Now Hear This is a monthly A&R column that provides you with exciting new sounds we discovered through the innovative new music discovery platform Groover.
Each month, you can expect a varied bouillabaisse of songs from a vast spectrum of artists from all over the globe, regardless of genre or geography.
For June, SPIN has selected 16 artists who deserve your attention, including the dark, gothic country of Orange Animal, the super-catchy indie pop of Queen Anne, the expressive piano music of Sherif Dahroug, the modern acoustic blues of Paul Louis Villani, the neon psych-pop of South of France, the widescreen alt-rock of JRNXLST, the punky New Jack Swing style of Gabagool, the conscious, yoga-inspired hip-hop of Flowanda, the Dylanesque roots country of Carson Bull, the hazy indie blues punk of The Hedgehogs, the cheeky Chorley post-punk of Hauspoints, the gothic industrial pop of Crucifera, the cosmopolitan indie soul of Chavar Dontae, the lo-fi synth-phony of Moondrive, the dark, metallic pop of Pryti and the crunchy alt-country of Thirsty Curses.
Who knows, your next favorite act could just be a read away.
Orange Animal
Sounds like: Dark, gothic country balladry in the spirit of The Boatman’s Call-era Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
The music starts with a sound, a feeling or just a phrase that I can’t stop repeating in my head. For example, in our song, “Hold On,” that will be released on June 26 with the full EP, it started with just the tone from a particular guitar (a rubber bridge Orangewood guitar) and the song just came to be.
Overall, I’d explain our sound as rock and motel-folk. It’s got blues/rock elements with a gritty, 2:00 a.m. undercurrent.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
I wanted a name that gave nothing away about what to expect. I wanted musical and songwriting flexibility. So I chose my favorite color, orange, and, well, adding “animal” to it just made it sound a little more alive.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis and Led Zeppelin have played such huge roles in how I feel and contemplate music. For our upcoming EP and the first single from it, “Place for Me,” I would say Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Feist were right there, too.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
Anything and everything live music. Clubs, bars, touring bands, local bands, you name it. It’s where music just needs to exist. Where it’s tactile.
Don’t get me wrong, there are so many elements of recorded music and the recording process that are incredible and infinitely powerful.
But live music gives this sweaty, wild, human medium its life.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
At first, more toward AI-generated music. Then a complete rebellious rejection of it.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
It allows me to just be. It forces internal honesty. And it gives me the privilege to create with some truly wonderful people.
My bandmates, Bill Derivan and Adam Thurman, are such talented musicians. They have been with me all the way for the last decade. They are like family to me.
And with our most recent single, “Place for Me,” I got to create with such a beautifully talented singer, Autumn Traub, who breathed life into this song in such a special way. While the piano player, Rob Kovacs, perfectly found the gravity I wanted.
Music has really been my lifeline.
Queen Anne
Sounds like: Sharp, catchy indie pop that bounces like The Waitresses and shimmers like Olivia Rodrigo.
Interview: (Answers from Katie and Sandy)
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
I’m big on applying the “this meeting could’ve been an email” rule to songs. Like, if the song could’ve been a short story, write the short story. If it could’ve been a diary entry, invest in a journal. But some songs have to be songs, and I try to write those. And where I hope that comes across in our sound is that if you only read the lyrics, or only heard the instrumental, that would be misleading as to what the song was about, because the song is in how those two interact. One of the things that I think makes something need to be a song is that a song can have a lot of layers — in the composition, and in the sounds and meanings of the words. And unlike a poem, where you can sit with a line and unpack it and move to the next, a song forces you to pick a thread and follow it through. So something that’s important to our sound is that there are multiple arcs happening — in the percussion, in the bass line, in the guitar(s), usually eventually in a synth as well, and of course in the melody and the lyrics — and each one is crucial to the story in its own way.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Queen Anne’s Lace and Queen Anne’s Revenge were both, separately, in the running. Naming your band after vegetation is challenging, and a boat is somehow worse. And so Queen Anne was sort of the most acceptable intersection of those ideas.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
In no particular order: Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Bob Dylan, Either/Or, Nick Drake, Tom Petty, Joy Division, Depeche Mode.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The democratization and globalization of music are so cool to me. In my mind, music shouldn’t be a business venture, it’s a way for humans sitting around the fire to distract themselves from the fact that there’s probably a bear. And I think now, the fact that we can all participate in that and hear what other people are creating, and that it doesn’t take anyone’s permission to put a song into the world, is incredible. I also love that everyone everywhere can listen to everything. Like I went down a Malaysian ‘90s alt rabbit hole on TikTok one night, and it was like, this is awesome.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
There’s a lot of anxiety about AI, but I am very skeptical that musicians can be replaced. I don’t think people want to hear the “average” song that’s going to do everything you expect; regardless of the genre, the things that make a song great are authenticity, inspiration, and the sense that there’s actually someone communicating on the other side of the microphone, and AI can’t do those things. So my hope is that music is going to get more human, more creative, and more experimental because if you’re just sitting down like, “How can I write a song that sounds like a summer hit?” AI can do that better.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
I sometimes get pulled into thinking somewhat fatalistically — as if there’s only one path and despite the many, many warning signs, humanity has no choice but to keep barreling ahead. Listening to music, and especially discovering new music, is what keeps me aware of the many creative possibilities that people are capable of. We are a fundamentally imaginative species, and I think the desire to create and appreciate beauty is part of what will drive us to fix the many things that are ugly in the world right now.
Sherif Dahroug
Sounds like: Expressive piano music informed by the colors and fragrances of flowers, shimmering with a modal polytonality that helped earn Mr. Dahroug the Médaille de Platine (Platinum Medal) by the prestigious Société Académique Arts-Sciences-Lettres in Paris.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
Years spent living and studying in Paris profoundly shaped my musical language. Immersed in the European classical tradition, from Renaissance polyphony to post-Schoenbergian aesthetics, I gradually absorbed these worlds until they became inseparable from my own way of hearing and composing. What emerged was a fluid relationship to form a constellation of living structures moving freely around one another.
Over time, I felt the need to speak through everything I had absorbed artistically and culturally. My work evolved naturally from that journey, shaped both by the tradition I inherited in Paris and by my own origins and inner landscape. Rather than fusion, I see it as an organic expansion of the French musical experience through the perspective of where I come from and what I carry as a musician.
Most of my projects begin with a philosophical or symbolic intuition before taking musical structure. I try to let these ideas unfold through restrained poetic color, logical structural clarity, harmonic exploration, and tension between fragmentation and melodic intensity. Music, for me, exists in a constant dialogue between intuition and compositional discipline.
Each album becomes another step toward an architecture and a syntax where these elements converge into a single emotional space. At its core,my work is driven by the desire to offer something luminous yet mystic. Music capable of carrying a movement from agitation to quietude, while preserving a deeply human sense of longing and presence within the listener.
How did you come up with the idea for this project?
The project emerged from a deep desire to dedicate a work to the condition of the artist today. I was thinking about those who continue to create through solitude, distance, exile – whether of the land or of the heart – and who remain faithful to beauty despite the noise and acceleration of the world. There is, in artistic devotion, a silent dignity that deeply moves me, the persistence of creation even through uncertainty, loss, or invisibility.
From this reflection came the image of the artist as a solitary creator passing through a tenebrous inner journey, almost like an ancient figure wandering through darkness in search of meaning and recognition of the self. Within that state of errance and fragmentation appears a feminine presence, a symbolic figure of beauty, color, music, and awakening, through whom creation becomes possible again.
The dream gradually became the central space of the work, a conscious nocturnal state where memory, sensation, color, and fragrance begin to intermingle. From there emerged the Nuit du Songe (Night of the dream) In the Colors and Fragrances of Flowers, nine contemporary instrumental tableaux woven into a single labyrinthine opus exploring perception, memory, and inner transformation through the language of sound.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
My creative direction has been shaped by several musical and artistic lineages that gradually converged over time. The French tradition remains central for me, Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, and Dutilleux opened an entirely new relationship to color, resonance, harmonic space, and musical time.
I also happen to be close to the lineage of Sergiu Celibidache and phenomenological thought in music, the idea that sound experienced as a living presence through time and consciousness rather than as a purely formal structure. This relationship to listening deeply influenced my understanding of musical space, harmony, and temporal perception.
Also as an interpreter, I was profoundly marked by artists such as Ivo Pogorelić, András Schiff, and Daniel Barenboim. Their intellectual depth, freedom of thought, and deeply human relationship to music shaped my perception of interpretation as something existential.
Beyond music itself, I have always been drawn toward artistic worlds capable of creating an inner state.
Painting has also informed my sensibility, particularly Surrealism. In architecture, figures such as Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Japanese studio SANAA influenced my perception of space, light, silence and proportion.
At the same time, my work has been informed by philosophy, sacred architecture, astronomy, symbolism, and ancient Egyptian thought. More than individual albums, I think I have been guided by artistic universes, and works capable of carrying mystery, depth, sensuality, and an enduring sense of human presence through sound.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
What excites me most today is the growing possibility for artists to create deeply personal universes beyond rigid stylistic categories and industrial expectations. I feel that many musicians are searching again for sincerity, depth, atmosphere, and meaningful artistic identity rather than immediate consumption.
I am also fascinated by the way music increasingly opens itself toward other forms of thought and perception, architecture, philosophy, visual arts, symbolism, spatial experience. Some of the most interesting works today as complete inner worlds with their own emotional and symbolic coherence.
At the same time, I think listeners are becoming more sensitive to intimacy and authenticity. In an era saturated with noise and acceleration, there is a renewed need for music capable of creating human presence.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I think music will continue moving toward increasingly immersive and interdisciplinary forms, and new modes of perception. The idea of the album as a self-contained artistic universe will probably become even more important, especially for artists searching for deeper coherence and identity.
At the same time, I believe we are entering a period of saturation, an environment of constant production, acceleration, and fragmentation. Because of this, I feel there will also be a growing desire for works that restore a sense of presence, and human depth. Listeners are becoming more attentive to sincerity and emotional truth, even within highly experimental or contemporary forms.
I also think independent artists will continue gaining greater freedom to shape singular artistic languages outside traditional structures. This may lead to more hybrid and unpredictable forms of creation, but hopefully also to a renewed attention toward craftsmanship, listening, and the experience of music as something lived.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Music remains, for me, a way of preserving inner coherence, dignity and depth in a world that often feels fragmented and unstable. In uncertain times, I feel that music helps restore a sense of human presence and continuity.
What also gives me strength is the need to defend art itself. Without this necessity, I could not truly share my love of dreaming or invite others into spaces where aesthetics provoke reflection and inner transformation. Through creation, I hope to stimulate sensitivity and questioning, because I believe artistic experiences can inspire people to reconnect with deeper parts of themselves.
As my own journey evolves, I increasingly see art as something capable of creating environments of inspiration and resilience, like trees whose roots help prevent spiritual and social collapse. The act of creation becomes a way of resisting numbness, preserving sensitivity, and reminding us that the pursuit of beauty, expression, and art itself still carries meaning and necessity today.
Paul Louis Villani
Sounds like: A soulful spin on modern acoustic blues with some dazzling guitar playing.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
My approach to music is best described as emotional honesty over submissive genre alignment. I’ve never been interested in staying inside one musical lane because as a human, we don’t experience life in one emotional tone. Some days feel amazing and reflective, others feel aggressive, anxious, isolated, hopeful, bitter, absurd. For me it’s easier to write music/lyrics that follow that honesty rather than obey some invisible rulebook about what I’m “supposed” to look or sound like. So my catalogue moves between industrial textures, blues, acoustic work, rock, lots of different vocal textures, heavy atmospheres, even moments that may feel, to some, almost soundtrack-like. My overall sound is emotionally driven alternative music centred around tension, a “vibe” and confrontation through introspection.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
I never really approached it like creating a “band name” because all my recent projects (post 2020) have become increasingly personal. Using my own name feels more honest. If I release something (which I’m sure I have) ugly, vulnerable, aggressive, confused, introspective or uncomfortable, there’s nowhere to hide from it. It’s attached directly to me. I actually like that ownership. There’s total accountability in it. Just me putting art into the world and living with the consequences afterwards.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
My influences are honestly all over the place and I’m going to be very self indulgent here!!! Andres Segovia, Guns N’ Roses (Appetite for Destruction) Mr. Bungle (Mr. Bungle 1991) Placebo, Mauro Giuliani, Slayer (Reign in Blood) KISS & Ace Frehley (Destroyer & Ace Frehley’s Solo LP 1978) Yngwie Malmsteen (Rising Force), David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, The Cult, Pearl Jam (Yield), Metallica (Justice for All), Prince, Steve Vai, The Smashing Pumpkins (Machina / The Machines of God) Living Colour, Adam and The Ants, Rage Against The Machine, Russell Morris, Tim Buckley, Sepultura (Chaos A.D.), Faith No More, Powderfinger (Internationalist), Ren, Jimi Hendrix and Angie de Poitrine.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
We’re living in a time where someone sitting alone in a room can create something powerful and put it into the world without asking permission from an industry machine first. That’s huge. Technology (including AI) is terrifying for some people, but I see it more like another instrument, effect pedal or toolset. Like every technological shift in music history, people will resist it until they eventually absorb it into the culture.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
Tough question! I think the next five years are going to become increasingly polarised between hyper-manufactured content and deeply human artistic expression. AI will absolutely reshape production, instrumentation, vocals, visuals, and accessibility, but ironically I think that will make genuine human perspective even more valuable. Audiences are already drowning in content. Maybe people won’t seek perfection and high priced studio production. Perhaps they’ll seek authenticity, emotional truth, flaws, personality, and perspective. Potentially, the artists who end up having any longevity won’t necessarily be the most technically polished or the most virtuoso of musicians. They’ll be the ones who make people actually feel something.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Music is without doubt a survival mechanism for me. My dopamine, my valium. I think a lot of people (including myself) are quietly carrying stress, uncertainty, isolation, financial pressure, identity confusion, and emotional fatigue right now.
Writing music gives me a way to process those things instead of letting them just sit inside my head and regurgitating them mentally over and over and over. Writing music keeps me connected to something tangible, something that is uniquely mine.
South of France
Sounds like: Psychedelic indie pop that pulses like a night drive down a neon highway.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
Sonic confusion. Ha! The main thing I’m trying to create lives somewhere in the psychedelic, indie-pop, R&B-ish world. I do a lot of composing and producing for film and tv as well so I always try to incorporate a handful of weird cinematic elements and textures. I love a totally out of context instrument thrown in here and there. Dreamy with something brash, calm with a really hectic sample, or just 2 chords with a lot of chaos going on around them.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Despite it being a place, I feel like South of France is sort of a cool state of mind or way of life. If the place and the vibe of the actual South of France could be a sound that’s what I would want my sound to be with this.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Guru’s Jazzmatazz, BadBadNotGood, Kenny Beats, Danger Mouse, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, Kevin Parker, Digable Planets, Jungle, Miike Snow, 1999 Write The Future, Mike Dean, Ennio Morricone …Too many to list. Luckily I truly connect with so much out there.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
New music is so good it almost blows my mind every day.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I hope it’s heading far away from AI. Independents are becoming major stakeholders and it seems to be improving overall for independents, despite it still being super hard to cut through and get attention. I’m hopeful we’ll see more independent artists with bigger tours and at bigger festivals.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
I can only hope that music will always bring people together, bring opportunity to the underdogs and talent who truly deserve it, and will always stick it to the man:)
JRNXLST
Sounds like: Widescreen alt-rock in the spirit of U2 and My Chemical Romance sung both in English and Spanish — sometimes in the same song!
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you’d describe your sound to others.
My whole mission with this project is to be painfully honest about my world, within and without. To tear through the years of pretending to be fine, and masking wounds too deep and too terrifying to face, and release it all into the universe. My struggles with mental illness would manifest in all kinds of ways: the alienation of my family, shattered relationships, suicide attempts, eviction, getting fired from job after job. I’ve spent my whole life unsuccessfully white knuckling mental illness, staring down the barrel of oblivion with nothing more than a fading hope and an inability to die. It’s taken a lot from me. It’s nearly taken everything. Even after decades of hardship, I still felt as lost and alone as the five year old version of myself: a weird little immigrant kid from Ecuador, just trying to find a place where he could finally belong. I’ve picked up the pieces of my life more times than I can count, from heights most people have only ever dreamt of, but this isn’t a story about glory. This is about my time in hell, and my eventual escape. It’s a strange thing, hitting bottom. Realizing that the only real choice you have is to stare down your demons and make peace with every last nightmare and scar until I could slowly learn to accept them with the same tenderness and warmth that I do my friends. After a lot of soul searching I made the decision to finally get some real help after a lifetime of suffering in silence. Solo Therapy, Group Therapy, a Psychiatrist. I got a whole fucking team. A big part of what I’ll call my rehabilitation process was to ask hard questions and be courageous enough to accept the reality of my situation. To own my part in the apocalypse. I called them my confessions. Oh and meds. A whole lot of meds. I started to put these confessions to music. Losing myself in the music was my lifeline back to a world that I felt I could actually survive in. I took everything, the pain, the confusion, the horrors of the genocide in gaza, and let the music cleanse my spirit. Not necessarily absolve me of my sins, but naming them so I could finally grow. And so JRNXLST was born.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Like the name implies, I wanted to be really honest about these recurring patterns in my life in the hopes that I could one day evolve beyond them, or at the very least reach out to people who might know what this type of pain feels like. The worst part about all of this for me was suffering in solitude, thinking I was alone to face the darkness. It’s paralyzing. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but I put aside the artifice and decided to put it all out there. It felt uncomfortable, but in a way that felt necessary, like setting a broken bone. At the end of the recording process I felt much lighter but exposed. Living with that discomfort is infinitely better than living with all that pain, so I feel grateful for the chance to finally release it. My first official release since Bedlight for Blue Eyes’ “The Dawn.”
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Bands that have been a major force in my life either creatively or spiritually have been U2, Glassjaw, Ozzie Osbourne, The Killers, Radiohead, The Clash, The Cure, The strokes, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and more recently quite a bit of metal core like BMTH. Obviously i’m an emo kid. Obsessed with President atm, and sleep token’s “are you really okay” is on constant repeat. I want to bring theatricality back to the live show in the way that the greats of the past have done to become larger than life. Gwar, Ghost, My Chem, Sleep Token. These bands have created their own richly detailed worlds full of intricate lore. I fucking love it. JRNXLST will pour everything into the live show and create an experience that is unique and cinematic but still ferocious enough to melt your face off. I experimented with a lot of synth sounds, guitar tones, techno beats, spanish influences, bought a seven string guitar for a heavier sound than i’ve ever played with before, anything and everything that might help me put my world out there, which i hope really bleeds from these melodies and reaches past peoples defenses and into their hearts.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The most exciting thing in music right now is the changing landscape of how musicians are engaging with fans. Live shows and 3rd spaces are becoming a sacred experience again, especially now that agencies have drained any semblance of authenticity from social media. These events aren’t exclusive to venues either, they’re popping up in laundromats, boxing rings, chinese restaurants, parking lots, under bridges, literally anywhere you can rig a PA and get some mates together to throw down. Over in the digital realm, the most exciting thing in music is this whole new framework that’s opened up for bands (and brands) called micro-drama or vertical series. It’s a format where basically each episode is about 60-90 seconds and a season is about 40 episodes. They’re fast paced and highly addictive and cost about a fraction of the money to produce over a traditional show or music video. The all american rejects just released a micro drama on candyjar. Microdramas are an incredible new way for bands like mine to give fans a deeper way to connect to the creative worlds we envision in a way that keeps them on the edge of their seats.
Our next track, “KNGDM,” for example is being released alongside a microdrama I wrote — a 70-page script told across 40 episodes. It’s one of the most ambitious things I’ve ever made, and like the music, it comes from a very real very personal place. I’ll be starring in and directing the piece alongside my mates in the band and an amazing all star international cast. Our DP Matthew Canada is a goddamn legend.
“The story follows burned-out rockstar Liam Kincade, who receives a mysterious box connected to his missing ex-girlfriend, Lily. What begins as grief, depression, and paranoia spirals into a supernatural nightmare involving cryptic messages, bloody visions, and an underground cabal of modern vampires feeding on fame, addiction, and despair. In the end, Liam discovers Lily has become something monstrous herself, and the two doomed lovers are forced into one final, violent act of rebellion.”
Tonally, it’s really dark and gritty, marrying music, horror, and a truly cinematic touch with an emphasis on writing fully realized three dimensional characters. I wanted to create something more dangerous and immersive than a standard song release, something that feels alive.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
In the next five years? Man the whole landscape of what we know as the internet feels like it’s changing by the day, in ways that make many of us cry out for regulation and reform, but despite all the bullshit, no matter how bad it may get, there will always be a kid holed up in their room with a song in their heart, a dream in their head, and a shitty second hand instrument to build it with. Maybe that’s romantic, but sometimes hope is all we have.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
This might sound cringe, but I don’t give a shit. Music saved my life. Music has connected me with all the greatest experiences in my life, and more importantly put me in contact with some of the most important and impactful people I have ever met. It’s been my conduit to heal and my weapon against the never-ending turmoil happening everywhere around the world. One night, for example, I was doom scrolling, and I happened upon a post by Al Jazeera, showing a small Palestinian child being held by a nurse. This little toddler was more bones than flesh, And it tore me in half. The visceral consequences of this genocide in Gaza came to life right there in front of me and hit me in a way that it never has before. I didn’t sleep for three days. I had the beginning parts of my song, Halo Where I talk about my inner struggle with codependency and borderline personality disorder, But the chorus kept ringing in my ears, and I started to apply it to the situation in Palestine. You think you’re wearing a halo, you don’t know who you are… It made me think of Netanyahu and the zionists that justify a genocide And condone the Murder of innocent civilians and especially children as casualties of war. It made me think of our president and the litany of crimes he’s committed, And yet he still stands tall and proud embodying every ounce of his nickname, the Teflon Don. Hypocrisy is everywhere, Injustice is everywhere. Music has always been a weapon for the people. A tool to raise awareness and Rouse our sense of right and wrong. I decided that I can’t live in a world where I am not actively making a choice to improve it, and so I changed the outer of the song to deal with the starving children of Gaza specifically. As political statements go, I don’t think it’s that controversial to not want innocent children to starve to death needlessly. And in reality, all I did was pose the question “what are we gonna do?”
I see at the end of every communication every post “You don’t have to be blood to be family”. I wanna believe that one day we could live in a world with that ideal becoming a universal truth among all human beings on this planet. I don’t know man until we have a common enemy that comes down from space this war will never end. But still, we have to keep trying. So yeah, music has been my sword and my shield. I’m grateful every day that I have breath in my lungs to scream out with every ounce of fire inside of me. In the end, that’s all we can do. Scream into the darkness together.
Gabagool
Sounds like: The Rapture if they were more into New Jack Swing. A great throwback to the old DFA Records era in early ’00s Brooklyn.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you’d describe your sound to others.
My approach to music is subversion, but also displaying how different genres can inform and influence one another. I greatly enjoy trying to take the listener into places they might not expect, while also creating intersections between parts and styles that feel at once familiar and inevitable. I’m never shy to let my musical influences shine through my work, at the risk of being called derivative, but that’s never bothered me. I find it hard to nail down an explanation of the Gabagool sound, but I tell people it’s heavy-based alt rock, with elements of funk, jazz, soul, and many other genres thrown in liberally.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
“Gabagool”, while a nickname for an Italian lunch meat in actuality, always sounded like something weird and wonderful to me. It invokes images of ghosts and goblins in my head. I wanted my music to be the manifestation of weird and powerful vibes and Gabagool just fit for some reason.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
As probably apparent, if you’ve listened through some of my songs, my influences are all over the map. I’ve been called similar to bands like Modest Mouse and Mr. Bungle, but I find inspiration from everything from The Gap Band and Steely Dan, to more modern indie stuff like Givers and IDLES. A few albums off the top of my head that have had great influence on me:
- Man Man – Life Fantastic
- Givers – In Light
- Incubus – S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
- Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?
- Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
- Mr. Bungle – California
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
I’m getting older (I turned 45 this year), so I feel like I’m losing touch a bit with what’s going on out there. The last few things that really got me buzzing were some of the recent wave of Neo-soul artists like Anderson .Paak, Steve Lacy, and Ari Lennox (to name a few) and then some of the new rock n roll/post-punk acts like IDLES and Viagra Boys that have been breaking through. I’m sure there are plenty of artists to be excited about in the underground scenes around the world, but I’m just not that in touch anymore.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I really can’t say. I know, for better or worse (narrator: it’s worse), that AI music is gaining a foothold in the streaming world, but I don’t think that will keep great artists from creating unique music that speaks to various audiences. I think eventually producers and artists will find an authentic approach to using AI as another tool in the toolbox and purely AI-generated music will just be another genre to filter by. The non-AI artists are going to have a harder time breaking through, but what’s new? I’d love to see guitar-based rock make a comeback in the mainstream. I think one thing’s for certain: the next five years won’t be like anything anyone can predict – in the music world or any other industry, for that matter.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Music has long been my escape, but also my lens through which I view what’s going on. My ultimate “me” time is having a drink/smoke and getting to serious work on some weird tunes in my basement studio. But if I can speak through that work and talk a bit about how I see things going on in the world, that’s always a plus. Also, I hope that my music can make myself and others dance in a world that doesn’t seem like a very danceable place lately.
Flowanda
Sounds like: Conscious hip-hop from a Bronx-based yogi who boasts a sound that imagines the collaboration between Kid Cudi and Beastie Boys that should’ve happened.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
This might be the weirdest response you’ve gotten to this question, but here goes:
I never intended to become a musician. I’m a former screenwriter turned psychotherapist from the Bronx, and after years of working in grief and trauma — while also deeply immersed in yoga, meditation, and my own therapy — I had a profound and destabilizing mystical experience that completely altered my relationship to creativity.
Almost overnight, melodies, lyrics, and fully formed songs started arriving in my head uninvited. I had no formal musical background whatsoever, so I basically panic-taught myself Logic Pro and bought a MIDI keyboard because the experience was so bizarre and emotionally overwhelming that I needed a way to document it.
That was about 18 months ago, and it hasn’t stopped since. As a licensed mental health clinician, I’m very aware of how strange this story sounds. But what I experienced didn’t feel pathological to me — it felt meaningful, transformative, and strangely coherent. I’ve been studying the esoteric side of kundalini and tantra yoga for about 15 years, and part of me genuinely wonders if I stumbled into something far beyond my understanding.
So my relationship to music feels less like “career ambition” and more like witnessing and translating an experience that’s still unfolding in real time.
As for the sound itself, I honestly struggle to compare it to anything cleanly. It’s psychedelic alternative hip-hop, but also cinematic, dreamy, emotional, spiritual, funny, vulnerable, and occasionally kinda unhinged. Imagine a transformational music festival set inside a Bronx subway tunnel at 2 a.m.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
“Ananda” is a Sanskrit word often translated as spiritual bliss. Around the time this music started emerging, it genuinely felt less like I was “creating songs” and more like something was flowing through me. Instead of overthinking outcomes, I just surrendered to the process and kept following wherever the music wanted to go. That practice is FLOWANANDA.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
My taste is honestly all over the place, which is probably why the project sounds hard to categorize. I’ve no doubt been influenced by Coheed & Cambria, Kid Cudi, Leonard Cohen, DMX, The LOX, Alt-J, Loreena McKennitt and many more. One thing they all seem to have in common is that they sound unmistakably like themselves. None of them chased trends. They built fully realized emotional worlds and trusted people to eventually find them. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve absorbed creatively.
The first CD my mom ever bought me was DMX’s It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, and I couldn’t take my headphones off for months. Might sound strange given the sort of music I make now, but DMX was wildly spiritual if you go back and listen.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
Honestly, I think Coheed & Cambria is one of the most creatively inspired acts making music right now. They’ve been doing it for so many years, working within this elaborate storyline, and their music just keeps evolving. And the epic story they’ve been telling is getting close to it’s conclusion!
I might catch some heat for this, but I fell away from a lot of hip-hop in my 30s because the lyrical content just wasn’t evolving with me. Sure, conscious rap exists and always has, but a lot of it sacrifices bump-a-bility. It felt like nobody was making the kind of hip-hop I personally wanted to hear: spiritual and emotional evolution with dope beats and melodies.
Something felt off about being a 40-year-old hippie dude in Sauconys bumping “Oochie Wally.” And I’m not trying to stay angry either. The LOX and DMX kept me emotionally armored and ready to wild out when I needed to survive growing up in NYC, but now I’ve got houseplants to water.
I also think there’s a growing hunger for music that engages spirituality in a deeper and more lived way. Not performative “aesthetic spirituality” that we see from all those peeps wearing Big Felt Hats, but actual wisdom transmitted through art. Someone like Leonard Cohen could communicate profound spiritual truths through songs because he lived it. I saw him perform at Madison Square Garden before he passed, and it honestly felt like being in the presence of someone who had touched something transcendent. I don’t see a lot of that in popular music anymore, especially in hip-hop, and part of FLOWANANDA is my attempt to bring some of that depth back into music that still feels emotionally alive and sonically exciting.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I think AI-generated music is going to push human artists to become even more emotionally specific, strange, imperfect, and original. If algorithms are trained on combinations of what already exists, then the most valuable thing a human artist can offer may be genuine lived experience and unexpected emotional truth. Maybe the future of music is humans getting weirder again.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Music genuinely saved my life. It gave me a way to express experiences and emotions that felt bigger than language. As someone with ADHD, music also feels way more immediate and embodied than something like screenwriting, where projects can take years to complete. A song can capture a feeling in a single night.
More than anything, though, music gives me hope. We live in a time where almost everything feels polarized and adversarial, but live music still creates moments where strangers dissolve into a shared emotional experience together. It lets people stop competing for a second and just be human together.
And I swear I don’t work for Coheed & Cambria, but listen to “Tethered Together” and tell me that song doesn’t make you feel a little more hopeful about human beings finding their way back to each other!
Carson Bull
Sounds like: Scrappy roots country dust-up reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s “Thin Wild Mercury” style channeled through a Nashville Skyline vibe.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
You might dance, you might cry.
Life is a constant battle of surrendering what you can’t control and being attentive of what you can. I’ve always thought the catharsis of writing music and listening to music falls somewhere in between.
My approach to writing music is always different. I think if I wasn’t a musician I would want to be a writer. I always liked poetry in school, and really enjoyed Shakespeare whenever I read it. I know that can be an odd thing to some people. I didn’t know how to blend poetry, stories, and expression with music until I was about 15 when I got into Bob Dylan. I think writing for me is always approached as therapy and a way to understand how I feel when I can’t figure out what’s going on in my own mind.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Well, Carson Bull is my legal name. I was never interested in having a stage name. At least not yet… However, while all my music gets released just under my name Carson Bull, I wanted my band that plays with me to have a name as well. I just think they’re some of the best musicians in the world and they deserve it. I’m a big fan of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, and The Allman Brothers; so I thought for a while it’d be cool to go by “Carson Bull and (the blank)” at some point when we play live. James Haines (Keys) and Josh Norfleet (Lead Guitar) were always told by people at shows that they looked like brothers or cousins. I thought that was hilarious and Jim recommended that we go by “Carson Bull and The Cousins.” I thought this was an amazing idea and it just stuck. We’ve all known each other for so long and are a little more than friends and a little less than blood related brothers, so cousins seemed appropriate. There was also a sense of guilt and embarrassment I felt at the end of shows where people would come up to me or on the guys and say, “What’s the name of the band?” To which I would awkwardly reply, “Carson Bull…” After one too many of those interactions I was convinced that my band needed a name.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
The Eagles, CCR, The Beatles, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Chris Stapleton, Bon Iver, and Tyler Childers just to name a few. I still can’t stop listening to Snipe Hunter by Tyler Childers since it came out, and I probably listen to at least one Eagles album a day. Desperado and One of These Nights are two of my favorite albums ever. The new live cuts they released from Anaheim in 1975 have been living rent free on my aux chord as of late.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The demand and resurgence of physical media. Shoutout to Sturgill Simpson on the new Johnny Blue Skies record for leaking it for free with no ads on YouTube and then taking it down after it came out and only releasing physical copies. What Jack White has been doing with Third Man over the years is incredible as well. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE. Nothing will change your life quite as much as finding that perfect record, driving home, listening to it kick on, and being transported to a place where nothing can touch you. In addition, more artists are fighting back against Live Nation and Ticket Master. I think what Oliva Dean has been doing in that regard is a pillar of honor that all artists should follow. She also just makes damn good music.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
Nihilism is a trait, and a bad habit that I am desperately trying to break, so let me answer this with a perspective of hope… I think there’s a trend of authenticity that is very much in demand now which will continue to get more extreme. I think to combat the constant need to keep releasing music and having more to connect with fans and people in the world it’s really cool that people are less interested in highly produced music from a world class studio, and more interested in hearing something that is genuine that makes them feel something. I think more often than not, people can sniff bullshit from a mile away. People are human. They want to hear the humanity of yourself through your music. People are constantly reminded every day of their shortcomings, failures, and imperfections. The last thing I wanna do is give them something over produced and fake just to make it perfect. There’s comfort in relatability. I think music can move mountains in people’s minds and hearts in that regard. I know music has done that for me. I think in a world full of fakeness, greed, overstimulation, and corrupt capitalism, people are desperate for something real and authentic and I would agree with them.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Escape. Music has always been my escape. The reality of life and the reality of what’s going on in the world around us can seem more of a weight than we can seem to bear at times. Music has always been there as a tool for commentary of the world around us. That will never change. Words hold infinite power, and putting them with melody and rhythm only makes them stronger. I’m hopeful that people are resilient and know that you can always fight back for what you know is right. Music is just one tool for that in humanity’s tool belt.
The Hedgehogs
Sounds like: A hazy, laconic spin on the blues style crafted by Peter Green during his In The Skies era, but delivers something closer to Slint.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
Stephen Schoener: Jon and I are Beatles fans. Early Beatles stereo had intriguing separations of instruments and vocals. And while we don’t go that far on The Hedgehogs/Winter, we did enjoy spreading things across the stereo field in balanced ways, with percolating accents to give it kinetic energy.
We’ve learned a lot from the Stone Roses’ Jon Squire and Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, who weave nicely balanced webs of guitars. You’re just suspended in a space they’ve defined for you. We are getting more into developing the guitars in that direction.
Jon Payton: For me it was always about trying to see “how the sausage was made”. Listening to my favorite acts, I would be curious how different sounds were generated. In the beginning, I would try to copy those with the rudimentary equipment I had available.
I feel like all of us have a solid love of good ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s music, and trying to emulate some of that spirit was really the approach. It wasn’t that we were exactly copying per se.
Stephen: With a first album, you’re green and perhaps somewhat more utilitarian, and sometimes you think in hindsight, “Well, I could’ve done this or that on that guitar or on some passage. But I think the colors are emerging more now. The sound is becoming richer. Fewer seams in the recordings. And while we do have a sense of humor, we’ll be dialing it down and allowing things to be more transcendent.
And this debut album has a real double shot on it. “Yours For the Asking,” which is romantic and sunny and spring-like. And “Lonely,” which is not at all humorous, but spectral and beautiful. Those last two songs were among the last three recorded and you hear the development.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Stephen: It’s from the Spiny Norman sketch of Monty Python, where one character thinks he’s being followed by a giant hedgehog. I absorbed Monty Python like I absorbed a lot of great rock at an early age from my older siblings. We were all cross country runners back in Ironton and my brothers had a team clique called the Hedgehogs. Same source. I guess I was copying my older brothers when I suggested the name.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Stephen: Pertinent to our new single, “Lonely,” we really love the combined guitars of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer. Buckingham, too, for his balance of acoustic and electric phrases on Rumours, in and out of the mix just as long as needed. And lately I’ve been listening to a ton of Jorma Kaukonen … his electric fuzz has been a very useful inspiration for some coming music.
Jon: For me it all starts with The Beatles and in particular that more experimental post-live performance era. They are the anchor to everything else for me. I lean more pop, but not bubblegum generally. After that I would say Pink Floyd. Again, the experimentation and moodiness speaks to me.
Stephen:The Dark Side Of the Moon sets a phenomenally high standard of engineering, writing and playing. But we also love the early singles, which is where I imagine Jon’s playful slide on “Yours For the Asking” comes from. Like “Point Me At the Sky.”
Jon: As I moved into my later high school years I started to appreciate more new wave stuff.
Stephen: Stewart Copeland is great with humor. His drumming has that percussive cream we emulated on “Yours For the Asking.” The Police are a great band for space and for using very few instruments, and the atmospheres in those spaces, to push off into the atmosphere. Synchronicity is a lesson in simple keyboard shading that can really add atmosphere.
Jon introduced me to early Genesis. So rich in instrumentation. And humor again, giant hogweeds and such. Later Genesis was a lesson in musical economy. Tony Banks could layer a few simple parts to build something powerful and full, but with so much … again … space.
Led Zeppelin’s Presence caused me not to see the vocal as always the lead in a mix. Balancing them more with the instruments can sound good.
I’ve really gotten into Dungen. They can go from something really beautiful and pastoral to something like a toy box falling down a flight of stairs. I love Sigur Ros, too, for the atmosphere. And Dead Meadow are so atmospheric and spooky, too. I quite enjoy them.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
Jon: An interesting thing about music today is that I feel like music discovery is much less “centralized.” It used to be that radio and music videos were THE means by which new music spread and new sounds (and in some cases old sounds) were discovered. Now, social media is king, and 15 second snippets of songs played over Instagram and TikTok short-form videos are how music is discovered. YouTube videos can make mega-stars out of people just creating music for their own enjoyment in their bedrooms. With so much content, it makes it hard to sometimes find the new thing that speaks to you.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
Jon: It feels like genre boundaries are blurring more and more. Maybe that’s partly to do with the use of new music as an overlay by social media content creators. Different styles and sounds are busting out of their “lanes” and getting exposed to all different demographics and that’s a good thing.
The other thing that I see, and as somebody that consumes a lot of YouTube content I see this more and more … There is a lot of AI generated music and I don’t know how I feel about that. Whole channels are devoted to different styles of music that no human has ever touched. Our music may be rough around the edges, but at least it was made by people who had a love for the process.
Stephen: AI is a concern. But I believe people are simply not going to be satisfied with music with no one behind it. What does a machine have to say about life to a human being? Machines and people are not a community. I think folks will care less about a slick song from a machine and care a lot more about hearing from other people.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Stephen: By making the world a more beautiful place to be. Releasing music makes a human connection with people all over the world. Not only do you feel a release of emotion in the words and in the music going out into the world, relieved of it so it can now reach other ears, the connection it makes with people around you, who then root for you, it makes you feel good. You’re not curing cancer, but you’re putting something valuable, good, and inspirational out into the world.
And it’s a multimedia adventure … a marriage of music, art, video, and graphic design, and from there, who knows? It’s aesthetics … a serious creative effort and a way to be an artist and build something great with guys who were your friends long before you started making recordings together.
But it’s also just FUN. There are few greater things in the world than a great pop single. I mean it. Like the Stone Roses’ “She Bangs the Drums.” Putting together a great recording and hearing it back is a blast. Creating unseen worlds measured not in miles, but minutes. And your people and folks all over the world can inhabit that world you built for them along with you.
Jon: Music soothes the savage beast. It has the ability to bring absolute joy to people and the world needs a lot more of that right now.
HAUSPOINTS
Sounds like: The cosmic children of Mark E. Smith from Chorley, England, looking to one-up the Viagra Boys at their own game.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
Music is an unpredictable phenomenon, and should be approached with utmost caution. Even casual users have been reported experiencing severe mania and derangement, and for long-term users results can be fatal, or worse.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Using bandnamegenerator.com
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
I have a record on the decimalisation of the U.K.’s currency, which was distributed to shopkeepers in the early ’70s to ensure that all out of circulation shillings be hurled at either a passing seagull, or into a bucket of raw egg, whichever is most accessible.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
I don’t know, does Coldplay have a new album out?
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
As with the majority of industries, profits are generally scooped out of the hands of anyone actually working and making music, and enjoyed by billionaire business owners and shareholders. So probably more of that.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
It’s certainly not helping as much as a shit load of money would.
Crucifera
Sounds like: A darker, glitchier, gothier Garbage, though the production is more dense and experimental than Butch Vig’s work behind the boards.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
I suppose I would describe my sound as Gothic Industrial Pop Rock — “crunchy ethereal industrial music for spiders.” An industrial “ugly” mixed with an ethereal, “pretty” atmosphere and complex melodies. However, the song structures are catchier and more rounded than typical for the respective genres.
Every song is very different, yet my album “Exostential” is a cohesive journey. It’s a visceral collision of organic vulnerability and heavy mechanical armor — a sonic “exoskeleton” protecting the internal self. Coming from a background of poverty, I first built a career in branding, marketing, and design for stability, which now helps shape every visual and written aspect of my music project. That background shapes my process. I’ve always written music on acoustic instruments with pen and paper, rarely using DAWs or studio gear except for brief access through friends. Starting production later pushed me to quickly develop those technical skills.
I start every track on my piano or acoustic guitar before moving to the computer. My goal is to blend old-school acoustic soul with a digital shell. After shaping melodies, chords, and lyrics, I move to production—recording the structure, adding synths and samples, and experimenting with textures and rhythms. I avoid standard drum kits, instead layering manipulated samples to preserve the organic soul even as the song becomes more electronic.
I use music as psychological engineering, utilizing complex planning to create a physical experience. I intentionally craft claustrophobic moments before opening into vast, spectral expanses, forcing psychological reactions to the shifting space. This approach is especially prevalent in tracks like “Pity” and “Labyrinth of Fools.”
How did you come up with the name of your act?
The name Crucifera refers to the Neoscona Crucifera orb-weaver. I’ve always loved bugs. As a child, I collected them and still can’t kill one as an adult. Over the years, I’ve kept three pet tarantulas, the first of which I even DIY-taxidermied after she died. In 2021, after moving into my home, I befriended a beautiful orb-weaver on my porch who kept mosquitoes away.
Out of curiosity, I looked up her taxonomy and immediately connected with the Latin name. “Crucifera” translates to “cross-bearer,” referencing the distinct marking on the spider’s back. I am obsessed with religious history and metaphors – which I do use throughout my lyrics, though I consider myself Gnostic and spiritual rather than traditionally religious. The weight of that symbol resonates deeply.
To me, spiders are like mini land octopuses. They operate purely on instinct, wanting only to exist and be left alone. A spider feels the world through the vibrations of its web and the ground rather than seeing it as a human does. This serves as a perfect metaphor for how I experience reality. This connection also inspired the name of my debut album, Exostential. It embodies the philosophy of the exoskeleton: the biological necessity of building a hard outer shell to protect the vulnerable living core. I am a chronic existentialist. My music is about navigating the heavy chaos of past traumas, grief, and abuse, and weaving those violent frequencies into a silver-lined web. It is about forging industrial armor to protect that divine, internal spark from a world that can be incredibly cold.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
While I did something entirely different with this project (an accident) and didn’t follow a specific blueprint, I recognize that certain artists have nonetheless influenced my sound and creative direction. As a listener, I’ve always gravitated toward the gothic and industrial side of things. My music channels elements reminiscent of the aggressive industrial and electronic grit of Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Wumpscut, Marilyn Manson and PIG. I also admire the foundational goth rock and darkwave produced by Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death and Switchblade Symphony, as well as the dark synth-pop of And One. Additionally, metal bands like Pantera contribute to my appreciation for intensity, while Ecstatic Fear inspires the symphonic atmosphere within my work. These diverse influences inform my approach, even if unintentionally, forming a rich background for my music’s identity.
Now, for the mainstream acts I love, whom people might be more familiar with—as a young child, starting at age three, I grew up obsessed with ’80s music, then ’90s alternative. I have always been a fan of The Cure, Depeche Mode and Prince, as well as Bush (especially Razorblade Suitcase), Hole and Nirvana. I was definitely inspired by women like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks and Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries.
These days, there are not many artists who really speak to me, but I am intensely appreciative of the ones who do; incredible women like Halsey, Bishop Briggs and Lady Gaga, and I love Bright Eyes. I respect these creators because they take charge of their own creative direction, write their own music, and are instrumentalists who command their own visual and sonic universes. That is exactly how I operate as a solo producer, managing every frequency and pixel of the transmission. You can tell in an artist’s voice and eyes when they truly feel it. That beautiful pain is becoming a rarity and is being sacrificed in exchange for technical skill or image. I deeply admire how they fiercely own their creative direction, write their truth, and shape entire worlds from their visions. Inspired by their dedication, I pour the same intensity into my life as a solo producer, stewarding every aspect of my project with conviction.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The most exciting thing right now is the creative resurgence of dark music that is unapologetically human and raw. I have noticed a few things with gothic and industrial DNA popping up here and there. I would never have heard these sounds played in the mainstream in prior years. Some old goths might want to gatekeep that, but I embrace it. This world is for the future, and we should want to foster the best possible environment in every way, including artistically and creatively, to make it easy for future generations to access. We are seeing a shift toward unfiltered, visceral work. This is the perfect counterbalance to the fear that AI will sanitize the industry. By mixing digital architecture with my acoustic roots, I’m trying to bring a more grounded, human approach back to music. I hope more will follow suit. It proves that while tools change, the core of a song must be a pure, unadulterated human transmission.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I see the next five years being defined by a global move toward multi-disciplinary independence. Authenticity will become the primary currency. As AI becomes more common, the value of a single artist who can do it all — from the first handwritten note on a piano to the final master — will grow. From my home studio in New Jersey, I hope to inspire aspiring musicians. I want to show that you do not need a major label or a massive budget to create a totally immersive, world-class experience.
I believe we are moving toward an “organic-digital hybrid,” where technology amplifies the human spirit instead of replacing it. My roadmap for the next few years reflects that shift. I have an EP release scheduled for later this year, with nearly two more albums’ worth of songs in the works. I am also focusing on expanding my scene footprint through collaborations with other independent gothic and industrial artists. This involves everything from songwriting and guest vocals to live shows and remixes. Ultimately, I see the industry heading toward a “great decentralization.” Creative sovereignty will be the only way to maintain a pure, unadulterated connection with an audience.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
For me, music is therapy, survival, and ascension. I spent 26 years building my design career just to ensure I could survive. Finally taking this risk and sharing this vulnerable side of myself means everything. In a world that feels increasingly heavy — where we are bombarded by the noise of war, systemic negativity, and a general lack of empathy — music is how I process it all. It is the medium I use to take grief, loss, and the isolation of being an outsider and engineer them into something of value.
I remember so vividly what it was like to struggle when I was young, not only for physical survival but also feeling completely lost in a sea of people who only seemed interested in scratching the superficial surface of life. It can be a very lonely place to exist when you feel the world’s pain so deeply while also finding the beauty in every little thing, all at the same time. I hope my music reaches others who are navigating that same darkness right now. I especially think of young women because so many of their icons’ lyrics seem to only skim the surface of relationships, sex, or love. I want to show them that there are deeper, more complex ways to process their reality and find their voice. My art is my armor, a way to stay grounded when the world feels like it is losing its humanity, and I hope it helps others build the strength to forge their own.
Chavar Dontae
Sounds like: Cosmopolitan indie soul from the heart of Echo Park in the spirit of Nourished by Time and Twin Shadow.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
My approach to music is to be my authentic self — honest, vulnerable, and really just trying to capture what I’m hearing. I hear multiple layers of music and how they can all fit together to tell a story. In my mind, I see each song as a film. Most of the time I play every instrument myself, but I occasionally bring in collaborators for parts I’ve written. It’s always been like that for me. Early on I had some bandmates from college play on what I call the “lost album” (I lost the hard drives), and I do have plans to do something like that again one day.
I also get to work with some awesome people for post-production. I finished all my songs with my good friend Dylan at Portia Street Studio in Echo Park. Dylan Ely handles the mixing, and we both do the recording – some there and some in my own studio. Steve “B” Baughman does all the mastering and finishing touches. I’ve also been working with Seffan Heil “TrippieSteff” on the artwork and animation – we have a pretty dialed-in system.
I describe my music as a multi-genre, evolving cinematic journey – a multi-dimensional soundtrack to the stories and emotions behind each song. Genre-wise, I’ve been influenced by so much music that I fluidly move between jazz and classical as much as New Wave, industrial, electronic, rock and soul.
“I’ve Got My Mind Made Up” feels like alt-pop/alt-R&B/atmospheric electro-pop. I’ve honestly always struggled with labeling my music because there are so many nuances that make it its own thing. For context, I could see myself touring with Dijon, Blood Orange, Mk.gee, and Clairo. It would also be amazing to share a bill with Thievery Corporation and Nourished By Time.
I’ve actually been backstage with Thievery Corporation twice now — their tour manager Jeffery Travathan is a good friend of mine and an awesome tour manager. On the tour bus, their bassist Dan Africano and I had a nice mechanical watch chat. Those real moments of connection are what fuel me and make the idea of touring together feel especially meaningful.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Chavar Dontae is my first and middle name — what my family has called me my whole life. Legend has it that my aunt named me, though I’m not entirely sure if that’s true.
What are some artists and albums that have informed my creative direction?
In early life, I was heavily influenced by Purple Rain and Thriller. The cinematic nature of those releases by Prince and Michael Jackson were larger than life. Kraftwerk, Duran Duran, Wham!, Culture Club, Thomas Dolby, Zapp and Roger, Run DMC, LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, The Jackson 5, Al Green and Marvin Gaye. A lot of that came from what I was hearing from family. Once I started playing guitar I discovered Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Tribe Called Quest, 2Pac, Biggie, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, Maurice Ravel and a plethora more.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
I think people want realness in music, and as someone who’s stuck to my own authentic path, it’s very exciting. It’s cool to see people wanting to purchase vinyl, CDs, and other physical media from artists, as well as going to shows to cultivate a deeper connection with the music and bands. I also think it’s amazing to see indie artists finding ways to navigate their own path direct to supporters of music — like the early algorithmic traction and saves we’re seeing right now with this new single.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I see more bands and supporters of music finding alternative venues and direct access to fans. Not that the traditional avenues will go away, but non-traditional pathways will make it more feasible for touring bands to make it work and actually make a living. There’s so much rapidly changing, but I think artists and bands who perform live will have a real opportunity to create a path of longevity through genuine connection.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Music has always been an essential part of my life down to the molecular level. It gives me a sense of purpose and peace. It can also be a bit torturous finishing songs — there’s a sense of just knowing when it’s done for me. I can’t imagine my life without it. Getting messages about how the music I channel helps other people makes it all worth it. It’s pretty wild to see photos of people writing my lyrics on their jeans. Getting these songs out to as many people as possible is a big priority for me. I feel like a lot of people need these songs to help them through something, just as much as I did and still do.
Moondrive
Sounds like: A lo-fi symphony of synths washing over slow-building electronic pop that comes across like a lost transmission caught in the atmosphere.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
I’m fascinated by contrasts. Elegance that meets the skeletons inside the wardrobe: it’s all visible if you squint. I think that’s a great analogy for a living being, daily life, for a lifetime, for society in general. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of describing your own artistic work. I’ve always thought that if you need to, either the art is weak or you’re talking to the wrong audience. And if it passes both those tests, maybe the work is asking a question — how can I give the answer? That would be terrible.
How did you come up with the name of your album?
Regarding Everything That Is Gone, the album title: it’s basically a collection of points of view, people, impressions, thoughts, observations, and tests about everything. And the majority of them are gone — they’re not even necessarily in the past, they’re just not there anymore. I like to joke that it’s the opposite of a concept album. There’s no concept aside from being born, dying and what’s in the middle, before and after. Or maybe that IS the concept, since it obviously includes everything. Great excuse, right?
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
I really listen to everything, but when I started writing this album seriously, I had a clear direction: classical contemporary music, orchestrations, crooners, electronic avant-garde, experimental. That combination felt like the right language for what I wanted to say. For the first time, I wasn’t actively looking to get inspired by specific records — it had already happened naturally through my whole life, through thousands of albums. I just had to follow the directions. It was strange. I think I was lucky — I started enjoying listening to music again because I didn’t feel the need to borrow from anyone.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
Honestly, I haven’t been listening to a lot of new things lately. From what I see, a lot of it feels homogenized — the same textures, the same structures, the same mood. But I think the most exciting thing is that the artists who refuse are still out there, working in the margins, and they’re more interesting than ever precisely because they’re not competing for the center. The background is where the real work is happening.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
AI. That’s the short answer. Making music will become so easy that anyone can do it — it’s already possible now, and it will only get easier. So I think two things will matter: the ability to perform it live, because people will keep seeking that empathetic connection with a real person on a stage, or a hero to dream about, and taste. We’re heading toward a world where the most important skill is being an artistic director — knowing what to make, having the taste to shape it, and having the courage to put your face on the work and say this is what I want to say. The machine will do the rest. The question is whether that’s liberation or surrender. I don’t know yet.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
I hope it does.
Pryti
Sounds like: A stirring combination of Deftones-style alt-metal combined with Halsey-esque pop songcraft to create a unique crossover twist.
Interview:
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
I write my music for people who don’t fit in that’s always been at the heart of my music. I don’t try to be something I’m not, I just concentrate on what comes out of me. I’m not interested in what the new trend is, the guitar chord is there in the song when I wrote it because it punched me in the gut. It has to move me. My sound is melancholic, cinematic, dark but hopeful. My music blends alternative, emo, metal elements with an electronic edge. It has elements of metalcore and post hardcore as well.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
Well that was a very easy decision, Pryti is my name.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Linkin Park got me into metal when I was in high school. Hybrid Theory came out when I was a teen and that changed everything for me. I love pop music but I never felt like that got me but this did. Deftones have been a huge influence on the creative direction of my music as well. Sarah McLachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy — the melancholy spoke to me. Finch What it is to Burn, Staind 14 shades of grey. I listen to a lot of metalcore as well, Bury Tomorrow’s first album Portraits was co produced by my producer Justin Hill. I was obsessed with this album and really wanted to work with him and he’s produced all my music since I started. Saosin’s self-titled album has always been a favourite of mine, heartfelt and catchy. John Mayer is a huge influence songwriting-wise as the quality of his songwriting is amazing while it’s so different from what I do I always want to keep improving as a songwriter.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The rock and metal revival that is happening excites me a lot. It’s always been there but as with everything the industry is driven by trends but we are our own trend.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I think talent will become the vocal point again. I think there’s going to be even more push back against AI and these companies that are making money by putting AI tracks on DSP’s. I do think with what’s going on in the world the music industry is going to keep having to adapt as with energy costs going up are these big tours by these big artists going to viable if there are shortages in the long term.
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
I love music so much I have bands and artists which cheer me up, help me deal with shit going on. The Sleeping with Sirens song “An Ending in Itself” came when I really needed that it’s awesome when synchronicities happen like that. I love listening to Bhajans and mantras (or I say mantras) as well. I find that helps keep me calm.
Thirsty Curses
Sounds like: The middle ground between Graham Parker and The Rumour’s Heat Treatment and Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne from the cradle of college radio — Raleigh, North Carolina.
Interview (answers by frontman Wilson Getchell):
Describe your approach to music and how you would explain your sound to others.
Thirsty Curses’ music is all over the genre map, but it’s generally under the broad umbrella of rock n roll.
Music journalist Jeff Yerger once wrote something to the effect of “Thirsty Curses has a raggedy sound indebted to ’80s indie rock, like if The Replacements had more piano in their songs”. I always liked that description.
Thirsty Curses has a raw, rock n roll sound that draws from punk, power pop, alt-country, grunge & progrock. There’s def undertones of punk throughout much of the material. Aside from The Replacements, we’ve also gotten comps to Dresden Dolls, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, the Old 97s, The Hold Steady, Jeff Rosenstock, Ramshackle Glory and Queen.
People also often say my voice sounds like Adam Duritz. (We’ve also gotten Tom Petty comps a couple times, but I’ve always suspected that’s just because of my blonde hair).
I grew up listening to a lot of music from the ’60s and ’70s which certainly had a big impact on my songwriting. While I’d never compare us to The Beatles or The Beach Boys, those two groups certainly have been a huge influence on my songwriting and Thirsty Curses’ sound.
How did you come up with the name of your act?
I’ve joked through the years that Thirsty Curses is basically a clever way to say alcoholism. But it’s more than that.
The name Thirsty Curses reflects how desire, appetite, restlessness etc. pull us toward something we feel like we need, but also often contains the seeds of our own undoing. Thirsty Curses is a nod to those patterns of behaviors that follow us through life and which we only futilely resist (or outright embrace).
Thirsty Curses fits as a name for this project because it reflects a the ethos behind the material. A lot of Thirsty Curses songs balance exuberance and despair, often with a thread of existential crises running through much of the music. But there’s also a fair bit of shrugging off the hardship with winking optimism and humor built in.
So while there’s certainly tones of pessimistic fatalism running through a lot of the songs (or realism, depending on who you ask), there’s simultaneously good humor and rambunctious fun alongside it.
What are some artists and albums that have informed your creative direction?
Punk rock has definitely influenced my songwriting a lot over the years too. When I first started playing music it was mostly in punk bands. In high school I was really into Operation Ivy, Less Than Jake, Crass, The Dead Kennedys, Against All Authority, etc. etc. But for me, there’s The Beatles, Brian Wilson, and then there’s everybody else.
For the last couple years, I’ve been obsessed with the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys post-Pet Sounds era. I’ve always been a Beach Boys fan, but until recent years, I’d never really gone beyond Pet Sounds. The albums Friends, Beach Boys’ Love You, Adult/Child, and Brian Wilson’s Smile have become favorites of mine and probably informed a lot of my most recent songwriting.
But through the years, some all time favorite bands/influences include Modest Mouse, Deer Tick, The Replacements, the Silver Jews, Dresden Dolls, Ramshackle Glory, Wilco, The Old 97s, Guided by Voices, Bomb the Music Industry, Ween, Jonathan Richman, Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground, etc. etc.
My album of the year for 2024 was Hurray for the Riff Raff’s The Past is Still Alive (runner up MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks) (a fellow North Carolinian!).
My 2026 album of the year was Lily Allen’s West End Girl. One unknown super rad indie/punk band I recently stumbled across is the Ugly Cowboys. They’re great. Check out their tune “Nancy.”
What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?
The renaissance of physical media (vinyl, cassettes, and CDs) is pretty exciting. I’ve been surprised to find that college-aged kids are buying a lot of CDs these days. I definitely did not expect that development. Granted, this resurgence in buying music on physical media appears to be largely confined to the music enthusiasts amongst us, but it’s a welcome development nonetheless.
I’ve sensed in recent years that a large cohort of the public is also craving thoughtful and authentic music. Perhaps it’s partially a reaction to the AI slop. It’s just my sense though and not backed by any data.
But anecdotes here and there have been encouraging. For example, I was already pretty deep into my Brian Wilson obsession when he passed away last year. But I was surprised to see the scale of the Brian Wilson tributes, appreciations, etc. which I saw coming from all demographics; from irl to tik tok.
If we can get the kids to start hanging out at rock n roll bars again and drinking more, we’ll really be in business.
Where do you see the music world heading in the next five years?
I honestly have no idea, but there’s clearly a ton of challenges and issues facing the music world and the “music industry” (the music cartel?) in the near future, with the rise of AI being the most obvious and immediate issue.
I’d like to think that most people wouldn’t want to listen to such vapid, soulless music, but, then again, I’ve found a lot of human made, mainstream music pretty vapid and soulless in recent years. Most music consumers already don’t care if their favorite artists write their own songs or play their own instruments. It’s basically a non-factor. So I’m not super optimistic about the public rejecting machine made music. At the same time, I’ve felt some of the pushback I referenced earlier but I’m not sure it’s representative of broad trends. It may just be a countercultural phenomenon. But we’ll see.
I know there will always be musicians with a drive to create and an audience hungry for thoughtful, inspiring organic music. I just don’t know what percentage of the music world will be swallowed up by AI etc. I know it won’t be all the music world and it could end up being very little. I also know there’s not much I can do about it either way other than just keep doing my thing. So I’ll just keep making music and hope for the best (and also take every opportunity to ridicule AI generated music).
There’s a lyric in our newest single, “Starting to Remember How Much I Forgot” which seems relevant: “we’re just gonna have to wait and see how it ends. We’re just gonna have to wait and see where we are once we land.”
How is music helping you during these uncertain times?
Songwriting has always been a therapeutic exercise for me and a way for me to process issues in my personal life and in the larger world around me. In recent years, I’ve found more of my songs are focused on the latter. I’ve definitely been feeling like society is coming apart at the seams now for some time.
Several tracks off of our forthcoming album, Thirsty Curses’ Frank-N-Stein, are basically exercises in me trying to grapple with the uncertainty and chaos of our era (e.g. “Starting to Remember How Much I Forgot“, “Fifths/Minors”, “Dramatic Moments”.). From our last album (Music is a Scam), the songs “Bombs Away“, “Foot in the Door“, and “Reading & Writing” deal with similar themes.
I also lean on music as something that is transcendent and timelessly beautiful. In that sense, music serves as a sort of anchor or pillar of support when it feels like everything else beneath is unstable.
Music also gives me something healthy and positive to focus on. It’s a healthy crutch. The more I stay focused and engaged with music, the less self-destructive I tend to be.
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