Indietracks interview #10: Love Is All

Here at Indietracks Towers, we’re usually awoken by the sunlight streaming through the curtains, the morning call of bluebirds, squirrels foraging for nuts, the sound of bicycle bells frightening pedestrians off the pavement, the joyful screech of a joyrider’s tyres, cats fighting viciously for territory (well, we think that’s what they’re doing!) or the next door neighbours watching horror movies at 3am in unnecessary surround sound. Mostly the last one. Today, however, it was the brutal knock of the postman. After several attempts, it became clear that the only way to cease this cruel interruption was by actually answering the door, where, lo and behold, we were presented with the first instalment of Indietracks flyers! Beautifully designed by our Emma in this season’s hippest colours (it’s all about yellow and black this year), we think these are going to adorn many a fridge door, scrapbook or those cork boards that you see in student halls of residence for years to come. Keep an eye out for them, they’ll be coming to a gig, record shop or street near you soon!

And, of course, one of the names on the aforementioned flyers is today’s interviewees, Love Is All!

Love Is All have picked up plaudits for their blend of art punk and indie rock since they formed from the ashes of indiepop group Girlfriendo in 2005. Pitchfork included their debut album 'Nine Times That Same Song' among their favourites of 2005, while NME named their song 'Make Out Fall Out Make Up' as a single of the week. The band’s new album ‘Two Thousand and Ten Injuries’ is an unconstrained and celebratory affair, combining punk guitars, saxophones, disco beats and melodic harmonies and is already being hailed as one of the best albums of the year.

Josephine from the band has joined us for today’s interview.

Hi Josephine, tell us a little bit about Love Is All

Hum, we're five people from Gothenburg, Sweden who have been playing together for a small eternity. We are very much in to doing things ourselves and have mixed and recorded all our music in our own space together with Wyatt Cusick. I'm making all the artwork myself and most of the videos. It's not so much a statement as it is us just being bad with trusting outside ideas. I think we can be a pain to work with sometimes.

We haven't toured Europe nearly as much as we've toured the US and therefore we are really excited to play Indietracks this summer.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

I'm really digging the new Ariel Pink record. Such perfect music for the summer.

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

I feel like we haven't played anywhere too exotic or unusual. We did a small tour of Brazil, that must be the most unusual place we've played. We managed to combine the tour with two weeks of vacation, which made the whole trip amazing.

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

Exciting... I don't know. There will probably be plenty more touring and some recordings. Right now I'm mostly excited about summer being around the corner, I can't wait to go swimming and grilling and all those summery things.

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

Johan and Markus know pretty much every Beatles song ever recorded and will sing them to you in perfect harmonies if you buy them a couple of glasses of Pastis.

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

Ariel Pink. That's all I can think of right now, sorry.

What attracted you to play at Indietracks?

Last year some of my friends went and they came back talking about what a great festival it was, insisting that we should try to play there. Of course I forgot all about it, but when the Indietracks festival asked us if we wanted to play I got really excited and instantly knew that I wanted to do it.

Thanks Josephine!

xxx

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 on film...

Wow! Haven't you lot been busy? We can't believe how many wonderful photos, blogs and videos you've already posted online! We're back in real life now, but reading and seeing everyone's favourite memories has certainly warmed our little cockles!

We're still gathering in reviews, but in the meantime here's a selection of some of our favourite videos:

Chris Gilmour's annual film digest of Indietracks (becoming a firm festival fave at Indietracks Towers)





Everyone singing along in the HDIF tent when the power cut out:



And, of course, the mass danceathon that was La Casa Azul's cover of "Love is in the Air":



More to come over the next few days - so do keep visiting!

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!

Jonathan Rocky Nest reminisces about last year's festival...

(Jonathan from The Rocky Nest outside the tea tent last year! Sigh....remember the sunshine?)

Can you believe Indietracks is only TWO weeks away? Nope? Neither can we! If you're anything like us, you'll be deciding whether or not to make that all-important welly purchase, checking that you're stocked up on waterproofs AND suntan lotion and making those all-important compilations for the journey there.

We know you need something to get you in the mood so - with that mind - we roped in the very lovely Jonathan from The Rocky Nest to share his memories of last year's festival - his first ever Indietracks. Now due to play this year with t'Nest, he remembers the high points of last summer and looks forward this year's fun - from both sides of the stage!


Take it away Jonathan......

I never made it to Indietracks 2007 and when I heard about the sort of weekend it had been, I knew I'd made the gravest of tactical errors. Twelve months later, after the glorious Indietracks of 2008, I went home with a new list of bands I was in love with, a healthy pile of CDs to rule my stereo, and enough fond musical memories to help me through the long winter months.

But if a mysterious stranger had sat down next to me in the tea tent and suggested that just one year later I'd be back at Butterley, on stage, and plugging in my long-neglected bass - I would have laughed, set down my masala chai and taken a sip of whatever they were drinking.

As it turns out, the correct response would have been to ask this modern-day oracle to help me secure the winning raffle ticket for that beautiful Dansette turntable. I still can't believe I missed out by a mere 200 tickets.

Months after Los Campesinos played out the festival and the last train set off back to the real world, I had somehow joined my favourite band from my current home-town. When I first saw The Rocky Nest, by happy accident, they gave me that Indietracks feeling right away. You know the one - you've just discovered a new musical gem and you are not going to let it out of your sight. They hit upon the idea of asking me to join them when they needed a new bassist.

Now, after six-months of gigs, my bass has new strings, the dust is long gone, and The Rocky Nest are on the bill for this fantastic festival. I still can't believe it. When I arrive in Alfreton this year it won't be as a punter, I'm actually going to be playing - as well as trying to get around as much of my, already extensive, must-see list as I possibly can. It is a challenge I am delighted to be facing.

I have to ask myself - am I living in some sort of feel good movie? If I am, the soundtrack is well and truly sorted.

Thanks Jonathan! We'll look forward to coming to watch the set - and good luck! Our must-see list is getting bigger every day too.....

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 #18: Countryside

Today we welcome Stephen from Countryside, melodic shoegazers who have been described as producing “epic and dreamy synth-tinged rock” with “hints of Grandaddy and Guided by Voices topped with heavenly laconic vocals and a heady psychedelic sensibility.”

The band recently performed at the Big Pink Cake weekender in Bristol, and we can’t wait to see them in the Derbyshire countryside –surely their natural setting!

Hi Stephen, tell us a little bit about yourselves..

We're an indie rock band from Somerset, currently based in Bristol. We've recently supported Athlete and Secret Machines and are currently finishing off some recordings for a double EP. We're trying to find our way, a bit like a mountaineer without a map or GPS, using the landscape as a guide…

Ooh, and what music are you enjoying at the moment?

Err loads! Chad van Gaalen, Flaming Lips, Earlimart, Built to spill, Super Furry Animals, Metric, Elliott Smith stuff, Built like Alaska...

Sounds like a good line-up to us! Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past.

We played indietracks a couple of years ago in the little church, which was quite weird... we've also played in bowling alleys, tents, fields, bedrooms, strip club, boats and cow shed, so its almost unusual for us to play in a normal venue!

Do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?

Yes! Nasa have been kind enough to...

OK Stephen – we’ll leave it there! We've got lots more band interviews coming up, so do keep on reading!

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 interview #11: BMX Bandits

Wow, what a week it's been! First, we were able to share with you the great news that Teenage Fanclub will be headlining the Sunday night on the outdoor (Elefant) stage at the festival. Then, last night BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens played a few tracks from this year's Indietracks compilation on his show. The compilation is available now from Make Do And Mend Records, which was Huw's DIY label of the week this week!

And, if that's not enough, today we are joined for an interview by Duglas T. Stewart from Glaswegian 60s-influenced guitar pop legends BMX Bandits! The band have been making music from 1986 to the present day, and have shared members with other Bellshill bands, including Teenage Fanclub and The Soup Dragons. The band were formed by Duglas (songwriter and lead singer) out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group in which he played alongside Frances McKee (later of The Vaselines), Sean Dickson and Norman Blake. The group have had many line up changes throughout the years. Their songs mix melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and heartbreaking pathos. Stewart has written many of the group’s works solo including “Your Class”, “The Sailor’s Song” and “Doorways” but also has collaborated with many of the other members.

The group’s most celebrated song is perhaps the autobiographical “Serious Drugs”, recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song featured in the movie This Year’s Love and was covered by American stadium power pop group Gigolo Aunts. Oasis did their first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favour from Stewart to Creation label boss Alan McGee. BMX Bandits admirers include Kurt Cobain who was photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T shirt. Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any other band it would be BMX Bandits.

The band released their 15th album 'Bee Stings' in 2007, and will release a retrospective compilation later this year.

Hi Duglas, you're releasing a compilation this year with some new and old songs. Why did you feel now is the right time for a retrospective?
Well a few years ago there was a retrospective album of "the best of" the stuff we did while on Creation records but that is only 4 years out of 24 years of BMX Bandits history so I wanted to release something that covered the times before then and after. A lot of those early tracks are no longer available and it seems that there are some people who haven't got those recordings who want them. I wanted to put some other things on there that I love that we've done but weren't part of an album. The compilation is called The Rise and Fall of Bmx Bandits because it's the tracks that lead us from obscurity to being on Creation and Sony, but also the tracks after we left Creation and went back into obscurity. I think we're very lucky to be back in the fringes where we can do what we want to do, what we believe in and not having the pressure of a label asking "where are the hits?".

Tell us about the current line-up of BMX Bandits.
BMX Bandits has always been more like an extended family of musical family rather than the conventional of these four or five people are the group. There are people who play with the group regularly but it's not always exactly the same people doing the same thing. I like that, it keeps shows feeling fresh. A few years ago Rachel became the first lady Bandit and it also meant I don't feel so lonely now out on the front of the stage. I have a friend there with me.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?
A lot of my favourite current music comes from Japan. I particularly love Tenniscoats, Nikaidoh Kazumi and a group called Eddie Marcon. I also listen to lots Brazilian, Italian and French pop from the late 60s and early 70s. I'm a big fan of a lot of songs originally written for children, stuff from early Disney things, Schoolhouse Rock educational songs, the Muppets and Sesame Street.
I love Cineplexx from Spain and a singer from Korea called YeonGene. I'm very happy because I've been lucky enough to work with some of these people.

What's the most unusual place you've played a gig in the past?
In 1995 we played in Barlinie Prison in Glasgow to some of the prisoners. The week before that we played in a Cathedral with the cathedral choir and organist and the week after we played to a conference of Japanese business men in Glasgow. Those three concerts were pretty surreal. The cathedral one was brilliant, the other two were less brilliant but still fun.

What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?
We learned about it from Luis at Elefant Records and the type of location and bands playing seemed to be very appropriate to us. I don't like these big corporate festivals where it seems at least 75% of the people don't care about music and are just there to say they were there and to get wasted.

Do you have any surprises planned for the festival?
Yes, but they wouldn't be surprises if I told you now.

Thanks Duglas! And here's an MP3 he's kindly made available for you to download: Do You Really Love Me

Teenage Fanclub announced as Sunday headliner!

Scottish power-popsters Teenage Fanclub have been confirmed as the Sunday headline band for this year’s Indietracks Festival. The much-loved band, known for their chiming Byrds-esque guitars and West Coast harmony vocals, will play the Outdoor (Elefant) Stage at Indietracks.

More than 50 bands are playing this year’s Indietracks Festival, including Camera Obscura, Rose Elinor Dougall, Emmy the Great and Au Revoir Simone. Other bands playing include BMX Bandits, Lucky Soul, Frank and Walters, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, Butcher Boy and Manhattan Love Suicides.

Teenage Fanclub, hailing from Belshill near Glasgow, formed in 1989. They are most renowned for their critically and commercially successful albums Bandwagonesque, Songs from Northern Britain and Grand Prix, and are currently working on their ninth studio album.

This year, Indietracks is teaming up with legendary Elefant Records as part of the indiepop label’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The Madrid-based label, which was launched by Luis Calvo in 1989, has picked a number of bands to play on a special Elefant stage over the course of the weekend.

This is the third ever Indietracks festival, which is being held at the Midland Railway in Ripley, in the heart of the Derbyshire countryside. The site houses a whole range of lovingly restored steam diesels and locomotives. Festival goers are allowed to have unlimited rides on the steam railway over the weekend and full access to other railway attractions including a farm and museum.

Weekend tickets cost £55, day tickets cost £30 and both are available to buy from Ticketweb or by calling the railway direct on 01773 747 674.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Pictures of Indietracks

Last week we had a fairly specific press request for photos of the festival, and it sent us scurrying off to Flickr to see what was around on the internet. There's now over three and a half thousand Indietracks photos on Flickr, so there were stacks to choose from. We really enjoyed wading through them and thought we'd just post up a random few for you today.

In other news, we're planning to announce a Sunday night Indietracks headliner this coming Monday, and we're very, very excited about it. Please pop back on Monday to find out!

( Station platform. Photo: _light_o_)

(A steam train! Photo: acb)

(The Church Stage. Photo: Jonny Tansey)

(Last year's outdoor stage: Photo: Bob Stuart (Underexposed)

(A llama on the farm. Photo: Alice Hubley)

(The indoor stage. Photo: Trev McCabe)

Indietracks interview #10: The Lovely Eggs

This week brings the publication of the final issue of the Plan B magazine. They’ve been fantastically supportive of our festival over the last couple of years, and really understood what we we’re trying to do, so we’re very sorry to see them go and wish everyone there all the best. The final issue even includes an Indietracks-related interview with our Saturday headliners Camera Obscura on the festival previews page!

And, coincidentally, the last issue of Plan B also carries an album review of today’s blog interviewees, The Lovely Eggs! David and Holly played their first ever gig in New York City about two years ago and since then have played across the UK, USA and Europe, including on the steam train at Indietracks in 2007. Their song "I Like Birds but I Like Other Animals Too" received airplay on some top BBC radio shows, including Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Rob Da Bank and Marc Riley (who invited them down to record a live session).

Holly used to be in the all-girl indiepop band Angelica, who received massive acclaim for songs like "Teenage Girl Crush,", and who once recorded a session for John Peel. The Lovely Eggs’ debut CD album, If You Were Fruit, was released on Cherryade Records this week!

Hi, tell us a little bit about The Lovely Eggs
The Lovely Eggs are David and Holly. We started playing music together in Paris when we discovered a pigeon had laid two lovely eggs in an abandoned nest on Holly’s windowsill. When the eggs finally hatched, we travelled to live above a jewellery shop in Lancaster in the North West of England, where we formed The Lovely Eggs! We played our first ever gig in New York in 2006. David travels around with a unique drumcycle with handlebars on the front so he can drum and bike at the same time. He also plays the bicycle bell and squeaky horn and things like the glockenspiel, ukelele and slightly wonky recorders. Holly sings and plays the guitar. And sometimes she hits a drum with a wooden stick with wool tied around the end. David made it for her because he likes making things.Last year we released 2 vinyl EPs (one split called 'I Like Birds But I Like Other Animals Too' on Filthy Little Angels and one called 'Have You Ever Heard The Lovely Eggs?' on Cherryade Records.) We played quite a few gigs and drunk too much cider and then recovered and wrote and recorded a new album called 'If You Were Fruit' which came out on Cherryade Records at the start of June, where we will get back on the wheel all over again and go on tour and drink too much cider and torture our brains and make our ribs ache with laughing! Incidentally, we are both addicted in an unhealthy way to Garstang Blue cheese.

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
The most unusual place we have ever played is in a scrap yard in Los Angeles. We got asked to play this gig at a place called the Death Shack. Naturally we said yes, yes yes! To cut a long story short, when we arrived at the place it was like this big party in a scrap yard! There was junk all over the place like Steptoe's yard and we had to stop ourselves shouting 'ragbone!' all the time. They had a barbeque and there was shrimp tacos and it was dark like in a David Lynch film and then David went missing for like nearly and hour and I (Holly) was having kittens about where he was. I was having a cold sweat and having visions of him being murdered by those American serial killers of theirs who so often frequent american scrap yards called The Death Shack! But eventually I found him in a man's gem rock museum which was hidden away from the scrapyard in disguise! The man gave David a volcano bubble which he smashed and there was all these sparkly crystals inside and we had a yatter about dinosaurs and things of yore. Yes that gig was quite unusual that one was!

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?
Well David once went out with a girl who used to be in the St Winifred’s School Choir who did Grandma We Love You! and Holly can make her tongue go in the shape of a shamrock for good luck!

What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?
Well we played the very first Indietracks fest. We think it was one of our first gigs when we were just hatching. We remember seeing it advertised and really, really liking the cut of its jib and wanting to play so we emailed Stuart and asked to play at short notice and the man from Del Monte said yes! And we ended up playing a little set on one of the steam trains. It was ace. We saw so many good bands playing there and the ambience was fan dabby dosey! We love drinking Strongbow on trains so it suited us down to the ground. We camped it up on the campsite down the road and met some lovely people, including a fab couple called Helen and Steve who we bonded with over a love of the Mike Leigh film Nuts in May. In fact Helen makes all our stuff for The Lovely Eggs Post Office. Last year we were away in America when the festival was happening but we made sure we were around for it this year. We suppose we just love the smallness of it and the music of course and the trains and its obscureness. We wouldn't miss it for two dozen corn on the cobs with red sauce on top!

Thanks very much - see you at the festival!

Indietracks interview #9: Cooper

Well, by the time you read this, June will probably have arrived, which means that the festival is next month! So we’ve only a short space of time to bring you all the important news, silly quizzes, fun interviews and other random offerings we have planned for the blog between now and the start of the festival. Let’s crack on sharpish then, starting with one of the fantastic collection of Spanish bands that will be performing on the Elefant Records stage in July.

Cooper is the solo project of Alex Diez, who previously led Spain’s premier mod-beat band, Los Flechazos, during the 1990s. The band released six LPs, including two on the Elefant label, made sixty television appearances and played concerts and festivals across Europe. They achieved huge popularity in Spain with their mixture of 60s pop and American soul complete with Spanish lyrics.

Since the band split, Alex has continued to make music, releasing two albums and eight singles on Elefant under the name Cooper. A third album, Aeropuerto, will be released this year.

Hi Alex, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I live in Leon, Spain, and in the 80s/90s I was in a mod/sixties band called Los Flechazos (we even released two 7”s on the Detour label). In 2000, I started this solo project, Cooper, with my friends. We play powerpop with a strong sixties feel and lots of vocal harmonies, but with a contemporary sound, I guess. To make things a bit clearer, when we toured Germany the owner of a club in Ulm told us: “You are great, you sound so English, well… Scottish actually!”. I play guitar, Mario is the other guitar player, Dani plays bass and Nacho is the drummer. We all sing. We’ve released records on Elefant - mostly EPs and singles - and we’ll be coming to Indietracks with a new album, called Aeropuerto.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?
Ben Kweller, Panic at the Disco, Brendan Benson, Last Shadow Puppets, Josh Rosue, Jellybricks… and we also love older records from Mayflies USA, Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, Lemonheads, The Lolas…

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past
We have played in open air festivals, clubs, TV and radio sets, theatres and discos, but probably the most unusual place is an old church in the beautiful city of Toledo.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?
2009 is the 20th anniversary of Elefant, the 10th anniversary of Cooper and my personal anniversary of 25 years playing in bands. We are doing all the pop summer festivals in Spain plus Indietracks, which will be a highlight for sure. We are also planning a crazy “virtual” tour - a web tour of eight dates with special videos shown on music websites -and releasing our first DVD for Christmas.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?
Well, Mario can dance northern soul with a pint of beer ON his head, and Dani is able to travel more than four hours in the van without saying a word. Nacho spends at least 40 minutes arranging his hairdo (and sideburns!!). I am a dull and simple lad, cannot tell water from champagne.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?
Badfinger, Small Faces, Belle and Sebastian, The Action, The Delgados, Buzzcocks, Fountains of Wayne, Gigolo Aunts, Primary Five, Rubinoos, Whiteout….

Do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?
As our set is completely in Spanish, we will play two or three songs in English for your audience.

What attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?
First of all the festival itself, and it will be a very special celebration for Luis and Montse from Elefant, we are very happy for them. And it will be an adventure, a kaleidoscopic trip from the sun to the fun.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?
We always love to play with our friends Cola Jet Set, who are great, and La Casa Azul, another terrific act from Barcelona. And we love Lucky Soul and Camera Obscura. We will check the other bands on Myspace to have more information in advance, so we can enjoy ourselves 100%.

Great, thanks Alex. 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 #7: Roy Moller

What's happened to the weather recently, eh? One minute it's blazing sunshine, the next we're frantically digging out our brollies and galoshes. Still, this Bank Holiday weekend looks set to be a scorcher, so let's hope the predicted good weather stays with us til Indietracks time! It just won't be the same without sweltering performances in the church and lazing on the grass as the suns sets behind the Outdoor Stage ...

Bringing a ray of sunshine to the Indietracks blog today is Scottish singer-songwriter Roy Moller. Well respected in indie pop circles, he writes 1960s-influenced guitar pop and has collaborated on numerous occasions with Belle & Sebastian guitarist Stevie Jackson. Earning comparisons to The Kinks' singer Ray Davies, Roy's music has also been described by Glasgow's premier indie disco The Winchester Club as "Shameless genius songwriting....killer melodies, proper choruses and hooks to make you wet yourself. Twice." Great quote!

Hello Roy! Tell us a little bit about yourself....

I'm a Scottish singer-songwriter born in Edinburgh in the same hospital as most of the Bay City Rollers and am proud of being born on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mallard setting the record for the world's fastest ever steam locomotive run. After many musical adventures in a number of bands, I helped formed instrumental guitar band The Wow Kafé whose 2001 Over Kansas EP featured a rare lead guitar outing from me on Who Shall Apologise To The Emperor, a song the NME described as "utterly ace". After the well-received solo single, Maximum Smile single (Felicité, 2003), I left The Wow Kafe to pursue a solo career. In 2004 Heliotone released Second City Firsts, a six-song e.p. on lathe-cut polycabonate. The following year produced the Fermez La Bouche maxi-single on Pickled Egg and my debut album. Speak When I'm Spoken To, was released in December 2006 on Book Club Records. Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson co-produced a number of tracks, while Ulric Kennedy produced two songs. Ulric is mainman in The Catalysts, of whom I’m an occasional live member. He used to be in a band called The Golden Dawn on Sarah Records whose lead singer was Rob Smith, my musical partner in a band called Meth O.D.

I’ve collaborated quite a bit over the years with Stevie, having co-written songs including Seymour Stein, Chickfactor, Roy Walker, (I Believe In) Travellin' Light, I Took A Long Hard Look and Portland, Oregon (one of many as-yet unreleased collaborations). I also briefly appear in the video for Belle & Sebastian's The Wrong Girl. Since 2006, I’ve been collaborating with former Astrid drummer/songwriter Gary Thom and Stevie as The Company. So far, we have written a wide array of songs and released a number of tracks including Join The Dots, (a split single on Slumberland) and, exclusive to this year’s Indietracks compilation CD, Brother Love. In 2005, I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. I co-founded formed Adult Dyspraxia Scotland (later Scottish Dyspraxion) and became Executive Musical Director of Dyspraxia USA for which I wrote and recorded the theme song, I'm Wired. I also work with disabled pop group The Hotliners, having taken over their stewardship in 2008. I'm hoping to register the Scottish Dyspraxion as a charity later this year.

Phew, you sound incredibly busy! You must have lots of exciting plans on the horizon...

I have been working on an album with my friend Sporting Hero, who played with me at Indietracks 2007. I enjoy making music with him and am excited by the prospect of having a record that really sustains a mood and feel, rather than being a collection of songs. We don’t have a record label for it yet, so if anybody out there would be interested in potentially releasing it, please get in touch.

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

I’ll be coming with my fiancée, by then wife, who is a big Camera Obscura fan, so we’ll have a quality quota of their tracks sprinkled throughout our compilations. Their records – and indeed their live shows - always sound fresh and clear and uncluttered. Ideal traveling music. I’d also like The Poacher by Ronnie Lane, Sparky’s Dream by Teenage Fanclub, and September Gurls by Big Star. Also some stuff by (Only) Joe Kane, a super-talented Glasgow-based artist. We’ll have been to Stockholm in early June so will probably have some Scandanavian treats such as Hello Saferide on there. I saw Brian Wilson play live in Stockholm once and we couldn’t venture anywhere in summer without some Beach Boys to hand. I think our baby son, Peter, will provide some of our soundtrack, too. I may take the opportunity to introduce him to an early favourite or two of mine: I believed in the Morningtown Ride the Seekers took me on over the airwaves of Junior Choice. Of course I still do. Indietracks is a holiday, and on holiday every morning is new.

Sounds fantastic! Indietracks is indeed a holiday - but what else attracted you to play the festival?

I first came across Indietracks while surfing MySpace and thought it was a great idea that appealed to me in so many ways. When I played Indietracks it was everything I had hoped for. The bands sounded good and those I met in person were friendly and receptive to the unique environment.I've been a fan of trains since I was a wee lad so Indietracks was very much a railway as well as music buff’s experience for me. The way the carriages smelled of summers present and past – cut grass wafting through the opened window, and the warm tang of the upholstered seats transported me back to my younger years. Until the late nineties, Glasgow's local diesel lines reverberated with rolling stock of 1960 vintage – built in Derby appropriately enough, and refurbished over the years, but still with doors with windows that you pulled down when you arrived at your destination for you to lean and reach and pull open the handle outside the door. It was a treat to do that again at Butterley. I used to work in the suburb of Bishopbriggs, and on leaving the office - adjacent to a steamroller firm whose vehicles lay lazily, hazily parked in the melting Tarmacadam summer road - I'd saunter down to the station and catch one of the local trains, now painted gaudy orange but still retaining their elegantly utilitarian character. I loved how they cut and scraped their way under ripe summer branches that rocked benignly over the line to Queen Street station. The trees stretched out like arms extending over revellers in the Scottish country dance of Dashing White Sergeant. Under them passed the dusty curved roofs of the Diesel Multiple Units, dappled in flickering, filtered sunlight. I know Stuart Mackay is a big fan of such railcars and their appearance on the Midland Railway at Indietracks brought that all back to me – along with the sights, the sounds, the satisfying scrunches of gravel under foot, the rusting bolts whose russet hue would soon be shared by Autumn leaves in the marshalling yards.

Spoken like a true train lover - we couldn't have put it better ourselves! Roy's also very kindly given us an exclusive free mp3 to download: Unreleased mix of Great Wall of China.

Next up: Simon from The Loves remembers his first ever Indietracks....

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

New bands added to Indietracks line-up

Former Pipettes chanteuse Rose Elinor Dougall has been added to the line-up for this year’s Indietracks.

The singer is one of six new acts - other bands recently added to the Indietracks line-up from around the world include Cats on Fire (Finland), Sucrette (Japan), Modular (Argentina), Labrador (Denmark) and The Specific Heats (USA).

Indietracks is this year headlined by Camera Obscura, Emmy the Great and Au Revoir Simone, with the final headline act due to be announced shortly. They will be joined by hotly-tipped Butcher Boy, scuzzy guitar-lovers The Manhattan Love Suicides and sophisticated popsters Help Stamp Out Loneliness. Other bands playing Indietracks include BMX Bandits, Lucky Soul, Frank and Walters and The School.

The schedule for the festival has also just been announced. Single, Rose Elinor Dougall and Au Revoir Simone will play on Friday evening. The following bands will play on Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday

Camera Obscura, Emmy the Great, Wake the President, La Casa Azul, Cats on Fire, Kevin McGrother, Manhattan Love Suicides, Fitness Forever, Butcher Boy, Alaska, King of Cats, Speedmarket Avenue, Mighty Mighty, The Lovely Eggs, Poppy & Friends, One Happy Island, Pete Green and the Corporate Juggernaut, Sucrette, Friends, Labrador, The Frank and Walters, Little My, Ray Rumours and The No-Ideas, Modular, Downdime and The Rocky Nest.

Sunday

Gordon McIntyre, MJ Hibbett, BMX Bandits, Disasteradio, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, Roy Moller, Nick Garrie, Zipper, Ste McCabe, Moustache of Insanity, Pocketbooks, Hong Kong in the 60s, Cola Jet Set, The Smittens, Loyal Trooper, Countryside, Let’s Whisper, Lucky Soul, Northern Portrait, The Specific Heats, Tender Trap, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, The Marshmallow Kisses, The School, Eux Autres, Bonne Idee and The Understudies.

Weekend tickets cost £55, day tickets cost £30 and both are available to buy from Ticketweb or by calling the railway direct on 01773 747 674. Remember, buying the tickets direct from the railway ensures that more money goes towards the festival.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Indietracks interview #5: Ste McCabe

May has now arrived, and hopefully you’ve all had a fantastic bank holiday weekend. We spent Sunday in the park catching up with the papers, and were pleased to see one of our Indietracks headliners Au Revoir Simone getting high praise from the NME and single of the week in the Guardian. (Actually, we saw the NME item when browsing the shelves of the local library. And by library, we actually mean Tesco Local. But, hey, it still counts!). Au Revior Simone are playing at Bush Hall on Wednesday, so keep your peepers peeled for the Indietracks flyering team!

Today, our series of interviews continues with Ste McCabe. Ste blends big punk guitars and retro-style beats/electro with a sarcastic, angry, and often hilarious view of the world. His debut album Hate Mail wowed musos and audiences around the country, full to the brim with homophobe-baiting, pro-feminist, anti-church, fun and angry pop music.

Hi Ste, tell us a little bit about yourself

I am a one-man, political queer-feminist drum machine/distorted guitar/musical terrorist from Liverpool, based in Manchester. I sing songs about racist chavs, murderous religious folk and anyone else of a narrow-minded, homophobic, sexist persuasion in the hope of making them cry, and I am proud to say that I have, hooray!

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

I played Homotopia gay arts festival in Liverpool last year with two drag queens, one who was dressed as a cabbage singing Shirley Basset songs and another one who's head was on fire. Needless to say I was the odd one out.

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

My second album called "Murder Music" is coming out on Cherryade in September. I am sure the politically correct will accuse me of religious ignorance on this record, but I figure if Christians can claim that discriminating against gay people is a basic human right and Islamic states can legalise my throat being cut for being queer then I have the right to respond. I plan some very fetching dressing up in religious clothing with Hitler moustaches on the record sleeve, and I can't wait for the Daily Mail to review it.

And finally, who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?

That has got to be The Lovely Eggs. I've seen them lots of times and played with them once or twice, but they are one of the few bands I know who are truly original and so much fun live. They're lovely people too, what more could you want?

Thanks very much! And Ste’s kindly provided a free MP3 which you can download from the following link: Huyton Scum

Next up: Butcher Boy

Indietracks interview #3: Hong Kong in the 60s

Hey popkids, I think it might actually be 'officially summer', as Lauren Laverne once sang - or Aidan from Arab Strap if you prefer your summer holiday fun laced with some licentious drunken chaos. Either way, we've been wearing sunglasses to work all week and remembering watching the sunset over Ballboy at last summer's Indietracks.

And to add to that summery feeling, we're joined by Mei Yau from classy electro-Casio-popsters Hong Kong In The 60s. The band formed in London in 2007, and take their cue from old Oriental pop, classic AM radio, and the baroque melancholy of groups like Blonde Redhead and Broadcast. The band play hypnotic lullabies through a filter of cheap keyboards and guitars.

Tim and Mei Yau met at school in Berkshire in 1996. They lived for two years in Japan before returning to Southern England. Mei Yau met Christopher in Summer 2005 at an Oxford library. The trio moved to London at the end of 2006. Christopher has lived in Africa, Brazil and Cambridge. His band Too Many Zeros released a split 7" with The Oedipus (Steven Ansell, now of Blood Red Shoes) on Running Riot Records. While at university in Brighton, Mei Yau was invited to play bass in Electrelane, but declined. Their loss is Indietracks' gain!

Hi Mei Yau, tell us a little bit about yourselves.

We're Mei Yau, Tim and Christopher - we all sing and play guitar and keyboards in Hong Kong In The 60s. Our name is a reference to the Wong Kar Wai film "In The Mood For Love" which is a beautiful story of repressed love in, yes, Hong Kong in the 60s. We loved the atmosphere of the film and all the little period details and textures - lush greens, the humid air, cracking walls, the balletic cinematography. And we try to evoke the same vibe with our music - but using old Casio keyboards.

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

We'll be putting out our first EP "Willow Pattern Songs" in June (on Proper Songs) and it's really exciting to have a release of our own! Earlier in April an Italian filmmaker contacted us about appearing in one of his short films and he's making it into a video for the EP's lead track, "Footsteps". It was pretty cool doing the film shoot and we can't wait to see the finished article.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

I'm listening to a lot of Chinese music from the 1940s to 1970s on Spotify these days - it's amazing what they have on it. The synthesis of stuff like cha cha rhythms or garagey guitars with traditional Chinese melodies and vocals is quite hard to beat. I also like the Cantonese version of YMCA, I must say.

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

We were thrilled to hear that Au Revoir Simone are playing on the Friday as they're one of our favourite bands and, of course, we're excited to see BMX Bandits and Camera Obscura too. The Marshmallow Kisses will be amazing - with Peter based in Hong Kong and Edine in London, we're never had a chance to see them play live. Festivals are all about discovering new music and I am looking forward to seeing lots of the international Elefant bands.

Thanks Mei Yau! And the band have left us with a free MP3 to download: You Got Me Into This

Next up: Little My talk glockenspiel injuries and human pyramid training classes!

Interview with Stuart Mackay - Indietracks organiser!

Hello again indiepop fans! Hope you're enjoying our new blog, aiming to bring you all the latest news and gossip from this year's Indietracks Festival.

As you may or may not know, Indietracks is organised by Stuart Mackay (below), who once restored trains for the Midland Railway Centre where the festival is held. Having worked there for five years, he hit upon the idea of organising a festival after visiting several indiepop club nights in London. The centre had already hosted other music events, and it was while working behind the bar at one of these shindigs that Stuart had a brainwave - why not hold an indiepop night on the steam railway?

He soon started to put his ambitious plans into action and the first event - a one-night affair - was held in April last year, headlined by Pocketbooks and supported by Slow Down Tallahassee and Tottie. The gig, which promised bands playing on the station platform and unlimited rides on the steam train, sold out of its hundred ticket-allocation almost straight away and was chatted about on internet forums for weeks afterwards. In fact, so successful was the event that almost as soon as it was over Stuart started to make plans for the first ever Indietracks festival, held in July last year and headlined by Darren Hayman. Around 40 bands played the festival, and it's certain that hundreds of tears were shed on the train ride home afterwards - it was just so much fun that no-one wanted to leave! Buoyed up on success, Stuart then went on to organise a "Christmas Twee" gig in December, with The Deirdes, The Icicles and The Poppycocks providing festive fun for the pop kids. You can read about all of these past events on the Indietracks website.

In the forthcoming weeks, some fans, webzine writers and musicians will be telling us their personal memories of last year's festival but - in the meantime - do take time to read our five minute Q and A with Mr Mackay himself, to find out more about the man behind the festival.....

Hi Stuart. Tell us a bit more about how you are involved with Midland Railway, and why you decided to set up Indietracks...

My job for five years was working at the Midland Railway restoring trains. I sometimes helped out on the on-train bar on charter trains where they also had a disco carriage. When I found out they'd previously had bands playing on the station platform I thought it'd be worth trying out an indiepop night. That first night we had three bands playing in the station, with steam train rides in-between the bands with a disco on-board. The night went so well that we had to grow a bit for the next one, but kept growing until it became the first two-day festival.

But did you have any prior experience of setting up a festival, isn't it lots of work?

I had no experience whatsoever! I had organised a very large railway gala, but I had a lot to learn about the music side of it, but it wasn't too bad as everyone was very supportive and helpful. It was a lot of work but loads of fun!

How do you choose the bands?

Almost all the bands that are playing are there because they've asked. It's quite a personal selection of bands that I like but I do listen to others' opinions! I try to have a reasonable selection of new bands and bands from afar as well as established acts from the current scene.

What were your personal highlights of last year?

The happy smiling faces, and all the nice reviews afterwards! It meant we'd created something people enjoyed.

What are you most looking forward to at this year's event?

Watching the bands, and catching up with people I don't get to see as often as I used to. And we're working on some surprises which - if they work out - will be fab.

Have you got any tips for people thinking of setting up their own festivals/events?

Talk to other festival organisers. There doesn't seem to be any sort of book or website available on what you need to know to set up a festival, so you should know what you're getting into before you start.

What are the future plans for Indietracks at the moment?

Nothing firm until we see how this one goes. I may expand the use of the venue for non-indiepop music, or work on indiepop events at other venues, but the Indietracks festival will hopefully continue.Thanks Stuart!