lyssna.
It’s been over a year of waiting. Last January, Cascine gave us our first glimpse of Swedish dream pop trio World Tour with their single Sparks. I was dying for more. I scoured the interwebs. I unearthed some old relics—from the time before WT—when they were a duo called I Always Wanted A Pony (I just checked their old soundcloud page and they’ve recently upload two dance-oriented tracks under their old name). World Tour came back in October with a beautiful Karl X Johan cover.
Winter came quickly. World Tour waited. Indulged by demos, I thought I knew what was coming. They mixed. They mastered. Now they’re set to deliver a four-track set of songs. World Tour’s Believe EP is out April 10th on Cascine— the stork of all sonic goodness. Each track an expansive dreamscape, the EP brims with memories of luscious summer wanderings watching the sun slip back, beyond the hills. This EP belongs in the woods on clear night where stars shine on, trickling down. Supple melodies and hushed romances are sprinkled throughout, their texts faded by the sun— yellow pages curled and crinkled. Listen to Believe.
A new gem finds its way. From a far off place, fugacious producer Celista returns. Shrouded in a veil of loosely defined escapism, the mysterious project cannot be pinned to a map. In the fall, Celista released its debut EP. Now, as winter turns spring, Celista resurfaces bringing a new downtempo dream, ‘Brooklyn,’ to my inbox, to my ears. Following songs like ‘Endless Day’ and ‘Warm Autumn,’ it’s the first single off Celista’s upcoming full length which is planned to drop later this year.
“last night, new sound, early morning, new sounds awake.
absent, distant. coming home, i see it over the light.”
Austin-based producer Galapagos (aka teenage phenom Jacob McNaughton) has dropped yet another fantastic track full of intricately stacked samples and fluttering beats. ‘Take Me (Gold Cluster)’ is just a taste of what’s to come from the Phoenix native. Galapagos has a collaborative EP lined up with Australian artist Guerre— it’ll be out May 8th on the always awesome Absent Fever. For now, check out his latest cut below.
take me away.
Philadelphia-based smooth-fi enthusiasts Work Drugs are back with their latest jam, the first single off their upcoming LP. A dreamy drive through an endless labyrinth of city streets, ‘License To Drive’ burns the midnight candle, high beams burning through the night ahead.
Here’s some Valentine’s Day lovin’ to the tune of Jack Colleran’s, aka MMOTHS, “HEART feat KSIA” off his debut EP which drops March 5th on SQE. A misty dusk. A summer night. Flickering fire-soaked faces.
Jeremy Malvin (aka Chrome Sparks) recently released a cover of fellow University of Michigan student Macklin Underdown’s tune ‘Hysteria,’ off his October debut under the moniker fthrsn. Chrome Sparks’ rendition comes by way of PORTALS’ February mixtape, the second installment of the spankin’ new superblog’s monthly mixtape series. Download the whole mix right here.
Chrome Sparks - Hysteria (fthrsn cover)
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Over the past few years, Vancouver’s Teen Daze has released a host of EPs, but it’s all cumulated in the release of his debut full length All Of Us, Together, which drops May 22nd on Lefse. The new album has a more electronic, futuristic feel than his recent releases A Silent Planet and, under his other moniker Two Bicycles, Window. He explained the source of the album’s utopian inspiration to The Fader— “I came upon an old book at a thrift store called Utopian Visions, an encyclopedic volume of different views on what utopia might look like, which became a huge inspiration. Especially when considering the future of our world as it actually unfolds. We’re becoming more and more self-reliant, more and more separated from our communities. I wanted to make a record that sounded more synthetic but also inviting—this is futuristic music with a heart.” Check out the first single off the new album, an energetic yet dreamy track accompanied by the always lovely vocals of Steffaloo (Steph Thompson).
Algodón Egipcio (aka Ezequiel ”Cheky” Bertho— one half of Venezuelan duo Jóvenes y Sexys) released his debut album La Lucha Constante last year on Lefse. After a year of touring around Venezuela, Portugal and Spain (he’s trying to get a US visa), Cheky’s back with a new single off a limited run split 7” with Spanish band El Faro from the Canary Islands, it’s out now on Club Social. Stream Algodón Egipcio’s pair of dreamy jams off the single below.
In 2009 South Carolina’s Chaz Bundick released his first three EPs under the name Toro Y Moi. Now, three years later, Chaz is set to release an archival 7” box set entitled “June 2009.” It’ll be out April 24th on Carpark and will include ten previously unreleased Toro Y Moi gems. Check out a cut off the release, a song from 2009, “Dead Pontoon.”
Toro Y Moi - Dead Pontoon
Today, Canadian duo Memoryhouse gave us a second peek at their forthcoming album The Slideshow Effect. Following up last month’s single ‘The Kids Were Wrong,’ ‘Walk With Me’ recedes back towards the dream-inducing, reverb-laced Memoryhouse of old. However, quickly joined by some drums, the tune has a constant pulse— a beating heart that picks up half-way through. The Slideshow Effect is out February 28th on Sub Pop.
Memoryhouse - Walk With Me
‘it started when we were younger’
18-year-old Irish producer MMOTHS (Jack Colleran) released a reworked version of his single ‘Keep Shelly In Athens. Although the song is basically the same as the original, KSIA add some heartwarming vocals to the dreamy track. Check out the video for the instrumental version of the song, a beautiful re-scoring of Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 film Zabriskie Point. Listen to MMOTHS & KSIA’s creation below.