Sundae Club

Sundae Club is an English down-tempo band formed in 2001 by members Hamstall Ridware and Dr. C.D.Mille, both audio historians and musical instrument technicians, assisted by producer George Shilling. Initially conceived as a vehicle simply to prevent an existing historic collection of ancient synthesizers and Hammond organs from decaying through lack of use, the duo found interest from UK television company GMTV who used some of their early work as promo film soundtracks. This led to a publishing contract with Taste Music, famously the erstwhile label of West Country progressive rock band, Muse.

Sundae Club's music invariably features the sound of the mellotron, as well as other old electronic instruments such as Theremin and Fairlight and manages to sound simultaneously contemporary and nostalgic. Their debut album, Technostalgia appeared in 2004, and they have also contributed music for the Histoires Naturelles album by Nolwenn Leroy, released in France by Mercury Records in December 2005. A piece of their work was chosen as a soundtrack by animation director, Mario Cavalli, for a short film to commemorate sixty years of the Care charity in Germany.

They collaborated with Najma Akhtar on a remix track and an original work in 2003.

Their second album, British Summer Time, was released as a free mp3 download in May 2008, with an invitation for the 'purchaser' to make an optional donation.

In June 2014, they released a record The 8-Track Record on two obsolete formats, 8-track cartridge and 78rpm record. Featured artists on this release were Matt Berry and violinist Diana Yukawa.

Sea-sides

The lost Sundae Club album found whilst spring cleaning behind the Mellotron. Some of these tracks date back to Sundae Club's earliest days in 2001 and were conceived one Sunday evening on the upper floor of the Cheltenham branch of Pizza Piazza. If you were there, you would have witnessed Dr Mille playing a row of tuned Peroni Nastro Azzuro bottles, but since most of the other diners had left by that point, perhaps because of it, there are few witnesses. That night, Sunday Club (sic) was born. Hamstall and Dr Mille were christened (or at least something which nearly rhymed with it) and Ray Cathode was invented. The close derivation Sundae Club came a week or two later when it became apparent that Mondays were actually more convenient than Sundays for us to get together and lark around with synthesizers and old tat.

Some of these were the tracks which led to a publishing deal with Taste Music, and probably also led to them dropping us a few years later. Most contain Mellotron, some contain Theremin and all are important little steps in the evolution of the Sundae Club Sound.

E-Pea

Why E-Pea? Well, it's an EP of course; the modern equivalent of one of those 7" records of yesteryear with four tracks on it, the groove modulation too small to offer much in the way of audio fidelity, but a satisfying object nonetheless. Many years ago, Island Records issued a "sampler disc". A 12" LP record with a selection of some their artists' works. A promotional tool to get obscure acts known off the back of the big sellers. In this case it was a double album and headliners like Traffic, ELP, Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention were included to entice buyers to listen to unknowns like Mountain, Bronco and Nick Drake. In the case of poor old talented-but-awkwardly-shy Nick it didn't work, and he sold hardly any records at all. Until he was dead. They called it "El Pea". Much later, the Acid-House movement pioneered by the likes of Baby Ford and 808-State invented drugs which looked like small aspirins which you had to take with lots of water whilst wearing a t-shirt with a Smiley face on it which sent you bonkers whenever you listened to dance music. They called it "E".

Sundae Club are honoured to be in the position of having bought at least one member of Traffic a pint or two over the years, but the closest they ever got to Baby Ford was Hamstall borrowing his housemate's Mark 1 Fiesta.

British Summer Time

Sundae Club's second album, "British Summer Time" is available exclusively to download for your mp3-player gadgets and i-Tuneses, in which they take you on a Journey across Continents with their Travel Trilogy; you can savour the wholesome meaty goodness (chicken if you're vegetarian) of 'Pies'; spot the Bev Bevanesque drum solo in 'Honey Bee'; marvel as a moonlighting electrician from the Midlands ignores New Labour's green policy on tungsten light bulb usage and get slightly miffed as the new people move into the flat above. It's all here, and Sam comes too.

Rather different from their debut, 'Technostalgia', but a vastly expanded arsenal of vintage electronics and the trusty Mellotron guarantee the Sundae Club Sound.

Influences: Reginald Perrin, Lea and Perrins, British Summer Time, Any Other Time, Vintage Ice-Cream Vans, Blustery days in Bognor Regis, BBC Trades Test Transmissions, Delia Derbyshire, Shipping Forecasts, Electric Light Orchestra, The Clark's Electronic Foot-gauge, Eastern European Radio Call Signs, Cars with mineral-based Brake Fluid, Fry's Five Boys Chocolate, Milo with milk, Home visits from Radio Rentals. Doorstep Milk Deliveries, Bakelite, Linoleum, Caddy-Matics, Joe Meek, Clocking off, VHF Television, pushing Button B on the Post-Office public telephone.