We Speak Music
Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice Release ‘Panic Is the Norm,’ a Piano Driven Blues Rock Single Featuring Clayton Doley
Jerry Lee Lewis comparisons get thrown around too easily these days, but Clayton Doley actually earns his on “Panic Is the Norm.” His piano doesn’t just decorate this track, it drives it, pounding away under Nathan Bryce’s guitar with the kind of reckless energy that makes you understand why rock and roll used to scare parents.
The lyrics come from Candace Crockett, a widowed mother writing about the exhausting, relentless pace of keeping a life together when the world won’t let up. That’s heavy subject matter on paper. On record, it comes out as something closer to a dare. Crockett doesn’t write from grief here, she writes from momentum, and you can hear that choice in every line Bryce sings. There’s a defiance in it that feels earned rather than performed.
Nathan’s quote about the song, that you don’t get a break, you just get better at running, sums up the whole thing better than any critic could. The band builds the track around that idea instead of around a hook, and it works because the rhythm section never lets the tempo sag long enough for you to catch your breath either. Dylan Halacy and Jerry Paswaters keep pushing from underneath while Doley and Bryce trade off up top, guitar and piano taking turns being the loudest thing in the room.
The song sits closer to 1971 than 2026, all southern rock swagger and blues bar grit, but nothing about it feels like a costume. That’s the trick this band keeps pulling off release after release. They can nod at their influences without sounding stuck in them.
Listen to “Panic is the Norm” by Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice here.
We Speak Entertainment
Colette Van Sertima and Porky Paul Celebrate the Now With “Live For The Moment”
Some dance records are built simply to fill a dancefloor. Others manage to bring a message along for the ride. Colette Van Sertima’s “Live For The Moment,” produced by Porky Paul, does both.
The acclaimed dance vocalist has returned with an uplifting house release that puts her unmistakable voice front and center, pairing it with Porky Paul’s polished production and a message that feels especially timely: stop waiting for the perfect moment and start living the one you’re in.
Written by Colette Van Sertima and Porky Paul, “Live For The Moment” is rooted in positivity, possibility and making the most of life while it’s happening.
For longtime dance music fans, Van Sertima needs little introduction. Her voice is closely associated with O.T. Quartet’s “Hold That Sucker Down,” one of the memorable club records of its era, as well as the cult house favorite “Life’s A Bitch.” Those records helped establish her as a vocalist capable of delivering the kind of performance that can cut through a club production without sacrificing soul or personality.
“Live For The Moment” takes that history and moves it forward rather than trying to recreate it.
Porky Paul gives the record a contemporary house foundation that allows Van Sertima’s vocal to remain the centerpiece. There’s warmth and familiarity in the track, but it doesn’t feel trapped in nostalgia. Instead, the collaboration connects the emotional pull of classic vocal house with a production designed for today’s dancefloors.
The release also comes with an impressive remix package.
Ruff Loaderz takes “Live For The Moment” deeper into peak-time house territory, delivering several versions including radio, extended and dub mixes. Blakk Habit approaches the song from another direction entirely, giving it a UK Garage treatment and a different rhythmic personality. The result is a release that can move comfortably between house and garage audiences while retaining Van Sertima’s vocal identity. Apple Music lists the five-track Live For The Moment EP as having been released on July 10, 2026.
The Blakk Habit remix has already picked up additional attention, including being selected as Track of the Week on SubJam FM, adding to the support surrounding the release.
What makes “Live For The Moment” work, though, goes beyond the mixes. There’s something particularly fitting about hearing an artist with Van Sertima’s history deliver a song centered on living in the present.
She isn’t trying to live off yesterday’s records. She’s making another one.
With Colette Van Sertima on vocals, Porky Paul behind the production, Ruff Loaderz bringing the house fire and Blakk Habit supplying the UK Garage edge, “Live For The Moment” is a celebration of where dance music has been and, more importantly, where it can go next.
Sometimes the message really can be that simple:
Turn it up. Hit the dancefloor. And live for the moment.
Listen to “Live For The Moment” by Colette Van Sertima:
Stream “Live For The Moment”
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