by Jane Lambert

“King Jaymes” Is the Folk Punk Manifesto We Didn’t Know We Needed

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There’s something quietly revolutionary about King Jaymes, the debut album from folk punk singer-songwriter Stephen Jaymes.

It doesn’t arrive in a blaze of hype or with the polished pagenatry of a major label rollout. But instead, it feels more like a notebook that someone has carried across a war zone, frayed and tear stained but full of truths that nobody else dared to say out loud.

Across ten tracks, many of them already familiar to fans of Jaymes’ trickle release of singles over the past two years, King Jaymes assembles a world that feels simultaneously mythic and also intimate. The songs are not just here to impress, but they resemble almost journal entries, roadside sermons and voice memos from a man documenting the collapse and his own quiet resurrection.

What is most striking about the album is not just the songwriting, although this is excellent and has always been Jaymes strong point. But it is the depth of self-examination and transformation on display here. There is a sense that Stephen Jaymes has survived these songs more than just written them.

Opening with one of Jaymes’s most personal songs, “Saving Daylight”, we are immediately thrown in to a noirish soundscape of piano and muted guitar lines.

The new mix of previously released “Chief Inspector” is more spacious and less raw than the original single, revealing the intricacies of Zsolt Virág’s production work. It’s a tone-setter that invites deep listening.

Elsewhere, songs like “The Evidence Against Her” maintain their haunting intensity. They feel more fully realized here, nestled among companion tracks and dressed in album wide cohesion. Jaymes’s voice is soft and cracked a times, then suddenly forceful in other moments and becomes the compass that guides us through shifting emotional terrain.

While the early singles gave listeners a glimpse into Jaymes’s artistic evolution, it is the album’s final track, “When I Was Young” that truly delivers the emotional knockout.

This previously unreleased track is a lament disguised as a lullaby. It deals with aging, not in the abstract sense but in the deeply personal way of someone who’s felt the world pull away from them. The line between resilience and resignation is walked so carefully that it becomes a kind of dance. This track alone justifies the format of an album.

Beyond the music itself, the King Jaymes era represents a conceptual shift for Stephen Jaymes as an artist and public thinker. His VISION2025 initiative and the accompanying Particles blog present a worldview rooted in hope, dignity, and practical utopia not just art for art’s sake, but art as taking action.

Meanwhile, King Jaymes may be Stephen Jaymes’s debut album, but it plays like a legacy statement. It’s a defiant and deeply human record that builds a world you want to live in, even if that world hurts.

Keep up with Stephen Jaymes on his Website

Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music

05.29.25

by Jane Lambert

Pete Calandra’s Latest Album “Night Mist” is a Tonic for the Modern Mind

Pete Calandra’s latest release Night Mist is an album that doesn’t shout to be heard. It simply waits, patiently to be felt.

This eleven track collection is steeped in quietude, unfolding with the elegance of falling dusk and the emotional gravity of late-night introspection.

As both a skilled pianist and prolific composer across Broadway, film and television, Calandra brings a rare blend of technical finesse and emotional restraint to this work. It’s one that feels like a much needed breather in an overstimulated world.

Listen here:

The pieces on Night Mist are deceptively simple. On the surface, they present as minimal piano compositions touched by ambient textures and occasional soft orchestrations. But underneath that lies an exquisite sense of pacing and purpose. Tracks like “Whispers of the Dawn” and “The Heart of Mount Seleya” operate like emotional landscapes: sparse yet vivid, introspective yet expansive. And it is Calandra’s restraint, the space between notes, that becomes its own kind of melody.

What makes this album resonate so strongly is its consistency in tone without ever becoming over repetitive.

Each track brings a new shade of the same emotional spectrum. “Peaceful Valley” introduces cinematic string beds that evoke a pastoral calm, while “Autumn Nights” leans into the warmth of a felted piano to conjure a deeply intimate sense of place.

The ambient title track, “Night Mist” blends light electronics with improvisational phrasing, perfectly capturing the album’s thesis — serenity in the unknown.

Though best known to some for his work behind the scenes, including more than 100 film scores and music for global events like the FIFA World Cup and Kennedy Center Honors, Pete Calandra’s voice as a solo artist has become increasingly distinct over the last decade.

Night Mist builds on the aesthetic developed in ambient-forward albums like First Light and Carpe Noctem, but it lands with much more maturity and emotional clarity.

In an era defined by speed, distraction and technology burnout, Night Mist feels like a defiant gesture — an insistence on presence, on listening slowly, on valuing space.

It’s not just a collection of music, but also a gentle journey inward.

Connect with Peter Calandra via:

Website / YouTube / Spotify / Soundcloud

05.27.25

by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3Q’s WITH STIGMA

Emerging from the heart of Germany’s modern rock scene, Stigma are not here to chase trends.

With their debut album Second Chance on the horizon, the band is carving out a sound that is both emotionally raw and powerfully cinematic in sound.

Their latest single, “Faraway,” serves as a stunning entry point. It’s a brooding, confessional track steeped in guilt, isolation and that quiet ache of waiting for redemption.

But what sets Stigma apart isn’t just the intensity of their music. It is the honesty behind it. For their first official video, the band turned the camera inward and cpatured not a scripted narrative, but the real-time journey of recording “Faraway” in a remote mountain studio.

We sat down with the band to talk about the origins of “Faraway,” the making of the video, and what fans can expect from Second Chance. What followed was a candid, heartfelt conversation about facing the past, embracing vulnerability, and holding out hope for what’s still to come:

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

Faraway is about guilt, isolation, and the hope for redemption – someone exiled, trapped by both physical walls and inner regrets, holding on to the distant dream of being forgiven. It’s not about escape, but about waiting to be freed. That emotional weight runs through every line of the song.

We wanted to show that tension honestly. The video shifts between two sides: the intense, emotional live performance while recording the track, and the quiet, raw moments behind the scenes. No drama, no acting – just what really happened.

That contrast brings authenticity. It’s not a concept video – it’s a feeling. A haunting pull toward something just out of reach – but with the quiet certainty that the day will come.

2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

We approached the video like a short documentary – no actors, no script, just what actually happened. The storyline behind the scenes follows our real journey: arriving at the studio in the mountains, stepping out of the car, setting up gear, getting feedback from our producer, tuning, laughing, working. It’s that quiet buildup before the storm – a glimpse into the atmosphere that shaped the song.

Visually, the contrast was key. We alternated these raw, candid moments with close-up shots of us performing Faraway in the studio – not for the camera, but for real.

That mix gives the video its pulse. It’s less about acting out a plot and more about letting the setting, the process, and the people tell the story. The goal was simple: to make you feel the song, not just hear it.

3. What was the process of making the video?

I brought in Mattia Mariotti – a skilled video producer and guitarist for Philipp Burger (Frei.Wild) – to film our time in the studio. I asked him to capture everything without restriction. No script, no posing – just real moments. I trusted his eye and gave him full freedom to document whatever unfolded.

After several days of shooting, he told me, “There’s a lot of material here.” That’s when I had the idea to turn it into our first official video. What made it click was the natural rhythm of the footage – the way the calm, intimate behind-the-scenes shots contrasted with the explosive, emotional performance scenes. It mirrored exactly what Faraway does musically: restrained, confessional verses that build into a powerful, wide-open chorus.

That structure became the backbone of the edit. The camera follows the same emotional arc as the song itself – from inner conflict to a burst of longing and release.

That’s how the video found its form: through truth, not planning.

Follow Stigma on their Website

05.19.25

by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’s WITH MADAME Z

In a world increasingly defined by crisis – climate change, social division, political dysfunction, and a profound disconnection from nature and one another – art and music can serve as both mirror and medicine.

For Madame Z , music isn’t just an outlet. It is a lifeline. A writer at heart, and a musician by calling, she brings a deep emotional honesty to her work, balancing the stark realities of the present moment with a fierce and unwavering belief in our collective potential to heal and transform.

Her latest release “Save The World” is a heartfelt plea for unity in the face of collapse. It is a song born out of sorry and yet steeped in hope. A reminder that while we may feel powerless as individuals, together, we still hold the power to change course.

In this Exclusive Interview, Madame Z opens up about the inspiration behind the track, the challenges of being a one woman creative force, and why the video’s poignant visuals are just as essential as the lyrics themselves.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in
this way?

It can be deeply disheartening to reflect on the state of the world – the pollution, the relentless destruction of our planet on so many levels, the poisoning of our oceans and waterways, the mass extinction of countless species (thanks, unsurprisingly, to human activity), the reality of climate change (whether some choose to acknowledge it or not), and the ever-present forces of bigotry, racism, war, genocide, political dysfunction, division, and hatred. The list feels endless – and it is catastrophic. The energy of the planet itself seems to echo this pain.

As Einstein once said, “Man invented the atomic bomb, but no mouse would ever construct a mousetrap.” In so many ways, we are engineering our own downfall – driven by capitalism, greed, and a profound disconnection from one another and from the Earth. This song, I believe, speaks volumes without needing much explanation. Yes, it’s painful to witness and experience all of this. It can feel overwhelming, even hopeless. But the message at the heart of it is powerful: we need to come together. It’s not too late. We still have the ability to make a difference – even if it’s just by being a light in the darkness and holding on to the possibility of change.

Similarly, the video itself highlights much despair and destruction but also intertwines moments of hope and potential. The current state of the world may feel bleak but there is potential for humanity to turn it around.

2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

As noted, it coincides with the lyrics themselves. Despair (which many of us have been feeling as of late) but looking to the future of possibility. As one person, I may not be able to change the entire world but TOGETHER we can make an impact.

3. What was the process of making the video?

I chose to use AI for this video because, simply put, I’m a one-woman operation.

I have three kids and a demanding executive-level corporate job that often spills into evenings and weekends. Music isn’t my primary or even secondary priority in terms of time – but it’s essential to who I am. It’s as vital to me as the air I breathe. At my core, I’m a writer. Music is one of the few ways I can fully express the emotions and thoughts I often struggle to put into words. But with the limited time I have, I have to rely on the tools available to me to help bring my ideas to life.

My publisher has been encouraging me to pair videos with my releases, but since it’s just me doing all of this, I lean on resources that make that possible. I’d love to shoot and produce videos from scratch – but right now, that’s just not a realistic option. So, I do what I can. I created short video snippets and pieced them together to help visualize the message I wanted to share through this song. It might not be perfect – but perfection is overrated anyway.

What matters most is the message, the emotion and the intention behind it.

Stay connected with Madame Z:

Website / Instagram / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music

05.16.25

by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’s WITH MOLLY THOMAS

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Rooted in Southern soul and shaped by years of touring, collaborating and creating from the heart, Molly Thomas has carved a distinct path as a songwriter, musician and storyteller.

With a voice that carries both grit and grace, Molly’s music brings together an authentic honesty and depth – qualities that shine through in her latest single “Even The Strong” and self-made video.

Following a transformative season of healing and reflection, Thomas brings us a visual companion to a song that speaks to resilience, vulnerability and the quiet strength it takes to lean on others when life demands more than we can carry alone.

In this Exclusive Interview, we talk with Molly about the story behind the song, the creative process behind the video, and how a spontaneous trip to Spain – and a crash course in video editing – helped bring it all to life!

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

This song is about the idea that even in strength, we all need someone to lean on. Old habits can creep back in, but finding grace, truth and sometimes a shoulder to lean on can help one rise above. I decided to visualize the song in black and white because I wasn’t sure how to allude to the overall feeling any other way. I found a way to add color and added it at the pinnacle moment of the song to heighten the level of visuals to match the song.

2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

The song was written in the summer of 2023, just before my car accident.

Ironically, the test of strength was thrown my way and the message of resilience and hope proved to be just what I needed to get through it. A little over a year after the car accident, my husband and I took a celebratory trip from time healing and we went to Spain.

We were both inspired and took lots of video footage in hope to create a video at some point. I wasn’t sure which song the footage would be for, but it presented itself when I started. This song is the first single, to be released May 16, 2025. The footage that we gathered seemed to tell the story I was looking for and so I just went for it.

3. What was the process of making the video?

The process was a bit tedious, considering I was/am fresh at learning Premiere Pro.

In fact, I just got it 3 days ago and have SO much to learn. I initially created the video in imovie. I sent it to my friend, who is a professional filmmaker, and she set me straight, in a loving manner. It took me 2 days to make it once I sat down and loaded all of the footage into my project. I guess because I have experience in imovie and also Pro-tools, the learning curve came a little bit easier.

Thanks to Youtube University (HA), all of my questions were answered as I went along. I’m sure I could have kept going with perfecting it, but decided to let it go, especially because there is a deadline. Also, the realization that I’m a musician just trying to get my song out to the world. I am not a professional videographer. It’s similar to producing and recording a song. At some point along the way, there comes a time when nothing more can be done with the tools at hand, and you have to let it fly.

Stay connected with Molly Thomas on her Website

05.06.25

by Jane Lambert

After Hours Alchemy in MASSEY’s latest single “3:00am Funk”

In the quiet chaos of 3am when bars have emptied, streets glisten with after-rain shimmer and the city feels like it’s catching its breath, MASSEY drops a groove that captures the electricity of that fleeting in-between hour.

“3:00 AM FUNK” isn’t just a vibe. It’s a fully formed nocturnal world built from rhythm, introspection and soul.

Listen in here:

It all opens with a steady, low-slung pulse courtesy of Charlie Wooton’s bass and Doug Belote’s hypnotic drums. Together they work to create the heartbeat of the song, which is measured, magnetic and endlessly listenable. This is a groove that knows how to hold space without rushing forwards. It invites you in and makes you stay.

Guitarists Peter Oravetz and Daniel Groover add fire and texture — dueling one moment and swirling the next — creating a mood that shifts between a swagger and a dream. Their use of reversed guitar loops gives “3:00AM Funk” a psychedelic hint. The 504 Horns (Jason Parfait on saxes and Ian Smith on trumpet and trombone) burst into the mix with brass lines that flash like headlights. All bold, stylish and unmistakably alive.

But “3:00AM Funk” doesn’t just skim the surface of party scene; it digs deeper. MASSEY sings about late night wandering, social saturation and emotional absence. Of longing for something genuine in a world built on performance. And yet, the song is not cynical in any way. It does hold space for beauty too. For those fleeting moments of eye contact, laughter or vulnerability that pierces the surface.

The accompanying music video, which was shot on the vibrant pulsing streets of Denver, matches the song’s mood perfectly – part fever dream, part soul search: