Today's Top Tune

Award-winning harpist Ashley Jackson, whose expressive work melds traditional classical music with the rich heritage of Black spirituality, has a new album on the horizon — Take Me To The Water (out March 21).  In her masterful dip into transformative and spiritual power of water, Jackson interprets work by Alice Coltrane, Claude Debussy, and — on Today’s Top Tune “Deep River II” — the work of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. 

Dear Elizabeth is the forthcoming debut EP (out March 28) by the artist known as Bellzzz. It’s based on her childhood imagination of a young girl she invented. The story unravels with the second chapter, “Far Away” a song that Bellzzz says, “is about wanting to escape, and wanting to prove to people that you can make something of yourself. But it’s also about Elizabeth reaching out to me; about how she no longer has a voice and wants to speak through me to tell her story.”

Amy Millan is a Star, literally, she’s a member of the beloved  Montreal indie-pop group Stars. She’s also a satellite member of the iconic Broken Social Scene collective. But the song you’re about to hear, “Wire Walks,” is from her first solo release in fifteen years — I Went To Find You. Diving deep into her past, Millan taps into one of her favorite memories with her father, whom she enjoyed singing with in the evenings before his tragic death when she was five. 

Soul-disco-fluid duo Franc Moody gives us an infectious, psychedelic pub-rock track “Space Between Us.” It comes in advance of their third album Chewing The Fat — ready to be delivered on March 7. 

“El Dia Que Perdi Mi Juventud” or ‘The Day I Lost My Youth” (in English), is an acoustic Spanish-language song written by Argentine star Nathy Peluso. It reveals a more mature and emboldened artist, and features special guest Blood Orange.   

Husky Gawenda, frontman for the Melbourne-based group Husky, shares “Silencio,” a new song that sounds like a throwback to the early work of Simon & Garfunkel. Gawenda employs his Tascam 388 tape machine and the voices duo Charm of Finches to create a timeless sound. 

We first met LA-native musician Jensen McRae in 2020 and she swiftly became one of that year’s favorite artists, before she had even released her debut album(!). So when fires began destroying our city, Jensen got down to what she does best. 

Melbourne-based collective Surprise Chef are busy cooking up their new album Superb.It’s slotted for release mid-May, but we are here to share the song “Fare Evader” — a creamy drum-heavy beat that’s guaranteed to shake, rattle, and roll your speakers. 

How about a little country twang from Waxahatchee, who shares an outtake from her 2024 album Tigers Blood? From a gifted storyteller with a fluid style, “Mud,” is a song you’ll hear if you are lucky enough to catch her on the road with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Iron & Wine. 

Nigeria-born, UK-based Obongjayer reflects on a surprising theme which you wouldn't guess when you hear the beat of “Just My Luck.” 

“Up All Night” mega-hit co-auteur James Bay is back with a new banger for you! This time, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist teams up with five-time Grammy Award-winning beam of light Jon Batiste for  heartfelt inspiration via “Sunshine In The Room.” 

These days, we all want to be swaddled and soothed so we’re turning to the Greek artist Σtella. Her new song “Adagio” is a sonic warm blanket replete with nylon-string guitars, lilting percussion, and kaleidoscopic keys; it’s the precursor and the title track to her forthcoming album, due this spring. 

Pacific Palisades-based electronic duo Pyramid32x met online in 2022 and communicated their musical thoughts through recordings and improvisations. The pair bonded over a shared gear-head ethos and love of industrial, techno, trance, and acid house. Their debut song, “MTN WZRD,” was recorded before the fires. It feels especially poignant now as it’s about the mountains in the Palisades where one of them lost their home. 

This Valentine’s Day we are excited to share Café Tacvba’s Emmanuel “Meme” del Real’s long-awaited solo project. While having produced for many great artists including Julieta Venegas, Natalia LaFourcade, and Los Bunkers, it is finally time for del Real to be in the limelight. “Princesa,” an epic and almost ironic scorcher, echoes the romantic ballads of the ‘70s. A full album is due out this Spring. 

Brooklyn-based Alsarah & the Nubatones were formed out of many conversations around modern migration and the cultural exchanges between Sudan and Egypt (plus a common love of the pentatonic scale). Their third full studio album Seasons of the Road has been five years in the making and marked by perilous milestones. “Bye Bye” is one of the first songs they’ve written in English — a break up song written in the tradition of the blues.