Mainland

Mainland began with an eclectic record collection, 4 New York City transplants and a cavernous rehearsal studio underneath the Manhattan Bridge, culminating in a spontaneous recording session with Jim Eno of Spoon.

Mainland show their raucous merit with their 2nd EP, Shiner, produced by Eno at his Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas. A gritty and erratic collection of scuzzed out indie-rock, Shiner idles somewhere between the vintage sensibilities of The Pixies, and the carefree aesthetics of The Drums. It's a genre they've affectionately coined as “puke-up punk," and it's a term that couldn't be more perfect.

The New York by way of California three-piece is lead by enigmatic frontman, Topf (guitar, synth, vocals) and comprised of Corey Mullee (Lead Guitar, Synth), Alex Pitta (Bass). Drawing inspiration from the likes of Lou Reed to Guided By Voices, together, the four create urgent and erratic tunes that scream of all madness of the New York City streets that they now call home. With debut EP, Girls Unknown, under their belts, and securing opening spots for fellow NYC rockers, Drowners, as well as Strange Talk and Sucre, the band have quickly made a name for themselves with praise from the likes of NME, Interview Magazine and Brooklyn Vegan.

Artist Feature

Not many things are more exciting than watching an enthusiastic young band making their mark. Mainland are one of those bands we can't stop watching - their single "Outcast" was constantly on our summer playlists, and now that the year is starting to wind down we're starting up the countdown to their debut album release. While out on the road with some of their friends (including fellow Feed The Beat bands Dreamers and Atlas Genius), the guys took some time to chat with us:

Tell the Feed The Beat community about Mainland in one sentence: Hard at work, hard at play.

It feels like the last year has been a pretty crazy one for the band! Have there been any particular highlights that have taken you by surprise? Getting the opportunity to tour with Atlas Genius and our friends Dreamers was a great surprise. We're answering these questions from the road now and it's been such an exciting time. Recording our album at Fairfax Recordings (formerly Sound City) was a big highlight. Playing the same piano that Neil Young played, in the same live room that Nirvana recorded "Nevermind", and Fleetwood Mac recorded "Rumors", was pretty damn memorable.

What is your biggest "must have" while out on tour?

1. Neck pillows
2. Free Taco Bell
3. Our custom Mainland x Feltraiger motorcycle jackets. Check those guys out - they've been outfitting great bands from Fall Out Boy to Highly Suspect.

You're currently on tour (with two fellow Feed The Beat artists, Atlas Genius and Dreamers) - is there a part of playing live that really sticks out to you? On this tour we've started drawing out a dancey breakdown for one of our new songs "Fading Friends". It's a great moment to connect to the audience and pull them in. On this tour being the first band of the night, we get the opportunity to set the tone for the night and really break the ice.

If we were looking at a crystal ball... would would we see coming in the future for Mainland? Maybe an album that we can get excited about? Looking into the crystal ball you will see other single releases in our future, several videos, more tours, more, more, more. We have an album on the horizon as well; the title is "Night Trials" and it looks like it will come out in Spring 2016.