Music / new releases
Splurge-Pop is subject of latest Bristol music docu-series
Guerilla art-folk group Trans-Siberian Express have released their debut EP.
The band are known in Bristol for playing not only the city’s many venues but also in lifts, shops and on the street over the last four years.
A six-piece with anarchic sensibilities and a wild-eyed view of the world, they refer to their sound as Schwank or Splurge-Pop.
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Their EP, they say, is a “culmination of erratic minds writing…without restraint, sometimes sticking to tradition, sometimes not” and can be described as “a method to the madness, a reason to the rhyme.”
The first release is accompanied by a video produced by Phoebe Ashford, a documentarian who follows Bristol’s underground music scene.
Time Fell Through was released on Mother’s Day and shows the band in both performer and silly antics mode at Harlequin Fayre in Norfolk where they played on the CurioStage.
“We have built up a special bond with the band, from experiencing their first gig in the basement of the Wonky Arrow bookshop, an anarchist squat at the time, to seeing them perform at festivals and venues across the country,” said Ashford.
“We have always tried to document their journey where possible and have major respect for the sound they are carving out within the city. They are a group that aren’t afraid to stretch the boundaries of music and songwriting, creating innovative sounds and funky tunes that I guarantee will have any crowd moving.”
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The video is the second attempt at the collaboration, after three days’ worth of filming in Hastings was lost following “an unfortunate turn of events which ended in an A&E trip for the camera man after a fall on the pebbled beach resulting in a sprained ankle.”
The group and videographer were determined, and took the opportunity to film at Harlequin Fayre two years later.
“We documented the band over the four day festival like a fly on the wall, following their every move across the fields of Norfolk.
“It was about documenting the experience of a group of friends that would be remembered forever, capturing the ups and downs of the festival lifestyle and running with whatever we came across,” Ashford explains of the filming process.
“We had no plan going into the festival and certainly no plan of what footage would leave the festival with us which for us was the beauty of the video. We trusted the band and the band trusted us with the camera which is something that is rare in an industry that puts business first.”
Trains-Siberian Express have been making music for four years and are members of the Below the Belt Collective – photo: Phoebe Ashford
The video is the eighth in Ashford’s Sunset People series which aims to tell the story of Bristol’s “vast musical landscape”, with each filmed in unique or idyllic locations near to the city.
“This edition will add a layer of idiosyncrasy to the documentary as the band come with their own distinctive sound, a sound that only Bristol could conjure up,” said Ashford. “We are extremely excited that we could make this collaboration work.”
The band’s EP, which includes elements of blues, funk and electronica matched with their experimental approach, was recorded at Factory and New Cut studios.
It follows their collaboration with UWE Bristol – where the members were all formerly students – on the single Run from the Skin that Binds Us which they released to encourage men to open up about their mental health, in support of Bristol charity Talk Club.
Trans-Siberian Express’ EP, Splurge-Pop, is available on Spotify. They play Outer Town festival at the Ill Repute on Old Market on April 12, and at the Exchange on May 17.
Main image: Phoebe Ashford
Read next:
- Review: Ritual Union – ‘Flailing guitars, hair and limbs’
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- Review: John Law’s Congregation, Bebop Club
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