Category Archive: Music

Maya Ixta: A Rising Star

There is nothing better than discovering a great song with less than a thousand Spotify listens. The primal instinct to declare “I heard it first!” takes over the mind and body: being the first of a friend group to “discover” a great artist is truly a feeling like no other. 

While listening to “Time” by Maya Ixta, a 17-year-old Latin-American artist based in Los Angeles with only sixty monthly listeners to her name, I felt the rush of that primal gate-keeping instinct. The song is steeped in the influences of Kali Uchis, PinkPantheress, and Billie Eilish. Like Uchis often does, Ixta alternates between English and Spanish lyrics on the track. The production features a fast-paced syncopated drum beat akin to those on PinkPantheress’ debut album “Heaven Knows.” The heart of the song is most aligned with Eilish: the lyrics of “Time” aptly and delicately explore the fleeting nature of time and anxiety about the future.

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Snow Patrol: Chasing Success

If you find yourself listening to playlists filled with the gentle ambience of sad rock music then Snow Patrol’s 2006 Grammy-nominated hit song, Chasing Cars, is almost guaranteed to make an appearance.

Snow Patrol is a Northern Irish alt-rock band that was formed in 1997. They went mainstream in 2004 with the album “Final Straw,” and multi-platinum 2006 album “Eyes Open,” which included their international hit song “Chasing Cars.” 

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Shenseea: Blurring Dancehall and Pop

Kingston, Jamaican songwriter/vocalist Shenseea blurs the line between dancehall and pop to create songs with uniquely effervescent energy through the incorporation of reggae, rap, and R&B music styles. Having grown up listening to Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion and the Isley Brothers, and looking up to her idols Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, Shenseea focuses on using her music to touch listeners and inspire them to proudly embrace their roots.

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Jacob Collier:  A Musical Prodigy

Nobody goes to a six-time Grammy award winner’s concert expecting that they will be performing too. But if you find yourself with tickets for a Jacob Collier show, you better warm up your vocal chords. 

Collier is famous for what he calls “Audience Choirs,” one of which took place at 2023’s Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England.  Collier first divided the crowds into sections, and then expertly blended together 30,000 amateur audience voices into a stunning vocal harmony –the  set was an exemplification of his sage-like musical wisdom and ability. 

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Odie Leigh: Louisiana Lady Headlines The Basement 

As a writer whose music lies somewhere between new-age ethereal folk and anti-suburbia steampunk, Louisiana reared  Odie Leigh is transforming what it looks like to be a music artist in the 21st century. While keeping lyricism light and meaning heavy, Odie entrances audiences with songs that emerge listeners in tales of erotic misfortunes, emotionally tolling relationships and an utmost sense of longing for emotional satisfaction. 

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