Exploring the Evocative Sonic Landscape of the German Group Affentanz. German band Affentanz, influenced by Boards of Canada, has emerged from the underground of the electronic music industry and is progressively carving out a unique sound. The quartet, consisting of Martin W. Hillebrand, André Hartmann, Moritz Zielke, and Mike Schneider, brings to the stage an amalgamation of talent, diversity, and an unyielding passion for music. The origins...

The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...