Check out the SXSW 2016 issue of The Deli Mag, now available online, and distributed in print next week in Austin during SXSW’s Music Week. You’ll find copies of it also at our SXSW Stompbox Exhibit and Synth Space!

Yes, we’ve done things a little differently this time: we shaped this rag the size of a 7" record, and created a "concept" issue almost entirely dedicated to Psychedelia, with a feature by our editor Brian Chidester about how this musical genre has become more and more influential in the new millennium. The two cover artists, Yonatan Gat and Lewis Del Mar, serve as the two extremes within which Psychedelia has expanded in recent years.

As usual, the issue also gathers:

– A lot of emerging artists (mostly psych this time),
– The winners of The Deli’s regional Year End Polls for Emerging Artists,
– The winners of The Deli’s Best of 2015 Readers’ Polls,
– A section dedicated to the SXSW Stompbox Exhibit and Synth Space

We hope you enjoy the read and get to know some awesome new music.

The Folks at The Deli

East Bay by way of Australia dream pop aficionado, Hazel English has released a number of singles with the production of electro dream pop artist Day Wave. The musicians met at English’s day job and the collaboration started after she played Wave her sensuous, home recorded pop tracks, including a rough version of debut single, "Never Going Home" (streaming). Since the release of that hazy track the duo released a series of well produced, simple dream pop gems that are a promising foreshadow to her (not yet announced) debut LP. Don’t miss her show at the Independent on March 23rd. – Jordannah Elizabeth

Ambient dreampop purveyors The Stargazer Lilies have perfected creating spacious, dreamy sonic landscapes. “The stars are in our heads/The flowers in our hearts” are the openinig ltrics of their lone album: "We Are the Dreamers" (2013). More enhanced recordings, with more effects-heavy guitars and mandarin vocals, are expected from their forthcoming sophomore LP, due in the spring. If you are going to SXSW don’t miss their show at the Double Wide on March 15th. –Dave Cromwell

Hard core NYC-scene party people should be familiar with Japanther, a duo whose performances have brought to life many Brooklyn living rooms and lofts during the DIY explosion of the last decade. The group’s drummer Ian Vanek just released his sophomore album for his solo project Howardian, entitled ‘A Smurf At Land’s End,’ a multifaceted record that sounds a lot more intimate than Ian’s work with his old band. The imaginative songwriting and DIY production are still there, but the garage and surf influences have subsided, in favor of slower tempos conducive to more thoughtful atmospheres. Unpretentiously blending folk, art rock, and bedroom pop, Howardian’s record sounds like a love letter to two of the DIY movement’s true pioneers: Syd Barrett and early Ween. Check out opening track ‘Over The Laptop’ (streaming below).

Singer-songwriter Melanie Edwards‘s release of this new single, ‘What Happened,’ is an introduction to her ninth studio album and asks the painful questions following regretful breakups. It’s a walkthrough of the dark, inevitable backtracking of the all-too-familiar, guided by Melanie’s tearful and honest vocals and somber melody. This single is not only a reminder of her experience, but an ode to a broken heart. -Justin Bieggar