WE PICK OUR MOST INFLUENTIAL PSYCHEDELIC TRACKS for STRANGE BREW POD..

We were asked by The Strange Brew Podcast to pick our most influential psychedelic tracks. We've not gone monster rare here or anything, and pretty obvious.. but you can't lie about what has had the biggest impact on you. See the full article HERE.

The Junipers’ Favorite Psychedelic Tracks

Twenty years in, Leicester’s The Junipers are still making psychedelic pop that sounds like a Saturday morning radio discovery and a dusty record find in a town centre shop. To follow up their brilliant 2024 album, Imaginary Friends, they release their fifth LP, The Solid and the Hollow, on 24 April.

By their own description it ended up as a nostalgia trip of sorts, imagining how they might have approached music as teenagers, when the 60s and indie records they love were still fresh discoveries. 60s garage, 80s neo-psychedelia and early 90s shoegaze all fed into it, pushing them toward a more guitar-led sound than recent albums. They even went back and reworked a song they wrote as teenagers, ‘She Makes the Sun Shine,’ which became a kind of anchor for the whole record. Having heard it, I can tell you it delivers on every one of those influences while sounding completely like itself, which is a harder trick to pull off than it sounds. If you want a way in, their current single ‘When She Turns’ is out now, with ‘In A Maze’ to follow on 4 April.

To mark the release, we asked the band to share the psychedelic tracks that mean the most to them. Mellotrons feature heavily.

The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever

Joe: It’s an obvious one but it is probably my favourite track of all time. It’s not like I listen to it all the time nowadays, but when I do it always has an impact. Nobody needs this track breaking down for them of course, but I love its mystery, how it starts out soft and mellow, and ends heavy with a crazy mellotron jam at the end. The whole production, how they spliced together 2 takes in slightly different keys, and actually went with it. The most ambitious single yet, by the biggest band in the world, and they released a mash up of 2 different takes that were in different keys and tempos to one another. But it works and actually makes the track sound weirder and more ethereal, like it wasn’t made by humans. And apparently it still wasn’t to Lennon’s liking because it wasn’t heavy enough. I’d love to hear the version he had in his mind. I’m also a sucker for anything from the 60s and 70s with a mellotron and this song is the reason.

Pink Floyd – See Emily Play

Joe: Like ‘Strawberry Fields,’ this track is a pretty obvious choice but it had such a big impact. I first heard this on Sounds of the 60’s which I’d listen to as a teen religiously every Saturday morning in bed. I’d hear new stuff (to me) all the time and then spend that afternoon hunting the records down in town. To me at the time this was like hearing ‘Strawberry Fields’ mark II. I love the vocals, the melody, the vibe, the singalong chorus, the sped up interlude, those orchestral bits that open the verses, the way Syd sings “tomorrow”! I remember buying that First 3 Singles CD and blasting it out later that day and my Dad just opening my bedroom door and looking at me gone out.

July – My Clown

Joe: I remember the first time I heard this was at one of the Mousetrap nights in London in like 2001 or something. I didn’t know the track, but it was in my head for months afterwards, until me or Pete managed to track it down. To hear a track like this for the first time at full blast in a basement is the perfect introduction. At that time I didn’t know what I was listening to! I knew it would be from 1968 or 69 but it was just so far out, I couldn’t absorb it or work out how this sound had been made. I remember I ordered the CD of the album and it came through the post on a Saturday morning. No one home , and I was blaring this track out on the kitchen CD player, my Dad came home and was just going “what is this?? Far out man!!” all sarcastic. We actually got to support Tom Newman and July in about 2016 which was nice.

Marmalade – Man in a Shop

Robyn: The crystal clear production, those guitars and pop hooks. The works! They play 2 basses on it too, as they did on ‘See the Rain.’ One plays more basic around the root notes, and one is more twangy and melodic like a John Entwhistle bass line. We’re all suckers for the poppier side of psychedelia and this one is a classic of that genre.

Tomorrow – Claramount Lake

Ash: This is right up Ash’s street. A tight, crunchy, funky band performance. Ash’s mum had the single of Tomorrow’s ‘My White Bicycle’ and this was the b-side, so he was introduced to this track early doors.

Honeybus – Under the Silent Tree

Ben says: Would you say Honeybus are psychedelic? I’m terrible with genres and labels.. like it’s just music maaaan! ‘Under the Silent Tree,’ that’s a good one. But yea, Honeybus are a favourite of all of ours and they definitely dabbled in psychedelia and this track also has a mellotron.

OLD INTERVIEW with ELIZABETH KLISIEWICZ

 

Leicester, UK group The Junipers might just be the best psych pop group you've never heard. In fact, if like me you're a sucker for exquisitely rendered orchestral pop with a soft psych, folk edge, you're bound to fall hard for their exquisite confections.

Going back to the start, main songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Wiltshire explains he set the group in motion in the usual fashion. Hearing music that inspired him, he remembers, "The Junipers started after I heard the first Emitt Rhodes album. Hearing that, I thought I'd go and get my own recording gear and make my own Emitt Rhodes album. I didn't have the confidence to do it all on myself and I had to get my mate Marc Johnston who lived down the road a few doors away who was into The Beatles and stuff to sing on it. He was the cocky confident one so that worked."

Like many such talented musicians, the band toiled away in relative obscurity, releasing three fine albums. The first dropped in 2008 Cut Your Key and two gorgeous records with singer Robyn Gibson followed. The first with Robyn was 2012's incandescent Paint the Ground, and the best of all, the other is quite possibly 2016's finest record, Red Bouquet Fair. Yet as far as critical acclaim back home goes, Wiltshire opines, "It's been received as well as we'd hoped it would for a small, independent , little-known band". Despite this wry response, eight years ago, the first Junipers album had received raves from from music critics and radio support from the BBC. When asked if they thought they were on the verge of breaking big Wiltshire avers, "When you're in a band and you start getting told you're going to be on the radio, you think, 'That's it, we've done it!' But then we came back down to Earth."

Still Red Bouquet Fair has done relatively well. Explains Gibson, "The albums are quite limited releases, so selling out, for Paint the Ground was pleasingly quick. Red Bouquet Fair has nearly all gone on vinyl too. We think Sugarbush Records are planning another coloured re-press already." And when asked about the long hiatus between their first two LP's, Gibson shrugs, "There's no rush. That's how long it takes us to get an album made. We record songs very gradually, but only in short two or three hour sessions, once or twice a week. I'd be happy to do it everyday, but we do all work and have families and so forth, so we just have to grab the time we can."

Such care taken is obvious when you hear classic tracks such as "Dandelion Man" with it's Love - meets - The Zombies melodic structure. When asked about the influences, the affable gents are all over the map, ranging from The Beach Boys to XTC and The Byrds. No matter the source, it's clear that they've been sipping from some prodigious creative springs, all to treat fans to a beautifully cultivated musical garden. It may take a while, but there will likely be more.

The Junipers - Dandelion Man

PAINT THE GROUND REVIEW on TERRASCOPE...

 THE JUNIPERS - PAINT THE GROUND

(LPs from Sugarbush Records)

Specialising in limited edition re-issues of hard to find psych/pop albums, Sugarbush records are doing a fine job if theses three releases are anything to go by, beautifully pressed with delightful artwork and a touch of quality about them.

    Originally released as a download in 2012, “Paint the Ground” is a wonderful collection of jangly, gently flowing pop psych that is ideal for those hazy summer days. Opening sweetly with the rippling melodies of “Look Into My River”, the band hook you in immediately, a mellow 1971 West-Coast vibe pervading the air as they get into their groove. On “Dandelion Man”, there is a more up to date guitar jangle, a slightly heavier edge although this is softened by gorgeous harmonies and a a dancing flute, summer is definitely here. Easily an early highlight. “Everywhere Was You” is another gentle tune with an almost Eastern motif running through it, the song ending far too soon, although the delightful softness of  “In My Reverie” make up for this the song re-defining mellow with ease, reminding me of The Lilac Time jamming with CSNY in their laconic approach. To end side one “Phoebus Filled The Town” maintains the delicate air, notes shimmering in a musical heat haze, taking back to 1967 and the summer of love, or at least your rose-tinted memories and wishes of the era.

   After a flawless side of music, I am pleased to say that side 2 is just as good with opener “Antler Season” glowing like a evening sun, a radiance of sound that sets the tone for the rest of the side. Reminding me of Gorky's “Golden Fields in Golden Sun” sounds just as it should, the flute adding a delicate beauty to the tune, whilst “Song to Selkie” has an upbeat approach that will get you grooving around the garden whilst smiling like a loon.

   Certain of their quality, the last three songs turn out to be the best, proving this is a band of quality and substance, the listener easily immersed in the flowing contemplative mood of “Willow and the Water Mill”, blissed out by the pastoral wonder of “They Lived Up In The Valley” and then energised and amused by the sweet pulse of the Beatle-esque “Pearly Home”, the song leaving you with a smile on your face.

  Damn this album is good, those in need of a warm summer sparkle need look no further.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

The Junipers - They Lived Up in the Valley

INTERVIEW FROM 2017 in LOUDER THAN WAR MAG...

The Junipers are a psychedelic pop band formed in Leicester in 2005, who have been releasing excellent material since their formation with their latest release Red Bouquet Fair gaining rave but hushed reviews across the board.

Similar in terms of the initial reception Nick Drakes albums received, Red Bouquet Fair has been released without much fanfare, but more than deserves the sames accolades as the above referenced folk genius. An album of beauty, with harmonies to take your mind away to a land filled with green summer grass, sunsets on the beach and a ice cool lemonade with a red striped straw, this is the album to listen to whilst you blissfully dreaming of holidays and for taking your cares away. I interview the band who give their low down on their background and who has influenced them:

Can you give us a bit of a low down and your musical backgrounds? 

JOE: my sister got into the Beatles. I used to nick her stuff & listen to it in secret. Saw Anthology on TV & that was it. Hooked on Beatles & ’60s & intrigued by the psychedelic era. Brian Matthew’s Saturday morning radio show sounds of ’60s too. Put me onto all sorts.

ROBYN: I’ve been playing in bands since I was 13.  Heavily influenced by the records given to me by my mum, when I was a pre-schooler.  (Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel bags of ’60s singles).

ASH: Always a lot of music in our house growing up. My Mam was a singer and my Dad played classical/flamenco style guitar so learnt a lot from them. Started off playing clarinet and sax then moved onto guitar and bass.

BEN:  I had 3 older brothers who all played, so it was always there as an influence.

PETE:  I wanted to be in a band from age of six. Best mate Joe begged me to join his psychedelic pop band an early version of The Junipers in 2002.

Why did you decide to pick up an instrument in the first place? 

ROBYN: I wanted to be a Beatle for as long as I can remember.  Watching the Monkees in school holidays during the ’80s as well.  I’ve always wanted to be in that sort of gang!

JOE: I wanted to play drums after seeing Ringo on Beatles anthology on TV. Wasn’t allowed a kit cos it was too loud, so i turned my attention to guitar.

PETE:  Watching Australian kids TV show Pugwall was my inspiration to learn the guitar age 12.

Who were your favourite bands growing up? 

ROBYN: Beatles, Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel… oh and The Muppets and BBC Sound Effects. (All pre-teen records I hammered to death.)

JOE: Beatles, Hollies, Beach Boys were my main bands. Got into other styles along the way like folk, country & ’70s bands also.

BEN: Buddy Holy, Beatles, Monkees, Kinks, then later britpop/ indie stuff.

ASH: Listened to a lot of Stones/Kinks/Neil Young/The Band growing up.

PETE:  Fave bands as a kid were Status Quo & Beatles.

Were you all friends before you got together as a band? 

Yes. Previous bands together (and all good mates, in advance).

Did you naturally fall into the sound that you have successfully released material with? 

JOE:  We’ve never forced a particular sound. We all have very similar record collections & have grown up listening to pretty much the same stuff as each other.  Which is pretty lucky really. We will all naturally refer to the music we know & love & that happens to be older music. Usually ’60s or ’70s. But we all have our own new bands & music that we like which will come out in our sound now & again.

There’s a distinct summer west coast guitar sound to your releases so far. Why was this chosen as the sound to the releases? 

JOE: It’s down to Brian Wilson & Curt Boettcher mainly.  When I first heard the Sagittarius album Present Tense & the Millennium album I knew that was the sound I personally wanted to try to achieve. We record & rehearse in our own studio in an old factory in Leicester.  So we try to play music that makes us feel like we’re in the sun or in the English countryside & not in the centre of Leicester on a cold Tuesday evening.

Are the releases all band efforts or is there a main singer writer? 

ROBYN : Joe is the creative well here.  The songs are written & then we all get together & see if we can make them sound half decent.

What’s the plan for the band in the future?

JOE:  Just to keep at it for now. As long as we enjoy it we’ll keep doing it. It’s just a social for us & a bit of fun making music. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

ROBYN: More albums and singles.  We’re recording the follow up to Red Bouquet Fair at the moment. Then, we’ll do another one… I hope!

BUY THE JUNIPERS RED BOUQUET FAIR HERE!

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE!