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| Photo - Ennuh Tiu |
Genre-defying Filipino-Japanese indie/art-pop artist ena mori has just released a new EP 'rOe.' To mark the EP release, ena today releases the video for focus single 'Portion Control'.
Characterised by a relentless pursuit of innovation, new EP 'rOe' is an six-track project that finds ena mori revisiting her childhood, and how it shaped her moral and emotional compass as an adult. Featuring previously released singles 'Trust Me', 'Heartache Generation' and 'Sink' - the EP is a reinterpretation of the memories of her early years with the perspective she carries right now.
“rOe isn’t about making grand statements. It’s more about being present in the process—figuring things out in real time. It's that feeling of being in your 20s, still feeling like a child when you're expected to have it all together. I may not have the perfect words to describe it yet, but somehow, in this moment, it makes sense to me," ena mori said.
A coming-of-age project but not in a traditional sense, 'rOe' navigates the emotional whiplash of entering your twenties with one foot still planted in childhood. To sum it up, it’s about the paradox of forward motion while feeling stuck.
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| Photo - Shervin Lainez |
Pianist and singer-songwriter Pete Muller has shared his new single “Dream Small” via Two Truths Music. An ode to finding happiness through a shift in perspective, this uplifting song arrives with a colorful stop-motion music video directed by Stefano Bertelli (Pink Floyd, Eminem, Amy Lee).
Muller on the new song: “So many people who have a lot continue to want more and more. ‘Dream Small’ is about a celebrity who finds that her path to happiness lies within — in the smaller things. The stop animation video was created by a wonderful studio in Italy called Seen Film.”
Bertelli on directing the visual: “When I first listened to ‘Dream Small,’ I focused especially on the lyrics, and one line really stood out to me — the one about the star on the Walk of Fame. I imagined a visual analogy between the star and the shape of a broken car wheel rim coming loose and rolling away. This contrast — between a symbol of success and something ordinary, even broken — immediately inspired the opening scene of the video: a wheel rim detaching from a car and beginning its own journey.”
“Dream Small” follows Muller’s critically acclaimed album More Time, released last year. After achieving success in quantitative finance, Muller found himself yearning to fulfill his creative urges. “I have these two sides,” Muller explains. “One part of me is a very practical, analytical thinker, and the other’s this creative artist who can’t help but express what’s going on in his soul. For a long time, I thought I had to choose between the two, but I’ve realized that I can love and nourish both sides of myself, that it’s and not or.”
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Acclaimed indie power-pop artist Tamar Berk shares “stay close by,” the shimmering and emotionally charged lead single from her upcoming album ocd, out on September 5th on all music platforms. Although it opens the album, “stay close by” was actually the final song Tamar wrote. It was an impulsive, late-night effort to create the perfect introduction that would pull listeners in while hinting at the emotional spirals that lie ahead.
The result is a lush, unexpected mix of distortion, loopy rhythms, and aching vocals that reflect the tension of longing for connection while trying to protect your heart. Berk blends gauzy guitars with a retro, low-end Big Muff fuzz and layered synth textures, creating a sound that feels both melancholy and warm. Lyrically, the song captures that in-between space of dreaming and doing. It lingers in those tender, half-serious plans we make with someone close, like the refrain: “we always say we should get high… and go for a ride.”
“I wanted the first track and single to feel a little mysterious, a little off-center,” Tamar says. “Something that sounds familiar but also surprises you and makes you curious about what’s coming next.”
With ocd, Tamar explores themes of anxiety, repetition, and the constant struggle to stay in control of our emotions. It's an album shaped by spirals of thought, fear, and memory. “stay close by” acts as both an invitation and a mission statement, setting the tone for everything that follows.
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