JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship frontperson Grace Slick’s 86th birthday.
Category: singer/songwriters
Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay GUM Shares Meditative “Expanding Blue”
Aussie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson has a firmly established reputation for being both incredibly prolific and a highly-sought after collaborator:
- Watson is the creative mastermind behind the JOVM mainstay recording project GUM, with which he has written, recorded and released six albums, including 2020’s Out In The World and 2023’s Saturnia.
- Watson is also the co-founder and co-frontman of fellow JOVM mainstay act Pond, which has released 10 studio albums, including 2022’s 9 and last year’s Stung!
- Lastly, the wildly busy Aussie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is a touring member of acclaimed, JOVM mainstay Tame Impala‘s live, touring band.
With that massive, continually growing recorded output over the past decade-plus or so, Watson has treated listeners and fans to arguably some of the most sonically diverse and eclectic explorations of anyone in the contemporary music scene.
Watson recently signed to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s (p)doom records, who released the self-produced, standalone single “Expanding Blue,” the first bit of new material from the JOVM mainstay since Saturnia. The meditative, new single is one-part Nick Drake-inspired psych folk, one-part samba/jazz-fusion tune, anchored by a looping strummed acoustic figure and a sweetly romantic yearning — for a dear one, and for something much deeper, more spiritual.
“’Expanding Blue’ starts out as a jazz inspired meditation, and turns into something spiritual for me, like a lost gospel soul record or something,” the GUM creative mastermind says.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith adds, “Welcome back to the p(doom) fam my man Gumby! He’s done it again. Another stellar release from Freo’s finest.”
New Audio: Vendredi Sur Mer Shares Atmospheric, Hook-Driven “Si t’étais là”
With the release of her first two albums, 2019’s Premiers émois and 2022’s Metámorphose, rising Swiss singer/songwriter and photographer and Vendredi Sur Mer creative mastermind Charline Mignot quickly established a cinematic sound that features elements of synth pop, French chanson and 80s pop with retro-styled beats paired with her ethereal yet sultry delivery. Thematically her work frequently touches upon romance, sensuality and introspection.
Balancing nostalgia with a modern sensibility, the Swiss artist has won over fans globally through the release of songs like “Écoute Chérie,” “La femme à peau bleue” and “Les filles désirs.” Adding to a rapidly growing profile, she often accompanies her music with mesmerizing visuals.
Mignot’s third Vendredi Sur Mer album, Malabar Princess was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. The album, which features “Arrêter le temps,” feat. Sofiane Pamart; album title track “Malabar Princess;” “Hard,” feat. Hanni El Khatib and “Tout rèsonne” can trace its origins to a writing residency in Montréal and marks a return to the softness and nostalgia of her earlier work. Thematically, the album is nostalgic return to the mountain landscapes of her youth — and a deeper search for self.
Sam Tiba and new collaborators Adrien Gallo and Owlle helped to guide and inform the material’s more organic, intimate sound. The end result is an achingly sincere effort that sees the rising Swiss artist revealing herself fully to the world.
Mignot will be embarking on an 11-date North American tour this upcoming March. The tour includes a March 6, 2026 stop at Elsewhere. You can check out all of her tour dates for the rest of the 2025 and early 2026 below.
But in the meantime, y’all, the rising Swiss artist shares her latest single, the standalone track “Si t’étais là.” Anchored around shimmering, atmospheric synths, propulsive four-on-the-floor, a supple bass line and subtle bursts of twangy guitar, the cinematic and hook-driven production is simultaneously nostalgic yet contemporary, while being a dreamy bed for Mignot’s breathy, mesmerizing cooing.
Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Scott Weiland!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 58th anniversary of Scott Weiland’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 67th Birthday, Simon Le Bon!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon’s 67th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 114th Birthday, Mahalia Jackson!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 114th anniversary of the birth of Mahalia Jackson.
Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, Jon Anderson!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Jon Anderson’s 81st birthday.
Live Footage: Sound Check: Tame Impala at Cherry Lane Theatre
Live footage of acclaimed JOVM mainstay Tame Impala performing a Sound Check session at Cherry Lane Theatre.
Throwback: Happy 101st Birthday, Celia Cruz!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 101st anniversary of the birth of the legendary Celia Cruz.
New Audio: Miss Grit Shares Dreamily Cinematic and Propulsive “Tourist Mind”
New York-based, Korean-American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Margaret Sohn (they/she) is the creative mastermind behind the solo recording project Miss Grit. And with Miss Grit, Sohn has developed reputation for being a bold experimentalist and architect of sculptural texture. Defly moving between analog and digital instrumentation, the New York-based artist creates an immersive comms of sound with futuristic frameworks for their deeply probing and introspective lyricism and sound.
Sohn’s full-length debut, 2023’s Follow The Cyborg saw the New York-based artist building a fluid future beyond gender and genre binaries, where a non-human machine goes in pursuit of liberation. The album received praise from i-D Magazine and saw the Miss Grit creative mastermind profiled by Rolling Stone as an “Artist You Need To Know,” featured in DJ Magazine‘s “Get To Know” named as an “Artist to Watch” by BrooklynVegan, and named “Breaking” artist by FLOOD Magazine. And adding to a rapidly growing profile, they performed for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘s “#LateShowMeMusic” series.
“Tourist Mind” is the first bit of original material from Sohn’s Miss Grit project since the release of their critically applauded debut. Sonically, “Tourist Mind” sonically channels the likes of Goldfrapp and Portishead as a dreamily cinematic string arrangement is paired with oscillating synth bleeps, stomping and propulsive industrial techno-like beats. The production serves as a lush, dream pop-meets-trip hop-meets-techno bed for Sohn’s defiant delivery.
Throughout their career, Sohn often themself intrigued by other people’s inner worlds. Thematically, “Tourist Mind” sees Sohn meditating on the idea of self-erasure while embracing the power and intimacy of self-reliance and solitude. “It’s about how curiosity for other people’s thoughts can slowly disorient you and make it harder to return to yourself,” the Miss Grit mastermind says.
Throwback: Happy 75th Birthday, Tom Petty!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 75th anniversary of the birth of Tom Petty.
New Single: Carmel Shares Gorgeous Ballad “Mariposa Al Fuego”
Spanish-based singer/songwriter Carmel proudly boasts having mixed Moroccan, Argentine and Middle Eastern heritage. And her music reflects that heritage, as she blends flamenco, soul and other global sounds with lyrics written and sung in Spanish, English and Hebrew.
Her debut EP, Contraste will see her continuing her genre-blending sound and approach through collaborations with musicians and producers from diverse backgrounds, including Spanish flamenco guitarist José De Maria, as well as Latin and global producers.
The Spanish-based singer/songwriter’s latest single “Mariposa Al Fuego” is a flamenco-tinged pop ballad that according to Carmel is inspired by the image of a butterfly being irresistibly drawn to a flame with the song diving into the pull of destructive relationships and the struggle to break free from dysfunctional patterns. The song’s cinematic arrangement serves as a lush bed for the Spanish-based artist’s pop ballad belter-like voice. At its core is a message of self-awareness, self-love, resilience and resolve, seemingly rooted in lived-in experience.
“We’ve all been that butterfly at some point—drawn to what we know will hurt us .This song is that mirror, but also an invitation to choose ourselves,” Carmel says.
Live Footage: Folk Bitch Trio Performs “Foreign Bird” at Vevo Studios
Rising Melbourne/Naarm-based trio Folk Bitch Trio — Gracie Sinclair (she/her), Jeanie Pilkington (she/her) and Heide Peverelle (they/them) — released their critically applauded full-length debut, Now Would Be A Good Time earlier this year through Jagjaguwar.
Now Would Be A Good Time’s material sounds warmly familiar, as its built upon the foundation of music the trio have loved throughout their lives — gnarled Americana, classic rock and piquant and clear-eyed balladry. And yet, the songs are simultaneously modern and youthful with the album’s song thematically touching on dissociative daydreams, galling breakups, sexual fantastics, media overload and the petty resentments and humiliations of being in your early 20s in the 2020s.
The Aussie trio supported the album with two sold-out London shows and a run of the international festival circuit, with sets at Green Man and All Points East. The album landed at #32 on the UK Official Record Store charts, Top 3 on the Aussie charts and earned 4 ARIA nominations. Building upon a growing profile, the trio’s cover of Kings of Leon‘s “Sex on Fire” on Triple J has amassed over 100,000 views. And the trio will be closing out the year with a lengthy international tour, which just started earlier this week. The tour features a November run of North America dates that includes a November 11, 2025 stop at Baby’s All Right. (As always, the remaining tour dates are below.)
But in the meantime, the acclaimed Aussie trio shared the VEVO live session of Now Would Be A Good Time album track “Foreign Bird.” It’s a gorgeous song that’s earnest and lived-in — and the trio’s harmonies had me stop dead in my tracks.
New Video: Vanille Shares Slow-Burning and Swooning “Un chant d’amour”
Rachel Leblanc is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter and creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project Vanille, which has seen the French-Canadian artist craft a sound that meshes elements of 60s folk and chanson in a way that brings the listener into a dreamlike world of dense, verdant forests and swooning heartbreak.
Her recently released, Christophe Charest-Latif-produced third album Un chant d’amour sees the acclaimed French-Canadian artist marking the beginning of new creative chapter, that sees Leblanc’s and a talented cast of musicians, including Jules Encore and Corail‘s Julien Comptour; Velours Velours‘ and Corail’s Philippe Noël; Carla Chanelle‘s and Roselle’s Christophe Rosset-Balcer; Allô Fantôme‘s Samuel Gendron; Arielle Soucy; and Velours Velours’ Raphaël Pépin-Tanguay crafting a sound that draws from retro soul and the mid 1960s-early 1970s sunshine pop movement. Leblanc’s melodies and lyrics are rooted in sentimental overtones. And as a result, the album’s material is meant to unfold like a scented letter received from a mysterious valentine.
Un chant d’amour‘s latest single, album title track “Un chant d’amour” is a slow-burning ballad anchored around Leblanc’s achingly melancholy delivery, atmospheric Rhodes and a syrupy slow-dance inspired backbeat. And while seemingly channelling 70s AM radio rock, “Un chant d’amour” is the sort of song you’d play when you want to slow-dance at the midnight ball with your long-held crush or your loved one.
Directed by Irina Tempea and Elizabeth Landry the accompanying video for “Un chant d’amour” is an swooningly sentimental visual featuring a mixture of dusty found footage and the rising French-Canadian artist in a wedding gown to create a wedding that never really took place.
New Audio: Devantier Rain Teams up with kiana on Vibey “CONSERVATIVE INC.”
Devantier Rain is rising, Berlin-based Cameroonian-German singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose work sees him blurring the lines between R&B, hip-hop and Afrobeat paired with soulful melodies, intricate, jazz-like drums and a cutting-edge production approach. He has quickly become a standout in Berlin’s vibrant scene, playing at events like Poetry Meets alongside Tan Brown, bat zoo, Monica Mussungo and Dini Rompos.
Beyond music, Devantier Rain is a fashion world staple — as a model and stylist. Formerly signed to VIVAMODELS, he has collaborated with ADIDAS, Puma and BMW and walked for Kitschy Couture and Afrobodega at Berlin Fashion Week 2024, where he serves as in-house model.
Adding to a busy year, last year also saw the release of three striking singles, each brimming with his signature flair, which teased the forthcoming release of his highly-anticipated full-length debut.
Last year, the rising Cameroonian-German artist released three striking singles which teased the arrival of his highly-anticipated full-length debut, MELATONIN. MELATONIN‘S latest single “CONSERVATIVE INC,” a collaboration with kiana is a vibey, swaggering and hooky mix of hip-hop, neo-soul and R&B.
Throughout the track Devantier Rain and klana trade confident yet vulnerable, heartfelt verses that dive deep into themes of self-worth, betrayal, heartache and resilience with grizzled, hard-fought experience: Devantier Rain’s verses focus on strength forged through being underestimated. klana’s verses focus on standing firm without remorse after being wrong. Throughout the song, the pair offer the sort of much-needed lessons the old heads would try to give the young bloods at a gathering — or the sort of intimate “real life” conversation you’d have with a dear one, late at night as the party winds down.