Reviews of Indietracks 2009

(Photo: tastinclothes)

We've been keeping an eye on all you busy bees writing for fanzines, blogs and magazines, and have rounded up a selection of our favourite Indietracks reviews and other coverage for you to check out. We've picked out some of our fave quotes and provided links to the full reviews where possible. And we'll keep updating this as the coverage comes in. Happy reading!

"Although only in its third year, Indietracks has already built up a reputation as the UK’s best festival of its size…. Indietracks is possibly the only festival bar ATP where every other act is something of a new discovery, and this year was no exception."

Drowned in Sound

"There is something magical about this festival and I can't believe it's over for another year. They've done a superb job yet again, the outdoor stage and craft workshops were a great addition and the team always make us feel welcome, and with the help of the staff of Midland Railway who seem to wear smiles 24/7, who wouldn't want to return for more next year."

Efestivals

"Gigs on steam trains, chilling in a 1950s buffet car and fanzine workshops ... is Indietracks the most eccentric festival ever? "

The Guardian

"Now in its third year, Indietracks has sprung up from very modest beginnings to be one of the UK’s most endearing and eccentric festivals. The line-up represents the very best of the indiepop underground."

Virtual Festivals

"What more could a girl want than a tiny little festival on the Midland Railway, a little tram/train hybrid to and from the campsite, talks by Fortuna Pop and a little marquee with an ever-changing timetable of Tatty Devine rarities, band merch, brooches… ? Essentially, it’s heaven."

Muso’s Guide

"Microfestivals have a reputation for being simultaneously more eccentric and meticulously thought-out than some of the majors. July’s Indietracks took place at Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, where visitors could enjoy listening to live performances by Teenage Fanclub and Camera Obscura between taking free rides on a still-operational Fifties steam railway."
The Daily Telegraph

"It's an occasion when artists and the paying public mix together as one, with no pretence, no egos and nothing of the corporate juggernaut. It's merely about the music…. If you want the continual musical sugar rush offered up here, then there can be no better event on the calendar."

Click Music

"Whether it's the location, the populace or the sheer joy of pretty much all those who play, no matter what their prior experience, Indietracks does something to people that leaves them grinning."

Sweeping The Nation

"What made the event extra special was the cosmopolitan element. The seminal independent record label, Elefant Records, which is based in Spain, celebrated its 20th anniversary by hosting the artists who took to the main stage. These included home-grown wonders such as Camera Obscura and Teenage Fanclub, who headlined the event on Saturday and Sunday respectively, as well as a plethora of international talent."

Derby Telegraph

"From its inauguration in 2007 to its blossoming existence today, Indietracks might be one of the smallest festivals in Europe, but that's its beauty. It cares not for corporate sloganeering and strives to create a diverse spectrum of music from all over the globe."

Nottingham Evening Post

"Indietracks has mixtape exchanges, DIY fanzine and bunting activities and is put together and policed by those doing it for love - for music, for old trains or even for both. Long may it continue. "

Morning Star

"Indietracks festival in Derbyshire has found a particular niche: indiepop fans with a yearning for the golden age of steam."

The Guardian

"The atmosphere was as friendly as a Fat Controller after three Melton Mowbray pork pies, and extremely well organised with awesome, inspired music and toilets that never ran out of loo roll. Perfect."

WhisperMag

"It’s hard to see how Indietracks will be anything other than the most enjoyable event of the year."

Another Form Of Relief

"I loved it."

Eddie Argos, Art Brut

"Près de 50 groupes ont joué avec ferveur, sans égo, constamment mélangés aux fans (jusqu'à dormir dans le même camping pour la plupart, ce n'est pas tous les jours qu'on croise Emmy The Great allant prendre sa douche) et partageant un amour sans failles de la musique. "

Discobloguons

"Indietracks 2009 was, in these eyes, an utter triumph…. You could probably leave your Nan on her own at Indietracks whilst you went to buy a pint, and you'd come back and not only would she be chatting to her new best friends; she'd have a Smittens t-shirt on, too. And the best thing is - no-one's got a clue where this atmosphere comes from."

A layer of chips

RadioNowhere Indietracks podcast

RadioNowhere aired an Indietracks 2009 Special on Monday August 10th. You can now download the show as a podcast, which includes music and conversation from Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub, Au Revoir Simone, The School, Emmy The Great plus much much more!

Download the podcast (mp3)

We'll be adding to this list over the next few weeks, so pleased drop us a line if we've missed anything interesting.

Indietracks interview #27: The Smittens

The Smittens are a six-piece indiepop band from Burlington, Vermont and a DIY twee pop explosion. Formed in 2002, The Smittens have been winning the hearts and minds of indiepop fans and discerning critics in the U.S. and abroad with an impressive and rapidly expanding catalog of fresh and fancy bubblegum-inspired revolutionary twee pop.

Accomplished songsmiths all, the six Smittens Max Andrucki, Colin Clary, Dana Kaplan, Holly Chagnon, David Zacharis and their newest member Emily Hilliard - switch instruments and songwriting to create brilliantly lyrical and hyper-catchy pop songs of all colours, shapes and sizes. The band's third album, 'The Coolest Thing About Love', is out now on Athens, Georgia’s indie institution Happy Happy Birthday To Me.

Today we're joined by Max from the band, and be warned, there's a surprising amount of swearing in this (ie, some swearing).

Hi Max, tell us a little bit about The Smittens
We're all white. Except that Dana is Jewish. And David is Greek.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?
Swedish dance pop, anything WeePop puts out, The Chiffons, The Free Design, M.I.A., The Just Joans, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, and along with all the other "Brooklyn" hipsters, we kinda like The Drums.

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past?
On a mother-f__kin' BOAT. In Bristol, UK. And at a kickball game.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?
Sweden. and two inter-band weddings. and Max is gonna finish his PhD. And have lots of crazy sex. And as a band, we are doing some recording soon - a Tullycraft cover for a tribute comp, and some songs of our own... yet to be written. We are playing with the following song titles: 'F__ you and your crafts', 'Drama queen', and 'Whack it 'til the candy comes out'.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?
We are really good at impromptu kitchen dance parties, and nonviolent interpersonal communication.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?
Half a bottle of franks red hot.

And finally, do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?
No. In a good way!

Great - thanks Max.

Indietracks interview #26: Downdime

Downdime are a noisy, psychedelic indiepop band formed in Leeds in 2004. Taking inspiration from the C86/indiepop bands of the 1980s and 90s such as Rocketship, My Bloody Valentine and The Wedding Present. They have so far released two 7" singles: Seeds of Hopelessness (Squirrel Records, 2005) and Hate the Morning/Joanne (Squirrel Records, 2006), and their debut album Knowing Too Much is out now, also on Squirrel Records.

Interesting pop fact: singer/guitarist Ged played drums with indie stalwarts Boyracer for several years in the 1990s.

Hiya, tell us a little bit about yourselves

We are an indie pop band from Leeds that likes to play joyous full-on noise with occasional quieter interludes. We’re into bands like The Wedding Present and Action Painting! Ged sings while he fights his guitar into submission. Ste apparently plays bass like he’s being electrocuted. Liz was once described as aloof but has since figured out how to rock it without getting her hair tangled in the keys. Eddy is our dependable metronome as long as no-one feeds him nuts right before a gig (this happened once. Not fun, but he lived to tell the tale). Having released a couple of singles (Seeds of Hopelessness; Hate The Morning/Joanne), we recorded our debut album ‘Knowing Too Much’ in the Brudenell Social Club, which is practically our living room and one of our favourite gig venues. The album was released on Squirrel Records earlier this year. Onstage we’re upbeat, loud and occasionally a little ramshackle so expect some feedback and maybe some falling over.

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past

We just played a gig with Jeffrey Lewis and The Junkyard at The Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds, the only gas lit cinema still in use in the UK. The four of us were balanced in a row on a narrow strip between the footlights and the screen. The crowd had to sit and listen quietly; it was great to have a captive audience where the only thing distracting them from watching us was their huge buckets of pop corn. It was a really memorable experience, with the added bonus of then watching Jeff perform with his homemade videos projected onto the big screen.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?

Ged: I am a trained tight rope walker, my dad has worked in the circus for many years and he taught me this very useful skill. Thanks Dad.Liz: I once performed in The Royal Albert Hall. I was seven years old, and I was dressed as a parrot.Ste: I swore onboard the pope mobile.Eddy: My dad runs a religious cult with Blondie's Gary Valentine and Jah Wobble.

What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?

Indie pop and steam trains, what’s not to love about that? We haven’t been along before, but friends who have say we will fit in well, and lots of them are going again this year so we’re looking forward to having a really good time together. We love indie pop and the people involved; more and more great bands have been added to the bill, so it just keeps getting better. We’re going to fit in as much free train travel as humanly possible. It’d be rude not to...

Exactly! And here's a free Downdime MP3 to download: Knowing Too Much

Indietracks interview #25: Nick Garrie

Three days to go until the festival: three interviews left to bring you! Nick Garrie-Hamilton, better known as Nick Garrie, is a British singer-songwriter best known for his extremely rare 1969 debut album, 'The Nightmare of JB Stanislas', which is considered by many to be an exemplary piece of psychedelic baroque pop. Original copies of the album, which was reportedly only available in France, are known to have been very expensive, and it wasn’t until 2005, when Rev-ola Records issued it, that it was available on CD.

Forty years after this debut, Nick Garrie is back with '49 Arlington Gardens', his long-awaited new album, released on Elefant Records. Nick will play on the outdoor stage on the Sunday afternoon of the festival.

Hi Nick, Indietracks is a pretty unique location - tell us about an unusual place you've played a show in the past
I seem to have played in unusual places most of my life, on mountain tops in the cold setting sun, in little portugese cafes lapped by the sea and last night in a solitary petrol station to a homesick Sri lankan.

Tell us about your plans for this year

September will be 40 years since I recorded Stanislas and Elefant are re-releasing it along with "the cuts" - six songs which never made it onto the album. I've also been recording with Duglas and the BMX Bandits; one session was finished in a little studio up in the hills in northern Portugal and the rest was done in Glasgow over the recent half-term week. It will also include a short memoir I've written called 'I'll read the book'

Do you have any surprises planned for the festival?
If enough kids turn up I'm going to bring them on stage to sing The Clockmaker. And if my lovely daughter is brave enough (from the Twilight video) she'll sing When Evening Comes with me.. a lot of ifs!

What are you looking forward to at the festival?
I'm really looking forward to it and grateful to Luis for asking me. I've played everywhere except festivals and I hope my little songs don't get blown away. I went to boarding school on steam trains and wrote 'Twilight' and 'Nook and Cranny' on trains. I'm looking forward to hearing every band at Indietracks and I wish us all well.

Indietracks interview #24: Le Man Avec Les Lunettes

Le Man Avec Les Lunettes is an Italian project, born in the winter of 2004, arranged as a six-piece band that plays sweet POP with awesome melodies! They have toured Italy and Europe extensively, including trips to France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

In 2008, after some EPs, split singles, and compilations in different formats, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes released their debut album Plaskaplaskabombelibom in Italy on My Honey records and Zahr records, and in Germany by Cake and Coffee records. We're joined by Alessandro for a quick interview.

Hi, tell us a little bit about yourselves
We started four years ago. In the beginning there was only two people, Ale and Fab. They met during a boring universitylesson and they found they had the same musical taste. Actually we're six in total... with a cello, synths, accordions and so on. So we're happy because now it's much easier to reproduce live the layers of sounds that you can hear in our records !

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
We played at "Tjuren - camp" at the Emmaboda festival 2007 with Utah Rangers/Salty Pirates, g.o.o.f, Emil from Scaredycat, Lätt som en plätt, Milkman, Klas, The Young Untold, The Besties, Rough Bunnies, Kin and The Faintest Ideas (we found the list on Nils Folke Valdemar's website). It was so nice cause we played among tents and all theartists were almost also the audience. During this "handmade" festival there was sun interrupted by rain and then sun again, so artists were in a tent during the rain and outside during the sun - it was really funny!

What exciting things have you been up to so far this year?
Well... in April we toured the UK for the first time (thanks to Liz from the amazing band The School). Also there was a Japanese release of our album "Plaskaplaskabombelibom" in April by Friend of Mine Records. So our plan for the autumn is to organize a tour in Japan... awesome!!!

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival?
La Casa Azul, Speedmarket Avenue, Pocketbooks, Camera Obscura, Emmy the Great, Fitness Forever, One Happy Island, Lucky Soul, Little My, and lots more!

Great - see you next weekend!

Indietracks interview #23: Bonne Idée

Formed in a Gothenburg basement in 2006, Bonne Idée are an unsigned band with a modest but promising output. They haven’t released an EP or album yet, and there are only a few songs on their MySpace page which are sung in Swedish and English. ‘Glassbåten’, which can be found on the Birdsongs, Beesongs... Volume A compilation, has an intro that sounds like it could have been lifted straight from Nico’s Chelsea Girl LP as the song has a wonderful melody and delightful accordion. ‘It Will Be Back’, soars with a delightful chorus sung in French complete with ‘ba-ba-ba-ba’s’ bouncing along until the songs end. They are playing a handful of London dates before Indietracks at the Goonite Club, Fortuna Pop and Twee as F....

Hi guys, tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
At the beginning of the year we played our song Glassbåten in a tram. Trams a bit of a symbol for Gothenburg, where we all live. For us it is the most common way to transport ourself. Here is the video:



Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?
Olle, the bass player, works as a tramdriver.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?
Abba - Dancing queen, Ted Gärdestad - Fånga en ängel, Håkan Hellström - Himmel blå, himmel blå, Steely Dan - Peg, Studio total - Oh no, El perro del mar - Coming down the hill, The Velvet Underground - There she goes again, Orange juice - Rip it up,

Thanks - look forward to seeing you at the festival!

Indietracks interview #22: Alaska

Alaksa are Torben, Christoph, Patrick, Björn and Carsten, and are based in Hamburg, Germany. They released their debut album 'Nouveau Liberty' on the influential Marsh-Marigold record label in 2005, and also released an EP 'Kings of the Class' on the same label in 1999. The band have dedicated themselves to the fine popsong as a sensitive carrier of beauty and memories. Having said that, Torben's singing is perhaps reminiscent more of the young Billy Corgan than of Stuart Murdoch or even Nick Drake. Torben has joined us today for a quick interview.

Hi, tell us a little bit about yourselves

We are the band Alaska from Hamburg (as there are several bands with the same name all over the world). We started in 1994 (under the name Mrs. Wallace). In 1999 we signed to Marsh-Marigold Records (Hamburg´s eldest indie-pop label). On stage we present a classical line-up (including drums, bass, two guitars, organs). We were influenced by bands such as The Beatles, all bands from Sarah records, The Cure, Belle & Sebastian, The BMX Bandits, Cinerama, The Delgados etc...

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

At the moment we love to listen to: The Draytones, MGMT, The Morning Benders, Friska Viljor, Guillemots, The Divine Comedy, Cinerama, Get Well Soon, Camera Obscura, Pelle Carlberg, Belle & Sebastian, Eugene McGuiness, The Bishops, Benjamin Gibbard, The Deadly Syndrome, The Delgados, Catatonia etc.

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
We once played in the engine's area of an old fire brigade ship at the Hamburg harbour!

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?

We are really looking forward to seeing The BMX Bandits and Camera Obscura, because we love their music and we are big fans. And of course "Nick Garrie" - no explanation needed ;)

Thanks Torben. And here's a free MP3 from the band's 1999 Marsh-Marigold EP: Kings of the Class

Indietracks interview #21: Pocketbooks

You might have spotted that we recently published a full schedule for the festival, so you can see when each band is playing and plan your weekends. The festival will have four stages (including the trains), workshops, a selection of discos after the bands, stalls, and 50+ bands ranging from bright new indiepop bands like Northern Portrait and Bonne Idee to household names like Teenage Fanclub and Camera Obscura. Phew! All things considered, it’s been quite a journey since the first Indietracks event in April 2007, when Slow Down Tallahassee, Tottie and today’s interviewees Pocketbooks played to a hundred or so people on the Ripley station platform.

Pocketbooks will be returning to the festival to play on the indoor stage this year. They’re a pop band from London who recall the melodic sounds of bands like the Housemartins and The Sundays. The band has just released their debut album, Flight Paths (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?), as well as a recent single ‘Footsteps’, which they’re giving away as a free MP3 below.

Hi Emma and Dan, tell us a little bit about the band

Emma: We’re two parts Geordie, one part Haddock, one part typical 1930s suburbia and one part wherever Jonny appeared from. We've been playing as a band for a few years now and even managed to get an album together which is coming out this week just in time for Indietracks (massive plug!).

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

Emma: I can’t stop listening to the new Liechtenstein album - it’s brilliant! But apart from that, a lot of rockabilly stuff.

Dan: I have been listening to "the poor man's Captain Beefheart" Tom Waits, getting my ear bent for not listening to Liechtenstein enough and fixating on 60s pop (again...).

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past

Dan: We recently played at the Big Pink Cake indiepop weekender, which was in a cinema. We had the film "Bicyclettes de Belsize" showing on a big screen behind us as we played. It was really exciting to have them allow us to do that, the film felt as though it was made just for us to play along to!

Emma: Except we all had our backs to the audience at certain points because we wanted to watch the film! We also played out the front of Hornsey Town Hall once, to an assortment of bemused Saturday shoppers and confused kids. Oh, and Jonny has played a rendition of the Bob The Builder song to primary school kids!

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

Dan: Well there’s the aforementioned album coming out. Then we’re recording a Jonathan Richman cover, and off to do some shows in Berlin, Glasgow and Nottingham. Then maybe we’ll have a bit of a rest to watch some telly.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?

Dan: Emma can mimic any TV advert jingle you should choose. My favourite is Calgon.

Emma: Dan has an ability to make ageing rock stars laugh, most recently Robert Plant.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?

Emma: Hmm, probably the Indietracks compilation, so I can sing along to the bands and look all knowledgeable at the festival!

Dan: I'll be revisiting some old favourites from the nuggets set, maybe a bit of Slade and some old ska records.

Do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?

Emma: We have a special guest joining us on tambourine this year. If you knew who it was, you might understand how this could potentially steal the show!

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?

Emma: Art Brut, Mighty Mighty, Teenage Fanclub, Northern Portrait, The Specific Heats, Friends, The Smittens, and the lovely Elefant bands of course. Just about everyone really! Oh, and my entire family, who have all decided to come along this year and pull faces at me from the audience.

Thanks! And here’s a free MP3 of their recent single: Footsteps

Indietracks interview #20: The Understudies

It's now just over a week the festival opens its gates! Hopefully you've now booked those travel tickets, blagged the Friday off work, and found somewhere to sleep (not forgetting our handy accommodation quiz of course). So you can now sit back and relax as we continue to get you better acquainted with some of this year’s line-up.

The Understudies are Brian, Bree, Graeme and Kris; a London collective, by way of Scotland, who make the kind of dreamy indiepop that Felt peddled in their prime, tinged with a caustic wit last seen dribbling from Luke Haines’ mouth. The band released a single, Flicknives, on Cloudberry Records which was described by Indie MP3 as follows: “"If you have ever fallen for bands like The Magnetic Fields, Camera Obscura and Butcher Boy - you'll be right at home with The Understudies and their beautifully presented indiepop. 'Flicknives' is one of those pop songs that manages to drill itself into your brain - making itself comfortable and refusing to leave - it's fabulous little song and one I can't stop listening to. They're a cracking little band"

Graeme and Bree have kindly popped by to answer a few questions:

Hi, tell us a bit about yourselves...

Graeme: The Understudies are Anglo-Scottish melodic indie pop, we're still unsure if twee is an insult. Bree does have a stuffed fox but the rest of us fantasise about being in Grinderman, we have a glock but Brian has a big muff. Our influences go from Arab Strap to Sixties girl groups to Scott Walker, and Brian likes Guns and Roses but we don't talk about that.

Bree: Graeme and I met working in a bookshop, actually that's a bit of a Rock Family Tree story as there are three other people playing this year's Indietracks who have worked there too, bizarre! A railway-related Understudies fact is that singer Brian works on South-West trains when he's not being a quiffed rock god, so if any of the steam train drivers need a hand.....maybe not a good idea after too much fizzy pop though. To sum up, I think that if The Understudies were a song we'd probably be The Rubettes by The Auteurs.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

Bree: Some of the bands I'm enjoying at the moment have ended up playing Indietracks, which is really exciting for me, like Cats on Fire and Wake the President. I've also just bought The Leisure Society, Grizzly Bear and Jarvis' new album. I have to have a physical copy, I've never downloaded anything in my life, I can't bear not having an inlay card to obsess over.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?

Bree:

I ended up joining Aberfeldy a few years ago when the girls in the band left. I helped them out with some summer festivals in Scotland but, what with me living in London, logistics meant that it wasn't to be. I was a massive fan so it felt very odd but I had an amazing time. It's always funny when I hear Summer's Gone on that bingo advert now....

Graeme: Many years ago I once went on holiday to France with a group of people including Eddie Izzard. I chronically name dropped him for years afterwards until one day I saw him walking towards me down the street, I ran into a nearby hat shop because I was scared he would or maybe wouldn't recognise me. He followed me in and started looking at trilbys. I bravely looked at some bowlers for ten minutes. Moral: never go on holiday with your heroes.

What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?

Bree: Indie pop and steam trains, are you kidding?! We love the sentiment behind the whole thing as well, it just seems really down-to-earth. There are so many great bands out there who don't get the exposure they deserve and not everyone wants to go and not-quite-see The Killers whilst being crushed and sodden. Brian got in contact last year and we nearly ended up playing but missed out. I was having kittens when we were asked to play this year, I still can't believe it. It's going to be an amazing weekend!

Indietracks interview #19: Ray Rumours and the No-eyed Deers

Ray Rumours is Ros, the bassist from Electrelane, who has released two albums on Stitch-Stitch Records. The most recent was this year's 'Le Pont Suspendu', which was recorded in one week at a friend's house in St Martin d'Ardeche. The album takes its name from the suspension bridge that spans the Ardeche river, and was recorded in the winter of 2007 and spring of 2008, using only acoustic instruments, including a grand piano and a cardboard drum kit. It covers themes of loss: half-forgotten friends, disappearing memories, missed chances and bitter rejections.

Personalities from the recordings surround the songs: an underwater trumpeter, laughing backing singers, footsteps clattering down the stairs and the shredding of a newspaper mid-song. Ros has joined us for a quick interview on the blog.

Hi Ros, what music are you enjoying at the moment?
The Light Sleepers, Francois and the Atlas Mountains, Marine Girls, Heavenly, The Madrigals, Bambino.

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
I once played in a slaughterhouse in Madrid. It had been turned into some sort of art place but it still felt strange and wrong.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?
Gill who plays drums wrote 'the Axis of Evil cookbook'.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?
Camera Obscura, because I've never seen them before and I'm excited about seeing them with Francois (of my favourite band Francois and the Atlas Mountains) playing.

Indietracks interview # 16: Camera Obscura

Today’s the first day of July, which means that the festival is taking place this month! It seems like forever ago when we announced back in February that Camera Obscura would be one of this year’s headliners, so it’s brilliant that we only have to wait another few more weeks to see them play as the sun sets on the Saturday night.

Camera Obscura have become such household names that on a recent trip to the US, we found a feature on them in every newspaper we looked at (here's Tracyanne on the cover of the Boston Metro!). The band were formed in 1996 by Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson, and Gavin Dunbar, and have since received high acclaim for their sophisticated, melancholic and uplifting pop songs. They released their debut album Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi in 2001, and a second album, Underachievers Please Try Harder, on Elefant Records the following year.

In 2006, the band released Let’s Get out of This Country, produced by Jari Haapalainen and again released on Elefant Records. The album appeared high up in many critical lists of the ‘best albums of 2006’ and featured the classic floor-filling pop anthem Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken. In February 2009, it was announced that Camera Obscura had signed to the legendary indie label 4AD, who released their fourth album, called My Maudlin Career, in April 2009.

Gavin Dunbar, the band’s bassist (and guest DJ at a 2007 Indietracks Christmas event!), joins us for today’s interview.

Hi Gavin, Elefant Records are curating a stage at this year's festival. What was it like being part of the Elefant family?
We felt very lucky when we signed to Elefant, they were big fans of our first record, having licensed it for Spain, and welcomed us into the label. They became good friends of ours. It is inspiring to see people so genuinely enthusiastic about music and the bands they release records by. They put in so much effort to what they do, and you can tell that from the artwork of the releases and packaging to they way they keep in touch with the fans of the label. It really is like a family there.

How did you approach the recording of the new album, following the success of Let's Get Out Of This Country?
We knew we'd made a substantial jump forward with Let's Get Out Of This Country, being the first time we'd made a whole album with a producer, and feeling that we'd progressed a fair bit both as a band and as players. The basic approach was the same as it usually is, getting a collection of songs we're happy with together and rehearsing them up to the point where we feel ready to go into a studio. We knew we wanted to work with Jari the producer again, partly because we felt he brought out the best in us, and partly because we knew he wouldn't want to just make another record the same as the last. We worked away on the songs in Glasgow and then Jari came over a few times for pre-production work in rehearsals, and suggested a few things, then it was off to Sweden to record over a fairly intense two week period. We've always basically recorded live, and then added a few overdubs if they were required, so we're quite used to going in and getting the basic tracks down as live takes, including the vocals. It seems the best way to work for us, you can tell fairly quickly when you get a take with the best feel for the song.

You're very active Tweeters! Has the relationship between the band and its fans changed as a result?
I think we've always been quite good at trying to keep in touch with the folk who come and see us or buy the records. I guess as ways to keep fans up to date with what you're up to evolve, it’s nice to be on top of them. We do like to have active myspace, facebook and twitter things going on as well as the band website. And for those people not keen on technology, we still keep the snail mail PO Box alive so folk can correspond to us in the old fashioned way.

We hear the band have recently given up their jobs to pursue the band full-time. How easy has it been to adapt to being a full-time band?
It’s been great for us. We've been through long period of basically being full-time, but also trying to juggle full and part-time jobs on top of the band, that’s the hard thing. Being full-time with the band and not having to fit in another job on top is fantastic. We actually get to sleep sometimes now.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?
The new M Ward album has been enjoyed by the band. We're loving playing with Agent Ribbons who have been supporting us in the States this tour, we'd highly recommend checking them out, and we're looking forward to playing with Anni Rossi on the second leg of the trip, we really enjoyed playing with her recently in New York.

What attracted the band to play the Indietracks festival?
It’s such a great grassroots festival, organized by people who have a real love of the bands they ask to play, and the people that go to the festival are real music fans, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly plus you get a go on the steam trains. Who wouldn't want to play. We were disappointed not to have been able to play the last couple of years, but band weddings and pre-booked Spanish festivals meant we weren't able to. I did come down to DJ at the Christmas event in 2007, which was great fun. We're really looking forward to getting down and having a hang about.

Do you approach playing at festivals in a different way to other gigs?
I guess you have to a wee bit. I think we've got better at festival sets over the past couple of years, you don't want it to be all upbeat fast pop songs, you like a bit of variety, but it makes sense at festivals to build a set round the songs you know the people who like you really want to hear, and people who maybe don't know are going to enjoy hearing for the first time.

What's the most unusual place you've played a gig in the past?
It’s got to be the venue we played in Mexico City in 2007, the Polyforum. We played inside the world's largest mural, which was pretty amazing as a backdrop all round us, and we hadn't really known what to expect when we arrived, and the place was rammed to the rafters, so a fantastic night was had by all.

Thanks Gavin – look forward to seeing you at the festival!

Indietracks accommodation quiz returns!

(Picture: Golden Valley Caravan and Camping Park)

As the Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch once wrote, “Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.” Well, for those of you who took our accommodation quiz last year, here’s a chance to find out if your identity has unfolded since last year’s festival. Have you recently discovered the joy of camping? Have you subconsciously developed a longing for the traditional comforts of a bed and breakfast? Here’s your opportunity to find out.

We’ve subtly updated the quiz from last year to ensure the cultural reference points remain accessible for a 2009 audience (that Menswear bit will be okay for a few years though, right?). However, to ensure the quiz remains valid and robust in relation to last year’s benchmark – and for no other reason - we have kept the questions almost exactly the same as last year.

Of course, if you didn’t take the quiz last year, please dive in and pretend this quiz is brand new! Good luck!

Still trying to decide where to stay for Indietracks? Torn between casting caution (and your hair straighteners) to the wind at the campsite, or living it up in the (comparative) glamour of a Travelodge? Wondering whether you’d prefer the cosy home comforts of a Bed and Breakfast or…..in fact…...home? Well, worry thee no more, for you’ve come to the right place my friend! A quick squiz at our shambolic Cosmo-style mini-questionnaire and you’ll soon be taking care of all those niggling accommodation woes….just remember to be honest!

1. The one thing that makes a festival perfect for you is:

a) Being able to fix your make-up and/or hair under PROPER LIGHTS every day
b) A late night Camera Obscura sing-along with ukeleles, guitars and tins of tomatoes for drums
c) Meeting all the local characters who live near to the festival site and listening to them reminisce about when "it were all fields round here", even though it still is
d) Getting away from it all at the end of the day, in time for late-night Big Brother


2. Your perfect “festival look” is:

a) Immaculate hair and perfectly pressed clothes, you've got a style reputation to maintain
b) A floppy hat, all-weather/terrain shoes and a guitar strapped across your back; an acoustic appearance on the grassy knoll could beckon at any time
c) Clean clothes and smelling fresh, even if your ‘The School’ t-shirt smells of mothballs after hanging in the antique wardrobe
d) Travelling light, no sleeping bags to weigh you down!

3. Your idea of creature comforts for a festival is:

a) A late-opening bar and a room big enough to party in (and rip Yellow Pages in half)
b) An inflatable mattress and a portable stove - the caff is cheap as chips but you're enjoying your reputation as an outdoorsy expert
c) Finding quaint little pubs nearby where you can sink a pint in peace until your next favourite band comes on
d) Someone there to welcome you home at the end of the day, and to tell you what you missed in Coronation Street


4. Duglas T. Stewart of BMX Bandits tells you he’s got nowhere to stay for the night and begs your help. Do you:

a) Say “We’ve got a family room and you’re part of the family, Duglas!”, as long as he promises to bring booze
b) Invite him to share your abode as long as he agrees to play Teenage Fanclub covers in the sing-along
c) Blush at the thought of how you’re going to explain away a strange man in your room to the landlady, when you’ve already got a partner in tow
d) Call home and tell them to make up an extra bed, you've got an indie legend coming home


5. It’s 1.00am on Saturday, you’re merry on indiepop and cider (but mainly cider) and you need your bed – FAST! Do you:

a) Fumble for that cab number in your bag, you know you had it somewhere? You really want to crash in someone's tent but can't bear the thought of kinky hair in the morning
b) Magically produce an X Files-style torchlight from your rucksack and start looking for that trail of stones you left somewhere, as well as the stash of booze you hid in a bush for late-night sing-alongs
c) Stumble towards the exit with a map in one hand, and mobile phone in another, trying to sober up so you don’t make too much noise when you get in
d) Phone home and leave a tipsy message on the answerphone for someone to come and get you


6. You decide to fix yourself a snack. Do you:

a) Reach for the free shortbread biscuits next to the complimentary tea and tiny kettle
b) Place a can of beans over a cigarette lighter and wait for half an hour
c) Run downstairs and ask nicely if they can rustle up some cheese on toast
d) Raid the fridge and hope someone hasn’t snaffled all your vegetarian sausages.


7. When you wake up in the morning, you write down all your dreams. Were you:

a) Wandering down an endless nondescript corridor knocking on infinite identical doors looking for a party that sounds close by, but never gets any nearer
b) Running free in the wildness under the stars to the soundtrack of owl twoots and soft metal acoustica
c) Transported back to the 1950s drinking multiple cups of tea and eating Digestive biscuits as a Gramaphone plays Cliff Richard tunes
d) Back at school, watching that time when you tripped and fell during the school play over and over again.


8. You feel the need for some entertainment. Do you:

a) Stick on the cable TV and feel guilty watching Hollyoaks, before considering paying for wi-fi
b) Fashion a rudimentary ukulele from some branches and stray twine and lead a Jonathan Richman singalong
c) Challenge a fellow guest to a game of chess or draughts
d) Browse through your entire CD and DVD collection or pick a book from your bookshelf


9. The Indietracks genie appears and grants you a wish. Do you wish:

a) That the party next door will stop playing “French Navy” on repeat and go to bed
b) That the stray cow that’s appeared two feet from where you’re sleeping will get distracted and leave
c) That the random guest you’re chatting to will stop trying to get you to explain what an indiepop festival is. “It’s a kinda like The Beatles, okay?”
d) That you were coming back for the next day of the festival and joining the overnight fun!


10. You meet someone special at the festival. What are you most worried about when they get back to your accommodation?

a) That the romance will fade when they find an aspiring Scandinavian indiepop band sleeping on the pull-out sofa
b) That the appeal of sitting out under the stars will drop sharply if it starts to rain
c) That there was actually a curfew, and the landlady is up waiting for you with a stern look on her face
d) That they don’t stumble across the framed photos from your Britpop phase, when you tried to look like Jonny from Menswear


Wondering how you got on? In true Cosmo style it should be fairly flippin’ obvious but, if you need your scores, here they are.

Mostly As: Yup, you’re a Travelodger alright. You know the campsite has showers, but it’s just not the same, right? You need to be able to sit down properly to fix your hair and, anyway, you quite fancy late night drinking shenanigans in a family room with no wet grass to bother you. Rooms in Nottingham, Derby and Alfreton are getting booked up quickly, so visit the Travelodge website soon! www.travelodge.co.uk

Mostly Bs: Hello campers! For you, festivals just aren’t the same unless you’ve got a tin o’ beans on the go, and a campsite sing-along to look forward to. You might want to check out the wonderful Golden Valley Caravan Park campsite.

Mostly Cs: You consider yourself a discerning festival-goer, fancying the unique, ramshackle charm of a nearby Bed and Breakfast. You like nothing more than meeting the locals and sampling real ale in nearby pubs, and so Moss Cottage in Ripley might be ideal for you.

Mostly Ds: ‘Cos you’re a daaaaaay-tripper, etc etc. You’ve got a day ticket and you’re not afraid to use it. You’re there for a while, but you’re looking forward to curling up in your own bed while everyone else is remembering that vital bit of kit they left at home. Erm, there’s not really a website I can point you to, but it's probably wise to check the festival site location on the Indietracks website before you sort out travel arrangements.

If you still can't make up your mind, don't forget to check out the accommodation page of the Indietracks website for more details... see you there!

Indietracks interview #6: Butcher Boy

Phew, it's been a busy few weeks at Indietracks towers. You'll hopefully have seen the recent additions to the line-up and we've also announced which bands are playing on which days. And, we've announced the details of this year's Indietracks compilation CD (44 tracks for just £6!). It's just ten weeks to the festival now, and we've lots more interviews, quizzes, announcements and features to bring you on the blog before then, so do stay around!

Today we're joined by Basil, guitarist from ornate orchestral octet Butcher Boy. The band has existed in its current form since early 2005, but lead singer John Blain Hunt has played in various incarnations of the band since the late 1990s. In 2006, the band recorded their debut album at CaVa Sound in Glasgow with Geoff Allan, and the band were signed to London label How Does It Feel To Be Loved? in the same year. They appeared on the 2006 HDIF compliation, 'The Kids At The Club', and their debut album, 'Profit In Your Poetry', followed in March that year. Earlier this year, the band released their second album “React Or Die” in April to genuine acclaim - not least the 5/5 reviews in the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph!


Hi Basil, tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past

Butcher Boy kind of specialise in playing unusual places as getting away from regular music venues can make the experience better for everyone involved – hence the attraction of Indietracks. One of the favourite places we’ve played is the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall in Glasgow. Opened in the 1880s the music hall lay derelict from 1937 until the mid 1990s when a trust was set up to restore it to use. In it’s heyday it ran variety bills and was one of the first theatres in Glasgow to show movies – it wasn’t the most genteel of places and the audiences were notorious for being extremely boisterous. Today you enter the Panopticon via an amusement arcade at street level, like a seaside pier stranded in the middle of town, and that journey from the street, through the arcade and up the staircase to the theatre quickly re-sets your perceptions and prepares you for a world of other possibilities….

It’s wonderfully atmospheric place and even in its partially-restored state you can still get a sense of what it must have been like in its heyday. The house piano is a haunted pianola named George that slams it’s lid on the fingers of people it doesn’t like. Our Alison got on fine with George… We filmed the end sequence of the video to our song ‘A Better Ghost’ there – it felt really special to have the theatre to ourselves that day. You can just see in the video that we were blindfolded while ‘playing’ for the dancing couple, like some elaborate knife throwing act.

There’s always something worth seeing at the Panopticon, in particular the regular Laurel & Hardy film nights – Stan Laurel famously made his stage debut there, so check it out if you’re in town! http://www.britanniapanopticon.org/

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

We haven’t thought much beyond Indietracks this summer, but before then we have a very special event booked. Our John is a real cineaste and on June 14th we combine his two great interests when we play a live score to the movie ‘Chick’s Day’* at the Glasgow Film Theatre Chick’s Day is the work of the largely forgotten Scots/Italian amateur film maker Enrico Cocozza. Cocozza made around sixty short films in the late 1950s/early 1960s that were self funded, with performers and technicians drawn from his home town of Wishaw. All the films were silent, although occasionally dialogue was dubbed on later. Many of the films were comic; however Chick’s Day is a seriously adult-themed piece that reminds me of elements of the film adaptations of Allan Sillitoe’s novels, but with a touch of surrealism. The score is being specially written for the film and we’ll play a set of songs afterwards. Being able to do this is a real treat as the GFT is a great favourite of the band. Tickets available now… just go to June 14th here: https://tickets.glasgowfilmtickets.org.uk/public/

*Chick is a common Scottish diminution of Charles – nothing to do with the ladies…although guys that get called Chick do tend to be a bit on the wide side.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?

Special Indietracks railway-related Butcher Boy facts:

1. Basil once worked for British Rail in the signal & telegraph stores at Irvine and that job paid for his Guild Duane Eddy guitar.
2. The Glasgow subway runs directly under Alison’s house, and she often dreams about it. Once, she dreamed that she got to ride in the cab of a subway train, and to see the mysterious depot... which turned out to be a gigantic subterranean funfair, all decorated in the standard
beige-and-brown. Once they got to the depot, the trains turned into rollercoasters, corkscrewing and looping-the-loop over the heads of the drivers who were on their lunch breaks below. And then the trains would slow down, go back into the tunnels and roll along to Govan station as if were the most boring thing in the world.
3. Findlay is a railway poster nut and subscribes to Railwayana Magazine to feed his addiction.
4. Fraser was born in Milngavie to the North of Glasgow, the home of the George Bennie Railplane – a crazy-looking prototype propeller-driven monorail built in 1930. It never took off (in the metaphorical sense).
5. John is hopelessly romantic about train travel and insisted that Butcher Boy travelled to their first two London shows by train.
6. Aoife’s viola predates the invention of the steam train (tenuous)
7. Robert gets the train to work (struggling now)
8. Maya can whistle the tune Casey Jones backwards (ok, I made up that one)


What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?

We needed to get out more. And our Fraser played Indietracks last year with The Just Joans and said we’d enjoy it, that it was our kind of thing - a bit quirky, honest fun - so when the call came we couldn’t say no. And name another festival that puts on steam train rides?

Thanks Basil. And the band have kindly given us a free song for you to download: Carve A Pattern


Next up: Roy Moller