POPULAR MUSIC (US/AU) // THE GHOSTLETTERS (AT)

Popular Music is the Melbourne-based cinematic duo of Zac Pennington (Parenthetical Girls, Xiu Xiu) and composer Prudence Rees-Lee. The name is literal. Their debut LP is Minor Works — a widescreen record written for the end of time, and the first Pennington-penned album in a decade. Recorded across three continents, Minor Works’ ambitious productions were pieced together in sessions between Los Angeles, Melbourne, Moscow and New York — with percussion by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, contributions from celebrated composer Jherek Bischoff (Angel Olsen, Xiu Xiu, David Byrne), plus a 17-piece Russian chamber orchestra conducted over Zoom (no, really). Live, Popular Music strips back to electro-pop efficiency — deploying a small arsenal of analog synthesizers for maximum melodramatic effect.

Zac Pennington
Songwriter/performer Zac Pennington has spent nearly two decades charting a strange and singular path through the arteries of independent pop music. As founder and creative director for the musical group Parenthetical Girls, Pennington self-released four critically acclaimed full-length albums, supported by extensive touring throughout Europe and North America.
He has toured as a member of the experimental group Xiu Xiu, and has shared stages with David Byrne, Rufus Wainwright, Perfume Genius, Devendra Banhart, Dirty Projectors, Deerhoof and more. His works have been performed at art institutions like the Guggenheim, the Getty Museum, REDCAT (Los Angeles), and St. Ann’s Warehouse (New York City), as well as numerous international arts and music festivals, including the Donaufestival (Vienna), Primavera Sound (Barcelona), Intersecciones (Spain), PuSh Festival (Vancouver, B.C.), Bumbershoot (Seattle), New Island Festival (NYC), and PICA’s Time-Based Arts Festival (Portland).

Prudence Rees-Lee
is an Australian artist who divides her time between Melbourne and Los Angeles. A classically trained cellist, her work seeks to unite her interest in popular song, synthesis, and experimental technique.
As a songwriter, she has released two full-length LPs of baroque pop — Court Music From the Planet of Love (Special Award Records 2013) and Growing Closer (Eastmint 2019), each to critical acclaim in Australia. Her recorded output also includes experimental soundscapes (Stereophonic Experiments in Magnetic Tape and Circuitry, 2020), orchestral scores (Inner Voices, 2022), and multichannel installation works (Crystal Universe and Beyond Nature, 2022).
She has also worked extensively in theatre, most notably as a composer and performer for award-winning LA-based company Four Larks. Her work has been supported by The Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, Flor De Sol (Bolivia), The Getty (USA), New Music USA, and more.

The Ghostletters, ein musikalisches Solo-Projekt von Elke Bitter (Sängerin, Gitarristin und Songwriterin) ist ein Beispiel dafür, dass weiblicher Pop im reiferen Alter möglich sein kann und es dafür keine Schranken geben darf. Jahrgang 1974, geboren in Linz hat die Musikerin erst in ihren Dreißigern zum musikalischen Schaffen gefunden. Hier fand sie ein kreativ vielseitiges Feld im Umkreis der Bands des Labels Trauerplatten: musikalisch war und ist sie bei „He was a she“ aktiv und arbeitet seit Jahren immer wieder an der Gestaltung und Umsetzung der Videos für die Band „Vienna Rest in Peace“ mit. 4 am, das Minialbum und die gleichnamige Single zirkulieren um essentielle Themen und Stimmungen des Frauseins: Vielfältigste Erwartungen an weibliche Individuen, das Leben mit Schmerzen und permanenter hormoneller Veränderung. Aber auch Mutterschaft, Abschied und dann aber wieder in den Zwischenräumen aufflackernde Bedürfnisse, aus denen eine Kraft entsteht, die sich immer wieder neu generiert. Die EP (Release am 13. März 2025 auf Trauerplatten) umfasst 6 Songs, die melancholisch kraftvollen Synthie-pop liefern und aber auch (Support durch Vienna Rest in Peace) einen Ausflug in Singer-Songwriter Korridore unternimmt.