Earl Patrick pivots sharply away from his usual indie-folk and guitar-driven comfort zones for his newest release, the wildly inventive album "Conditioned By Machines". The Portland, Oregon-based composer, singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has spent over two decades building a dense, eight-album catalog. Here, however, he entirely flips the script. Feeling that classical flute music too often prioritizes gesture over pure melody, he set out...

Ghanaians everywhere are still buzzing from the Black Stars' stoppage-time winner over Panama in their World Cup opener, and gospel-soul artist Ara Ẹni has just released her new single "For My Matter" (produced by Daniels Andrew, known as Tbeatz). "For My Matter" is an uplifting Afrobeats gospel song built on a message of faith: no matter what you are facing, God can put His hand...