Author: William Ruben Helms

William Ruben Helms is a Corona, Queens, NYC-born and-based African American music journalist, freelance writer, editor, photographer and founder of the DIY, independent music and photography site, The Joy of Violent Movement. Over the course of the past two decades, Helms’ writing and photography has been published in Downbeat, Premier Guitar Magazine (photography), Consequence, The Inventory, Glide Magazine.com (words and photography), Publisher’s Weekly, Sheckys.com, Shecky’s Bar and Nightlife Guide 2004, New York Press, Ins&Outs Magazine, Dish Du Jour Magazine, Aussie music publication Musicology.xyz (photography) and countless others, including his own site. With The Joy of Violent Movement, Helms specializes in covering music with an eclectic, globe-trotting, and genre-defying perspective that’s deeply inspired by and informed by his birthplace and home, arguably one of the most diverse places in the world. Since its founding back in 2010, The Joy of Violent Movement can proudly claim readers across the US, Canada, the UK, The Netherlands, France, Australia, and several others throughout its history. https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com/shop https://www.instagram.com/william_ruben_helms Twitter: @yankee32879 @joyofviolent become a fan of the joy of violent movement: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement support the joy of violent movement on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement hire me for headshots, portraits and event photography: https://www.photobooker.com/photographer/ny/new-york/william-h?duration=1?duration=1#
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Les Arca Shares Yearning “Passenger”

Les Arca is a Saudi-born producer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, who creates music with a global, cinematic lens. He describes his sound as blending alternative pop with atmospheric textures, while drawing inspiration from nostalgia, longing and internal conflict to shape someting that’s emotional, deeply visual and feels universal.

The Saudi-based artist’s debut single “Passenger” is a widescreen, nostalgia-inducing track featuring glistening and dreamy synths, swirling shoegazer-like textures serving as lush bed for Les Arca’s yearning, achingly sensitive delivery while showcasing his ability to craft enormous, rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. “Passenger” evokes a sense of motion, the sort of restless, heartbroken and drifting energy of driving or riding through a city at night with your own thoughts, and no obvious destination.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Night Teacher Shares Lived-In “Past Life”

Singer/songwriter and musician Lilly Bechtel is the creative mastermind behind the indie project Night Teacher, a project that derives its name from Bechtel’s day job — she has worked asa trauma-informed yoga instructor for the past 15 years — and perhaps more poignantly, to the nature of the lesson. As Bechtel says, “Pain can be a teacher. It can have some really important things to tell you — if you’re willing to listen.”

Along with producer and collaborator Matt Wyatt, Bechtel’s Night Teacher work feel like notes slipped under the door or knowing winks across a table, little hints and nods of solitary that acknowledge struggle without demanding explanation or solution. “Healing doesn’t have to be linear,” says Bechtel. “It’s usually not.” Sonically, Bechtel and Wyatt craft a gritty, propulsive and often off-kilter sonic world that has drawn comparisons to Margaret Glaspy, Thom Yorke and Cate Le Bon among others, which can be heart on Bechtel’s 2020 Night Teacher self-titled debut.

Bechtel’s sophomore Night Teacher, the recently released Year of the Snake refers to the Chinese Zodiac and to this year, which according to the Chinese Zodiac is The Year of the Snake — a time for transformation. The album’s material was written during a period of profound personal hardship, including family challenges, a bitter breakup, and a relapse after 12 years of sobriety, all intensified by the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I kept asking myself, ‘Can I survive this?’” Bechtel says.

Year of the Snake‘s second and latest single “Past Life” is a gritty and lived-in fever dream of lingering heartache, regret, failure and old ghosts haunting its narrator — and in turn, listener — in the present. And if you have lived a full and messy life, as I have, the song should feel familiar, expressing thoughts, feelings and observations that you’ve felt and seen, but haven’t been able to put in words. At its core, is a deeply humanistic tale of stubborn survival, hope, and of the recognition that recovery and healing are often a slow, uneasy, painful and necessary process.

Directed by Cat Rider, Zap McConnell and Lilly Bechtel, the accompanying video for “Past Life” is a surreal fever dream of doppelgängers, being watched and watching, of past, present and future constantly and uncomfortably colliding.

Photography by William Ruben Helms
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Photography: Graffiti, Queens Blvd. and Horace Harding Expressway, Rego Park, Queens, NYC 11/5/25

Graffiti in Rego Park.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Bliss Abyss Shares Anthemic “star”

Singer/songwriter and musician Peter Wallner has been a fixture of the Bay Area and West Coast music scenes for the past couple of decades: He has spent stints in a number of local and nationally recognized acts, including industrial shoegaze duo Astronomers Anonymous, and anthemic synth punk trio Whisper. While playing in Some Ember, he pioneered a drop-tuned “Lodge Goth” guitar style inspired by Angelo Badalamenti. And under his stage name Peter Lightning, he played in post punk outfit and JOVM mainstay act Wax Idols.

Wallner later joined Heaven’s Club as a keyboardist, which eventually led to him playing guitar with Deafhaven during their extensive 2022 European, UK and Scandinavian tour. Across more than a dozen projects, Wallner has refined a sound that blends atmosphere with urgency and melancholy with melody.

His latest project, Bliss Abyss can trace its origins back to the pandemic. Initially started as a synth pop experiment, the project evolved into its current iteration featuring Wallner (vocals, guitar), Kevin None (bass) and Josh Unger (drums). The project crystallized when Wallner met producer and bassist Joe Finocchio while performing in hardcore punk supergroup Culture Spy. After hearing demos, Finocchio quickly committed to producing an album.

Bliss Abyss’ sound sees the band meshing shoegaeze haze with post punk urgency. The result is sometimes dark and angular, sometimes bright and jangly and always driven by Wallner’s melodic instincts. The project’s forthcoming Joe Finocchio-produced debut album is collection of songs with a unique sonic identity that’s tied together by Wallner’s songwriting voice with each song designed to simultaneously stand on its own, while being park of a larger whole. Wallner’s lyrics are dreamlike confessions where heartbreak and desire unravel in a way that’s intimate yet surreal.

The trio’s debut single “star” is an upbeat, 120 Minutes-era MTV-like anthem that showcases their part jangle pop, part shoegaze sound and their ability to craft a big, catchy hook and chorus. And at its core, the song is rooted in a much-needed bit of hope in our very dark, chaotic moment that reminds the listener that sometimes you just need to manifest your dreams — and then get out there and grab it.

“The song started as a kind of spell, a vision of manifesting a life worth living. It’s meant to spark hope in anyone who’s lost,” the band’s Peter Wallner says. “Picture the life you want, the person you actually are, and don’t let anyone’s bullshit block your light. You’re a star, perfect as you are, made from stardust, burning through the same abyss as everyone else.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The New Mastersounds Share Swaggering Live Version of “Dusty Groove”

The New Mastersounds — currently, Eddie Roberts (guitar, production), Simon Allen (drums), Pete Stand (bass) and Joe Tatton (keys) — can trace their origins back to the late 1990s: Roberts was promoting a club night in his native Leeds called The Cooker. When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was both the space and opportunity to put a live band together to compliment the night’s DJ sets. 

Coincidentally, Roberts and Allen had previously played together in the similarly named The Mastersounds, an act with a completely different bassist and without a keyboardist. Because of the intimate nature of the local scene, Roberts and Allen met and recruited Pete Hand and Bob Birch (Hammond) to join what would become The New Mastersounds.

Since the release of two limited edition, boogaloo-leaning 7-inch single back in 2000, the quartet has released 24, 7 inch singles, 13 studio albums, four live albums, a remix album and three compilations released in the UK, Japan and the US. And the band has managed to do that while going through a major lineup change with Leeds scene veteran Joe Tatton replacing Bob Birch on keys and organ.

Over their 25 year run together, the band and its individual members have collaborated with an eclectic and diverse array of musicians, DJs and producers, including Lou Donaldson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Quantic, Carleen Anderson, Keb Darge, Kenny Dope, Mr. Scruff, LSK, Lack of Afro, Page McConnell, Grace Potter,Karl Denson, Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Fred Wesley, Pee-Wee Ellis, Maceo Parker, Bernard Purdie, George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Art Neville and Ernest Ranglin. 

The New Mastersounds are at the tail-end of their final live Stateside dates, which will culminate with the full live album release of Live At Cervantes, Vol 2., which will be available on 12″ vinyl LP, exclusively through the Color Red Vinyl Club. The band share another track from last year’s live sets at Denver‘s Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, “Dusty Groove.” First heard on the band’s Ten Years On, the live version is a strutting bit of organ-driven soul jazz that seemingly channels Booker T and the MG‘s paired with swaggering “Funky Drummer”-styled breakbeats. The single captures the unmistakable live chemistry and energy that made a New Mastersounds set, a must-see event.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 57th Birthday, Ol’ Dirty Bastard!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 57th anniversary of the birth of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Glixen Shares Stormy and Urgent “Medicine Bow”

Phoenix-based shoegazers and JOVM mainstays Glixen — founder Aislinn Ritchie (vocals), along with Esteban Santana (guitar), Keire Johnson (drums) and Sonia Garcia (bass) — was founded back in 2020 by the band’s Aislinn Ritchie, who then enlisted Santana, Johnson, and Garcia to complete the band’s lineup. Emerging from a scene of local DIY artists, the quartet’s unique sound and look set them apart from their counterparts and led to tours across the US with bands like Narrow Head, Cowgirl Clue, MSPaint, Hotline TNT, and They’re Gutting A Body of Water. 

Glixen’s debut EP 2023’s She Only Said saw the band adding themselves to a list of contemporary shoegaze outfits actively pushing the genre in a new direction — through a approach that incorporates ethereal pop vocals and shimmering guitars that are meant to guide you toward the feeling of true self-expression. 

The Phoenix-based quartet released their highly-anticiapted Sonny DiPerri-produced sophomore EP quiet pleasures earlier this year digitally through AWAL and on vinyl through Wichita Recordings. The EP featured the previously released single “sick silent” and four singles I wrote about on this site:

  • “foreversoon,” a track that saw the Phoenix-based outfit taking up a much heavier sound that seemingly channels Souvlaki-era Slowdive, Nowhere-era RIDE, and contemporaries like JOVM mainstays Blushing

  • “lust” is a woozy track that saw the band continuing to explore a heavier sound — but while channeling 90s grunge and nu-metal with fuzz and distorted pedaled power chords, down-tuned bass and blissed out rhythms

  • “lick the star,” which began with an eerily atmospheric sound bath-inspired introduction that sounds a bit like  Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, before quickly turning into a wall of sound of fuzzy and swirling guitar textures

  • “all tied up,” which showcased the shoegazer outfit’s uncanny knack for crafting deeply earnest material with rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses that manage to sound inspired by classic shoegaze but with a modern sensibility  

The JOVM mainstays supported their sophomore EP with stops across the global festival circuit, playing sets at Coachella, Reading and Leeds. They played a headlining Stateside tour with several sold-out shows. They hit the road with Turnover, Panchiko and Scowl — including their first UK and EU tour, supporting Turnover. And they’ll close out the year with a co-headlining tour with Glare across the Southwest and West Coast.

2026 will see the band returning to the global festival circuit with sets at Boston’s Something in The Way and Manchester, UK’s Outbreak. But in the meantime, their latest single, the standalone “Medicine Bow,” sees the band diving further into the harder hitting sound they developed on their sophomore EP: Vulnerably sung, introspective lyrics attempt to swim to the surface of a towering wall of distortion and fuzz-pedaled guitars and thunderous drumming within a classic, grunge-inspired song structure. The result may arguably be the JOVM mainstays must raw, yearning and immediate song to date.

“It’s a sense of urgency bound to the quiet yearning for self-comfort,” Glixen explains. “The song drifts between lucidity and a fever dream, where soft vulnerability meets slow-burning decay. The lead and rhythm guitars melt and unmeld in a hypnotic blur, mirroring the emotional push and pull at the heart of the track. With each refrain, “Medicine Bow” becomes a reflection of that internal ache to hold on while letting go — a sonic unraveling that feels intimate and disoriented.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Alewya Teams Up with Dagmawit Ameha on Sultry and Propulsive “Night Drive”

JOVM mainstay Alewya is an acclaimed London-based singer/songwriter, producer and visual artist. Born in Saudi Arabia to an Egyptian-Sudanese father and an Ethiopian mother, the acclaimed London-based artist has spent her life surrounded by diaspora immigrant communities: She grew up in West London and after a several year stint in New York, she returned to London. Upon her return home, the Saudi-British artist developed and honed her ear for music through the sounds of the Ethiopian and Arabic music of her parents and the ambient alternative rock album of her brother.

The Saudi-born, British artist is part of a generation of artists actively redefining global music: They’re generally rooted in heritage yet unbound by it. Describing herself as a partner, who makes music, Aleway approaches sound as texture and feeling, guided more by intuition than structure. Her sound and story widen the Black-British frame, bringing the oft-under-heard North/East African perspective into a much-needed focus.

Back in 2020, the JOVM mainstay burst into the scene with an attention grabbing feature on Little Simz‘s “where’s my lighter,” which caught the attention of Because Records, who signed the rising artist and released her critically applauded debut, 2021’s Panther In Mode EP, which featured:

  •  The Busy Twist-produced debut single “Sweating,” a forward-thinking Timbaland-like mesh of trap, reggae and electro pop. 

  • “Spirit_X,” which paired elements of Timbaland, trap and drum ‘n’ bass paired with the rising British artist alternating between spitting fiery bars and sultry crooning

  • The sultry and defiantly feminist anthem “Play” 

  • “Channel High” a slick synthesis of grime, contemporary R&B, dancehall, electro pop and Afrobeats

The acclaimed JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Night Drive,” feat. Dagmawit Ameha is the first bit of new material in over three years. The new single sees the acclaimed Saudi-British artist boldly stepping forward into a new creative era and way of life.

“Night Drive,” is a lush, slickly produced, futuristic-leaning blend of 80s and 90s Detroit and Chicago house, minimalist beats, alt R&B, Ethiopian music, Afrobeats and komische musik with a playful and naughty nod to Grace Jones’ “Pull Up To The Bumper.”

Written and demoed by Alesha before being fleshed out and brought to live with long-time collaborators Craigie Dodds and Dean Barratt, “Night Drive” began as a minimal and intuitive feeling that evolved into an ode to Detroit house and the roots of Black electronic music.

Directed by Taichi Kimura, the accompanying video for “Night Drive” was shot during a recent, deeply influential trip to Japan, the video is a fever dream that follows the acclaimed JOVM mainstay through the heady, late night buzz of a neon-lit city, the backseat of a speeding cab and the sweaty pulse of a packed dance floor.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Vancouver’s RX1F Shares Yearning “Afterimages”

RX1F is a Vancouver-based electronic music producer and artist, who has a reputation for openly challenging music norms while staying with an immediate, infectious and accessible pop territory. HIs work is rooted in an approach that frequently balances experimentation and playfulness.

Driven by a desire to push the boundaries of pop music, the Vancouver-based artist frequently tackles unconventional subjects. “I try to find subjects that aren’t normally covered in pop songs and try to make them into pop songs. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes… less well,” the Canadian artist says. “I’m fascinated by old-school pop songwriting and the puzzle of making melodies and chords that play nicely together. It’s a game with only one rule: make it sound good.

“I want to make music that is balanced: there’s darkness, there’s light, there’s energy, there’s emptiness,” he continues. “I get bored very quickly if I sit in the same place and eat the same flavor after a while.”

The Canadian artist’s latest single, the TR/ST-like “Afterimages,” features a dance floor friendly production featuring layers of pulsing synths, propulsive kick drum serving as a woozy yet lush bed for RX1F’s plaintive vocal telling a story of losing someone dear, being forced to accept its inevitability — and then recognizing that ghosts linger.

“This is probably as close as I’ll ever get to writing a love song,” the Vancouver-based artist explains. “It was written many years ago at a point where I could see a relationship was not going to make it, but it didn’t really crystallize until a close friend passed away last year – it’s kind of loss that you can never recover from. You’re always looking backwards.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: SOMBRA Shares Club and Arena Friendly “NINGEN”

SOMBRA is Canadian-born, Tokyo-based producer and songwriter, who blends elements of 90s alt rock, industrial, house, techno and trip hop to create a body of work that effortlessly moves between heavy and atmospheric. Frequently described as “music to turn the lights off to,” the Canadian-born, Japanese-based producer’s live band sets pair his sound with immersive visuals and projection — and feature collaborations with Japanese artists across multiple genres.

His latest single “NINGEN” showcases the Canadian-born, Japanese-based producer’s expansive, forward-thinking and dynamic sound. Sonically bringing Atusko Chiba, Odonis Odonis, and Tweekend-era The Crystal Method to mind, “NINGEN” is both club and arena friendly while featuring some immensely catchy hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Thaïs Shares Bold, Uptempo Rework of “MTL-Paris”

Rising Paris-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Thaïs has received attention across the Francophone music world and elsewhere for an atmospheric and delicate pop sound, which perfectly compliments her ethereal delivery.

2022 was a breakthrough year for the JOVM mainstay: She signed with Bravo Musique, who released her highly anticipated full-length debut, Tout est parfait. The following years have been busy for the rising French Canadian artist: She has opened for KYO, M, Arianne Moffatt, Dumas and Suzane while working on her Blaise Borboën and Thaïs co-produced sophomore album Personne, which was released earlier this year.

Described by the JOVM mainstay as “extroverted music for introverts,” Personne‘s material are energetic tracks that are meant to lead towards self-affirmation while allowing listeners to delve deeper into her universe. The album features “Taxi,” a slickly produced, dance floor friendly bop that to my years, sounds as though it were inspired by the likes of Robyn.

The Paris-born, Montréal-based JOVM mainstay recently reworked album single “MTL-Paris.” The album version is simultaneously atmospheric and introspective before slowly morphing into much more dance floor territory, seemingly reflecting a narrator, who’s growing in self-assuredness and confidence. “MTL-Paris V2” is a much more upbeat, dance floor friendly bop from the jump, turning the song from a tale of growing confidence, to one of boldly liberating oneself — with the realization that you’ve only got one life to live.

For the JOVM mainstay, reworking her own work is a creative exercise that allows her to reveal other possible, sometimes even latent facets to her material — all while retaining the “extroverted music for introverts” concept of the album.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: GENA Shares Breezy and Sultry “CIRCLESZ”

Deriving its name from an acronym “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and loosely inspired by the Gina from Martin, GENA is a new collaborative project featuring arguably two acclaimed and talented artists:

  • Liv.e: In a short period of time, Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Liv.e has quickly established a reputation for restless experimentation with the release of her full-length debut, 2023’s Girl in The Half Pearl, an effort that received praise from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vulture and more, and last year’s synthwave-driven PAST FUTURE.e. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based made surprise appearances at last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, joining Earl Sweatshirt and Andre 3000 during their respective sets. She’s currently on Earl Sweatshirt’s Live. Laugh. Love. world tour, with Zeelooperz and Cletus Strap.

  • Karriem Riggins: Over the course of his 35-year career in music, Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based Karriem Riggins has firmly cemented a reputation as one of the most respected drummers and beatmakers out there. He has played with and produced for an eclectic array of acclaimed and legendary artists including Common, Erykah Badu, KAYTRANADA, Steve Lacy, The Roots, Madlib, Paul McCartney and Norah Jones. Notably, he formed a close kinship with the beloved, fellow Detroiter J. Dilla. In 2017, Riggins won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and lyrics for his work with Common and Robert Glasper on “Letter to the Free,” which appeared on Ava Duvernay’s 13th. Recently, Riggins reunited with Common and collaborated with James Poyser to write and record “Victory,” the theme music for NBA on Prime for the 2025-2026 season and beyond.

The pair can trace the origins of the project to when they met through a mutual musical acquaintance and quickly recognized each other as kindred musical and creative spirits, who started playing shows as GENA earlier this year. GENA sees the Los Angeles-based duo channeling the instinctive musical prowess of both artists while seamlessly meshing their imitable style. The result is a playful and soul-driven improvisational work that captures Liv.e’s vision of reconstructing R&B her way paired with Riggins masterful percussion which spans improvisation and beatmaking alchemy.

GENA’s debut single “CIRCLESZ” is a remarkably breezy, jazz-tinged bit of neo-soul featuring an arrangement of precise, boom bap meets-bop jazz-like four-on-the-floor and glistening and arpeggiated Rhodes serving as a hook-driven, lush, dusty sample-like bed for Liv.e’s sultry delivery. While sonically nodding at Yasiin Bey‘s “Umi Says,” “CIRCLESZ” evokes the woozily intoxicating connection you can build with another person and the small moments that can color that romantic bond.

Shot with a grainy, analog quality, the accompanying video features the pair performing on a The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson-styled show and set, including an interview with the host.