Alex Siegel – Still Waiting

"Still Waiting" is a laid-back and sunny song that was inspired by a tragic story from a book "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa.

Alex Siegel: "The book is about a samurai in feudal Japan. In the story the main character has a childhood friend who falls in love with him, but he never returns her love because he is so committed to mastering the Way of the Sword. Throughout the book she believes they are meant to be together, but it never happens. That situation inspired the lyrics and feeling of "Still Waiting."

Musically it's me having fun at home in my studio, playing each instrument and layering them, having fun with my new tape machine. I think I started with the guitar, then added drums and bass, then vocals and keys. I left it pretty organic and didn't want to "produce" it too much, so it almost has this Jack Johnson vibe happening haha."

Alex's music started getting attention from the audience on Spotify and being added to various user playlists, which, in turn, reached the attention of their editorial team, leading to millions of streams.

Alex Siegel: "Looking back, that moment was really validating for me. It gave me courage to keep going, and it was like an echo from the universe saying yeah, you're on the right track. I do think you need to find that green light inside yourself first, but it feels really meaningful to see your music reach a wider audience. Now I just want to have fun with it and make the best music I can make while continuing to grow as a person, a musician, producer and songwriter."

Listen to "Still Waiting" and revisit the gentle "Hollow Threats" by Alex Siegel & The Westerns.

Tecnosine – Overcast

Overcast by Oregon-based producer and remixer Tecnosine was inspired by the changing of the seasons and highly atmospheric UK electronic music. Both of these influences clearly show in the music. It seems to induce the state similar to a light and clear-eyed hangover on a cold autumn day when your body is relaxed and your thoughts are slow, heavy and almost tangible.

Daniel Sampson (Tecnosine): "Overcast is a bit of love letter to the way the seasons change and develop in my home state of Oregon. I constantly find inspiration from the physical environment of this beautiful state and coast where I live. Almost everything I write as Tecnosine is inspired by not only my musical influences, but the weather, the time of day, the coast or events in my life that require a release of emotional energy.

I love the deep and atmospheric sound of the genre Future Garage, which I have been incredibly inspired by since 2017 when I discovered Russian artist Menual. The moody, dark, and organic sound of this genre is a perfect representation of the Pacific Northwest in many respects. I am part British, so I often get inspired by British acts, and it just so happens that the enigmatic acts Sorrow and Vacant were also early inspirations of mine. Some people have compared my music to Burial, but I personally don't listen to very much of his stuff. He is one of the progenitors of the Future Garage sound so I can't really complain about the comparisons. It's flattering, actually!

I start almost everything I do with piano and then either keep the piano or change the instrument to something else. The real significant instrument is the guitar I added in the breakdown and second drop. I've come to love the sound of a clean guitar tone washed out with reverb and delay. Something about it is special."

Also check out the melancholic "Neon Dreamland" that sounds like a washed out and slowed down trance anthem and another jam capturing after-rave vibes "Capacious".

Maw – midnightfracture

We were curious to see how Maw would follow up on his excellent debut single "pomegranatedelusion". And he delivered again. The new song follows the style showcased on the debut track and expands on it. It has a busy drum beat, lovely roaring synths and a catchy funk guitar part similar to Jai Paul's style. "The song has been described as genreless, which is very much welcomed by me. But I would love for you to try describe the genre of this song to help my audience categorize it!", says the artist. I'd say "midnightfracture" can be described as "cosmic funk". And what do you think?