Montell Fish: moon and stars (demo)

The opening drum beats in New York-based artist Montell Fish’s latest demo immediately seduce, setting the scene for the rest of the song. As textured guitar chords and Fish’s pitched vocals converge alongside the percussion, the track quickly evolves into a transformative soundscape. The release comes paired with a video loop of the artist waiting for the L train in New York, shot on a …

Jack White: Taking Me Back (Gently)

Recording artist Jack White’s first new solo material since 2018, “Taking Me Back (Gently)” is the (unsurprisingly) gentler, folksier second song on a new two-track release that begins with a raucous, percussive rock number of the same name. The latter also appears within the trailer for the Call of Duty: Vanguard video game. With nods to bluegrass, and impeccable violin playing, the softer iteration feels …

How New Zealand Musicians are Revitalizing Maori Language

Maori, the Indigenous language of New Zealand, is on the cusp of extinction—and musicians in the country are trying to save it. Translating well-known songs into te reo Maori (“te reo” meaning “the language”), New Zealand artists are putting the Indigenous tongue back into use. Lorde is one such musician, releasing a new EP, Te Ao Marama, that’s composed of five songs from her record Solar …