The Sound Of Pop Art set the tone for hazy summer days spent listening to soulful odes of positivity and freedom in the way the band do best – by writing and recording blissful tunes with references to many genres, but creating their own brand of summery sixties pop.

How would you describe your sound?

Chris Free: Mid-sixties psych pop, hints of Bacharach / Barry filmic arrangements. Sounding like a soundtrack to a lost French 60s movie starring Jean Moreau. 60’s Motown, early 70’s Atlantic soul… East Anglian / Cambridge / Fenland psych folk. Post modern Pop music for 21st Century ‘Pop Believers’.

Would you like to talk a bit about your background?

Well I grew up in the sixties and seventies in Cambridge… When pop music was played on the radio all day and night. Top of the Pops was on TV once a week and was unmissable. There were record shops everywhere…. Even the Newsagent’s corner shop would sell singles. In the background of course on the radio going into my head subconsciously would be the early Motown hits, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Burt Bacharach / Hal David hits… ‘Do You Know The Way To San Jose’, ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’, ‘Say A Little Prayer’, Walk On By’, Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Feeling Groovy’, Fancis Lai ‘A Man and a Woman’…

“I loved the guitar of James Williamson.”

Chris, you were in The Users, a Cambridge punk band back in the seventies. Would you like to talk about it?

In school people used to bring in latest records they had brought. Everyone read a music paper called the NME. Bowie was very big around ’72/’73 and he started producing his favourite acts, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. A big Bowie fan brought in ‘Raw Power’ by Iggy & The Stooges. That made a big impression. I loved the guitar of James Williamson. So I got an acoustic guitar. I was about 14/15. So about late ’75/76 got a rehearsal together with a drummer Andrew, Phil (vocals) and Bobby (bass) – we immediately started writing our own songs. I saw guitar and pop music as a means of expression. So we wrote ‘Sick Of You’, ‘Kicks In Style’, ‘In Love With Today’ and ‘Now That It’s Over’ etc… we also covered ‘Lies’ by The Knickerbockers (a tune off the Nuggets LP, a USA West Coast 1960s garage band compilation) and ‘It’s Not True’ by The Who. We even did some demos with Robyn Hitchcock on bass – ‘Heart To Heart’, ‘Bad Decision’, ‘Love’s A Stain’ – all of which have been released on vinyl in the last few years. Interesting fun fact … Syd Barrett went out with Phil’s aunt and did a couple of portraits of Phil.

How about A Craze?

Well after playing high intensity music for 4 years non stop when The Users finished I didn’t really want to do anything. So I was living off Portobello Rd Notting Hill and enjoying going to the market there… One day an old friend David Stephenson brought round Lucy and we just started strumming and singing and it felt good. Lucy came round again in next couple of days and we wrote songs, went to studio and got signed up. It was a great experience watching other people at work in the studio like Paul Weller… seeing songs / arrangements come together.

Are any of you involved in any other bands or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?

Funnily enough I am arranging and playing on an Alt country project of Russell Nightingale. It’s totally different to anything I’ve done before… but I have always loved a bit of Gram Parsons/Stones when they used to do sloppy country… Love ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ / ‘Blood On The Tracks’ by Bob Dylan… So I am really enjoying getting to play a bit of acoustic slide etc.…

What can you say about Detour Records latest release New Wave NRG / Sometimes Jessamine?

I can say I think it’s a fabulous double A side single… Both ‘New Wave’ mixed by Andy Crofts (The Moons) and ‘Sometimes Jessamine’ mixed by Ian Button (Death In Vegas). Have a great sound coming off the vinyl… I was really pleased how ‘Sometimes Jessamine’ sounds like it lives in it’s own universe. In a different age … say the 70s or 80s or 90s this single would’ve sold thousands… no doubt. Dizzy of Detour heard ‘New Wave’ and wanted to release it. Dizzy of course released the first Users compilation ‘Secondary Modern’. Dizzy drove up to Cambridge to get the tapes after he saw on the internet that Andrew and I had played Syd Barrett’s memorial in ‘Grantchester Meadows’.

When did you decide that you wanted to start writing and performing your own music? What brought that about for you?

Well I’ve always written own music… I just took a break of 18 years or so. In the last say 4 years songs have really just come very naturally to me… and I have just gone with the flow.

How do you usually approach music making?

Usually the songs come early morning…. I sleep with guitar beside the bed… at about 6.00 in the morning I’ll grab the guitar and start playing half asleep imagining a lyric / melody in my head….
From this sometimes good things come almost fully formed out of nowhere… like ‘Kingfisher’… ‘The Day Never Happened’.

Can you share some further details how your latest The Sound Of Pop Art album was recorded?

Well a few of the songs we had been playing live a for about six months… ‘New Wave’, ‘Velvet Nights’, ‘Waking Up In Paris’, ‘Buddha Rocks’. So we booked into studio and put the down the drums (Rod Norman), bass (Sara Onyett- Goan) and rhythm guitar live… I then took the tracks home and put some keyboards down or got Toby Kinder to. Then Sara and I would go back to the studio do the vocals and got Paul Stubbs who I always had in mind to put some trumpet down.

<a href="https://thesoundofpopart.bandcamp.com/album/to-dream-the-most-fabulous-dream">To Dream The Most Fabulous Dream by The Sound Of Pop Art</a>

How pleased were you with the sound of the album?

I am pleased… I’m always nervous hearing the test pressings… but soon as heard the single ‘New Wave/Sometimes Jessamine’… was very pleased… Then the LP sounded fabulous. I think Sara’s voice and my voice blend well together… And I like the psych instrumental ‘Into The Meadows’, it has a great drum sound. We had different masters made for vinyl and for CD and for online streaming. So to get the best sound for each platform.

What are some bands/musicians that have a big influence on you?

As mentioned above a varied bunch… Brian Wilson, Chet Baker, Keith Richards, Burt Bacharach, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Nick Drake, Curtis Mayfield, Paul Weller, Erik Satie…

Do you often play live? Who are some of your personal favorite bands that you’ve had a chance to play with over the past few years?

We were playing before this Covid-19 about once every 10 days… around Cambridge mainly… It’s easier to put a group of local musicians together. In 2019 I really enjoyed playing Ackland Village Hall – Portobello – Notting Hill Gate London. The Clash used to play there Xmas day and Boxing Day and I really love the mixed cultures you find at Portobello Market – it’s inspiring… we also did a memorable radio session for Portobello Radio.

How are you coping with the current world situation?

Well there are no gigs at present of course and so musically we have had more time to write a batch of new songs…. It is inspiring to live through historic times. It’s just been announced that it looks key there will be a vaccine for the virus so 2021 should see things open up a little… I can’t wait to be playing live again. I have missed it… and yet have enjoyed the time to focus more on what sort of songs want to play.

What are some future plans?

I would like to record an EP say 4 or 5 tracks for May/June release…. Song titles… Keep On, Sunshine Lollipop, Miss Rosemary Jane, In The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

‘To Dream The Most Fabulous Dream’ has an autumnal vibe that runs through it… that I think will sound better as time goes by. It was a fabulous experience to be able to record strong tunes with great players. I recommend if your readers want to hear some potent new music and go on a journey… Go buy ‘To Dream The Most Fabulous Dream’. Chris Free

Klemen Breznikar

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