Kenji and Tita
Glas-Goes Pop
For our July 2025 Newsletter, we interviewed two people who are complete heroes to us.
Kenji and Tita created a brand-new festival out of nothing only a few years ago, and now Glas-Goes Pop feels like an essential part of the DIY/indiepop/riot twee/riot grrrl/punk scene. It’s friendly, eclectic, beautifully art-directed, and if you are a non-corporate music fan it’s one of the best weekends you could hope to have.
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Thanks for answering our questions, Kenji and Tita.....
Glas-Goes Pop has become a really significant event in a lot of peoples’ calendars, and I obviously want to ask some questions about that. But before I do, can I take you back in time - and back to the West Coast of America – and ask you about the records or bands that first influenced you. What were the records that drew you into the world of indiepop?
Tita: It was probably The Jesus and Mary Chain, because that's when I really started paying attention to what was going on in Glasgow and then Edinburgh.
I already loved Aztec Camera, and had heard of Orange Juice (though I properly listened to them a bit later). But via the Mary Chain, I discovered The Pastels, BMX Bandits, The Shop Assistants and Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, etc. Then I started connecting the dots with record labels - Creation, Subway, 53rd & 3rd and so on.
Kenji: Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can’t really name one specific band or one particular record as my gateway into indiepop. I’ve gone through a lot of different phases, but discovering labels like K, Sarah, Postcard, Creation, and Slumberland in my teens was a real turning point. It wasn’t just the music that drew me in, but the idea of a “scene" and how people could be connected through the DIY spirit that I found incredibly enticing. Back then, records were affordable enough that you could take a chance on something just because the cover looked cool or you recognised some names in the credits. I ended up with some duds, but the good ones more than made up for it. It was such an exciting time for crate digging and discovering new things. I eventually got inspired enough to pick up a guitar and start making music myself.
Apart from the music, what is it about the scene and the community associated with it that appealed to you?
Tita: Living in Southern California when I was discovering indiepop in the mid-80s, I had a very different experience of the community than if I'd been in the UK. My best friend and partner in music at the time, Nancy, and I wrote a fanzine and connected with other fanzine writers across California, and I remember feeling like we knew every person from LA to San Francisco who knew who Stephen Pastel was and there weren't very many of us (or so we thought). I guess it felt like we were
part of a secret club, and it felt really special. Also, let's be honest, I thought the boys in the bands were cute! We didn't get boys like that in Orange County!
Kenji: I’ve always felt like indiepop was my safe haven. Gentler vibes, better outfits (in most cases), and fewer beer bottles flying around. It also kept me away from all the drugs and hooliganism associated with other types of music. Sort of. More fanzines than fights.
Do you think that the music (and the scene) could get much bigger without losing the qualities that make it special?
Tita: I think the scene has retained the qualities that make it special because it has hovered in this rather niche market, so I guess the answer is no?
British indiepop always seemed to have a special place in the hearts of American music fans. Is that still the case for you? Or has the mystique disappeared now that you are living in the middle of it all!
Tita: I think the fact that Kenji and I still have "Oh my god" glances between each other during Glas-Goes Pop means that the mystique is still very much alive! But maybe a bit more grounded nowadays.
Is it a coincidence that you both ended up living in Glasgow?
Kenji: My husband got offered a job at the University of Stirling, and before he accepted it, I checked the map to see exactly how far it was from Glasgow. When I saw it was only about 30 miles away, that totally sealed the deal. But to answer your question, it really was just a coincidence, or maybe pure kismet, that Tita and I both ended up in the same city!
Tita: 100% coincidence that we both ended up here. Though come to think of it, we both are here because of our husbands!
It’s an incredible city for music, I think. Glaswegians turn out for gigs in big numbers, but people always seem so welcoming to visiting musicians. Has this tradition helped you make a success of Glas-Goes Pop?
Tita: We absolutely think so and is why we started doing a popfest here! We knew we were in the right city for it.
It’s hard to remember that Glas-Goes Pop is still only a few years’ old: it feels like such an essential part of our lives. When you organised the first one, did you imagine it would become an annual event?
Kenji: It was only ever meant to be a one-off, but after the first GGP, it somehow snowballed into a second, third and now fourth! I definitely didn’t expect anything we put together to be called “essential” by actual members of Heavenly, so we’ve all clearly lost our minds. But thanks, I’ll take it!
I find that running a label and playing in bands go quite naturally together, although they are both quite time-consuming, and the organisational part of the job can get pretty stressful! Do you find that organising the festival eats into the time that you might have spent doing other creative work?
Kenji: Yeah, it takes up a fair bit of time, but I genuinely enjoy it. I do all the visuals for the festival, so a lot of my creative energy goes into things like making posters and all that thematic, fun stuff. It’s a nice change of pace from other projects. My day job has a creative side too, so it all sort of evens out.
Tita: Unlike Kenji, I sadly wasn't doing any other creative work (other than occasional DJing) when GGP was conceived, so it has become my number one creative outlet!
Finally, and this is quite a mean question, could you share two or three personal highlights from the festivals you’ve done so far?
Tita: This is indeed mean. Haha! There are SO MANY. But the three off the top of my head: Whether this will end up being the truth or not, when Phil Wilson announced it would be the last June Brides gig at the first GGP, I got a lump in my throat, thinking we might be the footnote of their musical legacy. And then they followed that with an absolutely blinding set! I know I've said this elsewhere, but escorting Lawrence to private loos in the bowels of the GUU at the first GGP was also very memorable. I guess in those moments, I really got a sense of him as a person and it was very touching. And last but not least, that set by The Loft at GGP23 that blew the roof off the joint!
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Kenji: It’s just a wonderful thing to see people coming back each year. Same time, same place. There are so many highlights, but having Birdie and Rachel Love perform was definitely one of those pinch me moments. And somehow I ended up singing on stage
with Robert Forster and then, last year, with Heavenly, which were both totally surreal experiences. I had to learn Calvin’s lines because I was so used to only singing along to Amelia’s parts in the car! Still not sure how and why that happened to be honest... but how fucking lucky am I?