Music
Matthew Pinder Reflects On Inner Conflict In Smooth New Single “Used To Say”
Bahamian indie-folk artist Matthew Pinder follows up on his previous release, “Cascade,” with a groovy new single, “Used To Say,” out October 8. As the second teaser to his upcoming project, Pinder displays yet another layer of his musically rich artistry. “Used To Say” recounts Pinder’s experience as he grapples with the discomfort of experiencing change, but not embracing it; the artist opens up about feeling stuck through a time of darkness and isolation. Pinder delivers a tender, yet haunting display of how difficult it can be to live through the growing pains of change.
Introduced by deeply reverberant keys and a decadent bossa nova groove, this track mesmerizes listeners from the start. Pinder’s buttery vocals seamlessly weave between bright acoustic guitar and float atop creative acoustic percussion. Pinder collaborated with Bahamian producer/engineer Sherwood Rahming for a vivid sonic journey masterfully builds from spritely instrumentation to a full-bodied, orchestral soundscape embellished with a punchy electronic beat.
Matthew Pinder is a Bahamian singer-songwriter who has established a quintessential sound within the indie-folk space over the last few years. Pinder often sings from his own experiences allowing his music to leave an “indelible mark on indie-folk music” (B-Sides & Badlands). First gaining recognition for his viral hit single “Golden Hour” – still one of his most popular releases today with over 2 million streams – he soon followed with the release of the full-length album, Give Me Some Time which was hailed as “Pinder’s magnum opus: a debut so rich and extravagantly heart-rending and deeply-crushing” (B-Sides & Badlands). Soon after, Pinder took a break from music to focus on his mental health until he was ready to begin on his next project, set to release later this fall. Working with local studio engineer/producer Sherwood Rahming and past collaborators Mitch Webb and Sara Davis Regan, Pinder is eager to make music “fun” again by making it with people and friends along the way. Nonetheless, fans can still expect his modern flair with the influences of classic singer-songwriters and present-day artists, all melded into a sound completely his own.
Artist Spotlight
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” finds a new direction through Ghost of Panama
Rearranging a song that carries six decades of cultural weight is a creative challenge, but Ghost of Panama approaches “Subterranean Homesick Blues” with clear purpose. The rock band radically reworks Bob Dylan’s counter-culture hit, reshaping its identity while keeping its rebellious spirit. It’s a tribute to musical heritage and a statement of artistic independence all in one.
This new interpretation is very much shaped by the production, made at Ghost of Panama’s home studio in West London. The setting allows an intimate approach to reinterpreting a familiar song and lets the group engage directly with the material, taking it in a new artistic direction.
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” centers on the tension between conservation and transformation. Ghost of Panama is true to the song’s rebellious spirit without adding to its legacy, and this approach gives the release an adventurous feel, grounded in countercultural energy but driven by a desire to see what the composition can become in a different musical context.
Their version of this 60-year-old classic shows that respecting a song’s history can also mean breaking the rules and finding new ways to express its spirit. Fundamentally, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” presents Ghost of Panama as artists who want to engage with the past without being tied to it. The release’s strongest identity is a familiar heritage reimagined through a singularly forward-looking creative vision.
Artist Spotlight
“NO MORE” by Amanda Holley connects healing, awakening, and survival
“NO MORE“ carries that kind of emotional weight, and some songs feel like they come from lived experience but reach for something bigger. Amanda Holley blends R&B and soul, turning a lifetime of survival into a vision of healing, awakening, and the determination to move beyond what caused the pain.
“NO MORE“ is a healing anthem for people who have gone through bad experiences and reached a place of higher awareness, but it’s also an emotionally charged protest. The duality is introspective and outward-looking at the same time, turning personal survival into a broader declaration that some experiences, conditions, or cycles should end.
Holley had a premonition of the song six months before the world went into global shutdown. In the vocal booth, working out melodies with her collaborators, she pictured people in the streets. Those images were hard to imagine at the time, but subsequent events would make them painfully familiar.
“NO MORE“ is given a particularly contemplative underpinning by the context. The identity of R&B and soul leaves room for emotion. The song’s themes link survival, awakening, resistance, and the need for change. Amanda Holley is an artist using music to process personal endurance and a broader sense of social awakening. It’s got a complicated significance, and its release feels like a glimpse of a moment when personal intuition and public reality collided in an unexpected way.
Photo Credit: Yulia Shusharina
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoiLLLACAT brings sharp bars and catchy production with latest release “Like Dat”
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoJoshua Jamison unveils intimacy and a full rock expression on latest release “Windows”
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoALPHA CENTAURI blends hip-hop, funk and afrobeat ambition on latest release “The Future Right Now”
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoEmilie Thorsby turns self-belief into a bold musical statement with latest release “Amazing as hell”
-
Artist Spotlight5 days agoAmanda Fagan unveils lost love and regret on latest release “Forever Yearn”
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoUNDAUNTED unveils broken memories with latest release “Shattered Echoes”
-
Artist Spotlight6 days agoNITESHØRE embraces the long road to progress with “Marathon Mind”
-
Artist Spotlight11 hours agoKostini Mikado puts love outside the rules on latest release “Queen of Spades”

