When I
lived in Liverpool there was this cute girl who wanted me to join her band and
become her drummer. It didn’t matter that I knew nothing than holding (rather
gracefully) a drum stick; but that was part of the idea, I guess. Since then, I
have a lot more respect for drums.. and for bands that use and love this word.
Me and My Drummer are a German duo (Charlotte and Matze) that seems to enjoy theaters,
ideas, travels and weird structures. Awesome debut album “The Hawk, The Beak, The Prey”
is out now. Run and get it.
When the stunning Helen of Troy was abducted by young Paris, the Trojan War
broke out. Pale Spectres (song inspired by The Wake?) are a French/English
band. They are based in beautiful Paris, read mythology and eat croissant au
chocolat listening to the sounds of Another Sunny Day, St. Christopher, Beach
Fossils and Craft Spells. They are fresh and about to release a four-song EP…
with wonderful “Helen of Troy” being the first sample of it. Download it for
free and smell some lovely French air.
New labels are a treat for Candy Bar. And what's better than watching a wonderful spanish blog getting transforned into a lovely indiepop label. 7iete pulgadas (aka Alex!) has now landed to release only 7" by
new indiepop bands... with first reference the twee Canadians Thee AHs. The pink wax limited edition of 300 copies was released this June and can be bought through the label's bandcamp. Pop attack!
Virginia is a fertile place. It gave birth to Jack Taturn (Wild Nothing)
who delves into super nostalgic tunes, doomed to make you fall in love all over
again. Having established his fame via “Gemini” (2010), he now returns with
second album which -as he elegantly describes it- brings the kind
of pop music that would be ideal in his own world. “Nocturne” is set to
be released August 27th (Bella Union). Wild!
Cats are
cute pop creatures that like to play with little squeaky toys and hide under yellow pillows. Cats on Fire unleash their Finnish
superpower and return to the indie scene with third album. Quirk and witty and lush and complex, “All
Blackshirts To Me” is out on lovely Darla Records and Matinée shop. On Fire!
Summer is near. And so are those small juicy yummy fruits called strawberries. Jangly Scottish duo Strawberry Whiplash know the way to make their hometown proud. Honoring the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush and The Shop Assistants.. they finally release (highly anticipated) debut album ”Hits In The Car” (Darla Records, Matinée). Dreams and pictures dressed in red.
Candy Bar breathes and smiles through the sounds of Field Mice, therefore a project called "Coach Station Reunion" could not miss our attention. First 7inch release on new Barcelona-based label Discos de Kirlian is five songs of the most personal Xavi Rosés acts (Fred i Son, The Epic Kind, Senderos etc). The 7inch "Eli E.P." was released a few days ago and is full of delicious janglepop and dreampop sounds.
Jyoti Mishra, aka White Town, is about to hit the stage in Athens this sunday. A proper chat with Candy Bar was more than essential.
You were born in India. Is Indian music inscribed into your project in any sort of way?
I believe so, yes. I didn’t move here till I was three and, obviously, I’ve grown up with Indian parents. I think that cultural background has informed all the music I make, particularly lyrically. For example, I’m an atheist. But I’m an atheist Hindu which is entirely different from being an atheist Christian / Jew / Muslim. The Abrahamic faiths are all, to differing degrees, misogynistic and sex-negative. A lot of my music is explicitly sexual and definitely all sex-positive. I think that’s a part of my Indian-ness. Love/sex are just normal, healthy parts of life. Nothing dirty or wrong or whatever there.
You mentioned in an interview that “the more unstable you are, the more you write”. Can you explain?
I’m not bipolar because I’m very functional. I just have big ups and downs. And it’s when I’m at those extremes that I’m most productive. Songs will just fall out of me, it feels like I’m not even writing them. Take ‘She’s A Lot Like You,’ off the new album. I remember that coming out of me in this rush of love and lust and thinking about the girl it’s about. I barely had to change a line after the initial ten minute burst of writing it. Conversely, ‘Anywhere But Here’ is a small song from the opposite place entirely: desolation, abandonement and that loneliness that scrapes at your insides continually. So, I guess I exploit my instability in terms of creating new work but then it’s the creation of that work, the catharsis that re-normalises me. Even at my worst, a night of singing songs calms me and makes me happier.
How important is it for you to incorporate political messages into your music?
This is a difficult answer. I think it was Billy Bragg who once said that all music is political. He was labeled political because he was a lefty but he pointed out that singing about money and mansions is also a political statement. So, all songs are political, whether they acknowledge it or not as they crystallise aspects of the culture in which they were produced. For me, I have to address political concerns explicitly and consciously. This doesn’t necessarily mean singing about unions or strikes. Most of my songs are love songs and there is nothing more political than love. Who do you love? How do you love them? Do you treat them as a human being or as property to be fucked and discarded at your whim. Everything is politics.
Are you bothered when people regard you as a one hit wonder because of the huge success of single “White Town”?
Not at all. I’m ecstatic I’ve had even one song that became a proper pop song, loved by millions of people. That was such a surreal time. So many people in the indie scene claim to be making pop music, it was bizarre to actually have an actual, real, pop hit. Y’know, that normal, non-scene kids could sing and dance along to.
You are involved in songwriting, performing, recording, album art and running your label, Bzangy. Is that a way to control your art in the best possible way?
Yes. It’s also that I can’t get the staff. And now I’m making all my videos too. Control freak is probably understating the situation.
Would you say that your new album “Monopole” is a heavily emotional and personal album?
Yes, it’s my most honest and personal so far and, therefore, my favourite. It’s pretty obviously about my divorce last year and the end of a fourteen year relationship, the love of my life. But the two happy songs on there are about the possibilities of new love, the way we get our hearts broken but then can’t wait to break them again. I love the album. I can’t not, it’s basically a diary of the last few years. I tried so hard to be honest, to be emotionally open, to not hide behind any metaphors or poetry or other bullshit. I hope that comes over. If I have one regret, it’s that the liner notes are a little too intense, in retrospect. I wrote them at a very bad time.
Name me a few new bands that you enjoy and respect..
Four Owls Akira Kiteshi (just interviewed him for Sound On Sound magazine!) Marching Band Your Demise Gojira MC Esoteric
Do you feel sensitive about the political situation in Greece right now? What is your opinion on the current political scene in Europe?
I feel it’s pretty obvious even to the most casual observer that capitalism works about as well as an economic system as Stalinism did in the USSR. They’re both anachronisms, remnants from another age. Capitalism lurches from boom to bust, tossing millions of people’s lives uncaringly into the air. Will you be living in a boom or a depression? Who the fuck knows, it’s the lottery of capitalism! Add to that the sheer criminality of the capitalist classes and you have an untenable situation. I believe that Greece needs to do an Iceland (), tell the IMF to fuck off and nationalise everything, dispossessing all international firms of their capital. If it’s in Greece, it’s Greek and you all own it.
What do we have to expect from your forthcoming gig in Athens?
Some songs, some chatting and, I hope, a real dialogue. I don’t do big, rock gigs because they feel like monologues. I like to see the audience, react to them. I want people to connect to the stories of my songs and to feel calmer and happier afterwards, even though a lot of them are sad. Let’s see if I can manage to do that!
White Town + Le Page will play sunday 25th March @ Tiki Bar (Athens, Greece).
Kisses. and dreams. Pop is here and Next Time Passions know the best way to make it work. A Greek band that has been together for almost 20 years and one of the few that has translated in such a brilliant way the notion and feeling of Sarah and indie pop music. The first NTP album "Things Left on Stripes of Time" came out a few months ago, including new songs (that the band composed after their reunion) and some older ones. Lots of Happy feelings.
It has been ages since I last wrote down secret stories on my diary. I don’t have any girly obsessions with shoes. And red is my all-time favorite color. Red Shoe Diaries are five friends from Nottingham, who claim to write “pop songs for messed-up grown-ups”.. in other words dreamy and fairly sophisticated sounds that have the flair of The Magnetic Fields, Hefner and Jens Lekman. The band released 10″ EP “Ice & Snow” (on Fika Recordings) a couple of days ago. On fire.
He comes from Greece. He has a thirst for pop. Evripidis may live in the land of Miro and Gaudi, yet he creates fascinating music that crosses over borders and has strong influences by 60s pop, Sarah, 50s doo wop and church chorus themes. He writes all his songs but likes to share his stage with a bunch of musicians who play weird little instruments like ukulele, melotron, clarinet and melodica. A few months ago he released new album “A Healthy Dose of Pain” and he just uploaded brand new video from song “Teeth”. Love.
Sweden is our playground. This could be another name for this blog, since it is dedicated heart and sound to Swedish pop mucic. In this context, I love Liechtenstein.. a girl band, influenced by the likes of Talulah Gosh, Dolly Mixture and Shop Assistants, that creates retro pop, mixed with shoegazey sounds. In 2009 they brought debut “Survival Strategies In A Modern World” while they recently released second album “Fast Forward” on Fraction Discs. Fast. and pop.
Every blog has its own heroes. And Candy Bar's choice are Mikrofisch. I have written about them before, so they are officially the first band that land on the blog twice. Honestly, I love them. Cause they are postmodern, trash, pop, naïve, disco, witty, underground, twee. In fact, they are a cupcake transformed into music. In order to celebrate their anniversary, Mikrofisch released a few months ago synthpop EP Morning Bus '11, which features two covers (by Primitives and Sudeten Creche) and two original songs. Download it for free from their online label Kinokoma. And get addicted.
Swedish clouds are brighter and much more eccentric. They form weird shapes and they fly in the sky sending messages about pop music. Klifton Filente is basically the solo project of Jonas Lundvall, a guy who lives in Gothenburg. He has released two EPs and the album “Common Ground” while in Nov 2011 he released second album “Breaking the Clouds”. The music is a bit folky, a bit indie, a bit retro poppy but most of all is the right music for winter nights next to a fireplace. You can download the album for free, oh yeah.
Astrogirl is a superhero with built-in weapons; she is a robot armed with true feelings, heart and soul. Astrogirl is also deeply in love with indie pop music. Candy Bar is about indie pop nerdy haircuts, international bubbles, japanese stars and swedish cold nights.
