Cerca:sadness

Shadows Lifted from Invisible Hands is an autobiographical record, comprised of four songs that Hoff refers to as ambient media. Each track is composed from sources drawn from his own involuntary aural landscape, specifically musical earworms and tinnitus frequencies.

Neither sound nor a daydream, the earworm (or stuck song) emblematizes music as a commercial form—immediate, ubiquitous, and persistent. Likewise, tinnitus is inaudible and unscrupulous, manifesting across a spectrum of frequencies at will. The cognitive swirling of these phenomena provides an ambivalent, internal soundtrack that scores a person’s movement through the world.

Those suffering from tinnitus or those who have grown accustomed to the “Tinnitus Effect” in movies will likely recognize the buzzing pitches on the record, but will likely not recognize the songs. Distorted and distilled, Shadows Lifted from Invisible Hands features altered versions of four commercial pop songs: Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” Madonna’s “Into the Groove,” and Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”

Having been haunted by these songs on and off for years, Hoff tweaks the tracks, transposing and recomposing them for orchestral instrumentation. Speaking back to these involuntary echoes, these tracks go to great lengths to obfuscate their sources; to be sure not to simply re-introduce each earworm, as though they were samples. Otherwise, what’s the point? No one needs another stream.

Besides, earworms are not music, although we perceive them as such. They are non-cochlear and exist as an affective force that is neither subjective nor objective, which is to say they are an invasive—and alien—phenomenon. Like tinnitus, they are aggravated by economic, social, and environmental forces as well as emotional states, mental health, and aging. Hoff doesn’t underplay his own struggles with mental health in discussing the record—noting a long history of depression and its acuteness over the last few years, which serve as the backdrop to the composition of this record.

Scratch any pop song hard enough and you’ll find sadness underneath it. Subdermal, the songs on this record evoke a type of ephemeral weariness and despair. By recasting the original songs through their shadowy doubles, Hoff provides a window into the dark core of pop music. At the center of which lies capitalism’s desperate attempt to replicate itself through a cheap high built on echoing refrains. Just below the surface the listener finds a hangover of shadows dancing through the mind.

zake has written a new album to get 2025 underway in his usual prolific fashion, and it comes as both a triple CD set with the same tracks in different versions, but also as this special vinyl release with five different pieces from his Caelum series, limited to just 200 copies. As you would expect from this most masterful ambient leader, this is another immersive work that blends shifting synthscapes with melancholic chord work, beautiful keys with more lingering feelings of sadness. Another triumph if you ask us.

Goodbye Matters retraces Silly Boy Blue’s intimate journey through a year shaken by the loss of a loved one and the emotional transformation that follows. This EP explores the emptiness left by this sudden absence, and how, over time, that void slowly fills with acceptance.


Each track represents a stage of the grieving process, associated with a color and a season, reflecting the emotion that accompanies it.



Summer 1 opens the story with an apparent calmness of everyday life that hides an inner turmoil. Autumn dives deeper into the tangible pain of absence, as memories gradually fade away with the falling leaves of the season.



With Winter, the EP reaches a breaking point. The music is stripped down to its bare essence, conveying an emotional landscape emptied out, where the outer cold mirrors inner loneliness.



Then comes Spring, where sadness still lingers but gives way to a glimmer of hope, symbolizing the struggle between memory and renewal.



Finally, Summer 2 marks acceptance — a last imaginary conversation, a gentle farewell. The cycle closes, yet light returns, offering a peaceful conclusion to this journey through loss and reconstruction.

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete return with their seventh album. It's the Mexican duo's finest, most ferocious work to date which sees them turbo-charge their psychedelic post-punk with a new electronic engine. Mixed by Antoine Goulet (live sound engineer for SUUNS) and mastered by Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring), the most obvious comparison in terms of mood and mode is Primal Scream's classic XTRMNTR, another record that processed personal and political conflicts and spat them out as distorted dance music. It shows the influence of the duo's DJ sets and last year's radical Remezcla remix collection on their way of thinking and why they are now namechecking the likes of Moor Mother, MF DOOM, Patrick Cowley, The Bug, Paula Garcés, Phil Kieran, Coby Sey, Run the Jewels and Anadol."Playing other artists' music is different," says Lorena Quintanilla about the change of direction towards the dancefloor. "You're not just listening, you're watching how energy flows and how it affects other people. It gives you the chance to witness what moves other bodies." And Corporal, as the title suggests, is all about the body. "The body is what carries the weight of stress, exhaustion, sadness. It's the body that the system breaks first," explains Lorena. "Unintentionally, while composing the album, our bodies were seeking joy in the songs. Reconnecting with pleasure became a way to open new dimensions - a way to escape, yet remain present." The theme is carried over into the lyrics which, according to Lorena, variously refer to "the bodies that disappear, the abused bodies, the bodies we miss, the bodies that march together in protest, the bodies that are being controlled".

Sugaring a Strawberry, the sophomore record from Julia, Julia, is a study in coming undone—on purpose. Recorded at COMA, Julia Kugel's home studio, and mixed through a custom Flickenger clone, the album drifts in and out of clarity like memory itself. It's emotionally retrospective, creatively unvarnished, and deeply human. You can hear it in the hiss, the warmth, in the vocals so raw they're like an open window. These songs weren't engineered for perfection. They were built to breathe. Her long-time collaborator and husband, Scott Montoya, mixes it all so loosely that you can hear the air between tracks— a space that makes the music feel inhabited rather than recorded.


"Bound" opens the album like a secret passed between sisters, solemn and unspeakably close. It begins with the softest of touches: hushed guitar, a near- whispered delivery that carries the intimacy of someone singing only for one other person. It's a love song, but not romantic, more ancestral in the way long bonds can be. All glow and undercurrent, "I Know," is like hearing someone hum through a wound. The track arrives as if it had been waiting, coiled and complete, to be sung. Its pulse is slow but insistent, anchored on a hypnotic loop and a vocal that's half-incantation, half-confession. One of the most outward-facing songs on the record, "Feeling Lucky," opens like a cigarette flicked in the dark– smoky and a little bit slick. Built on a skeletal beat and a nearly detached vocal, it leans into a sarcastic swagger that barely masks the ache beneath. The delivery is droll and glazed, the instrumentation is sparse and a little woozy, leaving space for her voice to sway—a shrug of a song, stylish in its sadness. "A Love That Hurts" drifts in on soft, fingerpicked guitar and a dry, close-mic vocal that feels both haunted and immediate. The mix is stripped down and analog-warm, letting tape hum and silence frame the emotion. Julia sings like she's remembering something she doesn't want to, each line a slight unraveling. Like the rest of the album, "A Love That Hurts" doesn't push toward resolution. It sits in the ache, sifts through it, makes it beautiful.

Sugaring a Strawberry doesn't seek catharsis so much as stumbles into it. There's a quiet volatility to these songs like they might fall apart if you press too hard. It moves in shadow and softness, asking questions it doesn't answer. It doesn’t end with closure. It ends with truth.

Mj Lenderman is the project of Asheville native, Jake Lenderman, whose 'Boat Songs' was released to wide acclaim on Dear Life Records in 2022. Now Dear Life is proud to offer a vinyl reissue of MJ's 2021 label debut, 'Ghost of Your Guitar Solo,' a collection of nine songs recorded and performed entirely by
Lenderman, and one live band track. The record was written and recorded quickly, songs often being fully constructed and recorded within frenzied single day sessions. Songs were born out of freewheeling jam sessions with his roommates, with Lenderman often freestyling lyrics that would later become the
foundations of the finished songs. Lenderman would write 20 disconnected lines a day, scrapping most of them but preserving a few to be used later. This process aided in what became an extremely prolific writing period for the artist in the spring of 2020. The record sounds like country music being played by a noisy punk band, unkempt and imperfect like the characters in his songs. Here, Lenderman broadened his lyrical scope beyond solemn introspection, adding humor to scenes larger than his own life. He points to authors Harry Crews and Larry Brown as inspirations, both of whom were southern, self-taught writers who balanced empathy, humor, and darkness. This leads to the erosion of the line that separates humor and sadness. The resulting songs are about over-
indulgence and drug/alcohol abuse, full of self-loathing and pity while celebrating the absurdity of it all.

Psychic 9-5 Club marks the beginning of a new chapter for HTRK. It's an album that looks back on a time of sadness and struggle, and within that struggle they find hope and humour and love. It's Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang's first album recorded entirely as a duo— former band member Sean Stewart died halfway through the recording of their last LP, 2011's Work (Work, Work).
Though the record is instantly recognisable as HTRK—Standish's vocal delivery remains central to the band's sound, while the productions are typically lean and dubby—they've found ample room for exploration within this framework. Gone are the reverb-soaked guitar explorations of 2009's Marry Me Tonight and the fuzzy growls that ran through Work (Work Work). They've been replaced with something tender, velvety and polished. This is HTRK, but the flesh has been stripped from their sound, throwing the focus on naked arrangements and minimalist sound design.
The album was recorded at Blazer Sound Studios in New Mexico with Excepter's Nathan Corbin, who had previously directed the video clip for Work (Work Work) cut "Bendin." Inviting a third party into their world was no easy decision, but in Corbin they found a kindred spirit. The LP was then refined and reworked in Australia at the turn of 2013, before the finishing touches were applied in New York during the summer.
Of all the themes that run through Psychic 9-5 Club, love is the most central. The word is laced throughout the album in lyrics and titles— love as a distraction, loving yourself, loving others. Standish's lyrics explore the complexities of sexuality and the body's reaction to personal loss, though there's room for wry humour—a constant through much of the best experimental Australian music of the past few decades.
Standish explores her vocal range fully—her husky spoken-word drawl remains, but we also hear her laugh and sing. Equally, Yang's exploratory production techniques—particularly his well-documented love of dub—are given room to shine. They dip headlong into some of the things that make humans tick—love, loss and desire—with the kind of integrity that has marked the band out from day one. Psychic 9-5 Club is truly an album for the body and for the soul.

Dávid Makó began The Devil's Trade in 2014. His early solo work, often performed with only an acoustic guitar or banjo, quickly garnered attention for its emotional depth and stark beauty. Drawing on Appalachian folk, dark Americana, and Hungarian folk traditions, Makó's music has been praised for its haunting vocals, minimalist arrangements, and profound emotional honesty. Recently, and especially in this new release, elements of post-metal and doom have taken Makó's sound into new, exciting territory, whilst retaining his unique intimacy. `Nincs Szennyezetlen Szép', translated as "there is no uncontaminated beauty", is a record forged in grief and the unflinching confession. Fans of The Devil's Trade will immediately recognize Makó's signature elements: the deep, rugged baritone, the uncanny ability to transmit raw emotion and melodies drenched in melancholia. With his fifth studio album however, Makó reclaims the heaviness of his early years, pushing his sound into new, atmospheric territory. "Nincs szennyezetlen szép is much darker and heavier and more complex than anything I have done", says Makó. Working within a larger, more dynamic canvas, Mako's confessional power is met with metal-wrought anguish, reborn as an intimate, haunting journey toward authenticity. Makó has woven percussive muscle and electric weight in which archaic drums feature prominently as a driving, emotional force. The result is a soundscape of swinging moods: eruptions of doom, passages of plaintive lament _ the volatility of grief itself captured. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Pallbearer, Bellwitch, Amenra, Yob, Monolord, Steve Von Till, Der Weg Einer Freiheit

Dávid Makó began The Devil's Trade in 2014. His early solo work, often performed with only an acoustic guitar or banjo, quickly garnered attention for its emotional depth and stark beauty. Drawing on Appalachian folk, dark Americana, and Hungarian folk traditions, Makó's music has been praised for its haunting vocals, minimalist arrangements, and profound emotional honesty. Recently, and especially in this new release, elements of post-metal and doom have taken Makó's sound into new, exciting territory, whilst retaining his unique intimacy. `Nincs Szennyezetlen Szép', translated as "there is no uncontaminated beauty", is a record forged in grief and the unflinching confession. Fans of The Devil's Trade will immediately recognize Makó's signature elements: the deep, rugged baritone, the uncanny ability to transmit raw emotion and melodies drenched in melancholia. With his fifth studio album however, Makó reclaims the heaviness of his early years, pushing his sound into new, atmospheric territory. "Nincs szennyezetlen szép is much darker and heavier and more complex than anything I have done", says Makó. Working within a larger, more dynamic canvas, Mako's confessional power is met with metal-wrought anguish, reborn as an intimate, haunting journey toward authenticity. Makó has woven percussive muscle and electric weight in which archaic drums feature prominently as a driving, emotional force. The result is a soundscape of swinging moods: eruptions of doom, passages of plaintive lament _ the volatility of grief itself captured. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Pallbearer, Bellwitch, Amenra, Yob, Monolord, Steve Von Till, Der Weg Einer Freiheit

"The Archer" is the second studio album by American musician Alexandra Savior. It was released on January 10, 2020 through 30th Century Records. "The Archer" was produced by Sam Cohen, often known as a fan of collaboration. On working with Savior, Cohen says, "It's really a joy to work with someone who's got such a strong sense of melody and also such a strong sense of what she wants stylistically." Savior's debut record, "Belladonna of Sadness", was written in collaboration with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and NME says, "Savior continues to build on that bold arrival and is becoming a star in her own right." "The Archer" shows that not only does her voice stand alone, but that her musicality stands alone, too.

"The five-year anniversary release of Orion Sun’s Hold Space For Me, pressed on tangerine vinyl. Her story, that of an early 20s woman of color dealing with and learning about life's obstacles and celebrations, is understood best through her song lyrics; citing J Dilla, Nancy Wilson, Jodeci, Kirk Franklin, Hazel Scott and Digable Planets as just some of her many influences. She's a career artist with a long road ahead and her sound defies trends; capitalizing on a velvety and familiar voice with timeless jazz / folk / R&B instrumentals.

“...a pinch-yourself song that steps lightly with the thrill of a love seemingly too good to be true (and the fear that it might be)” – Philadelphia Inquirer on “Ne Me Quitte Pas”

“stark and lightly poetic.” – Pitchfork

“A smooth, serene downbeat groove and a blissed vocal finds Orion Sun singing about sudden and deep connection — “It feels so good to know ya” — and despite the sadness implied in the title, the outlook is positive and pure.” – WXPN/The Key on “Ne Me Quitte Pas”

“While the track shares the same title as covers done by Nina Simone, Regina Spektor, and Wyclef Jean, she presents a completely different vibe, slowing down a flipped sample with smooth guitar loops and resonating drums. Still, with all of the stellar instrumentation, the 23-year-old’s voice cuts through as poignant as ever.” – Refinery 29 on ”Ne Me Quitte Pas”"

Found Keys is the debut album by American artist Ruth Maine. Although Ruth has been playing and composing music for over two decades, this is the first time she decided to record some of her varied compositions and share them with the public. But in times when it is the norm to clamour for attention, she prefers to go the opposite way. Ruth likes to let her music speak for itself and stay in the shadows.

The 16 short piano pieces heard on this album, each about two to three minutes long, were recorded remotely and purely surrounded by nature. Once a composition was found and Ruth considered it mature, she only recorded it once, embracing the beauty of doing something for the first time with all its little imperfections. Found Keys sounds anything but imperfect though. These compositions feel timeless, intimate and comforting, as if they have been around for a long time, like an old friend. Gently played keys slowly evolve into minimal pieces through repetitive melodies. There’s stillness as much as there’s brightness, sadness as much as joy; welcome to a beautiful journey through Ruth’s world of wonder.

In many ways, Found Keys is a deeply personal record that takes Sonic Pieces back to its roots. And it leaves a feeling of nostalgia while reviving memories of the past.

Found Keys is the debut album by American artist Ruth Maine. Although Ruth has been playing and composing music for over two decades, this is the first time she decided to record some of her varied compositions and share them with the public. But in times when it is the norm to clamour for attention, she prefers to go the opposite way. Ruth likes to let her music speak for itself and stay in the shadows.

The 16 short piano pieces heard on this album, each about two to three minutes long, were recorded remotely and purely surrounded by nature. Once a composition was found and Ruth considered it mature, she only recorded it once, embracing the beauty of doing something for the first time with all its little imperfections. Found Keys sounds anything but imperfect though. These compositions feel timeless, intimate and comforting, as if they have been around for a long time, like an old friend. Gently played keys slowly evolve into minimal pieces through repetitive melodies. There’s stillness as much as there’s brightness, sadness as much as joy; welcome to a beautiful journey through Ruth’s world of wonder.

In many ways, Found Keys is a deeply personal record that takes Sonic Pieces back to its roots. And it leaves a feeling of nostalgia while reviving memories of the past.

Talulah’s Tape is the debut offering from magnetic Midwest-jangle collective Good Flying Birds. Across a patchwork mixtape of stripped-down home recordings that span the independent-guitar spectrum, the band delivers colorful, intricate pop songs perched between the immediacy of DIY punk and the intimate sweetness of twee. Breakbeats, memes, and noise glue everything together, making the album feel as chronically online as it is timeless.

Originally released on cassette in January 2025 by Midwest-punk legend Martin Meyers’s Rotten Apple label, the tape sold more than 300 copies in under a month and quickly became an out-of-print and coveted item. Meyers called it “certified catnip for popheads.” Now, with a refined track list and a fresh master from Greg Obis, Talulah’s Tape returns on LP and CD via Carpark and Smoking Room in October 2025.

While production and approach vary, a through-line of sensitive self-contemplation rests on bright, scrappy guitars and hyperactive melodic bass. Opener “Down on Me” rides a buoyant bass line while jangling guitars frame reflections on overcoming trauma: “I see you in the mirror every time I cry / I hear your voice every time I try.” Next, the guitars trade twinkling counter-melodies on “I Care for You,” pairing sugary, lovestruck lyrics with effervescent strums: “You catch me when I fall / You build me up so tall.”

The rosy grin occasionally twists into a wicked smirk. “Dynamic” warns, “You used to paint the face, but now you’re just the clown,” while “Glass” asks, “Is it lonely at the top when everyone follows the trend, and you hold the pen?” Both tracks brim with sparkling guitar interplay. By the closing, nearly five-minute “Last Straw,” Good Flying Birds stand far beyond conventional indie-pop or 4-track punk, unveiling a roller-coaster of unpredictable changes, vocal harmonies, and instrumental cross-talk.

Altogether, Talulah’s Tape is a pastel-yellow, candy-coated shell filled with thoughtful juxtapositions and melodic experiments. Standing on the same ground as idiosyncratic songwriters like Connie Converse and Daniel Johnston, Good Flying Birds find sweetness in sadness, tear stains on a colorful flower-print couch. Simultaneously, it’s packed with the scratchy guitars and vibrant rhythms of Scottish guitar groups like The Pastels, Orange Juice, and Josef K. It’s a tremendous opening statement from a band just getting started.

Talulah’s Tape is the debut offering from magnetic Midwest-jangle collective Good Flying Birds. Across a patchwork mixtape of stripped-down home recordings that span the independent-guitar spectrum, the band delivers colorful, intricate pop songs perched between the immediacy of DIY punk and the intimate sweetness of twee. Breakbeats, memes, and noise glue everything together, making the album feel as chronically online as it is timeless.

Originally released on cassette in January 2025 by Midwest-punk legend Martin Meyers’s Rotten Apple label, the tape sold more than 300 copies in under a month and quickly became an out-of-print and coveted item. Meyers called it “certified catnip for popheads.” Now, with a refined track list and a fresh master from Greg Obis, Talulah’s Tape returns on LP and CD via Carpark and Smoking Room in October 2025.

While production and approach vary, a through-line of sensitive self-contemplation rests on bright, scrappy guitars and hyperactive melodic bass. Opener “Down on Me” rides a buoyant bass line while jangling guitars frame reflections on overcoming trauma: “I see you in the mirror every time I cry / I hear your voice every time I try.” Next, the guitars trade twinkling counter-melodies on “I Care for You,” pairing sugary, lovestruck lyrics with effervescent strums: “You catch me when I fall / You build me up so tall.”

The rosy grin occasionally twists into a wicked smirk. “Dynamic” warns, “You used to paint the face, but now you’re just the clown,” while “Glass” asks, “Is it lonely at the top when everyone follows the trend, and you hold the pen?” Both tracks brim with sparkling guitar interplay. By the closing, nearly five-minute “Last Straw,” Good Flying Birds stand far beyond conventional indie-pop or 4-track punk, unveiling a roller-coaster of unpredictable changes, vocal harmonies, and instrumental cross-talk.

Altogether, Talulah’s Tape is a pastel-yellow, candy-coated shell filled with thoughtful juxtapositions and melodic experiments. Standing on the same ground as idiosyncratic songwriters like Connie Converse and Daniel Johnston, Good Flying Birds find sweetness in sadness, tear stains on a colorful flower-print couch. Simultaneously, it’s packed with the scratchy guitars and vibrant rhythms of Scottish guitar groups like The Pastels, Orange Juice, and Josef K. It’s a tremendous opening statement from a band just getting started.

- Aufgrund der großen Nachfrage: Das erfolgreiche ORDEN OGAN Debütalbum nun erneut auf Vinyl erhältlich
- Erstmals als Picturevinyl erhältlich,sowie Shopexklusiv als Splatter und als Clear Red Vinyl
- Coverartwork von Andreas Marschall (Blind Guardian, Kreator, In Flames)
- ORDEN OGAN gehören mittlerweile zu den erfolgreichsten Metal-Bands Deutschlands; ihr aktuelles Album "Final Days" erreichte Platz 3 der Media Control-Charts

Der legendäre Gruff Rhys kehrt mit "Dim Probs" zurück, seinem neunten Soloalbum, dem vierten walisischen Longplayer und der ersten Veröffentlichung über Mogwais Rock Action Records.

Mit den walisischen Künstlerkollegen Cate Le Bon und H. Hawkline an den Backing Vocals und produziert mit seinem langjährigen Kollaborateur Ali Chant (Yard Act/PJ Harvey) in dessen Studio in Bristol, UK, erinnert "Dim Probs" an die Wärme und Nähe von Gruffs karrierebestimmendem ersten Soloalbum ("Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" von 2005) und die sternensuchende Melancholie von "Seeking New Gods" von 2021.

Auf „Dim Probs“, das komplett in Walisisch/Cymraeg geschrieben und eingesungen ist, sitzt der Hörer Seite an Seite mit einem der größten und nachdenklichsten Songwriter des Landes in einer Ecke des Studios, während die Songs sich aufbauen. Das Ergebnis ist eine intime und hypnotische Platte, die akustischen Folk mit dem Sound verkratzter, primitiver elektronischer Maschinen mischt.

"Dim Probs" ist Gruff Rhys' erstes komplett walisischsprachiges Album seit "Pang!" von 2019 und der Nachfolger seines gefeierten Albums "Sadness Sets You Free" von 2024, das bei Rough Trade Records erschienen ist und vom Mojo Magazine (UK) als eines der 20 besten Alben des Jahres bezeichnet wurde.

Der legendäre Gruff Rhys kehrt mit "Dim Probs" zurück, seinem neunten Soloalbum, dem vierten walisischen Longplayer und der ersten Veröffentlichung über Mogwais Rock Action Records.

Mit den walisischen Künstlerkollegen Cate Le Bon und H. Hawkline an den Backing Vocals und produziert mit seinem langjährigen Kollaborateur Ali Chant (Yard Act/PJ Harvey) in dessen Studio in Bristol, UK, erinnert "Dim Probs" an die Wärme und Nähe von Gruffs karrierebestimmendem ersten Soloalbum ("Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" von 2005) und die sternensuchende Melancholie von "Seeking New Gods" von 2021.

Auf „Dim Probs“, das komplett in Walisisch/Cymraeg geschrieben und eingesungen ist, sitzt der Hörer Seite an Seite mit einem der größten und nachdenklichsten Songwriter des Landes in einer Ecke des Studios, während die Songs sich aufbauen. Das Ergebnis ist eine intime und hypnotische Platte, die akustischen Folk mit dem Sound verkratzter, primitiver elektronischer Maschinen mischt.

"Dim Probs" ist Gruff Rhys' erstes komplett walisischsprachiges Album seit "Pang!" von 2019 und der Nachfolger seines gefeierten Albums "Sadness Sets You Free" von 2024, das bei Rough Trade Records erschienen ist und vom Mojo Magazine (UK) als eines der 20 besten Alben des Jahres bezeichnet wurde.

Within the nine carefully composed tracks of Young Bones, Mel D’s characteristic voice stands out in all its facets, varying from fragile to powerful, haunting to playful, but most of all soulful. With a voice that’s both extraordinarily clear and melancholic, Mel D is something surprisingly rare: a singer whose artistic expression goes beyond the mere use of her voice. On Young Bones, Mel D uses contemporary figures, rephrasing them into timeless formulas. Her unique musical language embodies references to genres like Indie or Alternative. In other moments, her sound leans baroque, then jazzy, soulful, and contemplative. Each song represents an ode to being connected: to the world, other people, and most of all to the beauty of music. Mel D draws her inspiration from struggles felt in the current world climate: “I have felt overwhelmed by the world we live in and its countless challenges,” said Mel D. “As if we’re all a bit directionless in our own lives.” Nevertheless, Mel D uses her musicality as a tool for resistance - using it to transform sadness and anger into creativity, and to give world-weariness a voice that seduces, comforts, and inspires. On Young Bones, Mel D sings us to a place where we might find hope - with songs rooted in concern, solidarity, humanness, and empowerment, inviting the listener to lean into those feelings. Bring the Witches Back, a hymn to witchcraft, is a quiet song that summons the return of witches with feminist urgency, for more love and magic to open ourselves towards each other and the world. Soft, a soulful song with a tender melody, gently lulls the listener into an in-between dimension, full of opportunities. Meanwhile, in the coming-of-age ballad, Slowly Growing, she raises questions about belonging and identity, pointing directly at our emotional core. Where Do You Look When It Hurts? speaks to the sensation of exhaustion and emptiness, offering musical warmth and a sense of community in moments of lethargy. Finally, listening to the album, one always feels in good company. Playfully working in folk and electro-pop elements, Mel D takes us on a ride toward love and a sense of belonging, particularly on the track We win. Young Bones was recorded in Zurich and Paris with two outstanding producers of our times: Renaud Letang, who has previously collaborated with Feist, Chilly Gonzales or Lianne La Havas, and Dino Brandão. The latter recognized Mel D’s artistic uniqueness during their first meeting, inviting her to a recording session in his studio and bringing her into the band of Swiss superstar, Faber. Mel D’s solo project was more a product of coincidence than planning, as she says, even though an undisputed talent and passion for music had always been apparent throughout her youth. During her studies in fine arts in Zurich, she founded the electronica-duo mischgewebe, and composed soundtracks for theater and movie productions, as well as for exhibitions. Long before forming her current artistic identity, she went by the nickname Mel D, in a humorous reference to the Spice Girls. Although her personality and musical language suggest thoughtfulness and a melancholy touch, Mel D acknowledges that an honest laugh is never out of place, making her sympathetic and approachable.

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds. Following the band's 2022 debut Remnants of the Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost. Ari May (guitars and vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass and vocals), and Rah Kanan (drums) manage to stay grounded in the immediate in parallel with fantasy themes of the band's namesake. Labyrinthine holds space for this contradiction; tenderness and intensity, restraint and release. The band's self-branded “fairy doom” sound fits between shoegaze, doom, and grunge. It isn’t just texture; it’s a framework for navigating the unsaid. Like the myth that inspired its title, Labyrinthine doesn’t end in victory, but in confrontation—not with escape, but with the Minotaur. Only here, the Minotaur isn’t a monster. It’s something quiet and more familiar: unresolved feelings, old memories, and sadness that refuse to stay buried. The album winds like a maze, sometimes heavy, sometimes hushed, always intentional. Faetooth isn’t chasing catharsis. They’re creating space to reflect, to feel, and maybe to get a little lost along the way.
Artist quote: "White Noise" emerged from a diary entry, and is a relentless and intense reflection on inner turmoil. We’re often drawn to the familiar, even when we don’t realize we’re reaching out for it. It is an emotional upheaval, carrying harsh truths that weigh heavily on the heart. Guitarist, Ari May mentions, “Performing the song always takes me back to a specific place, even if just for a moment.”
“Riffs and melodies brimming with loneliness and longing… this band’s incantations affect my mood the whole day after listening.” — The Sleeping Shaman
“Bringing otherworldly hazy doom goodness… dreamy clean vocals, echoing harsh vocals, entrancing riffs, meditative shoegaze melodies.” — Nine Circles
“Slow, lumbering behemoths of great weight… couched in a melancholy atmosphere and explosions of crushing heaviness.” - Where Strides The Behemoth

LTD. CLEAR BLUE VINYL

New York painter and musician exploratory industrialist Tor Lundvall initially envisioned his 14th album, Beautiful Illusions, as an entirely instrumental affair, "inspired by memories of sitting in a church or cathedral watching the shifting sunlight through stained glass." Although he ultimately chose to wreath the majority of the tracks with hushed, poetic vocals, his original muse still resonates. These are certainly songs of shadowplay and vaulted skies, the quiet grandeur of dusk deepening on the horizon. Lundvall characterizes the lyrical subject matter, too, in ways both specific and surreal, exploring "the doubts, the anxieties and even the bleak fantasies the mind spirals into during moments of isolation, separation and distance." Tricks of the eye, mind, and ear, magnified by silence and the looming long winter. Shivering pulses and muted bass lines tread the twilight while icicle synths and wiry guitar map the melody until the voice enters, narrating oblique moods of essence and absence, tenderness and truth. Glimpses of dark humor flicker in the wordplay but the greater sonic landscape is one of falling leaves and failing light, small gestures rendered as revelation, cloaked in reverb and spatial fog. Lundvall's mastery of nuance and negative space continues to heighten, whispered brushstrokes of the invisible and the unsaid, what lies beneath and what lies beyond: "Behind the shields and false fronts is usually a sadness. The heartbreaking reflections of what might have been."

10 tracks - Excellent Downtempo noisy Hardbreak. Very Early Kool Pop style, with some "Total Destruction" remix, and a strong Geyroche Kool Pop 12 03 feeling. Notice the price is nice for a LP.

‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the latest collection selected by Mikey Young (Total Control, EddyCurrent Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Founder and Head of A&R at AnthologyRecordings), the mangled minds behind the beloved ‘Follow the Sun’, ‘Sad About the Times’,and ‘…Still Sad’ compilations. The twenty tracks of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ make a conscious(and unconscious) detour from its predecessors, sourced entirely from private press releases,spanning new decades and production modes within homespun folk, soft rock and otherwise70s and 80s FM radio adjacent music.  The magic of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the untold story of the artists behind these songs; thosewho missed the big time, but whose song craft and unrequited care hit the right notes, bothhigh and low.
Where ‘Follow the Sun’ and ‘Sad About the Times’ introduced us to the fame chasing, ambitioncrashing crooners who missed their shot in the mainstream, ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ delvesdeeper into the isolated wilds - a private world where production quirks, late-night tape hiss andone-man studio dreams were not necessarily a choice but the hand that was dealt.
With the parameters set to ‘private press only’, Young and Abrahamsson follow a circuitous trailof invention and emotion, documenting a spirit that’s more homespun, sometimes lonelier andoften a little weirder. The guitars still strum, but the keyboards’ hum is more prevalent andprecious; wistful harmonies brush up against lo-fi drum machines; a bittersweet fog lingeringover even the brightest melodies.
As with their previous collaborations, Young and Abrahamsson weren’t interested inconstructing a museum or drafting a historical survey. ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is a sentimentalmixtape, assembled late at night when the mind wanders and old memories blur with imaginedfutures, those within reach and those far too mysterious to ever encounter. Songs wereunearthed in personal collections, deep YouTube burrows, dilapidated web archives and thedim corners of Discogs, with many selections tied not only to intuition but to personalconnection.  Some tracks arrived via friends - Kelley Stoltz, a frequent guide for Young, tipped him off toboth Peter Kraemer’s lost gem ‘Let the Light Slip’ and Awakening’s revelatory closer - addingan unseen but deeply felt thread of camaraderie to the compilation.
The journey takes in a wide, strange sweep: The Watson Brothers Band’s ‘Just Whistle’ opensthe collection with a sigh and a shrug, a song that feels like it’s been waiting for decades to beheard again. Jim Huxley’s ‘Tessa on a Magazine’, rediscovered after a long and winding searchby Young, shimmers with a distinctly Australian melancholia. The heartbreak of Rick Penta’s‘My Story Changes’ and Twice As Nice’s delicate ‘Thoughts of You’ float easily alongside themore buoyant, radio-dream sheen of Barracuda’s ‘Baby I Love You’ and MAK’s sunshinedappled ‘That’s Life’.
Widening the aperture to the late 1970s and early 1980s allows for a deeper exploration intoevolving production techniques and musical technologies. The Squad’s ‘D.L.M.H.I.M.A.’ andChristoph Spendel Group’s ‘Forever’ crackle with the kind of bedroom synth warmth that couldonly come from the analogue age, while the soulful, yearning undercurrent of Awakening’s‘Gotta Do Somethin / Might As Well Cultivate’ caps the collection with a call for action - ormaybe just acceptance - in an accidental Brian Eno ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ parroting.
While ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ moves away from the ‘sad man with guitar’ archetype that hoveredover its predecessors, it remains tethered to a familiar emotional gravity - a balance of longingand lightness that defines this corner of the musical universe. Each track shuffles gentlybetween resignation and hope, sadness and serenity, as if the artists themselves were chasinga dream just beyond reach, recording not for fame but for the simple act of getting it, thatprimal, creative itch, out into the world.
Available on CD and 2LP, featuring the third eye-opening artwork of Dang Wayne Olsen. Thedouble LP set arrives in an outrageous double-wide spine jacket with printed inners and adream journal entry by Pacific Northwest artifactual authority Josh Lewellen.

Congratulations, Electro connoisseur! You are about to enter the Electrifying Dojo. A place where Sifu pdqb and Sensei Rolando teach a transcendental, one-of-a-kind neo-futuristic martial art that does not use hands but something far more delicate and powerful: MUSIC.

Blending martial discipline with the art of electronic music is something deeper, something that no words can properly describe. The skills you will be taught here are feeling music, embodying it. pdqb and Rolando believe that true harmony comes when the mind, body, and soul are united in the sounds that vibrate through the air.

The sounds of this first lesson are soft at first, almost imperceptible. But then they grow into a delicate, trembling melody that fills the room with an emotion that is difficult to place. It isn’t sadness, nor is it joy, but something in between. The more you listen, the more you will be aware of something strange: tears will fall gently, silently. They are not forced, nor are they out of sorrow - it is simply because the music feels so beautiful. Your deepest emotions will be triggered, every note will carry out an old truth, a secret truth, buried deep in your heart.

Another quality drop from Synaptic Cliffs. 4 dark and beautiful signature-style Electrocognition journeys from pdqb, playful with a modern twist while still remaining loyal to its roots. And on the flipside: two stunning, classic Rolando remixes, each with the potential to be the crowning moment in the club.

Danilo and Liza Farba founded the band Farba Kingdom in Odessa, Ukraine. Like many other old port cities, it has always been a multicultural place – but also one of constant change. It is these rapid changes in living conditions that the duo processes musically – with a penchant for nostalgia as a protective shield for themselves and their audience. What does that sound like? Dark, electronic, and wavy.

In 2020, the band established this musical direction with their debut album "Німб": the desperation of post-punk, along with unsettling, crushing industrial vibes and well-thought-out hypnotic synth sequences. Listening to their music, one immediately conjures up the architecture of their hometown, where the mystical neo-Gothic style alternates with Soviet Constructivism. A visual experience that screams the hopeless sadness of this era to the world.

Danilo and Liza Farba are currently in exile in Romania.

Nach dem explosiven, schnörkellosen, selbstbetitelten Debütalbum aus dem letzten Jahr meldet sich das potente Duo mit ihrem zweiten Album 'Bored Animal' zurück.

Es wurde in weniger als zwei Wochen im Studio von Edwyn Collins in den schottischen Highlands konzipiert und aufgenommen, zusammen mit dem Tontechniker Sean Reed. Abgemischt wurde es von David Wrench (Manic Street Preachers, Let's Eat Grandma, Blur, Baxter Dury). His Lordship entschieden sich, ihren Sound zu straffen: Sie verzichteten auf Harmonien, Rockabilly-Einflüsse und Songs mit einer Länge von mehr als vier Minuten und kümmerten sich nicht darum, die Musik perfekt zu machen.

Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das eine Vielzahl von Ideen in seine elf prägnanten Songs packt. Und obwohl die Songs von 'Bored Animal' Anleihen beim alten Rock ’n‘ Roll nehmen, ist das Album keineswegs ein Retro-Aufguss oder eine Hommage an die Vergangenheit.

Johnny and Robert began work on the album in the first weeks of the pandemic, wanting to make music that sang of those dangerous, disorienting spring days; when birdsong was brighter –– and the sense of bewilderment more powerful –– than any of us had known before. They drew inspiration in part from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving work of world literature; an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia that contains the earliest version of the Flood Myth. To Johnny and Robert, Gilgamesh resonated eerily with the present moment –– and it catalysed their song-writing. For Gilgamesh is a story of friendship, love, loss, grief, bad governance and good dreaming; of natural disaster and environmental crisis. It also contains the first recorded act of human destruction of the natural world: when Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Sacred Cedar Wood, slay the guardian spirit of the forest, and cut down the trees with their axes, thereby bringing catastrophe upon themselves. Johnny and Robert wrote the album between March 2020 and February 2021, during a year in which we all wandered unsure of our path, lost in the cedar wood. The songs were composed in large part as a correspondence, through a back-and-forth of notebook pages, voice-recordings and WhatsApp-messages, at a time when lockdowns made meeting in person impossible. The first eight songs were recorded in an off-grid cottage deep in a Hampshire forest, with the sounds of chainsaws felling trees drifting in through the windows along with the birdsong. The result is an album at once urgent and ancient, which fuses poetry, landscape, myth and music into something unique. These are songs that ring with hope, love and sadness –– and one need not know anything about The Epic of Gilgamesh to be touched by them.

Exclusive vinyl with the singles released by the Watford post-punk band between 1981 and 1983.

"Before I began to write this piece I listened to some of the tracks and I admit there was a small tear or two as I remembered… Pet Sounds Studios, an 8 track reel to reel studio in a basement under a pet shop in Kennington, South London, our first studio experience as fresh faced 20 year olds. Surrey Sounds, a studio above a milk depot where Siouxsie and The Banshees had recorded singles, we got some studio time through the night when The Professionals (ex Sex Pistols) weren’t recording. Silo Studio in Hammersmith, the engineer was stoned, I smoked at least three packets of cigarettes during the session and having arrived at the studio with a song we believed in, we came out disillusioned and slightly underwhelmed; maybe greatness wasn’t destined to descend upon us at that stage of our career. Spaceward in Cambridgeshire, an old school building turned into a professional recording studio, where we recorded our first album Epic Garden Music over a weekend working through the night with about an hour of sleep. We returned there to record our second album, Feeding The Flame which took two months rather than two days. But my moist eyes are not for the broken dreams, the incredible highs or even the camaraderie with fellow band members, all of whom I may add we are still in touch with. My slight sadness is for my lost youth and the courageous optimism of those early days so viscerally evoked by this collection of songs. The glory of the world fades but in reality Sad Lovers & Giants goes from strength to strength, albeit in a very understated English way mainly because that’s the way we like it. So enjoy these songs which were created with passion and energy over forty years ago but still remain vivid and exciting to a new generation of listeners today." From Garce/Simon Allard's exclusive liner notes (October 2024)

An endling is the final member of a species. When an endling dies, the species is extinct. Pakistani-American composer Qasim Naqvi returns with Endling. Written as a modular synth prequel to his 2023 BBC Concert Orchestral work, God Docks at Death Harbor, Endling takes the listener on a 43-minute odyssey through an intense and beautiful landscape, set hundreds of years into the future. On the album"s centrepiece "Power Down the Heart," featuring Moor Mother, our character stumbles upon an A.I. being that is in the final moments of its life. As a kind of last rites, this ancient artificial consciousness describes the beauty, sadness and horror it has observed for hundreds of years. Qasim Naqvi is a percussionist, composer and synthesist. Along with being the drummer of lauded cult minimalist trio, Dawn of Midi, Naqvi is an accomplished solo artist and his passion for multidisciplinary work has brought him into the world of film, dance, installation art, and the stage of orchestral and chamber music. His concert music has been commissioned and performed by The London Contemporary Orchestra, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, Bang on a Can All Stars, Jennifer Koh, Stargaze, The Cello Octet of Amsterdam, The Helsinki Chamber Choir and others.

Dark Blue Vinyl. Nina Nastasia's rare gift of a voice is an intimate, winged presence that is able to either freeze or melt your heart; that can powerfully soar and twist, or brush ultra-gently against you, suddenly summoning goose bumps. Released in 2003 by Touch and Go Records (and out of print for almost two decades), Run to Ruin is the third album by Nina Nastasia. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Black Box studio in Noyant-la-Gravoyère, France and at Looking Glass studio in New York. Combined with the prodigious talents of her backing band and the sparse but lush arrangements of the instruments, the songs on Run to Ruin evoke haunting scenes of heartache, passion and a slightly seedy world. Nina's voice is at once delicate and intense, neither sweet nor harsh, i conveys an array of emotion moving between joy and sadness with just a moment's pause.

Nina Nastasia's rare gift of a voice is an intimate, winged presence that is able to either freeze or melt your heart; that can powerfully soar and twist, or brush ultra-gently against you, suddenly summoning goose bumps.
Released in 2003 by Touch and Go Records (and out of print for almost two decades), Run to Ruin is the third album by Nina Nastasia. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Black Box studio in Noyant-la-Gravoyère, France and at Looking Glass studio in New York. Combined with the prodigious talents of her backing band and the sparse but lush arrangements of the instruments, the songs on Run to Ruin evoke haunting scenes of heartache, passion and a slightly seedy world. Nina's voice is at once delicate and intense, neither sweet nor harsh, it conveys an array of emotion moving between joy and sadness with just a moment's pause.

The 1968 debut album from Norwegian guitar legend Terje Rypdal stands as a significant entry in the late 1960s jazz landscape, exemplifying the transition from psychedelic rock to a more intricate, freeform blend of jazz elements. Collaborating with legendary musicians like Jan Garbarek, Rypdal's work on this album showcases his innovative talent.

Recorded during three sessions in Oslo in 1968, Bleak House marks Rypdal’s departure from the psychedelic group The Dream as he ventured into new musical territories. He would go on to become one of the most recognizable instrumentalists in European jazz, with releases on the ECM label filled with his searing, evocative guitar sounds that evoke a future tundra.

Though only 21 at the time, Rypdal was already creating music that was incredibly mature, smooth, and sophisticated. While it undeniably captures the essence of the 60s, it remains enjoyable today. The album, originally released on Polydor, features slight Latin and blues influences, along with big-band arrangements that are both well-crafted and enchantingly loose.

The reissue of Bleak House offers much to unpack. Historically, it represents a bridge in the European transition from jazz-rock to a unique avant-garde/free jazz hybrid. Even at this early point in his career, Rypdal's ability to incorporate post-bop, fusion, and avant-garde elements into a cohesive album was an impressive feat of imagination. Rypdal has always been a bold composer, capable of weaving intoxicatingly discordant melodies, as exemplified in tracks like "Winter Serenade", or evoking an unearthly sadness in his more reflective pieces.
Bleak House is a timeless and important recording, and it is a pleasure to hear it in this 180g virgin vinyl format.
A must-listen for anyone interested in the evolution of modern jazz.

MELODIES” is the first album released on the MOON label. The album was the first album released on the MOON label, and it marked a drastic change
in sound direction from the RCA/AIR era, as a result, the range of their work expanded, and the Christmas classic “Christmas Eve” was born from their work.
The result is a monumental masterpiece that will remain in the history of pop music. Includes “Christmas Eve” “High Air Pressure Girl,” “Merry Go Round”
and more. Includes detailed liner notes by Tatsuro Yamashita himself!

Die Verwandlung von Geschichte in einen Mythos macht persönliche Erfahrungen universell - ein Prozess, der in der Musik der russischen Produzentin Yana Kedrina, bekannt als Kedr Livanskiy, eine zentrale Rolle spielt. Auf ihrem fünften Album, "Myrtus Myth", entwirft sie eine experimentelle Pop-Reise, die von persönlichen und öffentlichen Mythologien inspiriert ist und Esoterik mit erzählerischer Tiefe verbindet. Livanskiys Musik war schon immer von Geheimnissen durchdrungen, von den ätherischen Synthesizern ihres Debüts "January Sun" bis zu den spirituellen Harmonien von "Liminal Soul". Mit "Myrtus Myth" wagt sie sich noch weiter vor und zieht Parallelen zu ihrem zweiten Album "Ariadna", während sie ihre Klangpalette mit dem Produzenten Flaty erweitert, der für seine futuristische, genreübergreifende Arbeit bekannt ist. Gemeinsam gehen sie über die Strukturen von Dance Music hinaus, integrieren Live-Instrumente und Einflüsse von Vaporwave bis Kate Bush. Zu den Höhepunkten des Albums gehören "Anna", eine von Fleetwood Mac inspirierte Pop-Elegie für eine verlorene Freundin, und "Purple Sadness", dessen knackige Synthies an den Cloud-Rap der frühen 2010er Jahre erinnern. Tracks wie "Agata Dreams" erinnern an 90s Electro-Pop, während "Spades on Hearts" ein hymnischer Aufruf zu den Waffen mit marschierenden Trommeln und hochfliegenden Vocals ist. Livanskiys Texte, die auf Russisch verfasst sind, bieten eine Heldenreise über 11 Tracks, die sich auf Mythen wie Orpheus stützen, um die dauerhafte Kraft der Kunst zu erkunden. Obwohl das Album stilistisch vielfältig ist, behält es durch seine mythische Erzählung seinen Zusammenhalt bei. Das eindringliche Schlussstück "Kali-Yuga" beklagt in zarten Harmonien eine verlorene Stadt und lässt den Hörer in einem traumhaften Dunst zurück. "Die letzten Jahre waren für viele schwierig", reflektiert Livanskiy. "Dieses Album erforscht den Schmerz durch das Mythische und Jenseitige." "Myrtus Myth" ist keine Tragödie, sondern eine Geschichte der Unverwüstlichkeit, die den Hörer auffordert, die Menschlichkeit im Mythos zu finden. Während die imaginären Welten verblassen, erinnert uns Livanskiy mit ihrem Werk daran, dass die reale Welt und die Zeit, die wir in ihr verbringen, bestehen bleibt.