If Show ‘Em What You’ve Got was a brilliantly brash and buoyant slice of R&B, Ostarè returns with something slightly more chilled, more soothing, and more understated. But that is not to say that Deep Down isn’t still filled with the same message of empowerment and inner healing, it is just that whereas the previous single comes at the listener face on, a collection of soul and swagger, attitude, and ambition, Deep Down just throws its arms around you and gives you what can only be described as a sonic hug!

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/album/1IDMaTzHk9eSLRVUByUOOg

It is built on similarly liquid beats, a cool clubland groove, one that is all about futuristic digital dance timings, pulsing bass beats and smoky clubland atmospheres. But it is, if not exactly subdued, certainly more subtle and seductive. There are times when a message warrants a more full-on and unavoidable delivery system, this is not one of those times and it proves that Ostarè is equally at home seducing her audience as she is seeking to subdue them.And again, there is a deeper message than the music might suggest, if only taken at face value. Dance music is not known for being deep and meaningful, but Deep Down is an exception.

Whilst it is perfect for the clubland set who just want to party the night away, and its infectious grooves guarantee that will happen, lyrically it is a love letter to security, to finding your own safe space, a place where you are comfortable, where you can be yourself…a “place to call home.”Not in the physical sense, more in a soul searching one, as always with Ostarè ‘s messaging, it runs on a more spiritual plane, this is metaphysical music for the modern era, pop for the Aquarian Age, dance music for the delvers into their inner consciousness. Throw away this is not!I probably said the same last time around too, but it is worth repeating.

It is possible that Ostarè ’s marks a real change in direction for pop music, a coming of age for a genre which up until now has been seen as being driven by the fickle finger of fad and fashion. What Deep Down proves is that it is possible to make music which pushes the potential of pop by being both infectious and accessible but also deep and meaningful, not a combination that we have seen on the dancefloor before but perhaps the start of something new.

Deep Down does lots of things but perhaps the most important one is that it raises pop’s IQ by a considerable degree, and that has got to be worth making a song and dance about. Dontchathink?

“Everything in my music is high, loud, and abrupt – because I have something to say,” says Greyson Grimes, vocalist and songwriter of Happy To Be Here. Alongside his co-conspirator and collaborator James Hamilton, Greyson fronts the powerhouse four-piece Los Angeles-based band whose courageous message of hope, healing, and rebirth is portrayed in a riveting new track titled “Me Now.”

Unleashing a voice tinged with melancholy, Grimes is a singularly expressive singer. He says that the story of “Me Now” — co-written with Hamilton — reflects on an inner conversation about ghosting a girl with whom he had a long distance relationship. “The acknowledgment that I’d hurt someone, but I was so wounded myself.” He says that the song was too personal to share. “I didn’t play or perform it for a decade,” he affirms. 

Multi-platinum producer Mikal Blue and Dean Dinning, producer, composer, and bassist for Toad The Wet Sprocket, were behind the board at Revolver Recordings for the “Me Now” sessions. Formulating a colossal rhythm section, drummer Cole Walker and bassist Alex Mospanyuk provide a thunderous foundation for the hard-edged guitar grit and the poignant regret that shades Greyson Grimes’ transcendent vocals. 

The theme of “Me Now” is artfully illustrated with a narrative video that presents the band performing against a skyscraper backdrop of downtown Los Angeles, crosscut with a sobering narrative depicting a dreamlike overdose. Grimes and Hamilton both share a hard-won sobriety.  “We’re happy to be on this side of the dirt and create – and do the only thing we were ever supposed to do,” says Hamilton. Echoes Grimes, “I always struggled with the darkness of the world and the light. Our message is one of relatability, that you are not alone. People who come to our shows are people like us.” 

Edmonton writer and pop musician Jason Purcell (they/them) is back with their first musical release in over a decade, with “Ambitions,” a cover of Norwegian pop sensation Donkeyboy’s 2009 euro hit. 

The song is about the feeling of giving up on your dreams. Naturally, it evokes nostalgia for a younger, more naïve self whose dreams were so wide and when possibilities seemed endless. As we grow and mature, our dreams narrow in scope, align more with our actual abilities and the conditions of our world, but the bigger dreams and fantasies don’t leave us.

Purcell worked with Tatiana Zagorac on a video and photo set that evoked a karaoke fantasy wherein these repressed hopes and ambitions might play out. There’s an intense intimacy and at times awkwardness to the shots that conveys the feelings of unbelonging inside a dream you’ve let die.

Jordan Lowery, lead guitarist Jay Mills, drummer Chris Melanson and bassist Maxwell Jacobs. Their unique brand of entertainment fuses memorable riffs and a country influence with stage antics and an unforgettable show that will make you get up and dance. 

Debut single “Striking Like Thunder” and its accompanying video tells the tale of the heart-wrenching emotions one feels when away from their loved one for a long period of time. “Lowery Mills created this song with mentorship by “Leon Harrison”, founder of “Bandwagon”. Bandwagon has helped us shape our sound and understand the industry better and had us working with pros such as “Ryan Roxie” of “Alice Cooper” and “Kenda Legaspi” from “Creepshow.””

Warm and dark, soft with stabs of madness, poet and songwriter Jenny Berkel’s These Are the Sounds Left from Leaving is a cohesive collection of spare songs that bloom lushly with detail. The new album features contributions from critically acclaimed folk duo Kacy & Clayton, string arrangements by Colin Nealis (Andy Shauf) and for the first time, Jenny took on a production role, co-producing alongside Dan Edmonds and Ryan Boldt (The Deep Dark Woods). 

Exploring the openness and non-linear nature of time, “Just like a River” feels like a mellow meditation. A recreation of moments where small, specific reveries gave way to more sprawling contemplation–but in an appreciably peaceful and illuminative way.

Each song unfolds like a widening web of poetic associations, narrated by nostalgic piano, pondering strings, glittering guitars—and Jenny’s hauntingly immersive vocals. At times, they end with an unravelling, the music splintering apart into disintegration like a lingering open question. “The songs themselves are a study of proximity, bringing big fears into small spaces,” Jenny reflects. “They’re intimate examinations of a world that often overwhelms.” 

TANDM is a Toronto-based indie pop duo consisting of Maxine Beck-Sinderby whose distinctive vocals and catchy reverb-filled guitar riffs are driven forward by the energy of Thomas’ dynamic drum flourishes. Together, they tell complex stories of the bittersweet personal pleasures and conflicts experienced in young adulthood.

In the midst of preparing their third EP, TANDM offer “Accidentally In Love,” their optimistic and hopeful cover of the Counting Crows’ song from Shrek 2.

Musical talent runs in Maxine’s family as her uncles are Jason Beck known to the world as recording artist Chilly Gonzalez and Christophe Beck, the prolific Hollywood film composer whose work includes Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Frozen, Frozen II and Ant-Man. Thomas honed his craft studying with international jazz drummers Bill Ransom and Anthony Michelli.