Shelby Lock and the Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble have joined forces on "A Matter of Time: Perseverancia," a sweeping modern classical single that turns physical gravity into something buoyant. https://open.spotify.com/track/58D1KqkKhCXBnjNEc91JKD?si=Dx9X2tW9Qs-Uwmo_fuLNWA Lock, a conservatory-trained pianist who runs Silver Moon Sound in Santa Cruz, spent years bedridden by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, literally clawing her way back to the keyboard. Across the hemisphere, the San Cristóbal orchestra guided by conductors...

Sam Ostler’s new single, “Lights,” then. It unfolds less like a sudden, intrusive glare and more like the slow, determined burn of a really good stage light finally finding its mark after a prolonged blackout. It’s pop, yes, vibrant and undeniably contemporary as advertised – clean lines, clear intentions. Yet, there’s a certain satisfying heft beneath the melodic uplift, a feeling that these notes...