n EIGHTEEN months ago Pat Laureate, Marc Baines, and Brian McDougall chummed up to create the independent record label Vesuvius. Their specific purpose was to release In Spelunca, a 10in compilation featuring such unsigned Glasgow and Edinburgh-based bands as Yummy Fur, Melody Dog, and Starstruck.
POMP001 sold decently and records from Sally Skull, Jad and David Fair, and Ganger followed. This month sees the release of POMP005. The idea for this venture came to the triumvirate in a car. On the road to Newcastle, with the hypnotic rhythms of Kraftwerk's Autobahn pulsing through the speakers, the vision of a Vesuvius Travel Companion was born. The concept was simple: a moto-friendly cassette of road-related songs allied to a companion comic of travel stories in prose and cartoon form.
Invite 12 bands to contribute. Construct a deliberately vague brief to ensure as individual a take on the travel theme as possible. Send the creative types off to gestate in their garrets for a year, then round up their contributions, print, press, bag, and knock out the finished product for a wallet-friendly fiver.
In the Vesuvius ethos, the aural and visual media are as one. Record production and the creation of a strong graphic identity are equally important. According to Baines: ``There doesn't seem to be much of an outlet in Britain for the sort of work that people like John Bagnall are doing. We'd like to publish more of that sort of stuff.'' Bagnall, known for his work on the music and pop culture magazine Hairy Hi-Fi, has contributed five drawn pages of David Bowie's Berlin Diaries. These detail the Zigster's adventures with Iggy and Eno circa 1976. Outstanding.
Some right groovy toons too. The aforementioned Vesuvius roster are all represented, giving it experimental roadsville a-go-go, with additional bonus tracks from the likes of The Pastels, Yankee dudes Dump, and the mysterious Amplifier, who apparently formed specifically for the tape. Of the many fine songs, it's perhaps Amplifier's lowrideresque paean to the joys of slow-speed posing 24mph which works best.
The tape's biggest selling point, however, is that it's not restricted solely to car users. It's equally palatable on other modes of transport, be they trains, boats, or planes, and at a tasty five clams a hit, these babies ain't gonna bust anyone's clip.
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