Sean Armstrong is a singer/recorder/player who fits into the barking grooves in the floorboards; sits on the ground, surrounded by a web of cables, and dreams that it is swept away. Armstrong recorded his first song (the song was about squirrels) at 5 years old, and could never lose a fascination with the magic of music. Sean lives in Berlin with long term musical collaborator Rachel Taylor aka Rocky Lorelei. Together they started Rehberge Records, a small tape label named after their favourite park, and play as Slipper. Armstrong’s first solo record on Rehberge, The Technical Times, was out in 2022 and a new one, Velvet Ever After will be out on cassette/online on 25th of April.
Minneapolis-born, Scotland-based singer-songwriter Faith Eliott grew up in the United States before moving to Scotland aged 13. Their first and most formative creative output was poetry. It was after becoming lodged in the Edinburgh DIY music scene, singing backing vocals in various bands and performing in folk pubs, that they began to develop into a songwriter. Albeit still with a poetic flourish – stripped-back and heavily lyric-driven. Their debut solo EP Insectswas released on Song, By Toad Records in 2016, followed by the debut solo album Impossible Bodies in 2019, via Faith’s own label OK Pal Records, set-up in collaboration with fellow Edinburgh musician and friend Hailey Beavis. an ode of unrequited love from a hagfish to a giant isopod is their latestsingle, out on Lost Map records. It’s the second taste of the spellbinding music to be discovered on their forthcoming new album dryas, that is set for release on May 30, 2025.
My Raining Stars is the creature of French musician and songwriter Thierry Haliniak. In the early 90s, Thierry was in a band called Nothing To Be Done that performed with artists such as The Boo Radleys, Adorable, and Moose. Being raised by much of the music of those times, especially influenced by the legendary C86 era and bands from Creation Records and Sarah Records, Thierry has a knack of writing classic pop songs. In 2008, these songs would become My Raining Stars debut album From St Saviour To Quickwell. Twelve years later, in November 2020, the project re-emerged with a digital EP, Obvious Reasons, with featured song lyrics by his friend Gilles Ramey and, just after the EP release, Thierry formed a new side-project called Meyverlin with Gilles and Philippe Lavergne (ex-Freluquets). In October 2021, they released their debut album, Daily Events, with a ‘classic guitar indiepop sound‘, on the French indie label Too Good To Be True, then a second one in June 2023, Therefore, more 80s/90s electropop oriented, again on Too Good To Be True. Back to My Raining Stars project, Thierry recorded, with the help, on drums and bass, of the talented danish multi-instrumentalist Casper Iskov, his second My Raining Stars album, 89 Memories, which was released in 2022 via Shelflife (US) and Disco De Kirlian (Spain), soon followed by an EP, The Life We Planned. Still assisted by Casper Iskov on production, recording and mixing, he re-recorded, between October 2023 and April 2024, 10 popsongs, some old, some new, for this new album entitled Momentum, which will be released jointly on Shelflife (USA) and Too Good To Be True on April 11th, 2025. The Cost Within is the third single from the new album.
Dead Bandit, ghost punk dreams, began as a four-piece but eventually became a long-term project between two musicians, Ellis Swan and James Schimpl. They started making music together in the early ‘90s as teenagers. Now, Ellis lives in Chicago, and James in a small Canadian town in the Okanagan region. Influenced by bands like Fugazi, Slint & Bedhead, they’ve been making music for over 25 years, but it was only in 2021 that they released their first work entitled From The Basement thanks to the Italian label Quindi Records who discovered them almost by chance on SoundCloud. Their sophomore record, Memory Thirteen, was out in 2014. Being a dislocated duo, distance is a factor both in the creation and emotional aspect of their music. Up To Your Waist (that you can listen here on world premiere) is the fourth single from their third album, Dead Bandit, out on March 14th 2025, again via Quindi Records.
Dear Shelter is an acoustic duo from Aprilia. Just a few days ago, they released their first album, It’s Okay To Cry A Little, on Bandcamp, recorded in December at the VDSS Studio of Filippo Passamonti in Ceprano. The album features nine of the many songs sketched out over the past year and a half, recorded with a minimalist approach, open to the acceptance of unexpected moments and imperfections dictated by a live recording. The band was formed after years of musical inactivity for both members. Marco (vocals and guitar) previously sang in Oktopus Provance, a stoner band characterized by a strong jazz-influenced drumming style; Tiziano (guitar) has played in various indie formations, typically leaning towards powerpop. The idea to play together came from their shared passion for American folk music from the ’60s and its subsequent reinterpretations. Rather than being preceded by singles, the album will be available online, accompanied by a full-length music video that runs for the entire duration of the tracklist. The video will be avialable from Friday, Febraury 7th, but you can wach it here on exclusive premiere!
