New Jersey's ELK CITY releases seventh album 'Undertow', one of 2023's top releases, via Magic Door Record Label

"Elk City’s cool and elegant sound draws on 1980s “dream pop” and bits of 1960s folk-rock" ~ The New York Times

"Sophisticated – vivacious, harmonious and memorable due to many factors, not least of all is the remarkable vocal timbre and convincing delivery of vocalist Renée LoBue, recalling Eddie Brickell at times and Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick at others" ~ Music-News.com

"Clever lyrics, winning arrangements and superb production, but with a seemingly darker underbelly... one of the best albums of 2023. From start to finish, this is a solid offering – a thoroughly pleasing and inspired aural experience" ~ The Spill Magazine


New Jersey art-rock outfit Elk City present their seventh album 'Undertow'. From the opening title track, this album sucks you into a different kind of record. Recorded, mixed and mastered by renowned producer (Guided By Voices, Luna, Gramercy Arms), this album was released via NJ-based Magic Door Record Label, co-founded by Guided by Voices' Kevin March, Ketchem and artist Renée LoBue.

'Undertow' was created with peculiar pop constructs built of rare materials, found only in the wilds behind Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, where Elk City meticulously built this record and this band a whole other way. Songs often begin with improvised live-jams that become load-bearing beams for layers of instrumentation and harmonies. Elk City’s live shows also push boundaries of what a band should be.

Founded by Renée LoBue and Ray Ketchem, Elk City is rounded out by Luna’s Sean Eden, Richard Baluyut (Versus) and Chris Robertson (Psychedelic Furs side project Feed, Punch Havana).

After seven albums, Elk City are still deliberately hard to define, still seekers, leading the listener on a journey to new sounds and feelings. And as long as they remain curious, they will report back what they have found, with albums like 'Undertow', packed with siren songs to lure you in and fill you with a devout ecstasy, body and soul. You came here looking for something. And now you know...  Welcome to Elk City.

Like their previous album 'Above the Water', this record is inspired by the band’s love of documentaries and films that explore the allure of cults and extreme alternative lifestyles. Ahead of this album, the band released the singles 'Tried To Move On' and 'Strong (You're Not Alone)'.

“The albums 'Undertow’ and ‘Above the Water’ were written and recorded simultaneously. We actually considered releasing them together as a double album. Numerous songs on ‘Undertow’ are long and sprawling and take the listener on unexpected adventures. But, of course, there are a few pop songs too,” says Ray Ketchem.

Renée LoBue adds, “Undertow is the darker continuation of our latest 'Above the Water' LP. As Ray mentioned, both records were recorded at the same time. Undertow stands alone as a listening experience. You can hear us going deeper into unchartered sonic waters.”

The 'Undertow' album is out now, available across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. 

CREDITS
Written and performed by Elk City
Renée LoBue - vocals
Sean Eden - guitars
Chris Robertson - guitars, backing vocals
Richard Baluyut - bass, synths, backing vocals
Ray Ketchem - drums, synths, sounds
Claudia Chopek - violin
Recorded, mixed and masted by Ray Ketchem
Produced by Ray Ketchem
Created at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
© 2023 sound is crazy music (BMI)
Single cover artwork by Renée LoBue
'Strong' video directed, filmed and edited by Ray Ketchem
featuring Renée LoBue, Chris Robertson and Richard Baluyut
'Strong' video filmed at Eagle Rock Reservation & Kip's Castle Park, Essex County NJ
Elk City live photos at the Bowery Ballroom by Eric Kayne

New Jersey art rock collective ELK CITY release their seventh album, 'Undertow', via Magic Door Records

"Elk City’s cool and elegant sound draws on 1980s “dream pop” and bits of 1960s folk-rock" ~ The New York Times

"Sophisticated – vivacious, harmonious and memorable due to many factors, not least of all is the remarkable vocal timbre and convincing delivery of vocalist Renée LoBue, recalling Eddie Brickell at times and Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick at others" ~ Music-News.com

"Clever lyrics, winning arrangements and superb production, but with a seemingly darker underbelly... one of the best albums of 2023. From start to finish, this is a solid offering – a thoroughly pleasing and inspired aural experience" ~ The Spill Magazine


New Jersey art-rock outfit Elk City present their seventh album 'Undertow'. Like their previous album 'Above the Water', this record is inspired by the band’s love of documentaries like 'The Source Family' and 'Wild, Wild Country' - films that explore the allure of cults and extreme alternative lifestyles. In the lead up to the album, the band released the singles 'Tried To Move On' and 'Strong (You're Not Alone)'.

Founded by Renée LoBue and Ray Ketchem, Elk City is brilliantly rounded out by Luna’s Sean Eden, Richard Baluyut (Versus) and Chris Robertson (Psychedelic Furs side project Feed, Punch Havana).

Ketchem, a renowned producer (Guided By Voices, Luna, Gramercy Arms)recorded, mixed and mastered the 'Undertow' album, which is being released via Montclair, NJ-based Magic Door Record Label, co-founded several years ago by Guided by Voices' Kevin March, Ketchem and artist Renée LoBue.

“‘Undertow’ is the companion piece to our 2022 album ‘Above the Water’. Both albums were recorded simultaneously. We actually considered releasing them together as a double album. ‘Undertow’ is the darker of the two. Numerous songs on ‘Undertow’ are long and sprawling and take the listener on unexpected adventures. Of course, there are a few pop songs too. Like all our albums, there are pop songs, but Undertow has a musical darkness that is unique to this release, yet lyrically it seems to be about independence and personal strength,” says Ray Ketchem.

Renée LoBue adds, “The most interesting thing about these records (to me) is that the water theme was not planned. The water theme revealed itself to us after. Even more ironic: The cover art pieces that were chosen for both records have water themes. I created both pieces of art before the records were done. At the time I didn’t realize they were part of a larger water theme expressed in the music. Upon completion, we were able to look at both the art + the music with a way more objective lens. We could see the hidden theme looking back at us. It had been there all along.”

From the opening title track, 'Undertow' sucks you into a different kind of record with peculiar pop constructs built of rare materials, found only in the wilds behind Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, which legendary studio designer George Augspurger helped transform into a freeform studio where vintage microphones, modern studio gear, and bespoke sound tuning elevate and inspire.

This is where Elk City has meticulously built this record and this band a whole other way. Songs often begin with improvised live-jams that become load-bearing beams for layers and layers of instrumentation and harmonies. It’s a process that both asks questions and answers them. What is a pop song? (Whatever we say it is) How many guitars are too many? (none) Should we add strings here? (Yes! No! Strings and what else?) Elk City’s live shows also push boundaries of what a band should be, adding and subtracting, sometimes pulling James Baluyut (Versus) into the vortex, sometimes playing acoustic, never afraid of what ifs and what is rock, really?  

Even after seven albums, Elk City are still deliberately hard to define, still seekers, unafraid to shed this life and lead the listener on a journey to new sounds and feelings. And as long as they remain curious, they will report back what they have found, with albums like Undertow, packed with siren songs to lure you in and fill you with a devout ecstasy, body and soul. You came here looking for something. And now you know.

Welcome to Elk City.

As of September 22, the 'Undertow' album is available across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. On September 30, Elk City will be playing a reunion show for the 90’s band Velocity Girl at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, followed by a December 1 show with Ted Leo in their hometown of Montclair, NJ.

CREDITS
Written and performed by Elk City
Renée LoBue - vocals
Sean Eden - guitars
Chris Robertson - guitars, backing vocals
Richard Baluyut - bass, synths, backing vocals
Ray Ketchem - drums, synths, sounds
Claudia Chopek - violin
Recorded, mixed and masted by Ray Ketchem
Produced by Ray Ketchem
Created at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
© 2023 sound is crazy music (BMI)
Single cover artwork by Renée LoBue
'Strong' video directed, filmed and edited by Ray Ketchem
featuring Renée LoBue, Chris Robertson and Richard Baluyut
'Strong' video filmed at Eagle Rock Reservation & Kip's Castle Park, Essex County NJ


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New Jersey art pop heroes ELK CITY present whimsical single 'Tried to Move On’

"Elk City’s cool and elegant sound draws on 1980s “dream pop” and bits of 1960s folk-rock" ~ The New York Times

"This music is sophisticated – vivacious, harmonious and memorable due to many factors, not least of all is the remarkable vocal timbre and convincing delivery of vocalist Renée LoBue, recalling Eddie Brickell at times and Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick at others" ~ Music-News.com

"Formidable... animated, brazen and effervescent. LoBue’s commanding vocals are the icing on the cake... highly infectious" ~ The Spill Magazine


New Jersey art-rock collective Elk City present 'Tried To Move On', the second taste of 'Undertow', the band's seventh album to date. This follows the voluminous consciousness-building lead track 'Strong (You're Not Alone)', a swirling neo-psychedelic folk song baked in cult obsessiveness.

Founded by Renée LoBue and Ray Ketchem, Elk City is brilliantly rounded out by Luna’s Sean Eden, Richard Baluyut (Versus) and Chris Robertson (Psychedelic Furs side project Feed, Punch Havana).

Ketchem, a renowned producer (Guided By Voices, Luna, Gramercy Arms)recorded, mixed and mastered the 'Undertow' album, which will be released via Montclair, NJ-based Magic Door Record Label, co-founded several years ago by Guided by Voices' Kevin March, Ketchem and artist Renée LoBue.

“'Tried to Move On' finds the band following our pop tendencies. The song is perfect for the end of summer, while the weather is still inviting outside. Close and intimate during the verses and chorus, the song opens up in the middle with a triumphant instrumental section," explains Ray Ketchem.  

"In the production, I used small, close sounds to create the rhythm track. I recorded the sound of various metal objects, such as music and microphone stands, and then manipulated the audio. The songs feature one of my favorite lyrics, “the hours turn into weeks, turn into years”.

Renée LoBue adds, "A boomerang of a breezy pop song that slides into your DMs to say, "Hi, you're living in denial." Wearing pastels and beaming. Bursting with... Joy? Anger? It’s “All Gucci” as the kids say, until the chorus barrels through, morphing into a different song that's not on the guest list. You're left in a whirlpool of self-created confusion. But I do like whirlpools because they remind me of jacuzzis and any correlation between our band and jacuzzis satisfies me to pieces. People put up with hunks of BS because fooling themselves is easier than walking an unknown path. Walk your unknown path. But keep your jacuzzi."

Like their sixth album 'Above the Water', this record is inspired by the band’s love of documentaries like 'The Source Family' and 'Wild, Wild Country' - films that explore the allure of cults and extreme alternative lifestyles.

From the opening title track, 'Undertow' sucks you into a different kind of record with peculiar pop constructs built of rare materials, found only in the wilds behind Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, which legendary studio designer George Augspurger helped transform into a freeform studio where vintage microphones, modern studio gear, and bespoke sound tuning elevate and inspire.

This is where Elk City has meticulously built this record and this band a whole other way. Even after seven albums, Elk City are still deliberately hard to define, still seekers, unafraid to shed this life and lead the listener on a journey to new sounds and feelings... Welcome to Elk City.
 
As of August 30, 'Tried To Move On' will be available across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where the full 'Undertow' album (out September 22) is already available for pre-order.

CREDITS
Written and performed by Elk City
Renee LoBue - vocals
Sean Eden - guitars
Chris Robertson - guitars, backing vocals
Richard Baluyut - bass, synths, backing vocals
Ray Ketchem - drums, synths, sounds
Claudia Chopek - violin
Recorded, mixed and masted by Ray Ketchem
Produced by Ray Ketchem
Created at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
© 2023 sound is crazy music (BMI)
Single cover artwork by Renee LoBue
'Strong' video directed, filmed and edited by Ray Ketchem
featuring Renee LoBue, Chris Robertson and Richard Baluyut
'Strong' video filmed at Eagle Rock Reservation & Kip's Castle Park, Essex County NJ

'Undertow' LP pre-order  https://elkcity.bandcamp.com/album/undertow

Keep up with Elk City
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California-based postpunk outfit Octavian Winters present 'Undertow' single, previewing debut EP

"The track feels like it was recorded in a studio deep beneath the earth, drawing power from subterranean caves and bubbling magma. There’s tectonic thunder in the pounding drums and rumbling bass... Such power, strong and true, a voice that scales the wall of sound beneath her with ease" ~ Joyzine


San Francisco post-punk outfit Octavian Winters presents their new single 'Undertow', a dark propulsive offering underlining an aspect of separation from the world and the darkness that comes out of it - a sort of ominous current capable of pulling someone away from all hope. The accompanying video was directed, filmed, edited and  produced by Jay Adams with design by Eric Olson and Steve Devaney.

Born into the ghostly isolation of San Francisco in 2022, Octavian Winters is Stephan Salit (guitar), Randy Gzebb (drums), Jay Denton (bass) and Ria Aursjoen (vocals, keyboards), who together weave their visceral and ethereal sound into a texture all its own – of stories once told but half-remembered, under a dusk of shadows and stars, in an abandoned city under the winter moon.

Drawing from darkwave and post-punk traditions, Octavian Winters dives into the ethereal, their layered music counterpointing edged grooves alongside lush synth textures and soaring vocal harmonies.

'Undertow' is the second single from the quartet's debut EP 'The Line of Curve', recorded in San Francisco at OW Studio and Room 5 Recording by Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated). Produced by Octavian Winters and William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Christian Death, The March Violets), whose credits include Jarboe, Clan of Xymox, Bootblacks and Autumn, the EP was mixed and mastered by Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago.

'Undertow' is loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale of the little matchgirl, standing outside a window on a winter’s night, separated from all sustenance and warmth. Ignored by everyone around, and unable to sustain herself after lighting all her matches for warmth, she freezes to death in the snow.

“Could you join me here, could you find a way to melt the bones of the night?” Aursjoen sings, referencing the theme of isolation again, and the yearning for connection that will never come. “I think we have seen this dark ‘undertow’ overcome so many people in different and tragic ways during quarantine,” says Ria Aursjoen.

Octavian Winters' story begins in late 2021 thanks to a jam session that spawned from unfinished business. Gzebb and Salit, former bandmates in Thrill of The Pull, had met to discuss a film/television publishing deal for Thrill’s catalog (a four-year licensing deal has since been finalized with Expressive Artists). A subsequent jam session produced several motifs, inspiring them to meet several times over the next weeks to explore.

Gzebb invited Aursjoen, who he had met earlier via another project, to a session and the musical chemistry was immediately evident. Gzebb brought in bassist Jay Denton to round out the line up. Randy Gzebb notes, "This gave us the chance to really focus on composition and fully flesh out the song ideas”.

Octavian Winters debuted with the single 'Ondine', a song that draws from a mythical tragedy of love for a sea nymph, and the search ever after for her after she returns to the sea. The music itself transports the listener to a mythical world of sea elementals and an almost courtly love,

Each member of Octavian Winters brings their own rich musical tapestry to the collective and have shared the stage with many iconic acts over the years, including Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke, Lords of the New Church, Savage Republic, Christian Death, The Frozen Autumn, Everything Goes Cold and Black Tape for a Blue Girl.

Ria (Amenti) Aursjoen, who has synesthesia and has nurtured generational musical seeds planted by her opera diva grandmother Lillian, has recorded and performed in the UK and US in genres ranging from Celtic folk to progressive metal and darkwave. She left her graduate work in theoretical physics to pursue music, touring as a Celtic harpist and vocalist for several years before making her home in San Francisco.

Drummer Randy Gzebb relocated to California from Canada, immersing himself in the San Francisco and Los Angeles music scenes in various projects. He was a member of '80s gothic rock band Love Club, who were signed by Sandy Pearlman (The Clash and The Dictators), released on MCA Records, and produced by Bill Buchanan (Fields Of The Nephilim, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Leather Nun).

Stephan Salit, who considers performing live his sacred space, has recorded and performed with a wide variety of groups including Specimen. Approaching each song as a canvas that calls for colour and depth, he views his playing as painting with sound.

Bay Area native Jay Denton, who spent some time on the road with Jack Kerouac, has had a diverse career performing classical and contemporary composers, and playing for various jazz and rock bands, including extensively with the house band at San Francisco’s famous Condor strip club. Jay has toured in London, Japan and across the United States.

As of August 2, 'Undertow' will be available from find music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. 'The Line or Curve' EP will be released on October 13 via Stratis Capta Records.

CREDITS 
Music written by Octavian Winters
Lyrics by Ria Aursjoen
Ria Aursjoen - Vocals / Keyboards
Stephan Salit - Guitars
Randy Gzebb - Drums
Jay Denton - Bass
Recorded at OW studios San Francisco, CA
Vocals recorded by Mark Pistel, Room 5 Recording, San Francisco, CA
Mixed and mastered by William Faith at 13 Studio, Chicago, IL
Produced by Octavian Winters and William Faith
Artist photos by Dina Marie Robinson
Jay Adams - Video director, cinematographer, editor producer
Eric Olson - Design
Steve Devaney - Design at Uroboros Choke
Concept, storyboard, set and costume design by Ria Aursjoen
Featuring Cathenge art installation by David Normal


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New Jersey indie outfit ELK CITY returns with powerful single 'Strong (You're Not Alone)', heralding new 'Undertow' album

"Elk City’s cool and elegant sound draws on 1980s “dream pop” and bits of 1960s folk-rock" ~ The New York Times

"Softly beaten drums and tremolo guitar guide us into the song... allows the song to ebb and flow around the gentle charm of acoustic instruments and the grit of the electric" ~ Joyzine

"This music is sophisticated – vivacious, harmonious and memorable due to many factors, not least of all is the remarkable vocal timbre and convincing delivery of vocalist Renée LoBue, recalling Eddie Brickell at times and Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick at others" ~ Music-News.com

"Formidable... animated, brazen and effervescent. LoBue’s commanding vocals are the icing on the cake... highly infectious" ~ The Spill Magazine


New Jersey psychedelic art-rock collective Elk City announces that they will release their seventh album 'Undertow' on September 22. Ahead of that, they present the voluminous consciousness-building lead track 'Strong (You're Not Alone)' , a swirling neo-psychedelic folk song baked in cult obsessiveness.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by renowned producer Ray Ketchem (Guided By Voices, Luna, Gramercy Arms), 'Undertow' will be released via Montclair, NJ-based Magic Door Record Label, co-founded by Guided by Voices' Kevin Marchwith Ketchem and artist Renée LoBue.

Like their latest 'Above the Water' LP,  this record is inspired by the band’s love of documentaries like 'The Source Family' and 'Wild, Wild Country' - films that explore the allure of cults and extreme alternative lifestyles.

It sure is tempting to join a cult. To drop whatever it is we do over and over and just plain start over, with a fresh sense of community and identity and a new way to love and live and be in this world a whole other way. Cult-life can’t be any crazier than how we’re doing it now, in this backwards, modern world in which we find ourselves. So… it could be time to X out of this celestial Zoom, peel off the athleisure wear and slap on a space tunic that says, ‘Hey, I’ve found something else, and this is my new family now and they can give me inner peace and Heaven on Earth in exchange for letting go of everything I thought I was and society expects me to be’.

Let’s do it.

This is the pull of 'Undertow', sucking you into a different kind of record from the opening title track. Peculiar pop constructs built of rare materials, found only in the wilds behind Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, NJ. which legendary studio designer George Augspurger helped transform from a cavernous warehouse into a freeform studio where vintage microphones, modern studio gear, and bespoke sound tuning elevate and inspire.

This is where Elk City’s founding members, Renée LoBue and Ray Ketchem, along with Luna’s Sean Eden, Richard Baluyut (Versus) and Chris Robertson (Psychedelic Furs side project Feed, Punch Havana) have meticulously built this record and this band a whole other way. Even after seven albums, Elk City are still deliberately hard to define, still seekers, unafraid to shed this life and lead the listener on a journey to new sounds and feelings... Welcome to Elk City.

“'Strong (You’re Not Alone)' just may be the highest of heights we’ve reached as songwriting collaborators. A ‘non-single’ single, unapologetically present in its dream catcher-waving vibe. The least pop of pop songs on our upcoming Undertow LP, yet here it is, served up first: Sprawling, moody, nonsensical, captivating, and much like Rob Zombie sang: More Human than Human. Baby steps in believing in oneself. “Ooh, you never know what you’re made of till you climb the top.” Let this one guide you, heal you, inspire you, strengthen you. Hacky sacks optional. Also: It’s way cheaper than therapy," says Renee LoBue.

Ray Ketchem adds, “Strong (You’re Not Alone)” is an example, where we let the song forge our path. We observe, listen and follow where it leads, but we relinquish control in order to open the channels within ourselves".
 
As of July 19, 'Strong (You're Not Alone)' will be available across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. , where the full 'Undertow' album (out September 22) may also be pre-ordered.

CREDITS
Written and performed by Elk City
Renee LoBue - vocals
Richard Baluyut - bass
Sean Eden - guitar
Chris Robertson - guitar
Ray Ketchem - drums
Recorded, mixed and masted by Ray Ketchem
Produced by Ray Ketchem
Created at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
© 2023 sound is crazy music (BMI)
Single cover photo by Ray Ketchem
Video directed, filmed and edited by Ray Ketchem
featuring Renee LoBue, Chris Robertson and Richard Baluyut
Filmed at Eagle Rock Reservation & Kip's Castle Park, Essex County NJ


Keep up with Elk City
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Magic Door Record Label
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