We highlighted NYC guitarist Kevin Serra's project Cloud Seeding a few years ago when he released this track with Marissa Nadler. Kevin has been working at his own pace on new material, using this outlet to showcase vocalists he admires (at this stage the list includes also Nadine Carina, Greg Hatem of Heart of Hearts, Sara Syms and Kris English). Even though Cloud Seeding isn't not committed to a specific signature sound or style, new track Mirage, featuring Alexa Wilding (pictuerd), confirms Serra's preference for dreamy atmospheres with a strong melody, in this case immersed in a backdrop referencing spaghetti western soundtracks. This same collaboration is working on another single to be released later in the year.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best mellow songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!

Lord knows it's not easy to start a record label these days. But you could start one for worse reasons than as a way to both immortalize your cat and release singles from Natureboy at the same time. This seems to be the logical explanation behind Kevin Serra's new Bleek Records. Containing an intimate set of heart-on-sleeve artists including Natureboy, Eden Sela (pictured), Cloud Seeding and Heart of Hearts, the label is a home for many of the musical misfits striking a unique path distinct from obvious kinds of representation.

But don't take my word for it. Check out the label's new compilation streaming below and download a fantastic set of songs, many of which appear exclusively here. It's got tracks from Masterface, House of Wolves, my personal fave (for any fan of TV on the Radio) Two Twins, and lots of other stuff your friends probably don't know about yet. - Mike Levine

Following the successful example of artists like Massive Attack, when creating Cloud Seeding, guitarist Kevin Serra set out to experiment and collaborate with a different guest vocalist for every new song. This idea of course conjures up sonic variety, but often also works in prolonging the boost in inspiration you get when like minded musicians first work together. Most recently, Serra collaborated with singer Marissa Nadler, whose ethereal voice helped create the beautifully haunting sound of Cloud Seeding's single "Ink Jar" (streaming here), of which only 100 downloads were available through the music project's bandcamp page in July. However, there are still some hard copies available at Other Music, InSound and Kim's Music and Video. Other track can be heard here. - Abigail P. Devora