Fortuna POP! presents
F-POP!FEST
Celebrating 10 years of love, ineptitude and independence

This year the Fortuna POP! record label is ten years old and to celebrate we’ve asked some of our friends in the many bands who’ve been involved over the years to come and play over three nights at London’s coolest venue The Luminaire.

Tuesday 29th August
Bearsuit + Darren Hayman + Milky Wimpshake + The Loves + The Actionettes
Compere: Dr CocaColaMcDonalds
DJs: Spiral Scratch

Wednesday 30th August
The Lucksmiths + The Would-Be-Goods + Airport Girl + Fanfarlo
Compere: Darren Hayman
DJs: Dimestore Disco

Thursday 31st August
The Butterflies Of Love + Comet Gain + The Chemistry Experiment + Finlay
Compere: MJ Hibbett
DJs: Track & Field

Doors 7pm sharp each night, first band on at 7:30pm

The Luminaire, 311 High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7JR
Nearest tube : Kilburn (Jubilee Line)
Tel : 020 7372 7123
E-mail : info@theluminaire.co.uk

Advance Sales:
Day tickets £8 / Season tickets £21 - from Ticketweb
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=172614
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=172619
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=172636
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=170625

BAND BIOGRAPHIES

BEARSUIT
Stop-start boy-girl twee-rock cutie-killer six-piece with everything from cinematic waltzes to catchy electro disco and hard punk screaming riot grrl noise. A mix of Belle and Sebastian, Huggy Bear, and Sonic Youth with electronic twists and turns, and screamy art punk. Since playing their first gig in 2001, the band have notched up three Festive 50 top five hits and three Radio 1 sessions on the legendary John Peel show. In 2004 the six-piece took their tunes to Sweden's finest art-rock noise-pop festival Emmaboda where they played alongside Kaito and Deerhoof, before playing dates in Amsterdam with Magoo. The band released their debut album 'Cat Spectacular!' in America in March 2005, and in October 2005 they launched their 'long lost debut' album 'Team Ping Pong'. With six singles, an EP, two albums, and a variety of outlandish stage gear - blood soaked prom dresses, 'nurses of death' outfits and silver bear-bot wear to name but a few - Bearsuit are certainly a band to catch if you can.
“Bearsuit don’t so much define the line between genius and insanity as master both sides of it. Amazing.” - Drowned In Sound
www.bearsuit.co.uk
www.myspace.com/bearsuit

DARREN HAYMAN
Bruised and bloodied, former Hefner front man Darren Hayman, crawls out from his car wreck life armed with only his battle scarred telecaster and ukulele for protection. Darren’s been given a right kicking by the music biz, but he’s not down, in fact he’s smiling ear to ear. In the past two years since his last album with the French Darren has worked for the Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals, Battersea Dogs Home, gotten married, formed a bluegrass band, put on a lot of weight and is currently studying an Art PGCE at Goldsmiths College. “If I don’t work I go nuts, I wasted 6 months addicted to internet chess.” says Hayman. This album is his best so far until the next one. Real drums and guitars mark a return to the indie folk style of Hefner, but better. “Every time a write a song its better then the last one”, continues Hayman, “I thought it was that way for everyone?”.The songs on Hayman’s debut album; Table for One concern crumbling cafes, dog charities, a broken hearted Doug Yule, retiring School teachers and air hostesses plummeting to their death. It’s not fun in Darren’s head but it IS fun to watch and listen from a distance.
"London's laureate of sexual dysfunction, discomfort, and dog-eared under-achievement… the match of Ray Davies, or any of the quintessentially English masters." – The Guardian
www.hefnet.com
www.myspace.com/darrenhayman

MILKY WIMPSHAKE
If you like your punk rock thrills laced with fuzzy pop melodies and intelligent, funny lyrics then Newcastle's Milky Wimpshake are the band for you. The spiritual godfathers of the North-East scene that spawned The Futureheads, frontman Pete Dale was formerly überlord of the now defunct indie label Slampt, responsible for launching a thousand fanzines and nearly as many bands, Kenickie and The Yummy Fur included. The 'Shake themselves are most often compared to the Buzzcocks and The Undertones, with a dash of Billy Bragg's lyrical gift for combining the personal and the political with a light-handed wit. Their new album “Popshaped” follows 1997's “Bus Route To Your Heart” and 2002's “Lovers Not Fighters”, and mixes new songs with re-recordings of old deleted classics. Part of the genius of Milky Wimpshake lies in their juxtaposition of great tunes with political commentary, which can lead to a room of people jumping up and down grinning from ear-to-ear while listening to lyrics about Noam Chomsky and media distortion of US foreign policy! (Radiohead please take note) But they also do songs about girls, comic strips and scrabble.
“This (Popshaped) shares best album of the year so far with the Broken Family Band. Go see them live in a town near you very soon.” - Damn Pest
www.microsofa.net/mw

THE LOVES
From Cardiff, The Loves mix pop psychedelia and C86 indie with a dash of Jack Daniels and a splash of beatnik cool. Their first single was released on Radio One DJ Huw Stephens’ Boobytrap label, followed by several 7” singles and EPs for the Track & Field label and their debut album “Love”, released in 2004. In their time they’ve been adopted by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as their favourite band and flown to New York to play the CMJ Music Festival, played a Valentine’s night special for John Peel at his Peel Acres home, and megalomaniac frontman Simon Love has sacked the whole band at least twice. Their second album, “Technicolour”, will be released on Fortuna POP! later this year.
'A wide-eyed retro-chic indie-pop sextet that sound like The Monkees playing at being The Velvet Underground.' - NME
www.theloves.org
www.myspace.com/lovetheloves

THE LUCKSMITHS
Australian band The Lucksmiths have been making their intelligent, melodic pop music for over a decade now, honing their songwriting skills and razor-sharp wordplay while broadening their musical palette to include a rich variety of additional instrumentation. The Lucksmiths formed in high school in Melbourne in 1995, drawn together by a mutual love of literate British pop, and quickly established themselves as one of the leading lights in the international indiepop scene. Constant touring of the USA, Europe and Japan has built a small but enthusiastic worldwide fanbase and led to them sharing the stage with the likes of Jonathan Richman, Belle & Sebastian and The Go-Betweens. Originally a three piece comprising Tali White (vocals, drums, piano), Marty Donald (guitar) and Mark Monnone (bass), The Lucksmiths were joined by a fourth member, the multi-talented Louis Richter (guitar, organ, banjo), for the recording of their latest album Warmer Corners, a tour-de-force which Loud & Quiet magazine voted as their No. 2 album of 2005.
“No-one does great literate melodic Pop as effortlessly as The Lucksmiths.” - Tangents
www.thelucksmiths.com.au
www.myspace.com/lucksmiths

THE WOULD-BE-GOODS
Eccentric and evocative guitar pop helmed by Jessica Griffin, enigmatic star of eighties cult label él, with her crew of elegant rascals - Peter Momtchiloff, guitarist (Talulah Gosh, Razorcuts, Heavenly, Scarlet's Well) and occasional songsmith; Debbie Green, drummer and darling of the London nineties garage scene (Thee Headcoatees); and ex-Adam and the Ant and Monochrome Set bassist Andy Warren. Their fourth album ‘The Morning After’, released last year on Fortuna POP!, was full of melancholy charm and wit coupled with a classic guitar pop sound ranging from new folk, tango to garage rock. Love songs to lions, frolics in the Garden of Eden, French Casanovas and personal demons await you. Let the Would-Be-Goods be your guides.
“Elegantly melancholy indie from a dapper London band” - Word
www.connectedup.com/would-be-goods

AIRPORT GIRL
Formed in 1997 in the East Midlands and led by singer-songwriter and duffelcoat devotee Rob Price, their influences ranged from the Scottish pop sounds of The Pastels and Belle and Sebastian to the American flavours of The Modern Lovers and Pavement. As well as a number of singles and compilation tracks on various independent labels they have made one album 'Honey, I'm An Artist' in 2001, released on Fortuna POP! in the UK and Matinee in the US, where it topped the Parasol distribution mail-order charts. A new album “Slow Light” is set for release later in 2006 and demonstrates a shift towards a more downbeat country pop sound, inspired by The Silver Jews and “16 Lover Lane”-era Go-Betweens.
“Have Airport Girl yet to release a less than spectacular record? If they have I'm yet to hear it.” - Tasty
www.airportgirl.com
www.myspace.com/shamboliclofiindiepop

FANFARLO
Led by Swedish singer-songwriter Simon Aurell, Fanfarlo play fragile, romantic orchestral pop.in thrall to Sufjan Stevens, Olivia Tremor Control and Arcade Fire. Their debut single “Talking Backwards” is scheduled for release in August, after which a mighty A&R bidding war will undoubtedly ensue.
'Like a more scaled-down, vulnerable Arcade Fire, and with achingly mournful vocals... each track a mini-symphony.' (Tasty)
www.fanfarlo.com
www.myspace.com/fanfarlo

THE BUTTERFLIES OF LOVE
The Butterflies of Love hail from New Haven, Connecticut, and have made two albums (1999's 'How to Know' and 2002's 'The New Patient') of soul-searing melancholy and heart-stopping beauty. They rock too. They've had Single of the Week in the NME and glowing reviews in Mojo, Uncut, The Times, The Guardian and many more, been compared to the likes of Galaxie 500, Pavement, the Velvets, REM and The Go-Betweens, and inspired John Peel to applaud on air. Their shows are wonderful, shimmering, intimate affairs and are not to be missed. Their third album “Famous Problems” is slated for release in October this year, to be preceeded by a single “Orbit Around You”.
"Yearning melodies and softly-softly harmonies (think the Go-Betweens), a back-porch swing (Lambchop, maybe), tentative yet high-tensile guitar work (Velvet Underground, Pavement)...whatever sorry state you may be in at the time, you must haul your arse to one of these shows." – TimeOut
www.myspace.com/thebutterfliesoflove

COMET GAIN
Formed in London, England, in 1993, and influenced as much by the riot-grrrl movement as by the music of the girl-group era, Comet Gain mix punk-pop aesthetics with a more abstract northern soul sensibility. Originally signed to Wiiija Records, the original line-up split in 1997, songwriter David Feck assembling an all-new roster for the band's subsequent albums Tigertown Pictures, Réalistes and their latest, ‘City Fallen Leaves’, released on Kill Rock Stars in the US and Track & Field in Europe. Magical, passionate and emotional, inspired in equal parts by The Go-Betweens, Godard, Irma Thomas, dance parties, Dexy's Midnight Runners, falling in love, mod and hootenannies, Comet Gain are one of the finest British bands of our time.
“Raw and vital records steeped in leader David Christian's actual, angry, and true poetry and the group's raw and alive sound.” – All Music Guide
www.myspace.com/cometgain

THE CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT
With two albums to their name, this East Midlands quintet's music encompasses genres as diverse as prog-rock, folktronica and disco against a backdrop of lush, orchestral pop and a pinch of Pulp’s northern glamour.
'Strange, gargantuan rhythms, weird instrumentation and a singer who sounds like Kurt Wagner trapped beneath two feet of snow... as beautiful and crazy as The Arcade Fire' (NME)
www.chemistryexperiment.co.uk
www.myspace.com/thechemistryexperiment

FINLAY
East End noiseniks inspired by Eric's Trip, Silver Jews, Sonic Youth, Pavement and Pixies, mixing skewed alt.rock with achingly melodic lo-fi meanderings. Their debut album “I Dreams and Visions” (2003) was followed earlier this year by a second album “The Fall of Mary”, recorded at Soup Studios with Simon Trought (Jim Reid, Television Personalities, Comet Gain, The Clientele).
“The best, most hypnotic, moving, engaging, skewed, lo-fi, glittering, colourful, concise, inventive guitar record of 2006... like other experimental pop bands' greatest hits collections” (Robots and Experimental Brains)
www.finlay.org
www.myspace.com/finlaytherockband

Fortuna POP! www.fortunapop.com