Retrosonic Podcast with Inge Johansson on Gatuplan, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, CSS, Imperial State Electric & Much More...

For the latest episode of our special Lockdown Lowdown series we welcome former bassist with The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Inge Johansson into the virtual Retrosonic studio to discuss the excellent debut album "Kampen Går Vidare!" by his new solo project Gatuplan. In this thoroughly entertaining chat, Inge takes on a musical journey from the isolation of growing up in a small town in the north of Sweden to finding hope and creative inspiration in the music of Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. There are tales of his first forays into becoming a musician and the early influences on his bass playing. This leads onto touring and recording with acts as diverse as Totalt Jävla Mörker, CSS, Nicke Andersson's Imperial State Electric, Cryssis and The Most and Inge cheerfully recounts his time spent with each of these bands and the characters he met and worked with along the way. Of course we cover his time with The (International) Noise Conspiracy and of running Ny Våg, a record label and club night with frontman Dennis Lyxzén. The episode is sound-tracked by superb songs from each of the featured bands along with a selection of some of Inge's most inspirational musical moments from Kiss, Black Sabbath, The Exploited, Chumbawamba and The Specials. Of course, we also concentrate on Gatuplan and Inge explains the story behind the project, introduces his new bandmates and confesses the somewhat surprising influence behind the choice of band name. So, crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy!

Retrosonic Podcast · Inge Johansson of Gatuplan & The (International) Noise Conspiracy

Tracklisting (please click highlighted links for more information)

Gatuplan "Skandinistas"

Gatuplan "Millennial Blues"

Kiss "Heaven's On Fire"

The Exploited "The Massacre"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Up For Sale"

Black Sabbath "War Pigs"

Totalt Jävla Mörker "Under Sions Kalla Stjärna"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Hiroshima Mon Amour"

 The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Black Mask"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Capitalism Stole My Virginity"

CSS "City Grrl"

Imperial State Electric "Deride & Conquer"

The Most "Really Good"

Cryssis "Time of Our Lives"

Gatuplan "Min Revolution"

The Specials "Nite Klub"

Gatuplan "Dee Dee Ramone"

Chumbawamba "Give The Anarchist a Cigarette"

Gatuplan "Cashen Dom Tas"

With many thanks to Inge. Retrosonic theme tune by Adam Donovan. Podcover photo by Diego Aldabaldetrecu. You can order the Gatuplan album "Kampen Går Vidare!" and 7" singles from Sound Pollution Records here and check out more info on the band at their official Facebook page here. Subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Soundcloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & The Headcoatees - The Queens of the Medway Delta by Saskia Holling (Spinout Publications) Review by Ms Sheringham-Boom

 

I have been waiting for this book "Girlsville" for what seems like forever so I was over the moon to find a copy dropping through the letterbox a few weeks ago. Before I go any further, I should declare that I was asked to contribute to the book by the author Saskia Holling. I was thrilled to be asked and it was an absolute honour to be part of a book that so badly needed to be written. Saskia had mentioned that she was in the process of writing a book about women involved in the Medway music scene, one of the main reasons being that unfortunately these women had mostly been ignored or only briefly covered by previous authors. For example, "The Kids Are All Square - Medway Punk and Beyond 1977-85" (pre-Headcoatees times) by Bob Collins & Ian Snowball does mention The Delmonas somewhat in passing yet none of the female voices of the band are heard, Maybe they weren’t asked to contribute, who knows? I haven’t read "Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway" by Stephen H Morris, so can’t comment on that, but have sadly heard similar things said. Time to put that right? You bet. Saskia herself has been involved in music since the 1990’s and the book gives the reader a glimpse into her own musical life having made her escape from a small Scottish island to form her Riot Grrl band Sally Skull. She then went onto Lord Rochester and Big Russ & Lightnin' Hollins (with her partner Russ Wilkins of The Milkshakes and The Wildebeests) and latterly The Nettelles. Indeed, not a musical heritage to be sniffed at. 

Sarah (Ludella Black) on stage with Billy Childish & CTMF in 2016

Here she relates the stories of the women of two of the most important bands in post-1960's U.K. Garage & Beat history, The Delmonas and Thee Headcoatees. Meet Hilary, Louise, Sarah, Debbie, Holly and Kyra. The story of these wonderful women (told in two parts) is warm, amusing, dark, joyous, and lots in-between. Saskia has clearly gained the trust of these women and there is a stark similarity in their musical experiences. The frustration, the not being heard and to a certain extent of being controlled. Regrets and resentments can be expected, such is band life. I shed tears when I read these stories because there was a side of their musical lives that I had not anticipated. They were and always will be so much more than the sum of a Billy Childish project. Saskia has evidently carried out her research very thoroughly and has firmly put their stories into context by including musical reviews from those times, not only reviews of their bands, but of a wider variety of female musicians. It clearly shows the pervading misogyny of the male music 'journos' of that era and whatever one’s musical tastes, it makes for very uncomfortable reading. I’m happy that these women found their own ways of being creative. They have all since (and with Debbie The X-Men before) blessed us with numerous musical treasures such as The A-Lines, Ye Nuns, and The Buffets (to name a few) as well as Holly, Sarah and Kyra’s solo careers, in fact a new recording from Kyra is in the offing which is certainly something to get excited about. From start to finish "Girlsville" is an unputdownable read and I must mention the striking cover art provided by Sarah Crouch. Props also to Saskia for including a comprehensive discography, links and references and the book features many previously unseen photos of the band on and off stage, record covers and more.

Kyra on stage with Billy Childish & CTMF in 2016

With many thanks to Ms Sheringham-Boom. Ms Sheringham-Boom is the bassist in Edinburgh's premier purveyors of Garage Rock, Thee Girl Fridays. The book is the first from our friends over at Spinout Publications and you can buy a copy directly from them at their on-line store here. For your listening pleasure don't forget our Medway music related Retrosonic Podcast interview specials with Billy Childish, Ian Greensmith (Vic Templar), Graham Day, Wolf Howard, Allan Crockford & Viv Bonsels of The Galileo 7 and Ian Ballard from Damaged Goods Records. All episodes can be downloaded at our Soundcloud site or streamed/listened to at Spotify or Apple Podcasts all for free.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 42 "The After-Party After The Party From Hell"

Welcome to Episode 42 of Retrosonic Podcast entitled "The After-Party After The Party From Hell" which is another non-retro show featuring 19 Brexit-busting brand new International releases from Brazil, Italy, France, Canada, America, UK, Portugal, Ireland, Berlin and of course, the Medway Delta! Listen in and celebrate the creative talents and spirit of some of our favourite musicians, record companies and artists who are producing such great music in these difficult times. In this episode we spotlight the new Vinyl Singles Club from our good friends at Spinout Nuggets Records with The Embrooks, The Pastel Waves, The Link Quartet and The Hannah Barberas (who provide this episode's title). Then there are cracking exclusives from Les Envahisseurs, new singles, E.P. and album tracks from former Fatima Mansions and Microdisney frontman Cathal Coughlan, Pearl Harbour, Spizzenergi, The Flaming Sideburns, Stony Sugarskull, Autoramas, April March, Monsieur Paul & Les Solutions, Nika, Cult Figures, The Electric Stars and we close the show with a superb instrumental from The Parkinsons guitarist Victor Torpedo's latest solo album. I really hope you enjoy this stunning collection of new music and I would kindly recommend clicking on the highlighted links below for more information on the featured Band/Artist/Label and find out how you can buy the featured records. Thanks! Turn up the volume!

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 42 "The After-Party After The Party From Hell"

 

Retrosonic Podcast is available to listen/download from Soundcloud or you can subscribe and stream at Spotify and iTunes/Apple Podcasts - all for free!

Tracklisting - please click the highlighted links for more information.

The Link Quartet - "The Saint Tropez Heist" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

Les Envahisseurs - "Millénial"

Nika Leeflang Project - "Broken Bones"

Cathal Coughlan - "The Knockout Artist" (Dimple Disc Records)

Autoramas - "Carinha Triste"

The Hannah Barberas - "Puppet Show" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

The Embrooks - "It's Time You Realised" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

Stony Sugarskull - "Empty"

The Flaming Sideburns - "Freak Out"

April March - "Sauce Piquante"

Monsieur Paul & Les Solutions - "Plagier Dutronc"

Cult Figures - "Chicken Bones"

The Electric Stars - "Sunshine"

Pearl Harbour - "Trouble"

Spizzenergi - "Valentine's Day" (Holy Dotage Records)

The Pastel Waves - "I Wasn't Convinced" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

The Hannah Barberas - "Party From Hell" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

Les Envahisseurs - "Cazzo"

Victor Torpedo - "Sound & The Fury" (Lux Records)

 

Retrosonic Podcast: "The Rhythm Method with Buddy Ascott" New Episode in which we nominate, play and discuss our favourite Drummers & Bassists

In the latest episode of Retrosonic Podcast we welcome Buddy Ascott (former drummer with The Chords, currently with The Fallen Leaves and The 79ers) into the virtual studio to discuss that often overlooked and undervalued component of a band - the Rhythm Section... Buddy nominates and discusses the merits and influences of five of his favourite drummers, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Chris Sharrock, Pete Thomas and Topper Headon and he talks us through some highlights of their playing. Find out who features alongside Gaye Advert, Peter Hook, JJ Burnel and Tessa Pollitt in our top ten chart of iconic Bassists, there's five underrated Bassists including Inge Johansson of The (International) Noise Conspiracy and Serge Gainsbourg's session bassist Dave Richmond and to top it all off there's even a quiz to name twenty superb Bass intros including classic riffs from The Stranglers, U.K. Subs, The Damned, Joy Division, Spizzenergi, Public Image Limited and Sparks. The episode is generously sound-tracked by superb examples of our Rhythm Section heroes including music by The Who, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Clash, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Talking Heads, The Limiñanas, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, New Model Army, Magazine, The Slits and of course... The Chords! You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes/Apple Podcast, Soundcloud or listen/download directly from the link below.

Retrosonic Podcast · The Rhythm Method Part 1 with Buddy Ascott