Back in 1991, Sameer Gidwani met Neil Leyton and Passion d’Flower was formed, originally with Mike Rogal on drums. Steve Downs also played guitar on a couple of tracks from the band’s debut album, “Flowers in the Rain”, released on cassette tape in 1992.
Recorded at Studio 92 and engineered by Norm Barker, “Flowers in the Rain” depicts a young garage band still struggling to play their instruments, however Sameer Gidwani’s songwriting, wise beyond his years, propels the band into some psychedelic garage-punk realm that deserves repeated listens.
By the time Leyton moved to Windsor, Ontario, the original line-up had split up (Mike refused to play “Full Circle” or so the legend goes…) and Sameer had become Skutch Shimoda, an alter ego whose birth is chronicled in detail in the song “Emanon II”.
To celebrate this re-issue, coming before the end of the year, November will see 5 singles released with special photo artwork by Hugo Parracho. A digital playlist will be posted here upon release also.
“Guilty”, the first track on “Flowers in the Rain”, will be out first, followed by “Snake in the Glen”, “Anthem”, “Emanon II” and “Midnight Train”. Feel free to connect the photos to the song titles at your leisure.