There's an intimacy to the new FREE/MAN release, "The Reconnection EP," that borders on a welcome invasion of personal space. It is the sonic equivalent of someone leaning in, not to share a secret, but to create the silence where your own might finally surface. Charlie Freeman hasn't built a grand cathedral of sound here; he's simply furnished a quiet room with stark, necessary...

Orlando Mendez, a renowned American singer, songwriter, and composer, shares his impressive abilities and a lifelong love of country music. Orlando's high school years were marked by a tremendous affinity for country music, which, combined with his upbringing in a mostly Cuban environment in Miami, earned him the loving moniker "Cuban Cowboy." To further his musical goals, eight months ago Orlando started his own band, simply...