Malek Hanna Unites Cultures in New Multilingual Single “Ya Jama’a”
“Ya Jama’a” is a high-energy, multilingual celebration of unity, rhythm, and cultural connection. Blending Arabic, Spanish, and English, the song fuses Middle Eastern grooves with global pop sensibilities, creating a sound that feels both rooted and universal.
Featuring Latin Grammy-winning artist Paulina Aguirre and Christine Said, runner-up on The Voice Middle East, “Ya Jama’a” is driven by infectious percussion, melodic hooks, and an uplifting message of togetherness that transcends borders.
multi-award winning singer-songwriter Romanie returns with her brilliant new single ‘Anything or Anyone’, ahead of her forthcoming album ‘It’s Not That Funny’ which is set to follow on the 20th of February.
LISTEN HERE + PRE-SAVE/PRE-ORDER THE LP HERE.
A homage to community, ‘Anything or Anyone’ arrives as a reminder that you’re never alone. Unfolding over gently plucked guitars, ‘Anything or Anyone’ is a reflection on loneliness and pushing back against the temptation to isolate yourself further.
Sharing more, Romanie explained: “This song is a really big reminder to myself that I’m not alone, I wrote it in the midst of a really dark and lonely time – thinking I was completely alone by shutting myself out. Living on the other side of the world, choosing a career that is not straight forward – it can sometimes feel like you’re screaming into the void. I think the song, even though it stemmed from a sad time, is a reminder and dedication to anyone who’s ever felt lonely (all of us) and a reminder that we never are alone. Community is everything.”
‘Anything or Anyone’ is the fourth offering to be taken from Romanie’s upcoming sophomore album. Today’s single follows ‘Uh Oh’, ‘When Will We Lose Hope?’ and most recently ‘I Won’t Yell’ – a defiant anthem co-produced with Adam Hyde (Peking Duk, Keli Holiday) and Tom Stell (Golden Features). tmrw Magazine coined it ‘Punchy and Defiant’. Each single has teased another layer to Romanie’s bold new chapter, culminating in the release of It’s Not That Funny on February 20.
Melbourne-based poet, rapper, and musician Nico, also known as Flash Poetry, has carved out a unique space in the contemporary arts scene. With a debut album, a TEDxMelbourne performance, and a compelling journey of self-expression, Nico’s story is one of resilience and transformation.
His path to lyrical artistry began during a period of profound silence. While living in a remote Colombian jungle community, Nico contracted a lung infection that left him unable to speak for a month. This enforced pause redirected his creative energy toward poetry, culminating in his debut collection, The Silent World That Won’t Stop Talking. The book not only showcased his poetic talent but also raised over $3,000 for the Fred Hollows Foundation, highlighting his commitment to social causes.
Formerly a librarian and professional copywriter, Nico left behind the nine-to-five grind after his poetry resonated with a wider audience. His dedication to the craft led him from the streets—freestyling outside local shops—to the spotlight, including a standout performance at TEDxMelbourne in 2025. Described by audience members as engaging and authentic, Nico’s live performances fuse spoken word, hip-hop, and storytelling, captivating audiences with his lyrical dexterity.
His debut album, Reality, Now, has quickly gained momentum. Released through a fully crowdfunded campaign, the record blends hip-hop, poetry, and live instrumentation, drawing inspiration from artists like Kae Tempest and The Streets. Tracks like the title song have charted nationally, with over 6,000 monthly listeners on Spotify within weeks of release. Radio stations across Australia have also embraced the album’s eclectic sound.
Reality, Now is an urgent reflection on the modern world—its obsession with technology, dystopian futures, and the loss of myth and spirituality. From the rise of celebrity soldiers to the secret lives of urban trees, Nico’s work interrogates the complexities of contemporary society, offering a poetic lens on an increasingly strange world.
Breakout vocalist and songwriter Lauren Spencer Smith will release the deluxe version of her sophomore album, THE ART OF BEING A MESS, on February 13. Pre-save HERE. In anticipation, she unveils a taste of new music with “Natural Disaster.” Listen/share HERE.
“Natural Disaster is about feeling like everything you touch turns into chaos — and believing you’re a burden to the people who love you, because they can’t see how deep the storm inside you really goes,” says Spencer Smith.
Originally released to widespread critical acclaim, THE ART OF BEING A MESS resonated with fans for its candid, emotionally driven songwriting, including standout singles ‘Looking Up,’ ‘bridesmaid,’ and ‘IF KARMA DOESN’T GET YOU (I WILL),’ the latter of which landed on Spotify’s U.S. Viral Chart.
The deluxe features 6 new songs including previously released single ‘Thick Skin.’
Spencer Smith recently wrapped up an extensive tour across Europe, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, which included stops in Liverpool, Glasgow, Sydney, Melbourne and more. Additionally, she will be supporting Teddy Swims on his U.K. and Ireland tour this June.
THE ART OF BEING A MESS is out now via Island EMI Label Group. Vinyl, CDs and signed product are available via her online store HERE.
Last fall, she performed the fan-favourite track ‘IF KARMA DOESN’T GET YOU (I WILL)‘ on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” a standout song from the LP that also landed on Spotify’s U.S. Viral Chart.
True to its name, THE ART OF BEING A MESS captures the emotional rollercoaster Spencer Smith experienced while writing her second album. Each song taps into a feeling—anger, devastation, love, peace, confusion and everything in between, sometimes all at once. Reflecting on the chaos of being human, each song finds Spencer Smith revisiting real stories and experiences in her life. With this album, she reminds listeners to embrace and feel comfortable in their emotions, that not everything is black-and-white.
THE ART OF BEING A MESS follows her debut album, Mirror (2023), which features the RIAA Certified Platinum singles ‘Flowers’ and ‘Fingers Crossed’—the latter of which peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has reached over 875 million global streams.
From a small town on Vancouver Island, Spencer Smith began her musical journey in 2019, gaining a sizeable audience online. Through her music, she explored breakups, complex feelings about school, family and friends. Spencer Smith has performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the People’s Choice Awards—where she was also a Best New Artist nominee.
“U Like Me Dead” is the last single before the unveiling of Ricky’s forthcoming album 10,000 Grams, out Friday, February 13th via Limosa Nostra. The 13-track LP is the follow-up to 2016’s 500 Grams in collaboration with decorated hit-maker Lex Luger (Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Mac Miller). “U Like Me Dead” appears on its track list alongside the album’s opener “Hell’s Gates,” and collaborative single “Blow” featuring SosMula. On the anthemic track, Ricky and Sos trade bars that flex their fashion, women, and vices. Together, the duo capture the indulgent edge of rap stardom where red canary diamonds, designer staples, and street-tested grit collide.
Staci Gruber is a transformative Boston-based artist whose exceptional musical talents, storied songwriting, and emotional depth resonate deeply with her listeners. Her work seamlessly intertwines personal experiences with the emotional stories of others, creating a profound musical connection that explores themes of isolation, loneliness, and hope.
Music has been an intrinsic part of Staci’s life from an early age. What began as a shy, introspective passion—singing privately in her closet—quickly blossomed into a powerful voice when she performed her first solo, “12 Days of Christmas,” in elementary school. It was then that Staci discovered her true voice and has never looked back.
Throughout her childhood, Staci spent summers at the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts, which further solidified her deep love for music. Staci’s journey took a unique and ambitious turn when she became the first person to transition from the classical voice program to the jazz studies department in a pioneering five-year dual-degree program at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music. This distinctive educational background has shaped her multifaceted artistry and honed her versatility as both a performer and a songwriter. Her diverse musical influences range from Anne Murray to Barbra Streisand, Karen Carpenter, KD Lang, Billie Eilish, Pink Nancy Wilson, John Coltrane and more, seeping various genres into her own unique musical melting pot. This led to her becoming a lead vocalist in a popular GB band that performed an eclectic range of musical styles and tastes.
While her musical career flourished as a vocalist, Staci also achieved distinction in a completely separate field as a renowned Harvard Medical School professor and pioneering neuroscientist at McLean Hospital. In her groundbreaking work on cannabis, she focuses on understanding the long term impact of cannabinoids across a wide range of conditions. Staci’s research has been a game-changer, generating real-world data that has influenced clinical trials and provided critical insights into the potential benefits of cannabis for various medical conditions.
Staci Gruber’s new country meets Americana rock single “This Time Around” was recorded in Nashville and produced by Erik Halbig (Ty Herndon, Jamie O’Neal). Written by Staci and Michael Orland (American Idol), the track is a relatable and infectious honky tonk anthem. Staci shares, “This Time Around is really a story of love that pulled too hard, truth that came too late, and a heart that finally listened when it mattered most”.
Victoria-based alt-indie rock band Blush. return with “Seasons,” a dreamy, 90s-influenced single and video that drifts between hazy nostalgia and quiet introspection. The track marks the first glimpse of the band’s forthcoming EP In The Grey, due out May 1.
Built on airy guitars, laid-back rhythms, and a warm, lo-fi glow, “Seasons” captures Blush. at their most relaxed and reflective. The song unfolds patiently, favouring atmosphere over urgency, and leans into the band’s love of shoegaze textures and melodic restraint. Equal parts chill and immersive, it feels like a memory replaying itself – familiar, comforting, and slightly out of reach.
The accompanying video mirrors the song’s dream-like quality, unfolding in soft focus and muted tones. With its washed-out visuals and unhurried pace, the video feels less like a narrative and more like a feeling – fleeting moments stitched together, as if caught between waking and sleep.
“‘Seasons’ feels like a dream that just keeps looping,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Anton Wilson. “I think this song speaks pretty strongly to our roots as a band. It reminds me of picnic jam sessions in the park, it reminds me to take a breath, and it reminds me to never stop chasing.”
Based in Victoria, BC, and inspired by a wide range of shoegaze, 90s rock, and folk music, Blush. are an alt-indie rock band built on crunchy textures, haunting electronics, and atmospheric melodies. Following the early days release of their 2024 EP Still Wet, the band continues to refine their sound on In The Grey, their new EP arriving this spring, which captures the band at both their loudest and most restrained.
“Seasons” is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit whereisblush.com.
The first sound you hear on Well I Mean isn’t a guitar chord or lyric. It’s a quiet voice asking, “Where’s Brian?.” It’s a surreal opening moment for the debut solo album from Brian Sella of The Front Bottoms, releasing solely under his surname, Sella.
Produced by Chad Matheny of Emperor X and out March 13 on Bar/None, Well I Mean captures the weight of expectation between a person and the version of them everyone thinks they know. What does an artist do when the distance from the bedroom to the arena starts to feel like a bridge too far?
Today Sella shares a first glimpse of the album in “Perfect Worth It.”The track first came to life while Brian was in Berlin, recording it live at Donau 115, the Berlin DIY jazz club co-owned by Emperor X. Swells of horns fill the atmosphere around Sella’s words, giving the track a more experimental feel than anything he’s written before.
Japan-born, Canada-raised artist Justin Maki returns with “Old School Heart,” a moody, groove-forward R&B/pop-rock single that confronts unrequited love and emotional ambiguity head-on. Dark, passionate, and deeply self-assured, the track finds the FCLMA–winning singer-songwriter drawing a clear line in the sand, demanding commitment in a dating culture increasingly defined by non-answers and half-measures.
“I was on my first writing trip in Nashville when I accidentally encountered a new posse of friends at a networking bar called Red Barn,” Maki recalls. After a few drinks and a spontaneous suggestion to write together, Maki linked up with Laura Ann Short and Steven Martin, booking a session just days later at Round Hill Music. “I started jamming out to a sample drum loop that made my head bop. I then came up with this John Mayer-esque riff and after some more time of refining the musical idea, I recorded the guitar. That became the foundation of our creation.”
Rising English folk artist Luke James Williams announces his second album ‘Limes Hotel,’ due this April, alongside the release of his new single ‘Hollows and Branches’ out February 6th.
A quietly arresting piece of contemporary folk, ‘Hollows and Branches’ finds Williams distilling his songwriting to its most intimate form. Led by his unmistakably English vocal and framed by sparse, atmospheric instrumentation, the song rises slowly and instinctively, letting its emotional core surface without distraction.
Speaking about the track, Williams explains: “I wrote this song remembering an old friend who is sadly no longer with us. I used to stay at her house and we’d have the most amazing times; climbing up hills late at night to see the stars and planets, cooking delicious food, playing music, we even once nursed an injured owl back to health before releasing it back into the wild. She instilled in me a profound love of nature and the idea that we are all one with the natural world around us.”
Acclaimed Scottish alternative rock trio Biffy Clyro is thrilled to make their highly anticipated return to North America this spring on the widely successful Futique Tour. The band has today announced their upcoming headline run, promoted by Live Nation and kicking off on April 20th in Los Angeles following sold out tours in the UK and EU.
Front man Simon Neil shares: “We are sooo excited to come play for y’all. We were gutted to cancel the last run of shows before Xmas, so these gigs are going to be extra fucking special. You’re gonna wanna be there.”
Tickets will first be available via a Citi presale starting Tuesday, February 3 at 11am ET, followed by the artist presale on Tuesday, February 3 at 12pm ET. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on Friday, February 6 at 10am local time. For more information, please visit: https://www.biffyclyro.com/
Fans can look forward to hearing new music live as Biffy Clyro tours heavily this year in support of their globally praised new album Futique—out now via Warner Records. The record has already tallied tens of millions of streams fueled by the likes of “A Little Love.” It has received fervent acclaim worldwide. In a “4-out-of-5 star” review, NME attested, “the Scottish rock legends draw on their best moments and a Bowie-esque European sheen for a vulnerable yet life-affirming blast.” KERRANG! went on to rave, “Futique is an album to cherish,” going on to applaud, “it’s a bold, fresh effort full of tunes that are simultaneously immediate and deep.”
“Futique” is a word for those beautiful, sad and fleeting moments that only become significant in hindsight. It’s an idea that complements revisiting your roots to reassess the future, and that is something that the trio have channeled throughout the record. The record’s atmosphere is as if they have stepped back to their early days as grunge-loving teenagers with big dreams, and applied it to the accomplishment and daring spirit that personified their catalogue from ‘Only Revolutions’ to ‘A Celebration of Endings’. What emerges is a record in which Biffy Clyro’s greatest strengths loom large: towering choruses, searing vulnerability, explosive dynamics, and a love of some unexpected sonic curveballs.
Upcoming North American Tour Dates:
4/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
4/23 – Denver, CO @ The Federal
4/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
4/26 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
4/28 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe at Old National Centre
4/29 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
5/1 – Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick =
5/2 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
5/3 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre
5/5 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
5/6 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
5/7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
5/9 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome To Rockville **
Multi-Platinum, Multi-GRAMMY Award winning artist Jason Mraz has announced “Still Yours,” a tour running on the East Coast this May-June. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 6.
Modeled after Mraz’s sold out UK and European dates last fall, the US leg of “Still Yours” brings Mraz back to his coffee shop beginnings: him and his guitar, telling stories, and playing hits and deep cuts from the last 20+ years.
“I’m happy to reunite with fans and families for a night of uplifting, healing music rooted in love, gratitude, and humor,” said Mraz. “‘Still Yours’ creates a shared, harmonious space through song and musical storytelling. It is my calling!”
The tour kicks off May 12 at Glazer Hall, a new Palm Beach, FL 400-seat waterfront performing arts center that opened in January. The trek runs through June 10, wrapping with a two night stand at the Paramount in Brooklyn, NY. Check https://jasonmraz.com/ for ticketing and on-sale dates and details for each show.
Aside from the tour dates, Mraz is preparing new music to release this year. More details will be announced shortly.
And before Mraz hits the road, he’ll join five San Diego non-profit organizations in “Dream,” the third community concert event presented by the Jason Mraz Foundation featuring performers of all abilities in two shows at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. For the first time, Mraz will welcome additional featured artists to join the organizations: Los Angeles singer/songwriter/activist MILCK, blind jazz and folk guitarist Raul Midón, and Filipino-American singer/songwriter/musician Albert Posis.
Gibson today announces the release of the Mark Morton Les Paul™ Modern Quilt, a bold new signature model designed in collaboration with Mark Morton, the acclaimed guitarist and co-founder of Lamb of God. Known for his ferocious riffs, intricate solos, and genre-defining blend of metal, thrash, and blues influences, Morton has long been celebrated as one of the driving forces behind the new wave of American heavy metal. His new signature Les Paul captures that same fearless musical spirit—delivering precision, power, and uncompromising performance for players who demand the very best. The Mark Morton Les Paul Modern Quilt is available worldwide at Gibson Garage locations, via authorized Gibson Custom dealers, and on Gibson.com.
“I wanted something that stayed classic to the heritage and the history of the Les Paul, and something that looked heavy metal,” says Mark Morton. “The quilt top and the trans black satin finish felt dark and metal to me, but not over the top, it still feels like and looks like a Les Paul. Once we decided on the finish of the top, and the guitar, there’s are all of these different design elements to play with re picking out the hardware and plastics. We tried a bunch of different options, and we paid a lot of attention to how we were going to finalize those little details, and for me it’s a bullseye.
The 60s style knobs are a cool throwback to the John Sykes model that was done a long time ago. The way it is contoured at the heel allows me to reach the upper registers comfortably, and the ebony fretboard is really fast. This model has a slim taper neck which was very important for me, as it’s the most comfortable neck profile.”
A veteran of Canadian indie scenes, Plain Mister Smith (formerly of Moev and Cinderpop, and current cellist with the Vancouver Philharmonic
Orchestra) blends indie pop, baroque folk, and psychedelic sensibilities. With his new music, Plain Mister Smith invites listeners to take that first step with him into a world that is whimsical, thoughtful, and richly textured.
His new single “Dream to be free” is a mesmeric reflection on a trip to Kyoto that took place during Diamonji time, which is a festival where locals light giant bonfires aflame to guide spirits back home. Out February 6th, the single is the final offering from his upcoming record, due to be released in March.
“Dream Drowning” showcases the horrors of everyday life on an endless loop. On the new single, TRAITRS attempts to understand the emotion behind the dreams we have each and every night.
With their much-anticipated new album Possessor, produced by long-time collaborator Josh Korody (The Beaches, The Dirty Nil, Japandroids, Tanya Taqaq, F*cked Up) and mastered by Matt Colton (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg, Dua Lipa, Blur etc), Canada’s TRAITRS continue to develop their melancholic sound and imagery with the emotional follow up to 2021’s critically acclaimed LP Horses in the Abattoir.
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