breakkaway is a global collective of musicians hailing from China, Mexico, France and the United States, today based out of New York City. Their art, unbound from convention and unconcerned with genre, draws from a diverse pool of influences, spanning hyperpop, indie folk and nu metalcore, while citing literature, film and fashion. Their introspective storytelling is at once deeply personal while speaking universal truths, serving as a lens through which to explore complex existential themes. Initially formed in 2022, breakkaway join the label’s ranks following the self-release of a trio of acclaimed tracks – “I’ll See You When the Night Comes”; “Outside”, which has amassed nearly 20 million streams; and “Secret”, which was spotlighted as the best song of the week on the esteemed BBC Radio 1 Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter. Key tastemaker publication Kerrang!, meanwhile, has hailed breakkaway as an act “breaking the boundaries of alternative music”.
In making their third record, Hex Key, Mamalarky spent entire seasons hunched over guitars and obscure synthesizers, their long hair sweeping over strings or covering concentrated eyes. The band recorded takes in between the sounds of passing ice cream trucks and yowling stray cats in their LA home studio, a tight but prolific living room. Hex Key is a document of perseverance, of going for the gold while somehow remaining totally aware of one’s own vulnerabilities. These effervescent, swirling songs chronicle vivid desires crashing against real-life limitations but finding a way to keep burning anyway. That tension between anguish and resilience, between performed aloofness and brutal honesty, drives the music, imbues it with a compelling intensity. Over the last 8 years, the quartet’s members have lived in Austin, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, and have established a bond that they acknowledge is rare. “We have an unmatched level of trust in each other,” drummer Dylan Hill says. “There is no air of professionalism. It's literally just four friends hanging out and getting to the bottom of something.” Given their closeness, Mamalarky are able to fight like family, not necessarily with each other, but for the music, to make it the best it can be. Whereas their last album, Pocket Fantasy, was exploratory and free-flowing, the songs on Hex Key are the result of absolute devotion and fine tuning. It’s the kind of attention to detail that can only happen when the four bandmates are working alone together, uninterrupted by producers, engineers, or any outside influences. “It’s never ‘kick your feet up, let’s see what happens,” guitarist and singer Livvy Bennett says. “We’re always staring each other deeply in the eyes saying ‘Let’s make this next take incredible.’ We never settle.” The band is so committed to their craft that Hill even recorded the drums for “#1 Best of All Time” amidst an intense bout of poison ivy. The determination he felt in the moment manifested itself in the song’s frantic-but-focused percussion, he says.