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Shane Palko brushed thick, red dust off of a cloth guitar bag and unzipped a side pocket to see how many Ugandan Shillings were left. They exchanged so weakly into Tanzanian Shillings that he’d be surprised if there would be enough to get to his concert at the Slow Leopard in Dar Es Salaam. Having performed live on Voice of America (US), NTV (Uganda), and VTC10 (Vietnam) as well as at official concerts and festivals in 28 countries and counting, he knows what it’s like to be stuck at the end of a rugged road. “If I’m going to be five hours from home, I want to be five days from home,” he said after returning from his Seaside tour in 2015, which spanned four continents.

The morning after his concert at The Slow Leopard, he hitched a ride back downtown on a truck, piled full of pineapples. While waiting on some paperwork to come through before continuing his tour in South Africa, Palko accepted an invitation from a stranger in the street and found himself standing on top of a beautiful skyscraper, overlooking the bustling Dar seaport. There were a few men there, in finely-pressed suits. Palko wondered if his cutoff shorts and explicitly feminist t-shirt, still soaked with sweat from the previous night’s show, might disqualify him from such an establishment.

“You’re the music man, aren’t you?” said a kind and confident voice. Palko was surprised at the recognition. “I am Mendrad Kigola, Member of the Tanzanian Parliament. I dream of helping my people make their music.”

A year and a half later, Palko and Zuli Tums, a renowned Ugandan Producer, jumped on a jet to Tanzania. Zuli carved out two and a half weeks to sneak away from Volume Up Studio in Kempala, and Shane worked the time into the middle of a tour schedule. Zuli carried a backpack full of mobile recording equipment, and Palko a La Patrie hybrid classical guitar.

They hatched an ambitious plan with MP Kigola. In a sort of musical sharrett, they would cross much of Tanzania together, recording music for people that don’t have access to professional recording studios. While traversing the country and helping people record their own material, Palko found himself writing and recording an entire album of his own, the forthcoming, transcendent Swahili Surreal.

Swahili Surreal does not claim to be representative of traditional Tanzanian music, but rather chronicles Palko’s personal experience – a hauntingly intricate finger-dance across a classical guitar to accompany both the physical and spiritual journey Palko and his companions had embarked upon. Collaboration being a part of the process, some of the songs on Swahili Surreal feature other voices, like Wazzy, a staple in the Tanzanian scene. The album’s lead single, “Metamorphosis of a Dream,” cradles the vocals of the thirty-strong Saint Monica Singers, who previously had never set foot in a recording studio.

“‘Metamorphosis of a Dream’ is a concept that the dream turns into a plan and then turns into a memory, much like how a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then a butterfly,” says Palko. “And there’s a tremendous amount of work between each stage. For me, it’s easy to dream about playing a big show on the other side of the world, but if I don’t make a plan, I won’t ever get to do the thing, and if I don’t do the thing, I won’t have a memory. And life is just a string of memories, happening at the same time.”

When word got out that MP Kigola was bringing an American musician and a Ugandan producer to town, a man unlocked a recording studio that had been closed for many years. Over a few intensive days, Zuli and Palko were able to help over 30 people record their own music that they could keep, and invited them to sing on Swahili Surreal as well.

Kigola, Tums and Palko crossed much of Tanzania, creating memories as well as the tracks that make up Swahili Surreal. Zuli tirelessly recorded while Palko persistently wrote and helped engineer. They set up their mobile equipment in borrowed studios, small hotel rooms, a gym, an ornate catholic church, outside – anywhere that there was enough time and space to capture a song.

This recording foray was the beginning of a dream. In addition to providing people with quality recordings of their own music, Swahili Surreal will be internationally distributed, with all profits from the album going towards the construction of a recording studio in Mafinga, Tanzania. “I’m so thankful for the opportunities that the member of parliament has given me in East Africa,” says Palko. “There are a lot of great studios in the area, but in that particular region, it’s more rural. There are a lot of people that make wonderful music, but just don’t have a home for it. They pass their songs on, orally and they’re remembered, but none of them get recorded. So, we want to make a community space and music venue, but it will primarily be a recording studio.”

Palko, who currently resides in Spain, will be traveling to the United States in late 2019 to perform and celebrate the release of Swahili Surreal, before returning to East Africa to continue working on the studio project and the follow-up album that he’s already begun writing. Looking forward, there’s no telling where Palko will end up, but that’s just the way he wants it. “The way I see it, you’ve gotta be alive somewhere, so you may as well be alive all over, trying something new,” he says. “Sharing music, getting to hear other musicians and inviting people back to your place to come and play another time makes it all worth it for me.”  

“Palko’s high tenor exudes a wistful ineffable quality encompassing tender remembrance, eloquent simplicity and optimistic tranquility.” – HuffPost

“One of the most unique songwriting talents working today.” – No Depression

“Not only is Shane Palko a singer-songwriter, but a notable socio-environmentalist…an artist and philosopher, representative of over ten thousand miles traveled on the road thus far.” – For Folk’s Sake

“[Palko’s] listeners will be taken on a journey that will change them wholly.” – Neu Futur Magazine

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Kansas City rock & roll powerhouse the Pedaljets have spent decades flying just under the radar. From their inception in 1984, their raucous brand of scuzzy, melodic jangle-pop and jagged post-punk placed them in league with some of the decade’s most beloved rockers, from The Replacements and Hüsker Dü to Meat Puppets and The Flaming Lips, all of whom the Pedaljets have performed alongside on stages across the United States. Their music has received critical acclaim from countless publications, including The A.V. Club, Diffuser.FM, Uncut Magazine, Blurt Magazine, The Big Takeover, and the notoriously critical CREEM Magazine. Twist The Lens continues to build upon the legacy the Pedaljets have created over the past three decades, showcasing the comfort and maturity of their years spent performing together as well as the electric fervor that has permeated their music since the beginning. 

Twist The Lens is only the second new release from the Pedaljets since their reformation in the late 2000s, arriving six years after their most recent LP, What’s In Between. While What’s In Between served as a reintroduction to the band’s Midwestern college rock, Twist The Lens finds the band pushing themselves further than ever before, abandoning the constrictions of genre and focusing on expanding their sound. At its core, the melodic, proto-grunge sound that characterized the Pedaljets’ earlier releases still reigns supreme, but with a deeper exploration of melody, harmony, and pop-rock influence, as well as a newfound writing ethos that allowed the members to push themselves into unfamiliar sonic territory. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Allmayer says, “When I demo a song, I always have ideas for arrangements and all the other parts. But then once the band gets to work on it, I’m like, ‘Well this is going in a totally different direction, but it’s great.’ That’s the beauty of working with these guys for thirty-five years. Some of the directions we’d take with these songs took me outside of my comfort zone at first, but we decided to follow them down that road and it always led to something better.”

Twist The Lens was recorded in three main sessions, produced by the Pedaljets alongside their former lead guitarist Paul Malinowski (Shiner, Season To Risk). Though the Pedaljets core trio of Allmayer, bassist Matt Kesler, and drummer Rob Morrow has remained a constant throughout their tenure as a band, they’ve worked with multiple lead guitarists throughout the years, with Twist The Lens being the first record to showcase their newest addition, Cody Wyoming. Bringing in Wyoming, and working alongside Malinowski, allowed the new songs to benefit from a fresh and outside perspective, while still keeping the album within the Pedaljets family. It also lent itself to a more utilitarian process where, as Allmayer describes, “We would constantly listen back and ask ourselves, ‘Are you hearing something this song needs?’ We were really focused on pushing ourselves to make the best music we can and being extra critical.” To round out the team, the band brought in veteran producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile) to mix the record and reunited with Archer Prewitt (The Sea and Cake) whose artwork has adorned the last three Pedaljets album covers.

Kicking off the album, “Disassociation Blues” explores the intricacies of romantic communication, with Allmayer’s hypnotic vocals drifting atop a repeating, post-punk channeling guitar line. The track continues to build throughout its three and a half minute run time, adding sparkling layers of guitars to create a soundscape that’s equal parts R.E.M. and Joy Division. “Downtown,” meanwhile, takes its sonic cues from Tom Petty, with Allmayer’s lyrics painting in broad strokes, creating a skeleton framework of hopelessness for listeners to fill in with their own experiences.

Elsewhere on the record, Allmayer delves into an examination of loss. “Twist The Lens” postulates that there’s no permanence and that everything is inherently fleeting as Allmayer sings, “When you twist the lens / you can’t go back again.” “Sleepy Girl,” on the other hand, is a beacon of light in the darkness. Written in a particularly tumultuous period in Allmayer’s romantic life, “Sleepy Girl” observes budding romance from afar as a reminder that even in the times when you’ve lost everything, there’s hope for something beautiful to arise.

Once hailed as “Kansas City’s answer to the Replacements,” the Pedaljets formed in the mid-80s and immediately began touring the United States nonstop, gaining critical acclaim and support slots with some of the decade’s biggest acts, but never becoming a household name on their own. After releasing two LPs, 1988’s Today Today and 1989’s Pedaljets, the band split up. After laying low for a few years, Allmayer and Morrow formed the band Grither and signed with MCA before Morrow decided to go back to school and relocate to Scotland. Kesler brought his talents to the jazz world, performing in the Midtown Jazz Quartet alongside Count Basie Orchestra guitarist Will Matthews, while also owning and operating the Kansas City vintage music shop Midwestern Musical Company. The Pedaljets couldn’t stay apart forever, though, and returned in 2008 with a re-recorded version of their self-titled album and a rekindled hunger to perform.

The culmination of a long musical journey for the Pedaljets, Twist The Lens contains some of their most masterful songwriting to date and reinforces their status as one of the Midwest’s greatest musical exports. 

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Los Angeles’ Wyatt Blair can’t stop. A physical manifestation of inertia, Blair has been a musical object in motion since his father taught him to play the drums at 13 years old. In the years since, he’s spent his time playing in numerous bands, producing bands albums, releasing four self-produced solo albums, and founding the LA-based record label Lolipop Records, through which he helped break a new wave of young garage rockers out of their neighborhoods and into the world. His previous releases garnered praise from Pitchfork, The FADER, Spin, Uproxx & more, and led to support slots alongside acts like The Growlers, Broncho, Screaming Females, Peach Kelli Pop, Cosmonauts and more. Now, after a tumultuous year and relocating from Los Angeles to Flagstaff & back again, Blair is taking some time to help himself the only way he knows how: Channeling his struggles into massive arena rock/power-pop songs on his new EP For The First Time.

For The First Time, out December 6th via Lolipop Records, comes on the heels of last December’s Inspirational Strawberries, Blair’s second LP of 2018 that found him indulging his ’60s psych, ’80s pop, ’90s Brit-rock influences in equal measure to stunning effect. Recorded in his home studio in Flagstaff, Arizona, For The First Time was originally conceptualized as a full-length LP before Blair decided to cut it down, with the remaining four tracks stripping away the varnish that coated his 2018 releases in favor of raw, emotionally vulnerable power-pop. “I think maybe I was trying too hard in the studio on my last couple of albums to add more instruments on a track, or cut things up more,” he says. “With For The First Time, I just wanted to write some straight pop-rock tunes.”

Much of For The First Time deals with Blair’s struggles with mental health throughout his life, his recent experiences with medication, and how music helps him process his emotions. “Writing music is a compulsion for me — it’s my outlet,” says Blair. “Everyone has an outlet, some way of combating mental and physical conflict in their life. Music is my creative gym, honestly, it’s the way that I work through my neuroses. It’s a compulsion in the sense that, I need to do this for my health.” The most poignant example comes from the EP’s closing track, “Fear To Fight,” a strutting 80s-pop empowerment anthem that emphasizes the fear of taking the steps to improve mental health. “All these fears, the fear of opening up, fears of dying, fears of upsetting someone, fears of losing control, the fear of talking to a therapist or doctor about your issues… I’m just saying ‘fuck all that’, we’ve all got that fear built in to us, but we’ve just gotta keep fighting the fight of life in order to get somewhere at all.”

Elsewhere on the EP, Blair explores crises of identity and emotional vulnerability atop his specific style of deceptively upbeat guitar pop. On “Pop Your Heart Out,” Blair encouragingly sings of wearing your heart on your sleeve and being unafraid to be yourself. Meanwhile, on “(I’ll Keep) Searching For You” he grapples with his past and future, backed by layers of shimmering synthesizers, crunchy guitars, and a thumping rhythm section. “It’s about self-reflection, always trying to find who you really are,” he says. “I know I’ve been through some shit, I know depression & anxiety have affected me in lots of ways, but I’m still searching for myself after it’s all said and done, and part of that trust in yourself & the world around you is in the constant searching, and I won’t stop.”

“Like his garage rock contemporaries White Reaper, Blair mixes in elements of arena rock and glam rock to his sound, highlighted by the melodic guitar leads and blazing guitar solo. While entirely modern, it’s not hard to envision kids in the ’80s, wearing acid-washed jeans, pumping their fists along with the anthemic verses and chorus.” – mxdwn

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Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably seen and heard Gus Seyffert. For the past decade, he’s spent his time on the road with Sia, Norah Jones, The Black Keys, Beck, Roger Waters, & more, performing in sold out arenas as a hired gun. In between tours, Seyffert has honed his skills as a producer, working in the studio with artists like Michael Kiwanuka, Beck, Jenny Lewis, Dr. Dog, Bedouine, James Supercave and more. Now, after years of working behind the scenes, Seyffert is taking the spotlight for himself. His brand new 7-inch, “Hold On” b/w “Make It Out” showcases Seyffert’s songwriting prowess and ear for effortlessly catchy melodies. 

Though the new singles are the first tracks to be released under Seyffert’s name, he’s no stranger to writing and recording his own music. For years, he performed and recorded under the name Willoughby. With these tracks Seyffert decided it was time to present himself as a solo artist. “The lack of distance that comes with using my name as the project name makes me a little uncomfortable and very precious,” he says. That extra pressure is really motivating—even if my music’s not for everyone, I want it to be well-crafted enough to be respected.”

“Hold On” is a mesmerizing, downtempo psych-folk track that deftly navigates the minutiae of modern romance and communication, while Seyffert’s beautifully whisper-crooned vocals manage to impart both heartache and adoration in equal measure. “Make It Out,” meanwhile, finds Seyffert pulled in opposite directions, struggling to reconcile with his vices, his personal life, and his desire to grow. “It’s about getting away from yourself, “ he says. “Just wanting to change yourself, or your job or relationship or habits, but coming to that realization of ‘As much as I’d like to do that, I’m probably not going to.’”

Seyffert began studying music and production as a child growing up in Kansas City, MO, and began playing professionally at 15 years old. Music quickly became his life, in no small part as a response to his struggles with dyslexia. “I went to a performing arts school that had a recording class,” says Seyffert. “Since I’m dyslexic, I was really terrible in all of my other classes, but music made sense to me. So I just took all the music classes I could and learned how to work with 8-track tape machines and pretty much immediately started building a home studio.”

At age 17, Seyffert left Missouri for Los Angeles to study jazz bass at California Institute of the Arts. Once in the city, he expanded into different styles of music; meeting and working with the high-profile musicians and producers that would eventually lead to a full-time touring schedule. In fact, Seyffert’s success as a sideman delayed his own artistic endeavors for years. “For the past decade or so I’ve been trying to do my own thing, make my own records,” he says. “But when you get offers from folks like The Black Keys and Beck and Roger Waters, I mean, You don’t say no.”

After being sidelined by his own success, Seyffert is now establishing himself as a songwriting force to be reckoned with, a producer to be sought after, and a performer capable of holding his own alongside legends. On “Hold On” and “Make It Out,” Seyffert’s talents are abundantly clear. It’s evident there’s nothing standing in the way of Seyffert’s solo career if he wants it.