MUSIC

There’s nothing quite so world-righting as pure indie-pop, say promoters Big Pink Cake. Julian Owen jots down the recipe.

Otis and/or The Temptations weren’t talking about pop music when they sang “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day”, but they might just as well have been. The voices conveying the message are among the finest ever put to purpose, elevated and inspired, the tools of secular sublime. Few promoters are ever occasioned with such musicians, as the pair behind Big Pink Cake would readily admit. Nor even mind – for inspiring pop takes many forms and can evoke what Matthew Rimell calls “the suddenness of emotion that relates to us and reaffirms that we are uniquely here and that it’s great to be alive today!”

From determinedly unpolished recordings, it’s a sentiment that gushes from the urgent, Velvets-whipped-by-Blondie jangle of late-80s Bristol indie-pop aces The Flatmates. One of their songs, recalls Matthew, ran “‘It’s fast, it’s fun, it’s friendly’, their take on City Dart bus services ads; taking something from your surroundings and doing something fun with it – Andy Warhol would approve.”

This is the music that provides the soundtrack to the story of two Bristol school friends. “Matthew is 100% a pop fan, and introduced me to all kinds of music at school,” recalls BPC’s other half, Heather Simmonds. “Our lives took a completely different twist in 1987 when I applied for a job at Revolver distribution, and [thanks to Matthew] was able to say ‘Yeah, I love all the bands on Subway, I love The Chesterfields, The Flatmates...’ It was chiming all the right notes.” So began a career in a world where ‘indie’ music meant precisely that, small dedicated labels housing sparkling young bands the majors wouldn’t touch, many of them famously compiled for posterity on the NME ‘C86’ tape. She’d go on to manage labels, and set one up releasing work by musician/artist Billy Childish, key inspirer to the likes of Kurt Cobain and Tracey Emin. “We used to get so many requests from all over the world,” says Heather. “‘Why won’t he do a CD?’ ‘Because I’m a record label. If you want CDs, do it yourself.’ I said ‘Do you know what, Billy, that’s a good idea...’”

More music projects followed, but the tide was turning. Had been from the time Heather first saw Revolver “grow and grow – from two directors and me to employee after employee, reps, a huge breakaway from the Cartel (huge indie distribution network including Rough Trade, Red Rhino etc), and music became product. ‘The latest so-and-so release is in the warehouse, do you want one?’ It became like baked beans. It’s taken me a long time to recover – there were years when I couldn’t really get music, and just listened to the same old miserable shit I’ve always listened to – Nick Cave, things like that.”

And then came the 20th anniversary of ‘C86’.  “Me and Matthew were thinking ‘Well, in that case, next year it’ll be 20 years since Sarah Records started.’” The similarly ethos’d Bristol label had been one of those on Heather’s roster. “There’s a new generation of much younger kids who see Sarah as something as important possibly as Creation,” she notes. It inspired a documentary from film-maker Lucy Dawkins, due for release next year, and – ultimately – the founding of Big Pink Cake. Kicking off with two club nights in London, the pair realised Bristol’s market had the larger gap for old school indie-pop and looked to “try to get those so involved here in the late-80s re-enthused and back out there. Our first gig was at Mr Wolf’s, putting on Vic Godard & Subway Sect.” A variety of venues followed, but BPC has now found permanent residence at The Croft, where 10 days ago their magnificent weekender showcased bands hewn of indie-pop purity from near, far (Leeds) and really far (Scandinavia). And all for “the fun of playing and an appreciative crowd”. Clearly, the bands realise BPC’s enthusiasm and dedicated knowledge extends to the regular attendees. That, and they know which side their bread will be buttered. “I’ll do a breakfast in the morning,” says Heather. “I’m like an indie-pop landlady. I should get a pinny that says that! We just appreciate what other people do for us and want to give it back, and if that’s the way we can do it – rather than shelling out £300 and folding – we’ll keep sustaining it on good will.”

Like the BPC label’s first issue, the 21-track, yours-for-£7 ‘Piece of Cake’ compilation. “It’s a wonderful document of what we’ve done – only one or two bands who’d played for us weren’t able to contribute. They’ve shown so much faith in us, donated tracks to this album pretty much for nothing.” Vol Two is in the pipeline, together with individual releases from The Kick Inside and Johnny ‘Modesty Blaise’ Collins. All to continue what, says Matthew, has “been a pretty splendid ride so far. Pop keeps us fresh and alive – we’d much rather align ourselves with our indie-pop dream than what the world has got to offer.”

BIG PINK CAKE TOOK PLACE AT THE CROFT, BRISTOL ON SAT 4 DEC. FFI: WWW.BIGPINKCAKE.CO.UK
 

Copyright Julian Owen 2010

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