Math, Nature EP

Photo by Martec Merlos.

Kevin Steinhauser writes around three or four songs every week. If he doesn't, he goes a little bit crazy, but that usually only happens with his other project: Math The Band. He has already self-released a variety of records featuring over 20 different songs each, though for Poni Republic, he only selected 7 songs especially meant for you.

Nature EP unlike any of our other releases, is the happiest one of them all. Not because it's just about being happy, but because it makes you feel cheerful and full of joy, even if Kevin is talking about non-sense topics like Antarctic excursions over folkloric mandolins being mocked by upbeat basslines, dorky flutes, catchy Casio melodies and 4/4 beats.

It's a long way until you reach Antarctica, so you better enjoy the open air, the company of your imaginary friends, and do a little dance sometimes in your way. Math gives us the songs we wish we had in our early days, when a little backyard seemed an ever changing world for us to explore.

// MATH / NATURE //
01 - A Spirited Beginning DOWNLOAD
02 - Antarctic Excursion Pt. I DOWNLOAD
03 - Antarctic Excursion Pt. II DOWNLOAD
04 - Antarctic Excursion Pt. III DOWNLOAD
05 - Earth DOWNLOAD
06 - Trees DOWNLOAD
07 - Water DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD EP (ZIP file, includes printable artwork)

All songs written and produced by Kevin Steinhauser. Recorded in Westford, Massachusetts. Contact: myspace.com/acousticmath.

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

Oto Efekt, Living Room EP

For musicians, the main goal is to create moods and pictures that strike each listener, suggesting mental images and drawings in order to let people penetrate its inner world. While listening to Oto Efekt; the project of young French songwriter named Phoene Somsavath, we can all see that she succeeded in doing this. All is blue and grey in her universe, and remains pale for each song.

She sings about the darkest parts of her life, talking about experiences and men we don't know. Are they friends or lovers who have disappeared, or people she met, and then lost? Who are Vincent and Eduardo? Who said something? She just asks for answers and needs for help, and perhaps only the listener can answer these questions. She stands here, naked and revealing her world and thoughts, and musically, the listener becomes a kind of confessor and a way for her to rest and confide.

The Living Room EP is amazing and wonderful, intimate and intelligent. From song to song, the listener will go for a walk, taking Phoene by the hand, and share her musical universe.

Review by Slug @ Past All Concerns.

// OTO EFEKT / LIVING ROOM //
01 - In This Hole (Poni Mix) DOWNLOAD
02 - Vincent DOWNLOAD
03 - Something You Said DOWNLOAD
04 - See DOWNLOAD
05 - Song For Eduardo DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
ZIP file, includes printable artwork

Guitars, keyboards, concertina, programming, vocals by Phoene Somsavath. All songs written by Phoene Somsavath. Mixed and masterized by Pierre Lefeuvre except In This Hole (Poni Mix); mixed by Phoene Somsavath. Recorded in Paris, 2006. Contact: www.otoefekt.com. Art work by Paulina Magos / Phoene Somsavath.

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

Nuuro, All Clear

Alejandro Ghersi is a 16 year old wiz-kid from Venezuela that might as well represent what young kids have been waiting for. Cute, yet intelligent, electronic pop well structured songs, sung by a stunning voice that will shock older audiences too.

He's not 80's influenced, but he sure knows how to sing and make any song sound beautiful, like back in the days. For some reason, he makes us think of Morrissey or Ben Gibbard singing over beats done by Psapp, Mu-ziq or Yellotone.

Youthful and sophisticated electronic glitchery crafted for melancholic pop songs about high school passion and loss. Far from being naive, Venezuela's new poster boy writes downhearted stories meant for nostalgic souls.

Nuuro previously released In Transit EP in (2005) and has already featured an exclusive track on Little Darla Has a Treat for You v.24 (Darla) compilation this summer. All Clear is our first physical release through Soundsister Records and you can already order it at Darla and Juno.

// NUURO / ALL CLEAR //
01 - Not Agaiin DOWNLOAD
02 - Frame Me
03 - Softer Things
04 - Common Dragons DOWNLOAD
05 - Flying On A Space Ship
06 - Oh One
07 - Cerial Box
08 - Ambience Is Unimportant
09 - Waiting DOWNLOAD
10 - All Clear
11 - Terrorfist DOWNLOAD
12 - Blister
13 - The Wall

All written and produced by Alejandro Ghersi except Frame Me, co-written by Mariana Cadavieco. Mastered by Visonear. Cover photo by Kyle La Valley. Recorded in Caracas, Venezuela; 2006. Contact: www.nuuro.net.

Soundsister Records / Poni Republic. All rights reserved. Distributed worldwide via Darla and Fluor Music in Mexico. Fluor music is a division of Noise Kontrol.

Silver St., Time Will Heal

Seamlessly drawn together, Time Will Heal is a short record which documents beautiful tracks that drift into one another with surprising ease, drawing out exotic ciphered rhythms and patterns that sound foreign no matter where you are.

Mostly popular for his acclaimed soothing micro-house Relief album as Transistor, mexican producer Edgar Medina locked himself away from those foot-stomping days and started using his laptop like Dustin Huffman did in Rain Man with his typewriter, only Edgar was seeking new horizons, new textures, cutesy giggly ambient sounds.

Silver St.'s characteristic trait is his use of sharp dry naive synthesizers that punctuate the careful melodies in the backdrop of rinsing pads and calculated whirrs in such a manner that crash into one piece, not only entrancing but, oddly hurtful and romantic.

// SILVER ST. / TIME WILL HEAL //
01 - Falling Stars DOWNLOAD
02 - I Love It Anyway DOWNLOAD
03 - Why DOWNLOAD
04 - Time Will Heal DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD EP
ZIP file, includes printable artwork

All songs written and produced by Edgar Medina. Recorded in León, Guanajuato, Mexico; 2006. Contact: myspace.com/transistormusic. Artwork by Alejandro Ghersi. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

The Oslo Deadtrash Project vs. nim, Drug Tourist Medikit

Thinking that not all pop music has to be shinning happy, systematical, or silly; during a sleepless night, Pierre Lejeune decided to let himself go on the music of his partner Jean-Francois Flamey, better known as NIM, who also directs a very nice label called Carte Postale Records in Belgium.

Pierre Lejeune and Jean Flamey came up nearly by accident with this short record called Drug Tourist Medikit. It's a brief piece including five rainy songs that will you take through a profound mood journey, featuring The Oslo Deadtrash Project's sad vintage pop structures, distorted guitars, beats, hiss and earnest singing, colliding with NIM's obscure melancholic atmospheres and intimate soundscapes.

// OSLO DEADTRASH PROJECT VS. NIM / DRUG TOURIST MEDIKIT //
01 - Sidewalk (Telephone Call) DOWNLOAD
02 - Electronic Music Shop Revolt (Rauchen Ist Tödlich) DOWNLOAD
03 - Down Like Me (Tulipe) DOWNLOAD
04 - The One/ Room Mix (Lumen) DOWNLOAD
05 - Marina (Wish) DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
ZIP file, includes printable artwork


All songs written and produced by Jean-François Flamey and Pierre A.L. Produced by Carte Postale Records; Brussel, Belgium. Contact: www.cartepostalerecords.be

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

V/A, Ride Your Poni

Poni started like this, with an idea of launching a netlabel through a compilation featuring the distinct artists we like and believe in. However, while requesting songs and chatting with our friends and artists, we ended up having more scheduled releases than confirmed songs for the compilation, therefore, it wasn't until this year that we were able to officially release this delayed compilation. And we're glad this happened. It was all for the best. We had more time to meet and find great artists.

Ride Your Poni is the first volume of this series that will be released once a year. We're very much honored to feature all of these top-notch artists since our very first edition, most of them are not from Mexico, heck, they're not even from America. Ride Your Poni includes artists from Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, USA, Venezuela, and Mexico. We admire them all and consider them our own favorite bands and projects. This is why we decided to show them to you in one single piece.

Spread the Poni among your crowd, it's a great compilation to listen to while driving back home from one of those rough and lonely days or knock-out parties. It's rocky, it's folky, yet ambienty, definitely a wild pony. A long journey of acoustic and electronic pop music, happy but subtle, confused and sad, just like our days at the Poni Republic.

// VARIOUS ARTISTS / RIDE YOUR PONI //
01 - ABOUT. Think Niles Drink - DOWNLOAD
02 - NUURO. Waiting - DOWNLOAD
03 - AZUL SIETE. The Sky... - DOWNLOAD
04 - .TAPE. Coming (Horse Kingdom Edit) - DOWNLOAD
05 - MUSIKA 77. Llanvair Llew - DOWNLOAD
06 - TODOSANTOS. Panda Sonora - DOWNLOAD
07 - PISCIS. Sodafilms - DOWNLOAD
08 - ANOIS. Sand - DOWNLOAD
09 - YAMAMOTO. A.M. - DOWNLOAD
10 - SAPPHO. Celestine - DOWNLOAD
11 - HI LUCY! Smoke With Bears - DOWNLOAD
12 - PEPITO. Get Out - DOWNLOAD
13 - MANIQUI LAZER. Sonic Sex - DOWNLOAD
14 - REFLECTIOSTACK. Magic Mountain - DOWNLOAD
15 - AMERICAN CHAMBER MUSIC. Still Life - DOWNLOAD
16 - EXECUTIONER OF THE HEART. May - DOWNLOAD
17 - BOY OMEGA. From Us To Eternity - DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
ZIP file, includes printable artwork

All songs were compiled and selected by The Poni Republic from October 2005 to February 2006. Mastered at Lost Studio by Childs. Art work by Rogelio Vázquez.

All tracks are courtesy of their own authors and labels and were previously solicited to each of their owners or authors.

01) Taken from the debut album Bongo; courtesy of Cock Rock Disco. 02) Taken from the debut album All Clear; soon available through Poni Republic and Soundsister. 03) Taken from Dreaming In Trees; courtesy of the artist. 04) Exclusive track; courtesy of Ambulatore. 05) Taken from Brave You Free; courtesy of UTS,M!. 05) Taken from Aeropuerto; courtesy of La Superagencia. 07) Taken from Ruidemos; courtesy of the artist. 08) Unreleased track; courtesy of the band. 09) Exclusive track; courtesy of the band. 10) Taken from their demo; courtesy of the band. 11) Exclusive track; courtesy of the band. 12) Taken from The New World; courtesy of Static Discos. 13) Taken from the debut album I Learn Everything On TV; courtesy of Soundsister. 14) Taken from Music For Torching; courtesy of the band. 15) Taken from Untitled; courtesy of the artist. 16) Taken from All Things that Sparkle, Trick and Sting; courtesy of the band. 17) Exclusive track; courtesy of UTS,M!.

More information regarding the artists available at each link provided above.

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

Anois, Tracery On A Frosted Window EP

It doesn't matter what's your spot in the globe, if it's spring, summer or fall. Anois will trick winter upon your toes, or any season that makes you feel remotely cold.

Poni Republic couldn't be more proud to present Anois' debut EP, a folk guided chamber pop music record, beautifully crafted by intimate atmospheres and shivering whispers sung softly by a girl and a boy, as if they were memories of earlier conversations about uncertain destinies.

Let the music of Lars Kranholdt and Anne Bayer embrace, you and your loneliness, even if you're one of those who brats about being completely happy.

// ANOIS / TRACERY ON A FROSTED WINDOW //
01 - Set The Pace DOWNLOAD
02 - And You Are Okay DOWNLOAD
03 - Tracery On A Frosted Window DOWNLOAD
04 - Min-For DOWNLOAD
05 - Throw Out The Light DOWNLOAD
06 - #3 DOWNLOAD
07 - I'm Currently Not Plenty DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD EP
ZIP file, includes printable artwork.


All songs written and produced by Anois. Guitar, vocals and programming by Lars Kranholdt. Additional vocals by Anne Bayer. Violin by Nastasja Ernst. Recorded up north Germany; 2005. Contact: pleasemutetoday.com.

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.

American Chamber Music, Untitled EP

Oh, just when we thought it wasn't going to be an easy task finding good rock music, this modest and shy guy called Mark, was introduced to us through Soundsister. And his music was not only good, it was charming and exactly what we had been seeking for.

Mark Pantoja is from San Francisco, and only with the help of a studio drummer, his music, besides being beautifully crafted, is also intriguing, gentle and deeply cinematographic. American Chamber Music is what he calls it, and we can't say there's a better name for this unique vision of post-rock. All performed not by a sextet, but by Pantoja himself.

Untitled, is a mini-EP featuring two songs, a prologue and an epilogue that hasn't stopped playing in our iPods and computers since we first heard it. It's a small piece of rock music that grows within each play inside your heart.


// AMERICAN CHAMBER MUSIC / UNTITLED //
01 - PROLOGUE: COLMA BOUND TRAIN [DOWNLOAD]
02 - STILL LIFE [DOWNLOAD]
03 - SOMETHING ABOUT MOTION [DOWNLOAD]
04 - EPILOGUE: LULLABY [DOWNLOAD]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
ZIP file, includes printable artwork.


Music by American Chamber Music. Recorded by Sonny Walker, Millenium Sound, San Francisco, CA. Guitars and keyboards by Mark Pantoja. Drums by Sonny Walker. Design by Nicolás Pradilla, photographs by Eric Gamboa. Contact: myspace.com/americanchambermusic

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2006.