Welcome to the ramblings of a man who really should have grown out of listening to "that sort of music" a long, long time ago...A place to share thoughts and photographs on music and related paraphernalia.
DC Fontana have just released the stunning "Pentagram Man E.P." The DCs return with sonic medicine for troubled times in the form of six mesmerising tracks which are available as a deluxe CD, MP3 downloads or as a two-song 7" vinyl single. The release features a bonus track sung by 60's blue-eyed soul legend Don Fardon. Get it from DC Fontana Shop or from iTunes, Amazon & all other download sites. The band has upped the game with a lysergic change of pace and the results are simply stunning. Strange Brew declare it as "one of the essential records of 2012!" and wrote the record "reaches the heights of unforgettable pop-psych..." French magazine Standard calls the record "une potion magique diaboliquement cool" or (...a magical potion of diabolical cool) and in another review by A Beat City Diary, they declare "Pentagram Man is a tour de force of psychedelia". The Active Listener attests that "Pentagram Man is an epic, and yes, diabolical anthem with delicate psychedelic shadings". British psychedelic shaman Peter Daltrey (song-writer and leader of UK-Psych heroes Kaleidoscope) thinks so too; after he saw the group playing live in Gijón, Spain in the summer he practically begged to write the sleeve notes of their coming release…and he has! Earlier this year DC had something of a line-up shuffle, ditching much of the horns and replacing the singer. New addition Louise Turner, with her platinum bob, panda kohl eyes & expressive voice is certainly a worthy addition.
DC Fontana L-R: Scott Riley (organ, vocals
& guitar), Nigel Horton (drums), Louise Turner (vocals), Mark Mortimer
(bass) & Talbot Roswell (guitars & backing vocals) - Photo by Claire Curtis
Part Dusty/part Debbie Harry, she's as adaptable to sounds and styles as the band. Once again produced by long-time Julian Cope guitarist/producer Donald Ross Skinner, the E.P. sees the DCs moving in new directions, exploring more sounds and more production techniques. "Pentagram Man" is an über-catchy song with a delightful sing-along outro to get your heart and feet moving, whereas "DevilAngel" is anthemic, yet unusual, featuring pounding post-punk drums, shimmering guitars, Hammond and horns and hammered dulcimers, Chinese yangqin, cor anglais and oboe. Hip & hip-shaking! "What Would It Take?" is a beautiful modern day anti-war song with acid-folk flavours. "Satisfied (Part 1)" is an organic and acoustic re-working of the live favourite with almost prog-folk and jazz vibes over bluesy piano and Beatley cellos! "Sighed DC" is the most striking DC recording yet, an eight-minute ambient trip of esoteric bliss with witchy chants, celeste and wah-wah guitars bleeding into ticking clocks, dreamy Mellotrons, orchestral strings & even Indian sarangi to create surreal voodoo. Fardon adds his bellowing voice to an alternative version of "Pentagram Man" that also features horns & backwards guitars. This is a new, braver and more dynamic DC Fontana & this corking record is the perfect sign-post to their forthcoming album, due out next year.
We have now released two new Special Editions of the Retrosonic Podcast, both looking at the contemporary Mod Scene. While I was promoting my first Retro Man Blog gig for The Len Price 3, The Past Tense and The Jetsonics, I was blown away, not only by the network of web-sites, radio shows and club nights, but mainly the amount of great bands out there who have been influenced by Mod. Admittedly most of the young bands are taking their cue from Britpop and Paul Weller, and as Hipster Lee from Royale Records told me in our recent interview, he hopes that these bands do delve back further into the musical history of Mod and see what a diverse movement it was. I think if you look a bit deeper and sort through the Oasis soundalikes, the contemporary scene does have some of that original 60's eclectic Mod feel from Jazz and Soul to raucous Guitars, and I think these Podcasts will hopefully show some of that diversity. So, in Part 1 we highlight the brand new label and management company, Royale Records who are busy adding some great bands to their quickly expanding roster. We interview one of Royale's bosses, Hipster Lee and chat about the label's plans and philosophy, as well as playing great tracks from some of their bands, such as Retro Man Blog favourites, The Past Tense, along with The Universal, Monkeeman, Mr. Bridger, The Lemontops and The Electric Stars.
In Part 2 we take a wider view on the scene and turn the spotlight on some more of the movers and shakers, such as Alan May's Glory Boy Radio Show, The Alley Club in Cambridge, New Untouchables and The Mod Generation. We pick some of the best contemporary bands showing the diversity of the current Mod scene, from the Soul of DC Fontana, Button Up and Brandy Butler and The Fonxionaires to energetic guitar bands such at The Loop, The Cycle Paths and The Theme. There's also some classic Garage Pop sounds from the The Len Price 3 and The Past Tense along with International bands like French Boutik from Paris and Spain's Stanley Road.
The Podcasts can be downloaded for free via our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud page.
French Boutik will support DC Fontana at the New Untouchables Zoo Zoo Club night on Friday July 27th at The Blues Kitchen in Camden. French Boutik are an exquisite pop shop moderniste: exhibiting only the finest melodies, this Parisian ensemble has their musical hands firmly on the pulse of our future while keeping their feet grounded on dance floors of the past. Theirs is a unique vision of modern French Pop where elegance and schizophrenia collide to generate a distinctive female vocal driven outfit of many harmonic faces. Buzzing and popping with powerful guitar and percolating organ, the amusing and troubling sounds perfectly represent French Boutik's timely marriage of English and French pop. The resulting songs here are social portraits peppered with irony, and delivered with a sophistication not unlike The Kinks, Jacques Dutronc or XTC.
The band will release their highly anticipated debut E.P. on Copase Disques featuring 4 fantastique, self-penned songs by this groovy Parisian based French-American outfit. The diverse tunes include a tongue-in-cheek rave-up style ode to alley cats (Les Chats de Gouttière), a darkly humorous satire of a paranoid war supporter (La Vedette), a spirited and joyful defense of public misbehavior (Le Clope), plus one English composition, the histoire vraie of a substance abusing acquaintance (New Bossa). The E.P. features songs composed by raffiné guitarist and vocalist Serge Hoffman, fellow native Parisienne drummer and backing vocalist Zelda Aquil, and lead vocalist (and only non-Frenchie) Gabriela Giacoman, plus Elián Yvars de Montreuil on bass and backing vocals, and in-house sono engineer, Mad Iky, on keyboards. Et voila...the sound of Pop Moderniste, La French Boutik is open for business and ready to offer you its selection of the finest quality pop Française! You can watch a Preview Video Here, enjoy!
I like to do a bit of Rock 'n' Roll tourism when I'm travelling, visit various music related landmarks, venues, shrines, album cover and photo locations amongst other things. It's all very well immersing yourself in musuems and galleries, I like that too, but every now and then I just want to have a break and see where Sid stabbed Nancy (allegedly...), where Dave Davies stuck a knitting needle through his amp or which ancient Neolithic burial mound Julian Cope used as a recording studio. I'm fascinated, not just by music history, but the geography too, I've gazed at the beautiful ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel but I've also seen the graffiti covered walls of CBGB's, no prizes for guessing which had the most profound effect on me...!
Here's some landmarks from a couple of recent trips to Paris, if you have any similar Rock tourist tales then please send them in, I would love to feature your favourites too.
Serge Gainsbourg doll in a store in a Gallery in Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Probably first on most music fan's itinerary in Paris will be a visit to Père Lachaise Cemetery, to see Jim Morrison's grave. Sadly, the famous bust of Morrison that was once on the grave has gone, long since stolen by some over zealous fan and the grave is pretty unassuming now. Morrison died in a Paris apartment in 1971 but I still think it a bit strange that he was not buried in California as The Doors always seemed so synonymous with the place.
Jim Morrison's grave, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Jim Morrison graffiti, Pont Alexandre III, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Père Lachaise is also where you can find the grave of the Little Sparrow, Edith Piaf. I recently saw the fantastic movie "La Vie En Rose" about her troubled upbringing and sad demise, it's well worth watching, especially for the remarkable portrayal of Piaf by Marion Cotillard. Piaf's life was remarkably bleak, abandoned by her father to live in a brothel run by her mother, she was raised by kindly prostitutes, who nursed her through terrible health problems including temporary blindness at one point. She sang for money on the streets of Pigalle and was spotted by a nightclub owner to perform in front of wealthy clients, a nightclub owner who was later to be murdered by gangsters. Piaf's life continued with a catalogue of unremitting darkness, her only daughter died of meningitis aged only 2 years old and her true love, boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash. After being involved in a car crash herself she became addicted to pain-killers and alcohol and died from cancer at just 47. It is a remarkable story, but despite it all she grew to become one of France's most revered musical icons.
Edith Piaf's Grave, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
My personal quest to visit Serge Gainsbourg's grave in the Montparnasse cemetery was finally realised last month. I'd already visited his house on Rue Verneuil, which you can read a report on here, but was disappointed to find the cemetery closed. I had to go back and made sure I got my timings right this time and it was well worth the trip. Montparnasse is a beautifully kept cemetery, and it is full of graves and shrines of some serious cultural heavyweights such as Guy de Maupassant, Simone de Beauvoir, Baudelaire, Samuel Beckett and Jean-Paul Sartre. I find it quite fitting, if some might say ironic, that Serge is buried amongst such illustrious company. He has, in his own irrerevant and anarchic way, made probably just as much impact on French popular culture.
Serge Gainsbourg's grave, Montparnasse cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The grave is covered in interesting bits and pieces, from cigarettes, to drawings and photos and strangely enough, a full cabbage - in tribute to his concept album "L' Homme À Tête de Chou" or The Man with the Cabbage Head.
Serge Gainsbourg's grave, Montparnasse cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I've already featured a previous trip to Serge's grafitti strewn house here, but it's always worth another visit to see how the daubings have changed. Still no news on the muted plans to open the place up as a museum.
Serge Gainsbourg's house on Rue de Verneuil, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Le Grand Rex is a beautiful Art deco venue built in 1931 and located on the Boulevard Poissonnière. Wilco and Noel Gallagher, amongst others, will be playing gigs here in 2012.
Le Grand Rex, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I'm not a huge fan of classical music, but one composer that really struck me when I was playing in my Junior School's orchestra (before that nasty Punk Rock took hold of me...) was Erik Satie. I just fell for the minimalist piano scores such as the "Gymnopedies" and "Gnossienne" pieces. You can hear his influence on music by Japan, David Sylvian, Gary Numan and Sweden's Hederos & Hellberg. Satie was actually born in the beautiful harbour town of Honfleur in Normandy (where there is now a musuem) but moved to Montmartre in the 1880's.
Erik Satie's House, Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Erik Satie's House, Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Abbesses, the beautiful little square at the foot of Montmartre is the inspiration, title and location of this brilliant video for a classic slice of instrumental Mod/Soul from DC Fontana. Here's a photo of the Abbesses Metro station featured in the film which you can enjoy below...
Montmartre is also the location of a famous photo-shoot of The Smiths by Paul Slattery, Paul travelled with the band in December 1984 for their gig at the Parc des Expositions. I re-traced their steps, taking in the very smart area just below the Sacre Coeur including the Rue Giradon, Rue de L'Abreuvoir and the Place des Quarte Freres Casadesus. These photos and more can be found in Paul's superb book "The Smiths, The Early Years" published by Omnibus Press.
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
If you have any photos of music related landmarks then please send them in and I'll include them on the Blog.
