Surprise! It’s a rare newsletter from Mansions and Millions

Intro

_{Hello from sunny and earthy-quaky Los Angeles! Thanks for subscribing and reading this newsletter.}

_{If you’re super lazy and just want to dive into our new music, click here for our Spotify playlist.}

<sub>Okay so I wasn’t kidding about sending this newsletter sporadically. I just noticed the last one was from February, phew. I guess I should do this more often so you’re up to date. A lot has happened since then: new releases from Martha Rose and World Brain, a new signing (welcome Andreya Casablanca!), live shows, venues closing (R.I.P. Loophole), and, of course, the never-ending mess of the music industry.

That’s the intro for now, thanks for reading this far and I hope you now have enough time to check out what else has been happening?</sub>

_{To stay updated, you can also always follow these channels:}

_{Mansions and Millions Telegram Channel}

_{Mansions and Millions Spotify Label Highlights}

World Brain is back

_{I am truly, truly excited to share the first new music from one of my favorite artists around, World Brain, from Brussels (formerly based in Paris & Berlin) since 2021's 'Always on the line'.} 

World Brain - Open

_{Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp - YouTube}

_{The new song offers a contemplative reflection on the passage of time, the acceptance of change, and the importance of living in the present. He describes the track as a personal memo to embrace what’s right in front of him. There also is a nice little music video for it, which he made himself.}

Martha Rose

_{I've known Martha Rose for a very long time; she has been an integral part of the Berlin underground pop scene for years, both as a solo artist and as a live and studio musician (playing with, among others, John Moods, Stella Sommer, The Zenmenn, and more). She has also been featured on our label compilations in the past. Therefore, it only makes sense to now present her solo work, which I'm really excited about. On May 31st, we released her new album “Close to Close”, a wonderful piece of sweet indie-pop music that fits so well into our little cosmos here.}

Martha Rose - Close to Close

Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp - YouTube (Heart Still Beats 4 U)

_{Drifting off into a sunlit meadow, Martha Rose creates a dreamlike, nostalgic world with her debut album Close to Close. The music exudes a mystical simplicity, blending a cheeky lightness with the weight of loss and alienation. Crafted during the lockdown with producer ET in Neukölln, the album features vintage drum machines, Yamaha keyboards, and organic recordings, drawing from traditional ballads and inspirations like Daniel Johnston and Kate Bush.}

_{The record explores themes of romance, introspection, and vulnerability, with tracks such as "Chin Up" and "Never Love Enough" offering tender reflections on love and rejection. The standout track, "Heart Still Beats 4 U," blends subtlety with a disco edge, capturing the essence of longing on a glittering dance floor. Close to Close is a soft yet confident debut, showcasing Martha Rose's artistic vision and emotional depth.}

new signing: Andreya Casablanca

_{Welcome to Mansions and Millions, Andreya Casablanca! Known as 1/2 of the garage rock duo Gurr, she has finally returned after a long break with the single "Trapped in Space"!} 

_{It is the first song from her debut album "See More Glass" which will be released on October 11th on Mansions and Millions. The song also comes with a music video by the renowned German music video director Constantin Timm. The song has been featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday Germany, EQUAL GSA and Indie Brandneu, Stereogum published a nice write-up and it also got some airplay on BBC6 Music!}

Andreya Casablanca - Trapped in Space

Shortlink - Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp - YouTube

In her words, the song is about “about projection - the good and the bad. When I wrote it, I really liked a guy and he kept on making me think there was a connection - while he was in a relationship. In general - if no one really talks about what they feel, you seem to be trapped in a space in between, floating. I think the production pretty much reflects this state of craziness. I have a hard time with uncertainty, even though I start to get better at voicing my concerns or just sitting with it.”

TikTok

_{This had to happen eventually, no? This label has a little TikTok channel with stupid videos. The point is to pick some of our back catalogue releases and talk a little about them. They were shot with the help of our friend and new label colleague kieth dragon - for whom I recently put on a gig at our favorite Tennis Bar, if you were there, thank you, if not, you missed something.}

_{Maybe you have nothing else to do right now and feel like watching some dumb videos? You’re welcome.}

@mandmlabel

hello from Mansions and Millions. we are making videos now, too. hope you like it? #indielabel #recordlabel #indiemusic #musicbusiness

DJ Sets @ The Lot + dublab

_{Apart from my monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, I’m glad I can also visit some other nice online radio stations. In March I played a set on New York’s fantastic The Lot radio which you can listen + watch me pretend to be a DJ. Just last week I was at dublab in LA to play a two hour set. All sets feature releases by friends, some recent discoveries, deep cuts and obviously the occasional label release.}

_{Mansions and Millions @ dublab (July 29th, 2024)}

Molly Nilsson

_{I just realized I don’t only have to feature and write about releases on the label here. I also want to highlight some recent releases by friends and peers such as the one of a kind Molly Nilsson who just put out her new album. A diy legend and an ongoing inspiration for all of us, every new release is always a treat. She recorded it during a residency in Los Angeles not far from where I am currently staying. The album is about staying in a house inhabited by exiles from the Nazi regime and how it relates to our present. You can learn more about in this article in the New York Times, again written by Shaad D’Souza.}

_{Molly Nilsson - Un​-​American Activities on Bandcamp}

Loophole

<sub>I might have mentioned before that since we focus mainly on the Berlin pop underground, having physical spaces where people can perform, new and old friends can meet, is existential. It’s also no news that in our hyper-capitalized world these subcultural spaces are under threat - rising rents, noise complaints, cost hikes, you name it.

The latest victim is our beloved Loophole, where pretty much all of our artists have played their first shows and where we put on a number of events ourselves. They are currently faced with the costs of their eviction and are also trying to find a new space. There is a petition and a fundraiser, maybe you can do your part to keep spaces like these alive - we can’t take it for granted.</sub>

_{Loophole fundraiser}

_{Loophole petition}

@mandmlabel

End of an era R.I.P. Loophole #diymusic #diyvenue #berlindiy #undergroundmusic #berlinmusic

Tour Dates

_{Andreya Casablanca}

_{23.10.24 DE Berlin - Monarch
27.09.24 CAN Montreal - Pop Montreal}

_{Discovery Zone}

<sub>20.08.24 US Philadelphia - Brooklyn Bowl #
21.08.24 US Washington - Fillmore Silver Spring #
23.08.24 US Richmond - The National #
24.08.24 US Charlotte - Underground #
25.08.24 US Atlanta - Buckhead Theater #
27.08.24 US Nashville - Brooklyn Bowl #
28.08.24 US Indianapolis - Deluxe #
30.08.24 US Detroit - St Andrew’s Hall #
31.08.24 CAN Toronto - Concert Hall #
01.09.24 CAN Montreal - Beanfield #
04.09.24 US New York City - Brooklyn Paramount #
05.09.24 US New Haven - Toads #
06.09.24 US Boston - Roadrunner #

# with Crumb and L’Rain</sub>

_{07.09.24 US Elisabethtown, NJ - Otis Mountain Gets Down
27.09.24 CAN Montreal - Pop Montreal
28.09.24 US Williston, VT - Spirit of Vermont}

_{04.10.24 DE Berlin - Festsaal Kreuzberg 20 Jahre
08.10.24 DK Aarhus - Voxhall w/ Mary Lattimore
10.10.24 SE Stockholm - Fasching w/ Horse Lords
11.10.24 NO Bergen - Østre
28.10.24 UK Glasgow - The Glad Cafe
30.10.24 UK Coventry - The Tin Music & Art
31.10.24 UK Manchester - YES Basement
01.11.24 UK London - Corsica Studios w/ Freak Heat Waves
06.11.24 DE Offenbach - Kapelle
07.11.24 BE Liege - KulturA
08.11.24 NL Utrecht - Le Guess Who?
09.11.24 NL Amsterdam - Cinetol
14.11.24 DE Leipzig - Transcentury Update Festival}

_{John Moods}

_{16.08.24 DE Storkow - Alinae Lumr Festival
05.10.24 DE Berlin - Neue Zukunft}

_{Luis Ake}

_{07.09.24 DE Offenbach - Riviera Festival
21.09.24 DE Heilbronn - Discaland In Concert
19.11.24 DE Hannover - LUX
20.11.24 DE Bremen - KRISE
22.11.24 DE Bielefeld - Movie
23.11.24 DE Dresden - Beatpol
24.11.24 DE Leipzig - NAUMANNs im Felsenkeller
25.11.24 DE Köln - Gebäude 9
26.11.24 DE Berlin - Bi Nuu
28.11.24 CH Zürich - Dynamo Werk21
29.11.24 CH Bern - ISC Club}

_{Meagre Martin}

_{16.08.24 DE Storkow - Alinae Lumr
19.08.24 DE Dortmund - Junkyard w/ Nation Of Language
20.08.24 DE Frankfurt - Palmengarten w/ Nation Of Language
21.08.24 DE Hamburg - Draussen im Grünen w/ Nation Of Language
24.08.24 DE Berlin - radioeins Parkfest
18-21.09.24 DE Hamburg - Reeperbahn Festival
27.09.24 CAN Montreal - Pop Montreal
06.11.24 UK London - Pitchfork Festival}

Thank you.

_{That’s it for now! If you made it this far, we adore you.}

Love you!