MAYWAY RECORDS Novedades

Pieter Van Dessel is not one to stand still when it comes to music: the driving force behind Marble Sounds keeps challenging himself, exploring new horizons on every album. After the more melancholic eponymous fifth album, synths and drums take centre stage for a pure and almost electronic pop sound on sixth effort ‘Core Memory’. The result is sparkling and epic indie pop, often with driving synths and delicious melodies, like on opening track and first single An Emotional High, or If You Would Prove Me Wrong Now, which did very well in The Netherlands too: Marble Sounds made the cover of Spotify's leading ‘New Alternative’ playlist and played a live session for popular NPO Radio 2 show ‘Blokhuis’. Third single Give Or Take A Few is Van Dessel's answer to A Thousand Miles, Vanessa Carlton's smash hit from the beginning of this millennium. “And your thousand miles, I'd walk ’em too”, he sings in a touching ballad reminiscent of Eels and Tom Waits. Like with previous Marble Sounds records, Core Memory was produced by Van Dessel himself. It’s out on 7 March, followed by a release tour in Belgium and The Netherlands, playing lovely venues from Antwerp to Bruges and Utrecht to Maastricht.

All Is Chaos by Stake, released 1 November 2024, includes the following tracks: "The Calling", "Stargazing", "Trapped", "Drowning In Your Blood" and more.

Ever wondered how The Is Dying would sound on vinyl? Well here’s your chance, as for the first time ever (!) STAKE will be releasing their debut album When The Candle Dies Out on vinyl, as well as repressing our sophomore album All Is Chaos, this time on colored vinyl. Both albums have been carefully remastered to mark the 20th anniversary of STAKE and will be released through Mayway Records.

Louis De Roo already knows a thing or two about what life can throw at a person, yet this young Belgian songwriter is still very much on the threshold of a promising international musical career. Fall 2024 sees the release of his debut album ‘Troubled Waters’ as Isaac Roux. His debut and breakthrough single White Rose (which is not on the album) became an alternative hit in Belgium and the Netherlands, with follow-up singles Colours and Autumn Love opening doors in Germany (radioeins), France (Radio Néo) and Austria (FM4) and to trendy streaming playlists. Roux’s combination of warm indie folk and alternative rock works even better on stage, never failing to leave a crowd open-mouthed, like during a live session on German national radio (Deutschlandfunk Kultur). Impressing crowds at the Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop festivals in his home country, he did the same in the Netherlands and Germany (playing Reeperbahn three times), and supporting Dotan on his European tour in places like London, Paris and Vienna. Every song, and the album as a whole, gives the listener a glimpse into the life of De Roo, who hasn’t always had it easy, hoping that his music can give people in similar situations something to hold on to. “To win, to lose, to dream and to hope, they’re just some of the things that have shaped me into the person that I am today”, De Roo says. “And through my stories I hope to provide a little bit of a moral compass for people who, like me, haven’t always been treated nicely by life.”

Bobbi Lu is the moniker of Lucy Ryan, born and raised in Oxfordshire in the UK, now living in Bruges after following love a few years ago. As a DIY bedroom producer, she’s released a handful of singles and is now ready with a debut album – ‘Arrow, Four’ – that will be out on 25 October. Drawing inspiration from acts like Radiohead, FKA Twigs, Jockstrap and Saya Grey, Bobbi Lu intertwines piano melodies with deep crunchy bass, electronica and samples, coming together in a dystopian and mysterious sound. As Ryan started gigging, she quickly attracted attention and went from supporting acts like The Haunted Youth and Sylvie Kreusch to playing her own headline shows and amazing festivals like The Great Escape (UK).

‘Arrow, Four’ is a collection of ten songs, written over the course of a few years, the process of each one completely different. “I guess the individual tracks have their own story, but in my head each story is just a symptom of a bigger theme, mostly inspired by the book Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. In it he talks about people’s ability to adapt having essentially a limit, and with growth accelerating could we be overloaded and experience a 'future shock'. And maybe that’s already happening, most notably in the form of mental health struggles.” “It made me think of how progression creates new challenges, an arrow going one way is pulled back by another in the opposite direction. I feel like it’s a topic more relevant than ever, especially with AI most recently. I think I use this topic to fuel my lyrics mainly as a way of forgiving myself and others, in those moments where we struggle and make mistakes, that we're all just doing our best in trying to keep up with a rapidly changing environment.” This is also reflected in the artwork by Maarten Derous. “It ties everything together. He came to me after listening to it and said something that came out for him was fragility, which at the time I completely did not think of. But he nailed it. It’s like, yes do it, be fragile and take it easy, it’s a pretty good answer to stuff being pulled in all directions.”

Limited LEMON Vinyl Edition

Meltheads have been spreading wildfire on stages in Belgium and The Netherlands for a good while now, driven by the metronomically tight rhythm section of Tim Pensaert (bass) and Simon de Geus (drums), and fuelled by the razor-sharp and skilful guitar of Yunas de Proost. And then there’s frontman Sietse Willems, a man born to be on stage, like Morrison, Plant and Iggy Pop in one brutal and gnarly package. On 9 February they will be releasing the long-awaited debut album ‘Decent Sex’. The album kicks off with the title track, linking Stooges to The Doors, and not beating about the bush: it’s going to be at breakneck speed, and it’s going to be loud. Just 30 minutes later, once the final notes of fever dream Melvin have died out, ‘Decent Sex’ leaves you knocked out on the floor after an insane trip along blaring post punk, visceral noise, sweeping psych and good old rock ‘n’ roll. Part of the world is already turning its head, as renowned radio stations like KEXP and Radio X Manchester are picking up songs like I Want It All and Theodore, and fellow Antwerp based rock legends dEUS took them on tour, even as far as London’s Electric Brixton. Influential music magazines like Visions (DE), Clash and DIY (UK) dug up superlatives – and comparisons to The Birthday Party – for Theodore, a song about looking for (self) love, but also about the mess drug use can lead to. All not very uplifting, and most themes return in several songs, like the dark side to relationships and sex (White Lies, Decent Sex), or toxic masculinity (Vegan Leather Boots, Theodore again) and even politics (No One Is Innocent, Arbeit). Pretty heavy stuff, but wrapped in the highly infectious and piercing guitar rock Meltheads are serving, it’s going like a bomb. Decent Sex is out on 9 February, followed by release shows in Belgium, The Netherlands and Paris. At the end of January, Meltheads will vigorously kick off the year with a show at the highly influential ESNS showcase festival, where the part of the world that is still in blissful ignorance will get to know the brute force of Meltheads.

Decent Sex by Meltheads, released 9 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Vegan Leather Boots ", "White Lies ", "No One Is Innocent ", "Gear " and more.