Premiere: Eliza Niemi - Sushi California
Eliza Niemi is a huge favourite of the team here at the Cups N Cakes Network. We started following her career when her former band Mauno stormed on the Canadian indie scene. As great as that band was, Niemi truly began to shine with the announcement of Mauno’s end. While touring the country multiple times, Niemi developed relationships that would help her forge ahead and create one of Canada’s most excited small indie labels in Vain Mina Records. She also began releasing solo music under her given name, with her debut EP Vinegar coming out in 2019 and its follow-up, Glass, arriving a year later and getting ranked at #7 in our list of the Top EPs of 2020 .
Earlier this year, we were very excited to be the first publication to announce that Eliza Niemi’s debut album would be released in 2022. We are once again honoured to be the first to share new info about this release with its formal announcement and premiere of its first single.
The album is called Staying Mellow Blows and it will be released on August 5th through Vain Mina and Tin Angel Records. It was made over the course of the pandemic by sending stems back and forth with friends that Niemi had made all over Canada. Niemi states that:
“The album is almost like a mixtape in its range of genres -- an homage to all the compilations I grew up listening to (Big Shiny Tunes, YTV Big Fun Party Mixes, the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack, and the many mix CDs my friends and I made for each other throughout my youth) and to Arthur Russell's genre-spanning body of work (there's a loose tribute to his "Eli" on there).”
And in terms of “range of genres”, we are told that Staying Mellow Blows will feature some sparse cello songs, some rock tunes, a country song, some folk, an experimental modular synth track and more. And what about those friends we spoke about that helped craft this release? Niemi reports that the album features appearance from:
Ali Hendra (MAYBEL, sloburn), Amelia Izmanki (Ways Lain), Avalon Tassonyi, Bren Eastcott, Cedric Noel, Dalton Porter, Eli Kaufman (Look Vibrant), Evan Cartwright (Weather Station, US Girls, Andy Shauf), Jeremy Ray (Dove Lady), Lauren Spear (Le Ren), Louie Short, Matthew Cardinal, Mark and Scott Grundy (Heaven 4 Real, Quaker Parents), Maryam Said (Poolblood), Mike Fong (the WAYO), Vic Bury (Louie Short), W. Statler (Free Music), and Yolande Laroche (Orchidae, Mal/Aimé, Pony Girl).
Needless to say we are pumped to hear the whole thing but for today we’ll need to settle for the lead off single, "Sushi California". We asked Niemi to give us some insight into this track:
"Sushi California is one of the more pop-leaning songs. I made it with my dear old friend Mike Fong who produced it and played all the synths and drum machines (and that catchy acoustic guitar lick in the second chorus). Mike and I used to live together in Halifax back in the day and had a project called New Love Underground -- the first band I ever sang lead in!”
Today the track arrives in the form of a video by Ryan Al-Hage of Soul Boner and Thank You So Much productions. (Soul Boner is a duo whose 2021 debut EP arrived via Niemi’s Vain Mina Records and made the Cups N Cakes “Best EPs of 2021” list)
Enjoy this fantastic track below and pre-order Staying Mellow Blows digitally or on vinyl here.
Staying Mellow Blows Tracklist:
1. MPF (Movies)
2. Sushi California
3. Tea On A Plate
4. Murphy's
5. Trust Me
6. Walking Feels Slow
7. Don't Think
8. Not Killing Bad Energy
9. Leave Me
10. Death I
11. Death II
12. Rolling
13. Staying Mellow Blows