Author: Ellis Walker

The Citradels – Dead Time

If you’re into underground rock and roll music, well then it’s just a matter of time before you stumble upon The Citradels, a psychedelic folk outfit from the faraway yet all too familiar metropolis of Melbourne, Australia.

This is the sort of vibration that sounds as if it was made in an underground cavern, lit only by candlelight, furnished with an old organ, and attended solely by skeletons strewn about the rugged theater of stalagmites and stalactites, listening intently with hollow eyes and dead ears, with nothing but time on their hands.

No matter how hard one might try to pretend, something deep down inside feels as if something went wrong, long ago. What? Well, nobody can quite remember, but at least we will always know that “it’s not meant to be this way”.

And as the last note drifted through the cavernous room, a drip of sunshine dropped from his forehead, and fell forever into the luminous mist of the abyss and into the great fractal ocean of the machine world.

Now take a dive into the colorful world of The Citradels on Spotify, and be sure to give the outfit a follow.

Blume – In Heaven

If one must encapsulate the sonic texture of the underground movement, then one would be hard pressed to find a finer representation of the sound other than Blume, a band flirting with the psychedelic outskirts of the heart of the cryptic movement of dread.

The organ and wavy underlying sound-waves of nostalgic synthesizers takes one on a funkadelic trip through the contemporary chronicles of a project that has indeed been in the presence of Jesus Christ and bathed in his radical glory of holiness.

What seems a fading memory to most, is an antiquated nightmare for others. Indeed, if rest is not in store for the wicked, then who must sleep? The righteous? The meek? When will satisfaction find those who seek it? Will we ever be redeemed and released from this purgatory of suffering? When will we find peace?

These are the manic ramblings of the unforgiven, the lost, the damned, and the fearful. But fear not, for we have the comforting beauty of Blume. Now, check out Blume on Spotify, and give the radical project a follow before you forget again. After all, you are apart of a species inflicted with episodes of amnesia.

Perlin Noise – Glimpse of a World

The brand new single “Glimpse Of A World” is a modern throwback to sixties power-pop encroaching upon the outer-edge of psychedelia. It is the first Perlin Noise recording to feature the full live band of Bret Black, Tom Lessig, Nate Getchell, and Matt Werner.

The track has a unique buildup and combines the nostalgic aura of classic rock infused with a blend of analog and digital sound.

Although the project is not an obscene departure into the underground sound, it bleeds it still, along with a bit of the grunge and a dash of rockabilly grooviness. And at times, acts as the comedic jester of the court.

Listen to Perlin Noise on Spotify and be sure to give the project a follow.

Sawel Underground – Hundred-Sunned Dream Sister I

Sawel Underground is composed of Tristan Hale, Matthew Jones, Stan Taylor, and Ashleigh Moore, all hailing from the Staffordshire Moorlands.

The members of Sawel Underground could be described as rugged, or even “derelict” (in their own tongue) but nonetheless they’re a colorful project with a sense of nostalgic haze, much like the music from the sixties and beyond.

Unfortunately, the lockdowns of 2020 ended their manic spree of live gigs, but allowed them the opportunity to refine their sound within the confines of the studio. In a way, some could say that the involuntary isolation was a blessing in disguise.

Sawel Underground’s debut single ‘Hundred-Sunned Dream Sister I’ delves more into their psychedelic-folk sound featuring a range of antiquated instruments as well as a modified guitar that produces a sitar-like vibration.

It’s a wonderfully delightful exploration into the sound of psychedelia and a must listen as we throttle through the space and time of a new age bleeding with the nostalgic essence of yesterday.

Feel out Sawel Underground on Spotify and be sure to give the band a follow. The outfit also has a radical rendition of “Wild Thing” that is well worth a listen.

SumVivus – Don’t Give Up

The enigmatic track entitled “Don’t Give Up” is a vocal-drunk harmony in direct response to an artist overwhelmed by the feeling of being unsure of their sense of self-worth. It is a track written to inspire one to persevere through self-doubt and those thoughts of darkness that creeps into all of our minds in our weakest of hours.

The track emulates a cyclical ripple effect through the perceived vocal vibrations of both space and time. Vibrations that emit a picture perfect choral ensemble of harmonic dissonance. A paradigm of exquisite beauty we think you should lend your ear to and listen with all your fractal attention.

The release marks the project’s homage to the freak folk tradition of displaying innate vocal undertones while the audience stumbles upon a hushed tone grasped by the fragility of an honest voice left to bare all to those who will listen.

The track was penned to inspire fortitude amidst the psychedelic vibration filled with youthful exuberance and a ghostly aesthetic.

Check out the project on Spotify and if you dig the music, then be sure to give it a follow.

Almelda – Mind

The dreadfully cool outfit from Hull, Molly Beacock and Harry Oetegenn, proposed the idea of forming a band after they discovered their shared love for the blues, jazz music, and folk.

The pair loved Mazzy Star and Big Thief, among many others. And in due time, the duo eventually embarked upon a collaborative journey that is still unfolding to this very day. And although their thoughts came together like bread and butter, it became more and more apparent that they wanted to share their music with a wider audience, so that’s precisely the moment the band truly came to fruition, and decided to share their gift with the world at large.

Dubbing themselves Almelda seemed like the natural thing to do at the time, after all, Molly was a transient vocalist and sound songwriter, while Harry was the aloof music producer.

“Mind” was fully recorded and mixed in a home studio during the isolation period of 2020.

The project set out with the intention of creating a good old folk track, but in the pursuit of finding their own unique sound, the finished product ended up just a bit dreamier and psychedelic in nature. A beautiful ending to a never-ending love tale of ballads and broken hearts.

The lyrics wrap one up in a feeling of love and a sense of a fleeting hope. The feeling of no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you feel helplessly obliged to be thinking about that one person and doing all of the things that you used to love to do with them, before the death of illusion once again rears its ugly head and snuffs out the candle.

Check out the delectable project on Spotify and if you dig the single, then be sure to give the project a follow you filthy animal.

Aloa Input – The Other Rainbow

“The Other Rainbow”, a track from the kings of Neo-Kraut, Aloa Input, is a delightful piece of twisted psychedelia written in a vacant movie-theatre in the bustling metropolis of Mexico City.

Last year, as the project came to view the cosmos from a fresh perspective, Aloa Input focused their attention upon fixed stars: The concept album and mankind.

On the third album by the Munich Kraut-pop band, members Angela Aux, Marcus Grassl and Cico Beck compile a kaleidoscope of anti-hymns that tell of the doom and reinvention of the evolution of humankind.

A true treat for all you lovers of psychedelic folk-rock. Enjoy with your substance of choice, or clear headed if you’d like. It sounds good either way.

“The album’s making was expansive in time and space as the last 5 years saw the band work on sessions between Mexico City, Montreal and Munich…Hypnotic choirs over complex polyrhythms, singing robots on top of cinematic synth-arrangements, flutes, sparkling hits and lost scientists. Aloa Input creates a hybrid of anti-pop, audio drama and music…full of surprises and magic twists. The first single “Desert Something” is a piece of twisted psychedelica written in an empty movie-theatre in Mexico City and is a guiding light to the brand new album “Devil’s Diamond Memory Collection.”

Check out the intricately faded project on Spotify and if you dig the sound, then be sure to give Aloa Input a follow. You will not regret it my friend.

Plastic Birds – See Me

Plastic Birds are a psychedelic rock project with some lovely garage undertones that some may equate to bedroom pop music, but we like to think of the sound vibration as a subtle throwback to a golden era now dead and gone, but not completely forgotten.

A faded resonance that some feel is a tired reflection of a fragmented nightmare. But we like to remember it as a nostalgic work of folk art. A seed of an ancient breed, planted in fresh soil, and nurtured with clean water.

The vocals are nice and smooth like the bones of Richie and the gang, but deep down inside the harmonic vibrations, one can hear a fresh energy mixed with the faded emotion of a blurry past.

Check out the radical project on Spotify and if you dig the vintage sound, then be sure to give the group of petroleum-based songbirds a follow. Now go take a load off.

The Uncle Steves – Stargathering

“Stargathering” is a psychedelic garage folk jam from The Uncle Steves’ tenth album, Flora and Fauna Rule the World, an eclectic mix of cosmic desert folk art intertwined with the animistic folkloric tradition of mystical song and dance.

The project is a celestial journey through the arid Arizona desert with the likes of a harmonica, acoustic guitar, electric piano, fuzzy guitar and a bunch of other bells and whistles. A truly romantic trip through the wasteland of psychedelia.

To us, the sound is just perfect for a night drive out to Joshua Tree. Or better yet, the Sonoran desert, with a sack full of fungal delights and a dear friend of close acquaintance.

Although you may not believe us, The Uncle Steves is made up of just one individual, multi-instrumentalist Chris Picciuolo, who is the sole producer and mixologist of the project.

Flora and Fauna Rule the World is a genre-bending instrumental soundtrack for a drive through the arid desert, with subtle elements of psych, folk, indie, garage, soul, 80’s synth-pop and more obscure elements of sonic experimentalism.

The project is one of true individuation. An obelisk amidst a wasteland of plastic talking heads. A true and honest psychedelic treat.

Check out the radical project on Spotify and if you dig the sound, then be sure to give the The Uncle Steves a follow.

Pasiflorez is a psychedelic outfit (comprised of three lonely blokes) out of Byron Bay, Australia, dishing up radical jams of psychedelic significance.

Their track “Moonroof” is a sonic slow dance that drips of psychedelia reminiscent of the sixties, and takes the listener on a pleasurable ride through the neon urban jungle on a perfect night.

Anxiety and the mundane simply melt away as the vibration of Pasiflorez pierces the pineal gland and transports the listener to another place not of this land.

With “Moonroof” comes an adventure of pleasure that encroaches upon the fringe. A sonic spectacle that stimulates all facets of the body and mind. Now, keep up with the project on Spotify.

Well, 2020 is winding down, the leaves have turned, and death is in the air – so what could be better than brewing up a pot of coffee, kicking back, lighting one up, and soaking in some radical vibrations of the underground.

On deck we have three artists who are teetering on the fringe. Artists whose sonic textures range from oceanic soundscapes to lighter indie-pop moods. And although the spectrum may be eclectic, rest assured that the art you are about to receive is authentic and honest to the bone.

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Varada

Dope Lemon

This is the Deep

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And as always, all the tracks here at Santa Rosa Records are picked by hand and featured on our Spotify playlist, [fresh] lo-fi indie of the underground. The playlist features a diverse range of independent slow burners that are mellow in nature and psychedelic to a certain extent. Playlist is updated regularly, so give it a follow you filthy animal.

KALMO

With the tentacles of technology creeping into our lives in a pervasive and all encompassing manner (that we accept in the name of convenience) we are relieved that there are those who are still able to turn off the electronic bug, and submit to the mysterious art of music.

Surrender to the Now (Für Catarina) is the first track off of KALMO’s album, Incorporea.

The ambient track is infused with cosmic qualities and explores the experience of being present in the moment of the now. A thing that can only happen when the mind is at peace and in a state of static semblance.

A tremolo is sustained throughout the song and acts as a drone in order to induce the listener into a hypnotic trance, and may even sway certain individuals into surrendering to the present now in an involuntary manner.

Music is one of the only art forms that can be consumed with the eyes closed shut and mind completely lost in the vibrations of a melody. This is what makes music so transcendental. So healing. Indeed, music has the innate ability to pinpoint our deepest and most profound thoughts and reveal to us things that may be difficult to accept and integrate into our daily lives.

Keep up with Kalmo on Spotify. And be sure to give the group a follow!

LISA DARLING

Living in the present moment is an experience that sounds quite simple, but is in fact becoming an oddity in the digital age. Well, New York-based artist Lisa Darling (another artist who is able to unplug and create) brings to us an experimental gem from the depths of her intricate mind.

The project is a unique audio experience that fosters emotional healing. From infants to the elderly who are on the cusp of death, Darling’s recorded work have had a profound impact on those who sit and listen.

Darling explores a sonic vibration that is not composed of mere hooks and gimmicky melodies; but contains within it a certain ethereal quality of wonder and bliss. A hypnotic element that seems to lull the listener into a catatonic sleep and heal one from the inside.

Here is “Sedna” by Lisa Darling, a brand new single that is fresh off the press. We hope that you enjoy this as much as we did here at Santa Rosa Records.

Darling’s work features ambient, wordless vocals to aid in the process of identifying and illuminating buried trauma and grief. Grounded in hypnotic rhythms, Darling uses her music as a vessel to reach the buried emotions from within us all.

Ambient layers intertwine and envelop the listener, connecting them to pure humanity, and even seems to invite a certain freedom of emotion for all who take part.

Each vocal layer acts as another instrument, in a subtle yet sublime fashion, and ambient layers wreak of pure emotion and a human being that is not content with the cyclical reality of the physical world.

Keep up with Lisa Darling on Spotify. And be sure to give her a follow!