Before The Chorus

Spiritune is a mobile application that uses music to help alter you mental state. With a team of music therapists & composers, founder Jamie Pabst built the app to help people improve their mental wellbeing. I spoke to her & composer Diego Rodoni about their work, & the transformative power of music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sofia looks back on the first month of year, sharing her favourite new releases AND some of yours! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black Honey are an indie rock band from Brighton, UK. On their 2023 LP 'A Fistful of Peaches', as well as on their latest single "Lemonade", the band sits in a space of radical honesty; both the record & standalone single are about accepting exactly where one is at, no mater what that looks like. Together, they form a love letter to the weirdos, the outcasts, & the kids that needed someone to list...

Vacations are a band from New South Wales in Australia. Within the last couple of years, frontman Campbell Burns was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, better known as OCD. On the band's latest album No Place Like Home, Campbell sings about learning to cope with OCD, big life changes, love as a touring musician, & more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 4-episode series, Sofia looks back at the music that moved her this year, & looks forward to 2024. Up third: albums to watch our for in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 4-episode series, Sofia looks back at the music that moved her this year, & looks forward to 2024. Up third: artists to watch in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madison Cunningham is an artist based in Los Angeles. On her Grammy award-winning album 'Revealer', Madison faces hard inner truths, questions priorities, & unpacks family dynamics with compassion & curiosity. We spoke about the Deluxe Edition of the record, which includes extra songs that did not make the original cut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 4-episode series, Sofia looks back at the music that moved her this year, & looks forward to 2024. Up second: her favourite albums of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jelani Blackman is an artist from London, UK. On The Heart of It, he toes the fine line between hope & cynicism intertwining stories of infatuation & heartbreak, with ones of institutionalized discrimination & politicians who don't represent their people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 4-episode series, Sofia looks back at the music that moved her this year, & looks forward to 2024. Up first: her favourite concerts & music memories of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merrick Winter is an American-born, British artist living in London. On his first EP 'Eve of Disaster', he takes us through character studies on masculinity, communication breakdowns, & the fields of Iowa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vagabon is an artist based in New York City. On her latest record, 'Sorry I Haven't Called', she weaves together stories of escapism through dance, letting someone go, & absorbing life's lessons. The result is a multilayered-yet-raw look into her psyche, that simultaneously feels universal & communal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shea Couleé is a drag performer & musician from Chicago. Having rose to fame across three seasons of Ru Paul's Drag Race, she became beloved for her multifaceted performance skills. Now, she's released her debut album, '8' - a conceptual look at the fictional Lipstick City, & a tale of black, queer euphoria. Be sure to listen to '8', wherever you stream or buy your music! Find Shea on Spotify: htt...

Murkage Dave is an artist from London. His raw, cards-on-the-table lyricism dances through an eclectic soundtrack - equally inspired by UK garage as it is by post punk. On 'The City Needs... Part Deux', stories of compassion meet ones about ego, & cheeky humour intermingles with moments of deeper reflection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ER FIGHTMASTER is an LA-based musician, comedian, actor & writer. On their new EP 'Violence', they re-fashion anti-queer, derogatory terms into stories of queer love, lust, & joy. It's as powerful as it is bop-heavy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flyte are a London-based folk duo. Whether they're narrating the lives of fictional characters, or getting vulnerable with personal tales, the band always takes a heartfelt approach. Each subject is handled with care, each song penned with poetry and nuance. On their third record, the self-titled 'Flyte', the band's relationships take centre stage - both long-term romantic relationships, and their...

Bombay Bicycle Club are a band from North London. Beloved in the world of indie rock for their vibrant take on the genre, the band has seen enormous international success. Now, they return with their latest record, My Big Day - it features some of the band's most heartfelt and playful writing, as well as collaborations with Damon Albarn, Chaka Khan, Holly Humberstone, Nilüfer Yanya, and Jay Som. L...

Jalen Ngonda is an artist from Maryland, USA. Some of his accolades include graduating from LIPA (the performing arts school founded by Paul McCartney), playing some of world's biggest jazz festivals, and supporting the likes of Lauryn Hill and Laura Mvula. He joins me to discuss his debut album, Come Around And Love Me, and the creative process behind it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

Feist is an artist from Alberta, Canada. For more than two decades, Feist has cemented herself as a pillar of Canada's folk music legacy. On her latest album Multitudes, she covers topics from motherhood and intergenerational womanhood, to mortality and variations of grief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local Natives are a band from Los Angeles, California. After a difficult few years, the band worked hard to find healing & come back together stronger. On 'Time Will Wait For No One', the band sings of the unforgiving nature of time, trying to control the uncontrollable, & the resilience of hope amidst it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miya Folick is a solo artist based in Los Angeles. On her latest album Roach, Miya documents the high highs & low lows of early adulthood. Thanks to her unabashed vulnerability, the record gives us all room to be gentle to our younger selves, laugh at our mistakes, & rejoice in our growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curtis Waters is a Nepalese-Canadian artist. After a sudden viral hit shot him to fame in 2020, Curtis wanted to showcase a deeper side of his music, & tell his story on his own terms. Enter his sophomore album, BAD SON. On the album, Curtis covers the themes that intertwine in his life: fame & ego, bipolar disorder, the pressures of being the child of immigrants, & more. Learn more about your ad...

Gengahr are a band from East London. Their brilliant musicianship has endured across four albums, and their approach to songwriting has grown and shifted alongside of it. While earlier songs played with abstract concepts and mythical creatures, their later work is increasingly personal. On Red Sun Titans, the band explores life’s big existential themes and grounding in the things that get us throu...

Half Moon Run are a band based in Montreal, Canada. They released their debut album, Dark Eyes, in 2013, and quickly gained fans both locally & internationally. Throughout the pandemic, they found themselves digging through cassettes from that time period, revisiting these ideas with fresh perspective. The result is is their fourth album Salt: a musical conversation between past and present, explo...