There are many fables surrounding husband and wife duo Summer Camp – some they have created themselves, others have been spawned from the internet chatter of devoted fans.
Since their ‘accidental’ inception in 2009, the quirky popsters have run an intimate PledgeMusic campaign to raise funds for their debut album (which was set in a fictitious Californian town), convinced journalists they were a band of Swedish teenagers, and created fake fanzines from the seventies…
With Summer Camp, it’s often hard to tell where the fantasy stops and reality starts. Especially as their music carries the same whimsical ambiguity as their online persona.
Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley serially fabricate the characters in their songs and employ the synthetic rhythms of vintage drum machines to back their swooning melodies.
They skirt wilfully close to the outer edges of twee, combining kitchen sink drama with the kind of Good Life lifestyle that would make any avid Guardian Weekend reader envious.
But underneath it all, Elizabeth and Jeremy display a shrewd sense of self and an authentic ambition to write perfect pop songs.
We caught up with the pair before a recent gig supporting the Attitude is Everything charity at Islington Assembly Hall, London, to learn more about their knack for social media and disguise.
They also share news about a soundtrack they’ve been working on and reveal what’s next for the band that’s always in bloom...
(for more on Attitude is Everything, please see below)
Since their ‘accidental’ inception in 2009, the quirky popsters have run an intimate PledgeMusic campaign to raise funds for their debut album (which was set in a fictitious Californian town), convinced journalists they were a band of Swedish teenagers, and created fake fanzines from the seventies…
With Summer Camp, it’s often hard to tell where the fantasy stops and reality starts. Especially as their music carries the same whimsical ambiguity as their online persona.
Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley serially fabricate the characters in their songs and employ the synthetic rhythms of vintage drum machines to back their swooning melodies.
They skirt wilfully close to the outer edges of twee, combining kitchen sink drama with the kind of Good Life lifestyle that would make any avid Guardian Weekend reader envious.
But underneath it all, Elizabeth and Jeremy display a shrewd sense of self and an authentic ambition to write perfect pop songs.
We caught up with the pair before a recent gig supporting the Attitude is Everything charity at Islington Assembly Hall, London, to learn more about their knack for social media and disguise.
They also share news about a soundtrack they’ve been working on and reveal what’s next for the band that’s always in bloom...
(for more on Attitude is Everything, please see below)
Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to implement a Charter of Best Practice across the UK.
Of their many successes to date, highlights include working with Festival Republic and Ground Control on all of their UK festivals, supporting Academy Music Group and National Arena Association venues to sign up to the Charter, and working with London Borough of Tower Hamlets to use the Charter of Best Practice as an event standard for all festivals taking place in Victoria Park.
http://www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/
Of their many successes to date, highlights include working with Festival Republic and Ground Control on all of their UK festivals, supporting Academy Music Group and National Arena Association venues to sign up to the Charter, and working with London Borough of Tower Hamlets to use the Charter of Best Practice as an event standard for all festivals taking place in Victoria Park.
http://www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/
