Скачать или смотреть The Velvet Hour - Electric Fever (Garage rock, 60s, AI Music)

I almost missed out on a real treasure trove of songs. Among the things left behind by The Velvet Hour was a plain gray envelope with the name John Hickenlooper scrawled across it. I figured it was just personal stuff and left it alone—that was a mistake. Inside was a reel of tape (more than dozen songs) and an unsent letter to his sister, shedding light on how these tracks came together and why the band’s sound shifted the way it did. Below is the letter, with a few personal details omitted.

"Dear Solange,

How is your music career going? I’ve heard you’re finding some success in France, though the style you sing isn’t exactly to my taste. I’m writing instead of calling, as you know I’d rather not risk Father picking up the telephone. I’ve no desire to sit through half an hour of his tirades about my life choices and the “business” I’m running here in England. (You know as well as I do—he’s the image of the stern civil servant, all principles and responsibility.)

But the real reason I’m writing is different—I’ve enclosed a reel of tape and ask you to keep it safe for me. The band is coming apart. The father of my singers, Barbara and Patricia, has been recalled from England back to the States, and naturally they plan to go with him. The rest of the lineup was never truly stable—such is the fate of garage groups. Fortunately, I managed to persuade everyone to record as much as we could before it all collapsed. For nearly a month we practically lived in the studio!

The tape holds songs in all sorts of styles, some even with new voices we brought in—particularly a few young women we tried out on vocals. With all this variety, and the loss of a clear musical identity, I found myself losing the will to keep leading the band. And I need to turn back to my own affairs—my Air Force contract has ended, so I no longer have the connections with the fellows who used to bring me things from Asia for my customers. Perhaps I’ll travel a while, maybe even cross over to the Continent to see you (listen to me, I’m already starting to sound like an Englishman).

Yours,
John"

#LostTapes #60sMusic #GarageRock #BritishInvasion #FictionalBand
#MusicDiscovery #UndergroundMusic #AnalogVibes #ProtoPunk #RetroMusic
#HiddenGems #GenerativeMusic