A FURTHER TWELVE DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (1)

Back in June, I featured a mini-series of music from compilation albums that were issued on an annual basis from 2012 to 2019 to commemorate the staging of the Indietracks festival.

It seemed to go down quite well, so much so that for the period in which I’m away sunning myself in the Caribbean, I’m going to bring it back which means it’s going to be a tad obscure, musically wise, around these parts until early December, but you still have the ICA World Cup to enjoy each Sunday.

A reminder that Indietracks was a festival of independent, creative and DIY pop music that took place in the Derbyshire countryside, with around 50 new and established artists performing across a range of stages at the festival.

Aldo was a regular, and I had promised him that once I stopped working, I’d make an effort to come along one year. Sadly, my retiral in March 2020 coincided with the first wave of COVID, and it was the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic that ultimately led to the decision by the organisers to call it a day.

Every year a download compilation album featuring bands playing at the festival was released with all proceeds going to the Midland Railway charity. I’ve downloaded each of the volumes from 2012-2019 via bandcamp, and the idea is to again share with one track per day from a singer or band yet to feature on TVV.

This, kind of appropriately titled song, is from the 2012 compilation:-

mp3: Colour Me Wednesday – Holiday From Your Life

I reckon this is a splendid piece of pop music, and given that there’s quite an extensive back catalogue out there, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t know anything till putting this piece together.

Here’s some info, edited from the wiki entry:-

“Colour Me Wednesday are an English indie pop/pop punk band from West London, built around sisters Jen and Harriet Doveton. The band are noted for their melodic guitar pop, politicised lyrics and DIY punk method, including producing their own recordings, artwork and promotional videos.

They formed in 2007, initially performing local gigs with various line-ups, and settled as a permanent band in 2009, with Danny Gardner on bass and Sam Brackley on drums. Brackley had previously played bass, with Helen Meragi on drums. They self-recorded and self-released their debut CDr EP What To Do In An Emergency that year.

In 2010 and 2011, a series of self-produced YouTube videos for tracks from their follow up Sampler EP brought them to wider attention in DIY punk and indiepop circles^.

In 2012, Carmela Pietrangelo (of ¡Ay Carmela!) joined as new bassist.  In June, the band released debut single Shut as a digital download with accompanying video, taken from the album I Thought It Was Morning, released by Discount Horse Records in July. The same year, the band was invited to play the Indietracks festival in 2012 and subsequently the following year in 2013.

2014 saw the band release a split album with Spoonboy on California’s Lauren Records, supported by a US tour including appearances at Plan-It X festival and New York Popfest. A promo video was released for lead track Sugar-Coated.

In 2015, Colour Me Wednesday made a return to the Indietracks festival, joined by new drummer Jaca Freer and guitarist Laura Ankles (both also of ¡Ay Carmela!). This line-up released its first recordings in 2016 as the  Anyone and Everyone EP. The group also played at Madrid Popfest.

In 2017,  they released a new track online, a version of Demi Lovato‘s Cool for the Summer.  2018 saw the release of second album Counting Pennies in the Afterlife.”

Here’s a few more of their songs:-

mp3: Colour Me Wednesday – Shut (from I Thought It Was Dry Land, 2013)
mp3: Colour Me Wednesday – Don’t Tell Anyone (from Anyone and Everyone, 2016)
mp3: Colour Me Wednesday – Sunriser (from Counting Pennies In The Afterlife, 2018)

Sorry it’s taken so long to bring them to your attention.

JC