Mew Zikwryder – RCRD LBL

February 23, 2026

February 23, 2026February 23, 2026 Mew Zikwryder

Seth Tabatznik Unveils Awakening Embers, Building on His Rising Indie Folk Presence

Seth Tabatznik released his sophomore album Awakening Embers, this past weekend through Moth Music, arriving with the key single ‘Pacha Mama’ and a performance lined up on the Forest Stage at Retreat Yourself Festival. The London-born, Western Cape-based songwriter has moved fast since dropping his first tracks in 2024, pulling in over 200,000 streams and picking up coverage from CLASH Magazine and EARMILK for earlier cuts ‘Shining For Love’ and ‘Choose To Be Alive’. He’s already proven he can pack rooms, selling out his debut at Boschendal Estate in Cape Town and another at Green Note in Camden. Tabatznik’s sound pulls from acoustic folk and medicine music, grounding soulful vocal layers and direct lyrics in a clear respect for the natural world. Nick Mulvey mentored him through the making of this record, while guitar work draws on lessons from Rainer Scheurenbrand, creating a style that lines up naturally with acts like Ben Howard, Blanco White, and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Across its tracks, Awakening Embers works through ideas of nature, recovery, and shared connection in clean indie folk arrangements. It kicks off with the stripped-back ‘Dear Nature’ and builds toward the wider-reaching ‘We Are Walking Home’, keeping a consistent acoustic core. The central ‘Pacha Mama’ deals in personal shift and renewal, held together by even drum grooves, detailed guitar fingerwork, light shaker texture, and Tabatznik’s steady, expressive vocals that drive the narrative forward.

The album gets its full launch with two intimate evenings on March 14 and 15 at Boschendal Farm in South Africa’s winelands, pairing live runs of the material with storytelling tied to its themes—space is tight, so registration is essential. He’ll follow that with a slot at Reforest Fest in April at Bodhi Khaya Nature Retreat.

Seth shared: “I don’t have many regrets in life, but after hearing the sound of this album, which was recorded in the studio, I really wish I had now recorded the first album in there rather than at home. This album is sounding amazing and am super excited to be sharing it with the world. It was a lot of fun to put together, one of those processes that just emerged from a flow state effortlessly like it wanted to be born. The whole thing took just a few months from conceiving the songs to completing the mixing.”

Awakening Embers Album Tracklist

1. Dear Nature
2. Choose to be Alive
3. Shining For Love
4. Floresta
5. Beautiful Day
6. Let Go of Fear
7. Pacha Mama
8. On My Way
9. Good Night Everyone
10. We Are Walking Home

Seth Tabatznik Upcoming Shows

14 and 15 March – Boschendal Farm, Franschhoek, South Africa (Album Launch)
3 – 6 April – Reforest Fest – Stanford, South Africa

Stream Awakening Embers:

Follow Seth Tabatznik:

Website – Instagram – Facebook – Soundcloud – TikTok – Youtube – Spotify

February 19, 2026

February 19, 2026February 19, 2026 Mew Zikwryder

Jairic Delivers A Loud Message With ‘Still AF Gospel’ Video

(Jairic / Image Credit: Kristina Stets)

Fiery musician, producer, and storyteller Jairic unveiled an enthralling music video to accompany ‘Still AF Gospel’, the closing track off his latest EP, n=40 (December 2025). The music video premiered on renowned publication Vents Magazine, while the EP has received support from esteemed tastemaker publications Wonderland Magazine, NOTION, CLASH Magazine, and EARMILK, as well as landing NPR Music radio support. Jairic has played a series of high-impact performances, including exclusive sets atChâteau Les Alouettes in Cannes and Villa Balbiano on Lake Como, as well as a featured live appearance at the Paris premiere of the short film Azur. Jairic’s work spans France, Italy, Prague, and the U.S., drawing nearly 2 million streams across platforms. Every release is fully self-written, self-produced, and self-performed, paired with cinematic visuals that blend modern luxury with underground grit, marking him as a rising force at the intersection of music, film, and fashion.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and currently based in Cannes, France, Jairic was shaped at a young age by a musical family. He began producing hip-hop for local Detroit artists before stepping into his own raw, cinematic, and fiercely independent sound. Influenced by Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Detroit’s underground, classic funk, 60s rock, and film scores, Jairic blends lyrical weight with genre-defying sonics.

n=40 is the sharpest honing of Jairic’s artistry to date, sure to ensnare fans of A$AP Rocky, Eminem, and Kanye West. ‘Still AF Gospel’ is an incendiary showcase of Jairic’s finesse as a wordsmith, with thrashing production bolstering his high-octane delivery. The accompanying video, directed by Vansh Luthra, sees Jairic tapping into his inner child as he dons a schoolboy outfit, slipping between playfulness and contrasting visions of adult parties and introspection, all while delivering a high energy performance worthy of a sermon.Speaking on the video, Jairic shared: “‘Still AF Gospel’ is a love letter to my children — a reminder to learn relentlessly, love deeply, and never lose the edge this world requires. It’s where my father instincts meet the principles I live by. These codes are my faith. Protect absolutely. Reflect honestly. Strike only when necessary. This is gospel — still as f***.”

Watch ‘Still AF Gospel’:

Follow Jairic:

Website– Instagram– Soundcloud– TikTok– Youtube– Spotify

February 16, 2026

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 Mew Zikwryder

Business Unusual: Goodnight Moonshine Transform Burnout Into Quietly Powerful Folk-Jazz

This past weekend, Goodnight Moonshine, the duo of singer Molly Venter and guitarist Eben Pariser, shared Business Unusual, a record forged in the abrupt stillness that followed years of constant touring. When live music vanished in 2020 due to the pandemic, the couple found themselves deep in domestic life, raising three kids, including newborn twins, while wrestling with the logistical and emotional weight of staying creative under pressure.

These songs dive straight into the heart of tension: devotion collides with exhaustion, ambition wrestles with duty, and love weaves through the haze of fatigue. They reveal the bittersweet paradox of finally living the life you imagined, yet struggling to stay afloat. Musically, the album builds on folk foundations with a restless jazz spirit. Eben Pariser paints with sound, favoring texture and improvisation, while Molly Venter’s vocals are rooted and raw. Most tracks are captured live, pulsing with the tight chemistry of Adam Chilenski on bass and Ryan Sands on drums. Grammy Award–winner David Seitz’s, co-mix keeps the music’s soul intact, letting every detail shine. ‘Kitchen Table‘ that leans into pop melodies transforms everyday moments into vivid vignettes, and ‘Stars‘ closes the record with otherworldly harmonies and subdued instrumentalization that settle like a well-earned peace.

Before anyone could stream it, Goodnight Moonshine hand-delivered close to 1,000 copies directly to supporters, sidestepping impersonal algorithms in favor of real contact. Business Unusual reframes the mundane as evidence of quiet strength, acknowledging what gets lost in transition while insisting something tougher and more grounded can emerge.

Stream Business Unusual:

Follow Goodnight Moonshine:

Spotify – Instagram – Youtube – Facebook

February 9, 2026

February 9, 2026February 9, 2026 Mew Zikwryder

Plain Mister Smith Delivers Hazy, Personal New Single, ‘Dream To Be Free’ with Jordan Klassen

Plain Mister Smith has released ‘Dream To Be Free’, his new single featuring Jordan Klassen, now available via Amelia Records/Symphonic following its February 6 release. The track is the fourth single from his upcoming album, due in spring 2026. The artist, a long-time guitarist in Canadian darkwave outfit Moev and current cellist with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, has built steady momentum as Plain Mister Smith with coverage from NPR Music, Wonderland Magazine, CLASH Magazine, NOTION, Under The Radar, Earmilk, METAL, Noctis Mag, and Atwood Magazine.

Split between Vancouver and London, Plain Mister Smith works where indie-folk clarity meets psych-rock drift, threading sharp lyrics through quieter reflective stretches. ‘Dream To Be Free’ connects directly to the worlds of Death Cab for Cutie, The War on Drugs, and Pavement. It moves between inward pull and lighter whimsy, built on bright, repeating keyboard lines over gently syncopated drum work. Layered instrumental shifts frame the direct, plaintive vocal exchange, evoking blurred images of cities rushing past in recollection.

Across this run of singles, Plain Mister Smith shows a clearer hand at the controls. He keeps dynamics tight, letting percussion breathe under melodic fragments while vocal lines overlap to heighten the emotional weight without overstatement. Bringing in voices like Jordan Klassen adds natural harmonic depth that fits into the arrangements rather than standing apart. The tracks cohere through deliberate choices, such as subtle tonal bends and careful negative space, rewarding close listening and pointing to an album with real structural unity, grounded in personal detail yet precise in execution.

Plain Mister Smith shared: “Dream to be Free’ is a mesmeric reflection on a decades-old trip to Kyoto, where memories came flooding back – how such a trip to a faraway place can seem like an ultimate act of freedom, or it can be a more subtle escape from home. This trip took place during Daimonji time, when locals light giant bonfires on hills around Kyoto to guide the spirits back to the spirit world. In a way, this trip felt like a return to a source of rebirth.”

Stream ‘Dream To Be Free’:

Follow Plain Mister Smith:

Instagram – Facebook – X – Soundcloud – TikTok – Youtube – Spotify

RCRD LBL

Author: Mew Zikwryder

Seth Tabatznik Unveils Awakening Embers, Building on His Rising Indie Folk Presence

Jairic Delivers A Loud Message With ‘Still AF Gospel’ Video

Business Unusual: Goodnight Moonshine Transform Burnout Into Quietly Powerful Folk-Jazz

Plain Mister Smith Delivers Hazy, Personal New Single, ‘Dream To Be Free’ with Jordan Klassen

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