This morning, we are thrilled to welcome Mini Trees to host the first MailTape episode of September!
Lexi Vega played drums in the Los Angeles indie scene for many years before emerging as an artist with her solo project, Mini Trees. Mini Trees music is vibrant with emotional exploration, Vega creates a raw lyrical atmosphere wherein experiences are laid bare in a challenging and vulnerable way. Her newest EP Slip Away dives into all the turbulence and uncertainty of relationships, while also striving toward themes of self acceptance. Effortlessly, Mini Trees pairs this emotionally candid quality with a dreamy undercurrent. Listening to her second EP Slip Away feels like walking through the galleries of her very thoughts.
Mini Trees selection
Porches - Do U Wanna
Mini Trees: ” Porches has been on repeat for the last few months. Love their last record Ricky Music and this track is one that I keep going back to. It’s dancey and catchy and makes you a little sad; my favorite combo. “
Lomelda - Out There
Mini Trees: ” I’ve been revisiting this album a lot lately and this is probably my favorite track off of it. Absolutely love Lomelda’s melodies, and lyrically feels very relevant to quarantine. “
Ásgeir - Trust
Mini Trees: ” This is also not a new song, but I was supposed to see Asgeir in LA with my friend right before quarantine and we ended up backing out because of coronavirus. I’m actually not sure if the concert was canceled or not, but either way I’m sad to have missed out and have been listening to Ásgeir a lot. This is a beautiful song and is a comforting listen amidst all of this. “
MailTape’s selection
Mini Trees – Honestly
Sarah: ” This song is part of the new EP released by Mini Trees, and I replayed it over and over as soon as I heard it. There’s a hint of the Sufjan Stevens influence she talks of, but Mini Trees departs into a style completely her own. Honestly creates an absolutely mesmerizing harmony of soaring vocals backed with effortless guitar melodies. Her lyrics detail a deeply intricate emotional analysis, something that stands out about Mini Trees music as a whole. The song builds upon itself and steps down just as easily. “
Genevieve Stokes – Lonely And Bored
Sarah: ” This is a new release by Genevieve Stokes. The beauty of her collection hits you just as its sadness does. Through all of her harmonies and beautiful vocals, there’s an angelic simplicity in Stokes’ music that I didn’t know I was craving. The wonderfully strange quality with songs like this is that you start to feel nostalgic for something you’ve never experienced. It’s over too soon, beautiful beautiful beautiful :) “
Feng Suave – Maybe Another Time
Sarah: ” Dutch group Feng Suave blessed us with a new EP, Warping Youth, in June. This track is my favorite off of that collection. As always with Feng Suave, the mix starts off smooth as silk, and keeps up this mood. The song lives in an easy-going jazz groove while also having some 1960’s surfer vibes. The tone reminds me of a anesthetic dream, it doesn’t feel real but feels familiar at the same time. Side note: there’s apparently real debate on whether or not one can actually dream under anesthesia, so maybe this simile is a bit controversial. I still like the way it sounds, so I’m not going to change it. We’ve never strayed away from being provocative at MailTape. “
Golden Daze – Lynard Bassman
Sarah: ” This year, Golden Daze released the demos of their 2019 album, Simpatico. I rediscovered the tracks and fell in love with this one. The 70’s psychedelic folk influences are a killer combination with the guitar leading us through the song’s motions. I’ve been going for drives late at night and this has been on my playlist. It’s nice in the dark, but I think it’ll make a good fit for Sunday mornings, too. ”
That’s all for this morning! Thank you so much for listening with us. Thank you to Mini Trees for her daydream selection, and to Julie Wo for this episode’s fantastic illustration. Happy September!
