Neither Nantes nor Rennes. I’m personally against professional sport which is in my opinion one of the strongest tools for mainstream-corporate culture to alienate people. Sorry to be that serious on that matter 😉

Gérôme: The only thing I like about football is to be with friends watching games. But you must be a connoisseur, because there is indeed the Breton derby Rennes vs Nantes.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Jimmy: Just thanks again for your support and what you do Roque to keep alive the spirit of independent music of those years !

Gérôme: I’d like to add 2 things:

The first one is that if Nos Etés Trop Courts has produced almost nothing, most of its musicians did a lot of things afterwards. Marielle worked in music. First at the Olympic, the main concert hall venue in Nantes, then she started a business of booking bands and managing others.

Pascal played in several bands (Crash, Snowfan, Hafner, Newell…) and started an indie record label, Cindie. He began with a cassette compilation titled Ces Chères Têtes Blondes :

https://www.discogs.com/fr/Various-Ces-Ch%C3%A8res-T%C3%AAtes-Blondes/release/2259390

Then he released singles and albums.

Jimmy played in Les Autres, and I played in Crash, then wrote in Magic RPM Magazine and became a sociologist studying music. Crash and Les Autres had a lot of press, made records and concert gigs.

Fabrice released several vinyl singles as River:

https://www.discogs.com/fr/artist/379522-River-5

The second one is that Nos Etés Trop Courts was a band that lasted a short time. Formed in January 1991, and died in June 1992. We have never been to a professional studio but spent very little time outside of rehearsals saving a few titles on 4 cassette tracks. These tapes were never shown outside of the band’s 20-plus fans until Jimmy released them on Ovvk Recordings. The first demo was recorded in June 1991 at Jimmy’s. The second demo, Sunshine EP” was recorded in October 1991 by Pascal and I. Jimmy and Marielle had just moved to other cities for their studies. We continued to hang out with them, but Fabrice came to sing after we met him. He put his voice on our music on January 1992. This second demo, Sunshine EP, was really in the wave I think.

https://ovvkarchives.bandcamp.com/track/nos-etes-trop-courts

It has the sound of the time. It is part of the history of indie pop. But we did not realise it counted at the time. Pascal didn’t like Fabrice’s way of singing that much, he thought his way of singing was too technical, too professional, too clean. For Fabrice, it was a revelation to play with us. He listened to things like Front 242 or Depeche Mode before he met us. He heard shoegazing music with us for the first time and was enthusiastic when he first heard that kind of sound. Because we did not realise the precursor dimension of compositions like Leaves return to dust or Nos Etés Trop Court. We did not broadcast these recordings at the time and  we did few concerts. We had not shown them on compilations even though people today tell us it was great. And your reaction confirms it to us. That’s life anyway.

Have a nice day and thank you for your support!

Thanks to Sonia Stewart for the English correction.

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Listen
Nos Etés Trop Courts – Leaves Return To Dust

Day 188.

Dan Dan Dero: our friends from Lima have just released a new song called “Como Rei Ayanami”. I believe they are writing about Rei from the Japanese series Evangelion, right? If it was a real person I am sure this character would be proud. It is a very nice song!

Star Party: hailing from the state of Washington in the US we find this 4 song demo that is tagged as c86. The sound is a bit noisier and murkier but it is clear they have been listening to a lot to the Shop Assistants!

Swansea Sound: Hue from the Pooh Sticks, Amelia from Heavenly, together. That is the Swansea Sound who have recorded at 2 song single!! The songs are “Corporate Indie Band” and “Angry Girl” and we can preview the first song on Bandcamp. The release is also available on cassette on Lavender Sweep. Very cool! Hopefully there will be more songs in the near future.

Fine.: I really liked the previous song by this band from Boston, UK. So when I noticed they had a brand new one I was very excited! And yes! “One Year On” is great! What is even better is that they have announced an album to be released later this year. Let’s keep an eye on that!

Spool: 4 girls from Japan and a new digital single called “スーサイド・ガール”. I know very little about this band but they seem to like shoegaze music and you can tell by this song. Nice sounds.

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“The Last Days of August” was the name of the sole album Kristian Rosengren, under his Airliner moniker, released. It included a song of the same name. So that ticks the month of August in my challenge. But that wasn’t all he released. And of course, Kristian, was part of another amazing band, Aerospace. So yeah, there’s a lot to talk about here.

His first ever Airliner release was actually a split 7″. And yes, the other band on the 7″, appearing on the B side was Aerospace. Okay, yeah, I promise to do a post for Aerospace in the future. That makes sense. But let’s stick to Airliner. This split 7″ was released by Labrador Records (LAB009) in the year of 1999. The split 7″ had a title, “Summer Wedding”, though not sure why that name. Airliner contributed two songs on the A side, “Before You Went Away” and “Trying to Be Clever”.

Then we don’t hear from him for a few years.In 2002 the band contributed the song “Everything That’s You” to the compilation “Try A Little Happiness” that came along the “Try Happiness” fanzine. This compilation should be legendary in my books. So many good bands on it.

In 2003 Zenith Recordings and Smudgey Records (ZEN004, Smudge-001) released another split 7″ called “Play Imprints of Emotions EP”. Again Airliner would contribute two songs to the A side, “Always Up to You” and “Happiness (Version)”. The B side was for the band Ant (who was also a one-man unit, Antony Harding from the UK).

It is also interesting that this 7″ would be re-released the year after, in 2004, by Fortune & Glory (FOR V7 113) in the UK. The artwork looks about the same. We know that Kristian recorded at home both songs and the street sounds that are included in the song “Happiness (version)” are from the city of New York. The photo that appears of Kristian on the back cover was taken at a photo booth in the Hornstull underground station in Stockholm. Another interesting fact is that this re-release actually used the same sleeves and probably the same records as the Swedish one. It just has a sticker on the back with the Fortune & Glory info. The other labels info appear as well. Also our friend from Fraction Discs, Jörgen Svensson is thanked in the sleeve.

This same year the band also released their album, “The Last Days of August” on Labrador (LAB030) in Sweden and on Art Union Records (ARTD-5512) in Japan. Funny enough it seems both releases have the same tracklist, 10 songs. Funny as Japanese releases usually have bonus tracks.

The 10 songs were “Trying to Be Clever”, “Everything That’s You”, “One Final Call”, “Nostalgia”, “Always Never”, “Defenses Down”, “Time and Space”, “Always the Last to Know”, “Happiness” and “The Last Days of August”. All songs were recorded by Johan Angergård at Summersound Studios and mastered at the Cutting Room by Thomas Eberger. The sleeve was designed by Lukas Möllersten.

On this record Kristian god some help from friends. Son Tobias Einestad played trumpet, Julia Lannerheim (Acid House Kings) and Karolina Komstedt (Club 8, Poprace) did backing vocals and Johan Angergård (Labrador head honcho, plus Acid House Kings, Club 8, The Legends, etc) produced the record.

2004 would see their song “Everything That’s You” on the compilation “Labrador Kingsize Vol#2” released by Labrador (LAB052). Then again a bit of silence.

2007 will be the last year we hear from Airliner. The song “Always Never” would appear on the compilation “David Design From Sweden With Love” on Labrador (LAB031). This compilation was compiled by Swiss DJ Olivier Rohrbach and included all sorts of Swedish contemporary music. It was a compilation put together by David Design who ran concept stores in Malmö, Stockholm and Tokyo.

“Before You Went Away” and “Trying to be Clever” would appear on the boxset “A Complete History of Popular Music” which was released by Labrador as it’s 100th release (LAB100) in 2007.

Magnum Music, a label from Taiwan, would put together “A Place in My Heart”, a sampler of Labrador artists. Airliner would contribute “Everything That’s You” in this 2007 release. And that same year, not too far away, the compilation “Olle Eksell Meets Labrador” released in Japan by Rambling Records (RBCS-2241) would include the song “Time and Space”.

I go to Google and first thing I find is a Facebook page. Sadly there is not much on it aside from three photos of Kristian. How come?

Then I find quite a few reviews on the web. But no information about the band. If they played live, if they had more songs, if there were more releases. Or even where is Kristian now? After Airliner and Aerospace, had he been in bands? That is the info I would love to find out.

I have this sort of recollection that he drummed for The Legends. Was that so? And I also stumbled upon a photo he took of Harvey Williams. Was he a photographer as well? Who remembers Airliner?

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Listen
Airliner – The Last Days of August

Thanks so much to Dave Webb for the interview! I wrote about the fantastic Wolverhampton band The Weeping Messerchmitts on the blog some time ago. Just after the label Optic Nerve was announcing that they were re-releasing the “Nothing Yet” 12″ as a 7″, Dave Webb get on touch and luckily he was up to tell the story of the band!

++ Hi Dave! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

Yes I am very well with good health, keeping fit at the gym, although its more my social club, working mainly weekends as a full time musician. Now singing and playing guitar in clubs in and around the Midlands as “Dave Jonson”, accommodating each clubs specific style and needs, but preferring the 2 x one hour Indie sets, covering the Cure, Mighty Lemon Drops, Inspiral Carpets, Morrissey and the likes.

 ++ Just a few days ago the label Optic Nerve was announcing that they were going to reissue your one 12″ single as a 7″. How did this happen? How did they track you down? Was it a surprise to you?

A complete unknown to all of us, they had been tracking us previously but couldn’t find any of us, but they finally got through to Mark Jeavons, and it snowballed from there. It was a surprise but not shockingly, as we have been approached previously by companies mainly in America.

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

My first musical memory was being taken as an 11yr old to see Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Bham, to listen to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture, which left an imprint on me to this day. Then through the 70s ,especially the Punk stage and the 80s synth and then indie scene.

My first instrument was Guitar, my elder brother Steve played bass in a band and forced me to learn A and D chords so he could practice the bass line to All right now by Free..Which held me in good stead, cus I saw the clash on TV and saw Mick Jones playing the two chords I knew, and that was it ,I was off on a journey.

++ Had you been in other bands before Weeping Messerchmitts? What about the rest of the band members? If so, how did all of these bands sounded like? Are there any recordings?

We had all been in bands before but only performed local to our surroundings. We have recordings but only on old cassettes made by our mates .hahaha, great times.

++ Where were you from originally?

Mark Alexander the bass player and Garry Oliver the Guitarist came from Sedgley, Mark Jeavons the Guitarist escaped from Bilston, I still live in Tipton and Simon Atkins the drummer came from Hammerwich.

++ How was Wolverhampton at the time of Weeping Messerchmitts? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Wolverhampton had thriving musical venues, with many bands, but fortunately the two Marks and Garry had school friends in The Mighty Lemon Drops and we kinda hung out together but with musical differences, they had a few years on us but gave us opportunities to support, and our first gig was to a packed Wolverhampton Polytechnic, further gigs were added and we flew with them till gigs started coming our way to headline. We owe them a lot.

Other bands were the Wild flowers and Pop will eat itself, that we performed alongside, The Sand Kings and the Honey Turtles I remember were 2 particularly good bands, they supported us at JBs in Dudley, which was our home, (the press gave us the Wolverhampton badge). As for venues JBs in Dudley was THE place to be seen and heard, our first night there was rammed.

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

The band started in a pub in Sedgley where M, M and G put together a few ideas over a pint, a few weeks later a cassette with song ideas was made in Mark j’s bedroom and then the best knock on my door ever arrived. I had been in a band with Garry a few years earlier (Quirks) learning the ropes , we all split amicably and as I say a few yrs later the knock on the door. Mark (bass) and Garry played the tape and said would I write melodies, words, sing, and do I know a drummer.   At the time I was in the company of Gary ODea a drummer of another band The Prototypes, a Ska band of local lads. I approached gaz and we formed what was then, “The Railway Children”.

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

We practiced at Sam Sharp Project in Wolverhampton centre right opposite the train station, Run by a Jamaican guy named Granville, We practiced and mixed with a fantastic bunch of people, what fantastic times we had there ,practicing was a joy, which I feel reflected our tone. During the first main year of gigs we had an offer from Jerry Cott , Guitarist with the Boomtown rats to manage us, which went well for a few months, then offering to change the look and output of the band, we disagreed  and he stepped out the soon after , on which Gary O Dea, drums, left. Simon Atkins was nothing at all to do with our look and music, a long haired rocker in spandex he turned up after advertising in the melody maker. He was and still is awesome, a word I never use. Within a month the jean jacket and jeans with an indie haircut used to turn up to practice.  What a talented man.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

During all this time we were the Railway Children performing , Timebox , Cricketers, weekly indie venues in London, On the tails of the Lemon Drops at the Leadmill in Sheffield, then our 3rd or 4th JBs Gig we had a call in the dressing room, “This is Virgin Records, You have to change your name ,our lawyers need to issue paperwork to you ,can you give me an address?, “fuck off ya prick “,was my response.

But as we found out they had signed a Manchester band who had pinched our name…we used the press (NME ,Sounds, and especially Record Mirror) over the next few months to our advantage as they would pick up on all our hard work and fan base. But with the Mighty Virgin lawyers on our backs, we struggled to get to a name as The Railway Children was imprinted in our mindset.. Practicing one night Mark J came to practice and opened a ww2 book, the heading of the chapter was “Weeping Messerschmitts”. Immediately I said that’s it, it just fit with all of us. Then began the hard work of starting again.

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

Influences were many but we were gladly mentioned in the Music press as a “younger Smiths” kind of feel, we all had Punk in our veins, who hadn’t at that time???? but with many many others types of sounds, my major influence was Bill Nelson, although never used him purposely as an influence ,I’m sure the melodies must have been guided by him.

++ As we were saying earlier, you only released one 12″ single on Uptight Records in 1986. How did you end up working with this label? Was there any interest from other labels?

We were approached by 3 major labels, Polygram, Island and Stiff records,  but the best deal was when Upright approached us. We had been in a few studios recording so we could sell tapes on the black market, But Upright paid for us to go into Rich Bitch Studios in Bham to do the three tracks on the 12 inch.

++ The Uptight label had some fine bands in their catalogue like The Doctor’s Children or Yeah Jazz. Were you familiar or friends with any of the bands on the label?

Yes we did many London gigs with Yeah jazz , a fine bunch of lads, although no one understood our Black country accents so we kinda never got too friendly..Plus we were needing to drive back to the midlands to get to work next day.. Never worked with Doctors Children although I remember they had some decent write ups.

++ One thing that surprised me was that 8 years after the record was reissued in Spain. Were you aware of that at the time? Do you have a copy of the Spanish single? And there was also a compilation appearance in a Spanish comp called “Lo Mejor de los Ochenta”, the best from the 80s. I suppose you have many fans in Spain? Is that so?

We had no knowledge of the Spanish connection, although I had mail from a Spanish Music reporter during the time we were gigging, but as for the Old Gold issue, nothing. The compellation album I have only recently heard of in the last 3months. Again, a complete surprise. As for fans in Spain, I hope we have, and long may they be there.

++ Tell me about the art for the 12″, where does the front cover comes from? And where was the back photo taken?

The artwork was chosen by us from my various pieces proffered by Upright, it just fitted the mood of the track. The back photo was, and still is, my worst nightmare, we had been recording in Rich Bitch and came out at 3am in the morning, knackered, Jerry Cott had put me through my paces after everyone had done there piece while they were fresh and awake, I was knackered when I recorded the vocals, we left and before we drove back he took some photos one which was used for the back cover, the band thought I had a moody look so I agreed, but as soon as it was released, it was the only fault, the new 7inch will be different.. at long last……hahahaha

++ There was a promo video for the song “Panthera Parvos” that was recorded at the British Federal Tipton and JBs in Dudley. How was the experience making the video?

My younger brother martin was doing a Degree in Media and had as part of his work ,to create a working video, he approached us with his team and took the set up to JBs Dudley and over the fields by the Black Country Museum and shot it, It was a weird experience but pleasantly rewarding.

++ Have you heard the cover version of “Nothing Yet” by Terry Malts? What do you think of it? Are you aware of any other covers of your songs?

I think that’s just an error, that’s me singing. I know an American band Pale Spectre got in touch and ask me if I would allow them to perform Nothing Yet on a tour they were doing, which I gladly agreed.

++ Are there still unreleased songs by the band? Or everything was released?

We have loads of unreleased songs, we kept them away from Upright even though they were great to work with we understood the industry.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Nothing Yet”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

“Nothing Yet” was a token of our attitude to Margaret Thatchers Britain at that time, along with my failing marriage the two seemed to blend into purposeful and meaningful, (to us), words. The Guitar riff was created by Mark J, I just hummed over it and wrote a few words, not wanting it to be heavily burdened with political and personal connotations I repeated the verse to be memorable, the “na na na na” section was memorable in itself with the crowd always singing it on the way out the venues. One of the reasons maybe to release it as the single.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Weeping Messerchmitts song, which one would that be and why?

Truly and honestly, we had no favorites we enjoyed performing all of the tracks…any that never made it to the stage we shelved and reworked or dropped.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

I played about 50 gigs , when I left the band they did a further gigs .

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Best gigs?? For crowd participation would be Wolvo Poly, The Leadmill with the Lemon Drops and every JBs gig.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Never Had a bad gig, although we played the Coach and Horses in West Bromwich, which was  a Heavy rock venue and 3 people turned up , one with his dog, he just sat and had a pint at the back. Also had a gig in Hereford where Heavy Rockers tried to stop the gig by throwing chairs about the place. But in both we played well, just the wrong venue.

++ When and why did Weeping Messerchmitts stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

I stopped singing to try to save my marriage, what a twat.. we split 2 yrs after I left the band.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Mark Alexander left the band in 87/88 and joined The Wild Flowers, Then returned to full time employment but continued to play the pub and club scene with a covers band, funnily enough with Messerschmitts Garry Oliver. He continues playing at home as he is now a professional driver with royal mail.

Mark Jeavons carried on writing and played briefly with The wild Flowers front man Neil Foley. He is currently not performing but still does home recording ideas for future times.

Garry Oliver has never stopped performing, still to this day his covers band, having a relaxed approach to the music industry and performing as and when the need arises.

Simon Atkins  left and started a record shop alongside playing with Roxy Magic, The UKs finest Roxy Music tribute band, which he still does to this day.

Dave Webb had a barren period from 88 to 93 musically, but was approached to front Midland show band Baktrak, winning multiple awards from the Industry, when the band split Dave formed two duos, one of which he played alongside Ray James of “Cum to Bedlam” fame, after that Dave went solo working the greater Midland clubs as guitar vocalist “Dave Jonson”, and still performs as a full time artiste.

++ Has there been any Weeping Messerchmitts reunion?

We were going to reform a few yrs ago when the JBs Book was released but though twice about it. But maybe now the single is re released its more tempting, we all still play in one form or another.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

We had major national music press coverage for gigs, write ups and the release of the single of course.

++ What about radio or TV?

We were discussed on Radio 1 show Janet Long due to our unusual name, but not as far as I know never played on daytime national radio. We had local success with BRMB, Beacon Radio, Radio WM, Shropshire Radio and some local community radio stations. As for TV, I wish !!!!

++ What about from fanzines?

We had many fanzine interviews but looking back we didn’t take them too seriously, answering questions with alcohol and pornographic innuendoes….but yes fanzine were rife in the eighties.

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

The biggest highlight for us as a band was the feel on stage, we knew the songs were good, we knew we looked good, and we knew we sounded good, But we wasn’t big headed or cocky, we just did our job and let others climb on board if they felt the need.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

For me Hobbies are out the window, im a full time musician who makes 90% of my tracks so I concentrate on making my backing tracks sound good, the best compliment I have, is that I sound like a band on stage, that to me, is priceless.

++ Never been to Wolverhampton, so would like to hear from some locals for some recommendations by a local, like sights one shouldn’t miss? Food and drinks one should try?

Being a Black Country lad, I would recommend the Black Country Museum and the Canal Experience next door, a fantastic day out . The Fountain Inn in Owen Street Tipton offers a great range of traditional ales and excellent pub food, also the Jubilee pub in Powis Avenue Tipton offers the best curry in the area.

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Listen
Weeping Messerschmitts – Nothing Yet

Day 186. Not much news today, but I have been quite productive on the blog site writing many interviews and asking more bands to participate. This week for sure we have posts Monday through Friday.

Nos Etés Trop Courts: some time ago I shared the “Sunshine Demo EP” by this early 90s shoegaze band from Nantes. Today I want to tell you that the first demo, “Sunset Demo”, is up on Bandcamp. 3 great songs recorded by Gérôme Guibert and Jimmy Arfosea in 1991. On top if it all I promise an interview with the band members later this week!

Foliage: a new album by the San Bernardino project is coming out on October 2nd digitally and November 11 on tape. This self-titled album will be released by  Z Tapes and at the moment we can preview one of the tracks, “Better Man”. The album will have 12 songs.

The Luxembourg Signal: the Californian band is going to be back with a new album on Shelflife Records on October 23rd and that’s great news! The Long Now” will be released on vinyl and CD  and will have 10 songs! Again we can only preview one song, “2.22”, which is terrific! Can’t wait for it.

The Hepburns: and finally we can listen to the new album “Electric Lliedi Land” on Bandcamp! 18 songs that are truly wonderful. One that no one could miss this year. The album is being released on CD and comes with a 16 page booklet (I always like big booklets with info and lyrics) and is out already!

Airiel: lastly in this Monday review, we find a new track from the classic Chicago shoegaze band. It is called “Bloom” and it sounds beautiful, gorgeous. Does this new track mean that the band will be releasing a new record soon? It seems so. The band says they are working on an EP top be released later this year!

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“Paris Rain in July”. That is the song that made me think that I thought would give me a check mark for July, in this silly challenge I am taking on my own. Writing about bands that had written about the months, now I am in July, and of course the next would be August.

So yeah, Chasing Dorotea. From Sweden. They released just one record, an album, back in 2002. It came out on the pre-Labrador Records label Summersound Recordings (SUMMER 007). It was a co-release with Stereo Test Kit Records (STK CD002).

11 songs came on this CD digipak, “The Anchor Song”, “Crackin Up”, “Dreamer”, “Tuva Song”, “In April”, “All I Want”, “A Long Time Ago”, “Paris Rain in July”, “Early Morning Mist”, “Memory” and “Dark Angel”. The producers for the album were Christopher Sander and Mattias Berqvist. Both of them were part of the band of course, Berqvist was the drummer as well as playing tambourine, vocals and handclaps. Sander on the other hand wrote most of the band’s songs and sand as well as played melodica. The other band members was Hugo Waara on bass.

Other people that participated on the record were Tobias Einestad, Sariana Cortes, Andreas Jeppson, Erik Westerberg, Paulo Vidal and César Vidal who wrote the song “Crackin Up”.

The Labrador website has a small little writeup from Christopher Sander. He says: “Me, Hugo and Mattias have been playing music together since we were 11 years old. I have been writing songs for as long. We grew up in a suburb of Stockholm. Have had our share of parties and travels. I write lyrics about girls I like a lot, dreams, childhood and other things I think are important.

Decided in 1998 to make music that sounded like red house painters. Before that I was mostly in to hard rock. All the musicians are from the same music school. I met my sister Tuva on a parkbench in Prague. Recorded a demo in 1999 and nothing happened.

In the beginning of 2001 I wrote twelve songs in a week, recorded them the following week and signed a contract with Summersound the third week. 25 new songs in my pocket, much better, I think, a couple of duets with a girl called Maria.

We rehearse in a suburb called the mid-summer garland together with three of the greatest bands in the world; Caesar’s Palace, The Dandelions and Mano and the Tears.”

I feel this has been translated from Swedish or something. Badly translated. The suburb they mention might be Midsommarkransen in Stockholm.  I don’t understand either when he says he met his sister Tuva in a Prague.

I do know that the Caesar’s Palace band he mentions is the band were César Vidal who wrote the song “Crackin Up”. Was this song from one of his previous bands? He had been in Ceasars and Safari on Pluto as well.

Speaking of people who appeared on the record we know that Andreas Jeppson was in [ingenting]. Tobias Einestad had played trumpet in many recordings for the likes of Acid House Kings, Airliner, or Club 8, so he was well connected with the Labrador people. Don’t know if he had been in any bands.

And of course the [ingenting] connection goes further. Mattias Bergqvist and Christopher Sander would be part of this band after the demise of Chasing Dorotea. They would continue releasing with Labrador too. After that we know that Berqvist would be part of First Aid Kit and Little Children. Sander on the other hand would release a few solo records. Hugo Waara would play in records by Belle.

Then on Last.fm there is another small bio where it says that the label people found about Chasing Dorotea in a visit to a mall: “While buying magazines in a mall we noticed some truly wonderful music coming from the speakers. Gentle little songs with sensitive whispery vocals. We asked the boy behind the counter what it was. That boy was songwriter Christopher Sander and the wonderful music was by his very own; Chasing Dorotea.” Interesting!

Okay, so one album. But also two appearances on compilations. The first was on “The Sound of Young Sweden – Volume 3” released by Labrador (LAB034) in 2002. The band would contribute two songs to it, “Dreamer” and “Compassion”. Then in 2005 they would have “The Anchor Song” on the compilation “Records Make Great Pets Vo. 1/Sweden” released by Stereo Test Kit Records in the UK.

I continue looking for any information about the band. I find that the band played a mini-festival for Labrador on May 9, 2003 at Bommens Salonger. Then I think I find who is the Tuva mentioned in the Labrador bio. So the song “The Anchor Song” which is sung by Sander and a girl, well that girl was Tuva Novotny. Novotny a well known actress who has appeared on Hollywood movies like “Eat, Pray, Love”, “Annhilation” or Blind Spot”, among others.

Not much more about them on the web, but quite some interesting stories we’ve found, right? I am sure the band must have lots of anecdotes. And I am also wondering, when did they stop the band and become [ingenting]? Were they tired of singing in English, perhaps? And the classic one, are there more songs recorded by the band?

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Listen
Chasing Dorotea – All I Want

Day 183.

The Apartments: new video by Peter Walsh’s band! It is for the song “What’s Beauty to Do?” that will be included in the album “In and Out of the Light” that is coming out on September 18th on Riley Records! Such a good song!

Fred Fredburger: the Spanish band is back with three new songs, “15 Minutos”, “La Merienda” and “Acústica”. They are only available in digital form which is a bit of a shame.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: another band that is back (actually never stops releasing music) is this California project by Glenn Donaldson. The latest are two songs, “Upside Down in an Empty Room” and “Mountain Lake Park”.

Jetstream Pony: A new 7″ coming out by one of our favourite bands. Two new songs, “If Not Now, When?” and “Yellow Pills” are to be released by Spinout Productions on September 25th! Sadly it seems it is already sold out. No copy for me.

The Age of Colored Lizards: the Oslo shoegaze band is of course back too! Everyone is back in this review. No new bands! Anyways, the Norwegians come back with a CD release of their 8 song album “Messed Up”! Check it out!

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A song called “June” in their only proper release, the album “Electric Songs” from 1999. Okay, I can cross out this month in this silly challenge of mine.

Aquadays, the superb Gothenburg, Sweden, band. The band that formed in 1993. A band whose members who at the beginning had been living in Alingsås and were in Somersault. And then in the 2000s some of these same members were going to be in The Electric Pop Group.

And yes, I did catch The Electric Pop Group play live. Here in NYC of all places. I met with Martin Aamot then. Shortly. But it was great. We had been in touch since they released their first self-titled album. At that time, maybe around 2006 I didn’t know of the Aquadays connection. I would find out about it some years after. And today I found that he was in a band called Rain who released a 7″ that I had no clue! I really want to listen to it! And have this record!

So, yes, Aquadays was Lisa Sandström on farfisa organ, Martin Aamot on the Fender guitar, Roland synthesizer, rhythm machines and vocals and Klara Albinsson on vocals. I don’t know when they changed their name from Somersault to Aquadays. Maybe it was in 1996. That was the year when Klara left the band. That was also the year the rest of the band members moved to Gothenburg. And it was in Gothenburg that Sarah Assbring would join as vocalist.

Then in 1998, Sarah would leave the band. That was in March. Two months after, in May, Klara, the original vocalist, decided to get back in the band and release an album. By that point the band had already recorded twelve songs. In 1997 they had put together a demo tape called “Spring” with eight of them. These songs had previously appeared on other demo tapes like “Ultramarine” and “Spacious”, but there were some new ones like “Casablanca”, Senseless” and “Daydreamer”.

Finally in 1998 the band would record the album in their own home studio. It seemed at that point that Roger Gunnarsson’s label Dorian Records was to put out the album but in the end was the German label Apricot Records (APRICD 006) that would put them out in 1999.

This album was released on CD and had 10 songs: “Senseless”, “Daydreamer”, “Casablanca”, “June”, “Spacious”, “Sunshine Girl”, “Mother of Pearl”, “Gem”, “Lustre” and “Autumn Swirl”.

What happened to Sarah? She went to sing in the band Sadovaja and of course afterwards would be way more known as El Perro del Mar.

There is actually an old website for the band that you can still access which is great. Here there is a “demography”. The first two tapes are for Somersault, so maybe they would be for a different post. But there are 2 tapes for Aquadays. There is the self-titled 1996 tape that had 7 songs, “June”, “Spacious”, “Lachrymose”, “Mother-of-Pearl”, “Gem”, “Lustre” and “Autumn Swirl”, and the 1997 tape called “Spring” that had 8 songs, “Senseless”, “Daydreamer”, “Casablanca”, “June”, “Spacious”, “Mother of Pearl”, “Lustre” and “Autumn Swirl”. Were the songs that appear twice re-recordings? And what about the ones that didn’t appear on the album? Would be nice to hear them of course. Also it is worth noting that many of these songs were already recorded by Somersault. So the question that is obvious is if the songs sounded much different?

About gigs, I found out on the website that the band played with The Wellmeant at Tre Backar in Stockholm on May 23rd 1997. What about gigs in Gothenburg?

But this was not all of course, the band did appear on a bunch of compilations in the late 90s and in the 2000s.

The earliest one is with the song “June” in 1996. This one came on “A Chance to Shine. A Dorian Records Compilation” (DORIAN 002). I guess this is where the friendship between Aquadays and Dorian started. So why was the album not released by them? Would be good to find out!

Then in 1998 they contributed the song “Casablanca” to “Yearbook 98″, a 12” compilation on Clair de Leon! (CDL! 001), a label that would later become the more known Clairerecords. That same year they would appear on Earwax Records’ “Wax001 – An International Indie Compilation” (WAX001) with the track “Daydreamer” and also on the US compilation “Pure Spun Sugar” (CF-017, AmPop 201), a co-release between Candy Floss and the American Pop Project, with the track “Gem”.

In 2000 the band contributed “Sunshine Girl” to the Japanese label Trolley Bus Music Tour’s compilation CD “Trolley Bus Music Tour” (TB-001). Then Apricot Records, who had released their album, would include their song “Sunshine Girl” to “Small But Sweet” (APRICD010) compilation. This compilation would be re-released in Japan by Quattro Disc that same year.

The US compilation “Just for a Day” (DAY01) released by the label of the same name would have them with their song “Senseless” also in the year 2000.

In 2002 the band had their song “Casablanca” on “Working Titles” a compilation CD by Factory Girl Records (QTY:008) and then on the classic Serbian compilation CD “A View of Our Dreams” (OaBCD001) released by Nikola’s On a Balcony label they would appear with the track “Sunshine Girl”.

The only other appearance that I know is on the “Airpop” CD and LP compilation released by Apricot (APRICD002). There they would contribute the songs “Senseless” and “June”.

Digging the website I find reviews of their album. One that mentions them being a mix of Savage Garden (?) and Orange Cake Mix. Then an interview with Pennyblackmusic. This one is good. Here Martin mentions he discovered indiepop in 1992. Before that he had been in a band called Divine that were more inspired by Depeche Mode or Ultravox. After discovering indiepop he would form Rain. Now I want to listen to this band more!

So that’s where I lose the trail. There is not much written about them. Other than the few reviews and their own website. I have many questions as you might have notice. Maybe it is good time to reconnect with Martin. Find out whatever happened to Aquadays. I’d be very interested. What about you?

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Aquadays – Sunshine Girl

Day 181.

Optic Sevens 3.0: now you can pre-order the new series of 7″ reissues by Optic Nerve. The new series include 7″s by Chin Chin, Girls at Our Best, The Servants, East Village, The Nivens, The Siddeleys, Beat Happening, Camper Van Beethoven, The Desert Wolves, Weeping Messerchmitts, The Clouds and The House of Love. This is not to be missed!

The Catherines: our Hamburg friends have a new CD out! It is a 4 song EP titled “Okay Then…” that jangles a lot! I would love to get a copy of course, especially as the CD version comes with an extra track, so 5 for CD, 4 for the digital EP. And who’s on the front cover photo? Is that Heiko?

Weedipus: Lets head to Barnsley in the UK to check out the “Demo Tape EP” which is actually out on CD! The four songs included, “Honest”, “Broken Boy”, “Places to Go” and “We Both Know”, are amazing! Fuzzy, poppy, dreamy and with great vocals. Definitely a band to keep an eye!

Todavía: I have recommended this Los Angeles band in the past and so it is no surprise I will do it again now that they are releasing a cassette album titled “Orange Faint of Sky” on October 2nd! The album will include 11 tracks and you can preview 4 of them now on Bandcamp!

Pastel Coast: I think it is a great idea to finish this quick review of new indiepop in the world with the video for “Rendezvous”! The song is included in the second album by the French band Pastel Coast. It is summery and feel good, and I believe that’s what we all need now!

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For May I thought of the band Fantastic June from Indonesia who recorded a song called “May”. Of course!

After making this decision I noticed I had written a short piece about them some time ago, recommending their latest release “Dancing With Flowers” which is available on Bandcamp. This one dates from 2020 and includes 10 songs, “High”, “Maybe”, “Smile”, “Blue”, “Rain”, “The Winner”, “What Do You Want”, “Nothing in this World”, “Merindu Waktu” and “Bad”. As always all these songs were written and performed by Ridwan Yuniardhika, the force behind this project.

He got help from some friends of course like Ganesha Mahendra (electric guitar on “Maybe”), Anzarra Djahran (keyboards on “Maybe”) and Carryna Pratiwi (backing vocals on “The Winner” and “Bad”). Carryna also did the beautiful art that we see on the cover. But what about the song “May” you say?

The Bandung based project started in 2004. It was in early 2005 that the band would release a free CD demo (which songs were on this one? we need to find out!) and those were his first recordings. Later, in 2007, the band would release an EP called “An”. It is on this one that the song “May” was included.

I am looking at the band’s website. Here you can purchase both album and EP. This is great news. Do they ship to the US? I need to find out. What about Europe? The websites that you are taken to to buy the CDs seem to be in Indonesian which is not helpful for me that I don’t know the language. Maybe some Indonesian friends will help.

The “An” EP was released according to the website not in 2005, as the bio says, but in 2007. Maybe there was a previous release in 2005? Maybe CDR? Can’t say. This EP had 6 songs, “May”, “Fool”, “I’ll be There, Alexia”, “Lost Without You”, “Love Ship” and a hidden track.

Looking in Youtube I found some live performances of the band. First one dates from December 31, 2010. Just in time for New Year’s. Here they play live at “New Year’s Honour”, in Yogyakarta, the song “May“. Then a video of Ridwan and friends playing the song “Bad” at a recording studio perhaps? And also “May” at a different studio or rehearsal space.

The band also has a Facebook page. In it I find out that they performed at a festival called Euphormatics in the city of Semarang. I also stumble upon a WordPress blog by Ridwan, in Indonesian though. I notice he is a fan of SS Lazio. Also a Soundcloud for other sort of music he makes under the name of Weggy Johnsy. Not really indiepop, but have a listen.

Lastly it is worth mentioning that the song “May” appeared on the compilation “Series Two Compilation Vol. 7” in 2008. You know I was never a fan of this label, but the band makes good music and I need to cover the whole discography.

I keep googling, trying to find anything else by the band. For example what happened to the project between the EP and the album. It was at least 13 years in between! I see an article on Vice Indonesia from April this year. Here they recommend his album. That must be an important showcase for Fantastic June I guess.

SEA INDIE which I mentioned too in my last post, included them in their first compilation, like 9 years ago. The band contributed a remixed version of “May”, “May (Lucky Misu Lo Fi Remix)”.

And that’s it really. Now the big question for me is, how do I get the records? Has Ridwan been in any indiepop bands? Other pop projects? What happened in that interval between EP and album? What is the future for Fantastic June? Answers are welcome.

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Fantastic June – May

Day 179.

I have to tell you a story that happened to me last week.

Years ago I became a fan of the great UK band This Final Frame. That was during Myspace days. Even the band was kind enough to send me a self-released CD with all their songs. It was a masterpiece. I always wondered when it would be released properly.

Back in July I started seeing in Facebook some friends sharing that there was going to be a reissue on an unknown label to me, JB Records from California. When I saw it, I was interested immediately, an LP of the band’s songs, that sounded like something I wanted.

I looked for their website or Bandcamp but that didn’t exist. Only a Facebook page. There it said that the album was already sold out. I took my chances and wrote them a message asking that I wanted to get a copy. The person who runs the label told me there were 4 copies left (so how come was it sold out, I don’t know?). She asked me how many copies of these I wanted. I thought that was a strange question, why would I need more than one? Maybe I am innocent I thought, maybe people are buying to later sell these copies. I wanted to think people that like this kind of music care about these things, so yeah, I said the 1 copy. I asked if she needed my paypal information so I could preorder. She said no. That for now just wait until she receives the copies. Ok then. Strange but I was as usual trusting.

Last week I see photos of the records in fans houses or turntables. So I write the label, perhaps they forgot about me. She tells me that the people that have the record are people that live in the area. Again sort of odd, but hey, in times of the pandemic maybe that makes sense. I ask again about paying and paypal, or if they need my address. She says no, but ok, sure give me the address and I’ll let you know about paypal when the record is boxed and ready to ship. Ok.

Suddenly last Thursday I receive a message with a photo of my package, the LP in a regular cardboard mailer. It has my address on it. And I’m told it is $50. And I’m like? WHAT? How come one LP costs $50? A regular LP. That is unheard. I was expecting to pay maximum $30. And that’s quite a lot. See, within the US you can mail records as media mail and that is less than $5 for an LP for postage. So I tell her that, how come is this price, if postage can’t be more than $5, thinking that perhaps it was a mixup with international orders. But no, even more surprising she says that the LP is $50 and the shipping is free.

That sounded to me like a scam and I got very frustrated and sad. I asked friends on Facebook if they knew about what was going on. People were surprised of course but they weren’t aware of the label. Only one friend told me that a 12″ single with two songs that he was interested in was being sold by the same label also for $50. This got me thinking.

In the meantime the label person writes me saying she can sell the record to me for $40. That seemed very dodgy. All of a sudden I get a $10 discount. Still I feel that is not the right price. I feel I am being tricked.

So yeah, sadly I will have to let pass this release. I was excited, but I can’t support a label that is doing things wrong. That’s not the indie way. I have many ideas of what may be going on, but as I am not sure I can’t say. But in any case charging that price for a record is not right.

It is fishy. I was wondering if people that press CDs would do the same. I don’t think it would work. Somehow there is a vinyl hungry people that would be ok with these prices. Well, I am not, and I think it is wrong. And absurd. So yeah, beware.

We labels need to be fair.

And yes, here’s new music from the web!

The Hepburns: great finds over the weekend and I start with a favourite band of mine, one that I was lucky to interview year ago. The Welsh band from Llanelli have recorded a new song called “Hey, Mrs O’Shea” which will be included in the upcoming album “Electric Lliedi Land” that I hope gets released this year! This is wonderful, classic pop, that deserves all the recognition and listens one can have. Truly wonderful!

Stuck on the 90s: Sound As Ever Compilation #2: I just discovered this release which is the second part of a series of compilations released by Popboomerang Records. The first one came out in July and the 2nd volume is to be released on October. They are being really fast! These releases cover the period of 1990 to 1999 in Australia. I wish there was some 80s thrown in there, and I hope at some point that happens, I tried to do that sort of compilations, but with no real help from most of the bands (though I must say some were very helpful and from this effort the Macguffins compilations came through), so maybe a label based in Australia is our best bet! Great stuff!

Fever Hut: a remastered EP from the Leeds band with four songs, “Frida and Diego”, “Beckett Country”, “The Dying of Howard Hughes” and “The End of the Golden Mile”. Wow! Brings back memories, when I put out a Fever Hut 3″ CD with “Frida and Diego” and two more songs. Actually there are a few copies left of that 3″ if anyone is interested. In any case, this EP on Bandcamp is amazing. Classic.

All Ashore: this is terrific news as I love Velodrome 2000, Plouf! and the Parallelograms. This band features band members of those bands. And you can tell when you listen the two songs (“Radio Sunshine” and “17 Again”) to preview on Daytrip Records’ Bandcamp. What are we previewing? The debut album “Stayin’ Afloat”!! 9 songs on a 10″ (it will be available on CD thru Jigsaw Records in the US too). The album is said to come out on November 20, 2020. It sounds like the soundtrack for the summer, but it can be for winter too!

Star Tropics: a few months (or was it weeks? Ive lost the idea of time) I shared some Youtube videos from this terrific Chicago band. These videos were from a home session the band had put for DKFM radio. Two songs were recorded, “The Test of Time” and “Running Scared”, and now the songs are on Bandcamp. I thought why not listen to them again.

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I used to be in touch many years ago with the Singapore’s Bobsy. I remember chatting in gchat quite a few times. I wonder where is he now.

As I am doing this new challenge, writing about bands that titled one of their songs after a month, I couldn’t think of a better one for April than Bobsy. He released just one 7″, back in 1999, that had a song called “The End of April” as the A side.

The B side for this 7″ was “Letting Go”. The 7″ main piece of art was a green crochet texture. This, and the drawings on the labels are credited to Bobsy himself.

This 7″ was co-released by Drive-In Records (DRIVE 31) and Moonscreen Records (SCR 006) and these two songs weren’t the only ones they recorded. I know at least 2 more.

The first was “Find the Lost Years” that was featured on a compilation called “Falling and Laughing” released by Sofa Records (SOFA 1) in 2001. This compilation came along a 40 page fanzine, perhaps with info for each bands. It would be good to find out. This release came out of Hong Kong and included top bands like Gentle Tuesday, The Pristines, Johnny Dee and more.

Then in 2002, on the Italian tape label Best Kept Secret’s compilation “We Are Not Alone (Songs for the Lo-Fi Generation) Volume 6”, the band appeared covering Blueboy’s classic “Chelsea Guitar”.

Lastly in 2003 the band appeared on the CD compilation “Dashboard Teddy Version 1.0”, a compilation released in the Philippines by the label Dorothy Records. On this one the band appeared with “End of April (edit)”.

This same song was featured once again on a digital compilation called “Brilliant Sights of Sounds” by the blog SEA Indie giving Bobsy some new attention on a few blogs around.

I keep looking and found a Myspace. Here there is a small bio that says that Bobsy was a two-piece based in Australia. How come? Wasn’t Bobsy just Bob from Singapore? Maybe when the band started in 1998 he was based in Australia and it was a two-piece? This is quite confusing.

This Myspace also has two songs on the playlist that I’ve never heard of, “Strawberry Window” and “Smoky Town”. These don’t play of course. I wonder anyone has them? How did they sound?

Sadly that’s it really. I can’t seem to find any other info. No posts with details of any other releases or projects. No interviews. No videos on Youtube. There is quite nothing. At least there was that one 7″ that he recorded. But of course, I would love to find more. Was there really a connection with Australia? Anyone remembers Bobsy?

EDIT: My friend Vernon just pointed me to a Soundcloud with lots of songs: “Smoky Town”, “Chelsea Guitar”, “What We Had Hoped”, “Marine Parade”, “Find the Lost Years”, “The End of April”, “Letting Go” and “Strawberry Window”. Perhaps all the recorded output?

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Bobsy – The End of April

Day 176. Happy Friday! And also a nice break for us in the US, a 3 day weekend!

Oldfield Youth Club: this Hampton, UK, band features members of the great 80s pop band Last Party (I should feature them of course sometime soon!). They have released last month an EP called “The Glue/Splinters/Kids at the Summer Festivals” which actually has those three songs!

Chavales: this fun sounding electronic pop band from Spain is going to release their album “Tu Foto en el Techo” on September 18th on Elefant Records. It is coming out on a 10″ and at the moment we can preview 5 songs (out of 9) on Bandcamp.

Kindsight: now a band from Copenhagen formed by Nina, Søren, Anders and Johannes. They have just the one song on Bandcamp and it is called “Who Are You” and I have to say it is very nice. The band has already signed to Rama Lama Records and so I hope they put out some records out! Or at least more songs!

Scot Sprite: this solo project of Elise Cook from Exeter in the UK sounds great. Her latest song is called “It’s Summer and I Don’t Feel Like Smiling” and it is great. Catchy, with some cool guitar hooks!

The Slow Painters: some old-school jangle pop from the Oslo band, that after 16 years of forming is releasing their first album. The self-titled album is available now on LP format from Keepsecretrecords. 10 songs!

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Starlet, another great Swedish band from the late 90s and early 2000s. They wrote a song for March and it was called “Late March”. So yes this will cover my challenge. This song would not appear in their albums but on two compilations. The first one was on “The Sound of Young Sweden – Volume 3” released in 2002 by Labrador (LAB034) where they also contributed the song “I Want a Girl for My Birthday”. And the second one was on the US based label Secret Crush Records compilation CD “Stamp Collecting (For Beginners)” (SCRT01) in 2003.

I believe their first ever release was on a 1995 tape compilation called “Vermilion” that was released by Bliss Aquamarine (BLISS 011) with the song “Boom! Boom! Love”.

This first album came out in 1997 and it was called “From the One You Left Behind”. It was released by the US based label Parasol Records (PAR 027). It was released on both LP and CD with the same tracklisting. The A side had “Pin-Up”, “Love-Story of the Year”, “Wendy”, “Au-Pair” and “Afraid” while the B side had “Girlfriend”, “It Could Happen”, “As You Leave”, “Boom! Boom! Love!” and “Astrid”. 3 of these songs were recorded in 1995 at Beagle Studio and produced Martin Sventorp and the band, the rest were recorded at Studion in 1996 and were prorduced by Jörgen Stridh and the band. The art is credited to Lukas Möllersten, and among the credits we find that Anna Lundbom played flute on “Pin-up” and “Love-Story of the Year” and Per Ingvarsson played cello on “Wendy”.

In 1999 the band would release a 7″ on Parasol with two tracks, “Diary & Herself” on the A side and “Long Lost Love” on the B side. The art is again credited to Lukas Möllersten and the photography to H Mårtensson. The engineer for these two songs recorded in the summer of 1999 was Jörgen Andersson.

The Malmö band would return with a new album in 2000. It was called “Stay On My Side” and would be released on LP and CD by Parasol (PAR 054) in the US and on CD by Labrador (LAB013) in Sweden, Inane (INANE03) in Spain and Philter Records (PRPH-2020) in Japan. The 10 songs were recorded and mixed at Emmy Studio in Kristianstad in July and August of 1999 with Jörgen Andersson as the engineer. The songs were “I’m Home”, “Homewater”, “At Least in my Heart”, “In the Disco” and “Internal Affairs” on the A side and “Scent of You”, “Diary and Herself”, “Silver Sportscar”, “Moving On” and “Friends” on the flipside. Art again by Lukas Möllersten and the photography throughout the booklet is credited to first names, many of them. Here I believe is the first release where the band members’ names appear, Anders Baeck on drums, guitar and percussion, Henrik Mårtensson on guitar, bass and vocals, Joakim Ödlund on guitar and Jonas Färm on vocals, guitar, bass and vocals. It is also worth mentioning that the Japanese CD had a bonus track, “Long Lost Love”.

That same year, 2000, the band would contribute “Diary & Herself” to the compilation “Parasol’s Sweet Sixteen Volume 1” (PAR-PROMO 001). They would also give away another song to Parasol the next year, 2001, on their compilation “Parasol’s Sweet Sixteen Volume 4” (PAR-PROMO 004). This song was called “When Sun Falls On My Feet”.

In 2002 Labrador would promote the band with a CDR that had two songs, “When Sun Falls On My Feet” and “Stop and Let it Go”. Not sure how many copies of these were made or who the label sent to them. Seems rare. But it makes sense, the band would release their third and last album that year, “When Sun Falls On My Feet”. This release would be out on Parasol Records (PAR 073) in the US, Philter Records (PRPH-2046) in Japan, Labrador (LAB021) in Sweden and interestingly enough on Rostok Records (RRCD-307) in Ukraine. All were CD releases.

The album would include 10 songs, “Malmö”, “With Sand in My Eyes”, “When the Sun Falls on My Feet”, “Make that Stone Beat Like a Heart Again”, “Not Alone”, “Sunshine”, “To Sleep This Evil Day Away”, “And How it Breaks”, “Christine” and “Stop and Let it Go”. Obviously the Japanese version had an extra song, “Orbit”. The album was mixed and recorded at Emmy Studio and mastered by Thomas Eberger at Cutting Room. The engineer was Jörgen Andersson who contributed on some keyboards as well. Other guest musician was Linda Bykvist (from The Bustups) who played trumpet.

That same year their song “Stop and Let It Go (demo)” would appear on the CD compilation “Try a Little Happiness” that came alongside that legendary fanzine by my friend Jörgen Svensson. But that wasn’t all, their tracks “When Sun Falls On My Feet” and “I’m Home” would be featured in the Labrador compilation “Labrador Kingsize Vol# 1” (LAB020.

In 2003 they would appear on “Today’s Best Music” a CD compilation released in Greece by Ποπ + Ροκ, a monthly music magazine. They would contribute the song “Christine”. They would also get some love in France, on the compilation “I am A Victim of this Song” released by Baka-Poi another fanzine. The song they would give away would be “When the Sun Fall on my Feet”.

In 2007 Labrador would release their CD boxset “A Complete History of Popular Music” (LAB100). The songs that the band would contribute would be the same as the last Labrador compilation, “I’m Home” and “When Sun Falls on My Feet”.

Then a compilation I had no clue about but looks amazing! “Olle Eksell Meets Labrador” was a CD comp released in 2007 by Rambling Records in Japan (RBCS-2241). The band appears here with the track “The Sun and the Rainfall”. I love Olle Eksell I must say so I am very curious about this one.

Then that same year in Taiwan’s Magnum Music’s “A Place in My Heart” (MAGCD35) the band would contribute the song “And How it Breaks”.

Ok now we know quite a bit about their releases. Where are they know you may ask. Well, to be fair they all have been in many bands. Important bands. For example Henrik had been in Pallers, Poprace and The Legends. Joakim had been in Acid House Kings, Poprace, Double Dan, Ambassadeurs and in Poppyfields (I really want to hear their tape!). Jonas was in the first album by The Legends. Anders had been in The Bustups.

But yeah, that sounds like bands from the past. What about today? What are they doing now. That is a fair question. Also I haven’t been able to find any info about gigs. Did they play many? Outside of Sweden? What about unreleased tracks?

Labdrador though has some fun and interesting details on their website. Their is a bio that says: Recognized as part of the »Åhus Scene« that was designated by the Swedish pop press as “the Mecca of Swedish wimp pop”, Starlet comes from the same region as Club 8, Acid House Kings, Pop Race, and the Leslies. And, lead vocalist Jonas Farm’s hometown, Malmö, has been chosen as »the pop-town of year 2000« by the nation’s Swedish Radio. Jonas Farm describes his contribution to the album’s songwriting this way: “When I learned to play the guitar, about 1992, I tried really hard to make songs that sounded like Popsicles’ »Laquer«, but it didn’t work at all, and I found out that it was a stupid idea trying to sound like another band. Then I got every Beatles-album and made the same mistake. Now I just follow a feeling when I write a song, and subconsciously fragments of my influences of the time trickles through, mixing with me and the sound of me.

The Åhus scene. How was that? Would love to hear more about it. Anecdotes and such…

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Starlet – I’m Home

Day 174. I continue going to the post office to mail Macguffins CDs. Thanks again to everyone! I hope this trend continues! You know, if I get to sell records it means I can put out more records!!

Grids & Dots: this Sydney pop band sounds great! Their latest song is called “The Great Divide” and I am already a fan. I hope it gets released properly. The band is formed by Carmen Minikus, Daniel Handaru and Pat Hisshion.

Agent Blå: the great Gothenburg band is back with just one song, “Frustrated”. It is great, as usual. I don’t have much more to say, this band continues to release great tunes.

Kodiak Galaxy: another Australian band, this time from Melbourne. This shoegazy dreampop band has just released digitally an album called “A Bad Time for Dreamers”. It has 10 songs and I do think it’d be great if there’s a physical version eventually!

The Infinite Daisy Chains: now to the US, to Washington DC. Ian Dandrige and his wife Kristina Westernik-Dandrige are the people behind the music, and they have just released a new song called “Memory Lane”, a superb dreamy song.

Heavy Sigh: and now to New Jersey. Here we discover this five-piece that is releasing their album “Hard to Care” on October 20th. It seems the album will be released digitally. No physical release. In any case we can preview 1 out of the 10 songs. So yeah, go check out “Downtime, All the Time”!

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I discovered The Beatifics through their 2002 album “The Way We Never Were” on Bus Stop Label (BUS1020). It was actually their third and last album. And it is in this album that they wrote the song “February” thus fulfilling my challenge for the month of February. But let’s see what we can find about this classic Minneapolis band!

This last album included 10 songs, “Sorry Yesterdays”, “After All”, “February”, “The Only One”, “When It’s Whenever”, “Different Stars”, “In the Meantime”, “Between the Lines”, “Pt. 2” and “Outro”.

As I am starting with their latest album, I’ll go backwards. Maybe that make sense, their first album is the one many people consider a true classic. Well then, the 2nd album was called “In the Meantime”. Well, it wasn’t really an album. More of a mini-album or EP. It came out 2001 on The Bus Stop Label (BUS1016). The songs on this record were “In the Meantime”, “Different Stars”, “This Year’s Jessica (Again)”, “Outro” and “Longest Day of Summer”. These songs were recorded at Seedy Underbelly, Third Ear, Wigged Out, Albatross, Salmagundi, City Cabin and at home. The songs were produced by Chris Dorn and Eric Kassel.

We also know that the band members were Paul Novak on bass, Chris Dorn on vocals and guitar, Andy Schultz on guitar and Randy Seals on drums. On this album though they had Jacques Wait (France Has the Bomb, Pink Mink, Rank Strangers, The Twilight Hours, Tina & the Total Babes, The Sycamores, Magnatone) playing bass on a few tracks and Keely Lane (Ol’ Yeller, Trailer Trash) playing drums in a couple.

As I mentioned their first album “How I Learned to Stop Worrying” is a true classic. It came out in 1996 on TRG Records (TRG 89338). It had 9 super songs, “Almost Something There”, “Something/Anything?”, “This Year’s Jessica”, “Without a Doubt”, “Last Thing on My Mind”, “Happy to Be Sad”, “Crazy Lovesick Heart”, “Those Kids” and “Read You Wrong”. On this record we see a lot of guest musicians including Ben Wilinski, Andy Sullivan, JimJim Vandalia, Todd Newman, Jay Bennett, Betsy Stodola, Devin Hill, Hans Buff, Tom Rosenthal and Dan Sarka. Were they part of the Minneapolis scene? And speaking of Minneapolis scene, were they close to Grimsey Records?

Anyways, again the band would record in many places including Salmagundi Studios, Synergy Studios, Harper Street, Third Ear Recording, The Ranch and City Cabin. The songs would be mixed at Synergy Studios. The producer was again Chris Dorn with Dave Kent as the engineer.

I’ll return to this album in a bit. Now I have to mention a few other releases by the band and compilation appearances. First there was a 2007 split 7″ with The Deaths on Miniature Record Club. The band would contribute the song “Yeah Yeah” and appear on the B side. Then there is a 7″ on Tallboy Records (TABOY002) sometime in the 2000s. This one included two songs, “Longest Day of Summer” on the A side and “Had to Run Around” on the B side. This last song was a cover of Emitt Rhodes. Another thing I notice is that Keely Lane is the drummer on both songs. Maybe in the end Randy Seals was replaced?

In the compilation department they appeared on at least 11 different records. In 1996 they had “Almost Something There” on the TRG Records compilation CD “Precious Moments: The Big Sound of Now: Volume 2 a TRG Sampler” (TRG 893462). That same year this same song would appear on “The B.L.A.S.T. Modern Rock Program #22” CD compilation on S.I.N. Both of these releases were for promo purposes.

In 1997 the band would have their song “Almost Something There” on 2 compilations, first on “Sam Goody Samples Minnesota” and then on Not Lame Recordings’ comp “The World’s Best Power Pop Compilation… Really!” (NL-0038). That same year, “Happy to be Sad” appeared on Yesterday Girl’s CD compilation “Pop Under the Surface” (YES 001).

1998 would have their track “This Year’s Jessica ’98” on Lazy Cat’s “Somewhere Down the Road” (SCOP-01) CD. In 1999 their song “Rock and Roll Part 3” would be included on the “Teenster” compilation put together by Back of a Car magazine.

In 2001 they would work again with Yesterday Girl. They would contribute their song “Meantime” to the compilation “Pop Greetings Volume Three – Minnesota” (YES 006). That same year their song “Longest Days of Summer” would be on “Hit the Hay Vol. 5” double CD compilation put together by Sound Asleep Records (ZZZ011) and the track “Sorry Yesterday” would show up on “What’s Up Buttercup” (MEOW 05) a compilation by Lazy Cat. Lastly in 2002 Not Lame Recordings’ would include them on a compilation called “Right to Chews” with their song “Superman”.

A new label called Grandma Camp Records would contact the band in 2015 and would eventually release the first album “How I Learned to Stop Worrying” as a 20th anniversary release on vinyl in 2016. There is a bit of a story of how this come together on the blog “Pop Music as Pornography“.  To make it special it would include a 10” vinyl record called “Live on Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight”. Indeed the 8 songs on this record were recorded at Vin Scelsa’s show on WNEW-FM in New York on April 20, 1997. Here we see the original lineup of the band and they recorded these songs, “Almost Something There”, “Something/Anything?”, “This Year’s Jessica” and “All Your Former Boyfriends” on the A side; “Happy to Be Sad”, “Last Thing On My Mind”, “Longest Days of Summer” and “Junior’s Farm” on the B side. The engineers were David Vanderheyden and Paul Altemus. This release, to my surprise, seems to be available still on the band’s Bandcamp!

From what I understand buying this release also gives you access to rare demos by the pre-Beatifics band The Rockerfellers! Oh! I’d love to hear these. I should order this soon. I just spent quite a bit of money, but I think I can make the effort.

Googling to find any other details I see a ton of reviews of their records. But I am looking for details really. Like where in the world did they play live. What are they up to these days. Are there unreleased tracks by The Beatifics. Where does their name comes from. That sort of details.

In Youtube I find the band playing the song “Those Kids” on February 13, 1998, in Mesa, Arizona! The only other good find on Youtube a video of the band playing 7 minutes at the Hex in Minneapolis. Can’t say when was this recorded though.

On Soundcloud there is a live concert (about 30 min.) of what was “Live in Minnesota“. This was a benefit gig for local musician Dan Boardman and The Beatifics were part of it alongside Stingray Green and Magnatone.

Then I find a book called “The Hopefuls: Chasing a Rock n’ Roll Dream in the Minnesota Music Scene”. This book mentions that a Heath Henjum was part of The Beatifics at some point. I believe he would replace Jacques Wait.

And that is it when it comes to The Beatifics. For sure I learned a lot about them. I must admit I didn’t know their first record touched so many people. I am really impressed by the amount of posts on the internet about this record and the praise it gets. I discovered it much later of course. I wonder if I had listened to it in 1996 I would have written posts about it on the previous blog I used to have.

Now I have to order the re-release of their classic album and of course hope that someone can tell where are The Beatifics now!

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Listen
The Beatifics – Almost Something There