some of our client projects
Cemre Arca & The Beez – Bahçede (Single)
Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou – at Hot Soap Studios in the Spring of 2026.
Mastered by Mike Hillier (Metropolis Studios)
Release: Single ”Bahçede”
Cemre Arca & The Beez is an indie music group based in Famagusta (Mağusa), Cyprus. Their signature sound blends elements of indie rock, folk, and psychedelia. The band’s music is characterized by atmospheric melodies, unconventional song structures, lush harmonies, and introspective storytelling.
Bahçede is a song about choosing colour and imagination. Through imagery of a garden, the song moves between frustration, resistance and the desire to break through the walls that keep us apart. It questions the roles and boundaries placed upon us and celebrates finding freedom in embracing the colours that make us who we are.
Copper Mine – Hot Soap Live Intimate Sessions # 10 (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2025
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Hot Soap Intimate Sessions # 10”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Marc Zagar’s (Copper Mine) earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Pinwheel Valley – Someway (Single)
Recorded by Qais Khoury / Mixed by Andreas Matheou – at Hot Soap Studios in the Spring of 2025.
Mastered by Robb R
Release: Single ”Someway”
Written by Pinwheel Valley
Cover Art by Alex Pap
Pinwheel Valley has released their new single titled ‘Someway’ via Hot Soap Records. Brilliant guitar work amid poetic and signature vocals, ‘Someway’ somehow hits all the feels with a minimalist approach and original style.
Pinwheel Valley is the brainchild of Qais Khoury. An introvert with introspection, Qais is one of those rare artists who channels his life experiences with bravado and flair, all within the feeling of the moment and the scope of an eternity.
“I wrote ‘Someway’ as a tender plea, woven with threads of hope and longing. It reflects the ache of separation (whether physical, emotional, or spiritual) and the profound yearning for reconnection. In an age defined by instant, hypermodern communication, I found myself gazing out to sea, inspired by a bygone era when messages in bottles carried words of love across vast, uncertain distances. The song captures that sense of remoteness and the fragility of faith in a bond that may still endure. In this light, the refrain “know I’ll find it someway” becomes an unyielding anchor of hope.”
Qais
– Jammerzine (August 2025)
Kontovourkis & Co. – Avrio Mesimeri (Single)
Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2024
Release: Single ”Avrio Mesimeri”
Written by: Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis
Tender words of affection, softly strummed guitars, and sunset-tinged dreams of tomorrow: Cypriot outfit Kontovourkis & Co.’s ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ is a summertime chanson nodding to the technicolor romance of 1970s Mediterranea. Translating to “Tomorrow Noon,” the song features siblings Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis sharing vocals over a rocking rumba beat, acoustic guitars and gliding horns.
The song follows two lovers preparing to escape together the following day, pledging to meet at the pier at noon and begin a new life. Beneath their hope lies uncertainty: will both find the courage to take that life-changing step? “It’s a song filled with hope and the possibility of future joy,” explains the band, “but it’s a step that requires great courage and conviction from them both.”
Sung in Greek, ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ follows the English-language debut ‘Long Way to Nirvana’. Both were penned by Anglo-Italian Cypriot Duncan McCowan, reflecting Kontovourkis & Co.’s bilingual identity and the cultural crossroads of their Cypriot homeland. The track sways with nostalgic warmth, its sibling vocals floating over acoustic guitar, resonant trumpet and flickers of electric guitar like sun glitter on the Mediterranean.
Formed in 2016 by Michalis Kontovourkis, a fixture of Larnaca’s music scene, Kontovourkis & Co. developed their sound through live performance, drawing from rock, singer-songwriter and indie traditions.
‘Avrio Mesimeri’ is a sea-sprayed ode to hopes for the future, drifting between the yearning to escape and the solace of the familiar — echoing the bittersweet ebb and flow of the Mediterranean surrounding their island home.
Pinwheel Valley – Reverie (EP)
Recorded by Andreas Matheou / Co. Produced & Mixed by Qais Khoury & Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2023
Mastered by Ryan M
Release: EP ”Reverie”
Written by Pinwheel Valley
Cover Art by Alica Cao Illustrations
Having long found inspiration in the likes of Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke and Fink, singer-songwriter Qais is a white-heat intensity in Pinwheel Valley’s panoptic sound, as the rising dynamo in the making (with Stef Meletiou on drums & Max Daniels on bass) strike both sonically & lyrically with iridescent and pastel aural-tones. As do Palace, Half Moon Run or Art of Sleeping, the cluster melds the genre blends of Indie Soul, Mellow Alternative Rock and Folktronica with fingerprint intricacy. A group that has evolved profoundly over the years, having toured throughout Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle in 2016 and 2017, received numerous accolades such as a Canadian Best Out of Province nomination at the 13th Toronto Independent Music Awards, and landed acclaim in the archives of pivotal blogs like Clash Magazine, Earmilk and Music News, Pinwheel Valley holds firm in belief. In 2020, they joined the London Indie sync licensing roster, North Note, and in 2020 were invited to a prestigious show by BBC Radio London host Robert Elms for their seminal 2018 single, Take Me Home. More recent notable achievements include Best Music Video wins for ‘Abduction’ and ‘Willow’ at the 2023 New York Movie Awards, Vegas Movie Awards, Swedish International Film Awards, and Russia’s HALO International Film Festival. Currently, the group continues to work on their profoundly explorative music out of their home base island in the Mediterranean. A place encircled by water on all sides, their only wait out proves to be none other than a steady rise up.
Kontovourkis & Co. – Long Way to Nirvana (Single)
Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2024
Release: Single ”Long Way to Nirvana”
Written by: Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis
Cypriot band Kontovourkis & Co. make their debut with ‘Long Way to Nirvana’, a freewheeling, country-teased love song recalling the skiffle craze of yesteryear. Released on 29 March 2024, the uncomplicated bluegrass jaunt carries a foot-stomping pulse, driven by harmonica and an ungovernable joviality that’s hard not to dance to.
The story of Kontovourkis & Co. begins in Larnaca, on the southeast coast of Cyprus — an island shaped by intersecting continents, cultures and centuries of outside influence. Rather than lean into familiar ideas of resistance or exoticism, the band take things as they come, liberated by whatever sounds bring music to their ears. With its harmonica-powered engine and rowdy rendering, ‘Long Way to Nirvana’ embodies just that.
Formed in 2016 by Michalis Kontovourkis, a key figure in Larnaca’s music scene, the band honed their sound through live performances, drawing from rock, singer-songwriter and indie traditions. Following Michalis’ 2018 solo album ‘Ap tin Arxi’, the project grew increasingly collaborative. Their debut run of three singles was penned by harmonica player Duncan McCowan, drawing on his roots in London’s 1980s busking scene. ‘Long Way to Nirvana’ is followed by Mediterranean chanson ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ and singer-songwriter number ‘Last Farewell’.
At its heart, ‘Long Way to Nirvana’ captures the universal, slightly farcical dilemma of an unsophisticated man falling for an enlightened, cultivated woman. Panic-stricken but ready to sacrifice his world to reach hers, his endearing vulnerability meets her alluring, charismatic charm.
Copper Mine – Barrow (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in Winter of 2023
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Barrow”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Copper Mine – Ghost Town (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2023
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Ghost Town”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Backed by none other than Andreas Matheou on guitars, Andreas Antoniou on bass, Kyriakos Costa on keys and Julien Koukides on drums, the upcoming quintet is a force to be reckoned with.
Copper Mine – Calumet & Mountaineer (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2023
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Calumet & Mountaineer (acoustic versions)”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Copper Mine – Calumet (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2023
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Calumet”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Copper Mine – Silver Spiders (Single)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Autumn of 2022
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: Single ”Silver Spiders”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Backed by none other than Andreas Matheou on guitars, Andreas Antoniou on bass, Kyriakos Costa on keys and Julien Koukides on drums, the upcoming quintet is a force to be reckoned with.
Copper Mine – You can rave, you can rant (Single)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2022
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: Single ”You can rave, you can rant”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Pinwheel Valley – Willow (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Qais Khoury, Andreas Matheou & Sam Royo Varela at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2022
Mastered at CPS Mastering
Release: EP ”Willow”
Written by: Pinwheel Valley
Cover Art by Alex Pap
Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pinwheel Valley (Qais Khoury) takes the complexities of the human condition as inspiration for his fusionist sound that sonically melds the realms of indie soul, neo psychedelic rock and folk. At the outset of his music career, he addressed global topics before turning his attention to the drab difficulties and profound beauty of being human and lyrically dipped into meta poetry.
Clash Magazine praised him for ‘working on different dimensions, pushing himself further and tapping into uncharted emotions.’ As a lover of the metaphysical, Pinwheel Valley’s work consists of finding balance between natural inclinations and the demands in an ego-driven late-stage capitalist world, and his wanderlust tendencies have seen him gracing global stages since the early 2000s as an independent artist. Since honing his craft in the early 2010s, he has been well-accoladed and featured in pivotal blogs such as ‘Music News’ and LA’s ‘Buzz’. In 2020, Pinwheel Valley joined the London Indie sync licensing roster, North Note, and in 2021 he was interviewed by BBC Radio London host Robert Elms for his seminal 2018 single, Take Me Home.
Currently, Pinwheel Valley works out of Hot Soap Studios, his personal and commercial recording studio in Cyprus, where he continues to hone his profoundly explorative music.
“In a time when it is impossible to hear anything but aggravated polarised opinions, Pinwheel Valley’s intellectually humanistic approach to music is the breath of fresh air that our souls are crying out for.” Amelia Vandergast – A&R Factory.
Copper Mine – Santiago (Single)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2022
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: Single ”Santiago”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Pinwheel Valley – Hot Air Balloon (EP)
Recorded and produced by Qais Khoury & Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2022
– Hot Air Balloon – Mixed by Jim McRae
– Horizon – Mixed by Matthew N
– Turning to Gold – Mixed by Qais Khoury
Mastered at CPS Mastering
Release: EP ”Hot Air Balloon”
Written by: Pinwheel Valley
Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pinwheel Valley (Qais Khoury) draws on the complexities of the human condition to create a fusionist sound spanning indie, psych, soul-infused blues, rock and folk. After initially exploring global themes, his songwriting turned inward, examining the difficulties and profound beauty of being human through a metaphysical lens and lyrical meta-poetry.
An independent touring artist since the early 2000s, Qais participated in the Mayor of London Big Busk in 2014 and earned a diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering from Point Blank Music College. He toured Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle with a full band in 2016–17, earning recognition from the International Songwriting Competition, Toronto Independent Music Awards and USA Songwriting Competition. In 2021, BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms interviewed him about his 2018 single “Take Me Home.”
Qais now works from Hot Soap Studios in Cyprus, where he continues creating exploratory music that questions society’s constricting structures while searching for a balance between human nature, self-actualization and the demands of an ego-driven world.
Copper Mine – Albuquerque (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2022
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Albuquerque”
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Copper Mine – Pajaro River (EP)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Winter of 2022
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: EP ”Pajaro River”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.
Pinwheel Valley – Healing (Acoustic) (Single)
Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou & Qais Khoury at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2021
Mastered at CPS Mastering
Release: Single ”Healing (Acoustic)”
Written by: Pinwheel Valley
Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pinwheel Valley (Qais Khoury) draws inspiration from the complexities of the human condition, shaping a fusionist sound that melds indie, psych, soul-infused blues, rock and folk. His metaphysical songwriting explores the struggles and beauty of being human, searching for balance between our natural inclinations and the demands of an ego-driven, late-stage capitalist world.
An independent touring artist since the early 2000s, Qais participated in the Mayor of London Big Busk in 2014 and earned a diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering from Point Blank Music College. Following tours of Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle, his songwriting earned recognition from the International Songwriting Competition, Toronto Independent Music Awards and USA Songwriting Competition. In 2021, BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms interviewed him about his 2018 single “Take Me Home.” Now working from Hot Soap Studios in Cyprus, Qais continues to create exploratory music that questions societal conventions and the forces that stand in the way of self-actualization. “In a time when it is impossible to hear anything but aggravated polarized opinions, Pinwheel Valley’s intellectually humanistic approach to music is the breath of fresh air that our souls are crying out for.” — Amelia Vandergast, A&R Factory
Copper Mine – 5th Day of May (Album)
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou at Hot Soap Studios in the Summer of 2021
Mastered by Bari Hadjikyriakou
Release: Album ”5th Day of May”
Written by: Copper Mine
Singer songwriter and guitarist Copper Mine’s earliest and most lasting musical influences came from exploring as a teenager his older sister’s record collection and discovering the likes of Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, the Beatles and Bob Marley. He later came to love other genres including jazz, Latino and opera. He sees songs as a great way of capturing moments in time.