Wally Salem is a fan. His passion for the music he loves is unrelenting, he’ll talk non-stop, barely taking a breath as he catalogues details, facts, and anecdotes. His enthusiasm resulted in starting his own record label, The Beautiful Music, inspired he says “By the Beauty of Marina Records, the Pop Genius of Allan McGee’s Creation and Poptones labels, the eccentric Dan Treacy’s Whaam and Dreamworld label, the trailblazing Factory Records, the Pure Pop of Matt’s Sarah and Shinkansen labels, Joe Foster’s diverse musical heritage of Kaleidoscope Sound and Rev-Ola labels, Mike Scott’s the Big Music sound and Chicken Jazz label, Chris Seventeen’s love of music with the What a Wonderful Way To Turn Seventeen label and many other labels such as Tangerine, Swordfish, Summershine, Glass, Postcard, Swamplands, Wagging Dog, Little Teddy, Spin Art, Matinee and Detour to name just a few.” Wally adds, “I’m into music that is created for the sheer LOVE of it. Music that celebrates the melody and the harmony, the magnificent and the eccentric. The Beautiful Music is dedicated to distributing Music that soars above the musical landscape in the Jet Stream of POP”. During Wally Salem’s conversation with Norman B you’ll hear cuts from Nikki Sudden doing a cover of Television Personalities’ If I Could Write Poetry. Allan McGee’s short-lived band, Biff Bang Pow! with Someone Stole My Wheels. Tame The Wild Beast from Dot Dash and Skytone with It Doesn’t Really Matter. Also in the show, new but retro-sounding Sons Of Hallucination (ft. Charlotte Condemine) by Steven Jones & Logan Sky. Listen closely for the saxophone parts by Gary Barnacle, one-time member of Visage. Followed by Anastasia Coope who says, “I’m an 18 year old experimental psych folk musician. I began writing music in a serious sense when quarantine began at age 17, and have continued this endeavor throughout my first year at Pratt Institute where I study painting”. Anastasia gives us her self-produced single, Norma Ray. Taking us up to the close are Feu Follet out of France with Falling, featuring Natacha Lubin on vocals from their latest album, Beneath The Earth which comes with a splendid comic book. This one is courtesy of the industrious Alex Donat of Blackjack Illuminist Records. 

Artwork by Phil Larkin “Batman 11” 2002 4’ x 4’3” Giclée print on archival paper, mounted on fiberboard. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection

LEM Vol 227