Now You Hear Me

"I’ve always wanted to be courageous. Being quiet is just something that I am, but being able to share - it’s courage. And that’s all I always ask for. That I’m courageous, not afraid." Joyce Olong's album “SOSEO” is exactly that. Courageous and unafraid, soft and strong. It sits at the intersection of several genres, strongly reflecting the myriad of influences on her production and...

"When you let space for your anger, I think it's a way to calm down," Ariane Roy expresses, describing the sentiments explored on her second album, "Dogue." Desire, anger, fear, fantasy, fiction and more, exist on this record in a sonic world that's much different than that of her first album. On this record she steps into a persona that gives herself permission to express anything, giving life to...

Lubiana’s sophomore album “Terre Rouge” is a beautiful love letter to the African continent. With lyrics in both English and French and melodies both sung and played on the kora, she honors her ancestors and re-solidifies her connection to Cameroon - on her own terms. Follow Lubiana | ⁠ Follow the podcast ⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠ Follow Martha⁠ If you like the podcast, please rate it and leave a comment :) Music C...

Naaz 's Instagram bio reads "multidisciplinary artist | kurdish girl in a western world" - descriptors that vividly color her life and self-expression. The Dutch-Kurdish singer has been bursting at the seams with creativity since she was a young child, writing in both English and Kurdish, with each language highlighting her exceptional lyricism and enviable vocal agility. On this epi...

For Yoa , the ideal debut album is one where by the end, the listener feels like they have met someone new. This is exactly what the French singer achieves with her powerful and personal debut album, "La Favorite." And she has become just that in the Francophone world - the favorite. She is the artist that everyone is excited about and can't wait to watch flourish. At the Victoires d...

French singer-songwriter Emma Hoet evokes feelings of summer nostalgia and Parisian romanticism in her idyllic indie-pop songs. On her most recent EP “L’autre moi,” she explores what she calls “the draft years” - the complicated period of time in your twenties where you’re shedding former versions of yourself in search of a future you. On this episode of Now You Hear Me, we discussed everything fr...

HELLO and welcome to the very first episode of Now You Hear Me! I am your host, Martha Betubiza. I decided to start this podcast with an artist both close to home and close to my heart - Liv Greene. To best describe who she is, I'll repurpose a post I wrote from my 2014 Tumblr music blog era. "i'm super grateful to say that one of my biggest musical inspirations is my friend liv green...