Kenzy Kyx has never been afraid to bare her soul, but with “I’m So Glad” she proves that empowerment can be just as powerful as vulnerability.
Where her earlier work leaned into more melancholy, this new single bursts with cheeky confidence. It’s a glitter coated reminder that joy can be the sweetest revenge.
Listen here:
From the first shimmering notes, “I’m So Glad” struts in like the soundtrack to your best post breakup night out. The production, which is helmed by Kyle Delfatti and Max Bunster at Wildwood Sound, sparkles with playful details. It has tight rhythms, buoyant melodies and flourishes that keep the song light on its feet. You can feel the late night studio energy baked into every bar, a mix of laughter, creativity and a shared obsession with pop done right.
At the center of it all is Kenzy’s voice. Sultry yet soaring, carrying both the relief and the sass of the lyrics. There’s a interesting blend of influences here. Sabrina Carpenter’s wink, Gwen Stefani’s bite, and just a hint of Stevie Nicks’s timeless edge. But Kenzy is completely unique with her vocals. She is in control, playful and unafraid to poke fun at a chapter that once felt heavy.
What makes the track stick, though, is its universality.
“I’m So Glad” captures that euphoric moment when the weight finally lifts and you realize you’re free. It’s not about heartbreak – it’s about release. And in a pop landscape that sometimes takes itself too seriously, Kenzy’s tongue in cheek liberation song feels like a breath of fresh air.
With cover art shot by Athena Khalifeh, the single looks like freedom too. Together, the visuals and the music form a bold statement. Kenzy Kyx isn’t just moving forward, she’s dancing forward and is inviting the rest of us to join her.
With its bittersweet lyricism and warm Americana tone, George Collins’s “By the Time” has already earned praise as one of his most evocative tracks to date.
Now, the newly released music video gives the song a cinematic heartbeat, placing Collins in a dimly lit Prague steakhouse as he strums, sings and pens a final farewell letter to a soon-to-be ex.
Directed by Thomas Cruz and Jarda Malina, and featuring a cameo by Max Munson – the real-life owner of Max’s Steakhouse – this video is full of intimate details. From the half-finished whiskey glass to the knowing glances of a friendly bartender.
Look closer, and you’ll even spot a Dave Matthews Band poster tucked into the scenery, a nod to one of Collins’s lifelong inspirations, and hear his previous single Open Up drifting faintly in the background.
In this conversation, Collins opens up about the song’s origins, the creative choices behind the video and why capturing its acoustic, roots-driven soul on screen was just as important as getting every chord change right.
Watch the Official Music Video here:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
I came up with the riff while I was noodling around on my acoustic guitar many years ago, and it immediately struck me as extremely catchy.
The opening line, “By the time you’ll be getting ’round to reading this,” popped into my head at the same time, as those lyrics seemed to fit the riff very well in rhythmic terms.
I filed it away for a long time and started writing the song in earnest last year.
The chord changes are quite interesting, full of unresolved tension by deliberately moving outside the key and employing lots of seventh chords, to match the troubled tone of the lyrics.
From the outset, I was hearing the influence of Tom Petty on this tune, and when I started working with my producer to bring the song to life in the studio, I specifically suggested we aim for a similar Americana vibe as Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” which was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, who is an absolute genius and one of my favorite producers.
As we developed the track, the influence of other great songwriters such as Chris Stapleton, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Ray Davies (one of the finest storytellers in all of music) and Jimmy Buffett (ditto) also became apparent.
Although I have written almost all my songs on my acoustic guitar, this is the first fully produced acoustic track that I have released. In the past, we took my acoustic demos and fleshed them out with a band in the studio, and I have recorded stripped-down acoustic versions of my previous singles, but this is the first time I deliberately kept the track close to its acoustic roots, to better capture the Americana/Outlaw Country vibe of the song. So you’ll hear many influences in this song, but I also hope that “By the Time” is recognizably me.
What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
In my mind’s eye I imagined a scene like that of the cover art for Led Zeppelin’s last studio album, “In Through the Out Door,” in which a man is sitting on a stool in a dingy dive bar burning a “Dear John” letter.
With the phrase “By the time you’ll be getting ’round to reading this” in my head, I realized that the narrator of my song would not be reading or burning a “Dear John” letter, but rather writing one to his soon-to-be-Ex.
In a bar, of course.Once I imagined the scenario, the lyrics flowed quite naturally — fortunately, and unlike most of my other songs, this one has no autobiographical connotations whatsoever!
What was the process of making the video?
One of my closest friends in Prague, Max Munson, owns Max’s Steakhouse, a classic steakhouse modeled on those from his native Chicago.
He runs a lot of great ads for his establishment, which are created in conjunction with Thomas Cruz of Thomas Cruz Studio and Jarda Malina of Moneyshot Studio in Prague.
Once I decided that I wanted a live music video for “By the Time” (rather than the animated lyric videos for my other tracks to date), and that I wanted it to be shot in a bar, I knew that Max’s Steakhouse would be the perfect location, and that Thomas and Jarda, with their previous experience of filming in the Steakhouse, would be perfect for creating this video.
I met with Thomas several times to discuss the song and exchange ideas for the video, and I invited Max to make a cameo appearance as the friendly bartender. We agreed early on that there would be two major features of the video: Me singing the song with my guitar, and me writing the letter at the bar.
I arrived early at the Steakhouse early on a Saturday morning, when the restaurant was closed. Thomas and Jarda were already setting up lights in the main dining room, and I helped move tables and chairs away to clear a space for my solo performance. I’d brought several of my guitars and a variety of shirts, which Thomas tested under the lights before choosing a creamy color that would match the warm hues of the room.
With Jarda handling the lights, I sat on a barstool and sang “By the Time” over and over as Thomas filmed me from a variety of angles – I probably played the song fifty times before Thomas was satisfied that he had enough to work with.
Then we moved into the barroom. Max and I chose a bottle of Elijah Craig as a prop – I actually drank apple juice during the filming, though Max did have to pour several glasses of whiskey so we could show the bottle getting progressively emptier. I enjoyed those glasses, however, only after the filming was completed.
I had written several versions of the lyrics on parchment, each showing the “letter” in various stages of completion. Again, with Jarda manning the lights, Thomas filmed me from numerous angles as I sat and sipped and wrote and pondered: Close-ups of my hand moving across the page, close-ups of me stroking my chin and staring off into space, long shots of Max carrying a rack of glasses from the kitchen to the bar before offering me a refill of my bourbon.
Overall, we must have filmed for eight hours for what was eventually edited into a video that clocks in under four minutes.
In the editing process, Thomas had the brilliant idea to have my previous single, “Open Up,” playing in the background as I’m sitting at the bar. That song, about remaining vulnerable and open to love in spite of disappointments, is the perfect setup for “By the Time,” which is ultimately about liberation and moving hopefully into the future.
I am grateful to Thomas, Jarda and Max for capturing this vibe and helping me bring my song to life so beautifully.
Sturle Dagsland is a highly acclaimed genre-bending artist from Norway. With a wild and unique performance he captivates the audience and takes the listeners on an adventurous journey. Together with his brother Sjur they have toured extensively at festivals all across the world, from Shanghai to New York, GreSturle Dagsland is a highly acclaimed genre-bending artist from Norway. With a wild and unique performance he captivates the audience and takes the listeners on an adventurous journey. Together with his brother Sjur they have toured extensively at festivals all across the world, from Shanghai to New York, Greenland and all the way to the Source of the Nile in Africa. The two brothers conjure an expressive ever-changing soundscape with a distinctive sonic palette and an uncompromising whirlwind of sound. Dominated by Sturle’s astonishing voice their sound evolves from the ethereal and beautiful to wild and abrasive in a matter of seconds.
His second album Dreams and Conjurations to be released on October 10, 2025. Having released his first heavy experimental single,“Galdring,” today Sturle releases a more ambient electronic and avant garde, “Whispering Forest, Echoing Mountains.”
“Whispering Forest, Echoing Mountains” is presenting the listeners for both the melancholic and playful side of Dagsland’s songwriting. Throughout the song Sturle utilizes his own Norwegian folk inspired singing technique, a particular style associated with being out in the mountains looking over and caring for the goats and cattle. The style may also be associated with the sort of singing the joyous animal characters of the Norwegian fairy tales would be chanting while hiking through the woods on an adventure.
Sturle explains:“The first ideas of the song came about during a late night walk through the Hutongs of Beijing. The people living there were very welcoming and after a while me and my brother were invited into the home of an old half-blind man that showed us around. He had a cozy home and while his relatives were preparing for supper he opened a big case in the living room. Inside the case was this old and dusty Guzheng, which is a traditional Chinese harp. The man put it on his lap and slowly strung a chord while reciting a riddle about a dream he had about the Norwegian mountains and the magical creatures he believed lived in our forest. All of a sudden he stopped playing and said: “Now it is your turn”. We started playing and improvising and after a while we all ended up playing together until the end of the night. As a direct result of the jam we engaged in the first ideas of the song was created… A couple of years later we came across some recordings from that night and continued pursuing the ideas of that song in our family´s cabin in the mountains. In a way, I also feel this is our tree climbing song. To me it feels like being in the forest meeting friendly squirrels and bullfinch birds while hanging upside down from a tree branch.”
Expect the unexpected and lean into a musical odyssey that conjures sounds of the netherworlds and intertwines old primordial knowledge with avant-garde pop music, screaming metal, folk music and immersive electronic soundscapes; From the beautiful and haunting ambient landscapes of “Windharp,” the Norwegian folk dance inspired track “Hallingen,”the self-collected ghost stories which inspired “Kwaidan,” the genuine joyfulness of “Whispering Forest, Echoing Mountains” and “The Ritual”- a song inspired by a raw shamanistic ritual that Sturle once found himself engaged in.
Armed with a brigade of instruments the two multi-instrumentalists are utilizing a wide array of different melodic instruments; including Nordic folk instruments like Nyckelharpa and goat horns, to Chinese Guzheng, West-African Kora, Marxophone, Fula flute, Hungarian Cimbalom, Waterphone and dozens of different folk instruments that they have gathered during their travels. The soundscape is pushed further blending them with distorted imperfect sounds, synthesizers and custom made electronics. Although mostly recorded in their hometown of Stavanger, where the brothers have their studio, they put together different segments of the album in different locations across the world absorbing the various landscapes to inspire the record; these ranged from remote cabins in the Norwegian mountaintops to abandoned industrial estates, retired Soviet Navy ships in Eastern Europe, Villages in Uganda and in a desolated clocktower during a snowstorm on the Faroe Islands. These untraditional and often enchanting recording
environments breathe into the album’s rich tapestry . The duo’s artistic creations encompass several genres; both the tranquil and intimate “Drifter” as well as the shamanistic performance of “Galdring,” a vehement musical expression fueled by primal screams, ceremonial Sámi drums, wooden logs, bones, harps and distant cow horns before segueing into an intense blend of world music.
Early 2021 Sturle Dagsland released their first full-length album. Their debut won one of the prestigious Edvard Awards, honoring the best Norwegian albums of the year. Their sophomore album demonstrates the potent symbiosis of the two brothers, threading intricate melodies and sounds through their Norwegian roots, incorporating inspiration of both their indigenous ancestry, primal expressions, dreams, rituals, as well as imaginative and futuristic concepts.
Wild, expressive, and truly idiosyncratic, the long-awaited sophomore album by one of Norway’s most innovative and experimental talents will be released on October 10, 2025.
Toronto-based artist KERUB dives headfirst into memory, fear, and the uneasy pull of nostalgia on their mesmerizing new album, APHANTASIA. Blending lush indie electronica with philosophical depth and glitchy, dream-like textures, the album is a raw exploration of queerness, childhood, and trying to build a future when you can’t always picture one. Haunting lead single, “Calm,” captures the aftermath of panic in striking detail – that delicate moment when your heart finally slows and you’re left alone with the wreckage.
Written partially as a master’s thesis, “Calm” began in a haze of bodily awareness after KERUB‘s first panic attack, unpacking what it means to be so far from home, trying to stay grounded in a new city. Relocation from the West Coast to Toronto sparked reflections on connections left behind and those newly formed – woven through late-night phone calls, breathless arguments, and moments of quiet dissociation. With intimate vocals and instrumentals designed to feel both familiar and uncannily synthetic, “Calm” becomes a soft yet unflinching look at vulnerability, rendered with voyeuristic tenderness.
Across APHANTASIA, KERUB builds on this tension. Inspired by Nietzsche’s concept of the Eternal Return – an endless loop of life repeating itself – the album critiques the comforting but dangerous pull of early 2000s nostalgia. It’s at once a personal meditation on growing up queer in suburban Vancouver and a broader challenge to hauntology’s cultural recycling, asking: what if we’re doomed to relive it all? And what might it mean to claw out a new home anyway?
Emmy-winning musician Little Bihlman (Scot Bihlman)’s new single “Fade Away” jhas ust debuted as the very first release on V13 Music, the new label from V13 Media Group.
“Fade Away” is a stripped-down, emotionally charged track that hits with the weight of experience. It carries the sound of an artist who’s lived the highs, lows, and long nights of a music career — and has come out the other side with something real to say. Bihlman describes it best himself:
“Fade Away carries the weight of long nights on the road, empty green rooms, cramped vans, missed calls, and fleeting highs, the real stuff that fuels a lifetime in music. And yet there’s a looseness to it. A freedom. You can hear it in the way the drums snap, the way his voice rides the edge of each phrase. It’s not about proving anything. It’s about telling the truth.”
Known for his work with Grinder Blues and The Bihlman Bros., Bihlman has performed with the likes of John Fogerty, BB King, Jelly Roll, and Trey Anastasio, and his music has been featured in over 30 TV placements including Sons of Anarchy and Burn Notice. His sound blends blues grit, heartland rock, and a raw Americana spirit he calls “motorcycle poetry for truth-seekers.”
“Fade Away” is the first taste of his upcoming solo album Heavy Head (produced by Miles Fulwider), arriving in 2025 alongside new drops from his vintage-Americana apparel line, Hillbilly Royalty.
Montreal-born, Gabriola Island, BC-based composer, vocalist, and meditation guide Mark Fenster returns with “Rising Embers,” a glowing, introspective new track from his just-released album, Serenity Sessions, Vol. 1—a deeply personal collection of sound journeys and guided meditations designed to restore calm, connection, and clarity for the listeners.
Driven by multicultural instrumentation, gentle orchestral textures, and a sense of spiritual movement, “Rising Embers” conjures the quiet beauty of a campfire’s final glow—each ember lifting into the night as a symbol of trust, release, and transformation. The piece invites the listener to follow a path of rising emotion and soft realization, repeated yet evolving, landing in a space of gratitude and peace.
“Sitting by a glowing campfire, feeling the warmth, absorbing the calm, watching tiny embers lift and fall to the sky, as if letting go, completing the experience and flowing back to the source. This is how I feel when I realize I’ve made the leap, I’m ok, and all is well now that I’ve believed and trusted and seen the beauty behind the blast,” says Fenster.
“‘Rising Embers’ is the musical version of this experience… Ultimately to the calming place of grateful acceptance and realization that there is so much good and so much for which to be grateful. Sometimes it’s just hiding in plain sight, like the rising embers from a campfire.”
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