Founded in 2019 by Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, Psychic Hotline takes a straightforward idea and actually follows through on it: Artists should own their work. The Durham, North Carolina label grew out of their experience in Sylvan Esso, and it shows in how it operates. Psychic Hotline handles the mechanics of putting records into the world while leaving control where it belongs. Early releases came from their circle of friends, including Mountain Man, Bowerbirds, Phil Cook, and Joe Westerlund, and set a tone that feels less like a roster than a network that keeps expanding on its own terms.

That network has at various times included William Tyler, Hand Habits, Sam Gendel, Amaro Freitas and Sam Wilkes, artists who don’t flatten easily into a single category. The catalog moves between experimental pop, cosmic instrumentalism, heavy cumbia, jazz, rock and more exploratory work without making a point of it.

Late last year, Sylvan Esso joined a growing number of artists who removed their entire catalog from Spotify, saying, in part:

“We have to decide what we want to be a part of and what we don’t. To that end, with Sylvan Esso being on our own label for the first time, we have decided to remove our music from Spotify. While no solution is perfect, we simply can’t continue to put our life’s work in a store that, in addition to all its other glaring flaws, directly funds war machines.”

Join us next Thursday, September 3rd from 6-8pm for the global debut listening of Sylvan Esso’s new record - Ow ∞

Space is limited and seating in the lounge will be on a first come first serve basis. The event is free. Doors at 6pm, needle drop at 7pm.

See you there!