Soundcheck

Welsh Indie Rock Band The Royston Club Bare Their Emotions, In-Studio

It’s rare to come across a traditional origin story like The Royston Club’s nowadays: a group of small-town kids from Wrexham, Wales, coming together to form a band in hi

Best of Soundcheck: Helado Tropical, Martin Hayes With Kyle Sanna

Helado Tropical ("tropical ice cream") is a collaboration between Helado Negro, the experimental pop project of Ecuadorian-American singer/songwriter Roberto Carlos Lange

Mexico City Cumbia Punk Marimba Band Son Rompe Pera Brings the Sweaty Mayhem, In-Studio

They started as a street band in Mexico City, but Son Rompe Pera has attracted attention as far south as Chile. Formed in 2017, they’re a party band with a distinctive so

The Messthetics With Marc Ribot Leave Space For Play and Crunch, From the New York Guitar Festival 2026

From the 2026 New York Guitar Festival, recorded live at Bryant Park, hear a set from the instrumental trio called The Messthetics -who are Anthony Pirog (guitar), Joe La

Best of Soundcheck: Humbe, The Lone Bellow

Some vocal performances are so emotionally compelling that you can’t help but hang on every word while eagerly anticipating the next. Such spellbinding experiences are th

Mexican Alternative R&B/Pop Artist Girl Ultra Reinvents Her Musical History, In-Studio

Girl Ultra is the project of Mexico City-born Mariana de Miguel; a singer-songwriter whose creativity knows no bounds. Though she started her musical career as an undergr

Adventurous Harpist Lara Somogyi Weaves Time Patterns, In-Studio

California-based harpist Lara Somogyi may be classically trained, but there’s nothing classical about her approach to making music. She surrounds herself with several eff

Best of Soundcheck: Steve Earle, Anjimile

Hardships tend to take time to overcome, and some songwriters turn to music to process their emotions as they move from one battle to the next. Two of those songwriters a

Song-Maker Somi Refuses to Fit Inside Any Artistic Box, Plays In-Studio

During her two-decade career, the singer, actor, playwright and two-time NAACP Image Award winner Somi has blended the sounds of American and African music – jazz and R&B

Australian Singer-Songwriter Grace Cummings Brings a Visceral Twist to Pretty Melodies, In-Studio

Australian singer Grace Cummings is the kind of songwriter who believes in the spontaneity of the creative process. “I’m a loner. I talk to myself a lot,” she says, and a

Best of Soundcheck: Guitarricadelafuente, Donnie McCaslin

Blackstar was David Bowie’s last record, a musical farewell, and it featured the sax player Donny McCaslin. In fact, Bowie ended up using Donny McCaslin’s whole band for

Ever-Shifting Guitarist Wendy Eisenberg Dares With Homegrown and Poetic Songs, In-Studio

Wendy Eisenberg is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, improviser, and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. They are

Everlast Dishes Out Gritty Humanity in Blues-Rock Style, In-Studio

The artist known as Everlast was the lead rapper in the group House of Pain, whose single “Jump Around” remains one of hip hop’s most familiar songs. But in the 1990s he

Best of Soundcheck: Annahstasia, Patrick Wolf

It’s common for songwriting artists to process their emotions through composing music. LA-based folk singer Annahstasia spent many years crafting her debut album, Tether,

Norwegian Chord Progression Artist Sondre Lerche Sings Acrobatic Melodies, In-Studio

Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche defines himself as a “chord progression artist”: “You establish a pattern, and then of course, you have to break it,” he says. T

Indie Rock Band Shearwater Performs Cerebral Songs with Laurie Anderson, In-Studio

Shearwater is the project of singer, songwriter, and ornithologist, Jonathan Meiburg, who recently took a trip to the Antarctica to study the “the bizarre life of the pol

Best of Soundcheck: Sofia Rei, Mike Doughty

Folk music is known to be the music of the people, but it can sound vastly different from region to region. There are also songs that take inspiration from folk music but

Recording Artist and Actor Saul Williams Speaks Contemplative Words, In-Studio

Saul Williams is many things. A poet, a musician, an actor, and a writer, embodying multiple forms of art in his existence. He’s the preacher in the Oscar-winning 2025 fi

Quiet Reflection in Acoustic Songs by Daughter of Swords (Archives)

North Carolina singer and guitarist Alex Sauser-Monnig records under the name Daughter of Swords, in which they "combine the eerie sound of old Appalachian folk music wit

Best of Soundcheck: Paris Paloma, Cautious Clay

Some musicians make ambitious records that dig into the depths of meaning behind art, mythology, time, or life itself. Two of those musicians are the British singer-songw