A Mansions and Millions Newsletter

new music by Magic Island, Discovery Zone & Kissen + tour dates

February 01, 2024

Intro

_{I don’t want to turn newsletters like this into one of those music industry substacks that I hope you follow (feel free to ask me for recommendations) but since so much is in turmoil in the music industry, I do want to share a few thoughts on the recent developments. Feel free to skip this part as it might get rather technical if you are simply interested in the music that we put out (totally fair!!!).}

_{What we saw in the last months is another continuation of the corporate takeover of the music industry, in a way it’s nothing new but it’s reaching out to spheres we haven’t seen this happening yet: This was not really reported on much, but last year, BMI, one of the two US performance rights societies (the other one being ASCAP) was}_{turned into a for-profit company}_{. This is like GEMA or PRS all of a sudden being pushed to make a profit. Put that aside with Spotify only playing songs with >1000 listens and you see where the road is going: Shareholders looking at these companies, wanting them to make higher profits. Profits meaning, making more money than they have to pay out. What’s the big chunk of money that they have to spend?}

_Royalties.

_{These companies now constantly have to find ways to pay out less money to artists, things like}_{Discovery Mode}_{for example (which will continue to be a race to the bottoms once it’s available for all artists). That whole >1000 plays thing might not fit into this at the moment (Spotify says the money that’s not paid out is staying inside the royalty pool) but who knows for how long?}

_{Then we also have Pitchfork being folded into GQ (}_here_{is a good article by Laura Snapes in the Guardian about this), yet another blow to music criticism and the fight between Universal Music and TikTok.}

_{All of this is to say that independent music companies like this one can’t be taken for granted. We live in an environment that is more and more only looking at quick profits, the music really is just a means to do so. Let’s all try and protect a landscape where we support the music and people working with artists, so they are able to financially sustain this.}

_{I am curious to hear your thoughts on this!}

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Mansions and Millions Spotify Label Highlights

Magic Island - Today, My Love

After Magic Island embraced motherhood, she now returns with 'Today, My Love,' her first new song since 2021. Dedicated to her son, the song, a minimal but direct soulful ballad, carries a heartfelt wish for a better world where our children can grow up in harmony.

Magic Island - Today, My Love

Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp

Here is what she writes about the song:

"This song is for my son, and for every child. There is no other love. I wish I could protect you from pain. I dream of a better future for our children where they can be truly safe and live in harmony on this earth."

On May 3rd, her new EP 'It's Over' is set to release, produced by the Cologne-based musician Jakob Lebsanft.

Discovery Zone - All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go

_{Lat week Discovery Zone shared her third single “All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go” paired with a video which features an angel avatar exploring a virtual world and stumbling upon a flaming portal that leads to an earthly garden. While the virtual world resembles a game, much like Second Life, there are no set objectives, mirroring the lack of a defined purpose in our reality. Angels and avatars share parallels as non-embodied forms resembling humans, reflecting the concept of intelligences or messengers in theology, akin to artificial intelligence. Virtual realms and the realm of spirits, existing beyond material reality, intertwine as the angel avatar embodies both immaterial and material gardens. The video explores the fusion of heavenly and coded gardens inhabited by fallen angels.}

_{Watch video directed and edited by Janosch Pugnaghi.}

Discovery Zone - All Dressed Up With Nowhere to go

Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp - YouTube (Music Video)

Her forthcoming album, Quantum Web, comes out March 8, 2024 in cooperation with RVNG Intl. After the slow-building but undeniable fervor around Remote Control, Discovery Zone's debut album, Quantum Web quite literally picks up where JJ left off. In what she considers an ongoing, process oriented continuum, Quantum Web is the next evolutionary phase of Discovery Zone– arranging the past, present, and future across the infinite, invisible web that interconnects us all.

She is also going on tour in North America and Europe - dates below.

You can preorder it via Bandcamp / our Webshop or get the limited vinyl edition with a holographic sticker over at HHV!

_{Discovery Zone - Quantum Web}

_{Preorder LP on}_Bandcamp_-_{M&M Webshop}
_{Limited Vinyl Edition on HHV}

Kissen - Every Time / EP release

Berlin-based, Manchester-born producer and vocalist Kissen presents the final single from her much-awaited debut EP Homesick, out February 6th on Mansions and Millions.

Effortlessly weaving sonic tapestries with touches of R&B, trip-hop, and many more references together, Kissen delves deep into a world of sensuality, darkness, and allure, transcending traditional genre boundaries. Following on from the tripped out dose of sultry downtempo - '2 Swords' - released late 2023, the latest single 'Every Time 'is about reclaiming ownership over oneself after feeling like you haven't belonged to yourself for a really long time.

Kissen - Every Time

Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp - Nina Protocol

Kissen performs at kwia in Berlin on February 8th.

Tour Dates

_{Certainly! Here are the reformatted tour dates for Discovery Zone, John Moods, Kissen, and Meagre Martin:}

_{Discovery Zone:}

_{- 21.03.2024 USA (CA), San Francisco @ Kilowatt}
_{- 22.03.2024 USA (CA), Los Angeles @ Zebulon}
_{- 28.03.2024 USA (IL), Chicago @ Schubas}
_{- 29.03.2024 Canada (ON), Toronto @ Baby G}
_{- 30.03.2024 Canada (QC), Montreal @ Bar Le Ritz}
_{- 03.04.2024 USA (NY), Brooklyn @ TV Eye}
_{- 16.04.2024 United Kingdom, London @ Peckham Audio}
_{- 17.04.2024 France, Paris @ La Boule Noire}
_{- 19.04.2024 Germany, Berlin @ Silent Green}

_Gents:

_{31.01.2024 Denmark, Copenhagen @ Rust}

_{John Moods:}

_{- 10.02.2024 Poland, Warsaw @ Hydrozagadka}
_{- 30.05.2024 - 02.06.2024 Germany, Findlingsgarten @ Blechsonne Festival}

_{Luis Ake:}

_{- 17.04.2024 Germany, Munich @ Import Export}
_{- 18.04.2024 Germany, Stuttgart @ Wizemann (Studio)}
_{- 19.04.2024 Germany, Bayreuth @ Glashaus}
_{- 20.04.2024 Germany, Mainz @ Schon Schön}
_{- 22.04.2024 Germany, Cologne @ Bumann & Sohn}
_{- 23.04.2024 Germany, Leipzig @ Ilses Erika}
_{- 24.04.2024 Germany, Hamburg @ Turmzimmer}
_{- 25.04.2024 Germany, Berlin @ Badehaus}
_{- 30.04.2024 Austria, Vienna @ Rhiz}

_Kissen:

_{- 08.02.2024 Germany, Berlin @ Kwia}

_{Meagre Martin:}

_{- 01.02.2024 Germany, Berlin @ Urban Spree}
_{- 05.02.2024 Germany, Hamburg @ Aalhaus}
_{- 06.02.2024 Germany, Mainz @ Kulturclub Schon Schön}
_{- 07.02.2024 Luxembourg, Luxembourg @ De Gudde Wëllen}
_{- 08.02.2024 France, Paris}
_{- 10.02.2024 United Kingdom, London @ Sebright Arms}
_{- 11.02.2024 United Kingdom, Brighton @ The Hope and Ruin Brighton}
_{- 13.02.2024 Germany, Hannover @ Cafe Glocksee}
_{- 21.02.2024 Poland, Warsaw @ Chmury}
_{- 22.02.2024 Poland, Krakow @ Klub RE}
_{- 24.02.2024 Germany, Erfurt @ Franz Mehlhose}
_{- 07-08.03.2024 USA, New York City @ New Colossus Festival}
_{- 11.03.2024 USA (TX), Austin @ SXSW}
_{- 24.04.2024 Germany, Cologne @ c/o pop}
_{- 30.05.2024 Germany, Neustrelitz @ Immergut Festival}

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