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.

At the beginning of the year Russian dream-poppers Galway released a couple of demos that left me yearning for more. They’ve spent the past few months recording their first album and developing a collective of like-minded musicians in Moscow. With a frustratingly small community of musicians the city, they say it’s hard to be distant from other artists (they’re tight with my first Russian dream-pop obsession White Wishes). Now, just as winter’s shadow begins to drape over the early afternoon, I’m ready to sit down settle down and get cosy with something new from my favorite Russians. Last night they sent over their their debut album entitled Mria. The twelve-track release includes crisp re-recording of their earlier jams as well as a host of new gorgeously spaced-out tunes. Infectious guitar riffs, atmospheric sonar pings, invigorated drums and lofty vocals drift through out Mria. Pay what you’d like for Mria over at Galway’s bandcamp.

Galway - Justine

Galway - Sunrise 1991