Firestations release a new EP, ‘Melted Medium’, on Lost Map Records.

The six tracks are available on limited-edition CDR with exclusive hand-made artwork, as well as to download via Bandcamp, or stream.

The new release follows ‘Automatic Tendencies‘ from last November, which included ‘Small Island’, the lead single receiving multiple plays from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Marc Riley as well as from is this music? at Regal Radio.

Originally included as part of Lost Map’s PostMap Club subscription service in February along with with two exclusive bonus tracks (‘No Commonground’ and ‘Phantom Fire’), it’s the penultimate part of the three part series, with the final release coming later in 2021, in the shape of the ‘Pixel Wilderness’ EP.

Each EP embraces a mixtape aesthetic, by including alternative “sunken” versions by the band as well as covers and remixes of new Firestations tracks by other artists.

Band member and artist Laura Copsey is curating collections of limited-edition artworks that expand on the ideas within each release. The lead track from each project is released as part of Lost Map’s Postmap Club.

The latest material from the quartet was captured as a mix of home recordings as well as at Otterhead Studios and Studio Klank, before being mixed by Mike Cranny and mastered by Antony Ryan at RedRedPaw.

The EPs are the first material from the band – Mike Cranny, Laura Copsey, Martin Thompson, Giles Littleford, and Tom Hargreaves – since their lost Map debut album ‘The Year Dot’ from 2018.

The new material is a mix of home recordings as well as tracks made at Otterhead Studios and Studio Klank, before being mixed by Mike Cranny and mastered by Antony Ryan at RedRedPaw.

For the cover version on this EP the band asked Lost Map label mate Clémentine March to create a French-language version of ‘Small Island’, which she titled ‘Le Scaphandre’.

March says of the new version of the track: “Instead of trying to literally translate the lyrics, I worked on sound consonances between the two languages. ‘Scaphandre’ means ‘diving suit’, and I wanted to write a joyful absurdist sea tale. I recorded the song in a gleeful early autumn near Epping Forest, with Michael’s precious help.”

Also included is a trance remix of ‘New Device’ by Dreamtrak (a.k.a. Oli Horton).

More at www.firestationsband.com / www.lostmap.com/firestations.