Fuchsia - See Emily Play / Bike (Ltd. 7")

Barrett re-visited on a very limited 7" single. SOLD OUT!

It feels odd to be posting about a single that's not released until next month but has already sold out fo mail-order on pre-orders alone, but it's such a great single I felt I ought to mention it. The chances of getting hold of a copy may be slim (unless you want to pay over the odds on Ebay or Discogs), but hey, that's market forces for you! Check out the excerpt on the video below and read the FdM statement regarding the single. There's also a link to sign up to the label's mailing list so you won't miss out on any future intstant collectables.

Here's the official word from Fruits de Mer...

"Fuchsia's version of 'See Emily Play' was recorded specifically for the Fruits de Mer 'A Band For All Seasons' set; we got lots of great feedback and it was picked up on BBC 6Music.

Tony and the band were due to fly over from Australia to play the 18th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus festival in Wales and Tony went back into the studio to record 'Bike' for a festival-exclusive 5" lathe-cut; the lockdown blew that idea out the window so we offered the very limited run of lathe-cuts we'd had produced (about 50 copies) by mail order to FdM club members.

They were massively oversubscribed and a couple of copies have already found their way onto eBay, selling for £150-£250 a time. We decided the recordings deserved to be more than eBay fodder so we're putting them out in November on 7" vinyl with a total run of 400 copes worldwide.

We're sold out at FdM Towers on members club pre-orders alone, but you're welcome to email fruitsdemer7@hotmail.com to join a waiting-list as we might get a few extra from the pressing plant - or please go to Shiny Beast, who are our European distributors and handle non-uk orders as they will get their own supply, direct from the plant."
 

If you're not already on the FdM mailing-list, click HERE

'See Emily Play' b/w 'Bike' is released on November 9th.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

 

 

Is This Music? - Teenage Fanclub Uncovered - A Spotify Playlist

With a new album from Teenage Fanclub on the horizon I've been immersing myself in the surprising amount of records of theirs that I own. LPs, CD & 7" singles along with appearances on compilation LPs and magazine freebies. With this in mind I present you with a Spotify playlist of songs they've covered. Some are on LPs, some on B-sides, some on tribute albums, but all given the Fanclub makeover and all an insight into their likes and influences. There were also a couple of Neil Young tracks ('Burned' and 'Don't Cry No Tears'), but they aren't on Spotify so I couldn't tag them on. Anyways, I'll stop prattling. Long live the Fanclub!

Crystal Jacqueline - Rainflower

Pastoral psychedelia, acid folk, bright psych-lite pop and a Status Quo cover! It's all there on the second solo LP from Devon's Crystal Jacqueline.

A glance at the track listing tells you something of this second solo LP from The Honey Pot vocalist Crystal Jacqueline. Multiple references to the seasons, nature, mysterious and unobtainable female spirits, all the hallmarks of an acid-folk album you'd think. A record in the vein of Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day or Shelagh McDonald's Stargazer. And that's true to a point but there's much more to it than that. From the almost industrial sounds of opening track Siren it's obvious things are not so clear cut. Leave your expectations at the door sonic travellers for scattered among the Nick Drake-esque pastoral folk tracks are enough surprises, twists and turns to make this a much more multi-hued and varied affair.

For a start there's the inclusion two cover versions. A stab at Status Quo's In My Chair and a lovely assured take on Pink Floyd's Grantchester Meadows. The former is a tight Chicago R&B shuffle, souped up with effects-laden guitars, whereas Grantchester Meadows blue-sky folk gets an added space-rock edge. Strange Bloom has echoes of San Francisco's golden era, all bluesy and meditative, whereas Daisy Chain is a bright, psych-lite pop tune that in a fairer world would have a stay in the top 20.

As the album title suggests Rainflower thematically revolves around nature, seasons and the weather. For all its sonic diversity these lyrical concerns somehow piece it all together. A celebration of deep-winter and high summer, there's mystery, folklore, the beauty of bloom and the beauty of decay. And for all it's modern production it still resonates with the wyrd, deep-rooted ways of Old England. An album to re-visit and treasure.

Click here for more from on Crystal Jacqueline.

Click here for the Mega Dodo Records website.

Various – Momentary One & Two (Ltd. 7” singles)

Two very limited 7” singles featuring Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd covers! Available at the Fruits De Mer / Mega Dodo joint gig at Putney's Half Moon this Sunday! (24^th May)

This weekend's hottest gig ticket is surely the Fruits De Mer/Mega Dodo all-dayer at Putney's Half Moon. Aside from the stellar line-up, there will also be ultra-desirable goodie bags for early arrivals. If that wasn't enough there'll also be a chance to get your your eager mitts on some other sonic items. Two of which being this pair of limited edition 7” singles featuring contemporary acts covering early Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett tracks. Although they've been issued before on FDM's Momentary Lapse Of Reason double CD (available to “club members” only), this is their first airing on vinyl. Limited to only 300 copies each, chances are they won't be around for long.

Momentary One features is marked out by it's sumptuous female vocals, while Momentary Two is a Syd special. Floyd fans will love all seven tunes as there's nary a duff track among them. If I was pushed to pick a favourite I'd probably go for Max Kinghorn-Mills version of Dark Globe, dreamy, wistful and melancholic. It had me searching out Barrett's original version with fresh ears. But hey, that's just me. Track down this pair of 7”s if you can and pick your own favourite, they're all worthy!

Momentary One

1. Ilona V – Golden Hair (Barrett)
2. Crystal Jacqueline – Grantchester Meadows (Waters
3. Cary Grace – Cirrus Minor (Waters)

Momentary Two

1. Max Kinghorn-Mills – Dark Globe (Barrett)
2. Caudio Cataldi – She Took A Long Cold Look (Barrett)
3. The Chemistry Set – See Emily Play (Barrett)
4. Todd Dillingham and Golly McCry – The Gnome (Barrett)

Click here for the Fruits De Mer Records website.

Click here for the Mega Dodo website.

Vespero – Careful With That Axe, Eugene

Russian psych-prog band's salute to Pink Floyd on 7” coloured vinyl with double sided poster.

Although Vespero have appeared on the Fruits De Mer releases before, this is the band's first stand-alone single for the label, and one with which they've chosen to pay tribute to psychedelic and progressive godfathers (The) Pink Floyd.

The two instrumental covers will be familiar to all Pink Floyd fans out there, A-side being Vespero's version of the early PF classic, Careful With That Axe Eugene, with B-side One Of These Days, the opening track from 1971's Meddle.

Pink Floyd fans can be notoriously sniffy about others tackling the band's tracks (unless they're Australian and ape them note for note), but even the grumpiest PF enthusiast would be hard pushed not to like this single. Still recognisable as Floyd tracks but with a band feel and dynamic that's all Vespero's. No mean feat.

With both tracks approaching the eight-minute mark, this single tests the limits of the 7” format in a very satisfying way. Careful with that lathe, record cutting man!

TRACKLISTING

1 – Careful With That Axe, Eugene

2 – One Of These Days

Click here for Vespero on Facebook.

Click here for the Fruits De Mer website.

Fruit In Rock - A Video Playlist

It's been a while since my last post as I've been catching up on some soul-refreshing reading. After reading the Bill Drummond piece on damsons in the new "On Nature" book brought to us by the good folks at Caught By The River (click here for more details), I've decided to compile a new video playlist.

Click over the jump for my "fruits in rock" video playlist.