Sylvan Esso launch new record label Psychic Hotline with singles series

American indie/electronica duo Sylvan Esso have launched their own new label, which they have named Psychic Hotline.

With its announcement yesterday (August 4) also came news that the duo would be releasing a series of singles over the coming months, both digitally and as seven-inch vinyl records.

The first of these is a collaboration between Sylvan Esso vocalist Amelia Meath and songwriter/producer Blake Mills. An original, ‘Neon Blue’, is the single’s A-side; a cover of the same song performed by jazz musician Sam Gendel is its B-Side. Listen to both below:

In a statement, Meath and her Sylvan Esso bandmate Nick Sanborn explained that Psychic Hotline was created in order for the duo to helm “the type of record company we had dreamed of”.

“We do not seek to own intellectual property under any circumstance, nor do we subscribe to scarcity-based career approaches,” they said. “We strive to ever-expand our musical community; to welcome more voices and more perspectives. We believe that the only common denominator in great music is honesty in expression.”

Other artists enlisted for the Psychic Hotline singles series are singer-songwriters Bartees Strange, Anjimile and The Tallest Man on Earth – the latter of whom will collaborate with Meath’s other band, Mountain Man, for the single.

Sylvan Esso released their third studio album, ‘Free Love’, in September 2020. In a three-star review, NME described the album as a collection of “lean, intimate compositions.”

Pre-orders for the ‘Neon Blue’ seven-inch are now available via Psychic Hotline’s website.