Category: New Audio

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dominque and the Diamonds Share Heartbreakingly Gorgeous “I Don’t Mind”

Led by Colombian-American frontwoman Dominque Gomez, Los Angeles-based country band Dominique and the Diamonds can trace their origins back to 2024: the band came together on a whim, after Gomez was asked to perform a country set at the local summertime concert series The Grand Ole Echo. 

Friends from cosmic country outfit Caravan 222 and rock band Triptides were recruited to play as Gomez’s backing band, and over the course of the subsequent year started to gain attention locally for a sound that seemingly channeled Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Townes Van Zandt and the Laurel Canyon sound — but with a contemporary feel. 

The Los Angeles-based outfit’s Glenn Brigman-produced full-length studio debut album Honky Tonk Queen is slated for a June 26, 2026 release. Recorded at Crestline, CA-based Skyforest Sound, the group tracked the album’s material on tape with a Tascam 388 and then mixed digitally, offering that old-timey/classic grit while being remarkably modern. “The recording sessions for Honky Tonk Queen had such a family vibe to them,” Brigman says. “The band would leave the city behind and trek up to my cabin in the mountains where we recorded on tape, built fires, listened to Grateful Dead records, drank wine… I even made some homemade country biscuits for breakfast just to make sure we had all the vibes dialed in properly. And of course we celebrated after the last session with a night out at the local mountain saloon.”

Brigman is also heavily featured on every song playing a variety of vintage Rhoes, Wurlitzer, piano, Mellotron, organ and some lead guitar, making Brigman the unofficial fifth member of the band.

Honky Tonk Queen reportedly sees the Los Angeles-based quartet summoning the spirt of 1970s Sunset Strip and Laurel Canyon, weaving vintage-era country storytelling with shimmering, reverb-kissed pedal steel and gorgeous harmonies and melodies. While their sound openly and lovingly draws from the likes of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Exile from Main Street-era Stones, Harvest-era Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt, the album’s material never feels imitative; in fact, the band reinterprets those influences through a distinctly contemporary lens in which dreamy and cosmic textures meet down-to-earth, lived-in storytelling.

Fittingly, the album is the product of Dominique Gomez’s comfortably poised footing as a California-based country artist. “I’m a vocalist first. But I grew up singing all kinds of genres, country being one of them. In my younger days, I couldn’t really decide on which one I wanted to pursue more because I just loved it all,” Gomez says. As a working songwriter, who has worked in the worlds of sync and music libraries since 2020, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter found strength and reassurance in country. “I’ve always written different types of songs; soul, pop, rock, country, R&B, blues, etc. But I kept getting hired to write more and more country songs,” she recalls. This helped pushed Gomez to dive deeper within country, and the release of the band’s debut will mark one of many milestones in her career.

Representation is central to the album. The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter is proudly Latina and she carries that identity into every performance. Her visibility and leadership are deeply intentional: to create a space where her community feels safe, seen and accepted in a genre that admittedly has a troubled history and is still evolving — albeit sometimes, slower than it should. ““I had my hesitations of getting involved in country music for many reasons, but being a daughter of Colombian immigrants was by far the biggest reason why I didn’t think I would fit in. I’m half white and half Colombian but very Latina presenting.”

But as the band progressed and began to build a fanbase, she quickly realized how important her role was, “Connecting with our fans on tour is what really did it for me. In Sacramento, I had a girl come up to me after the show and tell me, ‘I love country music but I don’t feel safe in those spaces being Latina. Because of you, I feel safe to love it now,'” Gomez recalls. “Representation matters and I hope to continue to deliver safety and inclusion to everyone who comes to our shows or listens to our music.” Though the band sounds nostalgic, they’re also a promise — that classic country can expand its circle, embrace new voices and still honor the soulful and gritty roots that inspired it.

Honky Tonk Queen‘s latest single, album title track “I Don’t Mind” is a classic country-styled ballad that showcases some gorgeous, shimmering pedal steel, Gomez’s mesmerizing delivery and her lived-in, story-as-song driven songwriting rooted in a mix of heartache, uncertainty, hope and gratitude.

“I moved to LA in 2021 for music, but the entire reason I ended up in southern CA in the first place was from fleeing a dangerous relationship in the Bay Area,” Gomez recalls. “I didn’t want to leave West Marin. I was heartbroken over that, not so much the relationship itself. I had plans of making it back to that small coastal town I lived in, but when I found out my ex had planted roots there, I knew it wouldn’t be safe for me to go back.” Though Gomez’s heart will always live in that small town, she also knew that Los Angeles had much bigger plans for her

“Moving to LA was the best decision of my life. Yes, what I had experienced was terrible, but unfortunately, I don’t think I would have ended up here if I hadn’t gone through it all. There would be no Dominique and the Diamonds, no songwriting opportunities, no touring. This incredible, dream-like life that I live now because of this project would have never existed. So in the end, I don’t mind that my ex took that old dream away from me. This is exactly where I’ve always wanted to be all along.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jonathan Personne Shares Groovy “Rêve américain”

Initially known for his roles as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, guitarist, lyricist and songwriter in internationally acclaimed JOVM mainstay act Corridor, Montréal-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, animator and visual artist Jonathan Robert is by both necessity and nature, a prolific and versatile artist.

Back in 2015, he began archiving his overflowing ideas, when his girlfriend gave him a Tascam four-track recorder. This opened a world of possibilities for the French Canadian artist, fueled by his enthusiasm for a wide range of musical genres aligned by his lo-fi sensibilities. He began compiling demos with similar sounds and inspirations, and before publicly releasing a song, a discography was taking shape.

This creative process eventually evolved into Robert’s solo project, Jonathan Personne, which derives its name from the French version of John Doe — or perhaps a bit more accurately, Jonathan Nobody. The project’s name reflects his determination to simultaneously not represent a specific person and to better reflect his multifaceted artistic identity. Over the past seven years, he released four albums that saw him drawing from a wide range of influences including desert dream pop, Morriocone-esque Spaghetti Western rock, The Clean-like jangle pop, Latin-influeinced grooves, Galaxie 500 and Yo La Tengo-like indie rock, as well as sampling, sequencing and beatmaking. And he’s done this while working on albums with his primary gig, Corridor.

Typically, Robert finds himself working three albums simultaneously. Although he gives each project the time it needs to be distinctive, there’s always one that’s on the verge of completion. The French Canadian artist’s Jonathan Personne debut, 2019’s Histoire Naturelle drew from desert dream pop, Morricone-esque Spaghetti Western rock and jangle pop, showcasing some of the project’s earliest written and recorded material. Thematically, the album’s material focused on the potential end of the world, which with the album’s timing, may have been alarmingly prescient.

His sophomore Jonathan Personne album, 2020’s Guillaume Chiasson-produced Disparitions was primarily written while the Montreal-based artist was touring with Corridor and his full-length debut was being mixed.

He began 2022 by signing with Bonsound, who released his Emmanuel Éthier-produced self-titled third album. Written alone on an acoustic guitar in a cottage, the album took an unexpected turn, when the Montreal-based artist went to Quebec City-based Le Pantoum with his friends and frequent collaborators Samuel Gougoux (drums), Julian Perreault (guitar), Mathieu Cloutier (bass) and the aforementioned Éthier (violin, synths, mellotron, vocals and production), who helped flesh out the album’s material with arrangements featuring electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, Rhodes, timpani, mellotron, synths, violin and samples from obscure TV shows and movies. But unlike his previously released Jonathan Personne work, the self-titled album had a much more polished production.

His fourth album last year’s Nouveau mode was a melodic, sometimes noisy effort that brought together previously unreleased songs from different periods of the project.

Robert’s fifth Jonathan Personne album, Répertoire is slated for an August 28, 2026 release through Bonsound. The album’s material can trace its origins back six years ago: When he began working on what would eventually become Repertoire, the Montréal-based artist sensed a significant change in direction and chose to focus on another set of songs instead. This lead to his acclaimed, self-titled third album. Répertoire reportedly sees Robert bringing some light to his firmly established melancholic sound, with the album’s material drawing from yacht rock and dream pop to create something entirely unexpected. Anchored around melodic bass lines, looping figured and self-sampled guitars, the result is a sound that’s groovy yet contemplative, dreamlike yet noisy.

Thematically, the 10-song album sees the French Canadian JOVM mainstay reflecting on his relationship with music, vacillating between moments of repulsion and ones that remind him why he chose — and loves — his career.

Répertoire‘s first single, album opening track “Rêve américain” may be the funkiest song of Robert’s growing solo catalog to date. Seemingly a mind-bending blend of yacht rock, Les Imprimés and Monophonics-like blue-eyed soul and indie pop, “Rêve américain” explores the feeling of disillusionment over an idealized notion of success, specifically referencing his last tour across a dysfunctional, fucked up Trump-era United States with a droll sense of irony, exasperation and fear.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Copenhagen’s Bending Backwards Shares Yearning “i See You From Here”

Copenhagen-based trio Bending Backwards — Frederik Blæsild Vuust (vocals), Halfdan Stefansson (guitar) and Johannes Østlund Jacobsen (drums) — specialize in a distinctly contemporary take on alternative rock that sees sees the trio moving fluidly between dream pop, shoegaze, grunge post-punk, noise rock and folk.

Thematically, the Danish trio’s work touches upon recurring and uneasy dichotomies: the longing for home and stability and the pull of the outside world, and intimacy and disorientation. Their work also touches on love, especially between siblings, as well as reflections on distance, memory and everyday tenderness. Lyrically, Blæslid Vuust’s lyrics draw on a wide range of literary influences and references, including biblical passages, the work of T.S. Eliot, László Kraszenahhorkai and more.

As part of Copenhagen’s experimental and alternative music scenes, a loosely connected network of band and artists including the Movement Shaped Like A Heart Collective.

The trio’s latest single “I See You From Here” is also the first single off their full-length debut still and quiet, brother, are you still and quiet. Sonically channelling a synthesis of brooding post punk, indie rock and folk featuring Blæsid Vuust’s achingly tender, vulnerable delivery ethereally floating over the arrangement, “I See You From Here” describes the push and pull of an new relationship between two dysfunctional, deeply human people,

Bending Backwards describes the song as beginning with “the image of an apartment in Berlin . . . and a large park just down the road,” where two figures are placed within the scene. What follows is loose yet recurring sequences of events: They meet. They sit in the apartment just down the road rom the park .They took a walk in the park, then separate and return. The song captures that seemingly endless push and pull.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Riga’s Les Attitudes Spectrales Shares Mosh Pit Friendly “A Trip Down Memory Loss”

Riga-based noise punks Les Attitudes Spectrales — co-founders French-born, Latvian-based Julien Stark (vocals, guitar) and his Latvian-born spouse Rūta Stark (bass, vocals), along with Adrians Grīns (guitar) and Mārtiņš Kuzmins (drums ) — was initially founded in 2014 as a duo featuring its co-founders Julien Stark and Rūta Stark. And as a duo, the band released two lo-fi albums 2014’s Floral Wreck and 2015’s Where’s My Ghost Milk?

Shortly after the release of Where’s My Ghost Milk?, the Riga-based outfit expanded into a quartet with the addition of Grīns and Kuzmins. As a quartet, the band released 2019’s Vampire in the Summer and 2022’s award-winning Songs For No One on vinyl through boutique French label Specific Recordings.

The quartet signed to Latvian underground tastemaker label I Love You Records, who will be releasing the band’s fifth album, Watch The Sword About To Drop on May 26, 2026. The 10-song album is reportedly one of the most fearless and heaviest albums they’ve written and recorded to date, while capturing a band on the verge of exploding into the global noise and rock scenes.

Watch The Sword About To Drop‘s first single, “A Trip Down Memory Loss” is a breakneck, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Osees-like mosh pit friendly ripper. The first time I heard “A Trip Down Memory Loss,” I could picture a room quickly turning into a sweaty, joyous mosh pit but the song is rooted in some of the bleakest lyrics that the band’s Julien Stark has ever written.

“Alzheimer’s runs in my family. I didn’t decide to write about it, it just came out. It’s common for me to write a sentence and then work around it. In this case, I started with the final line (“Where was I?”) and the first line was the part I wrote last. It turned out to be about being an old person having hallucinations and falling down the stairs,” Julien Stark says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Afghan Whigs Return with Meditative “Duvateen”

JOVM mainstays The Afghan Whigs —  currently Greg Dulli (vocals, guitar), John Curley (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson and the band’s newest member, Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn (guitar) — released their ninth album, 2022’s How Do You Burn? to widespread critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Los Angeles Times, Spin,Stereogum, Billboard and others. 

Late last year, saw the band tackling two songs — — Poliça‘s “Fake Like” and Still Corners “Downtown” — that seemed perfect for the band’s unique take on them. 

The JOVM mainstays will celebrate their 40th anniversary this year with a month-long tour with Mercury Rev that includes an April 30, 2026 stop at Webster Hall. Tour dates are below. You can visit https://linktr.ee/theafghanwhigs for tickets and more. 

“40 years later, I still get to do the thing I love the most. Writing songs and performing them with my friends all over the world,” The Afghan Whigs’ co-founder and frontman Greg Dulli says. “I truly have to pinch myself.”

But in the meantime the JOVM mainstays have shared a bit of new material that includes “House of I,” and their latest single “Duvateen.” “Deriving its title from the name of the light manipulating material, “Duvateen” is a meditative, piano-driven power ballad with the titular material being a metaphor for mortality and the dark abyss just off in the background of our lives.

At the core of the new single is a narrator with the recognition that they’re no longer young and that their own mortality is looming just over their shoulder. “When I finished “Duvateen,” it felt like my life passing before my eyes,” The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli says. “The references to the teacher chasing me down the hall reminded me of my childhood. Digging a hole was an obvious allusion to a grave. I’m at a precipice in life where I can look behind and clearly see the forest of my youth, but I can also see the path to the other side. And it’s going to inform what I do for the rest of my days.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: rhythmspitter Shares Vibey “Candle Magic”

San Francisco-based musician, composer, producer Michael Mosley is best known for playing bass in Red Thread Theory and for being the creative mastermind behind the JOVM mainstay act rhythmspitter. With rhythmspitter, Mosley explores instrumental indie rock and lo-fi beat-driven material that draws from an eclectic array of sources, including Bill Laswell’s Material and Jah Wobble‘s Invaders of the Heart. 

Mosley weaves together a rich tapestry of instruments and rhythms from across the world into a meticulously crafted composition that provides a chill and captivating vibe that’s entrancing. His work seeks to break down barriers and introduce audiences to a world of sonic exploration that they may not have encountered before, while opening minds to the beauty of different styles, instruments and sounds.

Earlier this month, the JOVM mainstay released his full-length debut, Cosmological Exigency and the Astrological Paradigm. The album’s latest single “Candle Magic” is a vibey, meditative track featuring hypnotic, Middle Eastern-inspired percussion and shimmering reverb-soaked guitar that seemingly channels experimental jazz and New Age while being lounge friendly and remarkably accessible.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Crá CroÍ Returns with Brooding “Flesh Machines”

Deriving their name from the Gaelic phrase for “heartache,” or “vexation of spirit,” County Cork-based duo Crá Croí — RG (songwriting, production, mixing and mastering) and CD (vocals and visuals) — have employed a fiercely DIY ethos while establishing a sound that meshes elements of 1980s New Wave, post-punk and goth, featuring melancholic synths, dark melodies, angular guitars and sharp, hook-driven vocals. 

The Irish duo’s work explores themes of nihilism, love and destruction, dystopian collapsed and nuclear annihilation, often wrapped in irony and paired with post-apocalyptic metaphors. 

The Cork-based duo’s self-produced, 12-song, full-length debut, Tá brón orm is slated for an October 30, 2026. The album’s title derives its title from the Irish phrase for “sadness” or “sorrow is on me.” The album will feature 12 completely new tracks, but to build up buzz for the band and the forthcoming album, the Irish JOVM mainstays have released a handful of standalone singles including “Radiation Romance,” “Fires At Dawn,” “Feeding The Fear,” and “Lost In The Electric Blood.” 

The duo’s latest single “Flesh Machines” continues a remarkable run of material that meshes elements of goth with Joy Division and Interpol-like post punk that showcases their ability to pair socially conscious lyrics with their unerring knack for razor sharp hooks and rousingly anthemic choruses. Thematically, the new single as the band explains, paints a picture of modern existence that invites the listener to reflect on their own relationship with the digital world.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Velatine Shares Forceful “Whisper Park”

Melbourne-based songwriter and producer Loki Lockwood is the creative mastermind behind the darkwave/goth recording project Velatine. For the bulk of Velatine’s history, Lockwood collaborated with different vocalists while crafting a unique and fresh take on the familiar and beloved darkwave/goth sound.

If you were frequenting this site over the course of last year, the Aussie producer and musician collaborated with Nocturna on “Till Death Do We Art” and Holly Purnell, who was discovered through an Instagram ad for “Oh See Me — The Siren.” While working on “Oh See Me — The Siren” Purnell joined Velatine as the project’s full-time vocalist.

Velatine’s latest single “Whisper Park” is a subtle change in sonic direction, seeing the band leaning more towards a forceful, goth and doom-like direction than their previously released material. Anchored around slashing, angular guitar attack and dramatic drumming, the cinematic “Whisper Park” channels contemporary fare like Bonnie Trash and others, while showcasing Purnell’s remarkable vocal.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Johan Hiro Shares Vibey and Trippy “the vacancy”

Jonah Hiro is a Boston-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who specializes in a brand of bedroom psych pop informed by his obsession with blown out sounds, trippy and hypnotic soundscapes, paired with dreamy vocals. 

Hiro released his debut EP, lost at sea earlier this year. The EP features the mesmerizing opening track “i gaze at mars” and “the vacancy.” Featuring twinkling keys, quivering synths, blown out beats paired with Hiro’s layered and dreamily delivered harmonies, “the vacancy” seemingly channels a mind-bending synthesis of Sgt. Pepper-era The Beatles, Dark Side of the Moon and Tame Impala to create a lo-fi, lysergic vibey tune.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: PATRICIJA Shares Broodingly Cinematic and Cathartic “Angel With a Broken Harp”

PATRICIJA is a Lithuanian-born, German-based alt-pop artist, who specializes in crafting a broodingly cinematic sound that blends elements of art pop, indie pop and melancholic electronica paired with powerhouse vocals, emotional intensity and a distinct goth edge. Her work explores themes of vulnerability, inner conflict and quiet resilience.

The Lithuanian artist gained international attention through her participation in Season 12 of The Voice Lithuania. She reached the Super Finals and delivered one of the most viewed performances in the show’s history on YouTube. Her performances have also been featured in global The Voice compilations, which has helped her expand her reach internationally. And adding to a growing international profile, her work has received airplay from BBC Radio 1 Introducing.

PATRICIJA’s latest single, the lush “Angel With a Broken Harp” sees her blending elements of goth, trip-hop, classic rock, ambient music and alt-pop to create a brooding, cinematic song that sounds as though it could have been part of a James Bond soundtrack — or a long lost and previously unreleased Dark Side of the Moon/Rolling Stones track. The song builds up from an intimate, whispered and cooed verses into a cathartic, arena rock-like climax, but at its core is an aching, lived-in vulnerability.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: TOMORA Returns with Luminous and Euphoric “I DRINK THE LIGHT”

TOMORA is a collaborative project featuring:

  • The Chemical Brothers‘ Tom Rowlands: As one-half of The Chemical Brothers, Rowlands has produced and recorded six widely acclaimed UK #1 albums and won six Grammy Awards.

  • Norwegian artist AURORA: AURORA has released four studio albums and has quickly become one of Norway’s most influential and globally recognized contemporary artists. Her single “Runaway” has amassed over one-billion Spotify streams to date.

TOMORA builds upon a creative relationship that can be traced to the recording sessions for The Chemical Brothers’ 2019 album No Geography. AURORA contributed vocals to three tracks, including “Eve of Destruction.” Rowlands then went on to contribute to AURORA’s 2024 effort, What Happened to the Heart?, which landed on the UK Top 10.

Initially, speculation was rife as to who — or what — the then-mysterious TOMORA was or could be, after the name appeared on Coachella’s 2026 Festival lineup post without any additional information last year. Last December, the duo released their debut single “Ring The Alarm,” which received praise from Spin, BrooklynVegan, Stereogum and DJ Mag. “Ring The Alarm” also received DJ support from Erol Alkan, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U and a long list of others.

The duo’s TOMORA debut single was then released on a very limited and collectible white label vinyl, alongside B-side “The Thing,” which showcases a glimpse of the tender and hauntingly beautiful downtempo tracks that appear on the duo’s full-length debut, COME CLOSER.

Officially released today through Capitol Records, COME CLOSER was written and produced jointly by Rowlands and AURORA. The 12-song album sees the duo pairing the Norwegian artist’s distinctive vocal with the acclaimed British producer’s unparalleled studio expertise. The album sees the duo creating their own unique space, somewhere they can produce the kind of magic that comes from flicking through a perfect record collection, flowing from wigged-out 1960s psychedelia to the hyper-futurism of sounds imagined for the 2060s. 

The album is less about two separate and distinct artists finding a fertile middle ground and more the sound of two tenacious individuals connecting in the studio and hitting massive creative peaks together. 

“This is our album COME CLOSER, it is everything we dreamt of. We made it without obligation or expectation, just a joy in creation,” the duo says. “It’s the sound where we meet, the landing zone of our musical escape pods. It is a special place to us. We hope you dig it as much as we do.”

The album also features the previously released “COME CLOSER” “SOMEWHERE ELSE” and its latest single “I DRINK THE LIGHT.” “I DRINK THE LIGHT” is a euphoric and luminous song featuring glistening synth arpeggios and skittering boom bap as a lush yet woozy bed for AURORA’s remarkably Björk-like delivery. Sonically nodding at a slick synthesis of Madonna‘s “Ray of Light,” Come with Us-era Chemical Brothers, “I DRINK THE LIGHT” evokes the otherworldly and almost childlike sense of awe and delight of seeing a natural wonder for the first time.

“We wrote ‘I DRINK THE LIGHT’ whilst watching the light glitter and dance off the shimmering fjord in Norway. We wanted to write a song that felt like witnessing the wonders of Earth for the very first time,” TOMORA explains. “The song is an exploration of light sensations and fluid dynamics. We taste the earth, we swallow the sun, we are one with the fabric of life, and most importantly of all, we drink the light.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay The Offline Teams Up with Koralle on a Vibey and Laid-Back Remix of “Enfin, la paix”

Hamburg-born and-based photographer, composer Felix Müller is the creative mastermind of the JOVM mainstay cinematic soul project The Offline. The Offline was deeply inspired and informed by Müller’s travels along the Atlantic coastline of southern France with an analog camera, capturing beach life. Upon his return to Hamburg, he started writing compositions as the sonic counterpart to his visuals.

The German-born artist’s full-length debut, 2023’s Timor Litzenberg co-produced La couleur de la mer was inspired by the work of Francois de Roubaix, and saw him creating a soundtrack to an imaginary film with themes and atypical song structures. Morning from dramatic cues to fragile romanticism, the album’s material incorporated elements of psychedelia, retro soul and hip-hop — inspired by his extensive record collection.

2024’s Les Cigales saw the German-born JOVM mainstay building upon the head-nodding blend of hip-hop and 70s soul jazz that he developed on his debut with the effort’s material taking sonic cues from 1960s and 1970s film and TV scores, while nodding at Francois de Rouabix, David Axelrod, Surprise Chef and Robohands.

Last year, saw Müller release the live EP, The Offline In Session, which featured live renditions of some of his previously released work including “Théme de la couleur de la mer,” and “Cap Camarat.”

Interestingly, his forthcoming effort, Révisé is reportedly a look back into his growing catalog — but this time with the hip-hop and beatmaker ramped up. The effort will feature contributions from highly sought-after producers across the global, lo-fi hip-hop scene including, Koralle, Knowsum, Jake Milliner and 53 Keys, as well as rising underground emcees like SANITY, Summer Sons‘ TURT and Physical Graffiti.

“One of my main motivations for The Offline project was to create a modern version of television and film music from the 60s and 70s, with an analog touch reminiscent of the old funk and jazz albums that hip-hop artists used to sample,” Müller explains. “After releasing several albums an [sic] EPs, the idea arose to change perspective and look at the music from the point of view of hip-hop artists and beatmakers, leading to the remix project Révisé.”

Révisé‘s lead single, sees Müller team up with Italian producer Koralle on a remix of Le couleur de la mer album track, “Enfin, la paix.” The Koralle remix adds anecdotes a laid-back, lounge/headphone hip-hop feel with congo, boom bap beats and dub-inspired textures paired with the original’s twinkling and reverb-soaked Rhodes, Müller’s soulful and psychedelic guitar lines and sun soaked vibes. The remix is perfect for that Chill Out/Make Out/Daydream playlist you’re thinking of.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Blue Earth Sound Shares Meditative and Hypnotic “Chartreuse”

Blue Earth County, Minnesota-born, Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and composer James Weir is the creative mastermind behind the instrumental project Blue Earth Sound. Named after his birthplace, Blue Earth Sound sees Weir blending cinematic jazz, soul and psychedelic textures into rich, atmospheric soundscapes that reflect a sense of place and his collaborative approach to creating music.

Weir’s Blue Earth Sound debut, last year’s Cicero Nights was released by Root Records to praise from Clash Magazine and airplay from BBC Radio 3, BBC 6 Music and KEXP. The album consisted of eight, immersive compositions inspired by late-night city wanderings, and recorded with a cast of Chicago-based players including International Anthem engineer Dave Vettraino and Resavoir‘s Will Miller (trumpet).

Weir’s forthcoming The St. Louis Sessions EP will feature a collection of recordings documenting a spontaneous creative moment shared between friends and collaborators in the newly built, St. Louis-based home studio of drummer and long-time collaborator Austin LeMoine.

Weir brought a handful of demos to LeMoine’s home studio to experiment and workshop. “Austin was hip to the some local brass players, Jawaad Spaan and Josiah Burton, from the St. Louis scene that we invited over for experimental session tracked in his living room. After bonding over shared taste [sic] and drinks, we recorded the horn takes live together over my demos,” the Chicago-based composer and multi-instrumentalist explains.

As it turns out, the relaxed but inspired sessions unfolded with the recordings capturing the warmth and spontaneity of musicians sharing a room, following their instincts and balancing hypnotic grooves, dusty Wurlitzer tones and soul-tinged arrangements with moments of late-night reflection. And as a result, the EP is a more intimate snapshot of the project in motion, with material moving fluidity between improvisation and carefully curated post-production.

The St. Louis Sessions EP‘s lead single “Chartreuse,” is a meditative tune, anchored around a hazy, trance-inducing groove, some soulful and expressive brass that seemingly channels Kind of Blue-era Miles Davis and Giant Steps-era Coltrane but with a subtly modern sensibility. Interestingly, the composition emerged as the group of musicians were learning the ins-and-outs of the new studio set up and captures the uncanny simpatico of musicians in a room jamming together and creating something new.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jerk Returns with Funky and Soulful “alarmed”

Prolific Brooklyn-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Joni Kinney is the creative mastermind behind, the rising recording project Jerk. And with Jerk, Kinney has released five albums and several EPs that feature a sound that draws from J. Dilla, Madlib, Patrice Rushen, Earth, Wind & Fire, Louis Cole, Knower, and Roller Trio. Never content with just music as a creative output, Kinney is also an avid writer and video essayist. 

Late last year, the Brooklyn-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist released the first part of a two EP narrative cycle, as night falls. The two EP cycle sees Kinney using the project’s sound into new territories, taking listeners on a journey through a fusion of electronic influences, midnight funk and forward-thinking jazz. 

as day breaks, the second EP of the narrative cycle is slated for a May 15, 2026 release through DeepMatter Records. as day breaks EP will see a limited vinyl release, alongside last year’s as night falls. 

While the first EP of the cycle explored the darker side of human nature through a blend of midnight funk and electronic-tinged jazz, as day breaks, which was created with long-time friend and collaborator Martine Wade, is a journey through daylight anchored around uplifting, soulful, instrumentals paired with house grooves, breakbeats, bird song and the sounds of NYC. “This joint album project is the essence of Jerk — neither day nor night, but something more ethereal,” Kinney explains.

as day breaks EP will include the swaggering, funky “steppin’ out,” the slow-burning and meditative “wait,” and the EP’s final pre-release single “alarmed.” “alarmed is a Bob James-like bit of jazz funk that opens with a intro that evokes the beginning of the day with a bop-like strutting opening before morphing into a free-flowing improvisational section with a soulful and explosive sax solo from Kinney.

“The track is made up of two distinct sections, with an A section meant to evoke those first moments of consciousness, as well as a B section meant to evoke the baggage we all carry day to day,” Kinney says of the new single.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dmc Reigns Shares Woozy “Wahala”

Dmc Regins is a rising Nigerian-born, Berlin-based artist, who blends Afro-fusion with spiritual and contemporary influences. His music draws from early experiences in church, where he began singing when he turned nine, under the guidance of his mother, a choir leader. By the time he turned 12, he was writing his own songs, later experimenting with hip-hop and Afro-pop influences while he was in school.

Although he later went on to study medicine, music was a constant presence. After completing his studies, he decided to fully pursue music, building momentum through early social media releases and grassroots support, with his siblings among his first listeners.

He relocated to Berlin to 2022 and since then, the rising Nigerian artist’s sound has continued to evolve, influenced by a diverse and eclectic scene while still remaining rooted in his early musical foundations, combining faith, identity and cultural storytelling into a distinctive artistic voice.

The Nigerian-born, Berlin-based artist’s latest single “Wahala,” is a genre-defying yet hook-driven tune that sees him blending elements of classic highlife with woozy neo-soul and electro pop. The track was born from a fortuitous studio accident: While collaborating with producer AceKeyz on a separate project, AceKeyz mistakenly send Dmc Reigns a beat originally intended for OdumoduBlvck. Rather than return the beat, the Nigerian-born, Berlin-based artist seized the moment and took advantage.

“At first, I wasn’t sure, since it was a highlife beat with a cultural dynamic. I decided to experiment,” Dmc Regins explains. “I blended that classic highlife with a modern twist. As soon as I finished it and AceKeyz told me how much he loved it, I knew it was a vibe.”

Sonically, “Wahala,” which means “trouble” in Nigerian Pidgin English, evokes the intoxicatingly woozy push-and-pull of a toxic, intense and deeply fucked up relationship or situationship in which both parties are inexplicably drawn to each other, and yet they know better.