An Xmas Gift...Retrosonic Podcast Episode 12 "But If It Thrills Me, Then That's Alright..." Free Download...

Welcome to Episode 12 of this bumper end of year Retrosonic Podcast! Over the two parts, Steve from Retro Man Blog, Adam from The Jetsonics and Rock Photographer Paul Slattery dig up some Psych, Garage Rock, Power Pop and Punk obscurities, favourites and other weird stuff. There’s an emphasis on French bands and artists, old and new, such as Marie Modiano, Stinky Toys, Little Bob Story, Metal Urbain, Les Kitschenettes and er…Julie Delpy. We uncover a one-off 1977 Punk rarity from The Rings and there’s Freakbeat from Fleur de Lys and Sharon Tandy. How about some overlooked Power Pop from The Incredible Kidda Band and The Modernettes or way-out Sixties Psych from The Outcasts, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, The Haunted and The Tidal Wave. There’s a fine piece of contemporary Punk Rock from Cyanide Pills, a Garage Rock floor-shaker from The Woggles and some smooth Blues from the honey-voiced Slim Harpo. Then we pay tribute to our Gig Of The Year: Graham Day & The Forefathers at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club with tracks from The Solarflares, The Aardvarks and The Higher State. All this plus chat about The Jetsonics first venture outside the M25, nods to some of our other favourite gigs of 2013, Retro Man Blog’s trip to Paris and the usual waffle and rambling...

Episode 12 Part 1...


Episode 12 Part 2...


I'd like to take this opportunity to say Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all the Retro Man Blog readers, Retrosonic Podcast listeners and all those that came along to our Retro Man Blog gigs at The Half Moon in Putney and The Railway in Southend-on-Sea. I really appreciate all the kind comments, support and feedback, it really does make it worthwhile. Huge thanks to my Blog colleagues Adam Donovan, Paul Slattery and Mayumi and all the contributors over the past year. Also, very best wishes to those that have helped me in promoting the gigs for The Len Price 3, The Fallen Leaves, Thee Spivs, TV Smith, Eight Rounds Rapid, The Past Tense and The Travellers. Special thanks to Alan May at Glory Boy Radio, Wayne Lundqvist-Ford at Ice Cream Man, Rob at Mister Suave, Warren Peace at We Are The Mods, Ian Pile and Dave Collins at Podrophenia, Steve Pegrum at Southend Punk, Fi and Dave at The Railway, Carrie at The Half Moon, Shindig! Magazine and Ian at Damaged Goods Records.

Retro Man Blog's Gig of The Year 2013: Graham Day & The Forefathers at
Bethnal Green Working Men's Club November 29th.

Of course this Blog is purely driven by a passion for music and it's great that there are so many fantastic bands out there who inspire us to keep on doing this, long may this continue into 2014 and beyond! Please do keep the comments, requests and contributions coming in. Many thanks and all the best! Graham Day & The Forefathers photos copyright Paul Slattery 2013.

Marie Modiano - Two New Albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" & Debut Novel released on September 30th.

Marie Modiano by Julien Bourgeois

Marie Modiano, the Paris based singer, songwriter, poet (and now author), will be very busy on September 30th as she simultaneously releases two brand new albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" and her debut novel "Upsilon Scorpii" all on the same day! I saw Marie perform as part of a special Scandinavian weekend event at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris last year and was captivated by her performance. I snapped up a copy of her album "Outland" at the merchandise stand and although it has since become one of my favourite albums of recent years, it was slightly disappointing that so many of the great songs she played that night were actually new and unreleased at the time. But now the long wait to hear those songs recorded is finally over and we also get the bonus of the second album too. The Event in Paris was curated by Swedish Singer-Songwriter Peter von Poehl and orchestrated by Martin Hederos, who not only appeared on stage with his own band, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but also with Marie and Peter too. Equally as busy was the excellent drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose) who played brilliantly during Marie and Peter's sets and then rocked out with his band Free Fall. You can read a report and check out photos of that great weekend on the Blog here.

So, onto the new albums and Marie Modiano is once again reunited with Martin Hederos and Peter von Poehl on the English language "Ram on a Flag", which follows on perfectly from "Outland". With lyrics and music by Marie except on three tracks which are co-written with Peter von Poehl, the album was recorded at various studios in Sweden and features Marie on vocals and piano, Peter von Poehl on guitar and vocals, Martin Hederos on piano and organ, Christoffer Lundquist on bass and saxophone, Jens Jansson played drums and percussion and Thomas Ebrelius on violin and viola. Just like its predecessor "Outland", the album is a stunningly orchestrated piece that is organic and uncluttered and has a slight tinge of melancholy. Similar to Martin's old Soundtrack of Our Lives colleague Björn Olsson's current solo music, "Ram on a Flag" is extremely evocative of a coastal landscape, you can almost hear the sounds of seagulls and fishing trawlers heading off into a beautiful sunset. The lyrical subjects of "The Islands and The Skerries" and the stunning "Long Journey on a Rock-Pool Train", with it's swelling gospel choir backing vocals, reinforces that coastal atmosphere even further. My favourite track on the album is "New Wings of Mine", which would make a great choice as a single, and features some seriously impressive, almost Jon Entwistle style bass. "Paper Boots" is a great duet with Peter von Poehl, who also shares vocals on "Shutters of Sand" which is an epic track that builds nicely to a crescendo. The album ends with "Twilight Rhapsody", a beatifully simple piano based song that highlights Martin's admiration for Erik Satie and would be appeal to those that appreciated Soundtrack of Our Lives "Tonight". So, "Ram on a Flag" is a really impressive follow up to "Outland" and thoroughly recommended if you enjoy the orchestral side of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, David Sylvian's more accessible work, Kate Bush and other similar emotionally engaging music.

The second album "Espérance Mathématique" is a collection of Marie's poems put to music by Peter von Poehl and was recorded and mixed in Paris. It's a spoken word album with Marie reciting her poems in French over music performed by Ludwig Dahlberg on drums, Nicolas Mathuriau on percussion, with the string section of Zach Miskin and Marielle de Rocca Serra. All other instruments are by Peter von Poehl and the string arrangements are by Martin Hederos. Of course, my understanding of the album, if not my enjoyment, is hampered somewhat by my not speaking French, so I cannot appreciate the poems themselves, but I can certainly enjoy the wonderful delivery from Marie and of course the music itself. What springs to mind first of all are the two great Serge Gainsbourg concept albums "Histoire de Melody Nelson" and it's more musically diverse follow up, "L’Homme à tête de chou". So, an impressive double hit of albums from Marie, with both complimenting each other perfectly.

Marie with Martin Hederos & Peter von Poehl, Paris 2012 - Steve Worrall

Marie Modiano is the daughter of French author Patrick Modiano and originally started out as an actress, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and appearing in films such as "La Vie Privée". She then began peforming as a singer with a folk-jazz-pop group that included Grégoire Hetzel (piano), Daniel Yvinec (bass), and Arnaud Lechantre (drums). In collaboration with Hetzel as her producer and co-writer, she released her full-length debut album in 2006 on Naïve Records entitled "I'm Not a Rose", which included the single "C'est dur l'Amour". She then collaborated with Peter von Poehl and Martin Hederos on her 2008 follow up, "Outland", some of which was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion, the Gothenburg based studio run by Kalle Gustafsson from The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Then in 2012 l’Arbalète/Gallimard published a book of Marie's poems "Espérance Mathématique", on which the new album of the same name is based.

Martin Hederos, Marie Modiano, Ludwig Dahlberg, Paris 2012 by Steve Worrall

The albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" are both released on September 30th by Nest and Sound Records and on the same day, Marie Modiano's first novel "Upsilon Scorpii" is published by l’Arbalète/Gallimard.

With many thanks to Damien Besançon at Laitdbac Records and Ludwig Dahlberg.

Free Fall + Peter von Poehl + Marie Modiano with Martin Hederos at ÅÄÖ! Swedish Music Festival La Gaîté Lyrique Paris May 12th & 13th

Mattias Bärjed - by Steve Worrall

This weekend special, curated by singer-songwriter Peter von Poehl, was part of the ÅÄÖ! Swedish Music Festival being held at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris by "l’Institut Suédois". Although von Poehl was the main star of the show, he was almost over-shadowed by the astounding musical talents of Martin Hederos. Martin, not only carried out his main role as keyboard player with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but also played with, and arranged the orchestration for both Marie Modiano and Peter von Poehl. In fact, the only break Martin had over the two days, was to watch from the sidelines as his Soundtrack of our Lives colleague, and ex-Nymphet Noodlers bandmate, Mattias Bärjed, took to the stage with his new side-project Free Fall. As Free Fall also include Nymphet Noodlers' bassist Jan Martens, I was half expecting Martin to join them on stage for a run through of "Beautiful Day", but he manages to catch a well deserved break.

There's a song on the new Soundtrack of Our Lives Album called "Where's The Rock", well I think Mattias might have taken it with him to Free Fall. With recent TSOOL albums concentrating more on lush orchestration, maybe Bärjed is using Free Fall to express his undoubted love for Classic and Heavy Rock. As Free Fall take the stage for their first appearance outside Sweden, it is clear that heavy riffs are the order of the day. They take the Bluesy Rock of Led Zeppelin to another level and Vocalist Kim Fransson, certainly has an impressive Robert Plant style of singing. Underpinning the relentless riffing is Jan Martens' wonderfully fluid bass playing, a style I've always admired. He was, after all responsible for one of the best bass riffs ever on "Pole Position" from the Jan Martens Frustration days.

Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

Drummer Ludwig Dahlberg, who has previously played with The (International) Noise Conspiracy, actually runs Martin Hederos close for most appearances over the weekend. He proves his versatility by pounding out the beat with Free Fall, but then also showing a defter touch with the more laid back sounds of Marie Modiano and Peter von Poehl. The band storm through a selection of so far unreleased tracks, such as "Power & Volume" and "World Domination" and they leave to a rousing send-off from the crowd.

Following Free Fall is Peter von Poehl with Martin joining on piano and keyboards. I was not aware of von Poehl before this weekend but he is obviously very popular in France as he gathered a large and very respectful audience. Maybe the use of his song "The Story of The Impossible" in the 2010 Vanessa Paradis movie "L'arnacoeur" has helped. Dividing his time between Malmö, Berlin and Paris his music seems to reflect this nomadic lifestyle and Martin Hederos' lush arrangement of the assembled string and woodwind ensemble is perfect. Martin also appears on his new album "Big Issues Printed Small" and that should be well worth checking out. The Saturday night draws to a close with Peter being joined on stage by Kim from Free Fall, Marie Modiano and Ebbot from The Soundtrack of Our Lives for a chaotic but fun run through of Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'". Click the title and you can see a video of this on the Retro Man Blog YouTube page.

Peter von Poehl - Photo by Steve Worrall

It was Martin's work with another ex-Nymphet Noodler, vocalist Mattias Hellberg, that for me first highlighted his talents outside of Rock music. Their Hederos & Hellberg side-project consisted of stunningly effective, minimalist cover versions, stripped down totally to piano and voice with the occasional acoustic guitar and harmonica. The Stooges played in the style of Erik Satie if you like. And on the Sunday afternoon his beautiful piano playing is to the fore as he joins Peter for an acoustic set in the beautiful surroundings of the traditional main room. Peter is a very engaging performer and the audience pack the room, filling every possible space. At the end of the performance, still strumming his guitar Peter suddenly leaves the room and Pied Piper style, leads the audience through to the main venue where both him and Martin take the stage with Marie Modiano.

Peter, Marie, Kim & Ebbot - Photo by Steve Worrall

Whilst Marie Modiano is a French singer-songwriter she qualifies to appear at this Swedish festival due to her collaboration with von Poehl and also it ties in with the fact that her excellent second album "Outland" was recorded at The Soundtrack of Our Lives Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg. The ubiquitous Martin Hederos also plays on the album along with Soundtrack of Our Lives bassist Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm. Again, Martin's superb orchestration and arrangements bring the songs to life especially on the numbers from "Outland". Marie's Jazz tinged folk music also has an almost Scandinavian melancholy that mixes well with the French chanson style of some of the songs. There's also a Bossa Nova feel that reminds me of Nouvelle Vague, another band who like Hederos & Hellberg, perform cover versions in a totally unexpected style. The Single "The Islands & The Skerries" is a beautifully swaying number and "Twilight Rhapsody" brings to mind the simple piano and voice arrangement of Hederos & Hellberg. However, the highlights of Marie's set for me are the run of three songs from "Outland". Starting with "Last Early Spring", (click title for video), leading into the wonderful "The Hunter" and followed by the stand-out track, the sublime "Searching For Pearl". It's a superb, enchanting performance, and I am hooked.

Marie Modiano & Martin - by Steve Worrall

Then it's over, and you realize that Martin now has to gear up for The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Amazing, three sets with three different Artists in one afternoon! A quite staggering feat and I was thinking he must be exhausted, surely he needs a rest. But it doesn't seem there will be any time. The lights dim and Ebbot takes the stage alone with an acoustic guitar and starts to strum the beginning of the title track of the new album "Throw It To The Universe". Then one by one the band take the stage and the song bursts into life. But hang on, something is missing, the keyboard riff...Ebbot looks around bemused, as do the rest of the band, they play on, looking at the empty seat by the keyboards, Martin is not to be seen...! (To be continued...)

You can see lots more photos of all the bands and artists over the Weekend by "Liking" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page.