Ron Brunk pulls up with the kind of energy that basically says, yeah, life keeps swinging at me, but it keeps missing.  His new single “Not Dead Yet” is exactly that, an unbothered, chaotic anthem that treats mortality like a cosmic prank and survival like a running joke he refuses to stop telling. At this point in his career, with album number thirty-eight on the horizon, Brunk isn’t slowing down or “maturing” into something bland. If anything, he’s leaning harder into the weirdness, doubling down on his off-kilter humor, and letting his lifelong brushes with hell shape the most unfiltered version of himself we’ve seen yet. “Not Dead Yet” hits like a life crisis you can dance to. Swinging pianos, shuffling snares, vocals lightly dipped in distortion, Brunk makes existential dread sound like a party trick. He’s singing about death like he’s talking about chores, tossing out lines with the exhausted confidence of someone who genuinely knows he “could go at any minute,” yet still chooses to crack a joke about it. Andi Jane slips in with backing vocals that feel like a wink from the universe, soft enough to soften the blow, sharp enough to keep pace with Brunk’s gruff, megaphone-coded delivery. The whole track spirals upward into a siren-like wail so dramatic it loops back around into catharsis. That’s the Brunk formula: take the heavy, twist it until it’s ridiculous, and land somewhere surprisingly moving. The music video doubles down on the absurdity. Brunk’s back is turned for the first twenty seconds like the audience is lucky to even witness the moment. What follows is chaotic theatre, his “magic piano,” his usual collection of sunglasses, a real megaphone (because of course), sudden fade-to-blacks that imply the angels are clocking in early, and then Brunk snapping back to life like nothing ever happened. And then there are the cats. His newly adopted feral crew is fully part of the show, perched on the piano, singing along like a tiny choir of gremlin backup dancers. It’s adorable, unhinged, and exactly the kind of outlandish sincerity that makes Brunk Brunk. “Not Dead Yet” feels like his loudest heartbeat, a reckless, joyful reminder that being alive is messy, stupid, funny, and weirdly precious. Brunk turns resilience into a punchline and a victory lap all at once. If this is the energy leading into album thirty-eight, buckle in. Ron Brunk isn’t just not dead yet, he’s very much alive, thriving, and refusing to leave quietly.

Toronto hardware duo World News (Bill Cutbill and Qu Mi) spent nearly a decade building their own sonic ecosystem, building experience, and honing their skills on synths, drum machines, modular racks, samplers, and more. Their debut album, ' ON STEROIDS, ' released via Safe Sounds, feels like the moment that ecosystem finally spills over into the rest of our world. It’s a record that spans themes of organic creation; of the magic that can happen when musicians are locked into improvisational symbiosis, shaping machines until they seem to breathe. Recorded largely during extended sessions in a rural Muskoka hideawa y, 'ON STEROIDS' distils three years of exploration into eight tracks that map the coordinates of the band’s expanding musical journey. The opener “HYPE” feels like a warm trippy daydream, evoking discman-era sunlit nostalgia. “LAST CHANCE,” one of their earliest creations, feels fantastical, tactile, and eerily peaceful. “MOVE ON ME” taps into trip-hop minimalism and emotional entropy, while “EJECTION” mutates from brooding ambient tension into a techno eruption. Focusing on the opening salvo, “HYPE” is simply an amazing gateway to the rest of the album. Accompanied by a beautiful music video that follows a woman skating the Rideau Canal as the sun sets in -30 degree weather, “HYPE” manages to incorporate a distinct feeling of nostalgia along with the normally competing forces of whimsy and purpose. Sonically, the synth work does really capture World News organic approach to music, mirroring the feeling of a breath taken, held, then released, as synths repeatedly build up in intensity before easing away like the fading sunlight. World News new album 'ON STEROIDS' demanded our attention, and we think it’ll demand yours as well. For listeners drawn to the experimental, the emotional, and the genre-agnostic, World News offers you a nice opportunity to whet your appetite. Whenever you’re ready, tap in and check out World News album 'ON STEROIDS,' and especially “Hype,” you won’t regret it. Welcome to BUZZMUSIC, World News! You mentioned your music is built almost entirely through improvisation with hardware. How do you navigate the balance between losing yourselves in the moment and shaping those sessions into cohesive, emotionally resonant songs? Qu:  Hi Buzz, thanks for having us! Bill: That’s a good question, but the short answer is, it just sort of takes care of itself, thanks largely to our process! The first and most important thing is to always press record! But after that, getting a good balance is just about improvising together enough, because it takes a while to get a natural rhythm going and to become somewhat telepathic as we create.  We improvise while recording 16 channels of hardware. This process takes away the pressure of something needing to be something – that classic thing where a musician can play a part perfectly until it comes to pressing record, when they constantly flub or start to overthink it – that doesn’t happen so much with us. Inevitably, there are a bunch of our jams that lack cohesion or fail to get off the ground, but then other jams just fall into place, and so we prioritise those ones, and they become the music. When improvising vocals, which is probably the most difficult bit, you can sometimes get everything all at once – the words, the phrasing, even the actual recordings that make it onto the final tracks, which is the case for MOVE ON ME. Other times, you get a few words or phrases, so then when we come to revisit the recordings, we can finish them up in the studio and fill in any gaps we feel are missing to make sure they resonate. Qu: Yeah, it's also worth pointing out that although we do write all our songs through a method of improvisation, it doesn't mean we don't prepare. Bill makes field recordings in his travels, so those get edited and prepped in advance. And we’re always playing with our synthesizers and workstations to prepare sounds and beats on our own, in part because that helps us to get to know each piece of gear better. We do sometimes shape all this stuff completely on the fly as well, but it depends. Bill: And yeah, to answer the question as to how we make them emotionally resonant, that’s just about turning up and being present when making the music. It’s normally pretty easy to feel when something rings true when you listen back. The general rule is, if it makes us feel something, then it’s good! Much of “On Steroids” explores the tension between electronic and organic matter. Can you talk about how recording in rural Muskoka influenced your creative process and the emotional palette of the album? Qu: The majority of the year, we're working on World News from Toronto, usually in the evenings. We rehearse inside the disused vault of an old bank (AKA “Safe Sounds”, which is also the name of our independent label, on which the album was released). The environment there can feel a little closed off from nature.  Bill: Recording at the cottage in Muskoka, which is something we’ve done for three summers in a row now, is a great way to breathe some freshness into the music. Qu:  It gives us a way to just separate from the city in general – we make epic meals, go for hikes, canoe, swim, throw some darts – but then in the main room we have all the synths and recording gear set up overlooking the lake. It's a bit different than being encased in a cubed room behind two-foot-thick concrete walls, and the music becomes more expansive as a result. I find that the time we spend at the lake, removed from the day-to-day scramble of city life, allows us to connect to each other on a deeper level, enriching our friendship and making sure we're on the same supportive wavelength.   This, along with being in an open room, able to see the sky and the horizon while we play, lends a hand to finding that warm and expansive sound we strive for. Our entire ethos is based on exploration and self-discovery, and being out in the woods, on the lake, under the stars, imbues us with that spirit. As a follow-up to that, what’s your biggest source of motivation when you make your music, and as an extension of that, what does music mean to you? Qu: Making music is an outlet for self-expression that helps me connect to the world. I'm always trying to create something totally unique and beautiful... or if not beautiful, at least emotive. I get bored easily, but I lead a very routine lifestyle, so I want to be surprised, challenged, and transported by the music I create. Being a classically trained musician, the World News approach is, in itself, unique to me and challenges all my preconceived methods and theories of composition. I'm frequently awed by the textures and moods we create and the depth of meaning we can get from just a few words uttered during a conversation with the machines. Bill: There’s definitely an element of capturing a feeling or moment sonically, using all our gizmos and gadgets, that is the motivation for me. Once something has been created, it can be revisited years later and transport you back to that place. That’s what I like, it’s powerful. What was your favourite part of the creative process for making “On Steroids”, and what’s your favourite part of the creative process usually? Qu: The creation moment for a new track (what we refer to as the “inception”) is super exciting. Will: Haha, totally, it can feel like we just birthed something. Qu: Yeah, it's difficult to describe how euphoric it can be when suddenly all the elements work together, one or both of us have found an inspired lyric or melody maybe, and we're working in tandem to sculpt the whole thing into a crescendo or really tight mood, or are introducing new elements to change the entire vibe on the fly. That said, I think my favourite part of the creative process overall is actually working on the recordings. When we get to go through them and isolate all of the different parts that we played, we can peel back the layers and edit things down to prioritise the essence of the song and enhance the music.  This allows us to hone in and clean up the mix, and it also shapes how we approach playing the songs for our live sets as well. I love getting into all the guts of a song and sculpting it into the "perfect” version. You’ve said that ON STEROIDS is “not an easy listening record,” but a journey for people drawn to the unusual. What do you hope adventurous listeners discover about you and themselves when they experience the album from start to finish? Bill:  I think in ON STEROIDS, we’ve made a record that on a first listen might seem odd to some people, just because it doesn’t really fit in a specific genre.  Qu:  ON STEROIDS encompasses a wide gamut of styles from within our world, and it doesn't really sit still, except for when it does! I guess what I’m saying is it's not just a mindless bopper you put on in the background while you work. And though it does journey between styles and moods, plus it does have "singles" that stand on their own, it feels more like a book than a series of short stories.  Bill: With it being packed full of emotion, bravado, and texture, I feel the album will have a lot of replay value. There’s so much to absorb, it would be impossible to hear it all in a first listen! It’s a bit of a chameleon in that sense, and I say that as someone who knows it better than anyone… it still surprises me, which I love. Qu: Conceptually, there's a throughline, and it's up to the listener to find it for themselves. There's a lot of questioning in this album, and not necessarily a lot of answers, but it does make you think.

Let’s be real: LA is full of artists building careers out of tiny apartments that cost as much as a mortgage in literally any other city. Bedroom studios, closet studios, converted-pantry studios, if there’s an outlet and WiFi, someone in LA has tracked vocals there. But out of all that chaos comes actual greatness, because LA artists are resourceful as hell. They build their dream setups one Amazon package at a time, and yes… we’re linking them, because a good home studio will  level up your entire workflow. Here are the 10 essentials every LA artist swears by, whether they’re honest about it or not. 1. A Microphone That Pretends It Costs More Than It Does If you take your vocals seriously, don’t record on your iPhone and pray. A real mic, condenser or dynamic, changes your entire sound. Condensers add warmth and detail; dynamics block out your loud neighbors and your roommate blending a smoothie while you’re tracking harmonies. A proper mic = cleaner files, fewer retakes, and way less crying in the mix session. We recommend this one , bestie. 2. Studio Monitors That Tell You the Truth (Even When It Hurts) Studio monitors are brutally honest. They reveal every messy frequency clash, every muddy kick, every “why did I think that synth was a good idea?” moment. LA artists swear by them because you need the truth before you upload your track to Spotify and get dragged on Reddit. A good pair trains your ears, sharpens your mixes, and gives you that clean, wide sound you hear in pro studios. We recommend this one , bestie. 3. A Ring Light Because Content Pays the Rent Too The modern artist is part musician, part cinematographer, part “sorry, I need to film this real quick.” Ring lights save you when your apartment lighting looks like a horror movie. They give you crisp, bright content for TikTok, IG Reels, behind-the-scenes clips, all the stuff your fans actually want to see. Also great for Zoom sessions when you’re trying to look like you slept. We recommend this one , bestie. 4. Acoustic Foam to Save Your Vocals AND Your Neighborly Karma LA apartments echo like abandoned warehouses. Acoustic foam tightens your sound, stops those gross reflections, and prevents your vocals from sounding like they were recorded in a stairwell. You don’t need a full vocal booth, just foam in the right places. It instantly makes your takes cleaner and your neighbors marginally less annoyed at you. We recommend this one , bestie. 5. A Pop Filter, Because Your P’s Are Aggressive Pop filters might look basic, but trust, they matter. They block harsh bursts of air so your vocals don’t sound like you’re aggressively spitting at the mic. Without one, your takes are ruined. With one, you’re giving clean, crisp, professional energy. It’s an inexpensive upgrade that fixes 90% of beginner recording issues. We recommend this one , bestie. 6. Vocal Spray: The Emotional Support Item Every Singer Has Whether you’re on your second take or take 52, your throat needs hydration. Vocal spray helps soothe your cords, reduce irritation, and keep your tone smooth even after a long session. Does it feel like magic? Sometimes. Is it basically a ritual at this point? Absolutely. LA singers keep one in their bags, cars, backpacks, everywhere. We recommend this one , bestie. 7. A MIDI Keyboard for Catching 3 A.M. Genius Every LA artist has had a moment where inspiration hits at a disrespectful hour. A MIDI keyboard lets you build chords, sketch melodies, experiment with sounds, and work fast before the idea disappears. Even if you only use a few keys, it makes your studio look legit and gives you a ton of creative control. We recommend this one , bestie. 8. Headphones That Let You Hear the Ugly Truth Up Close A good pair of closed-back studio headphones is non-negotiable. They give you the raw, unfiltered truth of your mix, clicks, breaths, timing issues, weird background noises, all the stuff you’d miss on laptop speakers. They’re also clutch when you can’t blast your monitors at 2 a.m. without getting evicted. We recommend this one , bestie. 9. An Audio Interface That Works Harder Than You Do Your audio interface is the backbone of your entire studio. It converts your voice and instruments into clean digital audio, keeps latency low, and stops your setup from glitching like it’s 2004. If your interface sucks, everything sucks. Get one that can handle your gear without frying your vibe. We recommend this one, bestie. 10. LED Lights Because Vibes Are Half the Job Let’s be honest, bright overhead lighting kills creativity. LED lights bring the vibes  your studio needs: moody red for rage tracks, purple for sad songs, blue for late-night existential crisis sessions. They make your space feel cinematic, inspiring, and way more fun to create in. We recommend this one, bestie. Your home studio doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to be functional, inspiring, and built with gear that helps you make better music, not frustrate you into taking another “break.” These essentials are the backbone of every legit LA bedroom setup, from rising artists to producers grinding their way into the scene. Upgrade smart. Create relentlessly. And remember: your next hit is one good take away.

Photo by Ashtin Paige Drew & Ellie Holcomb aren’t just dropping another cozy holiday cover; they’re cracking open the season with the kind of warmth only two people who live, write, tour, and breathe music together can pull off. Their new single “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” feels like stepping into a December night where everything slows down just long enough to remember why these songs matter. It’s tender without being soft, classic without drifting into Christmas-card cheese, and a perfect first look at their upcoming EP I’ll Be Home For Christmas  landing November 21. With their beloved Neighborly Christmas shows returning to Memphis and Nashville next month, the Holcombs are once again proving they know exactly how to turn tradition into something that still feels alive, intimate, and genuinely human. This song evokes nostalgia without becoming a Hallmark card remix. When you rework a well-known Christmas hymn, what is the line between honoring tradition and refusing to play it safe? I think for any recording of a classic song, we have to have a particular musical idea that matches both who we are as artists, but honors that tradition. Nathan and Rich came up with this trio arrangement and it floats through that ether wonderfully.  Both of you have solo careers, family responsibilities, and a shared musical legacy. When you record something as intimate as a Christmas project together, does it deepen the marriage or simply force you to work through creative disagreements faster? At this point in our career and marriage, the driving force of the process is gratitude, which certainly deepens the relationship. We are grateful to get to make music with people we love and respect.  Fans often describe your holiday shows as spiritual rather than seasonal. Why do you think people need community centered music more now than ever, and what responsibility do you feel in that space? We hope any of our shows, whether these holiday shows or any of our shows, together or separately, are spaces where community happens, where strangers come together in a room to listen, sing, dance, laugh, cry, and feel human.  This arrangement leans warm and cinematic, with a sense of fireside stillness. Were there any production textures, vocal takes, or emotional imperfections you insisted on keeping because they felt human and honest? This song was recorded live, so Ellie, Rich, and Nathan did several takes and picked the one they liked best. (Oddly enough it was the first one). There was a humanity and a magic to that first take that transcended the others.  You have turned Christmas traditions into a touring legacy. What is one moment with fans, whether funny or unexpectedly moving, that made you realize these songs are bigger than nostalgia or ticket sales? For a lot of people, the holidays can be intense, both from a family perspective and from a chaos perspective, and we have heard from hundreds of people over the years that our show was a moment of peace and joy in an otherwise chaotic and tense season.

Most country love songs either drown in clichés or feel like they were written from inside a Pinterest board. Alyssa Ann dodges both traps with "Honey," a warm, glowing California-country track that feels like cracking open a jar of sunlight. It's sweet, sure, but not fake-sweet. Not artificial. It's got that slow-pouring, golden-hour sincerity that makes you stop and think, "Damn… I want a love that feels like this." The production leans dreamy and coastal instead of dusty and Southern, which is exactly where Alyssa shines. She's SoCal to her bones, and the track owns it. Airy guitars ripple like heat waves over PCH, while the rhythm sits back in the pocket, giving her vocals all the space they deserve. She doesn't belt to prove a point. She delivers each line with confidence, clarity, and that little spark that separates a singer from a storyteller. "Honey" works because it feels honest, not curated. Alyssa doesn't pretend she's writing about a perfect relationship. It came from a daydream in the middle of pandemic chaos. While the world was unraveling, she imagined a love that soothed instead of stressed. And weirdly, that makes the song hit harder. It's a reminder that even when everything goes sideways, hope still creates art. Her metaphors are sticky and clever without feeling sugary to the point of a toothache. Love is sweetness. Love as warmth. Love is something you can taste, not just analyze. It's classic country storytelling blended with modern pop sensibility, and she threads it effortlessly. That's rare, especially for an independent artist carving her lane without a major machine behind her. This track is for the romantics who refuse to apologize for wanting softness. For the girlies and guys, building standards instead of excuses. For people who need a reminder that real affection should feel nourishing, not confusing. With Josie Music Award nominations, a headlining Hotel Cafe show, and a growing catalog that proves she's more than a one-off moment, Alyssa Ann is stepping into her era with intention. "Honey" doesn't just ask you to feel something. It makes you crave more. "Honey" was born from a daydream, not a real relationship. How did imagining love instead of documenting it change the way you wrote the song? It honestly made everything easier. Dreaming up the relationship I want, rather than picking apart the messy realities of an actual one, felt refreshing. I didn't have to deal with real complications or real history. I could focus on something sweet, simple, and soft for once. I wrote as if this guy already existed, added a little chase because that is always fun, and built the type of love story I hope someone else hears and connects with. California country is its own lane. What sonic choices did you fight to keep the track true to your coastal roots, rather than going full Nashville? There wasn't a fight at all. The sound came naturally. We kept the classic country backbone with the acoustic guitar and traditional elements, then layered in coastal textures. Airy sounds, dreamy production choices, and extra reverb on my vocals helped shape that breezy coastal energy while still keeping the heart of a country song intact. What is one green flag quality you think modern love songs should highlight more?  Honesty, even when the story is unconventional. Not every love song needs to be perfect or pulled from a real moment. Some of the best ones come from imagination or hope. People still relate when you tell the truth about how something feels. If the song means something to you, it will mean something to someone else, too. The metaphors in "Honey" are vivid and sensory. What image or taste sparked the whole writing spiral when you first put words to paper?  It all started with two cravings at once. Companionship and sugar. I have a serious sweet tooth, so comparing love to something sugary made perfect sense. I imagined honey sparkling in the sunlight, warm and golden, giving the song that spring and summer feeling. Everything flowed from that first image. You've had major performance milestones and award nominations. How has stepping onto bigger stages shaped your confidence in telling softer, romantic stories like this one? This year has given me real confidence. Between three Josie Music Awards nominations and performing at the Hotel Cafe, I finally feel like my music is being heard. On smaller stages, I used to feel pressure to sing big and loud just to keep people's attention. Now I feel safe performing the softer songs because the audience actually wants to hear them. There is nothing like standing on a stage and realizing you can sing gently with emotion and depth, and people will still lock in.

Enter the world of Tori Lord, who refuses to play by the rules. With her debut single “ Never Be , she’s not here to write breakup songs for people who want to cry cute. She’s here to talk about the part of heartbreak you don’t post online: the shame, the clarity, the internal drag you give yourself when it finally shatters. Tori’s resume alone demands attention, national theater stages, choral roots, and even singing with Celine Dion on the Let’s Talk About Love tour. Now she’s stepping into her solo era with heavy hitters in her corner: producer Marty Martino (Down With Webster), songwriter Theo Tams, and mentor Rob Wells (the mind behind Justin Bieber’s “Baby”). That’s not a coincidence. That’s a co-sign. Her debut single “Never Be” plants her flag exactly where she belongs: in the lane of pop artists who don’t pretend their heartbreaks were poetic; they call them what they were. The track moves through that gut-punch moment when you realize you weren’t blindsided. The signs were there. The tone changed. The excuses got softer. The energy dipped long before the person did. “Never Be” isn’t bitter or petty. It’s not angry. It’s the lights flipping on after months in the dark. An epiphany disguised as a pop song. Production-wise, it’s sleek and cinematic, piano-driven, harmony-heavy, and open enough for Tori’s vocals to stretch and ache. There’s a choral elegance in her tone, a storyteller’s honesty in the lyrics, and a modern edge that puts her right beside today’s most emotionally literate pop voices. What makes Tori stand out is the precision in her authenticity. She’s spent years mastering brand-building, and instead of hiding that knowledge, she weaponizes it. She knows how to connect without forcing it, how to be vulnerable without manufacturing relatability, how to show the messy parts most artists bury. She documents everything, the wins, the chaos, the insecurities, and people are locking in fast. Her upcoming EP expands that world: self-love, growth, accountability, choosing yourself even when it hurts. “Never Be” is about realizing you weren’t really blindsided; you just didn’t want to hear the truth. What was the emotional turning point that made you ready to write from that level of honesty? After the reality set in that I wasn't going to hear from this person, I turned inward and was really mad at myself for opening my heart to the wrong person. It was from there that I sat down with my notebook and started writing out all my feelings around it. I landed on the one lyric "the only person I'm mad at is me / I felt so strong / but I got it all wrong". With this one line, I felt compelled to create something beautiful from this shitty situation.  You come from theater, choir, and even performing with Celine Dion. How are those worlds shaping the way you approach pop now, especially with a debut this vulnerable? I'd say from my choir days, I've always loved harmony. I remember growing up, any time my friends and I would sing, I'd always "take the high part" or play with the harmonies. You can definitely hear that woven into my music, both with Never Be and the upcoming songs. We stack lush harmonies and even use my voice as vocal pads, too, so there's a lot going on. I think my producer once said there were 18 stacked harmonies in one of my upcoming songs. Kudos to Marty for making sure each one of those sounds tight.    You’re documenting your entire becoming-an-artist journey online. What’s been the hardest part to show publicly, and what reaction surprised you the most? I'd say the most challenging is showing the days when nothing happens. In my world, there are moments when I am waiting for others to get back to me. I don't necessarily feel that creative, so I go into research mode for what comes next, or what content I can shoot next, etc., and all of that is quite boring. I don't share a lot of this because who wants to see someone scrolling down rabbit holes of content production ideas on a couch for two hours? I think that's the hardest - wanting to share but not thinking it's engaging enough.  The reaction to my songs has been really surprising - I've let go of being precious about sharing my songs, which I think has been a really great thing because I am now able to tease little bits earlier and earlier on and bring the audience into the process with me. I think that's been super cool.  The song explores being mad at yourself for believing in something that wasn’t real. How did you navigate the line between self-blame and self-forgiveness while writing “Never Be”? Writing the song was very cathartic. It was therapeutic to write about my honest experience, and it allowed me to lighten up on myself. I released my thoughts about the situation and the people involved (the people being him and me). This was also very early on in the process of me writing songs, so while I had written many previous to this, they had all been about things that had happened way in the past. This was the first song that I was navigating in real time. The feelings were so fresh, so raw. I would say that really helped to create a beautiful piece of art.  Your team includes Marty Martino, Theo Tams, and Rob Wells,  some of Canada’s strongest creative minds. What’s one piece of advice or insight from them that reshaped how you see yourself as an artist? My team is the absolute best. I feel so blessed to build this world with them. The best piece of advice is that this industry is a marathon, and if you come up against roadblocks, simply take them as intel to inform the rest of your journey and always keep going. I understand this could sound stock, but it has really helped me when I am experiencing low moments.

Charmian Devi has never been the type to tiptoe around reality, and “Diamond Hour” proves she is still incapable of playing it safe. This track arrives with the force of someone who has watched the world unravel and decided she is not going down quietly. It is alt-rock with a pulse, a bite, and a conscience, and it hits with the kind of clarity you only get from an artist who has lived more than one lifetime. From the opening beat, the song feels alive and restless. Tony Garnier’s upright bass gives the track a steady, almost ominous heartbeat. Dan Hickey’s percussion pushes everything forward with a sense of urgency that is impossible to ignore. Connor Kennedy’s guitar work slices clean across the soundscape, leaving flashes of electricity in its wake. The arrangement is tight enough to cut glass and raw enough to feel dangerous. Then there is Devi. Her voice carries truth the way fire carries heat. It is textured, emotional, unpolished in the most intentional way, and completely unwilling to dilute itself for comfort. She sings like someone who has seen systems fail, watched people break, and still refuses to let darkness become normal. The writing in “Diamond Hour” is direct and brutally honest. No pretty distractions. No metaphors so vague they lose meaning. Devi talks about rising violence, authoritarian creep, collective fear, and the responsibility we have to resist all of it. Not later. Now. It is rare to hear a track that feels both politically charged and deeply human without collapsing under its own weight. She pulls it off because she means every word. Charmian Devi has decades of credibility behind her, from her early punk roots to her work with legends like Lenny Kaye and Steve Shelley to her celebrated indie singles that continue to rack up streams. “Diamond Hour” feels like the culmination of all of it. It is not nostalgia. It is evolution. It is a veteran artist sharpening her voice for the world we live in now. With a new album recording in London in early 2026 featuring Alex Thomas, Jonathan Noyce, and John Atterbury, this track is the signal flare of what is coming. Charmian Devi is not just observing the chaos. She is confronting it head-on.

Australian rock trio Vermantics aren’t here to play nice;   they’re here to blast open your ribcage and make you feel something. Their new single, “ Mess ,” is the kind of track that grabs you by the collar and shakes the clarity back into you. It’s loud, unapologetic, and brimming with the kind of emotional turbulence that refuses to stay bottled up. Built from the bones of rock’s greatest eras ,  60s melody, 70s swagger, 90s grit, 2000s indie recklessness ,  Vermantics don’t mimic nostalgia; they weaponize it. Brothers Stefan and Daniel Fedele, backed by their powerhouse cousin Julian Perrotta on drums, grew up on stages, in sweaty pop-punk venues, and ultimately in the chaos of Melbourne’s rock ecosystem. That history shows. This band doesn’t “perform” rock. They live it. “Mess” is Vermantics at their sharpest: a relentless, hook-heavy, guitar-driven uppercut that never loses its grip. It’s built on a riff that refuses to back down, drums that crash like a stampede, and vocals that feel like someone standing in the wreckage of their own mind and finally shouting the truth out loud. This isn’t just a breakup song or an anger song. “Mess” digs deeper into mental fog, into emotional manipulation, into how easy it is for someone to get inside your head and twist the wires. It’s about that moment when you finally realize the chaos isn’t coming from outside forces… It’s coming from the inside. And the only way out is through your own damn strength. The band describes the track as a reflection of being mentally hijacked when one person’s influence becomes so overpowering that you start forgetting what your own thoughts sound like. The clarity comes later, in the realization that you’re not powerless, you’re just lost in the noise. “Follow your gut, you have enough power within,” the band says. That’s the heartbeat of “Mess”: a rallying cry for self-reclamation. Fresh off a hugely successful UK tour,   packed crowds, explosive live reactions, and a whole new wave of fans ,  Vermantics are stepping into 2025 with blood in their teeth and momentum at their back. And with plans to return to the UK in 2026, it’s clear “Mess” is just the ignition point for a much bigger firestorm. “Mess” is the anthem for anyone who’s ever spiraled, gotten stuck in their own head, or let someone else’s voice drown out their own. It’s loud. It’s cathartic. It’s Vermantics,   raw, reckless, and absolutely unstoppable. “Mess” tackles the feeling of having your mind twisted inside out by someone else’s influence. Was there a specific moment or realization that sparked this song for you? There wasn’t a real specific time for me it was more of a slow burn where someone else’s opinions and emotions had started to shape the way I thought myself. The spark came from the moment I realised I was no longer thinking in my own voice. The track sits in that rare space between chaos and clarity. How do you personally navigate that turning point, the shift from falling apart to reclaiming your own mind? I usually hit a point where the noise in my head becomes so overwhelming that I’m forced to ask myself what’s real and what’s just fear. The turning point really feels like when you stop blaming the chaos and start asking what it’s trying to tell you. You need to take your inner power back. You pull influences from nearly every era of rock, but your sound still feels modern and sharp. What part of rock’s past feels the most powerful or relevant to you in 2025? We really feel like the rawness of the 90s hits hardest for us. Bands that weren’t scared to be imperfect. There’s also something about early 2000s alternative music and the energy of classic hard rock that still feels timeless to us as well. We’re on a path of keeping our music as real and as live sounding as possible! Your UK tour was a major turning point. How did being in front of international crowds shift your energy, your confidence, or even your writing going into this release? It honestly blew our minds! Being in venues you’ve never heard of or been in before and just latching onto the energy of crowds, who are new was amazing. It made us braver in our writing too. There’s something about hearing a crowd react in a live room that changes the way you think about structure, intensity, even lyrics of a song. It gives you a different kind of confidence for sure! “Follow your gut, you have enough power within” is a strong message. What’s one time in your career or life where ignoring your gut nearly derailed you, or listening to it saved you? Early on we were getting lots of advice on what music we should be releasing - to be more “safe.” For a minute we almost listened and changed our bands vibe completely. But our gut was telling us that the rawness and the intensity was exactly what made us, us. It just felt wrong not producing the music we wanted to produce.

Most people spend their lives trying to choose one path. Dr. Monica Sliwa chose all of them   and mastered each one with a kind of quiet confidence that feels rare in today’s world. A full-time Community Pharmacy Manager at CVS, a UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy alumna, a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, a painter, and now the host of BeYouTalks Podcast , Monica isn’t just juggling careers;   she’s rewriting the script on what a Middle Eastern creative can look like in the diaspora. Born into a culture that values discipline, family, and tradition, Monica has always carried that foundation with her. But she also carried something else, a burning creative instinct she refused to silence. While her days revolve around healthcare leadership, patient care, and community responsibility, her nights and weekends belong to music, art, and storytelling. Guitar, piano, cajón, vocals in multiple languages, she moves through her artistry with a fluency that transcends boundaries. And now, she’s using her voice for something bigger. BeYouTalks Podcast: A New Platform for Middle Eastern Stories Launched in 2025, BeYouTalks Podcast is Monica’s newest leap, a fully Arabic-language show highlighting success stories within the Chaldean, Middle Eastern, and immigrant communities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and beyond. Entrepreneurs, creatives, founders, dreamers, Monica brings them all to the table, creating a space where our communities can tell their stories in our own languages, with our own nuance. The twist? She’s still new to the hosting world. Her first-ever hosting experience was during pharmacy school, via Zoom, no less, and now she’s front and center, guiding real conversations with real people, in Arabic, for an audience that’s been hungry for representation. It’s a bold jump, but it’s exactly the kind of jump she’s made her whole life. Monica isn’t just hosting a podcast; she’s building a cultural archive. A place where younger generations can hear the stories they wish they’d grown up with. A place where identity, ambition, and tradition coexist instead of colliding. The Multidimensional Creative: Beyond the Pharmacy Counter Music has always been at the center of Monica’s personal universe. A self-taught guitarist with a cinematic playing style, she blends Middle Eastern emotion with modern textures, a sound that’s earned her a fast-growing online presence. Her artistry expands even further into production, painting, visual art, and digital storytelling. She doesn’t just play instruments; she builds worlds. Fluent in English, Arabic, and Neo-Aramaic, and learning Spanish, Monica connects across cultures with an ease that makes her work feel accessible to a wide, diverse audience. That same multilingual identity becomes a superpower on BeYouTalks Podcast, where she navigates conversations with authenticity and cultural fluency. Monica is currently recording a new Arabic song in collaboration with a singer she recently interviewed on her podcast, a full-circle moment that blends her musical roots with her growing media presence. It marks her official entry into Arabic music recording, expanding her influence as both an artist and a cultural voice. This is where Monica shines most: she doesn’t silo her talents. She fuses them. She builds bridges between everything she touches, healthcare, music, culture, storytelling, and turns it into something communal. The younger generation of Middle Eastern creatives often feels pressured to choose safety over passion. Monica stands as living proof that you don’t have to. You can be a pharmacist who produces music. A scientist who sings. A community leader who paints. A podcaster amplifying voices that were never given the platform they deserved. Dr. Monica Sliwa doesn’t fit into a box;   she builds new ones.   And with BeYouTalks Podcast, she’s creating space for an entire community to do the same.

Australian songwriter-turned-pop-force delivers a confident, cheeky empowerment anthem that feels both Grimes-adjacent and completely her own. After years of ghostwriting multi-platinum hits around the world, Australian artist Toiz is officially front and center ,  and honestly, it’s about time. Her new single “ Party41 ” is the moment she stops playing behind the curtain and steps fully into her own world: bold, provocative, and dripping with the kind of self-made swagger pop has been missing. There’s a reason early listeners are drawing parallels to Grimes,   not in imitation, but in energy.   Toiz shares that same instinct for cinematic, electronic worlds; that same fearless blending of feminine softness with electronic bite. But where Grimes leans cosmic and chaotic, Toiz is grounded, sensual, and unmistakably human. She’s carving a lane that’s darker, warmer, and rooted in lived experienc e,  a refreshing shift in a genre often dominated by surrealism. “Party41” makes that clear from the first beat. Written, produced, and recorded entirely in her Brisbane home studio, the track is glossy but intimate, polished but mischievous. It’s dark-pop with a pulse,   something you can dance to, smirk to, or fully claim your confidence with. Lyrically, the song hits a sweet spot between cheeky and liberating. Toiz isn’t asking permission, and she definitely isn’t waiting for someone to tell her she’s enough. She already knows,   and she’s inviting you to remember it too. “Party41 is all about confidence, pleasure, and independence,   knowing you can have fun, feel sexy, and be fulfilled without needing anyone else to validate you,” she explains. “I wanted it to sound liberating and a bit naughty,   the kind of song that makes you smirk while you dance alone.” That intention radiates across the production: sultry synths, addictive pop phrasing, and a vocal that feels playful without losing its emotional weight. It’s Grimes’ experimental spirit, channeled through a lens that’s far more personal, feminine, and emotionally accessible. Toiz expands further: “I want people of any gender to feel empowered by it. I want it to be a reminder that you don’t need anyone to make you feel desired or complete, that you’re enough and it’s okay to have a little fun with yourself…under the sheets, dancing at home in the kitchen or out at the club.” If this is the direction Toiz is taking, the pop world should pay attention. “Party41” is a statement,   not just about self-love, but about an artist stepping into her real power. It's confident. It's cinematic. It hits. And it proves Toiz isn’t following in anyone’s footsteps; she’s actively building her own path, one addictive, high-voltage release at a time. “Party41” feels playful, confident, and a little provocative. What personal moment or shift in your life first sparked the idea for a song centered on pleasure, independence, and self-validation? I think getting closer to turning 30, I realised I was sick of focusing on how to please a man. Patry41 isn’t just about pleasure, though; it’s about learning to love the shit out of yourself and your own company. It’s realising I can get everything I need on my own, because really, if a dude comes along, he better enhance my sweet little life, not distract me from it. You know? You wrote, produced, and recorded this track entirely in your Brisbane home studio. How does creating in your own space shape the sound, confidence, or honesty of your music compared to working in industry rooms? There are no limits when it’s just me. I can experiment. I can curse real loud if I mess up. I can take my time with the process and not be swayed by anyone's opinions, and I love that! "My way" of creating is a little chaotic. I know I'm not great at explaining how I want it to sound, so I feel like I can completely release it all in my little studio. There’s a cinematic, electronic edge to your work that hints at artists like Grimes, but with a warmer, more intimate and grounded energy. How do you balance those darker pop influences while still keeping your sound uniquely yours? I think, coming from being a pop music songwriter, I’ll always have that love of pop melodies and typical pop song structure. But I also really love how artists like Grimes don’t box themselves into a genre. It seems to be more about feeling and bringing a euphoric energy to life when you listen to the track, and I want that blend in everything I create. A sound that pleases the ears and makes your mind escape somewhere. After years of writing hits for other artists, what has surprised you the most about stepping into the spotlight as Toiz and releasing music that reflects your stories and desires? I think what has surprised me since making music for Toiz, is realising that saying “good things happens when you least expect it” - it’s legit, because I feel like when I’m not over-thinking, or comparing what I’m creating and just going with what feels good. It feels easy. It’s beyond competitive to be an artist these days. I’d given up more than once too. With Toiz, I really am just making music that makes my heart happy and my soul come alive. I finally feel like I’ve made something unique, that also showcase small pieces of everything I’ve learnt in 10 years as a songwriter.  “Party41” pushes a message of empowerment across all genders. What do you hope someone dancing alone in their bedroom at 2 a.m. takes away from this track that they might not get from a traditional pop love song? Love yourself as hard as you can. Physically. Emotionally. Sexually. Whoever comes into your life after you fall in love with yourself has to be amazing, or you’ll always feel like you’ve settled for less than you deserve. Know your worth and work it.