Miedjia emerges not only as a star but more as a supernova in the expansive musical universe. Miedjia is one of those rare individuals who not only writes, composes, and performs, but also dabbles in sound engineering. Other people may wear one or more of these hats. Because he is the creative director behind his trade, each note and phrase is infused with a purposeful goal,...

The single from Syracuse’s ORWAX, “Everything's Addictive,” doesn’t so much ask a question as it does state a grim, unblinking diagnosis for the modern soul. From its first notes, the track establishes itself not as a party anthem for self-destruction, but as the sound of the machine humming underneath our choices. The trio—a self-contained unit of Ryan and Jim Moran, with Jason Randall on...