singer/songwriters by William Ruben HelmsJul 4, 202610:00

Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Bill Withers!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 88th anniversary of the birth of Bill Withers.

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsJul 3, 202622:30

New Audio: London’s TheWhatIfMix Shares a Club Banger

TheWhatIfMix is a London-based electronic music artist, producer and mixing engineer, whose work is centered around one core question: What if you achieve your dreams? His sound sees him blend elements of deep house, tech house and atmospheric electronic textures in a way that’s designed to move both body and spirit. Thematically, each track features a much deeper — and much-needed — message of self-belief, transformation and reconnection with the self.

For the London-based artist, TheWhatIfMix as a project is anchored in the concept that music is much more than sound, that it can be a reminder, a release and a push forward.

“La Magia” reached number 1 on aBreakMusic. His recently released five-song EP Higher Self received airplay on FutureHits Radio. Thematically, the EP is a journey through self-awareness, transformation and the belief in infinite possibilities. And building upon a growing profile, the London-based artist’s latest single “WAKE UP” is a high energy, club rocking bit of techno that channels JOVM mainstay LutchamaK, complete with a mantra-like sample.

As TheWhatIfMix explains, “‘WAKE UP’ is about questioning what we are shown, seeing the system more clearly and taking that power back.”

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsJul 3, 202619:00

New Audio: Liam Kix Shares Swaggering, Trip Hop-Influenced “Slowmo”

Liam Kix is a mysterious and emerging Israeli musician and artist, who over the course of his career has played in a number of different bands and projects. Kix stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with his full-length debut, 2024’s Heartology.

Over the past year, the Israeli artist has released a handful of singles, including his recent single, the swaggering “Slowmo” manages to channel Bristol trip hop — think Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, et. all — built with dusty boom-bap beats and scorching guitar paired with Kix’s breathy, yearning delivery.

Video by William Ruben HelmsJul 3, 202609:00

Throwback: Happy 84th Birthday, Dr. Lonnie Smith!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 84th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Lonnie Smith.

Video by William Ruben HelmsJul 2, 202623:00

Throwback: Happy Belated 65th Birthday, Vince Clarke!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Vince Clarke’s 65th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsJul 2, 202620:00

New Audio: James Tonic Returns with Atmospheric and Yearning “Who’s Going Down”

James Tonic is a Montréal-born, New York-based dream pop artist, who over the course of seven albums firmly established a sound built on analog synths, live drums and unflinching lyrics. 2024’s Stuck in LA, an album inspired by the West Coast wound up being a breakthrough album for the Canadian-born artist: the album helped hi establish a fanbase, the old-fashioned way while selling out during the tour.

Last year’s Safety, the first part of a planned dream pop trilogy was a nine-song effort that thematically touched on emotional survival. The second part of the trilogy, Safety II was released earlier this year, and featured a darker, more cinematic take on dream pop paired with sharper, edgier lyricism. Thematically, Safety II covers being wide open, fighting back quietly and spotting clear bits when everything seems hopelessly jumbled.

Safety II includes “At The Time In New York,” and its latest single “Who’s Going Down.” “Who’s Going Down” is meditative, bit of dream pop that features Tonic’s yearning, achingly tender delivery against an atmospheric and shimmering soundscape that channels Cigarettes After Sex and Thank Your Lucky Stars and Depression Cherry-era Beach House. To me, the song evokes the last hour of party that you don’t want to have end or the waning hours of an amazing trip, full of the bittersweet recognition that you’ll have to return to normal life.

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsJul 2, 202616:00

New Audio: George Aletras Returns with Yearning and Melancholy “Όπως Παλιά” (“Like the Old Times”)

George Aletras is a Greek singer/songwriter and musician, whose work sees him moving between indie rock, post rock and cinematic soundscapes, frequently blurring the boundaries between them. At times, his work leans into experimental territories, not as a statement of style, but a a natural consequence of exploration, where form isn’t followed but discovered,

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Τώρα,” a tune that seemingly channeled Heaven Up Here-era Echo and the Bunnymen and contemporaries like PLOHO. The Greek artist’s latest single “Όπως Παλιά” (“Like the Old Times”) continues a remarkable run of hook-driven and nostalgia-inducing post punk built around a melodic bass line, atmospheric synths, shimmering and angular guitars, relentless four-on-the-floor paired with yearning, melancholy vocals. Fittingly, for a song that sounds as though it could have been released in 1983, the song as Aletras explains is about nostalgia, lost innocence and the desire to see the world once again through the eyes of love.

Sometimes, in a brutal, mad world dreaming of the old times seems — well, necessary doesn’t it?

Video by William Ruben HelmsJul 2, 202609:00

New Video: Tricky Teams Up With Mitch Sanders On Brooding and Uneasy “I’m Yours”

Trip hop pioneer Tricky will be releasing his 15th studio album, Different When It’s Silent on July 17, 2026 through his own label, False Idols. The new album is the first full-length effort from the legendary and influential artist […]