News: Stenahoria – In Memory Of Doulis (Bandcamp Exclusive) An intimate farewell in sound and silence
Stenahoria’s new album In Memory Of Doulis—out now exclusively on Bandcamp via Cosmicleaf Records—is not just a tribute. It’s a tender, unguarded farewell to a beloved soul. That soul was Doulis, a Persian cat who quietly shaped the emotional center of artist Nick Miamis’s (aka 121569, Stenahoria, Mendark) life and music.
Doulis wasn’t “just a pet.” He found Nick’s family during the first, shaky days of the pandemic in 2020—fragile, abandoned, and unexpectedly, exactly what they needed. Over time, he became their silent companion, their warmth in cold months, their calm during chaos. His presence inspired 121569, a project rooted in ambient peace and lofi stillness. Later, Stenahoria followed—named after the Greek word for sorrow, almost as if predicting the weight that would someday come.
On June 27, 2025, after weeks of worsening pain, Doulis passed away. What was thought to be a simple dental issue turned out to be a hidden, aggressive tumor. The loss shook the ground beneath Nick’s creative world. But as grief slowly turned to reflection, this album began to take shape.
“Even now, I still expect to hear his meow when I come home,” Nick wrote in a personal note released a few days before the album. “I dream of him. He still sits beside me—but now, he won’t meet my eyes.”
That dreamlike presence lingers throughout the nine-track album. From the opening “Lofi Nostalgia (Sad Piano)” to the echoing stillness of “Nebulus” and the aching beauty of “Sweet Memory”, the record flows like a long sigh—one filled with longing, but also gratitude.
The album features close collaborators like Side Liner, Potlatch, and of course, 121569, creating a sonic family around the grief. Many of the tracks reimagine early melodic ideas from Nick’s trance alias Mendark, now reworked into fragile chillout textures. Even “Sadness”, a track originally released by Nick’s earlier band Naga, returns here, more stripped back, more vulnerable.
There’s a powerful remix of Side Liner’s “Morning Dewdrops”, and a deeply felt closer, “Lost in the Crowd, Still Feel Alone”, which doesn’t offer answers—just a place to sit with the feeling.
The cover photo—Doulis himself, eyes deep with that quiet feline wisdom—is all the introduction you need. Mastered by Cosmicleaf and curated with love, this release feels like sitting with someone after a long cry. It doesn’t rush you. It just stays.
“I don’t know if I’ll continue 121569 or Stenahoria,” Nick admits. “But I knew I had to release this—for him.”
For anyone who’s ever loved a companion deeply and lost them too soon, In Memory Of Doulis will speak directly to your heart.
