“Dream of Bees” is the first single from Lilies on Mars’ full-length Dot to Dot, to be given worldwide release early next year on Saint Marie Records. Previous recordings by the London-based, Sardinian multi-instrumentalists Lisa Masia and Marina Cristofalo have established the duo, formed in 2009, as purveyors of  poignant, otherworldly “retro-futurist” dreampop.

“Dream of Bees” opens with a hovering organ chord that’s quickly overtaken by an instrumental preview of a chorus that always pulls the listener aloft on a softly turning but slightly dizzying carousel of sound, an image bolstered by a vertiginously calliope-like keyboard line. With the first verse commences a high, distant vocal that soars gently through the rest of the track. Nimble drum work contributed by Valentina Magaletti ensures that the proceedings never quite touch the Ground.

The first remix included with the single comes by way of San Francisco’s ethereal pop team Silver Swans, whose sparer, more synthetic approach to the song brings the vocal line to the fore and uses programmed drums to pull the track’s rhythmic emphasis inside out. A remix by Vancouver-born, New York-based cellist Julia Kent startlingly recasts “Dream of Bees” in purely instrumental terms with an exquisite string arrangement.

Lilies On Mars - Dream Of Bees

"Horseshoe" is the first single from Withered Hand's album "New Gods," and features a guest appearance from Pam Berry (Black Tambourine) on backing vocals.

Fortuna POP! (UK/Europe) and Slumberland Records (US/Canada) are proud to announce the new album by the Edinburgh based folk-rock troubadour Dan Willson who records as WITHERED HAND. “New Gods” is his stunning second album, following his critically acclaimed debut “Good News”.

Active in the world of visual art and dabbling in music for many years, Withered Hand’s Dan Willson came late to singing and songwriting at age 30, in a period of reflection between the death of a close friend and the birth of his first child. The resultant material, much of which went on to become the album “Good News,” has been praised for its depth and startling honesty.

Withered Hand has been embraced by Fife-based musical powerhouse the Fence Collective (whose sovereign King Creosote guests on the new album), seen his songs picked up on MTV and cult series Skins, and gained a legion of fans including Jarvis Cocker and Rolling Stone Magazine USA (who decreed him “Artist to Watch”).

A prolific live performer, recent Withered Hand shows have included collaborations with Pam Berry of seminal 90's US noise-pop band Black Tambourine and a rotating cast of musical friends embellishing Dan's exuberant and original songwriting alongside fragile and uplifting solo performances.

The long-awaited second album (produced by Tony Doogan – Mountain Goats/Belle & Sebastian etc - and part-funded by arts council body Creative Scotland) features guest appearances from the likes of Pam Berry, Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines and members of Belle & Sebastian and Frightened Rabbit.

The five years since “Good News” was recorded has seen Willson honing his songcraft, building his audience and gaining critical momentum. “New Gods” is a beautifully executed collection of songs from one of Scotland’s most gifted songwriters.

“Beautifully constructed lyrical frameworks ... on this banjo-tinged brand of Caledonian gospel” – **** MOJO

“the UK’s best lyricist” – King Creosote, in The Independent

“Killer melodies ... wobbly folk grooves ... tunes full of warm, woozy sing-song charm” – 'Artist to Watch', Rolling Stone

Withered Hand - Horseshoe

ticktock is the musical moniker of a human called Sebastian Zieler. He is foreign (Danish, specifically), in his mid-twenties and currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. His new release, cryptically entitled TCOLT EP, is the product of long sessions spent drawing sound with MS Paint-looking audio-imaging software, live recording and technical playfulness. The result is immediate, but otherworldly – like pop conceived of elsewhere. 

Years of eager listening, from the most obscure DIY-punk and techno to Destiny's Child (check out the string arpeggios in the EP closer Would You Look At God Go! and tell us that isn't related to Survivor), and failing to mimic various genres has helped form the sonic smorgasbord that is this EP. Take the opening track, A- A- A-. What started off as a botched attempt at making two-step immediately morphed into some sort of very slow, fragmented and morose afro-beat, with the syncopated beat and languid bassline serving as a skeleton for an intensely direct and beautiful song, far from the dark, skittish ambience of its original point of reference. 

The influences are many and varied, but no matter the technical approach, and no matter what genres and specific artists may be referenced sonically, the red thread in ticktock's music is an interest in the world: a profoundly enamoured and confused longing that permeates the EP from start to finish.

The first single, the aforementioned A- A- A-, is accompanied by a minimal film-snapshot capturing the mood of the song. It was made by friends Raúl Gonzo and Stephanie Leigh. Keywords: nudity, horses, guns and a California sunset.

Sebastian Zieler was born in Denmark, spent his teens in the north of England, where he quickly learnt how to run fast chased by large, angry groups of people. Since then he's moved back and forth between Copenhagen and London much too often, recently having wrapped up a popular music degree at Goldsmiths in New Cross. He is currently putting the finishing touches to another collection of songs. 

ticktock - Time For A New School Of Alchemy

welcome to imaginary friends. this ep aims to show more of our softer side, as always, enjoy <3

dancing on the moon

New single from Talk to Me so I Can Fall Asleep, the debut LP from Seattle electronic duo Crater, due out on February 26, 2016 on Help Yourself Records.

Pre-order Talk to Me so I Can Fall Asleep: 
Help Yourself (vinyl): www.shophelpyourselfrecords.com
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/talk-to-me-so-i-can-fall-asleep/id1055515824

Follow Crater on
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/crater
Facebook: www.facebook.com/craterbabes
Twitter: www.twitter.com/craterbabes
Instagram: @craterbabes

Follow Help Yourself Records on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/helpyourselfrecords
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HYRecords
Soundcloud: @helpyourselfrecords

Crater - Summer Skin

http://shelflife.com/catalogue/LIFE136.html

It's been nearly two years since Shelflife has had the pleasure of putting out new music from the eternal Close Lobsters, and we're proud to say that this will be changing shortly. On June 2, we are extremely excited to be releasing the Scottish band's new EP featuring "Under London Skies" b/w "Wander Epic Part II" on limited gold 7" vinyl with download and digital formats. 

These self-proclaimed "Post-Neo-Anti-Close Lobsters" are back in a big way, and with these two tracks you'll be quickly convinced of that. The A-side, "Under London Skies," serves as both a lament and ode for London- the radical London of The Clash, the Rock London of The Only Ones and Flesh for Lulu, and the Libertarian London of The Mob and the June Brides. There's a lot of history (both musical and otherwise) tied closely with London, and if any band is gonna do justice to that fact it's undoubtedly our trusted Close Lobsters. If that sounds like a big subject to tackle, the single's B-side "Wander Epic Part II" will make you think again. Calling the song an epic is no exaggeration; the band has described it as a yearning for the vast and endless sea. The song is both a wanderlust and a pilgrimage, designed to take the listener on a journey as huge as the subject matter they're tackling. 

The release will be available on 70 gram limited edition 7" vinyl with download coupon that includes bonus tracks "Wander Epic Parts I & II" and "Wander Epic Part III". Early presale copies will be available on gold colored vinyl. There will also be a digital-only version that includes an exclusive bonus mix of "Under London Skies."

Close Lobsters - Under London Skies

Could She Still Draw Back? is from Kiran Leonard's new album 'Derevaun Seraun' out on Moshi Moshi Records on 15th September: http://shop.moshimoshimusic.com/DerevaunSeraun

Kiran Leonard - Could She Still Draw Back?

Lost Map are excited to welcome latest signings Bas Jan, the London experimental post-punk trio built around the remarkable and distinctive voice and songs of multi-instrumentalist and composer Serafina Steer. A brilliant, bonkers, shape-shifting song about the weird tedium of a text message spat (“Drop it? Why don’t you drop it!”), Argument – available to stream and share now – is the first single to be revealed from Bas Jan’s forthcoming debut album Yes I Jan, due early 2018. The track was produced by Leo Abrahams. Serafina is one of the latest winners of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Awards for Artists.

Bas Jan - 'Argument'

Buy on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/BJMHoldThatThoughtAp
Pre-save on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/BJMHoldThatThoughtSP

This is the new single which announces the band's forthcoming two albums to be released this year. The first track is "Hold That Thought" which comes from the album "Something Else" which is to be released on 1st June 2018. The second track is "Drained" which will come from the self titled album that will be released in September of 2018. Both tracks were recorded in Berlin & the band are announcing tours of the USA, Canada, Australasia & Europe throughout the year.

Hold That Thought

Peel Dream Magazine is the musical vehicle for NYC's Joe Stevens, who launched the band in 2018 with the critically acclaimed album "Modern Meta Physic." With it Stevens created a mysterious, liminal tribute to the hazy end of ‘90s dream-pop – a masterful mix of first-class songwriting precision and train-window sonic impressionism that duly found its place on numerous "Best of 2018" lists.

After 18 months of writing and live shows with a shifting cast of band members, Peel Dream are back with "Agitprop Alterna," an album that pushes the group's dreamy, motorik-heavy sound to a deeply melodic and beautifully discordant place. The album pays homage to a strain of mod-ish U.K. pop that spans early My Bloody Valentine and Talulah Gosh, up through early Stereolab, Belle & Sebastian, and even Broadcast. It's also indebted to stateside pop bands that were cut from a similar cloth -- Rocketship, Lilys, Yo La Tengo, and even "Nevermind"-era Nirvana.

Where the creation of "Modern Meta Physic" was a solitary pursuit, "Agitprop Alterna" found Stevens channeling the collaborative spirit of the band's ever-rotating live incarnation in the studio. The album is ultimately defined by the tension of difference: between itself and its predecessor; intertwined male-female vocals; the music's languid dreaminess and concrete sonic immediacy.

Deeply rooted in the Brechtian ideas of art as a tool to spur action, "Agitprop Alterna" deepens the connection between the existential and the interpretive first explored on "Modern Meta Physic," giving the listener space to find their own meaning in shimmering guitars, fuzzed-out synths, and buzzing organ drones. It is a rejection of manipulation in all its forms and a buzzsaw against complacency – soft-focus pop whose clear-cut message is that you get to decide the message. It's a rare trick to agitate without being obvious: perhaps that makes "Agitprop Alterna" the most Peel Dream Magazine-like statement yet.

Agitprop Alterna

Agitprop Altern

Peel Dream Magazine - Emotional Devotion Creator

Caged Sleep is taken from the forthcoming album "Consummation" out 22nd May 2020. Pre-order here: https://smarturl.it/kvsconsummation

Katie Von Schleicher - Caged Sleep

ISLE OF EIGG. MUSIC, MUSIC, PARTY TIMES, MUSIC, PARTY.

Amy May Ellis, BAS JAN, Alabaster dePlume, Firestations, Josie Long, Tuff Love, Insect Heroes, Rozi Plain, Kid Canaveral, Seamus Fogarty, Randolph’s Leap, eagleowl, Monoganon, Victoria Hume, Ichi & Pictish Trail.