UK grunge rock outfit Maximum Robot have released the lyric video for “Eternia”, the latest single from their album “Away With The Fairies”, out now via Epictronic.
Built on gritty riffs and a strong melodic pull, “Eternia” hits with both energy and intent. The song looks at the chaos of human behaviour, pollution, environmental collapse, and war, and pushes back against it, imagining a different reality far from it all.
The title draws from Eternia, the iconic world from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Here, it becomes more than a reference; it’s a contrast, a symbol of escape from a planet that feels increasingly out of control.
“Eternia” gives a clear taste of what “Away With The Fairies” sounds like: direct songwriting, sharp themes, and no wasted space.
Watch the lyric video for “Eternia” here:
Maximum Robot is a grunge band from Andover, England, was founded by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Gazza Williams. After decades of effort, drummer Vyara Petkova joined in 2019, followed by bassist Dave Hull, forming the original lineup—but they never performed live together. Pandemic disruptions and lineup changes followed, with Williams and Hull finally playing their first gigs in Autumn 2024. In 2025, work began on their fourth album, and Jack Chapman replaced Hull on bass, bringing a heavier, rawer sound. The current duo, Chapman and Williams, upholds the band’s motto: “Music Never Dies.”
Epictronic is delighted to announce the signing of Happy Sad, the evocative solo project of Japanese multi-instrumentalist and acclaimed sound designer Hiroaki Kusano. The partnership kicks off with the worldwide release of the masterpiece album, The World is Grand When We See, arriving June 11, 2026.
“It all began with a comment from Mr. Carlo of Epictronic on Hiroaki’s music.” Kusano said, “The partnership took shape from a shared vision and a clear understanding of the idea of ‘music that paints the landscapes of the heart.’”
“We are extremely proud and honoured to announce our collaboration with HAPPY SAD, an extraordinarily talented Japanese artist whose vision goes far beyond the boundaries of conventional songwriting. What immediately captured my attention was not only the quality of the music itself, but the depth, sensitivity, and artistic identity behind every composition. HAPPY SAD represents the kind of artist that today has become incredibly rare: authentic, cultured, emotionally honest, and deeply devoted to the creative process in all its forms. His music naturally blends elements of mellow soul, ambient, trip-hop, and cinematic soundscapes into something deeply personal and recognisable. There is a poetic elegance in the way he combines acoustic instrumentation with modern production techniques, creating songs that feel intimate, atmospheric, and timeless at the same time. Beyond his solo work, his impressive career as a sound designer and composer for more than 60 video game productions and multimedia projects demonstrates an exceptional artistic versatility and a truly international level of professionalism. For us, this collaboration is not simply a licensing agreement. It is the meeting of two artistic visions connected by a shared love for emotionally powerful music, sonic exploration, and artistic sincerity. We genuinely believe HAPPY SAD deserves much wider international recognition, and we are incredibly excited to help bring his music to new audiences around the world.” — Carlo Bellotti
A Cinematic Journey Through Shadow and Light
The World is Grand When We See brings together a refined selection of recent works, focusing on compositions designed to evoke imagery through sound. The album moves between neoclassical arrangements, ambient layers, lo-fi textures, world music influences, and alternative rock structures, forming a fluid and cinematic listening experience.
At its core, the record reflects a personal journey shaped by contradiction. Hiroaki’s perspective—formed through years of travel across ten countries in search of sound, instruments, and lived experience—embraces both beauty and discomfort in equal measure. The result is a body of work that does not avoid darkness but allows light to break through it.
The album carries a dynamic emotional arc. Initial heaviness gradually gives way to moments of clarity, where softness and warmth emerge like light after rainfall. This contrast becomes a central theme, mirroring the instability and emotional complexity of contemporary life. Rather than following trends, Happy Sad focuses on expression rooted in direct experience and human connection.
The title The World is Grand When We See reflects a simple idea: meaning does not come from second-hand perspective, but from direct observation and lived understanding. The music invites listeners into that process—quiet, reflective, and deeply personal.
About the Artist: The Architect of Sound
Hiroaki is the artist behind the project Happy Sad. He began making music during his student years, recording demos while performing solo acoustic sets and playing in café bars. His influences span soul, British rock, folk, trip hop, neoclassical, world music, film scores, and ambient, alongside a strong connection to literature and the arts. His work balances live instrumentation with programmed elements. To date, Happy Sad has released seven albums and 19 EPs.
Alongside his solo work, Hiroaki is a Sound Designer and Sound Director with around 14 years of experience in the game industry. He has held senior roles at companies including NetEase Games, FunPlus, NHN PlayArt, IGNIS / Studio King Inc., and Noisycroak Inc., contributing to more than 60 projects. His work covers music composition (BGM), sound design, MA, direction, promotional video production, and audio for games, commercials, and short dramas.
In 2013, his track “Everyday” won the domestic DJ category and became a finalist in MTV and Lenovo’s “CO:LAB” contest.
Happy Sad is his personal artistic outlet, developed since his student days. It reflects his inner landscape and explores both beauty and darkness in life, connected to a wider tradition of art and philosophy focused on human experience.
In recent years, he has traveled across ten countries in search of sounds and traditional instruments. Along the way, encounters with displaced people left a strong impression and reinforced his desire to share music that carries shared human emotion.
He views music as a universal language—capable of connecting people in the same way visual art can capture and communicate a single, lasting moment.
Watch the stunning video for “Red Sun, Red Rain Fall on the Ground” and step into the world of Happy Sad:
Belgian cinematic space-art rock project Jesus Cringe has released “Corpus Callosum,” the fourth single from their forthcoming debut album on Epictronic Records.
“Corpus Callosum” explores the fear of losing sovereignty over one’s own mind. Balancing between agony and ecstasy, the song drifts through fragmented memories, intrusive thoughts, and spiritual surrender, questioning whether identity can survive when the brain itself begins to feel unstable. Drawing its title from the neural bridge connecting the two hemispheres of the brain, the track unfolds like a dialogue between reason and instinct, control and transcendence.
The accompanying lyric visualizer evokes metamorphosis, mirroring the song’s obsession with transformation and psychic mutation. Through organic imagery and recurring symbols — seeds, branches, butterflies, magnetic formations, and shifting landscapes — the visuals suggest a body and mind in the process of becoming something unfamiliar. Rather than illustrating the lyrics literally, the visualizer operates as a fragmented inner world where memories, sensations, and symbols continuously reshape themselves; the empty film itself is an invitation to reflect.
Hypnotic repetitions such as “I’m just another branch on the tree, let the wind seize me” turn Corpus Callosum’s psychological fragility into a ritual of surrender, confronting discomfort not as destruction but as a passage toward change. Suspended between life forces, death, memory, and rebirth, the song captures the terrifying yet strangely liberating moment where the mind loosens its grip on control and allows itself to evolve into the unknown.”
“Corpus Callosum” is available now on all major streaming platforms.
Jesus Cringe is a Belgian cinematic space-art rock project, rebuilt from the foundations of 22 for Silicon Alone. The project is built around philosophical storytelling and strong visual identities, and takes a deliberately unconventional approach to instrumentation — replacing the standard guitar/bass setup with violin and baritone saxophone. The result is a sound that sits outside any obvious genre bracket, drawing from avant-garde rock, pre-rock traditions, and sci-fi cinema.
The project signed to Epictronic Records in early 2023. Their debut album unfolds as a large-scale narrative work — part dystopian fable, part personal confession — and has generated coverage in Metal Shock Finland, Tinnitist, MHF Magazine, Headbangers News, and Prog Rock Journal, alongside airplay on Unsigned Radio UK, WTSQ FM, Nu Rock Radio, Diverse World Music Radio, and Rockers and Other Animals.
Epictronic is pleased to announce the signing of mudd·shovel, an alternative rock trio from Cavan, Ireland, and the upcoming reissue of the band’s debut album Little White Hair.
mudd·shovel are a three-piece alternative rock band hailing from the heart of Cavan, Ireland. Blending raw guitar-driven energy with haunting melodies and intense lyricism, they craft a sound that feels both deeply familiar and completely their own. With influences ranging from grunge and post-punk to modern alt-rock, mudd·shovel deliver songs that hit hard and stay with you.
Formed out of a shared obsession with the dirtier side of rock and an instinct for storytelling, mudd·shovel isn’t just a name-it’s a reflection of their sound: heavy, honest, and unapologetically grounded. Whether on stage or in the studio, the trio brings an intensity that punches above their weight. With their debut album “Little White Hair”, mudd·shovel are carving out their space in Ireland’s underground rock scene, one riff at a time.
“Little White Hair” is built on dense, riff-driven arrangements and a sense of urgency that never lets up. Guitars lean into a gritty, near-industrial edge, rooted in the heavier end of alternative rock, with a punk-like looseness underneath. The rhythm section anchors the chaos with grooves that feel deliberate and barely contained. Vocals cut through the mix like another instrument, shifting between confrontational and cathartic.
What distinguishes Little White Hair as a debut is its confidence. There’s no hesitation, no attempt to soften the sound for accessibility. mudd·shovel commit fully to distortion, tension, and abrasive intensity, while still finding room for flashes of melody and atmosphere that prevent the record from becoming one-dimensional. Those restrained moments don’t dilute the impact; they sharpen it.
Lyrically, the album moves through frustration, identity, and emotional unrest. The push and pull between structure and chaos mirrors the subject matter, giving the record a cohesive core even as the sound veers into unpredictable territory.
The production is deliberately unpolished, closer to live-wire performance than studio gloss. In a landscape of over-refined rock releases, that roughness is a strength.
Little White Hair is a statement of intent. mudd·shovel know exactly what they want to sound like, and they don’t apologize for it.
Check out the album’s teaser:
The Alchemy in the band:
Shawn Hicks (guitar/vocals): A veteran of the riff, chasing new sonic horizons.
Garreth Tackney (bass/production): Formerly of Shouting at Planes, now sculpting low-end thunder.
David Mulligan (drums): A fusion of jazz finesse and rock fury, the heartbeat of the storm.
Epictronic 