Tehrangeles Vice and the Global Indie Wave [Stereo Current]

[00:00] Announcer: From Neural Newscast, this is Stereo Current, sound, culture, and the systems that shape them. [00:07] Sloane Rivera: Stereo. Welcome to Stereo Current. Do you think it sounds like me? [00:15] Sloane Rivera: and the culture spinning on the deck. [00:18] Sloane Rivera: It is March 15th, 2026, and I'm Sloan Rivera. [00:21] Julian Vance: And I'm Julian Vance. [00:23] Julian Vance: We're sifting through the noise today [00:24] Julian Vance: to find the signals that matter, [00:26] Julian Vance: from the neon archives of Tehran Alice [00:29] Julian Vance: to the monolithic walls of sound in Tokyo. [00:32] Sloane Rivera: It's a Sunday that feels like it's vibrating [00:35] Sloane Rivera: at a different frequency, Julian. [00:37] Sloane Rivera: There's a certain weight to the music [00:39] Sloane Rivera: crossing our desks this morning. [00:41] Sloane Rivera: An intersection of deep introspection and outwardness [00:43] Sloane Rivera: outward protest. [00:45] Julian Vance: The digital and the analog are fighting for space, as usual. [00:49] Julian Vance: But before we get into the archives, we should probably talk about the sheer atmosphere [00:53] Julian Vance: being built by some of our favorite international finds this week. [00:57] Sloane Rivera: Let's start in Sydney. [00:59] Sloane Rivera: Venetian Naden just released a single titled Submerged, and it's a masterclass in what A&R Factory calls Lynchian Ambient Depths. [01:08] Sloane Rivera: It's Greek-born, Sydney-based electronic art that feels less like a song and more like a slow pull into the subconscious. [01:17] Sloane Rivera: Jillian, the textures here are almost alchemic. [01:20] Julian Vance: Yeah, Nadine really understands the power of non-lexical harmonies. [01:25] Julian Vance: It's folk-esque chimes meeting stripped-back arrangements. [01:29] Julian Vance: It doesn't force momentum. [01:31] Julian Vance: It just lingers. [01:32] Julian Vance: It reminds me of those late-night sessions where you're not sure if you're awake or dreaming. [01:37] Julian Vance: Very esoteric. [01:39] Julian Vance: Very deliberate. [01:40] Sloane Rivera: Exactly. [01:41] Sloane Rivera: It's a vessel for hidden architecture. [01:44] Sloane Rivera: And if Phoenicia is pulling you inward, Tokyo's rainbow belts is trying to flood your entire [01:50] Sloane Rivera: sensory system. [01:51] Sloane Rivera: Their new single, 246, titled after the famous Tokyo thoroughfare, is what they're calling a monolithic monument of shoegaze. [02:00] Julian Vance: Monolithic is the word, Sloan. [02:03] Julian Vance: It's got that pulsating, oscillating energy that actually feels physical. [02:08] Julian Vance: You've got these dream pop harmonies floating about a rhythm section that's basically a freight train. [02:13] Julian Vance: It's that viscerally ethereal signature that makes the Tokyo scene so resilient. [02:18] Julian Vance: They aren't just playing loud. [02:20] Julian Vance: They're sculpting scale. [02:22] Sloane Rivera: It's a beautiful tumult. [02:24] Sloane Rivera: But shifting gears from the studio to the stage, the big conversation this week is centered in Austin. [02:31] Sloane Rivera: SXXS 2026 is officially the year Mexico stopped being a guest and became the core of the festival. [02:39] Julian Vance: Yep, it's about time. [02:41] Julian Vance: IndiePulse music is tracking this huge shift. [02:44] Julian Vance: We're seeing everything from Musica Mexicana heavyweights like Peso Pluma to a massive wave of indie and experimental acts. [02:51] Julian Vance: It's no longer just a couple of rock bands. [02:54] Julian Vance: It's a full ecosystem. [02:56] Julian Vance: The Mexico Toma Austin Showcase is a prime example, mixing regional Cumbia with drill. [03:02] Julian Vance: It's showcase Seen Fronteras in the truest sense. [03:06] Sloane Rivera: I'm a... [03:07] Sloane Rivera: particularly watching Safish. [03:09] Sloane Rivera: She's from Jalisco, and her track, [03:12] Sloane Rivera: Mikai Go, is this flirty fusion of French house and R&B. [03:17] Sloane Rivera: She's using her first United States festival appearance [03:20] Sloane Rivera: to preview an album called La Femme Illustre coming in May. [03:24] Sloane Rivera: But what I love, Julian, is her lyrical edge. [03:27] Sloane Rivera: She references the Madres Buscadoras de Jalisco, [03:30] Sloane Rivera: the women searching for their disappeared loved ones. [03:33] Sloane Rivera: It's pop with a conscience. [03:35] Julian Vance: And then you have La Texana, out of Baja California. [03:39] Julian Vance: Jose Ramirez is bringing this approachable vulnerability to alt-rock with energetic sense. [03:44] Julian Vance: It's catchy, but heart-wrenching. [03:47] Julian Vance: Between him and the dream pop duo Valsian, the sonic range coming across the border right [03:52] Julian Vance: now is staggering. [03:54] Julian Vance: It makes the old United States and United Kingdom dominance look a bit tired. [03:59] Sloane Rivera: Speaking of not being tired, let's talk about a yacky. [04:04] Sloane Rivera: Spectral Knights is highlighting their new single, Lean Out. [04:07] Sloane Rivera: These London-based feminist punk rockers aren't just making noise. [04:11] Sloane Rivera: They're raising funds for striking teaching assistants at Richard Cobden School. [04:16] Sloane Rivera: All proceeds on Bandcamp go to the strike fund. [04:19] Julian Vance: Janie Starling, who we know from Dream Nails, is leading this charge. [04:24] Julian Vance: The track is a tribute to Don Foster and the Global Women's Strike. [04:28] Julian Vance: It's a total rejection of the Corporate Sanitized International Women's Day. [04:32] Julian Vance: As Janie puts it, it's about flipping tables instead of sitting at them. [04:35] Julian Vance: them. The riffs are in your face. The drumming from Maeve Westall is a powerhouse, and the message [04:41] Julian Vance: is clear. Care is work, and it's time to pay up. Right. It's that who cares for women, [04:48] Sloane Rivera: other women line that really sticks. It's [04:50] Sloane Rivera: It's vital, crunching punk. [04:53] Sloane Rivera: From the front lines of North London to the digital dreamscapes of Measley, [04:57] Sloane Rivera: our next topic is a bit more of a deep dive into the power of the mundane. [05:01] Julian Vance: Measley is such a fascinating case study. [05:04] Julian Vance: They recently sat down with A&R Factory to talk about their project, [05:07] Julian Vance: Walker of the Sunset Path. [05:09] Julian Vance: It's a narrative-driven game where songwriting and world building are inseparable. [05:14] Julian Vance: Measley's DNA is a mix of early 2000s pop punk, think Fallout Boy and Green Day, and childhood [05:21] Julian Vance: obsessions with rhythm games like Rhythm Heaven. [05:23] Sloane Rivera: I love that they used the Purity plugin purely out of necessity because their old computer [05:29] Sloane Rivera: couldn't handle anything heavier, and it ended up defining their entire 90s sound font aesthetic. [05:35] Sloane Rivera: It's that intersection of nostalgia and digital limitation. [05:39] Sloane Rivera: They're creating music for a climax in a game, like the duet Double Stepper with Kiera [05:44] Sloane Rivera: Jalen, but it stands alone as this airy, pink panther-esque vibe pop. [05:49] Julian Vance: It's that Japanese music structure. [05:51] Julian Vance: exposed through Pokemon Platinum and WarioWare, [05:55] Julian Vance: blending with mid-2000s MTV vibes. [05:59] Julian Vance: It's the Everyman Voice, as Miesley puts it. [06:02] Julian Vance: Very downtown, the old MTV show, not just the location. [06:07] Julian Vance: Speaking of locations and history, we have to talk about Discontrary's latest vinyl release. [06:14] SPEAKER_01: This is the one I've been waiting for! [06:16] SPEAKER_01: Tehranjilas Weiss, Iranian diaspora pop 1983 to 1993. [06:22] SPEAKER_01: Spin is calling it a time capsule and a treasure. [06:26] SPEAKER_01: Zachary Azdurian and Anayas Gulbu Daggian found this productions in a neighborhood shop [06:32] SPEAKER_01: and realized they were looking at a neglected chapter of music history. [06:36] Julian Vance: For Iranians, cassettes were conduits for revolution and refuge. [06:41] Julian Vance: When musicians fled the Islamic Republic, Los Angeles became the new hub. [06:47] Julian Vance: These tracks were sold in Tehranjilis music shops. [06:50] Julian Vance: Now they're on double gatefold vinyl with this incredible Natalie Miller art [06:56] Julian Vance: that looks like Duran Duran's Rio through an Iranian lens. [07:00] SPEAKER_01: It's subversive pop that provided a home for a community in exile for decades. [07:05] SPEAKER_01: To have it properly mastered and documented with a 20-page booklet, that's why we still [07:11] SPEAKER_01: buy vinyl, Julian. [07:12] SPEAKER_01: It's the context. [07:14] SPEAKER_01: It's the refuge. [07:15] Julian Vance: Whether it's a tape from 1984 or a bandcamp link for a 2026 strike, the medium is still [07:22] Julian Vance: the message. [07:23] Julian Vance: We're seeing a lot of tables being flipped this week, and the soundtrack is better for [07:28] Julian Vance: it. [07:29] Julian Vance: You can track all the artists we've covered today at stereocurrent.neuralnewscast.com. [07:36] SPEAKER_01: It certainly is. That's our roundup for today. Keep your ears open and your stylus clean. [07:41] Julian Vance: I am Sloan Rivera. And I'm Julian Vance. This has been Stereocurrent. [07:46] SPEAKER_01: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [07:50] SPEAKER_01: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com. [07:54] SPEAKER_01: See you in the crates. [07:56] Announcer: This has been Stereocurrent on Neural Newscast. [07:59] Announcer: Sound, culture, and the systems that shape them.