(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 82: The Orchids

The Orchids

Acclaimed Glasgow band The Orchids made sophisticated pop music right back in the early 1990s for cult independent label Sarah Records. Formed in 1987, the five-piece recorded a string of singles as well as three excellent albums, Lyceum (1989),  Unholy Soul (1991) and Striving For the Lazy Perfection (1994). Their songs were as emotionally pure as anything else on that label, but they were always a step ahead of their peers in terms of song arrangements and musical ambition. With a casual, unpretentious air they made writing perfect pop songs seem easy, almost accidental, and several great releases followed. The Orchids gained a passionate following.
From Glasgow, and proudly Scottish, the band shares a musical lineage with other great groups from that city, from Aztec Camera to Orange Juice, Lloyd Cole to Teenage Fanclub. All bands that specialize in song-writing that can tell big stories through small fragments, that can make the ordinary extraordinary. The band split in 1995 at the height of their powers. Most of their records were produced by Ian Carmichael of One Dove. They reformed in 2004, and have since released three more albums: Good to be a Stranger (2007), The Lost Star (2010), Beatitude#9 (2014).
Produced once again by Ian Carmichael, who has helped the band create a perfectly-crafted masterpiece, Dreaming Kind is their new album, eight years after their previous one, and it’s out now on Skep Wax Records, the label run by Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher.

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(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 81: Bubble Tea And Cigarettes

Bubble Tea And Cigarettes

Bubble Tea And Cigarettes was founded in New York City where the two members Andi and Kat met. Starting in 2019, the project took shape in the couple’s bedroom where they record and produce their songs. Their dreamy ballads take the audience on an emotional journey with mellow and evocative melodies, breathy vocal and hazy ambiance full of reverb,  – everything you need in a good dream pop song is here. Since then, they have released five songs digitally, and on September 2nd their debut album, There’s Nothing But Pleasure, will be out on Elefant Records. This release includes those five singles and three marvelous previously unreleased tracks. The album delves deeper into the preciousness that can be found in silence, of the magic of slow tempos, that seem to beat at the same pace as our heart. Where Andi and Kat’s voices, the reverb, the delays, the crystalline guitars all create a false sense of fragility, that everything could break at any given moment, of containment, and of course, of emotion. The songs also benefit from the great mixing work of Anthony “Rocky” Gallo(Norah Jones,Cat Power, The XX, Cigarettes After Sex, The Killers, The Clientele…) and the mastering of Greg Calbi (Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, David Bowie, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire, St. Vincent, Perfume Genius, Blondie, Aretha Franklin).

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(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 80: Breathless

Breathless

Breathless are an English band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton (vocals, keyboards), Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released eight magnificent studio albums, and many singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.
Appleton is also known for his vocal contributions in 4AD supergroup This Mortal Coil, appearing on three tracks on their 1986 album Filigree & Shadow, and one track on their 1991 album Blood.
The band, since the beginning, reached a cult following and, without changing his line-up (Latimer Sayer was replaced by Martin Watts in 1987), has produced a musical blend that is very difficult to categorize. A continuous dialogue between rock and psychedelia, dream pop and experimentation. An astonishing musical coherence that has led the formation to the present day. Their new album See The Colours Fly, mixed by Kramer, was out on August 5th on Tenor Vossa Records.

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(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 79: Mark Rolfe

Mark Rolfe

Mark Rolfe is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist from Nottingham. Playing in the bands Lorna and The Slow Return he is inspired by everything from The Aphex Twin to Elgar and Sonic Youth to Arvo Part. He loves animals and being by the sea.
Lorna formed in the late 1990’s and release music on the US-based label Words On Music. They have been compared to the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Stereolab, Yo La Tengo and The Velvet Underground. Lorna have released six full length albums and several singles.
Mark Rolfe started his solo career in 2014 and made seven (very diverse in style and production) records so far. Every Setting Sun is his latest record, recorded with a little help form his Lorna friends, and will be out on August 5th.

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(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 78: Wilder Maker

Wilder Maker (©Ebru Yildiz)

Wilder Maker is a Brooklyn band which features a dynamic roster of musicians, including singer-songwriter Gabriel Birnbaum, accompanied by Nick Jost and Sean Mullins. Band members play regularly with Debo Band, Mutual Benefit, Baroness, Kevin Garrett, Johanna Samuels, and Hannah Cohen. 
After a series of self-releases and home recordings, Wilder Maker came to national attention via their Saddle Creek 7” New Streets in 2017 and subsequently released their label debut Zion with Northern Spy Records in 2018. Their new album is Male Models and it will be out July 29th via Western Vinyl. Male Models is a crystallization of the more sprawling style of the 2018 LP, knocking the corners off the more extended songs and packing them into bite size forms that revolve heavily around the live studio performance and kinetic energy of the core trio, who have been making music together for nearly a decade.
Male Models features guest lead vocalists: Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), Katie Von Schleicher, Felicia Douglass (Dirty Projectors, Ava Luna), Alex Schaaf (Yellow Ostrich), V.V. Lightbody, and Mutual Benefit.

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