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 Everett True

mini-interview with Everett True about the Dandelions

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I thought I’d reprint this interview Mike Applestein did with me, as a way of reminding you of how special that Dandelions (Children Of Sunshine) album is.

How did you hear about this record?  I think you mentioned someone from Cornershop; how did he hear about it?

It was my friend, gentleman Ben Ayres. [I’ve just discovered that Ben was given his copy by Jeffrey Lewis. We’re trying to find out where Jeff got it from – Ed.] I call him gentleman Ben because he’s one of the kindest, sweetest folk you’ll ever meet. He’s familiar with my musical taste, and emailed me a link to the blog entry about the Dandelions before Christmas. I do have folk send me tips on occasion, for the same reason I write my Song Of The Day feature at Collapse Board. When we hear music this special we want to share it. I have no idea how Ben encountered the Dandelions, probably from a similar tip-off. He works at Rough Trade Records as their PR, so maybe it was via that?

What was it that spoke to you about it?

The voices. The melodies. It’s very soothing music (something important to this parent!). The peculiar unadorned quality of the recordings which immediately placed the music within the same time frame – and akin to – Langley Schools Music Project and The Shaggs. It’s so understated, so human. I love singing where you can hear the personality of the singers. I love voices before they’ve been trained to sound like someone else. The music is fantastic, the way it’s so nearly not there. There’s such untroubled joy there.

What kind of reaction have you received – emails, replies, etc.?

Um, not sure. It was one of the more popular entries in Song Of The Day – but by no means the most popular. Generally, it seemed like a really warm reaction.

Could you place this LP into a greater context of music by children (early Smoosh, Langley Schools Music Project)?

That’s about the sum of my knowledge! I love the sound of children’s voices, unpolished. It seems like it wouldn’t be too difficult to make great pop music featuring children, using minimal accompaniment (like Langley Schools) … but I’ve always felt the same way about pop music generally, and it seems most people aren’t able to so … whatever. This is way more Langley Schools than Smoosh, incidentally: way more. The Smoosh parallels are circumstance, not sonic.

Could a record like this come out today?

I’d hope so!

You can read Mike’s full article, which includes interviews with the original members of the Dandelions (Children Of Sunshine), here.

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