Damn, dementia galore. We nearly forgot our yearly overview of what happened ten years ago. And what a season it was. Or wasn’t it? Let’s check it out.

The seventh season of the Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit officially started on the eight of August 2014. And it started with a bang.

The Grass Was Greener

I’m sorry folks, but we have to write about it, once again. A curse for some, a surprise for others: Spanishgrass.

For all those Generation Z youngsters out there (who will not read this article anyway), what is it all about? For years, there was a rumour that Syd Barrett had recorded an unreleased third album. As a Barrett fan, yours truly visited shady shops in Brussels and Antwerp, where they had a stack of records of independent origin. Invariably, there would be bootlegs claiming to be the third Syd solo album. Some with songs that would later surface on the Opel album, others even with fake material. These were the dark ages when the internet didn’t exist and people didn’t carry mobile phones.

In Spanish-speaking countries, however, there was a persistent rumour that Syd Barrett had recorded an album, partly in Galician, titled Spanishgrass. Mexican Barrett fan Babylemonade Flowers informed us about that legend, and after some inquisitive research from Antonio Jesús (Spain), it was found out it was based upon a fun article in a post-Franco satirical magazine. (To find out more about this quest, check... Spanishgrass or Syd Barrett's lost Spanish record and its follow-ups.)

Spanishgrass (redux)

In August 2014, four packages were sent all over the world by an anonymous benefactor. These arrived in Belgium, Russia, Spain, and the USA. They contained, next to some goodies, a CD with a re-imagined Spanishgrass album from an unknown band. (Note: actually there were 8 copies mailed out, but only four to people in the Syd world.)

Basically, this was a Birdie Hop (Facebook group) inside joke, and those that were ‘in’ knew who had made the record. The Holy Church gladly promoted the hoax on Birdie, much to the irritation of the head gonzo, who was probably pissed because he didn’t get a copy.

And now, after a ten-year hiatus, we are allowed to say who was behind this crazy project. None other than multi-instrumentalist Rich Hall, who had given us the album Birdie Hop and The Sydiots in 2013. For Spanishgrass he got help from Marc Shannon for the excellent vocals, the drums were handled by Mark Janus, and the keys by the late Ron Bay.

The Church described the album as follows:

The music consists of evocative instrumentals and uptempo tunes, with a spacey, early Floydian, guitar sorrowing in the background, psychedelic keyboards, fragile percussion, and spoken word, whispered mostly in English and sometimes Galician. Soundscapes and musique concrète are omnipresent: babbling brooks, chirping birds, whistling teapots, a lawnmower, and some excited monks.

Do not expect an easy parcours; the music can be annoying, harrowing, exhausting, cathartic, transcendental, and repetitive. It is impossible to fit the tracks into a single category other than that melting pot that is avant-garde or art-rock. There are traces of early and vintage Floyd (from Ummagumma to Obscured By Clouds), haunting rhythms that stay remnant in your mind like those irritating Swans drones, seventies porn flick lounge tunes, Tarantinesque exotica, Michael Nyman's repetitiveness, and even Spanish bluegrass rockabilly.

Do yourself a pleasure and (re)discover this album; you won’t regret it. Listen to it here…

Link for recalcitrant browsers: https://youtu.be/2AlASktqbMk?si=hWlfbQqyzRNxtykg

Iggy Speaks

But of course, there were some other, more than excellent, posts at the Church for its seventh season.

For those feeling gloomy because Iggy Rose didn’t make it on the Have You Got It Yet? documentary, we have some form of compensation. On Monday night, the 25th of May 2015, Iggy gave a radio interview on Nikki Palomino's radio show Dazed Radio. A condensed version (37 minutes) with only the Iggy parts has been hosted on Soundcloud. It’s probably the only chance you have to hear her voice, somewhere, anywhere. Don't thank us for archiving this jewel.

Church link: Iggy Rose Radio Interview 
Soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/peter-felix-jansens/dazed-radio-show

Cambridge Station

Speaking of Iggy, in June 2015 Iggy visited Cambridge to attend a Birdie Hop Syd Barrett meeting. Much fun was had... See some pictures on Tumblr and at the Church...

Church Link: Iggy Rose in Cambridge 
Tumblr Link: https://iggyinuit.tumblr.com/tagged/june%202015

Reviews

And as usual we also had several reviews in our seventh season:

Blind Boy Fuller: Country Blues: Step It Up And Go 
Blitz Books: 50 Years On The Dark Side: Blitz Books: filled with an urge to defecate 
Hugh Fielder: Behind The Wall: Behind The Wall (Nederlandse Editie) 
Joe Beard: Taking The Purple: The Purple Gang 
Norman Smith: John Lennon Called Me Normal: Mr. Smith goes to London 
Pink Floyd: The Endless River: While my guitar gently weeps... 
Uschi Obermaier: Mein Wildes Leben: Uschi Obermaier: Proletarian Chic 

See you next year!

The Church is a one-man project that relies a lot on the wisdom of others. For the seventh season, we had help from the following people, websites and organisations, and perhaps we have even forgotten a few.

A Fleeting Glimpse (forum), Abigail Thomson-Smith, Alex Hoffmann, Allison Star, Amy Funstar, Anonymous, Anthony Stern, Antonio Jesús (Solo En Las Nubes), Astro Mocker, Babylemonade Aleph (where are you, flower girl?), Bennymix, Bianca Corrodi, Brett Wilson, Brian Hoskin, Cagey, Caitrin, Christopher (10past10), Constance Cartmill, Danielcaux, Dave T, David Gale, Deanna, Denis Combet, Dorothea, Douglas Milne, Elise Israd, Eva Wijkniet, Göran Nyström (Men On The Border), Iggy Rose, Jean Vouillon, Jenny Spires, Jim Dixon, Joe Foster, John Cavanagh, John Davies, Late Night (forum), Little Queenies, Lori Haines, Marc Shannon, Mark Janus, MAY, Mick Brown, Mr. Spanishgrass (Rich Hall), Mudcat.org, Neptune Pink Floyd (forum), Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Nikki Palomino, Nina, Ron Bay, Parla, Pascal Mascheroni, Phil Etheridge, Rich Hall, Rocco Moliterno, Ron Toon, Sandra Blickem, Sean Cowell, Sorcha, Stagg'O'Lee, Stephen Pyle, Syd Wonder, Tim Greenhall, Tony Russell, Uschi Obermaier, Vanessa Flores, Vic Singh, Warren Dosanjh, Winifred, Wolfpack, Wordreference.com, Zowieso.

♥ Iggy ♥ Libby ♥