“Thai Basil“ is a refreshing change of pace. This new release from Dan Webb is a funk, jazz, and electronic track that trades the heavier subject matter of his recent singles for something much more immediate. It’s a party that celebrates life and the present moment. The track is the first single from his forthcoming fifth album, “Lion Dance,” and draws on Southeast Asian flavors.

The heart of “Thai Basil“ is a stacked horn chart played by Ron Blake and James King, both of whom are in The Rolling Stones’ horn section and also played on Hackney Diamonds and Foreign Tongues. This gives the track a strong brass-led identity, and the horns become a defining part of its musical character. The arrangement suggests a sound meant for movement and energy.

The album’s previous singles have delved into Taoist philosophy, Buddhist tradition, loss, displacement, self-identity and reinvention. “Thai Basil“ breaks from those weightier subjects but keeps the album’s sense of artistic discovery. It’s about presence, pleasure, and the simple fact of being alive.

“Thai Basil“ is more playful and celebratory, never settling into one emotional space, and pulls from a unique array of jazz, funk, and electronic influences. What is released expands the image of what “Lion Dance” can be, showing it can be not just a journey through identity and change, but a journey that can be welcoming and simply happy.

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You might not think a Facebook post could turn into a song, but for TaniA Kyllikki, “HUMAN” is a creative process that turns a moment of frustration into a thoughtful musical statement. This house/techno track explores race, difference, judgment, equality, compassion, and the labels people put on each other. Its artistic direction leans toward empathy, humility, love, and the shared humanity beneath those differences, rather than division.

The song was inspired by Kyllikki’s reaction to the hostility she saw online toward people of different races, cultures, and backgrounds. Kyllikki and her husband, producer and multi-instrumentalist Rynellton (Garry D. Hairston), chose music to express compassion and provoke thought, rather than meet hostility with more of the same.

Kyllikki gives a personal songwriting perspective, and producer/multi-instrumentalist Rynellton helps to translate the original words into a techno-house setting. “HUMAN” strikes a cool creative balance, blending dance-oriented genres with a serious topic and letting its message fit into a modern electronic structure rather than a simple statement.

This song began as words on the net, became Kyllikki, and turned into lyrics that had to be set to music. “HUMAN” is a testimony to TaniA Kyllikki’s ability to take an unsettling observation and turn it into a creative expression of connection. That defining quality is the choice to respond to division with music, a release that is both a reflection of its origins and a continuation of the artist’s expressive path.

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