Clocking in at 3 minutes exactly, Rett Madison’s soaring new single “Kerosene” is one of the most powerful releases of this wild year.

Rett Madison is from West Virginia, moved to Michigan to study at Interlochen Arts Academy, and finally moved out to LA for college and the music industry. At just 23, she’s gotten write-ups from Billboard and Rolling Stone for her other recent single “Shame is a River.” “You were raised on righteous love / I was brought up in a burning house,” she sings in the first and (spoiler alert) final lines of the song. It’s a whole world in a single line, a dark fairytale in two phrases.

Her country roots are reflected in her vocals, which have a strong twang. While her music is thematically representative of melancholy indie women, she’s got much less fear of being dynamic. In any case, her music approaches the edges of country and rock. It is the kind of blur that happens when music is just too good and too original to arise purely from either genre. Calling it just one thing would limit it, and Madison can’t be limited.

Alchemical Records correspondent, Cynthia Gross provides an in-depth analysis of how chance meetings turn into lasting relationships, and why sometimes showing up is the only missing ingredient.

The Infinite Daisy Chains are becoming one of D.C.’s hottest psychedelic rock bands. From meeting at a rehearsal in a dimly lit garage, to tying the knot fives year in marriage, Ian Dandridge and Kristina Westernik-Dandridge have started creating some extremely unique sounds. Kristina specializes in the violin, vocals, and Ableton push, while Ian focuses on the guitar. They work together with the team at Day Off Recordings, who help them with the logistics of the creative process. We interviewed them on our blog.

Ay Wing is an amazing artist that we’ve gotten the pleasure to learn more about during our time in quarantine. She is Swiss born, and berlin based, and pretty much has it covered when it comes to ensuring her delectable, fluorescent, Neo-soul will get a crowd moving. First time listeners are often so entranced by her glittery beats that they keep coming back for more of that shine and sparkle, online and in person. In the run-up to, and in support of her “Ice Cream Dream” EP release in the spring of 2018, Ay Wing was prolific in her appearances on stages across Europe as well as the United States, where she made her Los Angeles debut appearance last summer. This can be seen in the music video for her single, “Drive By” which made it onto the notorious Spotify playlist “Butter.” Her track “Orange Dreamer”, features an impressive flow by American hip-hop artist Chuuwee, as well as larger than life production by German-born, Shuko

Her newest track is called, “Antidote” and it also features an artist known as Shuko. In this groovy homage to being in love, Ay Wing’s lyrics transport us to that feeling or memory of being mesmerised and inspired by a person with limitless energy – someone who is completely in tune with themselves and can pull us back to the present when we are feeling far away from ourselves.

If you haven’t heard of Cat Janice yet, you are missing out. She is a Washington D.C. native that is on her way to becoming a household name. She has spent time in orchestral productions, jazz bands, and the theatre, and is now a solo act that been featured on both Netflix and ABC. She was also the winner of Best Rock Artist for the Washington Area Music Awards. We decided to ask Cat Janice some questions to get to know her better.