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Category: International Music

  • DARCY reflects on fatherhood and sacrifice in “I’ll Hold The Ladder”

    DARCY reflects on fatherhood and sacrifice in “I’ll Hold The Ladder”

    Dutch artist DARCY has released “I’ll Hold The Ladder”, a progressive house and dance-pop single centred on a father’s sacrifices and the support he gives his son.

    Released on September 22, 2026, the song tells the story of a father who holds a ladder steady as his young son climbs, encouraging him to focus on where he wants to go rather than look down. The narrative follows the son into adulthood, imagining him performing on a stage in a foreign country while his father watches from the audience.

    The song uses the ladder as a metaphor for parental support, with its central message focusing on a father who puts his own ambitions aside to help his child pursue his.

    Musically, “I’ll Hold The Ladder” combines a piano-led melody with soulful male vocals and a progressive house arrangement. The track builds towards a heavier electronic drop, contrasting its reflective subject with a festival-oriented sound.

    DARCY is the musical project of Darcy Hoogenhout, a Netherlands-based artist from The Hague. His songwriting often explores personal relationships and the people who provide support through different stages of life. His previous releases include “Leave The Light On” and “Whistle Anyway”.

    “I’ll Hold The Ladder” is available on streaming platforms.

  • Jake Bowman explores sensory overload in experimental sound project “Emesis”

    Jake Bowman explores sensory overload in experimental sound project “Emesis”

    California-based composer and sound artist Jake Bowman has released “Emesis”, an experimental sound project built from field recordings captured inside the Mega Don Quijote store in Shibuya, Tokyo, in November 2025.

    After returning to South Pasadena, Bowman processed the recordings using resonators, reverbs and modulation effects to create a dissonant ambient soundscape.

    The project draws on the sensory overload of the Don Quijote shopping experience, particularly its dense mix of consumer displays, sounds and activity. The recordings include skincare product advertisements, designer bags, Japanese sex toys, employee announcements and the sounds of intoxicated visitors gathered around the store’s only restroom.

    Through layers of distorted ambience, “Emesis” combines the store’s everyday sounds with uneasy, shifting textures. The work explores the overstimulation associated with excessive consumer environments and the physical reactions they can provoke.

    Originally from Blythe, California, Bowman is based in Pasadena and creates conceptual experimental music and sound work focused on visceral responses from listeners.

    His credits as a performer, engineer and producer include work connected to Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Chad Hugo, ScHoolboy Q, Curren$y, Lex Luger, Terrace Martin, Joey Bada$$, Statik Selektah, Burna Boy, Madeon and DJDS.

    “Emesis” is available on streaming platforms.

  • loveoleglove releases “Déjà Vu SRL (Reimagined)” ahead of original 2027 version

    loveoleglove releases “Déjà Vu SRL (Reimagined)” ahead of original 2027 version

    Independent electronic music project loveoleglove has released “Déjà Vu SRL (Reimagined)”, a reworked version of a track whose original release is scheduled for April 2, 2027.

    Released on October 30, the reimagined version moves between progressive trance and progressive house, retaining the original’s emotional theme while incorporating a more energetic electronic arrangement.

    Running for just over six minutes at approximately 129 BPM, the track features layered synths, arpeggiated melodies and a four-on-the-floor rhythm. Its arrangement also shifts into broken-beat sections, with a children’s choir and male vocals adding contrasting textures.

    The release is accompanied by artwork featuring a photograph taken in November 2008, after a date with the person who would later become the artist’s partner. The image reflects the track’s central theme of looking back on a moment whose significance becomes clearer with time.

    loveoleglove is an independent electronic music project that draws on personal experiences and memory, with releases spanning progressive house, trance, techno and melodic electronic music.

    “Déjà Vu SRL (Reimagined)” available on streaming platforms.

  • Kirk Franklin Announces Davido Collaboration “Hope in You”

    Kirk Franklin Announces Davido Collaboration “Hope in You”

    American gospel musician Kirk Franklin is set to release “Hope in You”, a collaboration with Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido, on Friday.

    The upcoming song brings together two artists from different musical backgrounds, pairing Franklin’s gospel roots with Davido’s Afrobeats sound. The collaboration is expected to feature on Franklin’s forthcoming album.

    The announcement introduces a cross-genre link between contemporary gospel and Afrobeats, two styles that have increasingly found connections through themes of faith, hope and personal experience.

    Franklin is known for his role in modernising gospel music through a combination of choir arrangements, contemporary production and elements of hip-hop and R&B. Davido, meanwhile, has built an international career through Afrobeats releases including “Fall”, “Unavailable” and “Feel”.

  • Conrado Cimino’s “Afuera” reflects on the birth of his daughter

    Conrado Cimino’s “Afuera” reflects on the birth of his daughter

    Argentinian musician Conrado Cimino’s “Afuera” is an instrumental track from Prisma, his 16-track album released on 16 October 2026 via Música Humana. Produced by Alejandro Staro and Nicolás Camarero, the album moves between singer-songwriter material, electronic music and instrumentals.

    “Afuera” was written in response to the birth of Cimino’s daughter. The track develops around two alternating chords, beginning with criolla guitar before introducing polyrhythms, woodwinds, cellos, synthesizers and electronic percussion. The child’s voice, heard saying “¡Afuera!” (“Outside!”), forms part of the arrangement.

    Cimino composed all 16 tracks on Prisma, primarily singing and playing criolla guitar alongside instruments including bass. His work draws on a range of musical styles, with influences including Bonobo, Photay, Air, Kamaal Williams and OHMA.

    “Afuera” is available on streaming platforms.