There is a perfect correspondence, both aesthetic and content, in the cover of the debut of the young Radhika Meera Dade. “Cine-Pop” is not just a title, but a real declaration of intent that marks the debut of the Scottish singer-songwriter.
Published in May 2026 by the London label Glass Modern, the album is a little jewel of 33 minutes and 20 seconds: a duration that symbolically pays homage to the speed of traditional 33 rpm vinyl records. The album sublimely fuses traditional Glasgow dream-pop with the warm sounds and vintage textures of the artist's Indian heritage.
The backbone of the project sees Radhika (vocals and guitar) joined by keyboardist Eric MacDonald and her father, multi-instrumentalist Sushil K. Dade. The latter, a historical figure of the Scottish indie scene (ex Soup Dragons, BMX Bandits and famous for the solo project Future Pilot AKA), enriches the songs with synths, electronics and the traditional sound of tanpura. Radhika has managed to gather around her some of the most beloved figures of Glasgow's independent pop: among the album's credits stand out the collaborations of Gerard Love (ex Teenage Fanclub), Mitch Mitchell (The Pastels) and Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura).
A mosaic of influences that goes hand in hand with the many cinematographic and musical references, declared right from the song titles. The two versions of the instrumental “Theme from RADHIKA” pay homage to David Lynch, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and Lalo Schifrin, and there are two cover version included in the album: “Nowhere Near” by Yo La Tengo and “Since Yesterday”, a synth-pop classic by Strawberry Switchblade.
Radhika turns out to be an atypical “daughter of art”. Having grown up listening with curiosity to her father's vinyl collection, she only discovered her father's past in the Soup Dragons late. Today she presents herself as a complete artist, equipped not only with a crystal clear voice, but also with solid and mature writing. Her song “Feline Bandits”, inspired by Vivienne Westwood, is a velvety and bittersweet dream-pop that best highlights her vocal skills. Shades that we also find in the melancholic “Starry Eyes”, where the dreamy atmospheres meet the hypnotic sound of the tanpura in a highly suggestive instrumental break.
With the album “Cine-Pop”, Radhika manages to bring dream-pop into dialogue with Indian music, creating a fascinating hybrid between Bollywood, yé-yé style and indie pop (as in the song “Sleep”). If at times the album gives in to the charm of the most remote tradition (the version of the classic Indian song “Tum Hi Ho”), elsewhere it achieves its final objective: to give with “Future Me” that perfect pop song that every musician would like to have in their repertoire.
02/07/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
