Songwriter and choral director/arranger Gitika Partington has released thirteen albums simultaneously, and without originally setting out to, she has broken the current world record for the most albums released in one day, which as of 2025 stood at twelve. Comprising 130 original songs written and recorded over a five-year period, the project began with the idea of nine albums. Then ten. Twelve became the structure. Thirteen turned up anyway.
During the pandemic part of the process, Tom Robinson of the Tom Robinson band and BBC Radio 6 and Amazing Radio DJ described Gitika as ‘a force of nature’ for producing nine virtual choir videos with help from community filmmaker and choir member Bob Karper. Check out “video killed the radio star”!
Gitika created the thirteen albums as part of a sustained songwriting practice rather than a commercial release cycle. Composed incrementally over the course of five years, including periods marked by significant challenges. Moments of unbelievable light were interspersed, and the weekly songwriting which felt like an anchor. The first twelve albums form a chronological musical record of time passing with a thirteenth album of songs that nearly got away- a body of work intended for wandering, reflection, and long-form listening rather than singles, algorithms, or drip-fed promotion. Lots of the songs are messages to Gitika from Gitika - stories and comments on the day she wrote them. Lots are about returning home, uncomfortable moments, little blasts of therapy, quirky moments. Pleasing no-one but herself.
This release is an artistic gesture as much as a musical one. This project emphasizes that creativity doesn't require permission or external validation. It encourages anyone making stuff to ignore self-doubt and focus on just making art for its own sake, valuing the creative process over the result. Bandcamp (HERE).
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| Photo - Calli Westra |
Brooklyn-based indie rockers Hiding Places announce their debut album, The Secret to Good Living, May tour dates across the northeast USA, and release single "Waiting." The just-released single "Waiting," written by vocalist/guitarist Nicholas Byrne, is a grungy song heavy with distortion and grief. The video (also created by Byrne) juxtaposes live footage of the band alongside video of the demolition and an animated simulation of the iconic Kingda Ka rollercoaster (R.I.P.).
"Hiding Places’ first bassist, Anthony Cozzarelli, left the band in July of 2022. I wrote the chorus the day before Anthony left the band. I recalled the slow death of my uncle, and the painful anticipation that filled the interstitial space between here and gone. I wrote the verses six months later in the freezing cold on my way home from my studio in the industrial part of our neighborhood. I sang this song to my aunt years later as she was dying. We both cried," Byrne said.
The band, originally from North Carolina, caught our attention after self-releasing a trio of excellent EPs. Now a four-piece of Audrey Keelin, Henry Cutting, Nicholas Byrne, and Michael Matsakis, started as an almost tradition-like practice; meeting in rural Georgia for a week or two at a time to record and write; to open themselves up to songs that would visit and hone their technical ability to capture them. Marked by a consistently collaborative process throughout their career, Hiding Places' debut LP is their first collection recorded together in a professional recording studio.
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SAMAJAMA, a former global executive, lived a fast-paced and luxurious life, traveling the world and closing major deals for Fortune 500 companies. However, his true happiness always lay in coming home to his daughter and wife. The success of his career allowed him to purchase and build a beautiful horse farm and mountain home. Despite the wealth and glamour of his job, his heart was always with his family and the simple pleasures of life such as hiking, bonfires, and spending time with his beloved animals.
However, when the global epidemic hit and he went through a divorce, his life seemed to crumble around him. In a state of forced isolation, he turned to music as a form of healing. Over the years, his love for music evolved into songwriting and singing about the raw and emotive experiences of humanity. Music became his solace and lyrics became his source of healing.
Through this journey of recovery and resilience, SAMAJAMA found his way back to victory, always holding onto the belief that "music soothed him, but lyrics healed him".
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The new single "This Time Around" from Boston-based singer-songwriter Staci Gruber is released this week. The rock meets Americana tune was recorded in Nashville and produced by Erik Halbig (Ty Herndon, Jamie O'Neal). Written by Staci and Michael Orland (American Idol), the track is a relatable and infectious honky-tonk anthem. Staci shares, "This Time Around is really a story of love that pulled too hard, truth that came too late, and a heart that finally listened when it mattered most".
Staci shares, "This Time Around is really a story of love that pulled too hard, truth that came too late, and a heart that finally listened when it mattered most".
Staci has found success performing with Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers, writing an anthem for Billie Jean King, and performing at several large events with collaborator Michael Orland. Through her music and her research, Staci Gruber exemplifies the power of connection – whether through the transformative power of music or the scientific exploration of medical solutions—and reminds us all that no matter where we are, we are never truly alone. She shares, “Maybe music really can help people feel things they need to feel… I always hope that music allows people to understand someone else’s perspective – empathy in its truest sense.”
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