July 5, 2025

Simona-Valentina Releases Gems On "Mirrors & Feathers" Album

Simona-Valentina and “Mirrors & Feathers” arrive at a curious moment in music history.

This Transylvanian-born, London-based artist has crafted something that demands your full attention. Her debut album feels like finding a handwritten letter in a digital mailbox.

The first sounds of this 12-track collection take you somewhere you did not expect to go right away.

Picture this: you are in a Victorian living room where the wallpaper keeps switching between flower patterns from Britain and folk patterns from Romania. That is Simona-Valentina’s sound area, and she owns it fully.

Her voice has the weight of someone who has really been through the things she talks about. She is from Victoria, a small town in the middle of Transylvania, so her work is truly real.

The title of the record perfectly describes its dual nature: the mirrors show inner truths, and the feathers stand for the freedom that comes from telling the truth.

The production choices here are fascinating. Working with Riccardo Poole on various instruments, Aki at Savo-Karelian Productions for mixing and mastering, and Tendai Pottinger for the visual elements, Simona-Valentina has assembled a team that understands her vision.

But here’s what makes it interesting: she recorded different tracks in completely different environments, from The Church Studios to her own bedroom setup in Enfield.

The fact that “Blue Tattoo” made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 International Songwriting Competition shows how good she is at writing tunes that stick without being too obvious.

It is clear from this song why Celine Dion was such an important figure in her childhood: it has the same emotional honesty but through a very different cultural lens.

The baroque pop-folk elements feel organic rather than forced. Think Tori Amos meeting Dolly Parton at a Romanian folk festival, with Joni Mitchell providing the roadmap.

However, Simona-Valentina is not following anyone. She is making something that feels both old and new, like finding a text from the Middle Ages written in modern English.

“Head Outta Washing Machine” has one of the most interesting names on the record, and the song lives up to that promise. The song seems to be about a memory from youth, which makes sense after hearing it.

There is something wonderfully silly about using household items as metaphors for escape, but it works because the feeling behind it is real.

The emotional progression of the record follows a rhythm that is more like real life than what people think will sell. Songs like “Thorns” and “Snowflakes Fall” make moody parts that give the more direct parts a chance to breathe.

“Out of Sea” incorporates actual wave sounds, which could have been gimmicky but instead feels like a natural extension of the song’s themes.

What strikes you most about “Mirrors & Feathers” is its refusal to conform to current trends. Simona-Valentina has created something that unfolds slowly. The operatic elements and church-like echoes she incorporates create a meditative quality that feels almost radical in 2025.

The influence of artists like Sia and Lana del Rey appears in subtle ways – not in direct imitation, but in the understanding that pop music can carry serious emotional weight.

“Dreams of Yesterday” uses sounds from an old jewellery box, creating an immediate sense of nostalgia that enhances rather than distracts from the songwriting.

The recording locations tell their own story. Moving from professional studios to home setups to her own purpose-built space in Enfield represents an artist taking increasing control of her creative process.

Each environment seems to have influenced the songs recorded there, creating a sonic autobiography of her artistic development.

“Butterfly”, “Unspoken Love”, and the other tracks recorded at The Church Studios carry a different energy than the later home recordings. It’s not better or worse, just different – like comparing watercolours to oil paintings.

Simona-Valentina Releases Gems On Mirrors & Feathers Album

The album’s 70s and 90s influences never feel nostalgic for nostalgia’s sake. Instead, they serve the songs, providing a framework for emotions that feel completely contemporary.

This is music for people who understand that the past and present exist simultaneously in our emotional lives.

“Mirrors & Feathers” succeeds because it refuses to explain itself too much. Simona-Valentina trusts her listeners to follow her through these 12 tracks without constant reassurance.

This debut album suggests an artist who has found her voice by embracing rather than hiding her complexities. Romanian heritage, British residence, classical influences, folk traditions, pop sensibilities – instead of choosing one identity, she’s created space for all of them to coexist.

The result is an album that rewards repeated listening while never feeling like homework. Each track reveals new details, but the overall experience remains emotionally coherent.

Simona-Valentina has created something rare: a debut that feels like the work of an artist who already knows exactly who she is.

Maame’s “Beautiful” Captures The Ache Of Being Truly Seen

Music

MrrrDaisy

July 4, 2025

MAAME's Beautiful Captures the Ache of Being Truly Seen

There’s something profoundly unsettling about the moment someone sees you differently than you see yourself.

Not the casual glance of a stranger or the practiced gaze of a friend, but that rare instance when another person’s perception shifts your entire understanding of who you are.

MAAME‘s latest single “Beautiful” lives in this exact space, examining the quiet revolution that happens when external validation meets internal doubt.

The soul-pop singer from Leeds has made something incredibly personal here. Her voice sounds like someone who has spent a lot of time doubting themselves, but there is a strength in it that makes me think she is starting to believe what other people have been telling her all along.

At the beginning of the song, there is soft guitar playing that sounds like a chat. It is almost like the guitar is slowly pulling secrets out of the silence. The thing that hits me most about “Beautiful” is how it does not rush to its dramatic peak.

MAAME knows that accepting yourself is not a quick realisation, but an awakening that happens over time. The first verse has a tentative feel to it, with her voice floating over the few instruments like someone checking out the temperature of water they have never been in before.

There’s vulnerability here, but it’s the kind that comes from strength rather than weakness.

The collaboration with Hughie Gavin from JAKL provides the song’s foundation, but it’s co -producer Chris Durkin brings the dreamy texture that makes “Beautiful” feel like a memory being slowly recalled.

The production choices feel deliberate yet organic, creating space for MAAME’s voice to breathe while building toward moments of genuine emotional intensity.

When the chorus arrives, it hits with the force of recognition. MAAME’s vocals transform from tentative to powerful, soaring over an instrumental arrangement that suddenly feels expansive.

Maame’s “Sure” Marks The Arrival Of A Distinct Voice

This is where the song’s true nature comes out: it is not just a simple ballad about self-esteem; it is also a study of how love can act like a mirror, showing us a side of ourselves we did not know we had.

The way the song changes over time reflects the emotional range of its subject. The musical arrangement gets better as the song goes on, just like MAAME’s confidence does.

There’s something almost cinematic about how “Beautiful” unfolds. I find myself thinking of those quiet moments in films where characters have sudden realizations about themselves – not the dramatic, orchestral swells of Hollywood romance, but the smaller, more honest moments of independent cinema. MAAME has created a soundtrack for internal transformation.

The Leeds music scene has been quietly producing artists who understand the value of emotional honesty over flashy production, and MAAME fits perfectly into this tradition.

Her journey from Kent to Leeds seems to have provided the distance necessary for this kind of introspective songwriting. Sometimes you need to leave home to understand what you’ve been carrying with you all along.

MAAME doesn’t present self-acceptance as a destination but as an ongoing process. The song acknowledges that seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes can be both liberating and terrifying.

MAAME’s Beautiful Captures the Ache of Being Truly Seen

There’s wisdom in this approach that speaks to genuine experience rather than manufactured sentiment.

The guitar work throughout deserves special mention. It provides both foundation and commentary, sometimes supporting MAAME’s vocals and sometimes challenging them.

This interplay creates a sense of dialogue within the song, as if different parts of the same person are having a conversation about worth and recognition.

As “Beautiful” draws to its close, there’s a sense of resolution without finality. MAAME has taken us through a complete emotional experience, but she’s smart enough to know that these kinds of realizations require ongoing attention.

The song ends not with triumphant declaration but with quiet acceptance – perhaps the most honest conclusion possible.

This is music for anyone who has ever struggled to see themselves clearly, which is to say, this is music for everyone.

“Ruined”: Caitty Navigates the Treacherous Heart.

Music

Chris The Blogger

July 3, 2025

"Ruined": Caitty Navigates the Treacherous Heart.

Listening to Caitty’s new single, “Ruined,” is a bit like discovering a breathtakingly beautiful, venomous flower growing in the cracks of a city pavement. There’s an immediate, polished allure to this dark-pop track, a sleekness in its production that pulls you close before you realize the thorns are digging in. It operates in that fascinating, treacherous space where affection becomes a weapon, a territory Margaret River’s Caitty navigates with the precision of a seasoned storyteller.

The song’s architecture is one of methodical dismantling. You can feel the emotional structure of the narrator being taken apart, beam by beam, by a love that was apparently designed to implode. It conjures less a simple heartbreak and more the slow-motion collapse of a grand cathedral. There’s a curious parallel here to those morally ambiguous sorcerers in fantasy novels—the ones who charm you utterly while subtly weaving a curse you won’t notice until you’re completely undone. Caitty’s lyrics capture this perfectly; the obsession isn’t just with the pain, but with the chilling artistry of the one who inflicted it.

“Ruined”: Caitty Navigates the Treacherous Heart.

These lingering artifacts of the relationship—a specific scent, a piece of clothing—aren’t just memories; they are presented as cursed objects, anchors holding the narrator in a state of exquisite torment. It all feels so claustrophobic, so intentionally contained. For a song born of Western Australia’s sweeping coastlines, its landscape is starkly internal, like being trapped in a music box that only plays a melody of your own destruction.

The devastation here is so absolute, it moves beyond a simple plea for sympathy. You’re left to wonder not if the narrator will ever recover, but what terribly magnificent thing might rise from such perfect wreckage.

Love’s Eternal Echo: Dive into Lost Lot’s “Waiting”

Music

Chris The Blogger

July 3, 2025

Love's Eternal Echo: Dive into Lost Lot's "Waiting"

Lost Lot’s new single, “Waiting,” does a funny thing to the air in the room. It settles it. For three-and-a-half minutes, everything seems to hold its breath, letting a story of profound and stubborn love fill the space. On the surface, it’s a gorgeous slice of widescreen Americana—guitars shimmering with the texture of sun-bleached highway signs, a rhythm section that provides a steady, relentless forward march. It has that particular kind of scuffed-boot grace native to the North East.

But the song is also, plainly, a ghost story. One not meant to frighten, but to reassure in the most heartbreaking way possible. The narrator, stranded on the other side of a sudden, final event, watches their love grieve. There’s a peculiar quality to the sound here that makes me think of dust motes dancing in a single bar of light slanting through a window. Something beautiful and alive, but utterly untouchable, visible only because of the surrounding darkness. It’s the sound of presence in the midst of absence.

Love’s Eternal Echo: Dive into Lost Lot’s “Waiting”

This isn’t a passive haunting; it’s an active vow. When the vocal pledges to become the rain that washes clean, the light on a dark road, the guidance at a crossroads—it’s not poetry for its own sake. It feels like a metaphysical to-do list, a spirit rolling up its ethereal sleeves to get on with the business of forever. The song is steeped in the pain of an ending, yet it pulses with the steady, quiet work of a love that has simply refused to stop.

What, exactly, is one supposed to do with a promise that powerful?

Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram

The Potent Magic of Helena May’s ‘Side Effects’.

Music

Chris The Blogger

July 3, 2025

The Potent Magic of Helena May's 'Side Effects'.

Helena May’s new single, “Side Effects,” doesn’t just enter a room; it strides in with the kind of confident, hip-swinging swagger that makes you instinctively check your own posture. This is Brit-Funk with a capital F, built on a groove that feels less like a rhythm and more like a wry, talkative companion. It’s got that specific, indefinable warmth of an old analogue recording, that almost-smell of hot vacuum tubes and possibility.

Horns slice through the mix not as decoration, but as sharp, brassy exclamations. It’s the sonic equivalent of someone raising a skeptical, yet amused, eyebrow.

But beneath that groove is a stark, honest diagnosis. The song lays out two paths, two starkly different ways of breathing. One is paved with the small, solid bricks of genuine gratitude—the quiet hum of a job well done, the simple mechanics of a positive mind. The other is a hollow pursuit, a life lit by the flash of a camera for a victory no one else will remember tomorrow. The music video’s sterile white room and flickering television, broadcasting a highlight reel of questionable choices, gets this exactly right. It’s an intervention, but with a beat you can dance to.

Credit: Martin Steiger

May’s voice has this wonderful duality. It’s got the power to soar over the funk, yet it carries a texture of lived-in vulnerability. This isn’t just feel-good fodder; it’s more like musical spinach, something with grit and substance designed to fortify you. It’s a track that feels less like a sermon and more like a conversation you have with yourself in the mirror after a particularly strange day.

The song doesn’t offer a simple cure for these spiritual ailments. After all, the title reminds us that both the joy and the struggle are merely side effects of being human. The question it leaves you with isn’t about the path you’ve chosen, but whether you can feel the ground beneath your feet.

Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Songkick

G-Sinnz Links Up With Hey Haad And X Ledher To Ignite The Summer With “Tartara”

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 28, 2025

G-Sinnz Links Up With Hey Haad And X Ledher To Ignite The Summer With "Tartara"

The UK-based executive producer G-Sinnz, the Colombian artist Hey Haad, and the energetic rapper X Ledher worked together on this fiery project, which has sounds that grab your attention from the very first rhythm.

Through Caricom Music, the trio’s song “Tartara” shows how they can make music that feels true to reggaeton’s roots while also moving the genre forward.

The distinctive way that G-Sinnz produces music, which mixes Caribbean flavours with modern sounds, is the right base for this big track.

The beginning of “Tartara” has hypnotic beats that take listeners right away to the lively night-time of Medellín or London’s Latin parties.

G-Sinnz, Smash Productions, and quimiobb worked together on the production, which has a lot of different sounds that mix traditional reggaeton patterns with new electronic ones.

The most interesting thing about “Tartara” is how each artist brings their own unique style to the group. The famous Colombian singer Hey Haad, who is also known as “The Temptation,” gives the song her own special touch.

Her voice flows easily between catchy hooks and strong lyrics, capturing the confidence that is at the heart of the song’s message.

G-Sinnz Links Up With Hey Haad And X Ledher To Ignite The Summer With “Tartara”

The addition of X Ledher takes the track to a whole new level. The rapper was born in Bucaramanga and moved to Medellín when he was a teenager. His lines are very intense.

He is becoming an exciting voice in Latin rap thanks to his strong delivery and clever wordplay. It is impossible to fake his performance; it is a real reflection of the toughness and desire that have driven him as an artist.

The lyrics to “Tartara” paint a lively picture of holding on and being sure of yourself. To quote G-Sinnz, the song “represents movement, momentum, and knowing your worth.”

This theme runs through the whole song, with lyrics about choosing your own pace, blocking out bad vibes, and moving into your power.

The most interesting thing about this partnership is how it shows how global modern Latin urban music is. In this mix, G-Sinnz brings his Caribbean-influenced UK view, Hey Haad her Colombian talent, and X Ledher his unique Medellín-honed flow.

The result is a song that sounds like it does not belong to any one country. It is a great example of how reggaeton has grown from its roots in Panama and Puerto Rico to become a worldwide hit.

The level of the work on “Tartara” is worth mentioning. Unmistakable force hits the track; its bass lines reverberate physically, and sharp percussion moves the rhythm forward.

That being said, even with all this power, the mix is amazingly clear and spacious, letting each vocal performance shine through.

This level of technical excellence is becoming a trademark of albums from UK-based Caricom Music, which has been building a name for quality since the beginning.

“Tartara” is another step in the rhythmic development of G-Sinnz. He has already put out songs like “Baile Intimo” and “Como Estas,” the latter of which also features Hey Haad. This shows that he is a versatile writer and singer.

G-Sinnz Links Up With Hey Haad And X Ledher To Ignite The Summer With “Tartara”

He was born in Trinidad and now lives in the UK. This gives him a unique view in the music business, allowing him to truly connect Caribbean, Latin, and European sounds.

For people who like Bad Bunny, Karol G, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, and Sech, “Tartara” will feel both familiar and new. It follows the rules of modern reggaeton while also adding unique parts that make it stand out.

The song sounds great on upbeat mixes and has enough depth to warrant close attention.

Latin urban music is still becoming more popular around the world, and projects like “Tartara” show that it will be fun for artists from all over the world to work together to make music that goes beyond borders of geography and culture.

Not only did G-Sinnz, Hey Haad, and X Ledher make a summer song, but they also made a statement about art that artists all over the world can relate to.

KOJO BLAK Assembles Cross-National Stars For Excellent Remix

Music

Blogger In Cap

June 27, 2025

KOJO BLAK Assembles Cross-National Stars For Excellent Remix

Since releasing what is one of the biggest Ghanaian songs in the last couple of months, KOJO BLAK has become one of the most in-demand artists in Ghana. He stretches his run with the remix of Excellent, originally released with Kelvyn Boy in late 2024.

The remix featuring Kelvyn Boy was boosted by fresh verses from reigning TGMA Artist of the Year King Promise and Nigeria’s Joeboy. Following the template of the original’s energetic feel and addictive melodies, Excellent Remix gives the original a facelift and lays the next step to KOJO BLAK’s growing career.

King Promise and Joeboy bring their A-game to the party as they leave no stone unturned with ear-catching verses and sweet melodies that stay on theme of the song.

Excellent Remix is available for streaming on all platforms.

Finessa Makes Reading Proud: “No Introduction” Sparks a Genre Revolution

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 26, 2025

Finessa Makes Reading Proud: "No Introduction" Sparks a Genre Revolution

When Finessa announces “By the time I’m in the function, I can’t function,” she’s not just delivering a party anthem – she’s making a statement about controlled chaos, about losing yourself to find something bigger.

“No Introduction” arrives as the lead single from Late Nights in the Sea Vol. 1, and it feels like catching lightning in a bottle. The Reading-based artist has crafted something that shouldn’t work on paper: violin riffs that slice through hip-hop production like a sword through silk, creating moments of beautiful dissonance that somehow resolve into pure euphoria.

The track opens with those now-signature violin stabs – not the gentle classical whispers you might expect, but aggressive, almost punk-rock slashes that announce Finessa’s presence before her voice even enters the mix. When she does arrive, it’s with the kind of confidence that makes you believe every word: “Me and Mary well acquainted, no introduction.”

There’s an intimacy in that line, a wink to those who understand while keeping newcomers slightly off-balance. What strikes you immediately is how Finessa has written, mixed, and mastered this entire production herself. In an era where collaboration often dilutes artistic vision, she’s maintained complete creative control, and it shows in every carefully placed element.

The bass doesn’t just thump – it converses with those violin parts, creating a call-and-response that feels both spontaneous and meticulously planned. The hometown shout-outs to Coley and Junction aren’t just name-drops; they’re love letters to specific corners of Reading that shaped her sound.

BBC Music Introducing has historically served as a launching pad for emerging UK artists at Reading Festival, and Finessa’s recent spotlight on the platform positions her within a lineage of artists who’ve used that stage to reach larger audiences.

Her delivery style borrows from the percussive urgency of UK drill but softens the edges with melodic sensibilities that recall the genre-blending approach of artists like Little Simz. The way she manipulates rhythm – speeding up, slowing down, sometimes riding just behind the beat – creates a sense of controlled unpredictability that keeps listeners engaged.

“Sabotage plan A, if it’ll be, it’ll be!!” might be the track’s most revealing lyric. There’s a fatalistic acceptance mixed with rebellious energy, suggesting someone who’s learned to adapt when original plans crumble.

It’s a mentality that seems to inform her entire musical approach – why stick to traditional hip-hop when you can create something entirely new?

The violin work here deserves particular attention. While Miri Ben-Ari remains the only violinist to win a Grammy in hip-hop, Finessa is carving out her own space in this niche intersection.

Her string arrangements don’t feel like gimmicks or novelty additions – they’re integral to the song’s DNA, providing both melodic foundation and rhythmic punctuation. Lyrically, Finessa walks the line between braggadocio and vulnerability.

The “can’t function” hook works on multiple levels: as party anthem, as statement of artistic immersion, as admission of the disorienting effects of success. She’s created a phrase that works equally well shouted in a club or contemplated during a quiet moment.

The production choices reveal an artist thinking beyond current trends. While many UK hip-hop artists gravitate toward drill’s stark minimalism or Afroswing’s melodic bounce, Finessa has created something that feels both timely and resistant to easy categorization.

The violin parts occasionally drift into almost cinematic territory, suggesting film score influences that most rappers wouldn’t dare explore. Her mention of “Coley’s in charge now” transforms a simple hometown reference into a declaration of territorial pride.

Finessa Makes Reading Proud: “No Introduction” Sparks a Genre Revolution

Reading might not carry the cultural weight of London or Manchester in UK hip-hop conversations, but Finessa seems determined to change that narrative, one violinist-assisted banger at a time.

The track serves as an introduction to her upcoming project Metamorphosis, scheduled for summer 2025, and if this is any indication, we’re in for something special. The title suggests transformation, evolution – themes that “No Introduction” embodies through its refusal to conform to single-genre expectations.

What’s most impressive about “No Introduction” is how it manages to feel both intensely personal and universally accessible. The local references ground it in specific geography, but the emotional honesty and sonic innovation translate far beyond Reading’s borders.

Finessa has created something that honours her roots while reaching for something larger. As an artist coming off BBC Introducing recognition, Finessa could have played it safe with a more conventional follow-up.

Instead, she’s doubled down on her most distinctive qualities, creating something that announces her presence while hinting at even more ambitious music to come. The violin-hip-hop fusion might seem like an unlikely combination, but in Finessa’s hands, it feels inevitable – as if this was always where these two musical traditions were meant to meet.

“No Introduction” doesn’t just work; it sparkles with the kind of creative audacity that reminds you why music matters in the first place.

Ekowmania & The Rhythmers: Berlin’s Afro-Highlife Architects Build Bridges Between Continents

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 26, 2025

Ekowmania & The Rhythmers Berlin's Afro-Highlife Architects Build Bridges Between Continents

Ekow Alabi Savage sits at his drum kit in Berlin, decades of musical DNA flowing through his hands.

The 67-year-old Ghanaian master percussionist has spent nearly half a century crafting rhythms that refuse to be confined by geography or genre.

His latest venture, Ekowmania & The Rhythmers, represents something both ancient and urgently modern – a musical collective that treats tradition as a living, breathing organism rather than a museum piece.

The story begins in Cape Coast, where five-year-old Ekow first touched drumsticks. By fourteen, he’d founded ANABO, later known as Roots Anabo, pioneering what they called “sunlife music” – a fusion that would later take them to Jamaica’s Sunsplash Festival and into the legendary Tuff Gong studios.

<a href="https://ekowmania-and-the-rhythmers.bandcamp.com/album/ekowmania-the-rhythmers">Ekowmania & The Rhythmers by Ekowmania & The Rhythmers</a>

But life had other plans. Berlin in the late seventies became his canvas, and he’s been painting sonic portraits there ever since.

What makes Ekowmania & The Rhythmers particularly compelling isn’t just Savage’s impressive resume – though collaborations with Ziggy Marley, Fela Kuti, and Manu Dibango certainly add weight to his musical passport.

It’s the way he’s assembled a band that functions like a cultural embassy. Gbemu Kwame Sometimer anchors the low end with bass lines that seem to communicate directly with ancestral spirits, while Frank Karikari – son of highlife legend Ralph Karikari – carries forward a guitar tradition that predates his birth yet feels absolutely contemporary.

Their approach to highlife music sidesteps nostalgia entirely. Instead of treating Ghana’s signature sound as a relic to be preserved, they treat it as a conversation partner.

Soukous rhythms from Central Africa slide into the mix alongside salsa percussion patterns, creating musical moments that feel both geographically scattered and emotionally unified.

This isn’t fusion for fusion’s sake – it’s the natural result of African musicians living and creating in a globalized context.

The band’s upcoming summer 2025 recordings promise to capture this cultural cross-pollination.

Based on available tracks like “Kwame Nkrumah” and “Good Morning Africa,” expect music that honours Ghana’s first president while addressing contemporary African realities.

“Ananse” references the spider-trickster figure from Akan folklore, suggesting these musicians understand their role as storytellers and cultural bridges.

Savage’s 2024 album “Dr. Afrodub” – a collaboration with Finnish producer Jimi Tenor – offers clues about where Ekowmania & The Rhythmers might be heading.

That project demonstrated his willingness to let African rhythms swim in electronic waters, creating hybrid sounds that feel both ancient and futuristic.

The upcoming Rhythmers material will likely push these boundaries further, especially given the ensemble’s reputation for live performances that turn venues into temporary cultural crossroads.

There’s something profoundly contemporary about musicians who refuse to be limited by single cultural identities. Savage and his Rhythmers colleagues represent a generation of African artists who’ve lived through colonialism, independence, globalization, and digital revolution – and somehow managed to keep their musical cores intact while constantly evolving.

The multilingual approach – songs in Fante, Creole, and English – reflects this cosmopolitan perspective. Language becomes another instrument, another way to build bridges between cultures.

Ekowmania & The Rhythmers: Berlin’s Afro-Highlife Architects Build Bridges Between Continents

When Savage sings in Fante, he’s not just communicating with Ghanaian listeners; he’s introducing non-African audiences to the rhythmic possibilities of his mother tongue.

What strikes me most about Ekowmania & The Rhythmers is their refusal to choose between tradition and innovation. They’ve created a musical space where palm wine guitar techniques can coexist with contemporary production methods, where ancient percussion patterns can support modern lyrical concerns.

This isn’t about preserving culture in amber – it’s about keeping culture alive by allowing it to breathe, grow, and interact with other musical traditions.

The fact that new recordings are planned for summer 2025 suggests these musicians aren’t slowing down.

At an age when many artists might be content to rest on their considerable laurels, Savage continues pushing forward, creating music that honours the past while refusing to be imprisoned by it.

Ekowmania & The Rhythmers offer something increasingly rare in contemporary music: genuine cultural synthesis that feels both natural and necessary.

They’re not just making music; they’re demonstrating how tradition and innovation can dance together, creating something more powerful than either could achieve alone.

Da Big Mike Delivers The Groove On New Single “DOINZ”

Music

Blogger In Cap

June 25, 2025

Da Big Mike Delivers The Groove On New Single “DOINZ”

Growing up on legendary Afrobeat giants, Da Big Mike is slowly conquering this space with his new single “DOINZ.”

The addictive drumming, slick basslines, and captivating melodies in this Afrobeat song make you move. It’s a feeling that turns every moment into a dance floor.

“DOINZ” infuses African rhythm and soul while challenging global boundaries. Its authentic and appealing sound combines traditional Afrobeat with modern production.

The Nigerian artiste wants you to feel like we’re all in this together, vibing and having fun so you aren’t left alone.

The opening beat urges you to sink into the rhythm and mood as it hits your chest and spreads through your body.

This infectious Afrobeat tune combines rhythm, energy, and soulful ethnic elements to captivate your body. Additionally, the song features a stunning music video that you should watch.

Ride this wave together and follow him on Instagram and TikTok. Stream the song here

Dancing with Ancestors: Inside Mystic Wolf’s Collective Liberation

Interviews

Mister Styx

June 25, 2025

Dancing with Ancestors: Inside Mystic Wolf’s Collective Liberation

Mystic Wolf’s new EP, Collective Liberation, is much more than music. It’s a powerful message for change. This bold release focuses on taking back power, revolution, and spiritual healing. It works as both a call to action and a deeply personal gift to listeners. The EP blends electronic folk music, tribal beats, ambient sounds, and mystical folk to help people imagine a world built on working together, sharing, and ancient wisdom.

Working with Agami Records through the SEEDS of Light Campaign, this project supports the Guarani people in southern Brazil as they fight to reclaim their land and freedom. From Montana to Palestine, from New Zealand’s forests to North America’s streets, Collective Liberation brings together Indigenous resistance, environmental care, and the sacred bond between people and Earth.

Mystic Wolf’s music serves as both spiritual teaching and a soundtrack for major change. Through meaningful sounds and purposeful action, they connect the conscious music community with real-world activism. Here, dancing becomes protest and sound becomes solidarity.

We spoke with Mystic Wolf to explore the spiritual and political power behind this visionary release.

Listen to Collective Liberation

Follow Mystic Wolf on

Mystic Wolf, congrats on your new release! What inspired the creation of “Collective Liberation”?
The Collective Liberation EP is a call to action for decolonization, revolution, and communal healing to reimagine the ways that humans relate to themselves, to one another, and to the Earth beyond a paradigm of domination, extraction, and exploitation. This EP sets the vibrational stage for building a world based on solidarity, reciprocity, and self-determination.

Honoring the roots of our pre-colonial ancestors, while honoring and tangibly supporting Indigenous People who resist colonization and embody the definition of resilience today, leads us to a future where all peoples and communities thrive. I hope that my music can be the soundtrack for the revolution in our hearts and out in the world. So I wanted to create an EP that specifically focuses on that intention.

The title alone feels deeply political and spiritual—what does collective liberation mean to you?
Collective liberation means that all of our liberation and the health of the planet are inherently connected to one another. None of our struggles are separate. None of us is free, until all of us are free.

The overarching system of white supremacist, capitalist, imperialist patriarchy harms every single person on this planet (even the people the system seemingly materially benefits), so dismantling that system and building a new liberatory social and economic system frees everyone. For instance, the plight of white working class Southerners is tied to the liberation of Palestine.

The overarching system of white supremacist, capitalist, imperialist patriarchy harms every single person on this planet

How would you describe the sonic landscape of “Collective Liberation”? What genres or elements are woven into it?
I would describe my music as folktronica, organic electronic, and world electronic that fuses cosmic folk with ethereal electronic textures and multicultural rhythms. The music creates a synergistic confluence, where earthy electronic tribal beats weaves with ambient dreamy expansive tonal radiance and mystical organic folk instrumentation.

The energy is astral, yet primal. While I’m from Montana, my ancestral heritage is Scottish, so I include that ancestral connection of Scottish, Celtic, Gaelic elements into my music as well that creates a mystical enchanted feeling that you’re dancing with elves and fairies.

Your name—Mystic Wolf—feels powerful and intentional. How does it connect to the themes of this EP and your broader artistry?
The wolf is a spiritual symbol that serves as a guide, pathfinder, and forerunner of new ideas that returns to the clan to teach and share medicine. Wolves have extremely strong social bonds that center the community. They are caregivers, protectors, explorers and leaders who hold great wisdom.

They are also the most persecuted animal and their struggle in the face of colonization is a symbol for and is interwoven with human struggles for liberation. The wolf has been one of my most powerful teachers and guides that I am deeply connected to spiritually, so I seek to channel this medicine through my music. Wolves embody the energy of my highest self that I aspire to through my own healing.

I also am from northwest Montana and have spent my life backpacking and have had many beautiful encounters with wolves. In my eyes, they are the most majestic animal. And I bring a mystical, cosmic, astral, spiritual vibe to my music and persona that reinforces the spiritual power of wolves.

How does spirituality or mysticism inform your approach to songwriting and performing?
Making music is channeling the universal divine source of all that is and then it is distilled and shaped by our own unique vibration and energy that each artist produces, expresses and externalizes out to the world. The people who resonate with an artist’s music have an aligned frequency to that artist, which is why music taste is entirely subjective. That connection between the artist and the listener is a deeply profound spiritual connection that operates at the purest form of existence – vibration.

Hence, why music is considered the language of the universe. It’s not just what you physically hear, but what you feel. Making music is inherently mystical and spiritual, even if some artists don’t frame it as such. My sound happens to have that cosmic, mystical, astral vibe because that’s how the divine source expresses itself through me.

I want my music to be healing and make the listener feel like their soul is being massaged, while giving a sense they are returning to a more natural form of existence, like they are barefoot in the forests, jungles or deserts surrounded by animals and community that connects them to their ancestors.

Do you see your music as a form of activism or healing? How does “Collective Liberation” contribute to those goals?
I use my music as a vehicle for collective liberation movement building, while producing sonic landscapes, vibrations and frequencies that supports the listener on their own inner healing and transformational journey. Because healing is the process of aligning our own vibration to our highest selves and externalizing that light to heal the world. And music is the universe’s vibrational tuner to do that.

I seek to serve as a bridge between the conscious music and spiritual communities and collective liberation movement building. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience and the language of the physical world is action. We have a responsibility as spiritual beings in the conscious music scene to center a collective liberation framework in our practice. It is the highest vibration to confront genocide and capitalist dehumanization. Unity is achieved through action that exemplifies solidarity.

Collective Liberation is a project that materially supports Indigenous self-determination. The Guarani people have been reclaiming their land in southern Brazil in the face of violence from the agribusiness and ranching industries. I released my EP through Agami Records and they have been a partner of these Guarani communities to support these land reclamation efforts, as part of the Agami SEEDS of Light Campaigns.

This EP is a part of Agami Records SEED 4: Humans and Spirituality Campaign that shines a light on cultural biodiversity and explores cultures that promote health, sustainability, and regeneration on all levels. All proceeds from the EP go directly to these Guarani communities.

Where do you see Mystic Wolf heading next—musically and thematically?
I honestly just started making music a year and a half ago, so I have A LOT more to learn about making music and have an infinite amount of growth left on my path. So I’m here to learn and grow, and see where the universal flow takes me, while honoring my mission of using music as a platform for collective liberation movement building and spiritual and emotional healing, that also gets people dancing and having a great time. All else is minutiae that the universe will help guide me towards.

Pastels and Pulse: “Hypnotized” Blends Art with EDM Energy

Music

Mister Styx

June 25, 2025

Pastels and Pulse: “Hypnotized” Blends Art with EDM Energy

“DJ Thommek’s latest single “Hypnotized” is a shot of pure dancefloor electricity—tight, uplifting, and impossible to sit still through. Clocking in at just under three minutes, the German EDM producer packs emotion, energy, and artistry into every second. What began as a raw piano riff has been transformed into a full-bodied house anthem, crafted with precision in Ableton after years of sonic exploration.

The track opens with shimmering clarity, then dives headfirst into a rhythmic rush of synth layers and driving beats. It’s a familiar structure—but DJ Thommek’s execution is fresh and vibrant, pulling classic dance elements into the present with slick production and undeniable groove. The vocals are a standout—confident, euphoric, and full of life—cutting through the track with just the right touch of rawness.

But what truly sets “Hypnotized” apart is the personal touch. Not only did DJ Thommek build this track from the ground up, he also hand-painted the cover art using pastel chalk. It’s a small but powerful detail that reflects his holistic, heartfelt approach to music-making.

With “Hypnotized,” DJ Thommek proves that electronic music doesn’t have to sacrifice soul for energy—it can have both, and it can make you move while meaning something more.

Listen to Hypnotized below

Follow Dj Thommek on

Jack Horton’s ‘Imperfections’: When Broken Becomes Beautiful

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 24, 2025

Jack Horton's 'Imperfections': When Broken Becomes Beautiful

Jack Horton arrives at a curious cultural moment. In 2025, as social media algorithms push us toward perfection and polish, here comes a Portland-based songwriter-pianist with an EP literally titled Imperfections. The audacity feels refreshing, almost rebellious.

Horton, formerly known as Cullen Jack, channels influences ranging from Jim Croce and David Foster to Ed Sheeran and Morgan Wallen, but his artistic DNA runs deeper than stylistic borrowing.

This is someone who spent years in Tokyo piano bars, working through Japanese law school one weekend gig at a time, before eventually abandoning legal practice for the precarious art of songwriting. That biographical arc informs every note of Imperfections.

The EP’s opening track, “Set Me Free,” emerges from what might be considered failure – Horton’s divorce. Yet his treatment of this subject matter reveals sophisticated emotional intelligence.

Rather than wallowing in self-pity or assigning blame, he locates grace within dissolution. The piano arrangement breathes with quiet confidence, supporting vocals that suggest hard-won wisdom rather than bitter reflection.

His approach to “String Around My Finger” demonstrates remarkable narrative economy. The song chronicles a songwriter choosing love over Nashville ambition, but Horton avoids cliché through specific detail.

His music bridges cultures, drawing from experiences performing in both Tokyo and the U.S., and this cross-cultural perspective adds unexpected depth to what could have been standard Americana fare.

The decision to cover Jim Croce’s “Operator” initially seems puzzling. Why would an artist building his own identity reach for such familiar material? But Horton’s reimagining justifies the choice.

Where Croce’s original carried desperate urgency, Horton finds contemplative melancholy. It’s interpretation as archaeology – excavating buried emotional layers from a beloved classic.

“Never Know Why,” featuring Vesper Stockwell, shifts the EP’s emotional centre. The duet format allows Horton to explore relationship dynamics from multiple perspectives, creating conversational intimacy that feels genuinely vulnerable rather than performatively raw. Stockwell’s contributions suggest artistic partnership rather than mere collaboration.

The closing track, “Space and Time,” revisits material from Horton’s 2023 catalogue but benefits from contextual reframing. Surrounded by songs about transformation and acceptance, this reworked version gains new resonance.

It functions as both conclusion and prelude – acknowledging past wounds while suggesting future possibilities.

What distinguishes Imperfections from countless other singer-songwriter releases is Horton’s refusal to present himself as victim or hero. These songs inhabit the complex middle ground where most actual human experience occurs.

His piano playing – informed by classical training but softened by years of bar performance – provides sturdy foundation for narratives that resist easy categorization.

The EP’s production choices reveal careful consideration of sonic space. Nothing feels overproduced, yet every element serves clear purpose. Horton understands that intimacy requires precision, not just proximity.

Folk and Americana currently experience renaissance among younger listeners seeking authenticity in an increasingly artificial cultural moment. Artists like Fleet Foxes, Caamp, and Bon Iver have demonstrated how folk music can evolve while maintaining its core essence. Horton joins this conversation from his own unique angle – that of the late-bloomer who found his voice after trying on other identities.

His bilingual background and Tokyo experience suggest fascinating future directions. While Imperfections operates primarily within American folk traditions, hints of broader cultural awareness surface throughout. This cosmopolitan sensibility distinguishes Horton from more provincial contemporaries.

The EP’s greatest strength lies in its emotional honesty without emotional exhibitionism. Horton shares personal material but maintains appropriate boundaries. He invites listeners into his experiences without demanding specific responses. This approach creates space for individual interpretation while maintaining artistic integrity.

Jack Horton’s ‘Imperfections’: When Broken Becomes Beautiful

Contemporary songwriting often suffers from either excessive confession or studied detachment. Horton navigates between these extremes, finding territory that feels both personal and universal.

His divorce becomes metaphor for any necessary ending; his love story suggests broader truths about choice and commitment.

Imperfections functions as both artistic statement and emotional document. Horton has created something simultaneously specific to his experience and broadly applicable to human condition. The EP’s five tracks offer sufficient variety to sustain repeated listening while maintaining clear artistic vision.

Perhaps most remarkably, Horton makes vulnerability sound like strength rather than weakness. In our current cultural moment, when authenticity often gets weaponized for social media consumption, his genuine approach feels almost radical.

This EP suggests an artist just beginning to access his full potential, someone whose life experience finally aligns with artistic ambition.

Imperfections may be Horton’s statement about embracing flaws, but the music itself reveals an artist approaching his own form of completion.

Listen Deep: Sound Liberation’s Complex “Elegy”

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Listen Deep: Sound Liberation's Complex "Elegy"

Sound Liberation’s “Elegy” isn’t so much an album as it is an unbolting of several sonic cages, letting the inhabitants mingle, argue, and eventually, find a strange, compelling harmony. Gene Pritsker and his rotating ensemble are, as ever, on a crusade against the “segregation of sound vibration,” and here, their weapon of choice is grief, remembrance, and an absolutely defiant refusal to sit still stylistically.

The title track, “Elegy,” sets a certain somber table, yes, but then tracks like “Dealin’ With It” – a tribute, I hear, to Pritsker’s lost friends Sean Satin and David Gotay – knock over the cutlery with a blast of raw, living energy. It’s an interesting way to mourn, less about quiet contemplation and more about a vibrant, noisy wake. One minute, a hip-hop beat is driving the narrative, the next, a classical flourish appears, unannounced, like a surprisingly well-dressed ghost at a party.

Then there’s the opera, the funk, the jazz – it’s like channel surfing through a very eloquent, very heartbroken consciousness. For a fleeting moment, a particular blend of spoken word over a neo-soul groove reminded me of the specific, slightly damp scent of a second-hand bookstore I once visited in a downpour in Prague, filled with books in languages I couldn’t read but whose stories I felt I understood.

Listen Deep: Sound Liberation’s Complex “Elegy”

This album doesn’t just blend genres; it throws them into a particle accelerator. Sometimes you get pure gold, sometimes a fascinating new element, and sometimes, well, a delightful little explosion that leaves you wondering what just happened. It’s reflective, certainly, but it’s a reflection seen in a shattered mirror, each piece showing a different angle of the same, aching core.

Does “Elegy” soothe? Not always. Does it comfort? Perhaps in the way that knowing you’re not the only one feeling complex things can comfort. Mostly, it makes you listen. Really listen. And what, in these fleeting moments, is more vital than that?

Website, Facebook, Twitter(X), Bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram

Maverick Smith Ignites A Raw Rebellion with “We Make Fire, They Make Smoke”

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Maverick Smith Ignites A Raw Rebellion with "We Make Fire, They Make Smoke"

Maverick Smith’s “We Make Fire, They Make Smoke” lands not with a thud, but with the distinct, satisfying crackle of something catching alight. It’s a title that carries the grit of the Ohio Valley in its consonants, a resolute statement from a band – Paige Bosic on commanding vocals and rhythm guitar, Sean Boynes sculpting soundscapes on guitar, Jim Courtney’s intricate drumming, Charlie Kovach’s incisive lead lines, and Chuck Ellis’s anchoring bass – clearly weary of the ephemeral. They seem to be asking, quite simply, what’s real anymore?

The nine tracks within are a fascinating ramble, less a straight highway and more like following an absorbing, slightly unpredictable river through ever-changing terrain. Alt-rock is the primary current, yes, but Maverick Smith steers into eddies of punk urgency, the dusty sincerity of alt-country, even moments where orchestral strings bloom unexpectedly, like discovering a pressed, forgotten wildflower in a dense volume on quantum mechanics.

It’s a testament, perhaps to Boynes’s hand in production and the band’s collective instinct, that this genre-fluidity never feels like a jumble; every sonic turn serves the song’s emotional core. No samples, no digital trickery taking precedence – just the honest hum and thrum of real people playing real instruments, which, frankly, feels like a quiet act of rebellion in our current age.

Maverick Smith Ignites A Raw Rebellion with “We Make Fire, They Make Smoke”

Lyrically, this album is less a tidy story and more like sifting through a drawer of deeply personal, unlabeled mementos – a sudden jolt of reckless joy here, a half-faded snapshot of regret there. There’s a potent strain of that particular nostalgia, the kind that ambushes you – like unexpectedly catching the scent of your childhood home on a stranger passing by – a sharp, beautiful ache for something irretrievably past.

This bittersweet recognition of time’s relentless flow chafes against a clear-eyed disillusionment with the flimsy structures of modern connection, what the band’s themes describe as a “curated unreality.”

Maverick Smith Ignites A Raw Rebellion with “We Make Fire, They Make Smoke”

“We Make Fire, They Make Smoke” doesn’t attempt to soothe your anxieties with platitudes; it’s more inclined to throw another log on your internal fire, then sit with you companionably by the blaze it creates.

It’s complex, a little frayed at the edges like a beloved old coat, and pulses with a stubborn, resilient spirit. Does it, in its raw honesty, remind us that even when surrounded by the billowing, insubstantial stuff, a single, authentically struck match can still illuminate a profoundly dark room? I rather think it does.

Website, Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

“You Are Not Alone”: Music from the Waiting Room

Interviews

Mister Styx

June 23, 2025

“You Are Not Alone”: Music from the Waiting Room

Majority of songs are made with heart- but this one is made with hospital. Please welcome Dr. Alejandro Estrada a working doctor who has done something very special in his music project ESTRADA. He is uniting two worlds that are totally opposite to each other: medicine and dark synth-pop music. His newest single You Are Not Alone is not just a song but a real message of hope to patients who are going through hard times but more so those who suffer in silence.

The song itself began with a true episode of Dr. Estrada and one of his patients. He has applied that experience to create a strong blend of alternative rock and synth that just knocks you out. The meaning is straightforward yet meaningful: nobody should need to go through tough times alone.

But now here is where it really gets interesting. The music video is made with the help of artwork, which is painted with the help of living bacteria and fungi, which were grown in lab dishes with the help of blood, urine, and other body fluids. It seems strange, but this is the beautiful way to demonstrate that even in the most medical, clinical contexts, there is a place where something significant and artistic can be found.

Dr. Estrada is preparing his debut full album titled W/L (the UK medical term, the waiting list). We had a chat with him on how he makes his music, his inspirations, and how he is making use of the sounds of daily life in the hospital and transforming it into something that is not only explosive but also endowed with optimism.

Watch You are not alone below

Follow ESTRADA Music Project on

Congratulations on your new single! What inspired you to write “You Are Not Alone”?
Those patients with a serious illness who hid it from their families to avoid suffering. Whatever the reason for this decision, I just want to remind them that they are not alone in this difficult process.

Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked the creation of this song?
I saw a specific patient in the clinic with a specific condition in this situation.

The title itself carries a powerful message—what does “You Are Not Alone” mean to you personally?
No one will give you more support than your loved ones, but whatever the reason why this isn’t possible, you should always have the support of your medical team, and we (as a medical team) must also understand each patient’s personal situation.

Can you walk us through your creative process for this track—from the first idea to the final mix?
It all started with the sound of a ventilator and a letter dictated to a patient with the results of a test. My bass provided the melody, and the analog synths did the rest.

How would you describe the sound or genre of “You Are Not Alone”? Did you try anything new sonically this time?
This song is from my first album, which clearly reflects my synth-pop influence. I tried to keep all the songs in the same style, but on this one in particular, I combined acoustic drums and drum machines.

The song seems to touch on emotional resilience and connection. What message were you hoping listeners would take away?
They are never alone on this difficult path of illness/medical conditions.

Is “You Are Not Alone” connected to any broader themes or stories you’re exploring in upcoming releases?
Yes, my first album is called “W/L,” which is the medical term we use for “waiting list,” and it’s about the long wait times patients have to wait to be seen or treated in our medical institutions in the UK.

Will there be a music video or visualizer for the single? If so, what can we expect?
I’ve created artistic figures using cultures of human fluids, including urine, blood, and even semen. I know it’s crazy, but what else can you expect from me if I’m a urologist? 🙂

What’s next for the ESTRADA Music Project? Any new music or collaborations on the horizon?
A full album to be released very soon

What artists or albums have been inspiring you lately?
The Smiths, Suede and Depeche Mode as my strong influences, but other most crazy things such as The Ninth Wave or Sleaford Mods

What do you listen to when you need to remind yourself that you are not alone?
Morrissey, Bret Anderson and Alain Whyte I guess

Introspection in Motion: Farbod Biglari’s “Waltz for Baran”

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Introspection in Motion: Farbod Biglari's "Waltz for Baran"

Farbod Biglari’s new single, “Waltz for Baran (The Rain Waltz),” arrived like a polite invitation to a forgotten ballroom, where the chandeliers are lit but the guests are all pleasingly melancholic figments of memory. It doesn’t swagger; it glides, a full orchestral sway that clearly tips its hat to the spirit of composers like Stelvio Cipriani, not by mimicry, but by sharing a certain sophisticated, almost velvety ache. This isn’t background music; it’s foreground feeling.

There’s a deep well of personal story here, a sense that Biglari is dancing with ghosts – pleasant ones, mostly, tinged with a delicate wistfulness. The theme of revisiting past creative sparks with fresh eyes resonates. It’s less about simple recall and more like finding a dried flower pressed in a book you haven’t opened since adolescence, the colour faded but the form, and the feeling it once held, surprisingly, persistently intact.

You know, sometimes the sound of a particular cello voicing, rich and mournful like the ones that sigh through this waltz, reminds me, quite unexpectedly, of the specific quiet that falls over a grand, empty museum gallery just before closing, a silence filled with the weight of unseen stories rather than their absence.

Introspection in Motion: Farbod Biglari’s “Waltz for Baran”

This piece isn’t trying to wrestle you into submission with grand pronouncements. Instead, it offers a meticulously crafted space for introspection. The lushness is undeniable, the harmonies rich and interwoven like threads in an old, precious tapestry, but they all serve this core sensation of a “moment suspended,” as Biglari himself describes it. It’s the musical equivalent of catching your own reflection in a rain-streaked window and, for a fleeting second, seeing a younger, perhaps more earnest, version of yourself looking back with gentle curiosity.

“Waltz for Baran (The Rain Waltz)” doesn’t shout for attention; it doesn’t need to. It unfolds with an unhurried elegance, asking you to meet it halfway, to bring your own quiet histories to its ornate, yet somehow perfectly understated, structure. It’s a delicate, introspective swirl. Does a melody truly hold a memory, or does the memory learn to hum its own specific tune over time?

Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube

Instant Happiness Hit: Mick J Clark’s “Anuther Sunny Hulliday”

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Instant Happiness Hit: Mick J. Clark's "Anuther Sunny Hulliday"

Mick J Clark unfurls “Anuther Sunny Hulliday,” and one finds oneself contemplating the peculiar architecture of joy, especially when it’s blueprinting escape for the very young. This pop-dance single practically hums with pre-departure jitters, a concentrated dose of that effervescent anticipation before you trade spreadsheets for sandcastles, or, in this case, school chairs for a “Parrot Dance.”

The promise is classic, distilled sunshine: clear blue seas, golden sands, an almost “heavenly” release from… well, from whatever burdens a seven-year-old in the modern world. That “Parrot Dance,” performed while seated, no less! It conjures up a curious image, perhaps less tropical frenzy and more like the surprisingly rigid etiquette of a children’s tea party from a bygone era, say, a Lewis Carroll illustration where even mimicking a macaw had its proper, seated form. The track bounces along, a determinedly upbeat vessel heading straight for Fun Island, no detours for moody contemplation.

Instant Happiness Hit: Mick J. Clark’s “Anuther Sunny Hulliday”

Mick J Clark, whose songbook spans a whole rack of genres from rock to R&B, presents this confection with a directness that’s almost disarming. The slightly askew spelling of “Anuther” in the title gives it the feel of a note found stuck to the fridge with a crayon, a genuine smudge of childish excitement. It makes one ponder: are these ritualistic pursuits of paradise, as the song’s theme of yearly repetition suggests, about recharging the soul or just the elaborate crafting of an impeccable social media story, even for the pre-teen set? The tune seems designed for precisely that instant, replayable hit of happiness.

“Anuther Sunny Hulliday” is determinedly light, a sonic inflatable lilo. It doesn’t ask you to dig deep; it asks you to splash about. And in a world often feeling like it’s forgotten how to simply be on holiday, perhaps there’s a strange wisdom in that. But can a parrot, however enthusiastically danced, truly teach us the art of blissful escape, or just how to look entertainingly frantic while trying?

Website, Twitter(X), YouTube, Instagram, Facebook

Glass Rumours: Songs from the Edge of Reality

Interviews

Mister Styx

June 23, 2025

Glass Rumours: Songs from the Edge of Reality

Imagine this: explosive guitars crashing into a love story that is a twisted tale of AI, and performed by a duo that does not want algorithms to triumph over raw human passion. That is Glass Rumours, this UK juggernaut is killing it with their big visuals, amazing guitar work and songs that do not just play, they tell whole stories.

Their new single Ray Gun is crazy – think of a dark, dramatic trip into what might happen when artificial intelligence began to get far too emotional and sneaky. It is as though science fiction horror was brought to life with a thunderous rock soundtrack supporting it. And this: they wrote this song literally across the oceans! Gemma was singing her lungs out on a ship in the ocean, and Paul Mead was at home recording those electric guitar parts. These two have produced something fantastic a creative collaboration that functions regardless of where on the planet they are.

The second song on their amazing Tsunami Release, they are releasing ten weeks of new music and videos that they have been working on over the last two years. And what these two opening songs are demonstrating to us is that Glass Rumours is not merely producing catchy songs. They are building whole worlds.

We sat down with Gemma and Paul to get deep into killer robots, crazy laundromat visions, and how they are trying to keep that human spark alive and burning.

Listen to Ray Gun

Follow Glass Rumours on

What’s the story behind the title “Ray Gun”? Is there a deeper meaning or specific inspiration that led to this name?
Well funny you should ask because this caused something of a division in camp Glass Rumours. Paul’s insistent it’s just the casual name everyone uses for a laser gun (like you’d see in films like star wars) but Gemma had never heard the phrase… which caused Paul’s mind to be utterly blown!!!

There’s a tiktok “WHATTTT?” moment on exactly this transpiring. We’ll leave it to the viewers to decide who’s right! Incidentally, it’s also the nickname of the girl who got famous for doing some dodgy break dancing in the last Olympics… but that was a coincidence… we had the song written a couple of year’s prior!

How does “Ray Gun” represent Glass Rumours’ sound and artistic vision compared to your previous releases?
It’s classic rock which is at the heart of everything we do, even the edgier tunes. What separates this one is the lyric about AI. We are fully aware having AI mentioned in the lyrics of a rock song will divide people and have a massive marmite effect. We debated it for a while but decided it’s better to have some people love something and others hate it than be boring and middle-of-the-road. Nobody wants compromise in their music do they?!

Can you walk us through the creative process for “Ray Gun”? How did this track come together in the studio?
Paul wrote it on an acoustic guitar, then recorded the electric version in his bedroom studio, sent the backing track to Gemma who sang it in her cabin in the middle of an ocean! Gemma spends 6 months of the year working on cruise ships all over the world so we write/record remotely. We joke that our band is international when in truth we have about 5 followers hahaha!

Paul wrote it on an acoustic guitar, then recorded the electric version in his bedroom studio

The title suggests something futuristic or sci-fi inspired. Does that theme carry through the lyrics and sound of the song?
Absolutely… it’s the story of someone dating an AI and being catfished, then they get chased down by the AI robot and shot, then they rise from the dead to become the AI themselves! …And so the terrible cycle starts over. It’s a sort of tongue-in-cheek horror story with a twist at the end. Not enough artists do story songs these days – we enjoy the lyrical challenge. There’s also a dollop of irony and sarcasm in it pointed at all the doom scaremongering associated with AI… but it’s all in good humour.

What emotions or messages are you trying to convey with “Ray Gun”?
Perhaps the tenseness of the existential threat of AI taking over the world… It’s a hot topic right now!

Did any particular artists, genres, or experiences influence the creation of “Ray Gun”?
There’s probably some Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters type guitar riffery in there… but then the verse melody is more Fleetwood Mac. That’s what we aspire to sound like and if we’ve captured even 1% of their magic, then our job has been well done.

How did you approach the production and arrangement for this track? Were there any unique sounds or techniques you experimented with?
Just years and years and years of making rock music. After a while you know what’s gonna work. We find working at speed and making decisions fast ends up with the best outcome. With music production these days, there’s so many knobs to twist and buttons to press it can be a distraction as well as a blessing.

Throw it down fast, if it feels like the song is building itself then you’re onto something good – that’s what happened with this one. We did some vocoder stuff on the lead vocal towards the end where the lyrical “twist” is Gemma becoming a robot… so that’s a fun kind of Daft Punk thing we’ve not done before that we felt would work on this track. A girl turns into a robot… how can you not fade a vocoder in?!

Is “Ray Gun” a standalone single or part of a larger project like an EP or album that Glass Rumours is working on?
It’s part of what we’re calling a Tsunami Release (TM!) You heard that name here first haha! We’ve literally spent 2 years creating content in a MASSIVE Google drive stash. We’re gonna drop it ALL over ten weeks. It’s so much content it’s gonna overwhelm the algorithm hopefully!

What has the response been like from fans and listeners since “Ray Gun” was released?
At the time of writing it’s not been released, but I hope people will be confused by it. Music is art. Art is conveying concepts. Concepts should make people stop and think. Maybe they will like it or maybe they’ll hate it, but to generate SOME feeling in people is surely the aim of an artist. How they respond is up to them but it’s going to be fun finding out.

What’s next for Glass Rumours after “Ray Gun”? Are there plans for more music, tours, or other projects in the works?
Well our forthcoming ten-week Tsunami drop… then what? Well… it depends on if things fly or flop. If they fly, we’d probably be smart to rush out more content to keep the wave of interest building. On the other hand, if it all flops and doesn’t do as well as we hope then it’s back to the strategic drawing board. Part of the fun of making your own music is the moments where you realise something isn’t right and go and fix it.

It’s like when they make a major discovery in science and have to rewrite the text books… it’s a self-correcting pathway to world domination… haha!! Just kidding… we just want to have fun and if people can share our journey and find amusement and enjoyment in what we do then our time on earth has been valid. Thanks for listening!

Vie Jester’s ‘Masquerade’: What Lies Beneath the Covers?

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Vie Jester's 'Masquerade': What Lies Beneath the Covers?

Vie Jester’s new EP, ‘Masquerade’, presents itself like a costume box found in an attic that smells faintly of ozone and old, ambitious blueprints. This Los Angeles trio, typically weavers of their own heavy, harmonious rock tapestries laced with esoteric concerns, have opted for a different kind of unveiling: they’re trying on other people’s clothes.

A covers EP can be a curious beast. Here, Vie Jester offers their hard rock refractions of songs from Godsmack, A Perfect Circle, Incubus, and, quite the intriguing detour, Hans Zimmer. The title, ‘Masquerade,’ is apt. But what kind of masquerade is it? A playful romp, or something that allows deeper, usually guarded, aspects of their musical psyche to step into the light, disguised as another? Given the EP’s described lyrical undercurrents – a wrestling match with self-destruction, inner chaos, and the primal scream for transformation – one suspects the latter.

Their translation of these diverse pieces through their established three-piece arsenal of progressive grooves and melodic vocals is where the real alchemy happens. That Zimmer interpretation, for instance; it doesn’t just become ‘rockified’. It feels like they’ve cracked open a geode to find, not crystals, but the furious, beating heart of a small dragon. Unexpected, and strangely compelling.

Vie Jester’s ‘Masquerade’: What Lies Beneath the Covers?

These aren’t their original narratives of social angst or spiritual seeking, yet the selection and re-forging feel purposeful. The inherent turmoil described – the frustration, the urge to combust and reform – seems to find a comfortable, if volatile, home in Vie Jester’s chosen skins. It’s less about imitation and more about inhabiting; a method actor’s approach to tribute.

The effect is a little unsettling, like seeing a familiar face in a dream wearing an unfamiliar, yet perfectly fitting, expression. It leaves you pondering not just the skill of the adaptation, but the shadows and desires these borrowed melodies allow Vie Jester to explore. What do these reinterpretations ultimately unmask about the band itself?

Website, Facebook, Twitter(X), YouTube, Instagram

Forrest Hill’s “Flow Like a River”: Un-Clinging to Find Flow

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Forrest Hill's "Flow Like a River": Un-Clinging to Find Flow

Forrest Hill’s “Flow Like a River” washes in, not as a gentle meander, but more like that quiet, insistent trickling that eventually, if you listen closely, carves new landscapes in the mind. This single, the apparent linchpin for his upcoming album “Beyond the Veil,” feels like a hushed conversation you didn’t realize you were desperately eavesdropping on, perhaps with your own frayed inner self after too many encounters with the relentless Now.

Hill’s own surprising journey – from helming Boston’s funk-rock provocateurs Judy’s Tiny Head (JTH), through the intellectual architecture of an MIT PhD, to this meditative Oakland stillness – isn’t just backstory; it’s the unseen root system feeding this introspective bloom. You can almost feel logical proofs dissolving into melodic flow. The song grapples, tenderly yet firmly, with that disorienting crunch when the world-view you’ve meticulously curated suddenly resembles a dropped teacup – all sharp edges and lost pattern.

“Flow Like a River” speaks of a “poison,” that insidious, persistent hum of negativity, fear, and despair trying to take up residence in the heart. It’s a potent acknowledgement, resonating with Buddhist thought on those troublesome “Three Poisons” without ever feeling like a sermon. The disillusionment is keen, like discovering your favorite childhood map was drawn by a well-meaning but utterly lost cartographer.

Forrest Hill’s “Flow Like a River”: Un-Clinging to Find Flow

The music, an indie rock and folk-rock current, carries this emotional heft with an almost defiant grace. Hints of Andrew Bird’s intricate sonic clockwork tick alongside a ghostly shimmer of U2’s atmospheric expanse; there’s Tom Petty’s earnest stride, and a melodic unexpectedness suggesting The Shins consulted on the day’s particular shade of sky. And the vocals, bathed in deep reverb, don’t sound adrift; they echo up as if from a moss-lined well, bringing forgotten, luminous things. A psychedelic touch, yes, but less tie-dye, more the phosphenes dancing behind your eyelids in the dark.

The remedy offered isn’t a grand plan, but surrender. Acceptance. Letting go so something more positive, perhaps love, can find entry. It’s quiet bravery, this choosing to un-cling.

When the solid ground beneath turns to water, is the only choice to drown, or finally learn the current’s rhythm?

Website, Bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram

Settle In With Silky Vibe’s ‘Lady’.

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Settle In With Silky Vibe's 'Lady'.

So, Silky Vibe unfurls ‘Lady,’ and the first thought that ambles through my mind is how rarely we just… appreciate appreciation itself these days. It’s a track that feels like it showed up in comfortable slippers, not polished boots.

This isn’t your algorithm-chasing R&B; it’s a soul-steeped thank-you note set to music, a hymn to a female friend who sounds less like a fleeting muse and more like a cornerstone. Silky Vibe, this Fort Lauderdale talent handling everything from beat to lyric, channels that specific calm after a good cup of tea on a mad day – when the world keeps spinning, but you’ve found your momentary peace.

The sound itself is a gentle brew of neo-soul warmth with those indie currents flickering through. That electric guitar doesn’t just riff; it sort of sighs and then brightens, a bit like an old, slightly capricious dimmer switch conjuring its own mood. And the 808 bass, often a brash pronouncement, here underpins with a quiet throb, almost like the muffled, reassuring hum of distant city machinery you only notice when all else falls silent – a reminder that things, somewhere, are still working.

Settle In With Silky Vibe’s ‘Lady’.

Lyrically, ‘Lady’ zeroes in on that profound, uncomplicated uplift one person can provide. It’s about a friend who doesn’t just offer platitudes but genuinely recalibrates the atmosphere, turning stress into something like confidence, sadness into a quiet joy. In an age of heavily curated emotions, this kind of straightforward ode to dependable kindness feels almost revolutionary, like finding a hand-written letter in a digital deluge.
It doesn’t scream for your earspace.

‘Lady’ just…settles. And it leaves you wondering, in its unpretentious, heartfelt way: how many of us truly pause to acknowledge the steady, vital presences that keep our own worlds tilted towards the sun?

Website, YouTube, Instagram

True Emergency’s ‘Where It Ends’: A Candid Scream.

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

True Emergency's 'Where It Ends': A Candid Scream.

True Emergency’s new single, “Where It Ends,” feels less like something merely listened to and more like stumbling upon a very loud, very candid diary entry left open on a park bench in Montréal. Mick, the project’s originator, now with his best friend alongside, doesn’t just pour heart and soul; they practically detonate them.

The sound? Oh, it’s a gloriously conflicted thing: think massive, modern metalcore heft doing a frantic tango with synths that flicker like faulty neon one moment and console like a sci-fi lullaby the next. And those “big ol’ screams”—they land with the specific, startling intimacy of suddenly hearing your own unspoken frustrations voiced by a stranger, sharp and surprisingly cathartic.

There’s a profound, almost uncomfortable vulnerability in the song’s whiplash journey from “I’m the king of the world” to the bone-weary “I can’t do this anymore.” It’s a very human oscillation, that. This relentless search for “where it ends,” for some kind of internal ceasefire, is the raw nerve of the track.

True Emergency’s ‘Where It Ends’: A Candid Scream.

It conjures, for me, the image of an alchemist, not transmuting lead to gold, but desperately trying to distil a single drop of peace from a cauldron of anxiety and regret. The fact that this is now a duo, Mick and his mate, adds another layer; it’s like one holds the turbulent crucible while the other stokes the fire, a shared ritual against the dark.

This isn’t a song that wraps things up neatly, and thank heavens for that. It’s too honest for easy answers. Instead, “Where It Ends” offers a stark, resonant companionship in the struggle, its faint hope as tenacious as a weed forcing its way through sidewalk cracks. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most profound connections are forged not in shared joy, but in the shared acknowledgement of the fight. Where, indeed, does such a cycle conclude, or does the very act of screaming it into a microphone with your friend change the question entirely?

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Resilience in Sound: Block’s ‘Whitecaps On The Hudson [Deluxe Edition]’.

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 23, 2025

Resilience in Sound: Block's 'Whitecaps On The Hudson [Deluxe Edition]'.

Block’s ‘Whitecaps On The Hudson [Deluxe Edition]’ arrives not so much as a pristine reissue but more like a rediscovered journal, its pages softened by time and emotional humidity. Here’s Block, a name practically synonymous with anti-folk’s charmingly crooked spine, revisiting a period where the Hudson’s currents mirrored a life in turbulent flux – sobriety found, marriage lost.

The quest for ‘home’ beats like a tell-tale heart throughout these sixteen tracks. It’s not about four walls and a leaky faucet; it’s the sanctuary found in the shared glance, the understood silence. There’s a beautiful, almost painful nakedness to this, like watching someone meticulously darn a beloved, threadbare sock, aware of every hole. The live, simple recordings amplify this. You can almost smell the damp air of that riverside dwelling, perhaps a lingering scent of Earl Grey and old paperbacks. It makes me think of those meticulously detailed ship models, built inside impossibly small bottles – how does so much intricate emotion fit into such unadorned structures?

This isn’t background music for tidying your sock drawer. It demands a particular kind of listening. One minute, you’re contemplating the intimate, the next, some lyric about a local legend or a historical echo sidles up, reminding you that personal storms rage within much larger weather systems. The bonus track, “Expansion Draft,” really leans into this resilience, a feeling of making do, of cobbling together a new reality with the available, perhaps even dented, parts.

Credit: Photo by Dave Doobinin

There’s a pervasive sense of navigating not just sadness, but a kind of everyday magic born from it – the glint of sun on a whitecap in an otherwise grey expanse. It’s the sound of someone holding onto the raw edges of experience, turning them over and over, finding unexpected patterns.

Does this ‘Deluxe Edition’ offer answers? Perhaps not neatly. But it certainly leaves you pondering the stubborn, often peculiar, beauty of human connection when everything else seems determined to drift away. What quiet revolutions brew in our own private Hudsons?

Facebook, Instagram

Psyclo Delivers Her Most Vulnerable And Uplifting Single “Loved”

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 22, 2025

Psyclo Delivers Her Most Vulnerable And Uplifting Single "Loved"

When a 28-year-old Chinese singer-songwriter Psyclo decides to flip the script on sadness, the result is something that defies easy categorization.

Psyclo’s second studio album “Loved” arrives as both a personal manifesto and a sonic revolution, marking a dramatic shift from her alternative roots into the bright, uncompromising territory of pop music.

Two years in the making, this collection of 25 tracks represents something far more significant than a simple genre pivot. It’s a complete reimagining of what healing can sound like when filtered through synthesizers, drum machines, and the kind of vocal delivery that carries the weight of genuine transformation.

The album opens with a statement of intent that reverberates through every subsequent song: love as the ultimate creative force, happiness as a conscious choice rather than a fleeting accident.

What strikes you first about “Loved” is its fearless embrace of optimism. In an era where melancholy dominates the musical conversation, Psyclo has chosen to swim against the current with remarkable determination.

The production sparkles with the kind of clarity that suggests someone who has finally found their voice after years of searching in darker corners. Each track builds upon the last, creating a cohesive narrative that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.

The opening moments establish a sonic palette that immediately distinguishes this work from her previous output. Gone are the shadowy textures of “Shxffle,” replaced by arrangements that seem to breathe with newfound confidence.

The instrumentation feels purposeful, each element serving the larger goal of creating space for vulnerability without sacrificing strength. It’s pop music with substance, crafted by someone who understands that accessibility doesn’t require the sacrifice of depth.

“Everybody Sucks,” the album’s second track, exemplifies this balance perfectly. The song carries an innocence that feels hard-earned rather than naive, its melody line dancing between playful and profound.

The accompanying music video reinforces this sense of lightness, presenting life as something manageable rather than overwhelming. The track succeeds because it acknowledges our collective flaws while maintaining hope for improvement.

This theme of conscious evolution continues throughout “Against Gravity,” positioned as the album’s fifth offering. Here, Psyclo confronts the natural tendency toward despair with a kind of musical defiance.

The production builds gradually, mirroring the effort required to resist life’s downward pull. Her vocals carry a determination that feels authentic, avoiding the trap of forced positivity that plagues so much contemporary pop.

Instead, she presents happiness as something that requires work, a daily choice that becomes easier with practice.

The album’s emotional core reveals itself most clearly in “I Don’t Understand Love,” where Psyclo admits to being “over-feeling things, over feeling feelings.” This confession arrives with the weight of someone who has genuinely reached their limit with emotional chaos.

The track serves as a turning point, marking the end of what she describes as her “heartbroken era.” The production here is notably restrained, allowing space for the vulnerability in her voice to take centre stage. It’s a moment of raw honesty that gives everything else on the album additional meaning.

Drea Shares First Single ‘Candid’ From Her Sensual Yet Vulnerable R&B Album

Perhaps the most striking aspect of “Loved” is how it handles the concept of self-transformation without falling into the trap of toxic positivity. Psyclo acknowledges the reality of struggle while refusing to romanticize suffering.

On “Too Much,” she confronts the idea that “no one’s got all the answers” while the “devil keeps inching closer.” This isn’t denial of life’s difficulties but rather a recognition that we all must eventually choose our response to them.

The track builds tension effectively, creating a sense of urgency that mirrors the internal pressure of making difficult decisions.

The album’s treatment of love extends far beyond romantic relationships, encompassing self-acceptance, familial bonds, and the simple kindness of strangers. Psyclo’s definition of love includes “the cup of water my grandpa would bring me every morning” and “the 10 bucks my mom gives me to buy the street food I love.”

This grounded approach to an often-abstract concept gives the album an emotional authenticity that resonates across cultural boundaries. She’s not dealing in grand gestures but in the small moments that actually constitute a life.

From a production standpoint, “Loved” benefits from Psyclo’s background as both a record producer and audio engineer. The sonic choices feel intentional rather than accidental, with each element serving the larger emotional narrative.

The mix provides space for her vocals to breathe while maintaining the energy necessary for effective pop music. There’s a clarity here that suggests someone who knows exactly what they want to say and how they want to say it.

The album’s 25-track length might seem excessive in an era of shortened attention spans, but Psyclo uses this extended format to create a complete emotional arc. Each song contributes to the larger story of transformation, building toward a conclusion that feels earned rather than imposed.

The pacing allows for moments of reflection between more energetic tracks, creating a listening experience that rewards attention while remaining accessible to casual listeners.

What makes “Loved” particularly compelling is its cultural positioning. As a Chinese artist working primarily in English and based in Los Angeles, Psyclo occupies a unique space in contemporary pop music.

Her perspective brings fresh insight to universal themes, while her musical choices reflect a global sensibility that transcends geographic boundaries. The album succeeds as both a personal statement and a contribution to the broader conversation about mental health, self-care, and the possibility of genuine change.

The transformation from “Shxffle” to “Loved” represents something more significant than artistic growth. It documents a fundamental shift in worldview, from someone who was “too comfortable with being in a dark space” to an artist who actively chooses light.

This isn’t about denying the reality of pain but rather about refusing to let that pain define the entire narrative. Psyclo has created something that feels genuinely hopeful without sacrificing complexity or nuance.

Psyclo Delivers Her Most Vulnerable And Uplifting Single “Loved”

The album’s final tracks maintain the energy and optimism established throughout, avoiding the common pitfall of ending on a sombre note. Instead, “Loved” concludes with the sense that this is a beginning rather than an ending.

Psyclo has positioned herself as someone committed to creating “a happy life where I can embrace peace,” and the music reflects this commitment with remarkable consistency.

In a musical climate often dominated by cynicism and despair, “Loved” stands as a bold statement about the possibility of genuine transformation. Psyclo has created something that acknowledges the difficulty of choosing happiness while demonstrating that such a choice is both possible and worthwhile.

The album succeeds because it feels authentic rather than manufactured, the product of someone who has genuinely done the work of changing their relationship with themselves and their art.

The result is a collection of songs that manages to be both deeply personal and broadly accessible, offering hope without minimizing struggle.

Psyclo has crafted something rare: pop music with genuine substance, created by someone who understands that the most radical act might simply be choosing to be happy.

“Loved” doesn’t just document a transformation; it actively participates in creating the possibility for others to experience their own.

P0STERGIRL Drops A Visceral Anatomy Of Toxic Desire “Want Me Dead”

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 22, 2025

P0STERGIRL Drops A Visceral Anatomy Of Toxic Desire "Want Me Dead"

P0STERGIRL ‘s latest single “Want Me Dead” doesn’t sugar-coat anything.

It’s a direct threat wrapped in looming synths and guitars that frantically lunge and jab, always going straight for the jugular.

The alternative art-pop artist from Brighton has made something that is highly personal and easy for everyone to relate to.

Have you ever wanted someone’s attention so badly that you’d do anything, no matter how toxic, to get it?

P0STERGIRL encapsulates love as an act of violence, and the result is both unsettling and oddly cathartic.

From the opening moments, “Want Me Dead” establishes its aggressive invitation. The production, handled by Al Wade and P0STERGIRL herself, creates an atmosphere that’s simultaneously claustrophobic and expansive. What makes this track particularly compelling is how P0STERGIRL plays the victim.

“The people who inspired this song just didn’t really care, I was a background character for them, and I couldn’t hack it.” she explains.

There’s something almost Shakespearean about this admission – the way unrequited attention can transform someone into their own worst enemy.

Those looming synths don’t just provide a backdrop – they become characters in their own right, breathing down your neck like an unwanted presence that refuses to leave.

The guitar work is especially noteworthy. It is not like most pop songs; the instruments seem to reflect the emotional confusion in the lyrics.

They jab and retreat, making sounds that sound like someone is desperately trying to get someone to respond. It reminds me of some of Björk’s more experimental early work, but with a very current edge that speaks to how Generation Z struggles with getting attention and approval.

“For a while, it became my goal to make them care, even if I inconvenienced them so hard that they’d actively hate me,” she admits.

P0STERGIRL’s vocal delivery oscillates between vulnerability and aggression. She’s not singing about love in any traditional sense – this is about the violence of being ignored, the way indifference can feel like a physical assault.

This level of self-awareness takes the song from a simple pop declaration to something deeper in terms of psychology.

The production choices support this emotional complexity beautifully. The synths don’t just loom – they seem to pulse with the rhythm of an anxious heartbeat.

When combined with the erratic guitar patterns, the overall effect is like listening to someone’s internal monologue during a panic attack. It’s uncomfortable in the best possible way.

There’s something almost anthropological about how P0STERGIRL documents this particular type of modern romantic dysfunction.

P0STERGIRL Drops A Visceral Anatomy Of Toxic Desire “Want Me Dead”

“Want Me Dead” feels like a field report from the front lines of digital-age desire. The song captures that specific kind of desperation that comes from being perpetually online, constantly seeking validation from people who might not even remember your name.

The track’s structure mirrors its emotional content – it builds and releases tension in unexpected ways, never quite giving you the cathartic moment you’re expecting.

P0STERGIRL has taken her own experience of being a “background character” and transformed it into something that speaks to anyone who’s ever felt invisible to someone they desperately wanted to notice them.

The time of this release seems important as well. In 2025, when people are still trying to figure out how social media and digital communication affect their mental health, “Want Me Dead” comes out as a kind of song therapy.

Not by suggesting ways to fix things, but by recognising that these feelings are real and okay, even when they are bad.

P0STERGIRL has created something genuinely unsettling and beautiful here. “Want Me Dead” doesn’t try to be likeable or radio-friendly. Instead, it commits fully to its own darkness, and that commitment makes it impossible to ignore.

Sometimes the most powerful music comes from the places we’d rather not examine too closely.

A Wrong Turn? Michael Paul Brennan Asks “What Could’ve Been.”

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 22, 2025

A Wrong Turn? Michael Paul Brennan Asks "What Could've Been."

So, Michael Paul Brennan has unveiled “What Could’ve Been,” and let me tell you, it settled in my mind not like a catchy tune, but more like finding an unexpected, slightly melancholy letter tucked inside a dusty book. There’s a grand weariness here, a sonic sigh for a society that feels like it’s misplaced its own instruction manual, and perhaps its heart. Brennan, hailing from Weymouth, seems to be channeling a global disquiet, this sensation of watching cherished ideals – liberty, decency, the simple art of not being awful to each other – gather dust on a high shelf.

The song paints with these stark “Blue” and “Red” skies, doesn’t it? For a moment, it made me think of those cheap 3D glasses from childhood, the ones that never quite worked, leaving you with a headache and a blurred, dissatisfying world. That’s the view Brennan offers, where “history repeats itself, liberty sits on the shelf, next to the pursuit of happiness.” It’s a bitter little still life, that. You can almost feel the collective head-shake, the shrug of shoulders witnessing a slow unravelling, a dream curdling in the harsh light of the morning news.

Credit: J Haglof Photography

This Americana current carries his soulful vocals and lyrics, not with a foot-stomping revelry, but with the quiet gravitas of someone who’s seen a few too many tides go out and forget to come back in. There’s an intricate sadness woven through the instrumentation, a backdrop for this lament over what feels lost, or perhaps never quite grasped. It’s the sound of wondering if we collectively took a wrong turn at a crucial, unmarked junction some time ago.

“What Could’ve Been” doesn’t offer easy answers; it’s far too honest for that. It leaves you with the weight of its questions, this palpable sense of shared regret, and just the faintest outline of hope, like a nearly invisible mending stitch in a well-worn coat. Does acknowledging the disillusionment so plainly perhaps become its own form of peculiar comfort, or just another blue note in the twilight?

Website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram

Shara Strand Finds Solace And Strength In Every Note Of ‘Love Forever’

Music

MrrrDaisy

June 22, 2025

Shara Strand Finds Solace And Strength In Every Note Of 'Love Forever'

Shara Strand, a name synonymous with vibrant dance anthems and a voice that resonates with genuine feeling, makes a poignant return with her debut album, ‘Love Forever‘.

This is an intimate chronicle of transformation, a powerful affirmation getting through the rough seas of loss and coming out on the other side with a new sense of purpose.

Strand is a two-time Billboard dance topping artist who has taken time to heal and think about herself.

Now she brings listeners into a space where weakness and strength meet, and every song is filled with deep emotional depth.

‘Love Forever‘ is a big, 13-track album about love in all its different forms, including emotional, spiritual, family, and, perhaps most importantly, self-love.

Born from a deeply personal journey, the album delves into themes of longing, resilience, surrender, and the quiet joy of rediscovery.

Each piece is a carefully crafted narrative, blending powerful storytelling with a production style that, while rooted in pop, effortlessly embraces elements of dance and synth-pop, creating a sound that is as diverse as the emotions it seeks to convey.

Like looking at a favourite memory through a kaleidoscope, the sound is both familiar and new at the same time.

‘I Will Be Here,’ the first song on the record, is a soft but firm promise of constant presence. This first song serves as an anchor, bringing the listener back to the album’s main story of lasting love.

It sets the emotional tone right away in a way that recognises how complicated and sometimes messy human relationship can be. From this base, the record grows, showing songs that are full of life and honest emotion.

“My Green Light” is full of a confident sexiness that stands in stark contrast to “Desperado‘s” disturbing weakness.

These contrasting emotional states are not jarring but rather flow seamlessly, reflecting the ebb and flow of lived experience.

“Ascended,” a dark pop outburst that makes you feel free and happy, is the last song on the trip. This song hails the victory of the spirit, the moment when a person rises above fear and finds their true joy again.

Putting “I Will Be Here” and “Ascended” at the beginning and end of the album on purpose is not a mistake; they serve as emotional bookends that capture the album’s main message of lasting love and final freedom.

The heart and the wings of “Love Forever” are what they stand for.

Throughout the record, Shara Strand’s singing is nothing short of captivating. Each phrase has a real weight to it because of her emotional delivery, which is one of the best things about her as an artist.

Strand is known for telling stories without fear, and she does not shy away from the raw edges of feeling. This lets her voice be a medium for shared human experiences.

Her previous hits, like “I Will Carry You” and “RSVP,” which put her on the Billboard Dance Chart and got her to appear at famous places like Showtime at The Apollo, set the stage for this deeply personal and powerful work.

Recorded at New York City’s Engine Room Audio with long-time producer Gregory Phace Fils-Aime, “Love Forever” is a strong example of how people can work together to understand and expand Strand’s artistic vision.

Shara Strand Finds Solace And Strength In Every Note Of ‘Love Forever’

The production is clean yet rich, allowing her vocals and the intricate emotional narratives to take centre stage.

It’s an invitation to move, to feel, and to heal—whether that means dancing with abandon, shedding a quiet tear, or simply finding a moment of peace in the rhythm.

‘Love Forever’ offers a cohesive and comforting embrace. It’s an album that doesn’t shy away from the shadows but ultimately guides the listener towards the light.

It reminds us that even in the aftermath of sorrow, there is always the possibility of renewal, of finding a deeper, more authentic connection with ourselves and with the world around us.

Shara Strand has not just returned to music; she has returned to a stronger, more authentic self, and in doing so, has created a work that resonates with universal truths.

This album is a gentle nudge, a melodic reminder that love, in all its forms, truly endures.

Sip & Share: The Zangwills Drop ‘Beers With The Beekeeper’

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 22, 2025

Sip & Share: The Zangwills Drop 'Beers With The Beekeeper'

The Zangwills arrive with their new single, ‘Beers With The Beekeeper,’ and my first thought, naturally, is whether one should opt for full netting or just a casual veil for such a chat. It’s a title that hums with a peculiar sort of promise, much like the song itself.

This track from The Zangwills, with Jake Vickers’ distinctive vocals out front, champions the profound, almost primal urge for open, honest spillage of the soul. The instrumentation – a collaborative weave from Ed Dowling, Adam Spence, and Sam Davies – builds this feel-good summer current, all indie-pop sunshine. It’s the kind of jaunty tune you’d half-expect to hear from an ice cream van that, surprisingly, only plays deep cuts from The Smiths. Yet, this bright musical buoyancy almost acts as a protective layer, making it easier to voice the hurts, particularly the stings of past love.

The lyrics navigate this journey from emotional lockdown to a brave new world of dialogue. There’s a celebration of finding your confessor in the most unexpected of guises – the older regular in a pub, perhaps, or indeed, a beekeeper. Someone removed, judgment-free. It’s this therapeutic exchange with a near-stranger that fascinates; like whispering secrets to the ocean, only the ocean buys you a pint and nods sympathetically. The Zangwills even play with that delicious miscommunication inherent when we’re “stung by love” – are we discussing heartache or actual apian assault? It’s a beautifully human muddle.

Sip & Share: The Zangwills Drop ‘Beers With The Beekeeper’

This isn’t about grand pronouncements; it’s about the quiet courage it takes to unbind your words, those internal knots that suddenly loosen with a pint and a patient ear. The song itself feels like that moment of clarity after a long, winding conversation where, even if not everything is resolved, at least it’s out.

Does the beekeeper, one wonders, get to share his own apiary anecdotes, or is he destined to be the silent, sage-like receptacle for everyone else’s honeyed (or bitter) truths?

Website, Facebook, Twitter(X), YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

The Poetic Poultice: “Couple(t)s” by Couldn’t Be Happiers Heals.

Music

Chris The Blogger

June 21, 2025

The Poetic Poultice: "Couple(t)s" by Couldn't Be Happiers Heals.

Couldn’t Be Happiers have unfurled their new album, “Couple(t)s,” and it’s rather like stumbling upon an old, leather-bound book of family anecdotes in your grandmother’s attic – one full of unexpected truths you’re not entirely sure you’re ready for, but curiosity, that insatiable little terrier, just won’t leave it be. The duo, Jodi Hildebran Lee and Jordan Crosby Lee, aren’t just harmonizing notes; they’re harmonizing human anxieties, sifting through the common grit of our shared experiences.

“Couple(t)s” digs its lyrical fingers into the messy soil of loss, the persistent itch of unresolved pasts, and that almost bewildering quest for meaning. It’s as if they’ve eavesdropped on our collective internal monologue—the one we usually keep under wraps—then set it to a surprisingly agile, if occasionally shadowed, folk-rock rhythm.

The sound itself, a kind of rootsy rock wearing a comfortably worn velvet waistcoat (with perhaps a faint, lingering scent of damp earth and old maps about it), meanders from jaunty New Orleans second-line grooves to moments that feel almost… industrially pensive? It’s the kind of music that might make you suddenly recall the exact, peculiar taste of wild sorrel you once picked on a dare, for no discernible reason.

The Poetic Poultice: “Couple(t)s” by Couldn’t Be Happiers Heals.

They seem to be proposing, with a certain quiet insistence, that folklore and a well-placed protest song might just be the poultice for what ails our rather bewildered modern sensibilities. The album’s title, “Couple(t)s,” cleverly winks at their own partnership and the poetic form itself – this idea of two distinct entities locking together, forming something new, perhaps stronger. It’s a bit like finding two perfectly mismatched gloves that, against all odds, keep your hands warmer than any matched pair ever did.

There’s a persistent thread of just… trying. Trying to make sense of the beautiful, baffling nonsense of it all, to offer support when your own well feels dry, to maybe leave a small, positive mark, like those incredibly patient people who build tiny, intricate clockwork birds – delicate mechanisms whose eventual flight paths, like the album’s reflections on unintended consequences, are tricky to predict. This collection doesn’t offer tidy solutions; it mostly just pulls up a chair beside you in the thoughtful silences.

So, what if the most enduring connections aren’t forged in shouted certainties, but in the quiet, collective hum of wondering about it all together?

Website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,

Find them on Link