Amana Melomé closes out the year on a bright, soul lifting note with “Con C.ALMA,” a track that feels like both a celebration and a gentle exhale.
It’s the kind of song that fits perfectly into that reflective space between years. It’s upbeat without being frantic, warm without trying too hard and grounded in a sense of gratitude.
Listen here:
After several years away from releasing music, Melomé returns with a sound that’s joyful, relaxed and quietly confident. The groove carries an easy bounce, while her vocals glide with a calm assurance that suggests she’s exactly where she needs to be. Rather than pushing for attention, she lets the song’s energy speak for itself.
The title translates from Spanish as “with calm,” hints at the song’s deeper intention. By highlighting alma, the soul, Melomé frames the song as a reminder to move through life at your own pace, especially as the year winds down and reflection sets in. It’s an upbeat message delivered with softness – stay present, trust the timing and don’t let the noise rush you.
Jazz pianist Deron Johnson adds an elegant sparkle to the track, his playing light and responsive, giving the song lift without overwhelming its relaxed mood. The collaboration between Melomé and Johnson feels effortless, even more impressive knowing it was recorded across continents. Together they create a sound that is open, sun-touched and quietly celebratory.
“Con C.ALMA” works beautifully as a year end release. It’s a track that invites dancing and introspection in equal measure. It’s hopeful without being naive, joyful without being loud. As the first single from Melomé’s upcoming album Recalibration to be released in the new year, it sets the tone for what feels like a new chapter rooted in balance, ease and intention.
“Entropic Cycle” swirls into the room like a cold draft from a door you didn’t realize was open, bringing with it the uncanny feeling that something in the atmosphere just shifted.
ИΞOlicious, the 18 year old avant-pop experimenter from Glendale is already known for making music that feels like emotional weather, but this new single pushes that instinct into a sharper, stranger and much more focused form. This is the sound of someone willingly stepping into the mess and discovering something almost comforting inside the chaos.
Built on stacked panned violin recordings that bloom into something cosmic, the production moves like a breathing organism.
The track rises with star lit synths and falls into verses that feel raw enough to bruise, while airplane like textures buzz underneath as if the whole thing is in motion even when you’re still.
If there is a thesis to “Entropic Cycle,” it’s hidden in the contrast. In the push and pull, the optimism and dread, the night and the thin glow of the approaching morning. ИΞOlicious has created a pop track that behaves more like a dream or maybe a recurring thought you can’t shake.
What makes the song though, is its sincerity. For all the glitchy shimmer and lunar strangeness, there’s a core belief running through it: that everything matters. Even the parts that feel like static. Even the parts we wish we could fast forward through.
You can hear this philosophy in the way the track lifts, breaks and reforms itself – in the entropy and rebirth stitched together not as a contradiction but as the natural order of things. It’s the kind of music that feels like it was made at 3 a.m. not because the artist had to but because the night is the only time when these thoughts feel safe enough to surface.
“Entropic Cycle” is the opening chapter of the upcoming album LΞT IT BΞ ИIGHT, and ИΞOlicious is quietly setting the stage for something bigger – something conceptual, personal and defiantly experimental.
This isn’t just another debut single trying to get your attention. It’s a signal flare from a new, weird and wonderful corner of the underground.
Italian singer songwriter Daniele Odasso has always moved through music with a rare blend of emotional honesty and refined musicanship.
His new single, “Living in Between,” marks a turning point for Daniele, shaped by a period of deep personal transformation and a return to the landscapes of Tuscany that have long anchored his sense of self. Recorded in Viareggio and brought to life through an intimate collaboration with producer Amira, the song drifts between electronic pulse and soulful warmth, mirroring the emotional space it was born from.
What makes this moment in Daniele’s career so compelling is the clarity with which he speaks about the connection between voice, body and environment. Water, reflection, memory and nature all play a role in the sound and visuals of “Living in Between,” forming a world where music becomes a form of inner exploration.
The accompanying video, shot between underwater frames, pine forests and the glowing dunes of Lecciona doesn’t just illustrate the song. It lives and breathes with it.
We sat down with Daniele to talk about the making of “Living in Between,” the sensory world behind his vocal work, the unexpected joy of shooting underwater and how returning to Tuscany helped him rediscover the path forward.
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
“Living in Between” was recorded while I was living in Viareggio, Tuscany—a place that carries deep meaning for me because of my mother’s family roots there. During that period, I reconnected with nature in a way that shaped the entire sound of the song: the pulsating electronic groove, the layered vocals, and the fluid movement of the electric guitar all echo that sense of being suspended between states.
Water became a central metaphor throughout the making of the record. Living so close to the sea in Tuscany deeply influenced the emotional atmosphere of the track, and it was something I asked Amira to keep in mind while producing the record—this idea of fluidity, immersion, and constant movement between light and shadow.
That’s why the visual concept also begins with water as a symbolic entry point. It represents the emotional space from which the song emerged: a place of introspection, depth, and transformation. As the video shifts into the landscape of pine trees and dunes in Viareggio, it mirrors the song’s inner journey—from being enveloped by the element of water to resurfacing in the brightness of the natural world that inspired the music.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
The visuals were inspired by my daily proximity to water in Viareggio and the sensory relationship I developed with it through swimming every day. Because my vocal research is rooted in the Lichtenberger method, which focuses on acoustic perception and proprioception, being immersed in such a fluid medium gave me a new way of experiencing sound in my body. That liquid, tactile connection to water deeply influenced how I approached singing on this record, and Amira’s production supported and expanded that direction.
I wanted the video to reflect this whole sensory world, so I created an initial storyboard centered on an immersive water state and shared it with director Francesco Quadrelli. After exploring underwater imagery with photographer William Petriccioli and scouting the dunes of Viareggio together, the visual arc became clear: starting within the layered reflections and depth of water, gradually moving toward the sunlight near the beach, and ultimately returning to the sea. The visuals mirror the full cycle that shaped the music—nature, body, voice, and sound flowing back into one another.
3. What was the process of making the video?
The process of making the video was truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I first met the incredibly talented art director William Petriccioli, who also shot the cover and instantly grasped the imagery and intentions behind the project. Shortly after, I met Francesco Quadrelli, a visionary and evocative director who immediately understood the concept and the different technical possibilities for shooting underwater. His visual language aligned perfectly with what I had envisioned and pushed the concept even further.
Shooting the underwater scenes was unexpectedly fun. I had trained myself to move from different directions while keeping my eyes open and staying in constant dialogue with Francesco’s camera. That allowed us to play with the surface of the water from multiple angles, creating those mirrored layers of light that shift with my movements.
We then moved to the “outside world.” The first scenes were filmed in my grandmother’s house in Tuscany—a room I literally grew up in—before heading to the pine forest near the beach of Lecciona in Viareggio. That location has an extraordinary sunset between the dunes and the water, and it became the perfect place to let go and immerse myself at the end of the day.
William and Francesco are an extraordinary team, and because they’re close friends, their trust and synergy made me feel completely embraced and understood throughout the shoot. We filmed in the exact order of the narrative, starting with the morning water scenes and ending with the sunset and my return to the sea. Experiencing that progression in real time felt both powerful and deeply cathartic.
KiTe’s new single, “I See You Cryin’,” is the kind of song that slips into your evening without asking permission. It’s gentle, and there is no big dramatic punch or sweeping climax but instead just this steady, slow ache that settles in and doesn’t leave.
The production is the first thing that grabs you, mostly because it is sparse in a really intentional way, like he cleared out everything unnecessary so the emotion could hang in the air.
Soft chords, a pulse of a beat and KiTe’s voice sitting right in the middle of it is all just enough to hold the feeling in place without crowding it.
And his voice is understated, almost conversational at times. He is not trying to show off but is just telling the truth the way you do at 1 a.m. when you are too tired to perform for anyone.
What gives the song its atmosphere is how naturally it came together. KiTe said the melody just arrived. This effortlessness shows because the whole track has a dreamlike quality, inspired by a film about unrequited love that stuck with him emotionally. It makes sense – “I See You Cryin'” is almost like a half remembered story you are trying to piece back together.
The simplicity of the song works in its favor. It manages to capture that strange mix of wanting to comfort someone while quietly realizing that you have lost them already. It’s a lonely feeling.
There’s a touch of influence from artists like Keshi and DEAN, but KiTe is very much carving out his own lane. His sound is cleaner, a bit more airy and a lot more emotionally up close.
“I See You Crying'” is just honest. And it succeeds in this. If KiTe keeps leaning into this softer, more introspective side of his writing, he is going to build a catalogue of songs that stay with the listener.
About KiTe
KiTe is a Singapore born, Melbourne based R&B/Pop artist with a talent for turning small, intimate moments into spacious atmospheric songs. He started producing music at sixteen from a dining table setup, long before he left his engineering studies to pursue music full-time.
KiTe is influenced by artists like Keshi, ASTN, DEAN and Bryson Tiller. When he’s not releasing his own work, he is writing and producing for others – even pitching songs for K-pop groups. With each release, he sharpens a sound that feels both contemporary and quietly timeless.
Sometimes, the quietest songs say the most. George Collins’s new single “Houston” is one of those rare songs that sneaks up on you. It’s a slow, steady pulse of emotion. It’s a song about distance, but not just the kind that separates planets, but the kind that grows between two people who can’t quite find the same orbit anymore.
Written during a songwriting retreat in Spain, “Houston” takes its cue from an unexpected place – the Apollo 13 mission. Collins and his co-writers were challenged to write a song about “space,” and instead of leaning into the literal, they turned much more inwards.
The final track is one that uses the language of exploration and crisis – “Houston, we have a problem” – to reflect on something deeply human. Namely, how communication can break down when love starts to drift.
The opening lines “You don’t seem to notice, maybe you don’t really care, I’m lost and lonely, floating around you somewhere”, Collins sets the emotional tone with honesty. There is a kind of accpetance that makes the pain more poignant. He is not blaming, but describing what it feels like to lose a connection one quiet moment at a time.
The production which is arranged and produced by Grammy nominated composer Jeff Franzel, suits the theme perfectly.
Collins originally wrote the song on acoustic guitar, but here it’s transformed into a delicate piano and cello arrangement. The piano moves patiently beneath the vocals, while the cello drifts in subtly and full of texture. Each note echoes the theme of communication across distance.
Collins’s vocals are what truly carries the song. When he reaches the chorus “If we’re ever gonna cross a chasm this wide / We’re gonna have to pass through our dark side” is a quiet revelation. He does not need to raise his voice to make the point.
Overall though, “Houston” feels real. You can see the dim light of the room, two people not talking, and the sense of something beautiful slipping away. Collins turns that small, human moment into something much bigger. His writing shows craftsmanship for language and melody.
By the end, when Collins sings “And time is running out,” it’s recognition – the kind that comes when you finally see how fragile connection really is.
When the first guitar hits in Ray Ray Star’s brand new single “Feelin’,” you can tell this isn’t just another rock song. There is fire behind each chord, and it’s all about emotional release with equal parts grit, groove and grace.
Written and composed entirely by Ray Ray Star, “Feelin’” digs deep into the heart of addiction and recovery. But it’s not just about the fight to stay clean. It’s about the moment after the storm has passed, that fragile process of learning how to feel again when you’ve been numb for years.
The lyrics are introspective and piercing, but it’s the music that tells the story with the bite of the guitar, and the push and pull between darkness and light.
Ray Ray plays all the guitars himself on this track, bringing a distinctive tone that blends emotional texture with sheer power. “Feelin'” also features a stellar supporting lineup with Nick Weber of Pigeon Park delivering unforgettable vocals that channel pain and redemption in equal measure. On drums, Ricardo Viana of The Veer Union (Rockstar Records / Universal) drives is all forwards with precision and ifre, while Ryan Jones of The Thick Of It holds down the low end with an unwavering strength. Together, they all work to create a sound where rock refuses to play it safe.
Ray Ray states:
“My single Feelin’ is about the very last time I used and the thoughts that were going through my mind at that time. There was so much trauma and I was doing everything in my power to not feel anything but along the way I lost the ability to feel anything. I was desperate for a feeling of any sort. Addiction took everything from me and turned me into a shadow of my formal self.
Desperate to quit and an addiction that wouldn’t let me. The absolute insanity of it all. Bringing me to places I never thought I would ever go. Hanging with people I hated being around. Doing things I never thought I would. Overdoses, heart failure, etc. I wanted to escape life with drugs but then drugs wouldn’t let me go.
Its a miracle I am still here to tell the story and that is why I volunteer work with people that want the help. I want to inspire others that not only is there a way out but, when clean, you can achieve anything! That is my motivation. To sore as high as I can and inspire others to do the same. We are all someone’s brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, etc.”
It is the blend of truth and power that makes Ray Ray Star’s music really stand ground in today’s rock landscape. And his music is the reflection of a man who has lived the story he is telling. Sixteen years sober, Ray Ray Star doesn’t romanticize recovery or pain. He just tells it like it it – the grit, the struggle, the flicker of light you cling to when everything else fades.
About Ray Ray Star
Ray Ray Star is a guitarist, songwriter, record producer and executive producer. With a career that spans international touring, high profile production work and years spent behind the scenes shaping sound and story, he’s an artist who’s seen every side of the music industry, and come out the other side with something real to say.
Sixteen years clean and sober, Ray Ray has turned his recovery into art, creating songs that dig deep into the human condition. Themes of addiction and the search for truth.
He has toured internationally, co-produced NBC’s Real Music Live and built a reputation for blending rock ’n’ roll swaRay gger with deeply personal storytelling. Sixteen years clean and sober, Ray Ray channels his recovery journey into his music.
From his early days writing songs amidst the personal struggle to his latest releases like “One Step Away” and “Feelin’,” Ray Ray Star continues to turn survival into art, proving that even in brokenness, there is power, hope and the courage to feel again.