We Speak Music
Mathis Akengin captures deep melancholy in video for new single ‘Mer d’hiver’
Directed by Pablo Delpedro, the video for Mathis Akengin’s stunning single “Mer d’hiver” captures the deep melancholy of the song as a visual crescendo: a poetic blend of curiosity, unease, stillness, and emotion.
On a calm lake, a small boat drifts. The surface of the water reflects a slightly overcast sky, soft and contemplative. Oars in hand, Mathis Akengin heads toward the isolated island at the lake’s center. From the dock, Claire Passard, who lends her voice to the single, waits in quiet meditation, observing, almost curious.
What begins with a quiet, enigmatic tranquility slowly builds in tension. The atmosphere thickens, uncertainty grows as the pianist approaches the island, until he finally disappears, fully submerging into the dark folds of the water.
There are seas that no longer make waves. In ‘Mer d’hiver’, Mathis Akengin lends his voice to that very sea, joined by the delicate voice of Claire Passard. A winter sea slowed down, dense, almost frozen, where everything seems to be holding its breath. In winter, the sea becomes a metaphor for suspended time, for life slowed down, for what seems asleep yet continues, silently, to transform.
At the age when his peers were learning to read and write, Mathis Akengin discovered a passion for a different form of expression: the piano. Like many early talents—often referred to as ‘prodigies’ due to their rarity—the young musician entered the Conservatory at the age of six, where he would study for fifteen years, later adding a stint at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Lausanne. His exemplary path confirmed his natural talent.
However, the youngling from Franche-Comté (France) didn’t want to limit himself to classical music. Contemporary music quickly caught his attention. At the age of twelve, he formed his first band and started his first tours. Little did he know that, a few years later, he would join the blues-rock duo Catfish, a band he had once opened for. Projects multiplied. By the age of twenty-five, his list of collaborations was already impressive. Mathis’ keyboards, both in the studio and live, resonate in a variety of formations with sounds ranging from Dead Chic (rock), Eméa (world-soul), Alexandrie (pop), to Neptune Quartet (oriental jazz). Eclectic, Mathis is also a versatile artist. He’s often sought after to arrange albums, always finding new ways to develop his creativity and skills.
With all these experiences under his belt, Mathis began to envision a solo project where he could create freely, experiment, and tell the stories running through his mind. The idea became a reality: it all starts with the piano, moving towards rhythmic taps on the wooden frame in sync the melodies. The piano became both the instrument and the muse. It was no longer about telling stories through it but writing for it. Mathis transcribes oriental music for this European instrument, blending his French and Turkish roots. The inspiration flowed, and an album gradually took form.
‘Mer d’hiver’ is the first taster of the record. The piece is built around motifs, mechanical cogs that evoke the workings of a ship, leaving space for breath, for stillness. The piano, deliberately restrained, creates a suspended atmosphere, almost fixed within cold waters. The percussion on the track is crafted with Mathis’ technique of recording the piano as a percussive instrument which guides us through the fog.
We Speak Music
SCARECROW’s John Blaze Delivers a Career Milestone With “Twisted” and Earns Josie Music Awards Song of the Year Nomination
John Blaze has spent nearly four decades fronting SCARECROW, the New York hard-rock outfit he founded in 1989, and in 2026 he delivered one of the most ambitious releases of his career with “Twisted.” Now, the song has reached another major milestone: “Twisted” has been nominated for Song of the Year in the Metal/Alternative category at the Josie Music Awards.
The nomination places Blaze and SCARECROW among this year’s recognized independent artists and songwriters at the Josie Music Awards, with the awards ceremony set to take place at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry. For an artist whose career has been built on persistence, independence and decades of hard-rock storytelling, the recognition gives “Twisted” an entirely new chapter.
Written by John Blaze and Chaffin, “Twisted” pulls together a lineup of guest players that reads like a rock family reunion, built around Blaze’s long-standing friendship with Dee Snider and the legacy of Twisted Sister, a band woven into SCARECROW’s story from its earliest days.
That connection goes all the way back to the beginning. SCARECROW’s original lineup featured guitarist Eddie Ojeda, best known for his work in Twisted Sister, and the two camps have remained connected ever since. “Twisted” makes that history explicit: Dee Snider appears on the record with guest vocals during the track’s climactic second verse and chorus, lending the song an instantly recognizable jolt of arena-rock power.
Snider isn’t the only marquee name in the credits. Mark Wood, founding violinist of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, contributes electrifying violin work that gives “Twisted” a cinematic sweep uncommon in modern hard rock. Rounding out the track are TJ Jordan on lead guitar and Bobby Marks on drums, creating a powerful, road-tested foundation behind Blaze’s signature gritty vocal delivery.
The Josie Music Awards nomination feels particularly fitting because “Twisted” isn’t simply another SCARECROW release. It brings together different eras of Blaze’s musical life while pushing the band’s sound forward. There’s history in the recording, but there’s also urgency. It doesn’t sound like a band looking backward. It sounds like one with unfinished business.
For Blaze, the nomination also represents recognition of a career that has largely been built outside the traditional machinery of the mainstream music business. Independent rock artists rarely survive for decades without a fierce commitment to what they do, and SCARECROW’s longevity speaks for itself. From the band’s early years and its 1991 debut, through the Blood, Sweat and 20 Years retrospective and the theatrical production I Am SCARECROW, Blaze has continued developing a world around the music rather than simply releasing songs.
That makes the Song of the Year nomination especially meaningful. After nearly four decades of building SCARECROW, Blaze now heads to the Josie Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry with one of his most ambitious songs recognized in the Metal/Alternative category.
And there’s something wonderfully appropriate about the song that got him there.
“Twisted” connects SCARECROW’s beginnings to its present, reunites Blaze musically with figures tied to the band’s history, and demonstrates just how much fire remains in the project. With Snider and Wood contributing to the record and Blaze still driving the band he created from the ground up, the track feels less like a nostalgic reunion than a statement of survival.
Now it’s also an award-nominated song.
For John Blaze and SCARECROW, nearly four decades into the journey, “Twisted” has become more than another entry in the catalog. It’s a career milestone — and this September, that milestone is taking SCARECROW all the way to the Grand Ole Opry.
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