Tamino is a Belgian-Egyptian singer, songwriter, guitarist, oudist, and Egyptian actor. He came to the guitar as a teenager when he found a rare resonator guitar in the attic of his late grandfather – the Egyptian actor and musician Muharram Fouad, who became known as “The Voice of the Nile.”. Today Tamino plays the guitar and the oud – creating a double bridge to his cultural past, ultimately understanding and articulating his emotional present. Tamino’s sophomore album, Sahar, explores mystery and wonder, romance and devotion, sorrow and hope.

“The Longing” opens with Tamino’s tapestry of guitar and oud [...]

Ian Wardenski is a guitarist, composer, theorist, and educator. Wardenski has built a reputation for his compositions that are developed upon rich harmonic characteristics and an additive approach to melody and rhythm. He is following up his debut album, Collective Thoughts (2019), with his sophomore release, Trust. Trust features the Ian Wardenski Quintet functioning as a chamber group with the freedom, spontaneity, and improvisation of a small jazz combo. Joining Wardenski is Mercedes Beckman – alto saxophone, Jerry Ascione – piano, Amy Shook – bass, Frank Russo – drums, and Tamara Tucker – voice.

“Before Long” begins our journey [...]

Ari Lennox returns and has released a new album titled age/sex/location. Lennox has not released an album for the past three years. Now she brings us a 12-track sophomore release that has her R&B vocals augmented with appearances from Lucky Daye (“Boy Bye”), Summer Walker (“Queen Space”), and Chlöe (“Leak It”), with production from J. Cole, Elite, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, J. White Did It, Cardiak, and Organized Noize. “Transitional space. Very vulnerable codependent and validation seeking part of my life,” she wrote. “I remember the countless times I was kicked out of dating apps because they didn’t think I was really myself; it [...]

Maya Lane is a London-based singer and songwriter. The 19-year-old has released two singles, “Childish Games” and “Still The Same,” both have been received well by fans and critics. Lane is now releasing her third single titled “When You Need Me,” which is gearing up for her debut EP in September.

“When You Need Me” features Lane’s dreamy vocals with lyrics that tell a story of unconditional love for her younger sister as she gives her younger sibling advice on her journey. Lane co-wrote ‘When You Need Me‘ with another UK talent,  Kaity Rae, marking their third collaboration with the hit-making producer Jonathan Quarmby. Lane says, “‘When [...]

Lauran Hibberd is an English singer-songwriter from the Isle of Wight. Starting in 2018, with her single “Call Shotgun,” Hibberd has been releasing music and gaining momentum with her blend of pop-rock. Hibberd says, “have since then released a bunch of singles, a debut EP, and am about to release a second EP (recorded with LA producer ‘Suzy Shinn’) whilst recording my debut album. I’ve been lucky enough to tour with Hippo Campus and The Regrettes around the UK and Europe, play some bucket-list festivals (GLASTONBURY), and sell out my own headline tours. Lockdown has stopped everything ‘live’ [...]

Meridian Odyssey is a jazz ensemble form Big Lake Alaska that is now releasing their latest album, Earthshine. The sextet recorded the album after six days of intense rehearsals of the nine new originals. Trumpeter Noah Halpern joins the core band of saxophonist Santosh Sharma, bassist Ben Feldman, pianist Dylan Hayes, guitarist Martin Budde, and drummer/producer/engineer Xavier Lecouturier. In addition, Ben Lange performs on the mandolin, and Jeff Busch performs on percussion as guest artists on track seven, “Song for Jovino.”

“XD” opens the album with a catchy melody composed by Hayes and Lecouturier. The ensemble [...]