Sarah Segal-Lazar has been making music since before she could talk. Folks say she took her first steps in ¾ time. By the time she was nine, she was sending songs into the local radio station. These days, the Femme Fatale of Folk splits her time between the busy streets of Montreal and the red shores of PEI–sharing her own special blend of folk and country, wherever the wind may take her. 

Her latest album Valleys is produced by Canadian folk luminary Matthew Barber. After putting off making it for years, always waiting for the right time in her career, Sarah decided to finally let it out. “I’d say to myself, I’m not wasting these songs. I’m not going to record them until I move to Nashville and get signed, until I move to New York and get signed. And then one day I woke up and realized, I don’t want to get to be fifty and be resentful that I never recorded this album. So I reached out to Matt and just went for it.”

Valleys is inspired by a lyric from the track “Still Waters” that goes “On that uphill climb there are valleys on the way.”  The album is a collection of tracks about struggle. “Each of the songs tell a story and within each story is a struggle. And most of the time, we make it through to the other side,” says Sarah.

Highlight single “Earlier” is a bittersweet and wistful track on the perils of a relationship destined to not be, and the struggle within that realization.

Canadian singer-songwriter Hunter Sheridan unveils a new single titled “The Moment’s in a Hurry” (feat. Mattie Leon) about the moment you realize you are truly falling in love. Next, you’re trying to capture and preserve every detail so you can enjoy it as much as possible. 

Through self-recording and producing, the message of the song is highlighted by simple instrumentation and storytelling lyrics that are strengthened by catchy melodies and a nostalgic atmosphere.

Hunter adds, “Mattie started playing this awesome picking pattern on the acoustic guitar, and then we started building the song lyrically while not getting over complicated with the arrangement to highlight that daydreamy, romantic style.”

Folk singer-songwriter Dan Pallotta has a new release to share from his upcoming record, Winnebago Dreams (November 17th). “Couldn’t Make It Rhyme” took Pallotta 40 years to write and reflects on very personal themes. 

Narrative finger picked acoustic guitar is underscored by gentle accordion playing from Bryan Mitchell as Pallotta speaks of chasing an unavailable partner during his time spent in Los Angeles where he first pursued a career in music several decades ago.

The song further cements Pallotta’s collaboration with album contributors Soozie Tyrell of E Street Band fame on fiddle and bassist Tony Garnier, music director for Bob Dylan.

“Martin Luther King borrowed from a Unitarian minister when he said that, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.’ In the same way, the arc of recovery is long, but it bends toward fulfillment. Conversely, the arc of addiction can be short or long, but it bends toward tragedy,” the artist explains. 

“‘Couldn’t Make It Rhyme’ is about both arcs. It took me 40 years to write, and it could never have taken any less, because it took the story 40 years to play out. And much as we want our stories to play out more quickly—for the highway to wisdom to be short and fast—you cannot short cut it. It’s a song about someone with whom I was involved when I was very young. 

I used to be attracted to people who weren’t interested in me and would reject people who were. It wasn’t healthy and it took me a long time to learn another way of being in a relationship. It’s about what happened to me and what happened to him in my perspective on it all four decades later.“

Throughout the years, borza has collaborated on many records with emerging artists from the Quebec music scene, as well as with international established artists such as Emmylou Harris, the McGarrigle sisters, and Lauryn Hill. BORZA is a musical chameleon – his first release in 2016 was the alternative folk EP playing with time, his debut LP in 2019 was the indie rock/folk/reggae influenced Cocoon, and now he is offering something new – an urban/R&B/roots song, “Mundo de ilusión.” 

“Mundo de ilusión” is a track that has a mixture of cultures and styles – something grounded in roots, with electro beats, and a sprinkle of Latin flair. The song features lyrics in Spanish, French, and English. borza wanted to write a reminder to enjoy life. Don’t wait for that perfect moment to start living the life you want, get closer to it every day, one day at a time! 

The song was finished during a trip to Cuba where he met the Spanish singer, Yoandris Torres Fondin. As they were waiting for the studio to be ready, the two of them relaxed on the beach, playing around with song ideas. They recorded vocals for the track right there, and it ended up being the take used in the final version. 

Singer-songwriter-producer Cozmic collaborates with TikTok sensations Kiran & Nivi, celebrity vocal coach and prolific singer Stevie Mackey, and multi platinum artist/writer/producer, Maejor. Together this powerful group of artists is on a mission to create the music that we need now—something the whole world can sing to that transcends all cultural and societal borders. The eagerly anticipated release, titled “Una Famila,” (music video out 9/21), serves as the official theme song for the Art of Living World Culture Festival, taking place from September 29 to October 1, 2023, in Washington DC. The festival is  inspired by global humanitarian, spiritual leader and envoy of peace Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

“Una Famila” is more than a song; it’s the heartbeat of the festival and its important message to the world especially in these times of division and polarization . It encapsulates unity, love, and shared humanity in an accessible way that will inspire millions around the importance of us all coming together as a One World Family. Cozmic, Kiran & Nivi, Stevie Mackey and Maejor’s artistic alchemy promises a song that transcends borders and languages.

The track is a breath of fresh air as it offers up a message of hope and unification. With infectious pop and reggaeton elements laced throughout the song, the collaboration of the artists make it a dream come true. As each vocalist takes turns highlighting their abilities, their harmonies bring an insightful message to the world…”We’re all in this together, We can win this together, Somos Una Familia, Hey!”

Kiran + Navi bring their Indian classical music roots into the pop vernacular, combining Indian “swaram” scale tones with powerful western lyrics, soaring melodies, and irresistible hooks. Their recent single, “8 billion people”, has garnered instant success, with 10M+ streams and countless playlist adds among them, a myriad of Spotify Viral 50 Charts, Spotify’s Pop Up, Teen Beats, and I’m Not Crying You Are.The powerhouse twins achieve consistent virality with their spellbinding music and content, having already amassed over 2.8M followers on TikTok alone. 

They have also been amplified by household names like Khloé Kardashian, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Meghan Trainor, Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, Michael Bublé and James Arthur. 

Stevie Mackey is an artist, singer and celebrity vocal coach who is highly sought-after and has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Fergie, Coldplay and more. He most famously was a vocal coach on NBC’s “The Voice” for over 10 seasons. Stevie is also the creator and host of the hit music showcase, “Taco Tuesdays Live,” which has become a staple in the LA music scene and recognized across the globe. With his powerful and soulful voice, Stevie is a dynamic performer and a devoted philosopher of music.

Cozmic creates playful and purposeful “Bollypop” pop fusion, combining elements of Indian and American pop music with trap, reggaeton, and acoustic rock. The resulting sound is vibrant, catchy, eclectic, and relatable. 

Maejor is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has written and produced songs for several prominent artists in the music industry—most extensively Justin Bieber—and is half of the EDM duo Area21, alongside Dutch DJ Martin Garrix.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a global humanitarian, spiritual leader, and ambassador of peace. Gurudev has been teaching breath-based meditation techniques for health and well-being for over 42 years. His approach blends ancient Vedic wisdom with modern sensibility for a new paradigm of leadership, and living a stress-free, violence-free society.

The Art of Living World Culture Festival is a global celebration of cultural diversity, peace, and human connection. It draws hundreds of thousands of attendees from around the world to the iconic National Mall in Washington DC and is live-streamed to an international audience. This event seeks to inspire hearts worldwide through an unforgettable experience.

The song will also kick off a social media dance challenge with select influencers tagging #unafamiladance & #worldculturefestival to help bring further awareness to the song and festival.

https://wcf.artofliving.org/

Both the event and “Una Famila” will leave an incredible mark on hearts and minds.

Staytus is the musical alter-ego of Arizona-based recording prodigy Sam Grundemann, who fuses the immersive sensibility of gaming culture and the moody, stylized futurism of anime with Gen X-inspired angst, all set to a serrated electro-industrial goth metal soundtrack. 

A black-winged avatar come to deliver reckoning for the onslaught of challenges today’s young adults have to navigate, Grundemann’s ability to translate trauma, betrayal, heartbreak, grief and anxiety into sound from a non-neurotypical perspective arrives not a moment too soon.

“Depravity Bites,” the latest single from her upcoming sophomore full-length Wasteland of Broken Hearts, goes for an even starker edge than previous single “Lovesick.” The “Depravity Bites” video sees Grundemann incorporating BDSM imagery for the first time, alternating between a whip and the guitar that has become the centerpiece of her sonic arsenal. Once again, Grundemann shows that she can match her prodigious DAW chops with a burgeoning sense of songcraft.

For Grundemann—a multi-instrumentalist who acquired multiple recording degrees and certifications by the ripe old age of 17—riffing, writing, programming, recording and sound-design all derive from the same creative life force that fires her imagination. And the high-resolution, surround-like ambience of her music demands that we make a distinction between bedroom producer and auteur. With her vision growing by leaps and bounds, Grundemann has crafted album that grips your attention from start to finish and unfolds much like a film. 

In an age where the full-length album is supposedly dead and buried, Grundemann is doggedly striving to revive the epic appeal of Nine Inch Nails’ classic double album The Fragile. She also unabashedly wears the influence of groups like KoRn, Orgy, Kittie, Black Dresses and How To Destroy Angels on her sleeve. If there’s one act poised to give nu metal a modern makeover so that the familiar riffs, grooves and attitude hit us as fresh and stylish to us again, it’s Staytus.