Music

“Can I be there?” by Stephan Folkes is a letter to the power of standing alone

Surrounded by constant buzzing and distraction, Stephan Folkes dares to sit with silence and turns it into a melody you won’t forget. His most recent single, “Can I be there?” is a delicate, stripped-down anthem that arcs its way through even the quietest of the soul. “Can I be there?” comes across like an open journal entry, raw, honest, and unworried about the dark. Stephan’s voice will be both intimate and resonant, leading everyone through a landscape of emotional solitude in which strength doesn’t always roar but instead whispers, reflects, and gently asks, can I exist in this place with all of me intact?

It’s also a promising precursor to Hazard, Stephan Folkes’s debut album, which appears to be a deeply emotional and diverse body of work. If this track is any indication, Hazard is a journey through inner territory. While “Can I be there?” delves into loneliness, it also succeeds in honoring it, taking isolation, and turning it into a space that is necessary for healing, understanding, and growing. What sets this song apart is that it won’t disguise vulnerability. Instead, it goes all in. The setting is stark, nothing is overproduced, and every note sounds like it’s been meaningfully, if also sparingly, chosen. That sonic restraint affords room for Stephan’s lyrics to breathe and, most importantly, to hit. You don’t simply hear the longing in his voice, you feel it in your chest.

“Can I be there?” makes its home in the in-between, the sights we tend to speed by, grief, solitude, and instances of spiritual dissonance, and discovers a sort of stillness there. Stephan invites us to listen, not just to him, but to feel alongside him and pose our own questions about where we belong in those quiet moments. This is a reminder that sometimes, being alone isn’t always about being empty, it’s about making space for the truth to arrive. With this release, Stephan Folkes is constructing a mirror.

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KENTON journeys through family, identity and healing in “Sweetmouth (Sugar Free)” (EP)

“Sweetmouth (Sugar Free)” is an extremely reflective acoustic EP that guides you through its six tracks as it explores memory, identity, and emotional reconciliation. Created at a moment of deep discovery, the project reveals KENTON’s process of forgiving others, of realizing who he is within himself, and of internally processing what he experienced as a queer Asian American child growing up in the United States.

The EP opens with “I’m Breaking My Father’s Heart – Acoustic,” a gentle track about the disconnection between what parents desire and what you believe is true. “Never Born – Acoustic” is inward-looking, exploring the existential uncertainty of financial suffering at home and prayers that hang in the air, unanswered.

“Let Light In – Live” is a release that captures emotional awakening, where letting go of past pain is the first step toward recovery. “Without You – Acoustic” is one of the most affecting moments on the EP, which recounts a tough relationship with a sick father. “Wannabe American – Acoustic” laments the falseness of the American Dream and how it commodifies the Asian identity.

On the final song, “The Times – Acoustic,” KENTON directs strength toward a message of survival, hope, and endurance in an emotionally suffocating world. “Sweetmouth (Sugar Free)” is also the voice of the collective, and it’s a gift to immigrant and queer youth searching for belonging in spaces that often do not welcome them.

Photo credit: Ricky Chavez

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Artist Spotlight

Terrell Journey rewinds emotion and identity in cinematic EP “Retrograde”

The new reflective R&B EP, “Retrograde” by Terrell Journey, transports us back to the emotional origins of his Journey Digital Supercharged universe. It’s a cinematic prequel defined by tension, clarity, and artistic reinvention.

As a prequel to the famed Journey Digital Supercharged collection, it builds on Terrell Journey’s vision of a musical universe with separate but connected story worlds beneath that umbrella in the Journey Digital Saga. This project is a shift in point of view, and “Retrograde” examines the moments before acceleration, the tension and clarity that happens before everything moves forward.

The EP’s opening track, “Me vs Me,” invites introspection and sets the stage for the project. “Tit 4 Tat” sharpens the tension, while “We Listen and Don’t Judge” creates a space cleared by honesty and emotional control. “Run A Boston” feels fast and intentional, harnessing the force of movement before the EP enters what is its most personal closing stretch.

“Steal Your Heart” is a melodic peak that combines emotional tug with elegant R&B textures. “Love” closes the EP on a warm, resonant note that sounds resolved and open-ended. “Retrograde” expands Terrell Journey’s kaleidoscopic world by making introspection a narrative, and it serves as a crucial link between reflection and the forward momentum of Journey Digital Saga.

The EP challenges you to consider themes of internal conflict, emotional honesty, and change. This continues to cement Terrell Journey’s track record for creating in-universe sets of R&B storytelling narratives.