Alternative Pop

Stasis

by Forest

Forest


Want to know how I became good at making music? I just forgot I sucked at it.

I have a selective memory. Depending on how I feel, things either seem rather gloomy or much more thrilling looking back. However, a feeling I remember experiencing well throughout my upbringing is one of not being good enough. I always tried different things, which made me insightful in many respects but simultaneously mediocre in those very things. I’ve always struggled to do one thing. That always made me feel indecisive and ill-disciplined – two qualities you don’t want as a male where I’m from.

Well, my dad died when I was really young, so most of my life has just been my mother and me. As much as I’d hate to admit it, she significantly influenced my perception of the world and myself in it. Accepting this brought about the meaning behind my latest project: “Stasis,” a collection of songs made at home during points of recovery after wild trips far from home (2021-2022).

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The Futile Project, with a Wink

by Hendrik Heuser

Hendrik Heuser of The Futile Project


When I read the advertisement for the contest, I had to chuckle. The Nassau cultural prize for contemporary composition 2003 sounded great to me. Yet I hardly believed in myself enough to think the effort to apply would be more than futile. So that’s what I called my non-existent band project: The Futile Project.

I had left all my former bands when I returned from six months abroad in Glasgow. There, for the first time, I had an opportunity to present my music to an audience of musicians I hardly knew. Therefore, the feedback I got was honest and not tainted by friendship or sympathy. I performed almost every Monday at Gerry Lyon’s open stage night in the Nice’n’Sleazy, a club on Sauchiehall Street.

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Meet Us Halfway

by Guido Maurizio Doria of Pancake Drawer

Pancake Drawer


We are Veronica and Guido from Rome (Italy); we founded “Pancake Drawer” in 2018. Back in the day, we started as an acoustic duo, playing guitar and ukulele. Along our journey, we evolved our sound by introducing new instruments such as lap steel guitar and synthesizers.

The name “Pancake Drawer” is a quote from our favorite TV show, “Scrubs.” In our live sets, we love to play some covers from that show.

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This Will Make A Fun Story One Day

by _The Spotlights

This Will Make A Fun Story One Day by The Spotlights
Blurry lights, late-night, pink roses, and a tremendous amount of drama: Enter the world of The Spotlights. My name is Vincent, and I’m here to tell you the story of our first EP called THISWILLMAKEAFUNSTORYONEDAY.

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If you’re in love; be the difference!

by Firgun

If you're in love; be the difference! by Firgun
What if you couldn’t love the difference in the world?
All the excitement of feeling love, fear, hope…
You would be someone else; but who?
We are nothing more than a bunch of insecurities and uncertainties!
We are always lost in a dark room; full with presumption and bad mood…
But we just want to be happy!

It’s simpler than we think…
Really! I’ll show it to you!

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Why I started Vlogging aka Sunday Songwriting

by Aviva

Why I started Vlogging aka Sunday Songwriting by Aviva
I just wanted to keep it real.

Kind of like how meditating gives us a focused space for our peaceful energy to flourish, having a vlog has helped me to take my connection with my listeners to essentially a sacred space.

I often think deeply about the whole picture and how can I as an artist create safe spaces during quality entertainment experiences. I want to give people a window into my songwriting process and other aspects of me being because we are all creating this world together. I get inspired often by intense things clouded by introverted struggles with no release but music. And I didn’t want just those intense songs to be all I gave the world. Perhaps a good analogy is that not cleaning for weeks results in a big beautiful cleaning. And weekly songwriting is like weekly maintenance cleaning.

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Following My True HEARTBEAT

by Nicki Kris

Following My True HEARTBEAT by Nicki Kris
HEARTBEAT is the album I’ve always dreamed of releasing and It’s the result of several years of hard work after putting my creative life on hold for many years.

My return to music began in 2011, after a conversation with my oldest son about following his dreams. I realized at that moment that I hadn’t been true to my own dream of pursuing a music career. I don’t know if it was an epiphany or a mid-life crisis, but I decided then to fully dedicate myself to music.

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The Secrets Behind

by Lauren Beeler

The Secrets Behind by Lauren Beeler
Let’s start this with a little bit of math. What do you get when you solve the equation below:

The death of your innocence
+ the trials of adulthood
+ dark humor as a coping mechanism
= ???

That’s right! You get my album Dixie Plaza.

As someone who has always wanted to finally get myself together and make an album, I never realized that sometimes it takes your worst moments to create something that you are genuinely proud of in the end result.

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