ALEXEI SHISHKIN

Current Release:
Open Door Policy: June 28, 2024 (Candlepin Records)




Single 1: “Autobahn”
March 22, 2024

Single 2: “Bermuda”
May 3, 2024

Single 3: “Rose Gold”
May 31, 2024
Art: “Sleep” by Odilon Redon, courtesy of The Met

Open Door Policy (2024)
Download EPK | Private Streaming

Open Door Policy was recorded throughout a few sessions over a couple years.

“If I recall correctly, most of the songs were written in late 2020 and early 2021, and then recorded in May of 2021 at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island, with the one and only Bradford Krieger.

Then, in May of 2022, there was a session meant for a different project, but it was unfortunately cut short. I believe that session resulted in ‘Rose Gold’, ‘Animal Control’, ‘Chowder Powder’, and a few other tunes that went on to have other lives.

Finally in July 2023, a few finishing touches were put on the album (woodwinds, some new vocals about a woodchuck infestation, etc). This session is where the name Open Door Policy came from – first day of the session, BK and I pulled up and the door to the studio was wide open. It apparently had been that way all night. Luckily, nothing was stolen and no woodchuck damage was detected.

Later that year, I was lucky enough to be introduced to the folks at Candlepin, and they helped quickly bring this album – which had admittedly been marinating way too long – into the world in the summer of 2024.” -AS (2024)


Credits:

Alexei Shishkin - lyrics + some keys + some guitar + vox

Graham W. Bell - guitar + backing vox

Bradford Krieger - production + guitar + backing vox + drums

Dave Kahn - bass

Ian Dwy - drums

Bill Waters - guitar + keys

Ivan Rodriguez - sax (on “Autobahn” and “Chowder Powder”)

Eyal Sela - clarinet + sax (on “Rose Gold”)


Mixed and mastered by Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Album art: “Sleep” Odilon Redon (1898) courtesy of The Met

Special thanks to Rue Defense, John Roseboro, Zach at Candlepin, and anyone who provided ears along the way


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Label: Rue Defense/Candlepin Records
Genre: Bedroom Pop, Lofi, DIY
Influences: Doug Martsch, Martin Newell, Dean Wareham, R. Stevie Moore, David Berman
Location: New York


Press Contact: Graham Bell
253.948.7647
whoisruedefense@gmail.com


photo: Ragan Ivy Mueller
Bio:

Self-described as “a label’s worst nightmare”, Alexei Shishkin can often be found playing pickup soccer in a Ridgewood park or doubling down on a soup and sandwich combo, but you’ll never see him take the stage.

Shishkin’s style is equal parts prolific and poignant. Bringing an improvisational air to the bedroom slacker pop sound of the 90s and early 00s, his ability to build intersectional compositions from jazz voicings, simple loops, and musings on daily life results in a cathartic rush of content that is nowhere near slowing down.

By embracing the rough edges and eschewing performance in favor of creation, his musically reclusive style has fed on itself and grown into a singular voice all its own.


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Previous Releases on Rue Defense:
dagger: February 2, 2024
Goodbye Sunrise: August 4, 2023
Songs From the Money Pit: November 18, 2022
Plays Some Built to Spill Songs: July 2022
What Happens Next?: December 2021
Bleecker & Broadway: June 2020