Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: ORKID Shares glistening “Skin and Bones”

Northern Sweden-born pop artist ORKID has made a name for herself in Stockholm‘s acclaimed and vibrant pop scene. Drawing influence from Nat King Cole and Sam Cooke while embodying the essence of modern Swedish indie pop, the Stockholm-based singer/songwriter possesses a vocal delivery that’s ethereal and fragile yet commanding. Behind the scenes, the Swedish pop artist has also made name for herself as a formidable pop songwriter, writing hits in studios from Los Angeles to London through collaborations with Armin Van Buuren, K-pop group Apink while working alongside Shane Stevens, Maths Time Joy and Eddie Serafica.

ORKID’s own work have appeared on Spotify New Music Friday playlists across 20+ countries while receiving praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, Complex and Beats 1.

Building upon a growing profile, the Swedish artist’s latest EP Where Flowers Grow may arguably be her most intimate effort yet: The EP’s material is a poignant love letter to her late mother. The five-song EP features carefully crafted songs that see her infuse luminous indie pop with a shade of melancholy, informed by grief and loss. “There’s no reception for a soul, so I go where your flowers grow and sit there with you for a while,” the Swedish artist says of the EP.

The EP’s latest single, EP opening track “Skin and Bones” is anchored around an ethereal production featuring glistening synth arpeggios and skittering beats that serves as a lush, Stevie Nicks “Stand Back“-like bed for ORKID’s yearning, pop star delivery, which sees her confronting mortality — her mother’s and even her own — and the aftermath of death on those left behind.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 56th Birthday, Ol’ Dirty Bastard!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 56th anniversary of the birth of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Mariaa Siga Performs “Boukanck” at Sensor Club

Over the past handful of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. 

Siga continues an ongoing collaboration with ODDY on the slow-burning and heartfelt “Boukanack,” which pairs a shuffling and twinkling reggae riddims, bursts of soulful and meditative horn with the Senegalese JOVM mainstay’s gorgeous and expressive delivery. “Boukanack” continues a run of material that blurs and transcends cultural and international boundaries while celebrating diversity in all forms. With “Boukanack” in particular, the song is anchored in a much-needed message of peace and hope for all humanity. 

Recently, the Senegalese JOVM mainstay recorded a solo live session of “Boukanack,” that’s completely stripped down to Siga accompanying herself on guitar. The live version of ” Boukanack” gets down to the basics — songwriter, vocal and song — while reminding us that the star of the show is always her effortless and gorgeous vocal.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: zzzahara Shares Intimate Yet Anthemic “If I Had To Go I Would Leave the Door Closed”

Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter zzzahara will be releasing her highly-anticipated third album Spiral Your Way Out through Lex Records on January 10, 2025. Spiral Your Way Out finds the Los Angeles-based artist in the aftermath of a relationship spent trying to fit someone else’s mold, being jerked around by indecision and then hitting “emotional rock bottom.”

Written and recorded in a three-month burst that let the rising artist let all their pent-up frustrations loose, the album is partially a work of self-reclamation. But the album also marks both a sonic evolution and an emotional one. Much of zzzahmra’s work has always come wrapped in a warm glow that reflects how they were written — namely at home in their bedroom. They manage to retain that familiar glow while packing an ambitious streak and a gutsy punch.

Spiral Your Way Out sees zzzahara taking a more collaborative approach than ever before, working with a range of producers including Jorge Elbrecht, Sarah Tudzin, Alex Craig, and Halsey touring drummer Franco Reid to help them harness their intimate writing style and blow it up into something much larger.

The album’s latest single “If I Had To Go I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way” is a sun-dappled track featuring jangling guitars paired with a chugging rhythm section, rousingly anthemic hooks and zzzahara’s achingly yearning vocal. Sonically, the song brings 90s alt rock and 90s shoegeze to mind but while being intimate and lived-in in a way that brings Soccer Mommy and others to mind. ​”​I was spitting. The guitar chords and the bass playing really meshed together, “says zzzahara. “I already had the lyrical content just built up inside of me. I was in love with the melody and we cleared it out real quick. I let it spit fire.”

The accompanying video for “If I Had To Go I Would Leave The Door Closed” is part lyric video and part music video that follows the rising artist rocking out to the song in their apartment and wandering around Los Angeles.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Parra for Cuva’s Chilled Out Remix of Christian Löffler’s “A Life”

Christian Löffler is an acclaimed German musician, producer and DJ, whose work is widely celebrated across electronic music circles for a distinct sound that seamlessly blends elements of ambient music, techno and house. 

Released earlier this year, Löffler’s third album A Life sees the German-born musician, producer and DJ continuing to push his sound and approach in new directions while exploring new emotional depths. The album features “Y,” a lush and flirty, crowd pleasing banger featuring Mogli‘s yearning delivery paired with woozy and glistening synth arpeggios, thumping tweeter and woofer rattling low end, skittering beats and a rousingly anthemic, euphoric set of hooks and choruses.

Album single and album title track “A Life” is a lush electro pop tune featuring bursts of twinkling piano, glistening Giorgio Moroder-like oscillations that slowly boil dup in intensity, skittering beats paired with a yearning cooing vocal sample that’s chopped up and pitched down. The result is a song that’s mediative and cinematic yet intimate.

Recently Parra for Cuva remixed “A Life.” The Parra for Cuva remix retains the yearning and cooing vocal sample but places it within an lush and soulful production that pairs squiggling, reverb-soaked The Edge-like guitars, skittering beats and woozy synth oscillations. Sonically bringing Washed Out and Brothertiger to mind, the Parra for Cuva remix retains the original’s intimate feel but while giving it a moody, chilled out vibe.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Janiq Shares Lush and Hook Driven “Dior”

Trinidadian-born, London-based artist Janiq has made a name for herself in the local scene for music that draws from her Trini roots and her experiences living in London and meshes elements of R&B, dancehall, soca, reggae, and Latin American music. Her work explores themes of love, self-discovery and female empowerment. She also has received attention across the British capital for a high-energy live show.

Her third and latest single “Dior” is a lush and slickly produced bop featuring glistening and blocky synth stabs, skittering beats, a supple and funky bass line. Bringing Estelle‘s “American Boy,” and The Weeknd‘s work to mind, “Dior” reveals and artist with an uncanny knack for catchy hooks, with the production being a lush bed for the Trinidadian-born, London-based artist’s coquettish delivery boldly telling the listener that you can’t afford her, so don’t bother.

The stylish and slick accompanying video plays on magazine photo shoots — and Instagram.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 60th Birthday, Rev Run!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Run DMC’s Rev Run’s 60th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Rising Irish Trio Adore Share Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper “Can We Talk”

Rising Irish outfit Adore — Lara Minchin (vocals, guitar), Lachlann Ó Fionnáin (bass, vocals) and Naoise Jordan Cavanaugh (drums) — hail from Dublin, Donegal and Galway respectively. Influenced by The Breeders, Elastica, Echobelly, The Undertones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sleeper, the Irish bonded over a mutual passion for melody and message, while developing a sound that pairs crunchy power chords and a driving rhythm section with incisive, thought-provoking lyrics that delve into pressing societal issues.

Since the release of their debut single, last year’s “Postcards,” the band has made the rounds of the Irish live circuit, opening for the likes of The Scratch, 86TVs, The Bug Club, Cardinals and SPRINTS. They’ve also played at Electric Picnic Festival and Whelan’s Ones To Watch 2024 showcase. Adding to a growing profile, across both Ireland the UK, the Irish trio have received coverage from the likes of So Young Magazine, DIY Magazine, Clash Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, Dork, Rough Trade and Nailler9, as well as airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq and Radio X’s John Kennedy — with just a handful of singles under their collective belts.

Hot on the heels of September’s “Supermum!,” the rising trio’s latest single, the Daniel Fox-produced “Can We Talk” is a 90s alt rock/riot grrl-inspired ripper anchored around crunchy power chords, a chugging rhythm section, enormous mosh pit friendly hooks paired with Minchin’s delivery, which alternates between indignation and wry humor. For the old heads out there, this one will remind you a bit of 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock — but with a decidedly post-punk air.

“‘Can We Talk’ revolves around a pattern of abuse where one is picked up when broken, broken down even farther and is moulded into something subservient, meek and willing to please,” Adore’s Laura Minchin explains. “There is an awareness that one doesn’t get into these situations from a good start. In my experience there has been something unhealed in me that has made me lean into control in the past.

“It begins with not being allowed to disagree with small things, until dangerous patterns of behaviour come to the front and you are so beaten down and made to feel so worthless that you feel like there is no conceivable way you can leave.

It’s sort of like a horror film, where the threat is always there; it presents with small poltergeist acts, a glass is smashed, the dog keeps barking at seemingly nothing, until the force gains more and more power as it feeds from your livelihood. It’s only when it gets genuinely frightening that you realise that the threat has always been there.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Choses Sauvages Shares Tense and Danceable “En joue”

With the release of their Emmanuel Ethier-produced 2018 self-titled, full-length debut, Montréal-based dance punks Choses Sauvages — Totalement Sublime‘s Marc-Antoine Barbier (guitar), Theirry Malépart (keys), Tony Bélisle (keys), Philippe Gauthier-Boudreau (drums) and La Sécurité‘s Félix Bélisle (vocals) with Foreign Diplomats‘ and Frais Dispo‘s Charles Primeau (bass) as a touring member — exploded into the local and provincial scenes. The album was a critical and commercial success with the album topping Independent Radio Charts across Québec while receiving widespread critical applause. In 2019, the Montréal-based outfit landed Association Québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) Félix Award nominations for Alternative Album of the Year and Indie Rock Album of the year, with a Félix Award win for Indie Rock Album of the Year. 

Throughout 2019, the French Canadian outfit supported their full-length debut with a relentless touring schedule across the province. During that tour, the band quickly developed a reputation for a must-see live show that they’ve brought across the global festival circuit, including stops at Reeperbahn, MaMA, FIMPRO, SXSW, Le Printemps de Bourges and Wide Days. 

2021’s Choses Sauvages II found the Montréal-based outfit pushing their sound more towards electronic dane music and nu-disco influences like L’Imperatrice and Lindstrøm while still drawing from their love of funk, Bowie and Bee Gees. The album also sees them furthering their approach which pairs rigorous and meticulous songwriting with a rebellious spirit. 

Choses Sauvages’ highly-anticipated third album, Choses Sauvages III is slated for a March 28, 2025 release through Audiogram. Earlier this year, I wrote about the album’s first single “Incendie au paradis,” a decidedly New Wave/post-punk song anchored around a propulsive bass line and a guitar driven melody paired with squiggling synth arpeggios and a subtly vocodered vocal. Seemingly drawing from Heroes and Low-era Bowie and Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan, “Incendie au paradis” depicts artificial intelligence as angels that can transform and improve our daily lives. While addressing the technological advance’s promises and benefits, it raises concerns with an uneasy trepidation.

“I wanted to highlight the need to think about the ethical and moral implications and the still unknown limits of these new technologies, and the influence they have on our lives,” Choses Sauvages’ Félix Bélisle explains. 

Choses Sauvages III’s second and latest single “En joue” features a propulsive bass line is paired with angular guitar stabs, bursts of glistening synths paired Bélisle’s punchy delivery and the band’s unerring knack for catchy hooks. Seemingly drawing from Freedom of Choice-era DEVO, Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan, Entertainment-era Gang of Four and even La Femme, “En Joue” manages to be simultaneously tense yet danceable.

The song as the band’s Bélisle explains “refers to the helplessness in the face of extremely violent international news of recent years. It also deals with the fear of the other, the dehumanization of certain populations taken hostage in armed conflicts.”

“En joue refers to the feeling of helplessness in the face of the extremely violent international news of recent years. It also deals with the fear of the other, the dehumanization of certain populations taken hostage in armed conflicts,” explains Félix Bélisle, the group’s singer and lyricist.

En joue pulses with a jerky rhythm, offering a danceable melody that manages to evoke the breathlessness of flight, of a race against the fears and anxieties that lie in wait for us and stick to our skin.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: R.I.P. Roy Haynes

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of the legendary Roy Haynes.

Photography by William Ruben Helms
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Photography: 51st Annual Village Halloween Parade 10/31/24

Photography from the 51st Annual Village Halloween Parade last month.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 79th Birthday, Neil Young!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Neil Young’s 79th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay LutchamaK Shares Lounge Friendly “Healing Dub”

French electronic music producer and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK has had a busy 2024: 

  • The JOVM mainstay began the year with a two-track release through Techno Parade titled Job Done, which featured “Job Done,” a glitchy and swaggering bit of techno meets footwork featuring machine gun-like skittering beats, glistening synth arpeggios paired with tweeter and woofer rattling thump. It’s an accessible and euphoric club banger meant to be played loudly and meant to encourage you to dance and sweat.

  • He followed that up with Flip the Funk, a four-track EP, which was digitally released through British electronic label Biotech Recordings and featured EP track “Pride,” a lush and soulful bit of deep house-meets-techno that reminded me of house music nights on WBLS back in the day. 

  • Then there was the standalone track, “Acid Drift” a slick, seamless synthesis of tribal house, deep house and drum ‘n’ bass that slaps hard while being dance floor friendly, which was released through Rue des Trois Rois Records.

  • Over the summer, he released the eight-track mini album  Great Broken Masses of Land through his own TERMusik. The album featured album opener and album title track “Great Broken Masses of Land,” a trance-inducing, late night, club banger anchored around skittering tweeter and woofer rattling thump and dense layers of oscillating yet melodic synths, a chopped up mantra-like vocal sample paired with his unerring knack for incredibly catchy hooks. “City Energy,” a crowd pleasing, club banger featuring glitchy oscillations, bursts of glistening synths and some industrial, tweeter and woofer rattling thump that showcases an artist, who actively pushes his sound and approach in new directions, while still remaining wildly accessible. And “B Queen V 2,” which featured glitchy oscillations, bursts of glistening and melodic synths, skittering beats and remarkably catchy hooks paired with a dreamy vocal sample. 

The wildly prolific, French JOVM mainstay recently released the 4-track Lunar Ascending EP through Brique Rouge. Last week, I wrote about EP opening single “Lunar Ascending,” a woozily hypnotic banger that’s heavily indebted to Detroit house and a bit of Tour de France-era Kraftwerk.

The EP’s second and latest single “Healing Dub” is a synthesize of trance-inducing dub and house music that features glistening synth stabs with skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling riddims paired with a reverb-soaked patois vocal sample. “Healing Dub” may arguably be the lounge friendly song the JOVM mainstay has released in some time.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Wesley Reid Shares Marc O’rell Remix of “Reach Out”

British electronic music producer Iwan Bedford and American electronic music producer Wesley Reid collaborate together in the transatlantic electronic music project O.a.G., which is influenced by 80s and 90s synth pop — think Yazoo (known as Yaz in the States), Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, and others. 

O.a.G’s Wesley Reid has collaborated with German producer Marc O’rell on a sleek, hook-driven house remix of “Reach Out” that sounds a bit indebted to French touch.