Atka is a Brandenburg-born, London-based, songwriter and producer who released her debut EP The Eye Against The Ashen Sky on Nov 3rd. Although Atka has been writing, producing and recording her own music for years, she has so far remained in the background of the music industry. Growing up in a tiny village in Germany, she moved to the beaches of the Gold Coast in Australia at the age of 15 and later to the snowy mountains in Squamish, Canada, until she found a home in London. Initially pursuing a career in sustainability research and politics, Atka quickly became disillusioned by the bureaucracy of the political system and instead considered going into filmmaking. A few self-directed short films, runner- and costume assistant jobs later, she however returned to music as a journalist for Rolling Stone, Groove and Musikexpress and others. With her own sound however, she has only been tinkering in private – whether on her walks through St. James Park to procrastinate writing her master’s thesis, on the tube on the way to Soho or in her improvised home studio in East London. A versatile musician who cites Joy Division and Kraftwerk as her most formative influences, she wrote her first song at the age of ten and later gained the attention of big names in the music scene for her poetic lyrics and unique flair for music production and composition. The artist, whose real name is Sarah Neumann, wrote her debut EP The Eye Against The Ashen Sky last year in London parallel to completing her master’s degree in philosophy, in which she intensively studied the French philosopher’s, Jean-Paul Sartre’s, theory of the gaze.

Based out of Glasgow, although largely not originally from there, Dancer is the latest project from musicians who perform in the likes of Robert Sotelo, Current Affairs, Order Of The Toad and Nightshift: Gemma Fleet (Voice/Words), Chris Taylor (Guitar/Keytar), Andrew Doig (Bass) and Gavin Murdoch (Drums). The band recorded the tracks that would become their self-titled debut mini-album, released via GoldMold in February 2023 in Green Door studio last winter. Dancer’s second EP of the year was out in October, once again via local label GoldMold on Cassette and digital download, with artwork by Scott Jason Smith. Five new songs recorded again at Green Door Studio in Glasgow, live to tape with Ronan Fay, the group has heightened some still burgeoning characteristics this time. The harsh songs are harsher, the considered warmth of slower efforts chime more melodically. This latter approach can be found most diligently on lead track ‘Love’ where the elasticity of the superb guitar arrangement weaves euphorically through a soaring love song narrative. Never has the attempt to marry a Life Without Buildings influence with the band’s own natural persona felt so worthwhile.

Red Pants are the duo Jason Lambeth and Elsa Nekola from Madison, Wisconsin. The two have been making music together for the last five years, with Elsa mostly on drums and Jason on mostly everything else. After a couple of singles and three Ep in 2018, the duo released the first album, Distortion And Snow, on Painted Blonde, in 2019, and, three years later, a second album, When We Were Dancing, on the same label in collaboration with the superb Paisley Shirt Records. Their latest album, Not Quite There Yet, out now via Meritorio Records, was recorded by Jason & Elsa at The Foundry & The Green Monster, from February 2022 to July 2023, and masted by Álvaro Lissón. Nearly all of the songs on the new album are sung by Jason, but Elsa branches out to singing lead vocals and adds other instrumentation with Jason’s noise pop arrangements. For fans of 90’s Yo La Tengo or Sonic Youth, early Blonde Redhead, with brushes of Trish Keenan melodies.