On February 22, 2020, my 26th birthday, I was fully prepared to put my label to bed, once and for all. I had one last release to work on, and then Under the Counter Tapes would go gently off into that good night, largely unnoticed if something I was proud to have worked on. That [...]
Medium Soft Paradise Slums (MUZAI Records) Today, we're thrilled to premiere Paradise Slums, the debut album from English yacht pop/soft music singer-songwriter Medium Soft. By nature and by necessity, Paradise Slums is a work of low-budget escapism, a picturesque image of a beautiful beach with warm sands, gentle waves, and a bright sun seen at a distance through [...]
I was catching butterflies for Blathers, a loquacious owl who had just moved to my island, when I got a call from my boss. “Hey, so, as you might have heard, the Governor ordered us to close the store. So ah, unfortunately, this does mean that we will have to lay you off at this [...]
Quinton Barnes Aarupa (Grimalkin Records) Today, we’re excited to premiere the new album from Canadian experimental R&B songwriter and producer Quinton Barnes, Aarupa. For those who follow the Grimalkin collective, it's likely that your first exposure to Quinton was the "Domestika" single released earlier this, which made a strong impression with us with its soulful, [...]
Oh god. OH GOD. https://twitter.com/counterzine/status/1240017594805104640 Yeah. So I said that. We're all dealing with Coronavirus right now. COVID-19. Thee Big C, as it were. We're getting pretty fucked up right now, and by we, I mean all of us. Independent music especially hard. Cancelled gigs, layoffs from nine-to-fives, etc. Streaming revenue sucks. It sucks big [...]
Tapes, we use them all the time. To stick things together, to hang things on other things and occasionally we listen to them too! In this special (hopefully long living exchange program between Counterzine and YIKIS) we (I, the YIKIS team) will focus on the last part of the tape stardom. Expect a dive, very [...]
R.E. Seraphin Tiny Shapes (Paisley Shirt Records) Today, we're absolutely thrilled to premiere the debut solo album from ex-Talkies frontman R.E. Seraphin, Tiny Shapes. For those familiar with his previous bands' output on Burger Records (2016's Bright / Sunny) and Yippee Ki-Yay/Electrify Me! (2018's Kowtow), the songs and sounds found on Tiny Shapes largely come across as the logical [...]
Today, we’re excited to announce Leviathan Messiah, the upcoming album from Chattanooga lo-fi rockers Mythical Motors, as well as premiere lead single “Ring the Bells Burning”. Following last year excellent This Is What the Twilight Zone Was Preparing Us For on Fall Break Records (for which we premiered "1000 Crossing Hearts"), Leviathan Messiah sees the pop [...]
Today, we're thrilled to premiere a new remix album courtesy of COUNTERZINE regular Thor Maillet aka Petridisch, a re-imagining of Barbara Morgenstern's 2018 album Unschuld und Verwüstung: Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework). One of three Fish Prints releases queued for March 7th's MiniDisc Day along with an expanded reissue of German electropop duo [...]
Evan Souza is Darko the Super, a Philadelphia-based rapper who's received coverage from the likes of Houdini Mansions, Go Radio, and Dead End Hip Hop. We asked him about his upcoming album with Steel Tipped Dove, his influences, his incredible work ethic, favorite artists, and more. We're also fortunate to be able to share the [...]
