‘Chicken Lily / Democritus’ is the debut release from Pixie Dot and Dash. Pixie is sixteen, deaf, and intellectually disabled.  Her life revolves around music, live music in particular. Starved of that outlet through lockdown, Pixie, together with her father Dash (Marky Edison, Muso’s Guide), their synthesizer Dot, and a motley crew of socially distanced musicians, took homeschooling to another level. While others baked banana bread, they made an album’s worth of post-industrial electro and invited the input of their favourite live acts.

‘Chicken Lily’ was Pixie’s first foray into the studio.  With a Daft Punk vibe and dark underbelly, it is markedly different to the kind of electro we’re accustomed to hearing.  Her background in metal and punk melded with an instinctual pop sensibility creating something unique.

‘Democritus’ was co-written, and produced, by Cormac Parle of Irish indie legends, Stoat.  He added bass synths, bass guitar, and his signature ranting vocals to the mix, creating a powerful, catchy tune. ‘Chicken Lily / Democritus’ is the first release from Pixie Dot and Dash, and the first from their debut album, planned for early 2021. Download the double A-side from Bandcamp from Friday September 4. Enter the code musos2020 at checkout for a 25% discount.

Austra shares video for ‘I Am Not Waiting’Fresh from the release of her fourth album HiRUDiN in May, Austra aka Katie Austra Stelmanis, shares the video for ‘I Am Not Waiting’. While Austra’s third album, 2017’s Future Politics, was concerned with the external power structures that shape society, HiRUDiN points inward, tracing a deeply personal journey towards regeneration, dealing with the fallout of toxic relationships, queer shame, and insecurity along the way. Named after the peptide released by leeches that is the most potent anticoagulant in the world, HiRUDiN is about the importance of healing the self, letting go of harmful influences, and finding the power to rebuild.

On ‘I Am Not Waiting’, over ESG-style basslines, Stelmanis’ voice cuts through like a beacon singing the refrain “I’m over you” repeatedly. Directed by Trevor Blumas, he explains the concept for the new video: "The video for ‘I Am Not Waiting’ takes a cue from Katie's lyrics about escaping from a toxic situation and reaching a point where enough is enough. The video specifically is about breaking free from the layers of superficiality that is often applied to or imprinted upon us in today's hyper-image culture, in the age of face apps and AR. These devices often skew us from seeing each other for who we actually are. I find there is an exceptional amount of bravery and boldness in stepping outside of certain social expectations of how we present ourselves by being seen as vulnerable and exposed".

Stelmanis add: "Trevor and I have been collaborating for a while now on a few different projects so he's got a really good understanding of the themes across HiRUDiN and ‘I Am Not Waiting’ in particular. Given the limitations we were faced with because of corona I let him have free reign to do what he wanted here. I'm thrilled with the result, it's so nice collaborating with someone you can fully trust to represent your work".