{"title":"Mailing list","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"nightbus-passenger","title":"Nightbus - Passenger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eColour LP \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-Repress on Transparent blue vinyl\u003cbr\u003e-Download code\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD Edition\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-Digipack CD\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yqwD2sbbGjU?si=ProMWd571tYIK5qA\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFlickering in ultraviolet, there is an elusive place where blue pill meets red, ups become downs, and day merges with night. Those liminal spaces where anything is possible is where you’ll find Nightbus and their hypnotic debut album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePassenger\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Doom, uncertainty, and opportunity lurk in the shadowy corners of their murky existence with stops at disassociation, co-dependency, and addiction before reaching its final destination - a glimmer of hope.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“We’re travellers in our own bodies; there’s an alter-ego nurturing our secrets, fantasies, shame, and fears, lost in the underworld of humanity. A dreamscape of tabu existence, things that define us but wouldn’t come up in casual conversations. This album is that traveller, the passenger,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlive Rees reveals, who, alongside partner-in-crime Jake Cottier, is Nightbus. “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis self-destructive side can be triggered at any moment, and you’ll experience life in a completely different light. It’s not about hiding that side, but if it were gone, what journey would it experience?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe in-between of Nightbus’ own Gotham lies where Manchester’s city pulse meets Stockport’s outer realm. An audio-visual entity formed among a musical family of friends, freaks, and foes in messy mills and after hours on dancefloors alike, their sound bleeds from tension where collective creative forces are bound together and collide with the fallout of being torn apart. Before even playing a show, their So Young released single ‘Mirrors’ – a knowing nod of respect to some well-known gloomy Northerners - may have made old school indie heads shimmy at shows in Salford’s The White Hotel but also signalled the duo’s knack for offering listeners a Bandersnatch approach to hitchhiking their own personal Nightbus in whatever direction they choose to take. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Everyone can have their moment with our songs; the music is our response to who we are as young people, living in the city full of this energy right now,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethey say.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhilst reverb hefty melodies and dread-filled loops embody isolation from writing at each of their home studio set-ups, magic happens in the ether across 90s trip-hop, indie sleaze and electronica; Jake’s production layers Olive’s pop sentimentality with drums and samples whilst tales of a cast of faceless characters place Olive as puppet master; her severed self’s perspective manipulating their stringed limbs at arm’s length to see how their stories play out when scenes reflecting her own lie close to the bone. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“It’s a bit fucked; like having this out of body experience with a made-up movie running through my head,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eshe says. “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs I write I can see they’re all from a similar world, but they allow me to explore different feelings without giving away part of myself.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecorded at The Nave in Leeds with producer-engineer Alex Greaves (Heavy Lungs, Working Men’s Club),\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esurprise and danger lies in every crevice. Brooding whispers turn to chants on 6-minute opus ‘Host.’ Improvised when performed live, its immersive shift in tempo leads to hefty dub courtesy of Jake’s pedals. Even then, you won’t know shit’s hit the fan until its mid-point reveal when ominous bass blasts a thunderous soundtrack as its protagonist defiantly walks away after committing the perfect crime. “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt makes you wait, and more songs should have sirens,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlive grins.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeaning deeper into alter-egos via the video game-psychological horror of a Silent Hill dystopia, the band’s Fight Club moment ‘Angles Mortz’ turns its literal translation of death angles on its head as it reflects upon kink and internalised shame reincarnated as pride. Elsewhere the ice cool ‘Landslide’ is a Requiem for a Dream about the addiction of being in a band; ‘The Void’ explores co-dependency and estranged relationships; and carefully selected samples revive house track ‘Just A Kid’ from the band’s early incarnation. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePassenger\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s every direction is to face challenges head on.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e “That is what’s so great about horror; you can see through predictable patterns so when the unexpected occurs it's more realistic and uncomfortable… I want to own the dark stuff!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePassenger\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s first single, the pulsating ‘Ascension’ is a spiralling deep dive into death, suicide, and legacy around who or what we leave behind. A noughties club banger by way of NYC beats - ergonomically designed for those who like to stay out a little too often and too late - it throbs like a house party’s partition wall as the literal levelling up undergoes a neon transformation; blue glitching to pink, diffusing the white construct of the Nightbus Matrix.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e “It really does feel like the end of something and was purposely written that way,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethey say, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“the ascension is like a firework going off!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith wheels in motion, Nightbus has become a movement surpassing sonic realms. Between shows from Porto to Brighton taking in The Great Escape, Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial and Paris’ Supersonic; DJing; remixing; guesting (BDRMM’s Microtonic album); and even enlisting talented like-minds to craft a 3-part queer coming-of-age music video series which ties in with a new ‘hyperpop’ phase in the evolution of their popular Nightbus Soundsystem club night, heads are now being turned from sports brands to high-end fashion designers. “There are things we can’t reveal just yet,” tells Olive, “but we’re excited about the direction this beast we’ve created is heading.” As the album philosophises and asks one ultimate question; what does it truly mean to be ‘Passenger’? Nightbus may not claim to offer a definitive answer, but it might make you feel a bit better about those demons.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melodic Records","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":56436503413119,"sku":"MELO146LP","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":55766719791487,"sku":"MELO146CD","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0549\/8765\/3223\/files\/Nightbus_Passenger_album_cover_final.jpg?v=1753706674"},{"product_id":"shaking-hand-shaking-hand","title":"Shaking Hand - Shaking Hand","description":"\u003cp\u003eRepress available now\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-Black vinyl LP in reverse grey sleeve with overprint. \u003cbr\u003e-Artwork by 60s LA architect Ray Kappe.\u003cbr\u003e-Download code\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-Digipack CD\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YOzl1c0pqNU?si=-XdtyRawePOY-6F6\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomewhere close to Manchester’s ever changing city centre, as the sun fades and peeks through the newest glass facade, you’ll find Shaking Hand. One part in shadow, the other basking in prisms of light as they sketch out their own sonic landscapes in the dusty redbrick mill they call home. One that is just about clinging on from the encroaching developments that surround them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAgainst this back-drop where buildings are constantly torn down \u0026amp; built back again, the three piece craft away. Pulling from early post-rock, and 90s US alternative rock, crafting their own brand of Northwest-emo. Assembling something new, yet nostalgic. Looking ahead towards the transforming horizon. Shaking Hand’s music is built on tension and release – quiets that stretch, louds that overwhelm. Repetition that feels both hypnotic and destabilising. “The best ideas are when it feels like it’s just about to fall apart and we’re only just holding on,” says Freddie.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe band’s musical DNA runs through experimental guitar outfits like Women, Slint, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Ulrika Spacek, balanced with the melodic sensibility of Big Thief and the dynamic intimacy of Yo La Tengo. Their compositions push against structure: sudden jolts of tempo, polyrhythms that almost fall apart, and riffs that unravel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003einto something fragile or ecstatic. Yet, as Ellis notes, there’s an underlying warmth too: “Like walking through an empty city late at night but catching flickers of life in the buildings you pass.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEarly ideas like ‘Night Owl’ and ‘Sundance’ grew out of George’s lockdown “bedroom years,” where new tunings (open E, drop D, and stranger Pavement-inspired set-ups) opened up uncharted textures. Later, in grim rehearsal rooms, the murky epic ‘Cable Ties’ and the hypnotic ‘Mantras’ absorbed the gloom and grit of the band’s surroundings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was recorded with producer David Pye (Wild Beasts, Teenage Fanclub) at Nave Studios in Leeds, housed in a converted church. “The live room was huge and perfect for capturing our sound,” says George. Determined to bottle their onstage energy, the band tracked the foundations live, layering vocals and guitars later. Soviet-era microphones, odd mic placements, and even phone-recorded demos fed into the mix. “You’ve got to watch out for David though,” Freddie laughs. “He made me play four tambourines in one hand, really hurt, man.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLyrically, the record drifts between abstraction and lived moments. George’s words often spill out instinctively, words falling into place before their meaning becomes clear. “A lot of the lyrics look like they’re buried in abstraction,” he says, “but when I look back I can see what they were about — whether that’s an emotional response at the time or just an observation of what was happening around me”. There’s contrast at the heart of it all – optimism vs. doubt, the lightness of youth vs. the monotony of work, a city in constant redevelopment vs. the people drifting through it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album artwork is taken from unused plans for the 1970s redevelopment of Los Angeles by architect Ray Kappe, entitled ‘People Movers’. Hypothetical buildings for real people, it feels a complement to the band’s own constructions. One thing’s for sure, Shaking Hand’s debut is built to last.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melodic","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl Repress Pre-order","offer_id":56162824454527,"sku":"MELO148LP","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56162824487295,"sku":"MELO148CD","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":56162853781887,"sku":"MELO148D","price":8.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0549\/8765\/3223\/files\/MELO148CoverHIRES.jpg?v=1759501313"},{"product_id":"abracadabra-peel-away","title":"abracadabra- peel away","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePre-order out 7th August\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelodic Limited CD Release #1\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e-The first edition of the Melodic Limited CD Release series \u003cbr\u003e-Hand stamped and numbered on greyboard digipack\u003cbr\u003e-With printed art and fold out zine.\u003cbr\u003e-Limited to 50 copies\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDigital EP \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e-Digital Download\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf shapes \u0026amp; colors invited listeners into abracadabra’s vibrant neighbourhood of hope and resistance, peel away opens the front door and welcomes them directly into the conversation. The Oakland duo’s new EP is their most intimate collection yet: six songs that sift through luck, privilege, repair, abundance, anger, and self-reflection, wrapped in the project’s signature blend of psych-pop, leftfield electronics, dubby grooves, and playful sonic experimentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003epeel away continues abracadabra's fascination with texture, movement, and groove. Angular synth lines, dub-inflected rhythms, playful percussion, and layered vocal arrangements create a world that feels simultaneously homemade and expansive. There are echoes of Talking Heads, ESG, Tom Tom Club, Stereolab, and Arthur Russell in the mix, but abracadabra's greatest strength remains their ability to turn complex ideas into joyful communal experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the centre of abracadabra are Hannah Skelton (vocals, synthesizers) and Chris Niles (bass, synthesizers), whose songwriting process often begins with melodies that arrive carrying hidden messages. \"I've found information which arrives this way proves to be extremely sticky,\" says Skelton. \"More or less impossible to pull apart from the song once it has revealed itself. I've also come to think it holds little clues. Like riddles from my subconscious.\" The songs on Peel Away emerged from following those clues wherever they led.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat same spirit of self-examination drives lead single \"face card,\" which questions the myth of self-made success. \"'face card' asks the question: do you really think you earned all you've got by yourself, and that you should keep it all for yourself?\" says Skelton. \"What if those of us who received such fateful benevolence schemed about a way to bring it to a larger scale? Let's grow a lush world together.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElsewhere, the EP balances critique with imagination. \"see-saw\" transforms the rhythms of modern labour into a hypnotic mechanical groove, while \"into the pail\" channels environmental grief and political frustration into catharsis. The bittersweet “ice cream\" uses one of life's simplest pleasures to explore inequality and abundance. \"I'd imagine abundance mindset feels a lot like an ice cream cone in the summer,\" says Skelton.\u003cbr\u003eFor all its political and philosophical themes, peel away remains deeply human. Closing track ‘go fix yourself’ embraces the endless cycle of mistakes, repair, and self-improvement with humour and empathy. \"Let's be real — isn't everyone always slipping up in various ways?\" says Skelton. \"Normalize apologizing. This is human life on planet Earth, after all, and it's messy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWarm, curious, and quietly radical, peel away finds abracadabra asking difficult questions while holding firmly onto hope. As Skelton puts it: \"I'd sure love to look around me and see a bunch of thriving humans, wouldn't you?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melodic","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":57761979203967,"sku":"MELO153CD","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":57761979236735,"sku":"MELO153D","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0549\/8765\/3223\/files\/abracadabra_EP_Cover.jpg?v=1781018645"},{"product_id":"flora-from-kansas-the-end","title":"Flora From Kansas - The End","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDIGITAL DOWNLOAD\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eFlora from Kansas turns heartbreak into a clean break on ‘The End,’ a dramatic indie-pop anthem about toxic relationships, blurred boundaries, and finally knowing when to walk away.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFollowing the recent success of 2025's ‘The Ghost is Me,’ which came into its own after featuring in Amazon Prime hit show \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOff Campus,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Flora returns with one of her boldest songs yet. Built around soaring guitars and an anthemic chorus, ‘The End’ follows someone determined to close the book on an ex who insists on loitering around, dangling a false friendship.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“I thought it would be cool to sing about a certain relationship dynamic that I'm sure some people can relate to,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Flora explains. Approaching the recording with the emotional intensity of a teen drama, Flora wanted the track to hit just as hard as her previous release. According to Flora, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“I wanted it to sound like a plot I would see in a teen drama\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecorded in Kansas \u0026amp; mixed in Oslo by Erik Samkopf (Sassy 009, EXUM), \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘The End’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is all about closing one chapter to begin another. Equal parts breakup anthem and coming-of-age soundtrack, it's proof that sometimes the best endings are really just fresh starts—and for Flora From Kansas, still only 19, this is just the beginning.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melodic Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57987477471615,"sku":null,"price":1.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0549\/8765\/3223\/files\/FloraFromKansas_TheEnd_SingleFrontCover.jpg?v=1784222393"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.melodic.co.uk\/collections\/mailing-list.oembed","provider":"Melodic Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}