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Seira Kariya's first album "Always Fresh", released in 2022, is now available on long-awaited LP! This is their first full-length album after 7 years since her debut. The album tells a story of trying to hold on to the future while living through a difficult time with urban and danceable music, and is filled with heartbreaking melancholy and pop brilliance. Also includes a cover of tofubeats' "Suisei", a song with which she has a close relationship.

It’s True What They Say is the debut EP from Edinburgh-based, husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), aka Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced “McLochlin”).

“Sarah and I both have a love for nostalgia,” explains Shaun. “We watched that amazing old 80’s Sci-Fi, (John) Carpenter movie, Starman, a few months back. Myself and my brother David used to watch it all the time. We must have been, roughly, 5-7 at the time. I remember loving the movie but the end, you know, with the beautiful, atmospheric, synth ending, I love that particular moment the most - best part of the movie, you know, when he goes home… It’s heartbreaking but stunning, all the same. It’s the music that moves you most… It did when I was 5 and it still does to this day. It must have had some form of a (much deeper) impact on me.”

The duo narrates stories across themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness - the good that comes with the bad in everyday life, not just on a personal scale but within a community as well.

“Starbed is the first song I have ever written and just came out of the blue really, with Shaun playing a melody and me singing along,” says Sarah. “It’s simple and just about two people in love. Love songs are always the best songs, after all… Music has been a big part of my life from a young age. I was unwillingly dragged to piano and violin lessons, which I’m thankful for now! I’d say the first band I really became obsessed with growing up were the Beatles, and on the back of that a lot of 60s music and fashion. From then on, I had a love for music.”

“Shaun definitely opened my ears to a lot of sounds and got me thinking about soundtracks and all the noises that can be made,” she goes on. “We love just spending time experimenting in the house with instruments, pedals etc and Ali is a real magician to work with, too…”

The recordings took place over the summers of 2022 and 2023, with fellow Delta Mainline member Ali Chisholm (aka Jaguar Eyes) plus long-term friend and collaborator Gavin King. Further collaboration then came via the ‘net from the (international) likes of Chris Dixie Darley (Father John Misty), Darren Coghill (Neon Waltz) and Daniel Land (The Modern Painters), among others (see a full list of credits below).

Both Sarah and Shaun have a love for uber-soundtrack producers such as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter, Cliff Martinez plus live acts such as Beach House, Spiritualized, M83, Suicide, Moby and OMD (to name a few). Shaun also credits the work of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (from Survive) on the Stranger Things score… “Even a moment in a movie, whether it be just 30 seconds during a particular scene, it grips you,” he says. But there’s something much deeper at play as well. “Music is a healer,” he goes on, “and I write from my own perspective but more so for others. Once I've done my bit, it doesn't belong to me any longer. It belongs to whoever wants it or needs it.”

The result is a cinematic, synth-wavey, dream poppy and downright beguilingly beautiful body of work. And they’re just getting started…

Scottish trio Lylo emerge from a six year hiatus today with news of a new album, Thoughts of Never, a pristine body of work built on foundations of vulnerability and cinematic pop sensibilities, set for release May 10th, 2024 via El Rancho Records. The announcement comes paired with a first look into the album through a fusion of downbeat pop-club, Balearic beats and soul grooves in the form of ‘Hush’, featuring Esmé Dee (The Orielles), along with a string of UK live dates.

Thoughts of Never, engineered and co-produced with friend Joel Patchett (Billy Ocean, King Krule), was written with the members residing in both Berlin and Glasgow, directly affecting the album's motifs.

Present in the album are topics of emotional communication, melancholy in metropolis and the willingness to (re)connect, which are all explored through a wonky Japanese inspired pop soundscape, with new and obvious nods to R&B soul intertwined with ambient pads. The album is littered with an abundance of influences from musicians and movies alike, stretching from names such as Sade, The Blue Nile, The Pet Shop Boys, Eddie Chacon to The Great Beauty (2013) and Hana-Bi (1997), the latter in which the band would mute and play their songs over each day, “treating the album mixes as a soundtrack”, which in turn, heavily influenced the tracklisting composition.

The album includes several features and collaborations from artist friends, with the likes of Cassandra Jenkins (Lylo were Cassandra’s backing band on her last Uk/eu album tour), Gerard Black (Babe), Esmé Dee Hand-Halford (The Orielles) and spoken word poet alore,, all making an appearance on the captivating new record.

Chinese-born singer "Rushika (る鹿)," active as a fashion model in Japan, made her debut by releasing a cover of Yura Yura Teikoku's "Kudou Desu" (Hollow). Her 3rd single, "Karada ga Shibareru Atama ga Yorokobu," released in October 2023, features an original composition by Shintaro Sakamoto and Seiichi Yamamoto, influential figures in Japan's alternative music scene. The song, a blend of catchy, danceable, and psychedelic elements, intertwines with a memorable poetic world carrying an unsettling atmosphere, bringing out Ruka's newfound charm. This 7-inch single includes versions sung in Japanese on the A-side, and B-side is a remix that features remixes by Meitei.

The long-awaited first analog release of the second album, a masterpiece released in 2012!

This ambitious album was produced and arranged by Kei Kono, a producer who has worked with Hikaru Utada and many other artists and bands, and was created with simplicity in mind.

The entire album was created from a demo of an acoustic guitar playing, and each sound was added on the spot to complete the work. The nine songs on this must-hear disc are highly acclaimed as a masterpiece, and the songs stand out for their soothing, faintly contoured vocals.

The final part of this ‘A.R. Kane reissue collection is 1989’s astonishing double-LP ‘i’ which

followed up on ‘sixty nine’s promise and saw the duo fully unleash their experimental

pop sensibilities over 26 tracks, plunging the A.R. Kane sound into a dazzlingly

kaleidoscopic vision of pop experiment and play. Suffused with new digital

technologies and combining searingly sweet and danceable pop with perhaps the

duo’s strangest and boundary-pushing compositions, the album did exactly what a

great double-set should do - indulge the artists sprawling pursuit of their own

imaginations but always with a concision and an ear for those moments where pop

both transcends and toys with the listeners expectations. Jason Ankeny has noted

that “In retrospect, ‘i’ now seems like a crystal ball prophesying virtually every major

musical development of the 1990s; from the shimmering techno of ‘A Love from

Outer Space’ to the liquid dub of ‘What’s All This Then?’, from the alien drone-pop of

‘Conundrum’ to the sinister shoegazer miasma of ‘Supervixens’ — it’s all here, an

underground road map for countless bands to follow.” Perhaps the most

overwhelmingly all-encompassing transmission from A.R. Kane, ‘i’ bookended a

three year period in which the duo had made some of the most prophetic and

revelatory music of the entire decade.

After ‘i’ the duo’s output became more sporadic with Tambala and Ayuli moving in

different directions both geographically and musically, with only 1994’s ‘New Clear

Child’ a crystalline re-fraction of future and past echoes of jazz, folk and soul, before

the duo went their separate ways. Since then, A.R. Kane’s music has endured, not

thanks to the usual sepia’d false memories that seem to maintain interest in so much

of the musical past, but because those who hear A.R. Kane music and are changed

irrevocably, have to share that universe which A.R. Kane opened up, with anyone

else who will listen. Far more than other lauded documents of the late 80s it still

sounds astonishingly fresh, astonishingly livid and vivid and necessary and NOW.

" Pressed on 7"" black vinyl
Two incredible hits from 1980s Japan!
NOTE: artwork to be announced Two major duets by Yoshinori Monta and Junko Ohashi are released simultaneously on analog 7inch single vinyl! In April 1983, ""Natsu Onna Sonia"" became a big hit under the name ""Yoshinori Monta with Junko Ohashi,"" and the following June 1984, ""Koi wa Magic"" was released simultaneously, this time under the name ""Junko Ohashi with Yoshinori Monta! The couplings include Yoshinori Monta's solo song ""Harbor Light"" and Junko Ohashi's solo song ""A LOVE AFFAIR,"" respectively."

" Pressed on 7"" black vinyl
Two incredible hits from 1980s Japan!
NOTE: artwork to be announced Two major duets by Yoshinori Monta and Junko Ohashi are released simultaneously on analog 7inch single vinyl! In April 1983, ""Natsu Onna Sonia"" became a big hit under the name ""Yoshinori Monta with Junko Ohashi,"" and the following June 1984, ""Koi wa Magic"" was released simultaneously, this time under the name ""Junko Ohashi with Yoshinori Monta! The couplings include Yoshinori Monta's solo song ""Harbor Light"" and Junko Ohashi's solo song ""A LOVE AFFAIR,"" respectively."

Rush Hour’s RSS series excels in unearthing buried treasure, offering a second chance for artists and releases that have long been overlooked. That’s certainly the case with ‘Witches’, the superb sole single by British 1980s wave trio Zenana.

Originally released on seven-inch by the tiny PRM label in 1986, ‘Witches’ was the product of a sister-brother songwriting team whose music was mostly recorded in the front room of a terraced house in Nanpean, a small industrial village in Cornwall, England’s most south-westerly county. While the single was infectious, impeccably produced and dancefloor-ready, it sold in limited quantities at the time.

Zenana’s story can be traced back to the early 1980s, when singer-songwriter Anita Tedder founded the all-female trio as a vehicle for her musical ambitions. To bring her songs to life, she joined voices with her brother Mike, an early adopter of electronic music who had built a studio – nicknamed MFR, short for ‘Mike’s Front Room’ – in his Cornish home.

Countless Zenana tracks were recorded at ‘mfr’ between 1984 and ’86, with the resultant demo cassette securing the band a management contract, a slew of live bookings, a video shoot and even a television appearance. Buoyed by this underground success, they headed to the remote Sawmills Studio in Cornwall – famously only accessible by boat – to re-record ‘Witches’, a song inspired by local folk tales of witches gathering near Mike’s home.

While this version of ‘Witches’ failed to make an impact at the time, it has become something of a cult classic following its’ rediscovery by crate digger Kiernan Abbott – and subsequent championing by other dusty-fingered DJs including Antal, Skyrager, Trevor Jackson and Luke Una – in early 2023. The buzz inspired Zenana to perform live again for the first time in decades, with the story of their surprise comeback being covered by British media outlets including the BBC and (more surprisingly) the Daily Mail.

Now presented in re-mastered form, ‘Witches’ is a genuinely slept-on gem. Propelled forwards by punchy drum machine beats, a killer synth bassline and fizzing keyboard sounds, the song benefits greatly from strong vocals and an extra-percussive middle eight layered with vocalisations, cosmic spoken word sections and swirling noises.

It comes backed by a brand-new extended ‘spell of love’ courtesy of Bristol duo Bedmo Disco, AKA music journalist Matt Anniss (author of Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music) and DJ/production partner Gareth Morgan. Anniss is a long-time friend of Mike and Anita Tedder who has fond memories of visiting Mike’s home studio with his family around the time that ‘Witches’ was recorded.

Working from Zenana’s original MFR eight-track recording (tapes of the single version were lost years ago), Anniss and Morgan have turned in the extended ‘dance mix’ the track never had first time around. More atmospheric, clandestine and dancefloor-focused, it offers authentic nods to New York proto-house, mid-80s Shep Pettibone dubs, and the pioneering synth-pop productions and dub mixes of Factory Records regular Martin Rushent.

Zoo Min Sha is the solo project of Ryo Konishi, who also performs with the jazz-pop band Crck/lcks. 2 songs released in 2023, featuring Aaamyyyy, Ema, and Sara Yoshida (Mononkvl), and themed on parting with people, are now available in analog!
In addition to presiding over Crck/lcks, Ryo Konishi has participated in works by Chara and millennium parade, produced music for Amazon Prime Video's "More Than Words", produced music for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympics, and has a growing presence in a wide range of other areas. This is his third analog work. Side A is "Glittering," which features Aaamyyyy as a guest performer and has a magnificent and beautiful sound centered on her clear voice and string quartet. Side B is "I Hear That Song", which features the beautiful ensemble of winds and strings and the gentle, enveloping harmonies of Mononkvl member Sara Yoshida and musical actor/jazz singer Ema. This is a piece as beautiful as a clear sky and a gem of pieces by the splendid members.

Limited to 100 copies.

Coming-of-age heartbreak madness in 90s indie rock style from the Ruhr area! Here come EAT THEM, ladies and gentlemen. Behind it is the musician Johannes Hofmann, who has recorded more than 20 albums single-handedly to date. And don't worry, Johannes is only in his mid-20s, he just started recording music at the age of 14, which he then burned onto CDs for his grandma to play. A little later: The own Bandcamp account.
Now a kind of best-of collection from the first 10 years of his creative work will be released at the end of June: EAT THEM ALL!

12 tracks on vinyl with a small art zine included. Everything designed by Johannes Hofmann himself.

All songs remastered by Norman Nietzsche. Lo-Fi becomes Hi-Fi Lo-Fi in no time!

The LP is intended as an introduction to the inexhaustible EAT THEM multiverse. Because there is about as much to discover here as on the legendary Shimmy Disc label or the Guided By Voices: indie rock, lo-fi pop, shoegaze, krautrock, math rock, punk rock or heartbreaking power ballads! In the meantime, Johannes has found two colleagues to bring EAT THEM live on stage. Please don't miss this!

As (Tocotronic discoverer) Myriam Brüger recently said so beautifully after the first EAT THEM show in Berlin: “Finally a really uncool band again!” That was actually meant as a big compliment!

In keeping with the holistic aspect of the project - and complementing the band name - titled "ALL", the album covers the full spectrum: from drum machine and sonic youth guitar melange, nervous post-funk to anthemic lo-fi indie -Rock, everything an indie heart desires can be found here.

The first single released today is “Do You Love Me When I’m Dead?”, a catchy song that takes place sonically where it is most beautiful in the rich history of suburban pop: in the garage. The piece reflected the live line-up, which was expanded to include bass and drums. The beat clatters happily and the open guitar chords flow! However, Hofmann transcends the suburbs with reverberated singing about an emotional urge to move and flies into the city, the disco or even through clouds and the landscape.

Coming-of-age heartbreak madness in 90s indie rock style from the Ruhr area! Here come EAT THEM, ladies and gentlemen. Behind it is the musician Johannes Hofmann, who has recorded more than 20 albums single-handedly to date. And don't worry, Johannes is only in his mid-20s, he just started recording music at the age of 14, which he then burned onto CDs for his grandma to play. A little later: The own Bandcamp account.
Now a kind of best-of collection from the first 10 years of his creative work will be released at the end of June: EAT THEM ALL!

12 tracks on vinyl with a small art zine included. Everything designed by Johannes Hofmann himself.

All songs remastered by Norman Nietzsche. Lo-Fi becomes Hi-Fi Lo-Fi in no time!

The LP is intended as an introduction to the inexhaustible EAT THEM multiverse. Because there is about as much to discover here as on the legendary Shimmy Disc label or the Guided By Voices: indie rock, lo-fi pop, shoegaze, krautrock, math rock, punk rock or heartbreaking power ballads! In the meantime, Johannes has found two colleagues to bring EAT THEM live on stage. Please don't miss this!

As (Tocotronic discoverer) Myriam Brüger recently said so beautifully after the first EAT THEM show in Berlin: “Finally a really uncool band again!” That was actually meant as a big compliment!

In keeping with the holistic aspect of the project - and complementing the band name - titled "ALL", the album covers the full spectrum: from drum machine and sonic youth guitar melange, nervous post-funk to anthemic lo-fi indie -Rock, everything an indie heart desires can be found here.

The first single released today is “Do You Love Me When I’m Dead?”, a catchy song that takes place sonically where it is most beautiful in the rich history of suburban pop: in the garage. The piece reflected the live line-up, which was expanded to include bass and drums. The beat clatters happily and the open guitar chords flow! However, Hofmann transcends the suburbs with reverberated singing about an emotional urge to move and flies into the city, the disco or even through clouds and the landscape.

Swedish synth-pop phenomenon Kite's second 7 inch since signing with Dais in 2023 finds the duo of Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg swinging for new heights of romantic desolation and baroque grandeur. They describe the A Side, "Losing," as a "six-minute empty call for emotional response." Stately piano and anguished voice reverberate in a vaulted hall, before gradually building into a widescreen anthem of synths, drums, and soaring vocals decrying the steady deadening of life and love: "It's deadly quiet in your old heart / Are you there? / I see dark skies on the rise / And daylight shows no remorse / And I realize it is my life / But It's losing all meaning." Swedish dark music icons Anna von Hausswolff and Henric de la Cour join the chorus as the song cascades towards an ominous horizon. The B Side, "Glassy Eyes," showcases Kite's mastery of somber, sweeping balladry. Hushed church organ elevates and anchors Stenemo's devastated confessional, swaying between resilience and defeat. The band describes the song as a reckoning with "the privileged and existential anxiety of drifting through life dispassionately," contrasted with "the yearning to connect profoundly with others and a desire for experiences that stir the soul before facing one's final moments." Like a hymn, the emotion thickens as it deepens, approaching both darkness and divinity: "Deep as I go, nothing to find / Oh catatonia, I won't cry / Nothing can grow, everything dies / Behind my glassy eyes."

Based out of Nola, Delores Galore is creating sounds inspired by '70s disco '80s synth-pop '90s house classics and beyond. Galore's album Don't Get It Twisted reflects their battle with everyday obstacles and how they push forward with resilience. Two cassette EPs released on one 12”. Future soul, freestyle, dance music.