ESSENCE is a meditation on life’s continuous cycles of change and transformation. Through a visual narrative that mirrors the rhythms of nature and the human experience, Panthers Leap invites reflection and introspection.
“Growth isn’t always loud or dramatic,” Panthers Leap shares. “It’s often subtle, almost imperceptible, but incredibly powerful. ESSENCE is about celebrating those quiet moments that shape who we are.”

Inspired by his deep connection to the natural world, Panthers Leap weaves emotion and meaning into every frame. His masterful use of lighting, texture, and detail highlights life’s smallest yet most transformative moments. Subtle shifts in light and intricate natural patterns encourage viewers to pause and appreciate the beauty of impermanence.

At its core, ESSENCE explores universal themes—renewal, resilience, and the quiet strength found in transformation. By embracing challenges and finding beauty in transitions, Panthers Leap reminds us of the grace inherent in life’s cycles.

“There’s a grace in change, even in the hardest moments,” he explains. “ESSENCE is a reminder that every challenge carries the seed of renewal, every ending the promise of a new beginning.”

For Panthers Leap, this project is deeply personal, reflecting his own journey of growth and transformation as an artist. The result is a collection of photographs that resonates with authenticity and inspires viewers to embrace their journeys with grace and optimism.

In today’s fast-paced world, ESSENCE challenges us to slow down, find beauty in gradual progress, and honor the cycles that shape our lives.

Let ESSENCE be your invitation to pause, reflect, and find meaning in the quiet power of transformation.

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Packed with soaring emotions and infused with smoky orchestral atmospheres, ‘Love Like This’ is a striking nu-soul gem which will be released on Wilde’s forthcoming album and follows her recent singles ‘Freak Out’ and ‘Feathers’ ft. Zoe Kypri. The two 2023 singles saw her pick up many spins on BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists with Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 1 Introducing with Jess Iszatt, John Kennedy’s X-Posure Daily on Radio X, playlist support across the board from Spotify, Apple, Youtube and Tidal amongst other acclaim. Josh Barry has also been picking up serious heat, recently featuring with Rudimental and Sigma, collaborating with Nile Rogers and opening for Rag ‘N’ Bone Man on tour. Josh Barry brings a dynamic force to the collab as he embodies the spirit of legendary icons like James Brown and Jimi Hendrix.

On ‘Love Like This’, Wilde explains, “When we got in the studio, the song basically wrote itself, we wanted to capture that raw soulful essence in our husky tones, and a nostalgic feeling of those classic Marvin Gaye love songs but with a 2024 flip.”

As the dreamy, smooth track escalates, Wilde and Barry’s yearning vocals entwine with epic effect as the pair find the ‘Love Like This’ that they have been searching and waiting for. The release comes with a Valentine’s launch show at the iconic ‘The Bedford’ and a 6-part Instagram & TikTok reel series, released every other day from 16^th February, which everyone should tune into to see Wilde and Barry explore the track’s steamy and romantic themes in more depth through nostalgic aesthetics.

2024 looks set to be an exciting new year for Wilde. With her album on the horizon, she has been gaining growing support from not only BBC Radio 1 but also 6 Music, BBC Radio London, KISS, editorial playlist support across DSPs, as well as features in CLASH, Complex, Wonderland, The Independent and many more.

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Set Feux (a.k.a. Toronto based musician, Diana Planche) blends dreamy, sometimes bittersweet, nostalgic pop with lush vocal harmonies, ambient synths, guitars and sax on her debut self titled album, ‘Set Feux’,which is due for release on 19^th April 2024.

Planche spent her formative years singing in church choirs and performing in community theatre productions. After finishing her studies in classical music at Queen’s University, she began writing her own songs, and eventually received an OAC and F.A.C.T.O.R grant to produce her first album released in 2009. In 2010, she joined indie rock band, The Paint Movement (Nevado Music) as a singer/keyboard player, and in 2011 released their self-titled album produced by Dave Newfeld (Super Furry Animals, Broken Social Scene). The Paint Movement toured extensively over Canada opening for bands like Yukon Blonde, Zeus and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. In 2015, Planche toured Europe with Toronto singer songwriter, Barzin. Upon returning from the European tour, Planche began working on new material with long time collaborator, Kevin Kralik (wearenotwhoweare, Mass Paves) and her husband, Barzin (Toronto based singer/songwriter) for what would become, ‘Set Feux’.

The album took over 5 years to complete, recorded in Toronto and Hamilton. The songs explore love, passion, loneliness and the overwhelming desire to unravel the mystery of one’s self. Take for example debut single ‘Say It Again’, a gorgeous reflective track that weaves piano, infectious rhythms and Planche’s stunning airy vocals into a spellbinding nostalgic pop gem to die for.

On ‘Say It Again’, Planche explains, “Sometimes I feel unknown to myself and I’m searching for the world to reflect myself back. The song explores the theme of the multiplicity that exists in all of us. I think when I wrote the song, I was remembering the loneliness I felt in my childhood alongside a close spiritual connection. The song is partly about a longing to recapture some of that.”

Musically, Set Feux’s songs reflect diverse influences, ranging from R ‘n’ B/soul to the pop/folk genres that Planche has been inspired by throughout her life. Her influences range from Debussy to Dusty Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Lauryn Hill, Imogen Heap, Wilco, Feist and Solange. But whilst Planche allows all of these influences to come forth on the album, she maintains her own distinct identity and voice as an artist, honouring the journey she’s taken to get here.

The album was mixed by Howie Beck at his studio in Toronto. Howie is a Canadian musician, mixer and producer. He has been nominated for three Juno Awards in Canada on three occasions for Adult Alternative Album, Engineer of the Year and Producer of the Year (2017). He has produced and/ or mixed albums for The Weather Station, Hannah Georgas, Dragonette, Charlotte Day Wilson and Sarah Harmer. The album was mastered by Joao Carvalho, a grammy nominated mastering engineer, who has worked on albums by some of Canada’s finest artists such as KD Lang, Tanya Tagaq, Buffy St. Marie, Carly Rae Jepsen and Charlotte Day Wilson to name a few.

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The enchanting Bedsit Poets return with third album ‘All Roads Lead Me Back’ out 2^nd Feb 2024 via Think Like A Key.

“Heartaches & harmonies from a duo that knows their jingle from their jangle”. MOJO

From the heart of England, and the glorious music culture of NYC comes the joint venture of solo recording artists Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe, whose songwriting partnership has thus far yielded two critically acclaimed albums released under their adopted name Bedsit Poets, bestowed upon them aptly by Beat 60s / The Zombies legend, Colin Blunstone sometime in the Noughties.

Combining the passion and energy of Patti Smith’s ‘Radio Ethiopia’, the songwriting and singing of Kevin Ayers ‘Shooting at the Moon’ with the pathos of Marianne Faithful; Bedsit Poets’ sound combines the best of all that is old with the very best that is new. Hints of electronica effortlessly blend with lounge tendencies, which meet English folk and a late seventies NYC scene.

On this, their third album ‘All Roads Lead Me Back’ there are slow gin jazz melodies like ‘Everything But’ layered perfectly among whimsical wistful delights like ‘London Town’ which nod towards reflective classics like ‘Scarborough Fair’ and Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’. ‘Come See About Me’ haunts and drives with it’s rolling bass and jilted vocal that harks toward Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground, St Etienne, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Glorious psych mellow madness enraptures the listener.

Previous Bedsit Poets releases, ‘The Summer That Changed’ and ‘Notel RendezVous’ received high praise, with the former being described by MOJO Magazine as “Heartaches & harmonies from a duo that knows their jingle from their jangle”.

For this latest release, the twists and turns of life brought Amanda back to the UK, after a blessed New York sojourn and both continued their musical projects, Amanda Thorpe as a solo artist, music therapist and NY Bushwick Book Club: London producer, and Edward Rogers, a solo artist, DJ at WFMU’s Rock ‘n’ Soul Radio and half of the duo, Rogers & Butler.

Over the years, Edward and Amanda continued to exchange lyrics and musical ideas, and in 2020 reunited to write new songs. After two years of transatlantic work, they came together in NYC to record with their long-time producer, Don Piper and a cast of stellar musicians resulting in a brand-new album, “All Roads Lead Me Back” which may be the Bedsit Poets best work to date.

Bedsit Poets’ band for ‘All Roads Lead Me Back’ includes an amazing selection of other prolific players known to be amongst the best in show, including James Mastro on guitar (Ian Hunter, The Bongos, John Cale), Sal Maida on bass (Roxy Music, Sparks) and Konrad Meissner on Drums (Silos, Graham Parker) and the record also includes superb guest parts from Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs, Ronnie Spector), Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Sex Mob, Laurie Anderson), Mac Randall and Yair Schleider. The result is an utterly outstanding album of lush tracks to be cherished in record collections alongside the best psychedelic pop albums of the decade and beyond.

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RHEA are living proof rock & roll is alive and well! The Belgian 5-piece still cherish the mighty riff, but on their brand new single ‘Creeping Through My Head’ they explore – smoothly! – the alluring effect of the groove. Adding funk vibes, bass licks, Hammond organ and wah-wah pedals to their stomping rock sound they tap into a new and exciting vein of creativity. It’s RHEA meets Kravitz!

“Creeping Through My Head is a song about complex, ambivalent love, yet at the same time it’s about accepting the situation that you’re in, immersing in it and getting comfortable, regardless if it hurts”, singer Jorge Van De Sande explains, “In general, I would say it’s about our ability to enjoy self-destructive behaviour. Also, it’s the most funky we have ever been as a band. Working with someone like David Bottrill was truly inspiring, and together we managed to reinvent this band, while at the same time staying true to ourselves and our musical identity, which turned out to almost have a therapeutic effect on us as a band. It’s the perfect kick-off for a new era.”

‘Creeping Through My Head’ was recorded with legendary producer David Bottrill (Tool, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins). It’s the first in a series of songs that will hit the airwaves in the next few months. RHEA will road test the new material with an extensive ‘back to basics’ club tour in Benelux and France.

Since 2015 RHEA have been building it up old school. Writing better and better songs, playing show after show after show and converting casual listeners into rabid fans. In 2016 they made it into the final of Belgian’s leading alternative radio Studio Brussel’s talent competition De Nieuwe Lichting, but it wasn’t ‘till the release of single ‘Stuck In The Middle’ (2020) that everything clicked.

The track got massive radio support in Belgium and the band got invited to play the biggest festivals, but then covid hit. Literally a day after the final recording for the EP ‘Lust For Blood Pt.2’, Belgium went into lockdown.

This was a major blow for both the band and singer Jorge Van de Sande, who was already going through a rough patch. Dreams and all sense of direction vanished, leaving only doubts and the band at rock bottom. But they got back on their feet, and when ‘Rather Be Nothing’ (2021) topped Belgium’s most popular alternative chart list, it acted as a catalyst. The band got invited to open for Royal Blood and got a slot on the main stage of Rock Werchter.

It brought the band back together, making plans for new music. Van de Sande started writing songs again after an unusual one-year hiatus, drawing inspiration from the difficult time he and the band had gone through, but mainly focusing on the resilience to get back on your feet. It also inspired the band to explore existential questions, in a very un-Belgian ambitious way: don’t think too small, show audacity, stick your neck out. Questioning higher powers, both political and religious, RHEA are ultimately putting humanity back in the epicentre of it all.

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Deadset truly came to life when the band wrote as a group and embraced each other’s musical preferences, their influences now relying to an extent on alternative 80s and 90s bands. Influences being taken from bands such as New Order, Fontaines DC and Interpol. Striving to be ever more progressive and unique, the band’s live sound is renowned for fluctuating between genres. Chorus laden and loaded with fuzz and grit. 

New Deadset single “Bleak” encapsulates why Deadset is a band and what they want to achieve from it. The track, which was produced by Pat Pretorious (The Talks, Life, Counting Coins) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Daft Punk), really feels like it is humming with the anxiety and fever that everyone feels around Hull. It’s both a commentary on what they see and how they feel, looking at the social issues the band see in the area and how that’s impacted and twisted their lives. ‘We all want something to believe in’ is a feeling that resides in every member of Deadset. All feeling at times as if they’re stuck in a rut. Deadset being their opportunity to escape that rut. 

“There’s a really prevalent mutual feeling about the area we all live in. Its rife with boredom and it feels like everyone’s stuck in mundane, monotonous cycles here”, says Sam Mellors. “Most people fall into traps of binge drinking or substance abuse to get away from it. It’s really hard not to fall into that trap when there’s genuinely nothing else to do. There’s still a great community of people here, everyone trying to make it a special place and it will always be a special place to us. But it’s still difficult to get away from the fact a lot of people are struggling”, he further explains. “Deadset became a band because we wanted to escape that cycle, dream of something better and create new horizons for ourselves. It’s our own escape from the depressing reality around here”, adds Adam Arnold.

“Bleak” is out 27^th October via Man Demolish Records.

Catch Deadset playing the following live dates:

13th October- The Fulford Arms, York // Soundspheremag Showcase

14th October- Divehu5, Hull // Soundspheremag Showcase

29^th October- The Adelphi, Hull // Twisted Nipple Events

28th November- Polar Bear Music Club, Hull // The Sesh

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‘All the Bees’ are Kirsty McGee and Gitika Partington, two highly experienced writer-musicians who have created an exciting new album of gentle yet deep, pastoral alt-folk that brings together their distinctive styles into a crisp, fresh new collaboration that weaves its stunning, reflective songs like gossamer threads around the ear.

McGee is an award-winning wandering maverick and spellbinding live performer who has been releasing music and performing all over the world for over twenty years. Her fans include Emma Watson and Danny Boyle, for whose 2014 thriller ‘Trance’ the song ‘Sandman’ provided a cornerstone, both in its original version and covered by lead actress Rosario Dawson.

Partington, has had a similarly vibrant and varied career in music to date, releasing seven albums which have achieved critical acclaim and national airplay from likes of BBC 6 Music. She has created 4 books of multi-genre choral acapella arrangements published by OUP and Hal Leonard and multi layered vocal tracks for Warner Chappell and Peermusic. During the lockdown of Spring 2020, she directed nearly 100 community singers and produced 9 award winning, original, quirky virtual choir videos of her choral arrangements.

Introspective, heartfelt and unashamed of straying into poetry, the pair’s lyrics focus on nature themes and cycles including loss, death and rebirth – take for example their debut single ‘Wildflowers’, which is a hazy, ethereal track that conjures a fragrant meandering reflective walk in the countryside, as autumn turns to winter, remembering the wildflowers and the abundance of summer.

On the inspiration behind the new single, McGhee reveals, “Having grown up pretty wild in the country, as a child I was fascinated in a Victorian tradition called ‘floriography’ that allowed lovers and friends to deliver clandestine messages to one another using a symbolic ‘language of flowers’. This is such a fun well of unspoken meaning for a lyricist. ‘Yarrow’ – a British wildflower whose Latin name ‘millefolium’ translates as ‘one thousand leaves’ has been used to secretly communicate everlasting love, bravery and even has the country name ‘bad man’s plaything’. Meadowsweet, by contrast, means beauty, happiness, peace and protection but was also thought to deter snakes. For years I’ve enjoyed a ‘private language’ when choosing flower names in my lyrics. All the Bees, steeped in countryside folklore, is a perfect project for me to use this forgotten language.”

McGee and Partington crossed paths by chance on a lockdown film and TV sync music zoom course and started working together remotely. Over the next 3 years, through major grief from close family deaths, illness, the crashing lack of usual musical ventures and the whole trauma of the pandemic, McGee and Partington immersed themselves in their new-found collaboration and created the debut, self-titled All the Bees album, which is due for release this winter.

The duo have only met three times in real life – most of that time was spent cooking and eating seriously healthy and beautiful plant-based food. Their perfect blend of harmonies and musical flow on ‘Wildflowers’ and through-out the new album suggests some kind of pre-destined deeper connection.

All The Bees debut single ‘Wildflowers’ comes out on 27^th October via Hobopop Recordings, with the self-titled debut album to follow on 8^th December 2023.

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Acclaimed alt-folk duo Burr Island are pleased to unveil a mesmerizing video for their latest single ‘Towers’. The beautifully shot film stars Kel Matsena performing a stunning interpretive dance deep inside a corporate high-rise jungle. The film makes for compelling viewing as Kel contorts his body representing the deep angst of the lyric and moves sublimely with the music.

Having gained the support of BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio London’s Gaby Roslin and BBC 6 Music’s Nemone with their recent string of singles, ‘Towers’ has continued to turn up the heat for the West Country pair with a premiere feature from Shindig Magazine and airplay from Radio X’s John Kennedy.

“While the poorest communities struggle to grow and thrive, the giant corporate powerhouses continue to churn out record profits. The money is there to improve the lives of those in need, but the government continues to cosy up to their big money pals and donors; they do not invest into the country; they invest into themselves.” Says Burr Island’s Tom England. “In our lifetime, we have never experienced a government so detached from the people it claims to serve; their self-serving agendas have made the poorest poorer. Lounging on the top floor of ivory towers, miles above the ground, their capitalistic greed casts dark shadows over the hardworking people below. The flowers cannot grow. As the song alludes to in the final verse, their derelict of duty and neglect has had some deadly consequences.”, he adds.

Recorded at Kundalini Studios in Devon and produced by Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller/The Specials/P.P. Arnold), ‘Towers’ has a haunting Nick Drake ‘Pink Moon’ introspective hushedness to it which pulls the listener in, making way for a flower-power drenched upbeat section to reinforce the track’s vintage protest song ethics.

Explaining further about the inspiration behind the track’s ethos & lyrical themes, Tom England continues; “Imagine if money was invested into the collective human spirt, where people could actually afford to live their lives without worrying about their next meal or the price of water or gas, where wealth was distributed more fairly. Imagine a world that prioritises people, love, nature and spiritual growth over objects, wealth and status. Society often feels like it is upside down where the people in power are the last ones you’d chose to be in that position.”

Fresh from supporting Tunde (Lighthouse Family) on tour earlier in the year, the West Country pair will head out on tour again with Ocean Colour Scene for more dates this December.

TOUR DATES:

Headlining:

13/12/23-London- The Old Queen’s Head, Islington.

Supporting Ocean Colour Scene:

03/12/23- Bournemouth- o2 Academy

04/12/23- Bristol- Beacon

07/12/23- Belfast- Telegraph

08/12/23- Dublin- Olympia

09/12/23- Dublin- Olympia

11/12/23- Liverpool- University (Mountford Hall)

12/12/23- Sheffield- o2 Academy

14/12/23- Norwich- UEA

15/12/23- Wolverhampton- The Halls

16/12/23- London- Eventim Apollo

18/12/23- Glasgow- o2 Academy

19/12/23- Glasgow- o2 Academy

20/12/23- Newcastle- o2 City Hall

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Composed by acclaimed Israeli singer Eliezer Botzer, in a joint performance with esteemed musician/actor Lucky Ali, this highly anticipated single, transcends borders, cultures, and the diaspora of unity between Islam and Judaism.

The song showcases more than 30 significant talents from both India and Israel to create a memorable track which is set to establish this collaboration on a global scale.

With a music video that seamlessly combines the realms of cinematography and visual artistry, ‘Virtuality’ was filmed and graphically designed and drawn by artists in Ukraine, just before the outbreak of war a year or so ago, to perfectly capture the essence of this technologically driven era.

Through its compelling lyrics and evocative melodies, ‘Virtuality’ speaks to the collective experience of this generation. Reflecting upon the surreal landscape of virtual reality which we mainly all inhabit, whilst igniting a profound yearning for genuine physical, emotional, and spiritual connection, and a true sense of belonging in this phenomenally advanced modern age.

Eliezer Cohen Botzer (known by his musical alias Botzer) is a street artist, who lives and breathes his experiences wandering through time and space. Composing songs and singing the prayer accompanied him from his childhood, but Botzer, came late into the music industry, after over a decade of extensive voluntary social work, in India and Israel. Botzer now lives and works to unite faith and art, where creation is the language of the heart in its quest for self-correction, making him one of the most original, honest, and intriguing voices in Israeli music.

His counterpart, famously known in India as Lucky Ali, is one of the most recognized and successful stars in Asia. The son of a famous Indian film actor, the road to success in Bollywood was paved for him and his star quality has seen him enjoy enormous popularity as an actor and singer.  But beyond the dizzying success he enjoys, Lucky is one of the most interesting artists followed in India, thanks to his brave artistic choices.

The collaboration between Botzer and Lucky as ‘The Eli Ali Project’ is particularly significant both artistically and personally for both and is a natural expression of their deep spiritual connection.  A connection between Islam and Judaism, between India and Israel, between East and West.  A connection between two people who chose, each in their own way, to connect to the heart.  Their creation does not take place in the political or religious space. Botzer and Lucky, two writers who attribute supreme meaning to texts, chose to create together precisely in a space that lies beyond words.  to create out of silence, understanding and listening, Then, from this intimate place – to have a dialogue.

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of ‘Virtuality’ and indulge in this sonic escape that transports us to a place where authenticity resonates deeply.

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