French Boutik "Ici Paris" new E.P. out now!

French Boutik, the Paris-based pop moderniste soul stylists will release their new double 7" single on September 06th on the excellent label copaseDisques. This is the highly anticipated follow up to their stunning debut 7" "Les Chats de Gouttière" (copaseDisques 2012) which made quite a stir on the International independent music scene, receiving rave reviews: "Never has French pop sounded quite so good...Quite simply, it’s stunning" (Pennyblack, UK) - “This EP is a refreshing blast from across the English Channel" (New Untouchables Nutsmag, UK) - “The title may mean “ordinary cats” but this is not an everyday release” (Record Collector, UK)” - "As perfect pop music is timeless, this record is a must-have and not just for the retro fan" (Dynamite, Germany) - “a freshness of inspiration and execution that is good for the spirit” (Distortioni Net, Italy) – “impressive and delicious four songs are sure to arouse much interest (Nos Somos Las Muertos, Spain) – “Listen…and you will be conquered” (Scootitude, France) – “they deliver exactly what the doctor ordered – sensible pop for this day and age (Sussed, Ireland). We already played the title track of their debut single on our special Retrosonic Podcast episode looking at the contemporary International Mod scene - check it out at our Soundcloud site.

Recorded and mixed at Yeah!Yeah!Yeah! studios in Hamburg, the new E.P. is a tribute of sorts to Paris, but it's probably not something that the Tourist Board will be using to advertise the City. As across the four songs, the subjects covered include greedy landlords, cynical city planners, disgruntled employees, corporate culture and Metro strikes. However, on the English language tracks (I can't understand French unfortunately...) there is a humour in French Boutik's lyrics and a deftness of touch in the songwriting that prevents this becoming just another rant against modern life in a big city. The four varied tracks each have a distinct sound of their own, whether it's the soulful title track "Ici Paris" or the Spy movie theme guitar twang on "Pousse Au Crime", the swinging humour of "Kinki Allumette" or, on my personal favourite, "Facile", where they crank up the organ and guitars a bit and power along nicely. These four tracks highlight the band's consummate skill in melding their French and American roots with the Brit-pop Indie sensibility of Saint Etienne and Belle & Sebastian. There are touches of classic Motown, Burt Bacharach and Serge Gainsbourg and of course fans of those great Sixties Yé-yé records by artists such as Clothilde, Annie Philippe and Sylvie Vartan will find much to admire. But like the playful Japanese outfit Pizzicato 5, they bring all these influences up to date perfectly. Here's a great preview video of the new E.P.

 

The band will be playing some dates in September and October:

14.09.2013 - Le Lautrec, Paris
26.09.2013 - Amersham Arms, London
27.09.2013 - Brunswick Pub, Brighton
28.09.2013 - The Watershed, Milton Keynes
19.10.2013 - The Tivoli, Buckley
20.10.2013 - The Poetry Club, Glasgow
24.10.2013 - Sumo, Leicester
26.10.2013 - The Fiddler's Elbow, London
27.10.2013 - Brunswick Pub, Brighton

For more info on venues and tickets, and of course how to order "Ici Paris", then please check out the French Boutik Facebook page for more info or contact copaseDisque Records.

With thanks to Alex and Gabriela.

 

Introducing: The Flight Reaction

We'd like to welcome Stockholm based band The Flight Reaction to the Blog and highly recommend you checking them out if you like your Psychedelia multi-layered and melodic. I saw the band when they played at the after-show party for one of The Soundtrack of Our Lives last gigs at Stockholm's Södra Teatern back in December and was mightily impressed. The Flight Reaction were formed from the ashes of The Giljoteens, The Maggots and Les Artyfacts, who all quit playing around the same time. Mats, Sebastian, Måns and Aron decided it was time to put together a new band and The Flight Reaction was exactly the band they had all wanted for some time. 

They describe their sound as "Pure 60's Garage-Beat with flashes of Punkadelic Psych". The first three 45's are now out on CopaseDisques and 13 O'Clock Records and are all well worth getting hold of. The band have a depth to their music, there's just so much packed into their songs, so much going on. There are echoes of The Hollies, 13th Floor Elevators, early Pink Floyd and "Their Satanic Majesties Request" era Stones, in fact they even do a great cover of "Citadel" on the B-Side of the "Mourning Light" single. I love the "Flying Colours" single title track which is a thumping good tune with swooping spaced-out Sci-Fi organ blips puncturing proceedings every now and then.

The B-Side "A Broken Heart" has a superb guitar and organ break that reminds me of The Stranglers take on "Walk on By". The single "Won't Give In" is a mighty fine track with a stand-out catchy chorus. But I think my favourite Flight Reaction song has to be its' flip-side, "I Lost You", with it's fabulous Mexican style guitar riff that conjures up The Stairs or The Coral's slightly skewed take on 60's Merseybeat, it's a sure fire classic. I am really looking forward to the band's debut album and of course will bring you any news as and when it happens.

The Flight Reaction are: Måns P Månsson - Guitar & Vocals, Sebastian Braun - Guitar & Vocals, Mats Bigrell - Drums and Aron Erstorp - Bass & Vocals.

You can order their singles at the CopaseDisques web-site and check out news on the band at The Flight Reaction Facebook page. Here's the great "Flying Colours".

With thanks to Måns and Alex from CopaseDisques.

Stockholm Retro Part 1 - Mods vs. Rockers Rally 2012 + The Moving Sounds

Stockholm Mod, Acke at The Mods v Rockers Rally - Photo by Steve Worrall

I was wandering the streets of Stockholm's trendy shopping area called SoFo on Södermalm, when I heard a familiar buzzing engine sound gradually building up behind me. Suddenly a beautiful silver Vespa with the full mirror deal sped past, there was a blur of a billowing green Parka, it looked pretty cool. Then, out of a side street came the raw guttural burst of a vintage Triumph and a leather clad Rocker zoomed by, hotly in pursuit of the scooter. Ah, looks like a bit of trouble!

Then, in what could have been a scene out of Quadrophenia, another couple of scooters whizzed past followed by even more classic motorcycles. As I walked on, I noticed that one end of Nytorget square was lined by about twenty to thirty scooters and on the other side of the road about the same amount of vintage motorbikes. I walked around checking out the bikes and scooters and thankfully noticed that the Mods and Rockers were all mingling amiably, apparently I had stumbled across the Mods vs Rockers Rally.

Despite the pouring rain, I managed to speak to 37 year old Stockholm Mod, Acke. He told me this was an annual event organised by the Rockers' Ton Up Club and the Stockholm Mods Scooter Club, along with the local Vespa and Lambretta Clubs. The rally is held every year on the first Saturday in September, and has been running since around 2008 in it's current format. There was a great selection of scooters on display, some pretty standard with no decoration at all, whilst others were kitted out in full classic Mod regalia.

The participants meet up and face off on St. Eriksbron Bridge, which links the island of Kungsholmen with the main city. Then they all set off on a rally to the Southern island of Södermalm via Vinterviken, where there is a Mods vs. Rockers tug of war! Both sides then head off to meet up at Nytorget to park up and show off their rigs. There are T-Shirts and merchandise for sale and the side with the most bikes on display wins a trophy. The day is rounded off with a party featuring live bands and DJ's.

All photos above copyright Steve Worrall

I also chatted to Acke about music and he told me that, not only did he like all the 60's Soul and British Beat Groups, but he also recommended I check out contemporary Stockholm band, Moving Sounds. I did, and  noticed that the band are on the excellent Hamburg based label, copaseDisques. We have already featured other copaseDisques artists, French Boutik and Brandy Butler & The Fonxionaires, on our Retrosonic Podcast Mod Special Edition. So, I got in touch with the ever helpful Alex at the label for some more info on the band.

The Moving Sounds

The band's third, self-titled album was recorded in the vintage studio "Estudios Circo Perrotti" in Gijon, between live dates on their first Spanish tour. The studio has also served many cool bands and artists such as Billy Childish, The Masonics and Retro Man Blog fave's, Stanley Road. So, with the aid of the Studio's stalwart production team of Jorge Explosion and Mike Mariconda, the band have conjured up thirteen amazing tracks that demonstrate their versatility and groove power.  Perrotti Studio features a vast collection of vintage equipment from the golden age of pop music, from original RCA mics to Selmer amps and Leslie revolving speakers. All of this equipment was harnessed to The Moving Sounds to ensure their vital live energy and studio imagination created their best album ever.

The band members are: Peter Rosen on bass, Staffan Flodmark on guitar, Parsley on the organ, Per Wollbrand on drums and Jonas Lindholm on vocals and percussion.

"The Moving Sounds" album itself is a really great multi-layered record, featuring some excellent and immediately memorable songs. The band switch easily between a mellow and lush pastoral Zombies style, to more thumping organ led rockers. There is even a hint of whimsical psychedelia on "Colours and Lines" which is spoken word reading of a Gustav Ivarsson poem underscored by a haunting soundtrack. So, a thoroughly recommended album and another great release from the copaseDisques label. With many thanks to Alex and Acke.