YamaLlama Records is an independent label founded by Erich Russek, a producer and songwriter known for a genre-blending approach and a preference for music that values character over conformity. The label is home to projects that resist easy categorization, favoring strong songs, distinctive voices, and a human feel.
The most recent release on YamaLlama is Real Shadows, the debut four-song EP from Theia-Duk. Built as a song-first project, Real Shadows expands the label’s sound into harmony-driven pop and soul-inflected indie/alternative, featuring rotating female vocalists and performances by real musicians throughout. With live guitars, drums, strings, and horns, the EP emphasizes craft, feel, and connection over image or trends. The project intentionally keeps visuals minimal, allowing the music to speak for itself, and marks the beginning of what’s intended to be a long-running creative collaboration.
In November 2025, Erich Russek and Poets in Heat released the single “Everybody Wants.” A direct, guitar-driven rock track with a simple, honest pulse, the song reflects the band’s stripped-down side. It was mixed by underground engineer Terra Talina, known for preserving warmth, dynamics, and a distinctly human sound.
Last year, Poets in Heat released the single “Fire at Louie’s,” a Cajun-murder-ballad. Film Noir. The chorus is in French, “Laissez les bon temps rouler,” which means, “Let the good times roll.” Check out the video on YouTube.
Michael Parris is a punk artist from the UK. His new album is coming out this fall, and he released a single, “I Don’t Need You,” last year
If you are looking for music that is outside the box, YamaLlama Records is a label worth checking out. You can learn more about Erich Russek and Poets in Heat at https://yamallama.com/home/poets-in-heat/ Theia-Duk at https://yamallama.com/theia-duk/, and Michale Parris at https://yamallama.com/michael-parris/.
- Press Release: Theia-Duk Introduce Debut EP — Intimate Indie Pop from the Shadows
- Review of Everybody Wants by R+ : A Noir-Folk Reflection on Human Longing
- Review of Everybody Wants by Pop Punkers
- Everybody Wants (Poets in Heat’s New Single)
- Poets in Heat Reimagine Fairytales as Dark Modern Fables on New EP Childish Things
- Poets in Heat Presenta el Lanzamiento de «Childish Things «– A Noir-Rock EP Donde los cuentos de hadas se desmoronan
- Poets In Heat find their spark on lyric-focused EP, “Childish Things”
- Poets in Heat Rewrite the Nursery: Erich Russek’s Childish Things Is No Bedtime Story
- Once a Heart is Broken
- Say My Name (Rumpelstiltskin)
- Froggie Went A Courtin
- Sleeping Beauty – Erich Russek and Poets in Heat
- The Sky Will Fall (Chicken Little)
- Let Down Your Hair (Rapunzel) – Poets in Heat
- Living in Our Cars (Pt. 1) – Erich Russek and Poets in Heat
