Polly is a girl, and Polly has a horse. The horse suffers from depression and is troubled by the voices in its head. The horse is called Blue Monday.
Blue Monday lopes around a windswept paddock to an internal soundtrack of early 80’s Factory Records, as played in 2008 by a bunch Parisian kids on glacial synths, lowwwwww-slung bass and strict, metronomic drums.
It’s Koko Von Napoo.
Blue Monday lopes around a windswept paddock to an internal soundtrack of early 80’s Factory Records, as played in 2008 by a bunch Parisian kids on glacial synths, lowwwwww-slung bass and strict, metronomic drums.
It’s Koko Von Napoo.
Now, let’s check those credentials:
Koko Von Napoo - Polly
- Four young Parisians (3 girls, 1 boy) – CHECK
- A love of Factory Records and the sound of crumbling, early 80’s Manchester – CHECK
- A name that apparently references a Pre-War Manchester gang: The Napoo (as mentioned in Andrew Davies’ Gangs of Manchester) – CHECK
- A name that makes them sound German – CHECK
Now, I had this idea that chevalier was French for cavalier – being that cheval is French for horse, it seemed logical. But I foolishly looked it up. It’s actually French for knight.
But let’s go with my idea anyway… we’ll just imagine it’s a knight on a horse, like this one. Okay?
But let’s go with my idea anyway… we’ll just imagine it’s a knight on a horse, like this one. Okay?
So, I’m sat there listening to Le Chevalier by Jiji, thinking: that must surely be an intentional pun or in-joke, getting a sweet pop songstress called Jiji (a phonetic mimicry of gee-gee –English slang term for race-horse) to sing a song about a knight (on a horse)… Does this pun work in French? Was someone back there in les années 60’s having a little chuckle as they set the hooves in motion for this record? Am I clutching at straws?
Jiji – Le Chevalier
[this song was re-released on the now deleted compilation Ultra Chicks Vol. 6: Vous Dansez Mademoiselle. Weirdo Records (USA) have copies apparently...]
[this song was re-released on the now deleted compilation Ultra Chicks Vol. 6: Vous Dansez Mademoiselle. Weirdo Records (USA) have copies apparently...]
Next one out of the horse-box: a slab of avant-hard synth-abuse courtesy of Miss Ann Shenton.
In which our heroine mounts her statuesque, battery-powered steed and summons a choir of heavenly Mellotron-ic beings to lead into battle with an army of evil theremin wielding robots…
In which our heroine mounts her statuesque, battery-powered steed and summons a choir of heavenly Mellotron-ic beings to lead into battle with an army of evil theremin wielding robots…
And we couldn’t do a post about horses without including perhaps the best electronic song ever written about a horse (in our humble opinion).
Sample lyric:
“Oh glittering horse, you were sold
in a shady shop, on the Edgeware Road”
We give you Simon Bookish.
Everybody scream METAL HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Simon Bookish – Metal Horse
[buy Simon Bookish direct from the horses mouth / iTunes]
“Oh glittering horse, you were sold
in a shady shop, on the Edgeware Road”
We give you Simon Bookish.
Everybody scream METAL HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[buy Simon Bookish direct from the horses mouth / iTunes]
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