Champ Major – Abbeville

Recording in her Brooklyn apartment, Madison Major writes and releases hauntingly intimate songs under the name Champ Major (the name her father had preferred for her at birth). Despite living and studying in New York, Major originally hails from Savannah, and something of the Georgian landscape worms its way into her sound—the tactile nature of the dewy air and black mud of the marshes recreated in the foggy lo-fi aesthetic.

The lead single from debut EP, Recipe For Baking Two Humans Together, ‘Abbeville’ makes this clear. A song carved out of the past, the track is a collision of childhood curiosity and anxiety, the outside world pushing into the recording even as Major’s vocals rise in feeling. The result is more of a question than an answer, but a fond one at that.

Jordan Klassen – Virtuous Circle

The prolific Vancouver songwriter Jordan Klassen first came to our attention with the 2012 Kindness EP, though has been releasing music longer than that. After a number of albums and EPs since, Klassen is preparing to release a brand new full-length later this year, and has unveiled the single ‘Virtuous Circle’ by way of introduction.

Threaded by a taut sense of forward motion, the song is a rich collision of folk and rock that utilises electronic and orchestral flourishes to fully realise its spirit. Thematically, the track is a form of prayer, a hopeful wish for change and transformation in the face of a seemingly inescapable situation. With the deft touch and light energy, the track makes such a desire seem possible, as though a vicious circle could be made virtuous with enough will and determination.

Hostxess – Time

There’s a magnetism as the heart of the music of Hostxess, some compelling force around which the dreamy instrumentation swirls. Composing, recording and mixing everything themselves, the Tuscon-based artist conjures thickly atmospheric tracks that possess a near-tangible weight, holding your hand through the misty soundscapes, drawing you toward the bright centre point.

New single ‘time’ is the form idealised, the translucent sound down-tempo to the point of stasis, the vocals close and conversational yet somehow distant too, as though the echoes of communication now passed, or else words spoken only in one’s head. The track might not culminate in a joyous crescendo, the centre might never be reached, but when the process of searching is a wondrous as this, then perhaps the journey is all that matters.

oh my darling
I want to take my

skin to skin
even these bodies
feel thick
and there’s really
no space
between us

omes – wyd

Taking inspiration from the DIY aesthetic that stretches right back to early Death Cab and Built To Spill, Omar De Col began recording lo-fi bedroom pop songs under the moniker omes. After winning a sizeable fan base through a trickle of Soundcloud singles, and appearing on the spring Z Tapes compilation, omes is now set to release a debut EP, boy, with Devil Town Records.

Lead single ‘wyd’ gives an idea of what to expect from the tape. Wrapped in a gauzy melancholy and delivered with a disarming sincerity, the track is a stellar addition to the bummed-out bedroom movement, built from layered guitars and near-whispered vocals that paint a kind of hushed loneliness.

Tied up, lost out
Found it over there
Hannah,
What are you doing?
“Nothing”

Ditty – Deathcab

An urban ecologist in the day, Goa’s Aditi Veena records under the moniker Ditty by night, crafting a delicate brand of folk that she describes as ‘earthsongs’. After debut EP Mumblings was released back in 2014, Ditty is now releasing her debut full-length album, Poetry Ceylon, via Pagal Haina Records, and the new singles display the consolidation and growth of her sound.

Inspired by ‘Transatlanticism’, ‘Deathcab’ is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with the Ditty sound. Taking the tenderness of Death Cab’s song and applying it to her own relationship, the track sees Ditty craft a subtle and snaking sense of emotion that brings to mind the languid tones of Sun June. The effect is a kind of inevitability, love painted as an organic thing, just another process of the earth’s natural rhythms.

Poetry Ceylon is out now via Pagal Haina Records.

Pancho and the Wizards – Rot

San Luis Obispo rockers Pancho and the Wizards peddle a psych-inflected brand of punk that grabs you by the ear and drags you through the other end, the breathless style only interrupted for sluggish, heavy breakdowns that club you over the head. Released earlier this spring, their latest EP Cemetery sees the formula perfected, born of a tension between the urge to race and stomp and a cocksure embrace of the resulting unpredictability.

Despite being the closing track, single ‘Rot’ is as good a place to start as any, strung along by a creeping baseline that seems to propel the rest of the instrumentation and Tristan Wildey’s fluidly conversational cadence. As such, there’s an unavoidable pull at the centre of the track that extends right to the fatalism of the lyrics, leaving you with no option but to buckle up and hold on tight.

I feel it all the time, I think I’m finally dead inside
I know, it’s starting to show
I regret everything, my visions shot and ears ring all the time
I’m on my way out

Oliver Ray – Ol’ Coyote

Having played guitar for Patti Smith since 1995, Oliver Ray has long been a man immersed in music. However, it is not until now that Ray has released music of his own, with debut record Out Passed Nowhere out via Royal Oakie on the 7th June. Not that Ray is letting his musical history go to waste, enlisting members of bands like Giant Sand, The Myrrors, Sugar Candy Mountain, Xixa and China to help craft his detailed sound, not to mention Howe Gelb and even the “high priestess and poet laureate of punk” herself.

Single ‘Ol’ Coyote’ gives a glimpse into one facet of such a collaboration. Unfurling slowly with exploratory guitar, the song is something of desert vision quest viewed through the prism of classic folk, the psychedelic hints nodding toward the more dedicated forays into the genre elsewhere on the album. With its swelling warmth and patient build, ‘Ol’ Coyote’ is a good example of a musician at the height of his ability, crafting something vast and striking from the array of experiences and influences at his disposal.

Plastic Cactus – Mystery Boy

Fronted by Brooke Metropulos and Michaela Gradstein, Portland’s Plastic Cactus make surf-rock for cowboys and desert creatures, their tropical summer vibes counter-shaded with something altogether more sunbaked and strange. After two self-released EPs in 2017 and 2018 respectively, the band are working on a brand new collection of songs to be released into the world later this year.

For now, ‘Mystery Boy’ is the only glimpse that we have of the new material, but the song provides more than enough evidence to suggest that Plastic Cactus are perfecting their sound. Starting up with a tropical sixties shimmer, the track lulls the listener into a false sense of ease before gradually twisting the dial, psych tinges heralding something eerie at the heart of the sound. After a series of slow rises, the track eventually culminates into a frantic race, making good on its promise to subvert the lazy, languorous tone.

My Father’s Son – Dust to Rust

Led by Montreal’s Mark Kulmala, My Father’s Son are an indie folk outfit who released their debut record, Heart of Wood, back in 2016. Combining the melancholic tones of the folk genre and the toe-tapping energy of country, Kulmala and co. created songs both stirring and introspective, joining the likes of Noah Gundersen and Jason Isbell in their ability to find light amid darkness and pain.

Ahead of forthcoming album The Greatest Thaw, the band are releasing a number of singles to whet our appetites. The latest, ‘Dust to Rust’, is described as both a love song and a ‘diss’ track centring on the experience of touring. Rather than being a traditional love song, the pining here is for Kulmala’s apartment during the long weeks on the road, the attack directed toward his rusty ‘02 Honda Civic. “Touring is the epitome of bitter-sweet,” Kulmala explains. “Leaving loved ones and the comfort of home behind as you drive away for weeks at a time always comes with moments of panic. The day before I leave is always the worst.”

The Greatest Thaw will be released this month, so keep an eye on My Father’s Son’s Bandcamp page.

Enjoyed Vol. 25? There’s more where that came from over on the Bright Sparks tag. If you fancy something a little more in-depth than head on over to our Reviews page.

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The album is one of collaboration between yourself and many others from around the globe. How exactly does this process work? Did you have a plethora of material which you shaped into the record that was released, or did everyone do something specific that was initially planned?

So far the way it has worked is that Eric and I begin a song, chords and words etc. Then as tracks come back from people the song starts to evolve, which kind of indicates how we eventually arrange and re-arrange the tracks. It is a process, sometimes times a song takes an unexpected turn as we receive tracks back from people. Often there is a stand out part that we get that we need to accentuate or use for a transition or something. Every time we get tracks from people it is kind of like opening a Christmas present.

I’m not sure where you are in Kenya and what the situation is like with regards to living conditions etc. but do you find it difficult to carry on the musical projects in an environment so different from what we are used to? I spent a few weeks in some remote areas of Kenya and found the complicated stuff receded and I essentially looked forward to eating simple meals and sleeping (in a sweaty tent). Was it a struggle to remain creative in such a different environment? 

I lived in a very simple house and had a very bare bones studio set up. Mic. Laptop. Headphones Acoustic Guitar. Voice. But really at the core of any song or recording are these things whether in remote Kenya, or Wisconsin or Armenia or wherever I make recordings are these same ingredients. As I write, I’m in Laos in a hotel room, and as I’ve been traveling I’ve been trying to write and record a future stripped down record that will just be me in these environments and I think each new environment adds something to the sound, or the vibe to the recording and soul of the song.

The answer to this may be similar to what you have just said but did being in Kenya shape the record into something it would otherwise have never been? I guess what I’m asking here is if you make music because of your location/situation/life or in spite of it, is it intended as a picture of your experiences or an escape from them?

I think for me what I tend to write about is a reflection of my experiences, at least lyrically. I get inspired musically often from travel, but since we collaborate with so many folks I think their contributions add their own feel to the songs making them a bit more universal sounding.

Are there any specific tales from your travels that inspired a certain song?

The song Psycho is about a feud I had with a pastor from a church that was next to my compound in Kenya. The Pastor had a huge PA set up that he would blast the Beauty and Beast soundtrack or instrumentals from the movie Top Gun for the entire village to hear at 5 AM every Sunday. Very odd, funny at first, but it slowly drove me insane after enduring months and months of this. Everyone in the neighborhood felt powerless to confront this guy, or they had just accepted this. On three occasions I walked over to the church in my pajamas to find this guy sitting in the dark alone blasting this maddening music that shook the walls of my cottage. We’d have words, but he never turned the music down or start later in the morning. On the final time I went over to confront this man I found myself in my pajamas in a shouting match with a priest in Swahili as the sun is just rising. After the fight I took my stereo from my house outside and played Led Zepplin’s ‘House of the Holy’ as loud as it could go. Upon greater reflection I wondered who was likely perceived to be crazier, me or this priest. The song is about how we all act like Psychos to other people we’re in a fight with or something, but it was inspired by this.

Which bands would you cite as major influences?

I don’t think I can listen to any band and not get inspired about something they are doing. Even bands I hate, I can listen and find something I like or find inspiring.

Do other mediums play a role in your musical writing? Are there any writers, artists etc. that you feel make up some of Eric & Magill’s sound?

On the last record there was actually a bit of homage to Jean Luc Goddard who is one of my favorite directors / writers. I think possibly some cinema verte ideas might have entered into my music. Sometimes I like leaving in microphone bumps or talking between takes, things like that, but more generally I somehow relate to some of the attitude and mood to his movies. This is just one that comes to mind though from our Night Singers.

Finally, could you name 4-5 artists that you are into right now? Old or new, tiny or HUGE, anything you find yourself listening to repeatedly.

Honestly I peruse soundcloud or bandcamp or lastfm or whatever a lot looking for new music and possible new people to collaborate with, but there is so much it’s hard to think of a few. I just got a ton of music from Bollywood movies from 1960s-1970s while I was in India. I’ve been digesting this a bit lately and just really enjoying it.

Jon: Thanks again to Ryan Weber for taking the time to talk to us. If you haven’t already you can get Night Singers on Bandcamp. The illustrations are by Toby Leibowitz. and the photography by Joe Wigdahl.

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