Florida’s Mikey Maleki (Kodak To Graph) leaves us with his latest EP, Mirror Lock, an ambient-leaning mix of measured introversion and limitless expanses. The release brims with eclectic accents (‘Easter’ features a sample that could very well have crept out of an old Satyajit Ray film). Though waxing towards upbeat at times, it usually drifts along the horizon. Mikey adds a new dimension to his music with his latest release— his own soft vocals float towards prominence, getting quite close on the tracks ‘Pleistocene’ and ‘Bermuda/Tropics.’ The latter has already decided that it, along with the soft pattering of rain, will soundtrack this foggy evening in southern Spain. Mikey’s debut full length as Kodak To Graph will be released next year. Download his Mirror Lock EP for free from the explorers of electronic pop over at Bad Panda Records.

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“The EP to me stands for a kind of leaving the wide open waters of my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, to move to the more mossy swampland of Gainesville. Mirror lock reflects the shores and the early summer skies of Pensacola.”

From an old favorite comes a new love.

Paradise-pop duo Southern Shores have returned with a new release to follow up last year’s Atlantic EP, a steadfast summer soundtrack in these parts. Halifax’s Jamie Townsend and Ben Dalton produce highly transportive perfection; their songs capture a moment that you wish would linger for hours— just when the sun meets the horizon and the cerulean sky begins to melt into an enveloping mauve. Southern Shores’ forthcoming EP New World, picks up just where their Atlantic EP left off. So sultry, so hot, each of the release’s seven tracks burn like that undying bonfire at the center of those moonlit, seaside dance parties. Aw yeah, you know the ones I’m talking about. New World arrives on Cascine October 2nd, just in time to relive your summer nights. Listen to ‘New Love,’ a single off the EP, below.

Maksim and Darya are two seventeen year olds that spend their days crafting dream pop gems in the Russian city of Novosibirsk. Their music, recorded under the name Heatherwood, is a product of their loves: 80’s scandinavian aesthetics, old analogue synths, japanese toy keyboards, and each other. Their bedrooms have echoed dreamy melodies since the beginning of 2012. The young couple’s debut EP, FYR (meaning light in Swedish), brims with the pair’s youthful candor. The four-track EP was released today through my new pop label Trade Winds. Now, the future of Heatherwood, and perhaps the pair’s relationship, lays in doubt; today, Maksim leaves to spend four years studying in Finland. However, for Maksim and Darya, this EP serves as a record of all the emotions and memories that filled their last few months together in Novosibirsk. Heatherwood’s FYR EP was born in shadowed bedrooms. A lovely, drawn-out process, the recording took months— preoccupied, their days together slowly passed and faded away.

You can go ahead and download the EP for free here.

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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.

Celista comes from the northern lands with a set of sonic expanses that climb from the darkest depths to the shimmering stars above. The project lives in a cloud of mystery—When I asked who, “♥ I have a tree, the sea, in many cases, are hidden in the gray sky and a quiet night” was the answer. My guess is that Celista is from British Columbia— but I really have no idea. All I know is that whoever embodies Celista reaches high into the sky hoping to find something for us— ‘I find the stars for you.’

Celista - Warm Autumn

Celista - Swimming Endless

Celista - Endless Day

Download Celista’s EP up in the soundclouds.

We leave our footprints on the moon.

The sound of dripping molten light from the stars on it.

Long Island’s Warm Speakers is set to drop his debut EP of breezy summer jams, Mezcal Noon, with a physical release on July 7th. For now you can stream all five sun-soaked, synth-driven tracks over at Warm Speaker’s bandcamp or soundcloud. Check ittt

Warm Speakers - Verda

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Canadian producer and emcee Emay dropped his new eight-track EP Mind Altering Dynamics earlier today. His creative approach to hip hop and immense lyrical ability are definitely on show with this one as he pushes beyond his previous releases. His remix of Blackbird Blackbird’s ‘Ups & Downs’ (off BB’s Summer Heart) really sticks out of the bunch. Not only does Emay build off of Mikey’s summery jam, but he also got LA’s Steffaloo (Steph Thompson) to record some beautiful backing vocals for the track. Download Mind Altering Dynamics for free from Emay’s website.

Emay - Ups & Downs [Blackbird Blackbird Remix] (feat. Steffaloo)

Postcard Beach is the opening track on Dion Tartaglioné’s new EP entitled Boats. Soothingly simple, this two-minute gem is relaxing, rhythmic, and inspires images of the tide flowing in and out along Dion’s Australian coastline. Full of chilled out soundscapes spawned from his bedroom, Dion Tartaglioné’s five-track release is definitely worth downloading from his bandcamp.

Dion Tartaglioné - Postcard Beach

Phoenix have released a free live EP of eight songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix titled ‘Live In Sydney’ which is available to download for free on their website. (alt)

Phoenix - Armistice (Live in Sydney)