We Speak Music

Sandra-Mae Lux Releases new Single “Are We Having Fun?”

Published

2 months ago

April 7, 2025

“Are We Having Fun” is the first single from Seasons in Jazz – the latest album (to be released on 30th May) from award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Sandra-Mae Lux. A departure from her 2020 disco-inspired debut, Happily Ever Now, this song marks a return to her first love – jazz, drawing inspiration from the Great American Songbook and the golden era of songwriting from the late 1920s to 1950s. “I love songs that make me feel something. I love songs that tell a story, take me on a journey, that are filled with meaning and can become eternal. Songs that want to be sung,” says Lux. “The Great American Songbook did all of that and more.”

The recording features a stellar UK band: pianist Rob Barron, bassist Calum Gourley and drummer Sebastiaan de Krom. Written in collaboration with her lyricist partner, Alan Marriott, the song started from the words. “This approach allowed us to shape the composition with a strong narrative focus,” explains Lux. “As a songwriter, I find something deeply special and inspiring about AABA song structure.”

This classy swinging mid-tempo Great American Songbook style number celebrates the playful excitement of entering into a new relationship, and the thrill and “joie de vivre” of a secret love affair. With the UK’s most swingin’ jazz musicians backing Lux’s upbeat vocals, ‘Are We Having Fun?’ is well on its way to becoming a classic.

And most importantly, it’s a delightful reminder that life is supposed to be fun!

A gifted songwriter from a young age, Canadian-born Sandra-Mae Lux earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies on Saxophone from Capilano University, performing at the Ottawa Jazz Festival alongside legends like Herbie Hancock and Robert Glasper. After moving to London in 2017, she released her debut album Happily Ever Now (2020) to critical acclaim. Her single ‘You Me and Tomorrow’ (2021) reached #3 on the UK Soul Chart. She has received recognition from prestigious songwriting competitions and was nominated for Best UK Artist at the Bright Star Awards. Beyond music, Lux is also a voice actor, appearing in major Audible productions, including The Sandman, which became a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

We Speak Music

LLOREN captures feelings of hope and anticipation with retro vibes on new single

Published

2 days ago

June 13, 2025

Don Reed

Former ‘The Voice’ finalist and renowned TV sync music writer LLOREN releases her next single ‘Like I Need’.

On the track, LLOREN explains, “After coming out of a 12-year relationship, I realised that any love I accepted next would have to be something spectacular, the kind of romance you see on movie screens. It wasn’t that I wasn’t loved before, just not in the way I needed. When I started developing a new crush, as exciting as it was, I knew I couldn’t settle. I wanted and deserved the kind of love that sweeps you off your feet, full of passion, magic, and possibility. Nothing less. The chorus is a pretty much a road map to my heart!”.

Produced by Daniel Pashman, ‘Like I Need’ captures feelings of hope and anticipation, while keeping the retro, anthemic vibe that’s quickly becoming LLOREN’s signature. The track’s melancholic under-tones are swept away in a thick 80s production, as the chorus hits hard with its instantly engaging and relatable themes, bringing all of the feels of searching for new love.

Hit TV show The Traitors, Grey’s Anatomy, The L Word, 1923, Wish, The Company You Keep, Made In Chelsea, Love Island UK and Love Island USA are just some of the many sync credits LLOREN has amassed to date, which have steadily proved her rich, multi-faceted vocal and powerful contemporary inspired compositions to be a cut above the rest.

Tracks from LLOREN’s hugely anticipated forthcoming debut album ‘It’s Always Sunny in LA’ have already picked up airplay from BBC Radio 2’s Angela Griffin and Radio X’s John Kennedy and press acclaim from prestigious music tastemakers Louder Than War and The Line Of Best Fit, as momentum continues to build. LLOREN’s video for her track ‘Like This’ also won a Telly Award in the US, as well as also being nominated for a prestigious Leo Award in Canada.

LLOREN appeared at The Gibson Garage All Day Festival in London earlier this year and in her career to date has opened European tours for Fleurie, Johannes Oerding and Michael Patrick Kelly respectively, played the UK’s annual PRIDE celebrations in Manchester and London and toured with Mauvey, with whom she collaborated with on the track ‘Pillow’, performing it at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend as well as the Isle Of Wight Festival 2023.