A Head Full of Wishes

My record collection: [364] - Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us (LP)

Andy — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So, despite my finest efforts to post all my Christmas releases around Christmas here we have a massive failure on that front getting posted as far from Christmas as it’s possible to be. But… a Dean & Britta album is for life, not just for Christmas.

Dean & Britta & Sonic Boo, - A Peace of Us

The “Cherry Eco Mix vinyl” release of A Peace of Us was released for Christmas 2025, a year on from the album’s first release. I had no intention of buying another copy… sometimes even I know when I should draw the line at having multiple copies of the same album. But then in January the Rough Trade shop discounted it, and also had an additional 10% off deal and so it turns out that I don’t know when to draw that line after all.

I haven’t actually taken the record out of its shrinkwrap so as well as having no idea wtf “Cherry Eco Mix vinyl” is I also don’t know what it looks or sounds like.

A bit of (admittedly half-arsed) research revealed that Eco Mix vinyl was developed a couple of years ago by Canadian record pressing company PRP:

In early 2023 we began developing a solution for these problems and as a result, “Eco Mix” was born. Eco Mix is a new effect that uses 100% recycled vinyl, and is split into six distinctive color groups. This allows it to complement the color theme or artwork for your album, in ways not possible before. Additionally the new colors all feature varying levels of an effect we call “marbling”. This gives the mix a dynamic element, blending complementary colors to achieve a subtle, yet stunning look.

Precision Record Pressing continues its push for sustainability

While I’m not that big a fan of “marbling” I am a fan of recycling and it’s a healthy step away from the fad for “virgin vinyl” that there was a few years back.

Of course Eco Mix sounds as good to my ears as the previous release, which I guess wasn’t on Eco Mix.

I must admit that the plastic involved in the music business has been one of my most difficult things to resolve…

I like to own music - it’s not just something to play, it’s a declaration. But the plastic manufacturing industry is an awful polluter, producing pollutants and products that will last for years (or forever) and if that wasn’t enough its obviously heavily tied into the petroleum industry and all the awful things that that entails for our planet.

A few years ago I made the decision to stop buying records and CDs and move to entirely to buying downloads - while my record and CD buying tailed off it didn’t really ever stop completely (hence being on #364 of this series) - and of course with time came the realisation that the downloading and streaming had different but equally awful side effects powering massive data centres and tech made from rare-earth minerals and all the poisoning and polluting that extracting, manufacturing, and disposing of it involves.

I still get pangs of environmental guilt ever record or CD I buy, made all the worse by the utterly pointless shrinkwrap I have to remove before I can play them… but, I’m a hypocrite, because I love music and have no idea how to manage that without contributing to the destruction of the planet. I’m sorry.

I still buy records and CDs new (although considerably fewer than in the past)
I subscribe to a streaming platform
I buy downloads from Bandcamp (and other platforms)
I buy CDs and records from charity shops
I have most of my CDs (and downloads) on a server… my own streaming platform - on a fairly low-power PC - but it’s on 24/7 (although it’s more than just a music server).
I buy second-hand records from local shops (and online)
I off-loaded hundreds of records to charity shops before we moved

Trying to be good is hard… and I guess all we can do is to be as good as we possibly can.

Anyway… I’ve been listening to A Peace of Us and right now Dean is singing that “Christmas can’t be far away” - what does he know… Christmas literally couldn’t be further away! Here are Dean & Britta performing it in December 2020 during their live stream… when it wasn’t far away.

Dean & Britta - Christmas Can't be Far Away (Echo Park, December 2020) (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/013
Artist: Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom
Title: A Peace of Us
Notes: Cherry Eco Mix vinyl
Format: LP
Bought from Rough Trade for £16.20
Buy ‘A Peace of Us’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

[202] Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us

My record collection: [363] - Damon & Naomi - Shibuya O-Nest, Tokyo, Japan 2005 (DVD)

Andy — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This was the first of two Japanese shows that Damon & Naomi released on limited run DVDs - this was filmed in June 2005 and released at the end of that year.

Damon & Naomi - Shiuya O-Nest, 2005 - DVD

The video is very much of bootleg quality, one camera, show-lighting, no camera movement (just zooms and pans) but is a lovely record of Damon & Naomi’s live show with Masaki Batoh, Michio Kurihara, and Bhob Rainey and a guest appearance from Mikami Kan on one track.

What is it about last shows on a tour? The band is exhausted, but at its most together; the mood can be loose, but intense because it's the last night; the feelings are celebratory, but also melancholy.

The Galaxie 500 live CD, "Copenhagen," was the last show of a long European tour; the D&N with Kurihara "Live in San Sebastian" CD was likewise recorded at the end of an exhausting tour. And earlier this year, the last show in Japan of The Earth Is Blue tour turned out to be a similarly special night for us.

First of all, we had a dream band on stage with us: Kurihara, of course. But also Masaki Batoh from Ghost, fingerpicking an acoustic guitar. Bhob Rainey, on soprano sax. And we asked the legendary singer Mikami Kan - who had opened all our shows in Japan - if he might join us on stage for an encore this last evening. He honored us by saying yes . . .

We put together a set list that reflected the group we had assembled - the band's choice of our touring material, from the new album and otherwise; plus a song by Ghost ("Awake in a Muddle"); a song by Kurihara drawn from his remarkable solo album ("The Wind's Twelve Quarters"); and, for the encore with Mikami Kan, an improvised medley of our song that is dedicated to him ("Ueno Station") with a traditional Japanese "enka" tune that he recorded on one of our favorite albums of his ("Sendou Kouta"). At the end, because the crowd asked for a second encore, and because we always get a bit sentimental in Japan, we played the Galaxie 500 song "Blue Thunder."

And then we packed up and went home. There's always so much to attend to on coming home from a long tour, and somehow the last echoes of the trip fade first.

So some months later, we were surprised and delighted when a package arrived from our friend Hiroo Ishihara in Japan - Ishihara (who directed the great Ghost DVD released earlier this year) had filmed that night's show in Tokyo, and edited it for us as a souvenir on DVD.

We're pressing a limited run of these DVDs, to share the souvenir with anyone who might have come to one of our shows this year, or wanted to but couldn't. Thanks to Ishihara and all the friends we had on stage, it's a show we will always remember from our tour of the world.

Damon & Naomi release announcement (3rd November 2005)

It’s bootleggy origins make it something that doesn’t really reward repeated viewings, the image are very murky… sometimes you can barely make out the performers, particularly Kurihara who stands in the dark towards the back of the stage making his majestic sounds. The sound however is beautiful so it can reward repeated listenings!

Damon & Naomi - Beautiful Close Double (Shibuya O-Nest 2005) (play on YouTube)

It came in a beautiful sleeve designed by Naomi.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 13/001
Artist: Damon & Naomi
Title: Shibuya O-Nest Tokyo Japan June 24, 2005
Format: DVD
Bought direct from Damon & Naomi for $12 plus postage

Previously in my record collection:

[192] Damon & Naomi - Shibuya O-Nest, Tokyo (DVD)

My record collection: [362] - Cheval Sombre - I Found It Not So / Where Did Our Love Go

Andy — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This Cheval Sombre single was released in 2008 by Static Caravan and contains I Found It Not So on the a-side. It was produced by Sonic Boom and has instrumental contributions from both Dean and Britta. Britta also mixed it.

Cheval Sombre - I Found It Not So

These two sides of softly building melancholia find Cheval Sombre teaming up with Sonic Boom, who features here as well as lending production touches, and with Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna...) and Britta Phillips (Luna).

I Found It Not So is infused with a sense of sleepy reverie; a low-key lullaby which echoes and chimes while floating around your sub-conscious. Sumptuously trip-wired with sveltely layered psychotropic glazes of looping out of body transcendental hypnotics, plangent guitar melodies creep and intertwine, moving to a warm climax. It's all topped off with barely-there vocals, a whispered dream filled with a sense of longing which belies the almost post-coital atmosphere.

Static Caravan website, 2008

In 2009 Dean & Britta played a show at St. Giles in the Fields in London and Cheval Sombre provided support. Dean and Britta, and Sonic Boom joined him to play I Found It Not So:

Cheval Somre - I Found It Not So (London, 2009) (play on YouTube)

Dean and Britta had covered the song for their 13 Most Beautiful project that debuted at the end of 2008.

I also saw Cheval Sombre (without Dean or Britta, but with Sonic Boom) at St Pancras Old Church in 2012 which was released on cassette (and digital) by Sonic Cathedral. Although, when I say I saw Cheval Sombre…

Cheval Sombre - London 2012

The b-side of this single has a cover of The Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go which closed that London show and is also on the live album.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/063
Artist: Cheval Sombre
Title: I Found It Not So / Where Did Our Love Go
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Static Caravan for £4 plus postage.

Previously in my record collection:

Dr Kiko Tours T-shirt in aid of the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

Andy — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0000

In honour of their friend Kiko Dean and Britta are taking orders for a T-shirt which will be sold in aid of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. The short will have the logo that was designed by Pete Folwler, and that lived on the side/back of Kiko’s tour van

Dr Kiko Tours T-shirt (black)

Kiko Loiacono (aka Dr. Kiko) was a much loved UK and European tour manager for Luna, Mogwai, the Growlers, White Fence, Gruff Rhys and many many others. He passed away in his sleep in 2022, the night before he was to undergo a procedure for a hernia. Kiko was a wild and generous character, he liked to buy multiple copies of his favorite records and give them as gifts. He spent his holidays raising money for refugees in Eastern Europe. In his honor, and after discussing with his sister Ameliana, all profits from these shirts will be donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund who provide medical and humanitarian aid to injured and ill children in Gaza and Lebanon.

The shirt will be availabe in red, navy blue, or black. You can pre-order the shirt in Dean’s online shop until the 30th June when they’ll be printed up and shipped out by early August.

Kiko's van outside The Cluny, Newcastle in 2022

My record collection: [361] - Various artists - Homesleephome2

Andy — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Homesleephome2 was released in 2002 by Italian label Homesleep and is a collection of cover songs and has Luna covering Jonathan Richman’s Fly Into the Mystery.

Homesleephome2 Cover Songs

Luna’s cover had previously been released on a 5CD Benicassim compilation in 1998, although it was mis-titled on that release as Fly Into the Sun.

The album is a pretty cool collection but like all such compilations is a little hit and miss. Hits, as well as Luna’s contribution, to my ears are Life Without Buildings’ cover of Prince’s Pop Life, which suits them perfectly, although maybe it helps that I didn’t really know the original. The Zephyrs cover Greyhound Going Somewhere that Dean had covered on the Cagney & Lacee album and is cool but neither can match Bobbie Gentry’s version. Former Spaceman 3 bass man Bassman plays on a fairly straight cover of Spaceman 3’s Sound of Confusion with an Italian band Mirabilia, and then has a solo shot at Can’s You Doo Right. I also quite like Of Montreal’s take on Friends of Mine, but maybe because I love the original so much.

I think Fly Into the Mystery might have been another song recorded in the 1973 sessions with Kim Fowley but there are live versions from as early as 1971, a version finally got officially released on Rock and Roll with The Modern Lovers in 1977.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/094
Artist: Various artists
Title: Homesleephome2
Format: CD
Bought at the time of release, probably from a West End record shop.

Two newly digitised Galaxie 500 shows available to download

Andy — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 22:26:00 +0000

Two recordings of Galaxie 500 have just been popped onto the Internet Archive Live Music Archive as part of the astounding Aadam Jacobs Collection.

The shows were both recorded in Chicago, the first at the Cabaret Metro in March 1989 - the recording here includes a radio interview (of sorts) with the band before the recording

Galaxie 500 Live at Cabaret Metro on 1989-03-29

The second show was at the Lounge Ax in October 1990.

Galaxie 500 Live at Lounge Ax on 1990-10-12

The recordings are part of a collection of thousands of shows recorded around Chicago by Aadam Jacobs from the mid 1980s well into the 21st Century and the Live Music Archive is in the process of digitising and presenting them for download (or stremaing) via the Internet Archive.

It’s well worth wading through… if you have too many hours to kill!

Aadam Jacobs Collection at the Live Music Archive

My record collection: [360] - Galaxie 500 - Peel Sessions CD

Andy — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As mentioned before, back in early 2005 I had used my position of employment to acquire a copy of Galaxie 500’s two Peel Sessions. Since I didn’t want my employers to track the leak down to me I passed them onto Ian to share on Dimeadozen. It turns out all the cloak and dagger stuff was a little unnecessary as within six months it was announced that the Peel Sessions would be released officially. This is the second copy of the official CD release and the one that has actually been opened and played.

Galaxie 500 Peel Sessions CD

I’m not 100% sure why I have two copies, and since I also have two copies of the poster that was limited to the first 300 copies of the disc I guess I must have ordered two at the time… which seems a little profligate of me.

The sleeve was by Lara Tomlin and rather divided fans, although the division wasn’t an equal one and most, myself included, weren’t that taken with it at the time. I do like it a lot more now, although not enough for the poster to find a place on display in the museum, although it didn’t help that the posters were delivered folded so had a crease through Dean’s face.

The CD had a hype sticker:

Long awaited, definitive release of previously unavailable recordings by GALAXIE 500. Covers of the SEX PISTOLS and the YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS, together with some of the band's favorite originals.

There is still no vinyl release of the Peel Sessions… just saying.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/046
Artist: Galaxie 500
Title: Peel Sessions
Format: CD
Bought direct from Damon and Naomi’s online store.
Buy ‘Peel Sessions’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [359] - Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham - You / I Want Everything

Andy — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Another beautiful little 7” gem - this one is a lovely red vinyl affair with Dean Wareham guesting with Angel Corpus Christi on her own track “You” and on the flip Angel doing a wonderfully sweet take on Luna’s I Want Everything.

Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham

Having gushed a couple of weeks ago about my absolute favourite 7” single in the series we come across a contender for that crown!

You has guitar by Dean and he’s also credited as having mixed it (something that he leaves entirely to Britta these days). Dean isn’t on the b-side but that doesn’t make it any less perfect. The cover of I Want Everything turned up on Angel’s Bewitched: A Tribute to Luna a couple of years back - and def worth tracking down if you can’t find a copy of this beauty.

The single was released on Manchester indie Emma’s House Recordings which had a short run in the early part of the century. I bought the single direct and bought a couple of other releases at the same time… maybe there was an offer?

Angel Corpus Christi - I Want Everything (play on YouTube)

Here’s a pic of Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham (and Alan Vega) - pinched without asking from Howard Thompson an age ago. By the way Howard’s Insta is an absolute goldmine… as well as Dean and ACC turning up regularly it also regularly pushes my Sugarcubes and Motorhead buttons!

Dean, Angel, Alan (photo: Howard Thomspon)

I think this is Angel’s last appearance in this series unless I can track down a missing single without having to pay twice as much again in postage!

I’d guess that Emma’s House was named after the debut single by The Field Mice, released by Sarah Records in 1988.

I was lucky enough to see Deerful doing a beautiful cover of Emma’s House in the church at Indietracks in 2016. I miss Indietracks!

Deerful - Emma's House (Indietracks, 2016) (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/044
Artist: Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham
Title: You / I Want Everything
Notes: Limited to 200 numbered copies - mine is #94
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Emma’s House for whatever three singles cost back then.

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [358] - Luna - Rendezvous (2016 Pledgemusic LP)

Andy — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Luna’s final album Rendezvous had originally only been released on CD, it got a RSD release in 2012, and then was reissued as part of a Pledgemusic deal along with Romantica in 2016. This is my Pledgemusic copy and has been signed by the band.

Luna - Rendezvous (LP)

The first announcement about the release of Luna’s final album was in January 2004 when Luna’s emailing list kicked briefly into life:

Luna Update -- January 20, 2004 If you are wondering why there are no Luna live shows scheduled at the moment, well that’s because we are busy in the studio recording our next album. Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Lemonheads, Ramones) is producing at his studio in Brooklyn, NY. Tentatively titled Rendezvous, songs include Malibu Love Nest, Eyes Get In Your Smoke, Speedbumps, Rainbow Babe, and Broken Chair... we hope to be finished making the record in February, and it will likely be released by Jetset in the late Spring or early summer.

Luna mailing list - 27th January 2004

“Late spring or early summer” eventually turned into autumn and its release coincided with the announcement that it would be Luna’s last album and that the tour in support of it would be the band’s last.

On October 26, we will release our seventh studio album, Rendezvous, on Jetset Records. This will be Luna’s final record. We will tour the United States and Europe over the next six months, playing our last shows in 2005.

Rendezvous release announcement (Fuzzywuzzy, 23rd September 2004)

In my memory the announcement wasn’t too much of a surprise although reading back over the Mailing List archives it was taken quite hard by the fans… me included.

Can I just say - ten years of my life has gone into the website and this mailing list - TEN YEARS - they don't think of the children when they get involved in a divorce.

Good luck to all of Luna (past and present) and I hope Dean has some rock and roll plans to keep me in a job!

Andy Aldridge - Galaxie 500 Mailing List, 23rd September 2004

Fortunately Dean did have “rock and roll plans” … as did, eventually, Luna.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/056
Artist: Luna
Title: Rendezvous
Notes: Signed 2016 Pledgemusic re-reissue
Format: LP
Bought from Pledgemusic along with Romantica for $60 plus postage.
Buy ‘Rendezvous’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [357] - Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th

Andy — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

While posting about Jule Brown’s Smoke and Mirrors back in April 2024 I discovered, rather belatedly, that Dean also contributed to the next album by Mark Holland’s Jule Brown project and found a CD copy on Amazon for £5.68.

Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th

Dean is once again listed as a co-producer along with Rick Miller and, this time, Mark Holland. Dean also plays guitar.

The website I had dissed back in 2005 had been ditched and gets no mention on the sleeve - we just get pointed at MySpace… it was a sad time for music on the web when MySpace became too many bands “official” site.

There was also a link to the Enabler Records website and thankfully the Wayback Machine allows me to find out how Soldier in the 9th was plugged back in 2007:

On his latest release, Soldier in the 9th, this core structure to the "Jule Brown sound" is continued, but the inclusion of keyboards into Soldier in the 9th has expanded his sound greatly and widened its appeal to a larger audience (as witnessed by his increasing draw live and gigs opening for large acts like a recent show at Durham's Carolina Theatre with Robert Randolph and the Family Band). On the new LP, you can hear Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes. Jule displays his impressive keyboard skills (along with his standard harmonica, guitar and vocal treatment) to take the music and sound to a deeper level that conjures up images of reggae greats. '60s stalwarts Procol Harum, Dylan and a host of other influences, while continuing his wry commentary on life in America.

Enabler Records - Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th (Wayback Machine 2007)

Soldier in the 9th appears to have been the end of Jule Brown but it’s a good finish, an enjoyable muddle of styles.

Jule Brown - Clear Tone Blues (play on YouTube)

Britta also guests on “Clavinova”.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/168
Artist: Jule Brown
Title: Soldier in the 9th
Format:
Bought from an Amazon seller for £5.68 in April 2024.

Previously in my record collection:

[133] Jule Brown - Smoke and Mirrors (CD)

My record collection: [356] Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara - It's All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right

Andy — Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This beautiful live single features Damon & Naomi with Batoh and Kurihara performing covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Can and was released on Grimsey Records in 1999.

d&n&b&k - it's all over now baby blue/yoo doo right

This is probably my absolute favourite 7” single in this series† everything about it is perfect: the sleeve, designed by Naomi; the label illustrated by Yumiko Yada; the clear vinyl; the choice of covers, and their performance; the way the label credits them as d&n&b&k; even the fact that despite running for over seven minutes the a-side was cut at 45rpm.

Grimsey was the baby of Andrea Troolin, who was also, while working at Rykodisc, the person who piloted the Galaxie 500 box set through to release.

I bought the single direct from Andrea on release for, as far as as I remember, pennies. The single arrived with a postcard promoting Damon & Naomi’s tour of Japan in October 1999.

I don’t think this has had a digital release, it was for some reason missed off the Spirit of Love compilation, although you can find both sides on YouTube A/B.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/028
Artist: Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara
Title: It’s All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right
Packaging: Wrap around paper sleeve
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Andrea/Grimsey on release

† with one obvious exception of course.

My record collection: [355] Dean & Britta - L'avventura

Andy — Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the sixth and last entry for Dean & Britta’s first album L’avventura and is the CD version that was released when the LP version was first issued in 2008.

Dean & Britta - L'avventura (2008 reissue CD)

To be honest I’m not sure when or how this came into my possession. the barcode has had a hole punched through it (before the digipack was glued together) so I suspect that Dean sent it to me at some point, probably around the release… although the LP came with a CD copy of the album so maybe this was that, although that does cast doubts on the second promo I had which I assumed was the one that came with the LP.

Anyway… it’s in a nice digipack case, I’ve always preferred a digipack to a jewel case because they age more authentically, although I prefer a card sleeve even more.

Since I’ve already posted five times about this album I’ll pad this post with a couple of videos that were made for tracks from the LP.

Night Nurse:

Back in 2003 when this video was released I wasn’t sure whether the stuttering video used extensively in the clip was intentional or caused by my dial-up connection and low-powered computer. I’m still inclined to think that in the days when the internet was struggling with media display (this was two years before YouTube when we were dealing with crappy FLash videos) it was ill advised to intentionally include that effect! I’m still not happy with it. I do however love the hair-cutting sequence!

Dean & Britta - Night Nurse (play on YouTube)

Knives from Bavaria:

Dean & Britta recorded this clip for La blogotheque in 2009. I have an issue with this one too - at the beginning of the clip there’s an announcement by a MTA staff member announcing that “no video taking at the station” - now, I don’t know the by-laws that apply to the New York Subway but… if the law is that you’re not allowed to take video on the system then there is rule breaking going on and Dean’s “we really look like terrorists” is irrelevant! Perhaps being closely related to soneone who’s job it is to look after customers on the London Underground I have sympathy with the poor folk trying to do their job!

I did check the MTA website and it seems that videoing is allowed although I suspect the La blogotheque set-up might have pushed the boundaries of what’s permitted (also the by-laws have been re-written in the age of social-media so are probably quite different from the ones that applied in 2009). But… maybe it was just a jobsworth!

Anyway… still a lovely video!

Dean & Britta - Knives from Bavaria (La blogotheque) (play on YouTube)

One other thing about L’avventura - as someone trying to maintain a database of recordings and performances the decision to record a song called Indian Summer that wasn’t that Indian Summer was a headache I could have done without.

Catalogue Number: AHFO 10/068
Artist: Dean & Britta
Title: L’avventura
Packaging: Digipack
Format: CD
Buy ‘L’avventura’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [354] Luna - Lunafied (2xLP)

Andy — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have previously written about the CDR Lunafied that Dean sent me back in 2006 that actually stemmed from a desire to see the album’s artwork on a proper release. That finally happened in 2016 with this absolutely gorgeous double LP from Run Out Groove records.

Luna - Lunafied (front and back)

I wrote about the sleeve in a Substack post a few months back so forgive me re-posting that here:

The cover of Lunafied is by artist and photographer Abelardo Morell and is one of a series of astoundingly beautiful photos taken by turning various rooms into a camera obscura.

When Lunafied came out digitally in 2006 I wrote to Dean about the sleeve:

4th July 2006 00:43
From: Andy Aldridge <andy@grange85.co.uk>
 
Hi Dean,  

I love the "sleeve" of the Lunafied album - particularly as I've been sucked into the pinhole-camera thing of late* so camera-obscura's are very exciting - I keep wanting to turn our bedroom into a camera obscura but Hazel rightly points out that the row of Victorian terraced houses on the opposite side of the road isn't quite the Empire State Building!

Does Lunafied exist as a "real" CD (maybe as a promo???) I'd love to own a proper CD with that sleeve! (sorry for the unsubtle attempted scrounge there!).

Any news on the Beggars covers album?

Have a nice summer,

-=Andy=-

4th July 2006 14:52  
From: Dean Wareham
            
Hi Andy,

the lunafied image is by Abelardo Morell, but perhaps you knew that already. His photos are great.

http://www.abelardomorell.net/

But there is no CD with that image, not even a promo. Rhino wanted it to be exclusive to the iTunes store. They have said that they might get around to releasing it on CD one day, but frankly I don't think it's going to happen. I can burn you a disc of Lunafied (from the master that was prepared).

Dean

Thirteen years on we finally got a Lunafied double album with Abelardo Morell’s beautiful Camera Obscura; The Empire State Building in Bedroom, 1994 that was used on the front, and the also beautiful Camera Obscura: Late Afternoon View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014 and Camera Obscura: Early Morning View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014.

On his website Abelardo explains how he makes these astonishing pictures (and cleared up how the inside and rear pictures are the right way up).

I made my first picture using camera obscura techniques in my darkened living room in 1991. In setting up a room to make this kind of photograph, I cover all windows with black plastic in order to achieve total darkness. Then, I cut a small hole in the material I use to cover the windows. This opening allows an inverted image of the view outside to flood onto the back walls of the room. Typically then I focused my large-format camera on the incoming image on the wall then make a camera exposure on film. In the beginning, exposures took from five to ten hours.

Over time, this project has taken me from my living room to all sorts of interiors around the world. One of the satisfactions I get from making this imagery comes from my seeing the weird and yet natural marriage of the inside and outside.

Several years ago, in order to push the visual potential of this process, I began to use color film and positioned a lens over the hole in the window plastic in order to add to the overall sharpness and brightness of the incoming image. Now, I often use a prism to make the projection come in right side up. I have also been able to shorten my exposures considerably thanks to digital technology, which in turn makes it possible to capture more momentary light. I love the increased sense of reality that the outdoor has in these new works. The marriage of the outside and the inside is now made up of more equal partners.

Abelardo Morell - Camera Obscura

Luna - Lunfied (inside)

As well as the cover, the release itself was brilliant. The two previous releases of Lunafied were both incomplete but this release managed to include everything.

US digital release	Run Out Groove	UK Best of
Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)
Indian Summer	Indian Summer	Indian Summer
Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun
That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say
In the Flesh	In the Flesh	In the Flesh
Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream
Seasons Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch
Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel
No Regrets	No Regrets	No Regrets
Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner
Happy New Year	Happy New Year
Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talkin’
Fly Into The Mystery	Fly Into The Mystery
La poupee qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non
Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)
	Jealous Guy	Jealous Guy
	Neon Lights	Neon Lights
	Sweet Child o’ Mine	Sweet Child o’ Mine
	Only Women Bleed	Only Women Bleed
	Dance With Me

Catalogue Number: 12/061
Artist: Luna
Title: Lunafied
Format: 2xLP
Bought from Run Out Groove for $34.98 + postage

Previously in my record collection:

Luna playing dates in the US and Canada in the Autumn

Andy — Wed, 20 May 2026 20:01:00 +0000

Luna have announced a tour of “Select towns in the Midwest, Canada, East Coast and Southeast” in September and October - tickets go on sale this week and some have pre-sale codes. Ticket links and codes, if there are any, can be found if you follow the links below.

Luna

16th September 2026	Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL, USA Luna
18th September 2026	Sony Hall, New York, NY, USA Luna
19th September 2026	Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, USA Luna
20th September 2026	Ottobar, Baltimore, MD, USA Luna
22nd September 2026	Wilbur, Boston, MA, USA Luna
23rd September 2026	Montreal Pop festival, P'tit Ours, Montreal, Canada Luna
24th September 2026	Higher Ground, Burlington, VT, USA Luna
25th September 2026	Center for the Arts, Homer, NY, USA Luna
26th September 2026	Asbury Hall, Buffalo, NY, USA Luna
28th September 2026	Lee’s Place, Toronto,, Canada Luna
29th September 2026	Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Luna
30th September 2026	Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH, UDA Luna
2nd October 2026	City Winery, Nashville, TN, USA Luna
3rd October 2026	Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC, USA Luna
4th October 2026	Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA Luna
6th October 2026	Terminal West, Atlanta, GA, USA Luna
7th October 2026	40 Watt, Athens, GA, USA Luna

My record collection: [353] The Pastels - Illuminati (CD)

Andy — Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Illuminati is an album of remixes of tracks from The Pastels 1997 album Illumination that Dean guested on. The remixes are by the likes of Stereolab, My Bloody Valentine, John McEntire, and other such folk in the band’s orbit.

The Pastels - Illuninati (CD)

Given that, as mentioned in the two previous posts about Illumination, I’m uncertain of where Dean turns up on the album, I can’t even be sure whether his contributons have survived the remix process!

Most are OK, some are just annoying and there are some gems in there but I’d have to say it’s not essential. I prefer remixes to add, whereas a lot seem to take away too much.

The Stereolab remix of One Wild Moment however is so gloriously Stereolab that makes it probably my favourite track on the album:

The Pastels - One Wild Moment (Stereolab remix) (play on YouTube)

The Future Pilot AKA remix of Rough Riders is another favourite (but maybe because it’s one of my fave tracks on Illumination).

But… I did make liberal use of the skip button.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/150
Artist: The Pastels
Title: Illuminati
Format: CD
Bought on Discogs for £2.99 a few years back as a collection filler.

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [352] Luna - ROUNDUP (signed CD)

Andy — Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As promised back when I first wrote about ROUNDUP a couple of years ago here’s a second copy.

Luna - Roundup (signed CD)

As I mentioened before, Dean actually sent me a few of these but I gave away all but two. The first because it was pristeen… the second because it wasn’t. Signed in black pen on the black and blue sleeve if you squint in that photo you can probably just make out “For Andy! Dean Wareham”… and, on the disc “Dean Wareham”

The postcard was a promo for Luna’s 1998 New Year’s Eve shows.

I’m not entirely sure why I decided that this release was called ROUNDUP and not Roundup. It is in capitals on the sleeve, but that doesn’t mean anything, it’s not like I write Galaxie 500’s three albums as TODAY, ON FIRE, and THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

Catalogue Number: 10/020
Artist: Luna
Title: ROUNDUP
Packaging: Card sleeve
Format: CD

Previously in my record collection:

[187] Luna - ROUNDUP (CD)