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...

AriSawkaDoria. The name alone sounds like an incantation, a summoning of something… interesting. This trio—KJ Sawka, he of Pendulum and Destroid percussive prowess, Joe Doria, finger-dancing on the Hammond B3, and Ari Joshua, weaving guitar spells, it made no sense and perfect sense on paper. Their latest offering? A single, "Naima." Coltrane's "Naima." Bold. Did someone order a plate of unexpected sonic delights? Because...