Artist Spotlight
Joelle Charan paints memory in strings with latest release “Still Portrait (String Orchestra)”
The Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter Joelle Charan kicks off the year with a quietly stunning release in “Still Portrait (String Orchestra),” a single that’s more of a moment caught in gold. Based on memory and loss, the track slowly immerses you in a winter world where emotion sways each note. Based on a snowbound English country lane, Charan constructs “Still Portrait” around one unforgettable image, the roses that bloom in January and grow delicate and proud in defiance of the cold. That tension is the song’s emotional spine, much like grief itself, beautiful, painful, and unrelenting. Charan lets the atmosphere do the work, trusting that the listener will feel his way through.
The full string orchestra also takes the track into cinematic territory. The production flows with slack but tasteful restraint, keeping Charan’s voice front and center rather than surrounding it. Singing with a kind of emotional clarity that’s won her dedicated fans and critical raves. There is a quiet to her performance, an intentionality such that every breath feels as though it has been placed where it belongs.
Fans of Sarah McLachlan, Laura Mvula, Vanessa Carlton, and Kurt Elling will feel an immediate kinship here. However, “Still Portrait (String Orchestra)” is firmly rooted in Charan’s own creative landscape. It’s also reflective, without being distant, and mournful while maintaining a sense of warmth. Ultimately, this release is a further testament to Joelle Charan’s gift to turn personal experience into collective emotion. Like the winter roses that inspired it, “Still Portrait (String Orchestra)” blooms softly, courageously, and beautifully, evidence that amidst the darkest harshness, something soft can still live.
Album Review
Paul Terry, Aptøsrs & Cellarscape unite on bold new album “Alternative Piano Club”
Combining his three artistic alter egos, Paul Terry presents an awe-inspiring new 12-track album, “Alternative Piano Club,” written in collaboration with Aptøsrs and Cellarscape. This is an album-length voyage of music that blends acoustic, rock, and piano-driven cinematic sounds.
Torn between this complex emotional spectrum, all the while the piano remains at its core throughout. Paul Terry opens his “Memento Mori (Chromogenic Phase)” contemplatively, creating a solemn, reflective mood. Cellarscape’s “Three Years Of Roses“ is warmer, whereas Aptøsrs’ “Questionnaires“ is much more textured as a large, sculptural post-rock.
“Dave’s Theme,” written by Paul Terry, musically expands the narrative with a touch of cinematic elevation that aligns well. “We Shape The Clouds” by Cellarscape is fluffy and heart-warming, “Writers Behind The Curtain” is somber, more narrative. We are all together in “A Place We Made,” an honest, intimate, emotionally grounded space.
The project contains vocal warmth and cultural depth in the song “This Is My Home“ by Silas Miami & Lana Crowster. Proceeding in a totally different direction is the stronger emotional clarity of Paul Terry’s acoustic storytelling on “Any Time You Want To Fly” and “No Sleep Has Come.” Cellarscape presents a wide, spacious atmospheric moment in “Cygnus,” while Aptøsrs ends with “Rust Mountain (Monochrome Piano Version),” a simple gem that brings the project full circle.
The mixing of Sam Okell and Adam Noble, the mastering of Alex Wharton and Robin Schmidt have, in many ways, brought their polish to it while still making it feel human. “Alternative Piano Club” is a work entity, where three musical personalities met and talk mind in the same emotional language.
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Artist Spotlight
LAST ALEX! balances precision and pulse on the electrifying track “Plus 1”
LAST ALEX!, a Chicago-based artist and producer, comes out with “Plus 1,” a high-energy release that combines technical prowess with an undeniable melodic instinct.
LAST ALEX! puts both craftsmanship and creativity on display here. The song’s strength lies in its balance, in detailed execution without sacrificing feeling, and in complexity without losing momentum.
LAST ALEX! doesn’t fully lean into the cold technique or loose emotion, but finds the sweet spot where skill and soul meet. This yields a polished, vibrant, and musically confident track.
Connect with LAST ALEX! on Spotify
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