Portland alt-rock / post-punk outfit Rayon present their latest single 'Running', a propulsive exploration of the anxiety that comes with watching loved ones struggle with cycles of addiction that they can't shake - and the sound of a tape echo that's about to stop working. Intentionally preserving the noise of pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding to heighten the song’s frantic pace, its sound can be considered a study in tension and tape, the video conveying a sense of lo-fi capers involving a Citroen Wagon.

Found on the flip side of the single 'Shopping / Running' (also available on 7" vinyl via Little Cloud Records), 'Running' is perhaps even more stunning than the whacky A-side 'Shopping', a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel, written by someone who happens to travel and consume a bit.

Founded by long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of other notable Portland bands - Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax - namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez.

'Running' is based on a relentless bass and drum groove that lived in Sabatino's head for months before finally taking shape in the studio. To capture the song’s unsettled emotional landscape, the band leaned into the mechanical unpredictability of a dying Dynacord tape echo. By funneling guitars and vocals through the aging machine, they achieved a haunting, warped soundscape where the pitch and speed constantly bend and shift. Feeling as though it is physically straining under its own weight, this song mirrors the very themes of instability it describes.

"'Running' was built around a bass and drum groove I was kicking around in my head for months. The guitars and vocals are the sound of a tape echo called "dynacord" that's barely working, bending and moving the speed and pitch of everything we run through it. Those parts wouldn't have come out like that if I wasn't trying to write a guitar part while plugged into that machine." says Eric Sabatino.

The video for 'Running' offers a gritty, nostalgic look at the band’s world, captured entirely on a vintage Handycam, following the band in their meticulously restored Citroen wagon. Embracing the track's jerky energy, their journey concludes with a grainy, evocative sequence of freeway signs leading into Seattle—a slow-burn outro that grounds the video’s high-energy antics in a sense of place and movement.

"The video was shot on an old handycam camcorder we found in the back of a closet. The battery miraculously held a charge. It came with a tape of someone's school play, which we taped over (sorry to whoever's family that was). It features the Citroen wagon from the 'Shopping' video. I worked on that car for months. So glad it didn't break down during these two long video shoots," says Eric Sabatino.

"We drove around all day picking everyone up at their home, work, local bar, favorite little shop, and went to band practice. We filmed the antics and capers along the way. Sometimes we let friends and strangers hold the camera and film us. I transferred and edited it over 2 late nights, trying to capture as much pause, rewind, and fast-forward noise as I could, timing the cuts to capture the jerky energy of the song. I love the outro and the slow noisy shots of the freeway signs leading to Seattle."

In contrast, the video for 'Shopping' - filmed with their awesomely nostalgic Super 8 video - was born of near-burnout and a revitalizing trip south of the border, showcasing antics in several grocery stores there before eventually being kicked out.

Sabatino broke tradition with this release, deciding to mix the album together with famed recording engineer Larry Crane (Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) at Jackpot Recording and Timothy Stollenwerk (Yo La Tengo, Grouper, Morphine) at Stereophonic Mastering.

The 'Shopping / Running' single is out now, available both digitally and as a limited pressing of 150 blue transparent 7" record and 150 black 7" vinyl. It can be ordered in all formats via Bandcamp, with this snazzy vinyl also available via Little Cloud Records. This is the first in an exciting new series of similar records in the works for Rayon.

CREDITS
All songs written by Eric Sabatino
Recorded by Eric Sabatino in Rayon's garage on 16-track tape
Mixed by Eric Sabatino & Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording
Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering
Eric Sabatino - guitar, bass & vocals
Eric Rubalcava - drums
Riley McLaughlin - guitar
Anna Sabatino - keys & vocals
Cover photo & layout by Eric Sabatino (photo of lamp lady shot on an Argus C3 with Cinestill 800t)
'Shopping' video shot on film (Super 8 Camera) & edited by Jeff Tuyay
'Running' video filmed on Hi8 handycam by Rayon & friends & edited by Rayon
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

Keep up with Rayon
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Little Cloud Records
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BlueSky | Threads | Soundcloud | LinkedIn | Email

No-wave, angular post-punk outfit Rayon present their beautifully whacked-out single 'Shopping', a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel born from near-burnout and a revitalizing trip south of the border. The video for 'Shopping', filmed with their awesomely nostalgic Super 8 video, showcases grocery store antics before being kicked out, proving that new life can always be found on aisle five.

Along with B-side 'Running', the single is available on 7" vinyl and as a two-track digital release via Little Cloud Records. This is the first in an exciting new series of similar records in the works for Rayon.

The project of long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax - namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez. Recording on rainy weekends in a garage studio packed with old reel-to-reel tape machines, partially-functional tube amps, and leaky British motorcycles, these songs were recorded onto 16 tracks of 1/2” tape, while running the tracks through a slightly-wonky sounding tape echo.

Sabatino broke tradition with this release, deciding to mix it together with famed recording engineer Larry Crane (Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) at Jackpot Recording and Timothy Stollenwerk (Yo La Tengo, Grouper, Morphine) at Stereophonic Mastering.

"Doing everything on film and tape is a bit of a safety check-valve, to make sure we make everything like humans with no autotune, copy/paste or AI. I'm becoming an imperfectionist,” says Eric Sabatino.

“This was the first time we’ve engaged a "professional" to work on our recordings. The education we received was immense, and Larry was kind with his explanations of everything we had previously done "wrong" with our recordings, was willing to work with what we provided and willing to get weird with us."

Written in two parts, 'Shopping' is a tongue-in-cheek song about consumerism and travel, written by a person who travels and consumes quite a bit. 'Running' is an anxious song about the people you love and the addictions that they can't shake - and the sound of a tape echo that's about to stop working.

Rayon spent last winter honing these and other songs through a series of live shows, including an epic trip to Guadalajara, which served as creative fodder for the band's latest inspiration and re-invigoration.

"This EP almost didn’t happen. I nearly walked away from Rayon. The last record wasn’t selling, a lack of decent show offers, festival rejections and a general feeling of burnout was happening. Our second guitarist left, and then our drummer. The addition of guitarist Riley McLaughlin (from Yuvees and Club Deluxe) and Eric Rubalcava (drums) and Derek Longoria-Gomez (percussion and bass) from our "band-in-law" Sun Atoms brought new life and energy to the band," says Eric Sabatino.

"We played some of the first enjoyable shows in a few years, and a new energy emerged. We started functioning as a band, we traveled to Mexico, and came back to record these songs. And another record is in the works. As for the new video, we got kicked out of two grocery stores making it. The Mexican Tienda was cool as hell; they loved it. We shopped and goofed around in stores, drove the old car down to the park under the bridge and had a picnic. Jeff filmed it all on a cute old Super 8 camera."

Before forming Rayon, Eric Sabatino spent years playing with bands in Southern Michigan and Portland, sometimes with as many as six projects on the go at the same time. Self-described as “a guy who grew up on 80’s/90’s post punk and grunge trying to reconcile their love of R&B, Soul and 60’s British Pop”, Sabatino is now fully focused on this one project, built on the experience of years of writing, collaborating, studio work and touring with some of the Pacific Northwest’s hardest working bands.

'Shopping b/w Running' is out now digitally and available as a limited pressing of 150 blue transparent 7" record and 150 black 7" vinyl. It can be ordered in all formats via Bandcamp.

Portland's RAYON captures anxiety's frantic pulse on new 'Running' single & Citroen-laced video

Portland's Rayon unveils 'Shopping' single, a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism & survival