Audio

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Jazz Band Team Up to Tackle Neil Young’s “Like A Hurricane”

https://youtu.be/NzgXx7Ol-Bg?si=D0leDjp8-5V7VLKD

Cinema Music Group and Killphonic Records recently announced that they’ll be releasing Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Vol. 2 — Out of the Blue and Vol. 3 — Into the Black on November 6, 2026. Featuring contributions from King Princess, Draco Rosa, Lucinda Williams. Ann Wilson, Peter Frampton, LP, MJ Lendermann, Ben Gibbard, Cold War Kids, Kurt Vile and The Violators, Los Lobos and a lengthy and impressive list of others. these new volumes beautifully blend cherished classics with innovative interpretations that honor Neil Young‘s enduring and towering musical legacy.

Proceeds from the albums will benefit The Bridge School. Founded in 1986 by Neil and Pegi Young, The Bridge School to serve individuals with severe speech and physical impairments, much like their son Ben. The organization was built on a simple but powerful belief” every individual deserves the opportunity to communicate. Over the past 40 years, The Bridge School has helped transform the lives of thousands of individuals with complex communication and physical disabilities while helping shape the fields of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) through innovative education, research and professional development.

The Bridge School’s impact extends far beyond its campus. Its education model, professional training. and outreach and research programs have reached professionals, families and individuals around the globe. Through their Bridge to Life program, the organization now provides direct services, consultation, and training for individuals with communication and/or physical disabilities from infancy through adulthood. ensuring that people of all ages have access to th tools and support they need — and deserve — to communicate, participate, and thrive.

As the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary, it continues to advance the belief that communication is a fundaamental human right — and that every voice deserves to be heard.

And to support the international release of the complications. Cinema Music Group and Killiphonic Records partnered with City Slang, who will oversee physical distortion and marketing across the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, expanding the reach of the Heart of Gold project while brining all three volumes to fans through its established retail and distribution networks.

Vol 2. — Out of The Blue’s latest single features My Morning Jacket teaming up with the iconic Preservation Hall Jazz Band to tackle “Like A Hurricane.” The My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Jazz Band cover, lovingly retains the drunken, wistful sway and aching longing of the original while adding some subtle NOLA soulfulness to the proceedings, before building up to a passionate frenzy for the song’s coda.

“We were so honored to get to be at several of the Bridge School Benefit concerts in the past, and are so honored to once again be a part of raising funds for this amazing school, with these amazing songs of Neil Young,” My Morning Jacket’s Jim James says. “We felt like teaming up with Preservation Hall Jazz Band would add some magic to this track, so we all got together with producer Ross Hogarth down in New Orleans and recorded it live at Marigny Studios. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed playing it!”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Glasgow’s The Marches Shares Brooding “The Habit”

Since their formation in 2024, Glasgow-based indie rock outfit The Marches — Katie Palmer (vocals, rhythm guitar), Nicola Singleton (bass), Jane Jenkins (lead guitar) and Kate Morrow (drums) — have quickly established a sound that blends emotional intensity, ambitious melodicism and razor-sharp storytelling.

And in that same time, they’ve also quickly built up a regional and internationally recognized profile: Their breakout single last year’s double A-side single “November“/”Don’t Fool Me Twice” received both international and national press attention/. Their previously released material received airplay from BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Introducing Scotland, Amazing Radio UK and Amazing Radio US.

Adding to a growing profile, the Scottish quartet have started to amass a reputation for an electrifying live show, which has led to a hometown headlining set at Glasgow’s The Garage Attic in November.

2026 has seen The Marches release a handful of singles, including the previously released “She” and “Struck To The Heart,” and their latest single “The Habit.” “The Habit” further cement the band’s growing reputation for unerring melodicism and crating catchy hooks paired featuring brooding arrangement of atmospheric guitars, forceful and pulsing drumming beneath Palmer’s delivery which throughout the song’s run moves from intimate confession to defiant and steely resolve.

Underneath the remarkably self-assured performances, is a song about dysfunction, touching upon feeling the pull of repetitive patterns you know too well, even when deep down you know better. Certainly, for anyone who has escaped dysfunctional and destructive patterns, the song captures something disturbingly familiar.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Sassy 009 Shares Club Banging Jam City Remix of “Tell Me” feat. Blood Orange

Oslo-based producer and singer/songwriter Sunniva Lingård is the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed, shape-shifting electronic music project Sassy 009. The Norwegian artist found early acclaim with 2017’s Do You Mind EP? and 2021’s sultry, bass-driven Heart Ego Mixtape. Adding to a growing profile, Lingård has collaborated with Clairo on 2018’s “Lara” while remixing tracks by Empress Of, Lolo Zouaï, MØ, Agar Agar, and a lengthy list of others.

Released earlier this year, Dreamer+ is Lingård’s true Sassy 009 debut — a concept album pieced together from nearly four years of studio work and an ambitious attempt to take complete control of her art. Built with distorted vocals beneath a soundscape with elements of grunge, shoegaze, 90s beatronica and gauzy hyper pop, the album is a grim fairytale in which dreams and emotions are processed through a landscape of shapeshifting characters, dark forces and moral responsibilities. Thematically, the album touches upon identity, memory and the shifting boundaries of the self, in which the dreamer is the only witness/the only one who remembers.

The album features guest spots from Blood Orange, yunè pinku, and BEA1991.

The past year has been a whirlwind for the Sassay 009 creative mastermind: She appeared on the over of NME. She played a sold-out show at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and while in the UK, recorded and then released Live at BBC Maida Vale, a live session that features a cover of Limp Bizkit‘s “My Way,” along with “Tell Me and Someone.”

The acclaimed and rising Oslo-based artist will be releasing the Dreamer+ Deluxe album on October 16, 2026 through HEAVEN-SENT/[PIAS]. The deluxe edition of Dreamer+ will feature some of Lingård’s closest friends and musical collaborations — and few surprises for fans. Dreamer + Deluxe‘s latest single sees Jam City giving album track “Tell Me” feat. Blood Orange the remix treatment. “Tell Me” feat. Blood Orange is a brooding and atmospheric, trip-hop meets-grunge-tune that features the Norwegian artist’s smokey delivery over thumping boom bap-like drums, gauzy electronics and shoegazer-like textures. The Jam City remix pushes the tempo up, turning the song into a woozily euphoric, footwork-like banger anchored around skittering triplets, glistening synths and chopped up vocal samples.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Skinshape Returns with Summery “Take It As It Is”

Will Dorey is a London-based producer, singer/songwriter, producer and creative mastermind behind the solo recording project, Skinshape. And with Skinshape, the London-based artist has established himself as a master of understated soundscapes, blending rich textures with an array of eclectic influences from around the world. Dorey’s work is known for being imbued with warmth, depth and a timeless character.

Every Skinshape effort reflects the London-based artist’s meticulous approach to composition and production, rooted in the distinct sonic identity made possible by the vintage analog recording equipment he uses. 

The London-based artist’s 11th Skinshape album, Chapman’s Pool is slated for an October 30, 2026 release through Lewis Recordings. Deriving its title from a secluded bay on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, near Dorey’s childhood home, the album draws from the landscapes that have remained a constant source of inspiration throughout his career.

Written, self-produced and self-recorded at Dorey’s Finsubry Park-based studio with minimal Chapman’s Pool covers a variety of styles and sounds and sees Dorey revisiting his first two Skinshape albums to some degree while featuring more Mellotron and glockenspiel. Most of the album’s instrumentation — guitar, bass, piano, keys, synths, drum machines and the like — was played by Dorey, with the exception of drums, which were played by Tom Blind and Dan Hale. Various field recordings were captured outside the studio. including the sound of waves lapping the shore close to Chapman’s Pool and a car driving past.

Chapman’s Pool will include the previously released “The Blade of a Knife” and its latest single, “Take It As It Is.” Built around a swaggering and strutting groove that seemingly channels Bobby Oroza, the Daptone Records crew and Moscow‘s The Diasonics, “Take It As It Is” is a summery and escapist tune rooted in a blend of old-fashioned British stoicism and Zen calm that feels — well, remarkably necessary as our world burn down and descends into chaos. The song’s narrator implores the listener to do as the old British saying “keep calm and carry on.” “It’s about how we should accept life as it is, with its ups and downs,” Dorey explains. “It focuses on the mental troubles we all face and some reflections on how we may deal with this.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Nouvelle Vague’s Breezy Take on Depeche Mode’s “Only When I Lose Myself” feat. Mélanie Pain

Founded by Marc Collins and the late Olivier Libaux back in 2003, Nouvelle Vague was initially conceived as a one-off tribute to post-punk songwriting in a Bossa nova style. 2004’s self-titled debut, which saw them establish their unique fusion of melancholy post-punk, Bossa nova and French re-interpretational approach, unexpectedly achieved global acclaim. Since then, Nouveau Vague has become a global phenomenon.

Their 10th album, A Date with Depeche Mode is slated for an October 30, 2026 release through Kwaidan Records/[PIAS] Recordings. And as you can probably tell, the album sees the French outfit tackling the work of pioneering British electronic outfit Depeche Mode.

A Date with Depeche Mode will include the previously released “Never Let Me Down Again” feat. Brazilian artist Flavia Coehlo, and the album’s latest single, “Only When I Lose Myself” feat. Mélanie Pain. Originally released on 1998’s compilation The Singles 86>98 “Only When I Lose Myself” is a brooding song full of desperate, aching longing. The Nouvelle Vague rendition, which features one of the act’s long-time collaborators retains the longing at the heart of the song but now paired with a breezy Quincy Jones and Herb Alpert-like arrangement featuring Bossa nova rhythms, strummed guitar and soulful brass. The result is a take that gives the song a sultriness rooted in desperate need and a little bit of lust while being incredibly cinematic.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Good Health Good Wealth Shares Punchy “Susanna”

London-based duo Good Health Good Wealth — Bruce Breakey (vocals, production) and Simon Kuzmickas (guitar, production) — exploded into the national scene with 2024’s breakout track “Full Circle,” which has since amassed 1.5 million Spotify streams and lead to the pair making the runs of the national festival circuit with sets at Reading Festival, Leeds Festival, Truck Festival, Boomtown Festival and Latitude Festival.

Since “Full Circle,” subsequent releases have received airplay on BBC 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing with their latest single, “Who What Where Why” landing on Spotify’s All New Punk playlist.

The London-based duos full-length debut, The Disco Never Ends is slated for an October 16, 2026 release. The album reportedly sees the rising duo documenting life as it happens: Relationships that start and end a quickly as they started, shit jobs, nights out getting older, grief, sex, friendship, arguments, strangers, drinking, dancing and all the mundane moments that somehow become the ones you remember. The album’s title comes from a rather simple idea: that time doesn’t stop, people come and go, places change and one chapter of your life tumbles into the next one and the next one and the next one . . .

The Disco Never Ends‘ latest single “Susanna” is a punchy dance punk song that seemingly channels Gang of Four and LCD Soundsystem while showcasing the duo’s deliberate attention to catchy hooks. The song’s narrator describes how infatuation and obsession can overwhelm common sense, with the narrator tacitly admitting that despite the fact they’re aware of a love interest probably being terrible for them, that they’re okay with — for now, at least. And as a result, the song is rooted in the sort of restlessness, masochism and self-flagellation of someone who’s desperate, horny and a bit stupid.

“We wanted to write a proper stomper for the new album to give us a bit of light from the shadier moments while retaining that darker mood that the album has overall,” the duo explain. “‘Susanna’ is about that girl you’ll let walk all over you, you even let her off for putting the milk in before the tea bag, putty in her hands. We played it live for the first time at Boomtown and it did exactly what we were hoping, made the tent rattle.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Mathis Picard Shares Gorgeous, Soulful “Portrait of Lizzy”

Born in France to a French father and a Malagasy mother, acclaimed composer, bandleader and pianist Mathis Picard began playing piano when he was four and pursued a rigorous musical education across the US, France and the UK. Currently based in New York, Picard is a Juilliard School graduate, an ASCAP Next Generation of Songwriters recipient and a member of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation. Adding to a growing profile, the French-born, New York-based artist has performed with Ron Carter, Lillias White, Céceile McLorin Salvant, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride and a lengthy list of others, while making a run of the global touring and festival circuit, playing sets at Umbria Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and The Jazz Cruise.

Picard’s newest band The Sound Orchestra can trace its origins back to when he was 13: Back then he led a similar ensemble while studying at Chetham’s School of Music in England. The first iteration of his US-based Sound Orchestra bean as a three-horn ensemble performing the French-born composer and musician’s original work, featuring Giveton Gelin and Ruben Fox. The band continued to expand over the years into a full-fledged orchestral unit featuring a saxophone section, electric bass and an expansive percussion section providing the rhythmic foundation for Picard’s genre-bending compositions.

The project’s debut, The Sound Orchestra, which is slated for a November 6, 2026 release through La Reserve Records is the latest chapter in Picard’s career — a career that has seen him emerge as one of the most distinctive young artists and voices in contemporary jazz. Throughout the band’s debut, Picard’s arrangements draw from and musical worlds that have shaped him e rhythms from his mother’s native Madagascar meets Afro-Cuban music, 1970’s Earth, Wind & Fire-like funk, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. “This is not your traditional Big Band record,” Picard explains. “The goal of the band was always for it to make people dance. Whether it be swing music, house, dubstep, waltz, or even a ballad, I wanted to connect with the audience through dance. Dance for me is this wonderful way to express our bodies, and for us to be together in community.”

The Sound Orchestra‘s first single “Portrait of Lizzy” is a celebration of Picard’s life through a re-imagining of the American standard “Portrait of Jennie.” Released on the couple’s third wedding anniversary, “Portrait of Lizzy” is an old-school, Big Band-styled ballad specifically meant for those deeply in love romantic couples to slow dance, cheek-to-cheek, rooted in some soulful and gorgeous performances.

Mathis and Lizzy were married at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, an institution with a deep connection to Picard’s career and his time at The Juilliard School. Picard has also performed with The Sound Orchestra at Dizzy’s dance parties, including a night celebrating the legendary music of Earth, Wind & Fire. Continuing his relationship with Lincoln Center, Picard will play a solo set on October 9, 2026 at Lincoln Center’s Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio to honor the musical legacy of San Juan Hill.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Moon Construction Kit Returns with Breezy and Anthemic “Right Across the USA”

Olivier Cornu is a a Lausanne-based singer/songwriter, musician, producer and creative mastermind behind Moon Construction Kit, With Moon Construction Kit, Cormu specializes in a sound that draws from and blends elements of indie pop, psych pop, synth pop, late 1960s pop and film scores.

The Swiss producer, singer/songwriter and musician has had a busy year so far, with two previously released singles “Long John Silver” and the Steve Stout co-produced “Down the West Coast.” Building on the growing buzz surrounding him and his Moon Construction Kit, Cormu’s latest single “Right Across the USA” was written to feel a bit like a companion piece to “Down the West Coast” but while leaning more into punchier power pop. Seemingly nodding at The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the song is superficially a breezy and downright summery road trip track unpinned by a bittersweet, nostalgic longing for a world that seemed simpler and less outwardly confrontational.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Erica Tucceri Shares Breezy, Dance Floor Friendly “Grazie Ragazzi”

Erica Tucceri (pronounced like “two cherry”) is a Melbourne/Naarm-born, London-based producer, composer and flautist, who first cut her teeth as a prolific collaborator, working with Surprise Chef, ZEFX, Don Glori, Alexander Flood and a list of others from the local jazz scene while amassing a cult following for her signature tonal control and explosive solos.

Tucceri stepped out into the spotlight as a band leader and composer at 2024’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival, where her anticipated “Take Note” composition for 10 piece ensemble with strings was a triumphant sold-out headline debut that also showcased her continuing evolution as an artist.

Since relocating to London, the Aussie-born producer, composer and flautist signed to DeepMatter Records, who will be releasing her highly-anticipated full-length debut. Route 96. The album, which is slated for a November 27, 2026 release is part-diary, part-love letter to Melbourne/Naarm that was conceived during an unlikely stint moonlighting as a tram during during COVID-19 lockdowns. The rhythms and every day patter of the city and city life are translated into a blend of percussive, flute-driven cosmic jazz, informed by psychedelia and the dance floor. “This album is what happens when you leave a moonlighting musician alone in the drivers cabin of a Melbourne tram for a few years,” Tucceri says. “The compositions took shape while I drove. Influenced by the city around me, I’d sing ideas into my phone at the end of my shift, tying the fabric of the music to the sights, sounds and memories of the city. My only rule: if it was catchy enough to have remembered throughout the shift, it was worth capturing.”

Sitting on a growing stockpile of ideas, it wasn’t until the return of longterm friends Lewis Moody (keys, production) and Ziggy Zeitgeist (drums) to Melbourne/Naarm in late 2022 that she realized she actually had an album’s worth of material. Her backing band is rounded out by Matthew Hayes (bass) and Ray Pereira and Javier Fredes, two cross-generational masters of percussion and scene stalwarts, who contribute Cuban and West African-inspired percussion reuniting for their first collaboration together in twenty years.

The album follows upon the critical success of previously released single “Hey Bear” and “Flute Trip,” which received airplay across Australian community radio stations, including PBS FM and Triple R, and broke through onto UK national radio with airplay from Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and BBC 6 Music’s New Music Fix Daily, as well as Jazz FM, Rinse FM and more. And adding to a growing profile, she has toured the world with various projects and has showcased her own music at EFG London Jazz Festival and at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

Route 96‘s first single “Grazie Ragazzi” is a breezy and strutting bit of disco-tinged jazz funk, anchored around African-inspired percussion, a deep dance floor friendly groove, an incredibly catchy melody and some fiery and passionately improvised solos. Sonically resembling a mix of 70s jazz fusion and contemporaries like Surprise Chef, Mildlife and L’Eclair, the track captures — and evokes — the lingering buzz of joy of freedom, of seeing sweaty bodies moving and grooving and the appreciation of collective experience after a show at Section 8.

“I will never forget the way the energy of the whole room turned. It was heaving,” Tucceri recalls. “Everyone in the space turned to face the stage, the band were on fire and the dance floor went completely nuts, almost as one. I’ve spent many a night at Section 8, but I’ve never seen that again.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Summery Remix of Joshua Idehen’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

After nearly two decades in London‘s poetry scene, Joshua Idehen found widespread recognition with the viral success of “Mum Does The Washing,” a poignant, witty pice set to music by his creative partner Ludvig Parment, a.k.a. Saturday, Monday. The success of “Mum Does The Washing” led to sold-out shows, major festival appearances — including Glastonbury — and a new chapter in Idehen’s artistic life. 

Initially drawn to film, Idehen’s poetic journey began after being captivated by Dizzee Rascal‘s Vexed on Channel U. Inspired by Scroobius Pip, he began doing poetry with music, collaborating with the likes of LV, Benin City and Sons of Kemet. His career as a singer/songwriter/performer coincided alongside a series of personal challenges, including a divorce and mental health struggles. Relocating to Stockholm during the COVID-19 pandemic gave him space to reflect and begin anew. 

That period of rebirth led to Idehen’s highly-anticiapted debut album, I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try, which was released earlier this year through Heavenly Recordings. Made with his longtime collaborator Parment, the album is a sonic embrace for the weary, mixing house-tinged beats, choral flourishes and lyrical meditations on hope, self-worth and collective resilience.

The album includes the previously released “It Always Was,” “Don’t Let It Get You Down,” and “This Is The Place.” Idehen and Heavenly Recordings shared Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Cosmodelica remix of I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone is Hurting. Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try track “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The album version features Idehen’s vocal over an atmospheric, gently throbbing production to create a song that simultaneously sounds like a house music-inspired take on The Streets and a paranoid, sleepless walk with the narrator’s rapid-fire thoughts during the uneasy isolation of COVID restrictions and lockdowns. The summery Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Cosmodelica remix pairs Idehen’s vocal with a buoyant house music production featuring a bouncing and strutting bass line, a playful percussive rhythm and glistening synths. The remix opens the curtains and parts the clouds to reveal bit of sunshine in the gloom, giving the song a deeper sense of resilience through the think of it, even if you have to fake it.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Halfway Up a Jagged Hill Share Sludgy and Expansive “Silver Sword”

Brooklyn-based indie duo Halfway Up a Jagged Hill (HUAJH) — longtime friends Devin Gilbert and Jeb Holstein — were walking in the woods one January night, looking for owls, when they can came across what could only […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Womack Sisters Share Soulful and Heartbroken “Monster”

Rising Los Angeles-based sibling soul trio The Womack Sisters — Kucha, Zeimani and BG — can trace the origins of their careers to their childhood: The trio were singing before they could even walk. They grew up on stages and in studios across the globe, singing behind their parents, as well as their legendary uncle, Bobby Womack. And adding to The Womack Sisters’ remarkable pedigree, their grandfather was the iconic Sam Cooke. 

No matter where they called home at the time — London, Thailand, Amsterdam, Kenya, West Virginia, The Bahamas — music and family were always a constant at the center of their lives. Of course, as the sisters grew up, each with their own respective journeys, experiences and heartaches, they managed to find their own voices and their own path.

Each member of the trio has their own individual vocal styling and timbre, but they playfully trade leads and effortlessly blend their harmonies perfectly in a way that only siblings can do.

Back in 2016, a mutual friend introduced The Womack Sisters to Daptone Records co-owner and producer Gabriel Roth, a.k.a. Bosco Mann, who heard them sing and fell quickly and deeply in love with their voices. Shortly after, they met, they went to Daptone’s Riverside, CA-based Penrose Studios to record their label debut, “If You Want Me“/”I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye).”

The rising Los Angeles trio’s long-awaited self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a Friday, August 14, 2026 through Daptone Records. The album will feature the previously released “Chauffeur” and the album’s latest single “Monster.” “Monster” is a slow-burning and heart-wrenching ballad rooted in a cinematic and old school-inspired arrangement and production. The song is about coming to terms with the devastating, emotional void left by unrequited love that features the siblings’ vocals expressing heartache, confusion, yearning and stubborn, determined pride within a turn of a phrase.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Atlanta’s Go Public Shares Punchy, Post Punk Cover of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

Formed back inn 2022, Atlanta-based quartet Go Public — Masters of the Hemisphere‘s and Still Flyin”s Sean Rawls, Masters of the Hemispehre’s and Elf Power‘s Adrian Finch, Sam Gunn and Jay Domingo — features some grizzled veterans of their hometown’s music scene. Since their formation, the band has become a live staple of the southern post punk scene.

Go Public’s full-length debut You Are Traffic is slated for a September 18, 2026 digital and physical release through HHBTM. The Atlanta-based outfit’s long-awaited debut, reportedly sees the band firmly establishing a sound that they’ve dubbed mutant disco, “bleaky vibrant jam for end-times dance parties” featuring skronky contortions, nope wave deconstructions, prickly wisdom and post-punk pith.

You Are Traffic‘s third and latest single “Dream Over” sees the Atlanta-based band tackling Crowded House’s 1986 global smash hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and turning the bittersweet and melancholy yet hopeful tune into a punchy and wiry post-punk ripper, while retaining the heartbreak and defiant resilience at the core of the original.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Velatine Returns with Dead Radio Remix of “Playing With The Orbits”

Producer, songwriter and musician Loki Lockwood is the creative mastermind behind the Melbourne-based darkwave/goth recording project Velatine. For the bulk of the project’s history, Lockwood collaborated with different vocalists while creating a unique and fresh […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Ayanna Witter-Johnson Shares Gorgeous, Meditative “Blue”

Born and raised in North London to Jamaican parents, acclaimed and rising, Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Award-nominated composer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ayanna Wittter-Johnson grew up surrounded by the sounds of reggae, gospel and classical music. After earning a first-class Bachelor’s degree at Trinity Laban Conservatory and a Masters at the Manhattan School of Music, supported by a Higher Education Scholarship, Witter-Johnson has built a career founded in authenticity and cross-genre collaboration.

From composing to performing, the London-born artist’s work is a sonic bridge between worlds, seamlessly blending jazz, reggae and soul while celebrating her Jamaican heritage, culture and identity. Witter-Johnson’s recorded output — 2014’s Black Panther EP, 2018’s Truthfully Still and Ella, Reuben & Aly EP, 2019s full-length debut, Road Runner, 2021’s Rise Up EP and 2023’s sophomore album Painted Light — has seen her collaborating with producers Marc Mac and James Yarde, as well as pianist Robert Mitchell, vocalist Cleveland Watkiss and rapper Akala while earning critical acclaim and widespread acclaim across BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Music 6, Jazz FM and Magic Classical. 2023’s Ocean Floor, a collaborative album with the London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble dove into her Jamaican heritage, weaving classical textures with island rhythms and ancestral storytelling.

As a composer, Witter-Johson has won the Nordoff and Robbins 02 Silver Clef Classical Award and an RPS and AIM Awards Best Life Performer nominations — and she has been commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet, Chineke! Orchestra, Guerzenich Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, as well as numerous chamber ensembles.

The acclaimed London-born artist has been both prolific and very busy: She’s currently working on a major new commission for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to celebrate their 90th anniversary and co-scoring her first TV drama for Sky Arts, which is slated for release this year.

Witter-Johnson’s highly anticipated album New Roots is slated for a September 18, 2026 release through her own Hill and Gully Records. Written across a series of retreats, hotel rooms, quarantine lockdown and quiet pockets of life on the road, New Roots documents moments where stillness becomes a portal, a place to her ancestral voices, confront personal truth and re-anchor yourself in what matters. Further cementing the London-born artist as a world-builder and musical polymath, the album sees Witter-Johnson delving into her heritage and spiritual practice, reflecting on British-Caribbean identity, the inheritance of Windrush Generation wisdom, grief and remembrance and the the strength required to keep choosing oneself. (By the way, the Windrush Generation was the Caribbean Island folk, who moved from the island nations from 1948-1971)“It’s an album about finding centre — personally, culturally, and cosmically — and about learning that new roots can be grown even in unfamiliar or fractured ground,” the acclaimed artist says,

Sonically, the album reportedly sees her expanding on her signature fusion of R&B, soul, classical and jazz, while tracing her Jamaican heritage through lush orchestration and raw, personal storytelling. The result is an effort that’s both deeply rooted and yet forward-looking.

New Roots‘ latest single “Blue” is built around a sparse yet gorgeous arrangement of Witter-Johnon’s percussive cello playing and subtle bursts of strings beneath her expressive, searching delivery. The result is a song that’s intimate, lived-in and yet cinematic. Sonically seemingly to nod at Joni Mitchell, Meshell Ndegeocello and contemporary R&B, “Blue” was originally written pre-pandemic during a “write-an-album-in-a-week” retreat, and was a way of processing the emotional fallout of a toxic relationship. But with distance and reflection, the song took on a new life.

“With distance and reflection, ‘Blue’ has grown into something broader: a meditation on patterns of pain and the ways in which victimhood can quietly shape multiple areas of life,” Witter-Johnson explains,. “The song now stands as a metaphor for a range of difficult relationships and situations — moments where suffering becomes familiar, and where growth comes from recognising and gently releasing that identity.”