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).

For their upcoming EP "GREYSHARKCANYON" (out on March 14th), folk-pop duo Laura and Greg gave in to the "Bob Dylan’s 1965 temptation," trading their beloved, clean acoustic guitars for a more electric and distorted sound. While maintaining their airtight harmonies and solid structure, preview single ‘Alien’ (premiering below) picks up the pace with harder drumming and fuzzy guitars, retaining the band’s signature sense of intimacy, but infusing it with a little urgency and a lot more energy. Take a listen below and catch them live tonight (03/08) at The Silent Barn with Cende, Peaer, and Retail Space. – Adriana S Ballester

 Just in, from Hunduras, this hilariously decadent new video for single Hollywood, launched in combination with their new EP ‘Gathering Rust.’ Yesterday the band embarked on a two week tour that will take them, among other places, to Austin’s SXSW festival.

Names can be misleading. You might expect a band called Wolkoff to be led by unforgiving dudes with Eastern European accents, but it’s actually the project of (probably rather forgiving, and definitely not a dude) Brooklyn based artist Joanie Wolkoff, a multi-discipline artist who has traveled the world and absorbed many cultures (a Toronto native, she went to school in Paris, worked in Tokyo, and farmed in the Chinese countryside, according to this 2015 interview with She/Folk). Her new single "The Homecoming," from her upcoming album ‘Without Shame,’ is a synth pop gem featuring tasteful Asian influences reminiscent at times of some late Peter Gabriel and Japan records. The song reflects and epitmoizes Wolkoff’s cosmopolitan life experience, while showcasing her talent as a singer, songwriter and programmer. Check out also the other single from the album, ‘Kings Highway‘ – Wolkoff will celebrate its release at The Knit on April 19th, after a brief east coast tour opening for Jesse R. Berlin.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

NYC-by-way-of-Israel guitarist Yonatan Gat performs and records as a power trio. The band’s unworldly instrumentals are unleashed live with a rare combination of energy and precision, so much so that the group’s performances have garnered a semi-legendary reputation, in particular in the DIY circuit, always welcome to artists that push the creative envelop without giving up punch. This year the band is literally taking over SXSW (list of shows here), but those who are not headed to Austin can catch them live at Webster Hall on March 11.

We asked the Gat are a few thoughts on being a nu-New Yorker and being psychedelic – or something. Read the Q&A with Yanatan Gat here.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best psych songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

The uniquely evolving sound of singer/songwriter Mary Spencer Knapp’s “cabaret soul” brain-baby Toot Sweet shoots to grandiose levels on ‘Dilettante,’ title track of their upcoming album, scheduled for a March 25 release. Knapp seems to be focusing more on her vocal prowess, and the inclusion of the full-band feel, rather than the signature lost-art cool of her accordion. Thumping kick drum and bass start the track in a playful dance, as Knapp’s singing frolics on top, almost becoming part of the percussion section itself. It’s not long before the rest of the instruments swell and swarm around her voice — the crash of cymbals and fluttering trumpet eventually giving way to the audible clang of an old-timey piano, going back and forth in powerful contrast. Cool, ghostly backup vocals float in and out, adding to the ancient effect at the band’s, and Knapp’s, core. – JP Basileo

Kahli Abdu’s Nigerian heritage shines in his music. Vibrant and engaging, it’s impossible to skip through his soundcloud library for fear of missing a beat, a vibe, a compelling lyric. Each track has its own power and mystery. From the brash funk of “Fear Fear Factory” to the uplifting flavors of “Festival,” Kahli melds rhythms and instrumentation into a new genre he has dubbed “World Electro.” Equal parts Fela Kuti and Wyclef Jean, there are cavalcades of polyrhythms marching forward to triumphant synth pads and sing along hooks to inspire your day. Kahli recently won the Hip Hop/Funk/World category of our Best of 2015 readers’ poll for emerging artists, and he’s currently in the studio churning out his debut album. We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop! – BrokeMc

An ethereal combination of sounds goes the distance for Brandon Curtis’ (ex-Secret Machines) new project Cosmicide, who just finished a February residency at Pianos. If you managed to cautch one of the shows, you might then attest to the tonal high emitted from the gorgeous layering of sound, both instrumentally and vocally. With even catchier hooks, and an array of electronic production coating his brilliantly soothing voice, Curtis builds his own universe and sends you soaring through it. Driving rhythms and chugging lows set an undeniably moveable pace for the piercing aerial melodies. Lush synth is interwoven with warbled guitar modulation, which then meld into beautiful vocal harmonies, creating one rich chord for the entirety of the songs. This is one artist to keep an eye on in 2016, check out latest track "Everything’s Under the Waves." – JP Basileo

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best psych songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!