Elephant Stone & Karma Sheen - A night of Sitar heavy Psychedelia at The Lexington London May 3rd 2024

Friday night, saw the triumphant return of the Montreal based Elephant Stone to London to treat a packed out Lexington to their very own emotive and exotic brand of Eastern-tinged Psychedelia, all thanks to the excellent Bad Vibrations Promotions. We've followed band frontman, Sitar maestro Rishi Dhir since we first saw him and guitarist Robbie MacArthur in their previous incarnation, The High Dials at the Metro Club in London way back in 2004 and were there at Elephant Stone's London unveiling, here at the Lexington in 2011. Then there was a stunnng show by Rishi's side-project MIEN at the Moth Club too - a superb band featuring Alex Maas from The Black Angels and Tom Furse of The Horrors. All of this, not to mention Rishi's guest appearances with some of our favourite bands such as The Soundtrack of Our Lives and The Brian Jonestown Massacre for example, means he has achieved an almost godlike status in the Retro Man Blog household! 

 

 

This was the last night of the short U.K. leg of a European tour mainly to promote their excellent new album "Back Into The Dream" which is almost nailed on as album of the year already and it's only just into May. However, for me the only downside with the record (as excellent as it is), was that I thought it lacked enough of Rishi's trademark Sitar - concentrating instead on atmospheric layers of guitars and keyboards. However, no such worries for the gig tonight - Rishi takes the stage and sits cross-legged on his elephant blanket with Sitar very much present and opens with a raga that leads into the brilliant "Heavy Moon". Robbie's guitar playing is immense, coaxing transcendental sounds and textures from his array of foot pedals - just sublime, but when it comes down to it he is also a master of a damn catchy riff, the kind that sticks in your head for days after. Drummer Miles Dupire-Gagnon and the multi-instrumentalist Jason Kent, who handles keyboards, guitar, bass and backing vocals are both excellent and help to bring the often intricate songs on record to life and there's a nice chemistry between all four members.

 

 

It's a superb set and my personal highlights included The Who-like mini-Rock-opera "The Imajinary Everybody Nameless In The World" which condenses "Tommy", "Quadrophenia" and "A Quick One" into one fantastic, mind-bending eight minute masterpiece and Rishi's bass is worthy of The Ox himself. With a lot of the emphasis on Rishi's sitar playing, it's easy to overlook just what a fantastic bassist he is and this musical tour-de-force proves it. There's even another little nod to The Who with a sneaky reference to "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" in the fantastic "Going Underground". I was blown away by a superb medley of the Sitar led groove of "Sally Goes Round The Sun" from their self-titled album which snakes into "Darker Time Darker Space", "The Court and Jury" and "Land of The Dead" from the excellent "Hollow" LP. The Teenage Fanclub and Big Star influence, which first became apparent on the 2012 track "Hold Onto Yr Soul", is still present on the latest album with the heart-breakingly gorgeous "On Our Own" which tonight is absolutely sublime. Another one of my highlights was the French language "La Fusée du Chagrin" which rockets along at some pace, powered by a driving bassline and some stunning duelling guitar between Robbie and Jason. There's so much to take in during the eclectic set, there are strains of the melancholic Baroque sound of The Left Banke, the pastoral melodies of The Zombies "Odessey & Oracle", 60's Psychedelia and Fuzzed up Garage Rock Nuggets. But there's also the World Music element along with the British 90's Indie Rock, Shoegaze and Dream Pop movements - In fact, Elephant Stone could have an album in pretty much any genre of your record collection. 

 

 

 

I have to mention the support act Karma Sheen, who were the perfect warm-up to Elephant Stone, an eye-catchingly colourful and exotic mash-up of King Khan & The Shrines and Jimi Hendrix with their groove laden Hindustani infused Prog-Psychedelia. Led by the charismatic frontman Sameer Khan who alternates between some wicked guitar playing and an Indian Selecta Harmonium, their danceable, hypnotic songs went down a storm with the crowd. They also have an impressive multi-instrumentalist in their ranks who played a small scale sitar like a guitar along with keyboards and theremin. Definitely a band to keep an eye on and I'd certainly recommend catching them play live if you get chance - certainly a joyful and uplifting experience. 

 

 

For more videos of the show please subscribe to our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel. Please do kindly check out the highlighted links throughout the feature for further information to support the bands. All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog 2024.

Lenny Kaye & Friends play Nuggets at The 100 Club London, Thursday April 4th 2024

Lenny Kaye with Marty Love on drums

Lenny Kaye, the New York based musical historian, journalist, author and of course, guitarist with the Patti Smith Group for an impressive 50 years, has another equally impressive entry on his CV, and that’s as the compiler of what must be one of the most influential albums of all time. "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968" released on Elektra Records in 1972, was Lenny’s painstaking labour of love, a compilation of obscure 60's American Garage Rock and Psych bands. Often these teen trash bands were one local hit wonders that might have only just made it out from their garage rehearsal to a nearby recording studio or High School gig before disappearing from view for good. However, some of the featured bands would end up clicking with lovers of raw power Rock ‘n Roll for generations to follow. The Seeds, The Sonics and The Music Machine to name but three, inspired countless Garage Punk bands all over the world. The influence of the California based Love in particular, would resonant hugely with the city of Liverpool, not just back in the 80’s with Liverpudlian Post Punk bands such as Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes but on into the 90’s when songwriting genius Mick Head’s Shack ended up as Arthur Lee’s backing band on his UK tour and then later still with local bands such as The Coral. Well over half the bands I've featured on Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast owe a huge debt to Nuggets in some way or other - just check out some of our favourite contemporary acts from all over the globe such as Las Aspiradoras from Spain, The Satelliters from Germany, The Hangees from Sardinia, Vic & The Sect from Mexico, Frowning Clouds from Australia, Stompin’ Riff Raffs from Japan and The In-Fuzzed from France are just some great examples.

 

Lenny Kaye with Jim Jones

Lenny Kaye with Jon King from Gang of Four

Lenny with Moana Santana & Helene de Joie

Lenny decided to play some shows in America to celebrate the belated 50^th anniversary of the release of “Nuggets”, gathering together a stellar cast of musicians such as Peter Buck from R.E.M., Peter Zaremba from The Fleshtones, Kathy Valentine from The Go-Go's along with surviving members of some of the original bands like The Seeds, The Electric Prunes, The Leaves, The Chocolate Watchband and Johnny Echols of Love. Then came the announcement of a London show and Lenny, together with promoter Joe De Lorenzo, assembled an equally impressive Transatlantic cast for a night at the legendary 100 Club on Thursday April 4^th. Due to the huge demand, a second date on Friday 5^th was quickly added and that too sold out in lightning time, so we were grateful for the quick action in securing tickets for the Thursday, it was something I just could not have missed as the line-up looked amazing. Lenny took centre stage on guitar and vocals and it struck me that it looks like he's barely changed over the years, he’s relaxed and cheerful and looks genuinely chuffed to bits to be able to share his passion for good time Rock & Roll with us. There’s a core band backing Lenny, featuring bassist Dave Treganna of Sham 69 and Lords of The New Church, Jim Jones of Thee Hypnotics and Jim Jones All Stars on guitars and vocals, drumming duties were shared between Rat Scabies of The Damned and Marty Love of Wingmen and the Johnny Moped Band. The other ever presents were Derek Cruz from the Jesse Malin band on Guitars, Harmonica and Percussion and Greg Rice on the keyboards who both did a superb job considering they were in for the long haul. 

Lenny Kaye with Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys

Rat Scabies of The Damned

Lenny with Clive Jackson from Dr & The Medics

 

 

Various special guest vocalists joined in the fun - Clive 'The Doctor' Jackson of Dr. & The Medics, Jon King from Gang of Four, Alan Clayton of The Dirty Strangers, Peter Coyne of The Godfathers and Anita Chellamah from Cherry Bombz. They were joined buy the UK based New Yorker Roxanne Fontana and the New York based Amanda Cross who both have new records of their own out now. Then we had the guest guitarists, Cheetah Chrome from CBGB's legends Dead Boys, Japanese guitarist Tsuyoshi Kitagawa otherwise known as Go Ohgami, Brian James of The Damned, Billy Shinbone from The Sinclairs and Guy Griffin of The Quireboys. If that wasn't enough, former Clash compatriot DJ Barry 'Scratchy' Myers warmed up the crowd perfectly and Go-Go dancers Moana Santana and Helene de Joie provided some suitably 60's style atmosphere. We certainly got our ticket money's worth. The only disappointment was that Dave Vanian, Paul Gray and Captain Sensible of The Damned had to pull out as did Deb O'Nair, the original organ player with The Fuzztones. It was a big shame as both bands were pivotal in introducing me to Nuggets and The Fuzztones classic "Lysergic Emanations" is still one of my all-time favourites albums. I was hoping that we would see half of Naz Nomad reunited along with that classic Black Album/Strawberries (and praise be, also the current…) line-up of The Damned.

Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys

Rat Scabies, Jim Jones, Helene de Joie & Derek Cruz

Lenny with Alan Clayton of Dirty Strangers

Personally, I first got drawn to 60’s Nuggets mainly thanks to The Damned’s alter-ego Naz Nomad & The Nightmares and their soundtrack to an imaginary Swinging 60’s teen exploitation movie “Give Daddy the Knife Cindy”, which featured covers of prime Nuggets material. The 60's Garage Psych influence on the Damned’s superb "Strawberries" album was apparent and in the mid-80’s I could see The Fuzztones and Dr & The Medics thanks to The Damned inviting them on tour as support bands. Around that time, I also saw Australia's Scientists and Hoodoo Gurus and lapped up the Trash scene of the Klub Foot at The Clarendon in Hammersmith where The Prisoners with their Hammond organ (pretty rare at the time) conjured up not only Small Faces but Question Mark & The Mysterians iconic "96 Tears". The Tall Boys, Milkshakes, and my favourites The Playn Jayn, all mined the 60's Garage Rock and Psych sound and 1984-86 was an absolute blast of groovy sounds, yeah baby! In fact, I interviewed Dr & The Medics for my fanzine Out of Step just before they themselves became one-hit wonders and topped the charts with the now ubiquitous "Spirit in the Sky". However, before this brush with the mainstream, they were a pretty cool band, a superb live act and were responsible for running the Alice in Wonderland nightclub in London. Check out their early releases and demos, they are well worth a listen. But the disappointment of Dave, Paul, the Captain, and Deb not being able to make it was soon put to one side when you consider the quality of the assembled special guests who did appear.

Dave Treganna of Sham 69, The Doctor & Moana Santana

Peter Coyne of The Godfathers, Rat Scabies, Jim Jones & Derek Cruz

Lenny with Rat Scabies

 

 

In an immense set that stretched to well over two hours, the packed out 100 Club crowd were treated to an astonishing 33 songs including such Nuggets classics as “Dirty Water”, “Little Red Book”, “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White”, “Pushing Too Hard”, “The Witch” and “Strychnine” , “Action Woman”, “Nobody But Me”, “You’re Gonna Miss Me”, “Wooly Bully” and of course “Louie Louie”. Lenny also made the decision to include some non-Nuggets crowd favourites to suit the guests and keep it varied and there were so many highlights, it’s hard and probably a bit unfair to pick out specific moments. But if pushed I must mention Peter Coyne’s visceral attack on The Creation’s “How Does It Feel To Feel” which took me back to the blistering early days of The Godfathers. Billy Shinbone’s extraordinary guitar wig-out on Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” even had Lenny staring open-mouthed in awe. Roxanne Fontana in a fetching mask and outfit took on Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs” and Alan Clayton’s Bluesy swagger on the Small Faces “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” was ace. Amanda Cross put in a stunning performance of Bo Diddley’s “Roadrunner” and Jim Jones in bug-eyed shades was the epitome of Rock ‘n’ Roll cool personified and his version of “99^th Floor” by The Moving Sidewalks was superb.

Dave Treganna, Roxanne Fontana, Marty Love & Lenny Kaye

Anita Chellamah & Helen de Joie

Lenny Kaye with Clive Jackson of Dr & The Medics

 

The Doctor took to the stage to croon through Love’s “My Little Red Book” and The Sonics “Strychnine”, which saw the crowd going crazy. Then there was Lenny Kaye’s own obscure Nugget, a great Garage Country Rock track “Crazy Like A Fox” from his pre-Patti Smith days in Link Cromwell & The Zoo. Everyone played their part – credit to Dave Treganna on bass as he had to play on all the songs throughout the evening and he kept everything ticking over perfectly. Behind the drums, Rat Scabies was immense as was Martin ‘Marty Love’ Parrott from Wingmen, another one of our favourite surprise collaborations. Things got wild towards the end of the set with the introduction of Cheetah Chrome from The Dead Boys and Brian James of The Damned – and they powered their way through MC5’s “Looking At You” and “Kick Out The Jams” before Lenny took off his shirt and announced “I’m gonna do this Iggy style” and I unconsciously sucked my stomach in as he was so fit and lean, putting me to shame, he looks amazing for 77! The familiar guitar riff to “I Wanna Be Your Dog” started off, and in true Iggy style, Lenny dives headlong off the stage for some crowd-surfing action, it’s a great moment. For the last song, all the special guests take to the stage for a massive singalong of “Gloria” and it’s over. What an amazing night, this will live long in the memory for sure. Massive congratulations to Joe De Lorenzo and whoever else helped to make this happen – a truly special Rock ‘n’ Roll happening that sums up the wonderful power of unabashed joyful music played by people who were having as much of a good time  on the stage as we were in the crowd.

Lenny takes a break to read a passage from his excellent book "Lightning Striking" before chanelling his inner-Iggy!

Check out our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel for more videos from the show. Also, please do take the time to click on the highlighted links throughout the feature to discover what else the wonderful special guests are up to! All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog.

 

 

Here's some pages from Issue 4 of my old fanzine Out of Step published in September 1985...

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Gigs of 2023

Here are some of our favourite gigs from 2023 - another great year for superb live music which included the long-awaited reunion of The Soundtrack of Our Lives and an emotional return to Japan for former Shack and Pale Fountains Mick Head with his new band, The Red Elastic Band. Please check out and subscribe to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel for lots more original live videos from the featured shows below.

1. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Way Out West Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden - August 10th

2. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Shangri-La Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, Japan - May 30th

3. Gaye Su Akyol - King's Place, London - May 20th

4. Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex & Stiff Little Fingers - Crystal Palace Park, London - July 1st

5. Indochine - The Roundhouse, London - June 11th

6. Black Angels - Shepherd's Bush Empire, London - March 3rd

7. Lalalar - The Jazz Cafe, London - September 9th

8. Viagra Boys - Troxy, London - January 25th

9. The Undertones - Electric Ballroom, London - October 5th

10. The Courettes, Oh! Gunquit, Paul Groovy Pop Art Experience - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 

- April 6th

11. Wingmen - Islington Academy, London - January 21st 

12. Killing Joke - Royal Albert Hall, London - March 12th

13. The Blue Aeroplanes - Electric Ballroom, London - September 29th

14. Ruts DC - SUB89, Reading - May 17th

15. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Koko, London - February 15th 

16. Shonen Knife - SUB89, Reading - April 13th

17. WitchDoktors & Seeds of 77 - The Half Moon Putney, London - March 5th

18. Duncan Reid & The Big Heads - The Lexington, London - October 7th

19. Thee Moot - High Tide Festival, Twickenham - July 30th

All Photos & Videos Copyright Retro Man Blog. Please support live music and venues.

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Albums of 2023

First of all I'd like to sincerely thank all the Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast subscribers, contributors and people who have kindly offered encouragement and assistance along the way in the past year, thank you for your support, it is very much appreciated. As always, we would encourage you to check out the highlighted links below to also add your support to the many fantastic, bands, artists and record labels that we have featured in 2023. You can hear tracks from many of the bands in various epiosdes of Retrosonic Podcast which are all available in our archives at Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and iTunes - if you are not already, please like, subscribe and share to help spread the news about the great new music that is being released. Have a wonderful New Year and let's hope 2024 brings us even more superb sounds! 

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Pick of 2023 Albums

1. def.fo "Eternity"

Despite only being released on December 15th - this perfectly plotted debut album from the Liverpool based Tom Powell shot straight into our Number 1 slot. The immediacy of the melodies, the rich production, insistent riffs and hooks and timeless genre-defying sound made it an immediate hit. Tom has been ably assisted by a superb cast of contributors including Tom's 'day job boss' in The Red Elastic Band, Mick Head, Chris Geddes from Belle & Sebastian and Tom's Dad, the guitarist and producer, Steve Powell. "Eternity" is a masterclass in songwriting of the highest order. You can hear Tom talking about the concept behind def.fo in our special Retrosonic Podcast here.

Retrosonic Podcast · Tom Powell of Def.fo and Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band

2. Jim Jones All Stars "Ain't No Peril"

Absolutely blistering album from the fomer Hypnotics, Jim Jones Revue and Righteous Mind frontman and his new all action outfit. Somehow "Ain't No Peril" manages to capture the intense energy of the band's live performances in it's grooves and the album screams out Gospel, Garage Rock, Soul and downright raw Rock 'n' Roll.

3. Lalalar "En Kötü Iyi Olur"

Taking Turkish Psychedelia and mixing it with modern day Electronica and Dance beats along with some hugely inventive guitar playing - this Istanbul-based trio produced one of the most striking and original albums of 2023.

4. Jah Wobble "A Brief History of Now" (featuring Jon Klein)

Jah Wobble got together with former Specimen and Siouxsie & The Banshees guitarist Jon Klein to release this stunning album which sees a return to the angular Post-Punk sound of Public Image Ltd with trademark bubbling bass and Klein's scathing guitar work.

5. Wingmen "Wingmen"

A collaboration featuring Baz Warne of The Stranglers, Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC, Paul Fox of The Damned, Marty Parrott of the Johnny Moped Band and Rob Coombes of Supergrass might have signalled a new tribute act to themselves - but bravely they avoided any notion of nostalgia and released a quite magnificent collection of all new original material. The always entertaining Leigh Heggarty joined me to discuss Wingmen and how it all came about in this great episode of Retrosonic Podcast.

Retrosonic Podcast · Leigh Heggarty on Wingmen and Ruts DC

6. Sparks "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte"

The Mael Brothers continued their remarkable 50-plus year musical journey with this great album packed full of their usual wit, originality and inventive songwriting.

7. Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas "Boom Boom"

A hypnotic and atmospheric collaboration between the avant garde musician Pascal Comelade and our favourite fuzzed-up French duo Lionel and Marie Limiñana.

8. The Blue Aeroplanes "Culture Gun"

Released not long before the terribly sad news of guitarist Angelo Bruschini's passing - this album is simply one of the best of the Bristol based collective's long musical history. Poet/Vocalist Gerard Langley's half-spoken delivery is complemented by the vocal harmonies and contributions of his revolving line-up of collaborators and band-mates.

9. Iggy Pop "Every Loser"

Merging the best of all aspects of Iggy's repertoire from foul-mouthed 100 miles an hour rockers like "Frenzy" to the crooning baritone of "Strung Out Johnny", this album has it all - if you love Iggy you'll love "Every Loser".

10. The Skids "Destination Dusseldorf"

Harnessing all the trademark Skids tricks that I've loved since seeing the high-kicking Richard Jobson and his Dunfermline gang on Top of The Pops as a kid. The huge, stadium sized choruses, ringing guitar and Jobbo's impassioned vocals are all present and correct in this fantastic collection of new material.

11. The Hives "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons"

The Swedish Garage Rock legends returned with their first album since 2012 and it's their strongest to date for sure, a swaggering beast of a record. New outfits, new bassist but same attitude and energy, proving they were always far more than a cartoon act.

12. The Brian Jonestown Massacre "The Future Is Your Past"

The run of superb albums from The Brian Jonestown Massacre over the past few years continued with this excellent collection of songs that came in a colour-your-own album sleeve complete with BJM crayons, genius! 

13. Fake Names "Expendables"

Dennis Lyxzén from The (International) Noise Conspiracy and Refused teamed up with members of some of his favourite American Punk bands such as Minor Threat, Bad Religion, S.O.A., Fugazi and Girls Against Boys to release this melodic tour de force, building on the promise of their self-titled 2020 debut album. Check out out thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast with Dennis where he discusses how Fake Names came about and other aspects of his fascinating musical career.

Retrosonic Podcast · Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, Fake Names and The (International) Noise Conspiracy

14. Gina Birch "I Play My Bass Loud"

One of the founding members of the Raincoats, Gina Birch released this great album bursting with fresh and inventive ideas tinged with Reggae and Electronica. "Wish I Was You" ranks up there among the very best songs of the year.

15. The Damned "Darkedelic"

There's no doubting that for me personally, the return of bassist Paul Gray reignited my love for The Damned and if you liked the 60's Garage Rock nuggets of their alter-ego Naz Nomad and the "Strawberries" and "Black Album" era, then "Darkedelic" will be right up your street (of dreams...). The news that Rat Scabies will be back behind the drum-kit makes 2024 a very exciting year for fans of the band.

16. Shonen Knife "Our Best Place"

The Osaka based trio have been consistently releasing albums of pure buzzsaw Punk Pop joy for 40 years now but there is seemingly no let up on their cheerful worldview and tales of their favourite food and cuddly animals.

17. Melody Fields "1901"

This Swedish Psychedelic band that emerged from ashes of The Movements are fast becoming one of our favourite acts. This is a masterclass in neo-Psychedelia that almost defines the genre.

18. Vännäs Kasino "Vännäs Kasino"

It's Dennis Lyxzén again but on guitar duties this time with a fantastic album featuring his INVSN colleague Sara Almgren on vocals and a blistering collection of Punk Rock that reminds me in places of prime Dead Kennedys.

19. Altin Gün "Aşk"

Dragging the exotic strains of Turkish Anatolian Rock and Psychedelia into the present day, Altin Gün are becoming hugely popular and it's easy to see why with releases of this calibre.

20. The Jack Cades "Something New"

A kind of contemporary Garage Rock 'supergroup' featuring members of The Embrooks, Speedball Jr, The Baron Four and The Missing Souls - The Jack Cades albums just get better with each release and this memorable collection of great songs with Mike and Elsa's vocal harmonies and nods to The Velvet Underground and early Brian Jonestown Massacre. It makes you wonder just how they are going to top this one. We spoke to Mike and Elsa about some of their favourite songs and influences in this episode of Retrosonic Podcast.

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 4: Mike & Elsa of The Jack Cades

21. Ian Kay "Walk That Road Again"

Elsa from The Jack Cades' former colleague in The Missing Souls, Ian Kay, finally released his long-awaited debut solo album this year and yes, it was well worth waiting for. Ian's highly infectious Garage Soul packed full of irresistable hooks will get you in the dancing mood from the moment the needle hits the groove.

22. Gatuplan "Välkommen Till Underjorden"

Inge Johnansson, the livewire bassist with The (International) Noise Conspiracy released the second album from his band Gatuplan in 2023 and its bursting with a positive, uplifting energy cramming in all of Inge's passion for Swedish Hardcore, Punk Rock and Ska. Have a listen to the hugely likeable Inge on Gatuplan, The (International) Noise Conspiracy and some of his favourite songs and influences.

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

23. Rhoda Dakar "Version Girl"

A brilliant collection of lovingly curated and performed cover versions from the former Bodysnatchers vocalist, "Version Girl" also boasts stunning cover art from Pete McKee.

24. Duncan Reid & The Big Heads "And It's Goodbye From Him"

The fact that "And It's Goodbye From Him" is possibly former Boys bassist Duncan Reid's best collection of his now trademark Power Pop Punk gems makes the unexpected decision to call time on his musical career even more disappointing, but it's one hell of a way to bow out. I just had to catch up with Duncan to discuss the reasons behind his decision to pack in music suddenly and what followed was a fascinating chat on the life of a post-Brexit musician.

Retrosonic Podcast · Duncan Reid "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

25. French Boutik "Ce Je Ne Sais Quoi"

An immaculate collection of Pop Moderniste songs from the Paris based band oozing class with their high quality mix of Indie, Ye-Ye, Soul and 60's Pop.

Bubbling under... 

Ian Person "Autoimmune", Galen & Paul "Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?", Per Svensson "Magic Trip", The Coral "Sea of Mirrors", Holiday Ghosts "Absolute Reality", Ruts DC "ElectrAcoustic Vol. 2", The Bug Club "Rare Birds: Hour of Song", Popincourt "We Were Bound To Meet", The Go! Team "Get Up Sequences Part 2", The Sound of Pop Art "Shapes & Shadows".

New Retrosonic Podcast with Tom Powell, Bassist with Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band on his new solo project def.fo

In our recent Retrosonic Podcast Episode 53 you would have heard the excellent track by def.fo called "Play It Cool", well we liked it so much we named the episode after it and even featured the man behind the project, Tom Powell, on the cover. You might recognise Tom as the bassist with former Shack and Pale Fountains frontman Mick Head's latest outfit, Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and here, in a thoroughly entertaining show, Tom discusses the concept behind def.fo and the superb album "Eternity", some of the varied musical influences that helped to shape the sound and the contributors that played their part in creating one of the best albums of 2023. "Eternity" is a concise and perfectly plotted debut that effortlessly moves between an eclectic mix of genres, from 60's West Coast Californian harmonies, pastoral Folk Rock with lush orchestral arrangements to 90's  Trip-Hop and contemporary Neo-Psychedelia, but despite the varied reference points, it all sounds completely fresh and unique. It brings to mind the similarly studio-based project 5 Billion In Diamonds which was created by Nirvana Producer and Garbage drummer, Butch Vig along with the Bristol based Producers and DJ's James Grillo and Andy Spaceland and a list of impressive studio guests including Ebbot Lundberg from The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Damian O'Neill from the Undertones and members of Ocean Blue, Massive Attack, Spiritualised and The Blue Aeroplanes. 

With def.fo, Tom has called on dad, Steve Powell from Ark Recording Studios in Liverpool who has worked with Mick Head, The Stairs, Cast and Echo & The Bunnymen among others and here his production and guitar work, lifts "Eternity" to another level, the album just sounds fantastic, especially on vinyl. Then there are contributions from Tom's Red Elastic Band colleague Phil Murphy on drums, Chris Geddes from Belle & Sebastian on keyboards and Mick Head himself, who adds vocals to a couple of songs and also more intriguing, the bongos! In fact, the time spent working with Mick Head, who the NME once dubbed as Britain's "Greatest Songwriter", has certainly rubbed off on Tom as "Eternity" is packed full of immediately memorable songs, ringing with superb guitar riffs, beautiful melodies and choruses that will stick in your head for days after the very first listen. His Red Elastic Band boss must be very proud. Talking of which, during our chat, Tom also covers the amazing reaction to the "Dear Scott" album and the wonderful experience of playing in Japan with Mick and The Red Elastic Band earlier this year. We were lucky enough to be there to catch one of the Tokyo shows and you can see videos over at our YouTube channel here. Anyway, please enjoy Tom's company in this latest episode which is also soundtracked with a selection of songs from the "Eternity" album - you can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or direct from our SoundCloud site below.

 

Retrosonic Podcast · Tom Powell of Def.fo and Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band

You can order "Eternity" directly from the official def.fo website here and check out more news and information at the Facebook page here. With thanks to Tom and to John Johnson photography for use of the excellent photo in the Podcover. We recommend the Pale Fountains fan's Facebook group here for all Mick Head music-related chat and resource. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence.