Julia Rakel - Paige Stark - Hush Pup

Julia Rakel's music might be described as lo-fi, however it's also packs a dreamy punch with the layers of gentle sounds and her seductive vocals. We've featured Paige Stark once before as a solo artist, along with several Tashaki Miyaki appearances, and she continues to really impress with her latest offering 'Depression Song'. It's less than a month since we first shared 'The Hours' from Hush Pup, 'Oasis' is a very welcome follow up where their experimental pop is once again blissful and endearing.

Julia Rakel - You're Not Getting It.

Umeå-via-Malmö Swedish musician and producer Julia Rakel is the latest addition to Stockholm indie label Rama Lama Records' (Melby, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Chez Ali etc.) roster. Debut single PDFILWM was released in January and have since grabbed the attention from influential Swedish media as well as international blogs, calling it a "lo-fi gem", followed by People in February. New single You're Not Getting It is out now and is the third and final look into Julia's peculiar bedroom pop before her six track debut EP on March 15. 

Just like previous singles You're Not Getting It is the result of hours of music making in the lonesome bedroom. Julia works at the well-known Malmö studio Tambourine and her credits include sound design and music for the award-winning short film Plankton. With her expertise as a producer she's refined her stripped-down sketches to a daydreaming beautiful soundscape that develops with every listen. This, put together with Julia's individual vocals and often ironic lyrics, create a intimate and memorable sound that there will be plenty more of during the upcoming months.

Debut EP indie fEElz lands on March 15. A six track creation that according to Julia is a try to deal with the very different kinds of relationships we have with each other and ourselves through "a lot of irony, drum machines and way too many choir parts". The tracks treat universal topics such as forced acquaintances, love, desperate attempts to be understood, how we feel about our egos and a sad celebration of friendships.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paige Stark - Depression Song.

Paige Stark (of Tashaki Miyaki) releases "Depression Song."

Paige Stark is a songwriter, multi-intstrumentalist, & producer from Los Angeles, California. She has released records with her band Tashaki Miyaki & contributed production to fellow Angelenos L.A. Witch & Cherry Glazzerr as well as her own band, Tashaki Miyaki.

This is her debut solo effort. It was recorded by Grammy winning engineer Cassidy Turbin (Beck) with contributions by Jon Brion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hush Pup - Oasis.

Inspired by the films 3 Women and Paris Texas, "Oasis" is about a feeling of blurriness. Sometimes the blur feels blissful and sometimes it feels like a loss of identity. Going in and out of this blur, occasionally you find something to cling to, that's the oasis. Sonically the track is inspired by dusty landscapes and Danny Elfman's music in Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Hush Pup makes experimental pop music that sounds a lot like driving at night through the board game Candy Land, soft cotton candy trees brush up against the windows of your glass car as you ride toward a friend’s cabin nearby the molasses swamp. Forming for a show in 2012, they have since played across Canada, the U.S. & Europe.

Their EP ‘Flower Power’ & LP ‘Panacea’, a romantic film-inspired album, will be released on a double cassette with Lone Hand (lonehand.xyz) in March 2019.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leem Of Earth - Vilma Flood - Hush Pup - Grace Inspace

Leem Of Earth return with another really fine song to share, we featured a track from their Chapter One release last October and with Chapter Two they continue to develop some intriguing and creative music. Vilma Flood's vocals are something special in their own right, add in some superb song writing and refined musicianship, and we arrive with something unique and beautiful. Hush Pup tell their story for the new song 'The Hours' a gorgeously melodic and dreamy track crammed with hooks. It's back to July last year for our first Grace Inspace feature, and the new song was worth the wait after the debut E.P, as we are treated to some fabulous protest pop that is both clever and very catchy.

Leem Of Earth - Only So Many Ways.

On Chapter Two, Florida band Leem of Earth continue the musical expedition they began on Chapter One (which was released in Oct.). This three song release expands on the sound and the story. The sound is a nod to the vibe of the best nineties bands part romance and part grunge. The band cites The Innocence Mission, Radiohead and Sunny Day Real Estate as some of their favorite bands from the period.

With Chapter Two, the band adds in otherworldly aspects. "Water" is a Peter Gabriel-style conversation with a skeleton. In "Faithful Lights", the sun and moon watch over the dreaming narrator, and the music swells and surges with synth, voice and rhythm section all keeping pace with each other. "Only So Many Ways" features guitarist B's towering electric, while N on bass and E on drums are vivid and relentless, and LM's velvety voice wraps it all up.

Producer Jeremy SH Griffith (Johnnyswim, SUNBEAMS!) lends his synth expertise and creates a couple of codas from tiny pieces of the songs. Leem of Earth's sound and vision is ethereal and not all that easy to describe, but we think that's definitely a good thing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vilma Flood - Fan of You.

Vilma and famed producer Tobias Fröberg explores musical landscape way beyond the blues- and country influenced sounds of her 2016 debut album. Up coming ”Moodswinger” was recorded at Fröberg’s studio on the Swedish island Gotland in the darkest hours of December, with a constant fire going to keep the cold out.

Inspiration was drawn from the following artists, all tied together by their strong voices, dark lyrics and fragile, detailed soundscapes: Melanie Safka, Ane Brun, Leonard Cohen, Karen Dalton and Alela Diane.

The tracks were built around the pedal steel, slide guitar, big sounding drums, harmony vocals and Vilma’s vibrating, immediately recognizable voice.

”Moodswinger” will be released on April 26th, with first single ”Fan of You” out now!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hush Pup - The Hours.

We’re Hush Pup & we make music that sounds a lot like driving at night through the board game Candyland – soft cotton candy trees brush up against the windows of your glass car as you ride toward a friend's cabin nearby the molasses swamp.

“The Hours” is a song about kindness. It's about being sweet and slow as a practice. It’s inspired by a scene from an Allen Ginsberg documentary where he conducts a workshop that integrates spirituality into artistic practice.

Watching this, I felt as if he had created a kindness crew. “The Hours” is written from the perspective of this crew. They're taking time to be gentle & they're high on that concept. The video for “The Hours” was made by members of our kindness crew. Emma Thais Holland & Jameel Mulani combined their super-8 footage with colourful karaoke text.

Our Flower Power EP & Panacea, a romantic film-inspired album, will be released on a double cassette with Lone Hand (lonehand.xyz) in March.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grace Inspace - Paradise Syndrome.

English-American musician Grace Inspace introduced herself with her ‘Protest Pop” sound last year and has announced a brand new single Paradise Syndrome released on 14th February.

The single follows her debut EP release Lazy Grace’s Apocalyptic Kitchen Vol.1 which featured the singles Tame Teens, Watersource, Uncertain, CA and Go Slow. The 4-track EP was produced in part by John King of the Dust Brothers and featured Steve Perkins of Jane’s Addiction and Nick McCabe of The Verve.

22-year-old Grace has a mature head on her young shoulders, with politically-charged character-driven lyrics amidst collaged soundscapes, which address current issues in the world in a humorous and refreshing way.

Paradise Syndrome kickstarts 2019 with a unique musical style; it's melodic and catchy chorus is Capital "P" Pop, but the track also puts the "on" in conscious with a satirical message about a culture that insists on high comfort levels.Grace says; “It’s about the condition that haunts the western world; feeling unsatisfied and anxious even though all your needs are met.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------