Leave it to Philip Kaplan, the genius behind DistroKid and Pudphones, to make nostalgia sound this cool. His latest invention, “Deez Headphones,” features a fully functional CD player built right on top. It’s retro, ridiculous, and absolutely brilliant.
Frank Zappa’s 1975 Masterpiece ‘One Size Fits All’ Gets a 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Celebration
As it turns out, 1975 became yet another pivotal year for Frank Zappa. Following a most momentous 1974, the Maestro showed no plans for slowing down (not that he ever did). Entering that midpoint of the 1970s, Zappa was coming off his most strictly commercially successful year to date, as his acclaimed March 1974 solo LP Apostrophe (’) became his first gold-selling record in the United States, ultimately peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. The forever prescient and perpetually catchy single “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” had also made a splash on the Hot 100 chart, duly marking its territory at No. 87. Not only that, but the epic double-live album Roxy & Elsewhere followed that September, and the year had been jam-packed even further than that with touring and two special television tapings to boot. With no time to waste, Zappa had booked time for recording sessions at Caribou Studios in Nederland, Colorado, the very heart of the frigid Rocky Mountains—two weeks or so after touring had ended for the year.
The result became the ensuing studio follow-up to Apostrophe (’)—June 1975’s One Size Fits All, which added even more to Zappa’s mythological recorded canon, led by such indelible tracks like the semi-rhetorical wonderings about a cosmic landing strip that is “Inca Roads,” the exploratory end-tables that are the instrumental cogitations of “Sofa No. 1” and the Germanic ruminations of “Sofa No. 2,” the pithy observations of the insufferable ennui-inducing “Po-Jama People,” and the debutante taunting of “Florentine Pogen.” One Size Fits All has long since become regarded as one of the strongest, best-sounding, and most musically adventurous entries in the Zappa canon.
In proper celebration of 50 years of One Size Fits All, a suite of newly expanded 50th anniversary editions led by a five-disc (4 CD/1 Blu-ray Audio) Super Deluxe Edition featuring 58 tracks will be released via Zappa Records/UMe. The lavish Super Deluxe Edition box comes complete with a 36-page booklet and unseen photos from the archives of Sam Emerson, in addition to liner notes and new historical essays by noted music journalist David Fricke, longtime Zappa/Mothers bandmember Ruth Underwood, and, as always, The Vaultmeister, Joe Travers.
One Size Fits All will also be released on vinyl with two special pressings: a 180-gram 2 LP Black Glitter anniversary edition that combines a new analog cut of the album with a bonus LP of highlights from the box set plus the 50th anniversary booklet, and a limited edition single LP on 180-gram Blue Galaxy vinyl housed in a jacket printed on silver foil and including a lithograph of a never-before-seen photo contact sheet from one of Zappa’s historic shoots with Sam Emerson.
The Super Deluxe Edition and 2 LP will be released on September 26, but fans who pre-order any of the One Size Fits All: 50th Anniversary Edition offerings, including the single LP color vinyl, exclusively at Zappa.com, uDiscover Music, or Sound of Vinyl, will receive the album on Friday, August 1st.
A new merch collection celebrating 50 years of One Size Fits All has also just been released, including t-shirts, posters, branded “One Size Fits All” socks, and more.
In other exciting news, Honker Home Video, founded by Zappa in 1985 to sell his VHS releases direct to fans, has been resurrected 40 years later as a one-stop digital shop where fans can now digitally rent such favorites as the 1987 documentary, The True Story Of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels, the 2008 live concert movie The Torture Never Stops shot in 1981 at the Palladium in NYC on Halloween night, the odds and ends compilation Video From Hell, and the latest release in Zappa’s video catalog, Cheaper Than Cheep, the just-released after more than 50 years two-hour concert film captured in June 1974 at Zappa’s Los Angeles rehearsal space.
Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, the new, expanded collection, One Size Fits All: 50th Anniversary Edition, sports the 2012 remaster of the original album by Bob Ludwig, along with scores of additional session outtakes from The Vault, alternate takes, and 2024 mixes remixed and restored by Craig Parker Adams, all remastered in 2025 by John Polito at Audio Mechanics. Also included in the expanded collection is a truly historical live concert recording captured at the Sports Palace Ahoy in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, on September 28, 1974, plus a pair of bonus concert tracks from the Gothenburg Concert Hall in Gothenburg, Sweden, extracted from a gig just a few days earlier on September 25, 1974.
The Blu-ray contains the core album newly remixed in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound by Karma Auger and Erich Gobel at Studio1LA, the same team behind the acclaimed Dolby Atmos and surround mixes of 2022’s Waka/Wazoo, 2023’s Over-Nite Sensation, and 2024’s Apostrophe (’) releases, respectively, which were mixed directly from the 24-track album master tapes, along with the hi-res stereo 2024 remaster at 24-bit/192kHz for the main album, plus two bonus Vault-culled surround tracks featuring vintage mixes by Zappa himself. Also included are two bonus videos taken from the classic KCET-TV shoot in Los Angeles, California, on August 27, 1974, which have been re-edited for the first time since Zappa had his hands on the footage back in 1974.
Additionally, the Super Deluxe Edition will be available digitally, with all 58 tracks available in both hi-res 24-bit/96kHz and standard-res 16-bit/44.1kHz options. A standalone Dolby Atmos mix of the core album’s nine tracks will also be available on all Atmos-supporting hi-res streaming services.
While conducting a series of round-robin interviews with the British press in London in April 1975, Zappa confirmed that he had spent “four months, ten to 14 hours a day” making One Size Fits All—and the proof is within the grooves. At its core, Zappa’s 14th Mothers album and 20th overall at that point (and now part of official Zappa release No. 131) is structurally grounded in Zappa’s biscuit-and-butter genre proclivities – raw gutbucket blues and vocal-group R&B amongst them – along with his ongoing comedic observations and striking social commentary, all backed with incendiary performances by one of his greatest bands.
One key reason One Size Fits All sounds as good as it does is that it’s the first time a Frank Zappa release was created entirely on a 24-track tape machine. Previously, everything had been cut 16-track or below. As Travers observed, Zappa’s use of the studio had always been groundbreaking, but now he had even more options for sonic layers, with “stunning sound quality” due in large part to the teamwork of recording engineer Kerry McNabb and, later, Michael Braunstein.
The Caribou sessions featured the Mothers-fortified sextet lineup consisting of Zappa, keyboardist/vocalist George Duke, bassist James “Birdlegs” Youman temporarily filling in for the still-injured Tom Fowler, drummer Chester Thompson, and percussionist Ruth Underwood. Recording at Caribou started on December 8 and lasted until December 22, 1974. Following a return to Los Angeles for another gig at the Long Beach Arena on New Year’s Eve, additional recording sessions were booked at The Record Plant, this time with Fowler back in action on bass, tenor saxophonist/flautist/vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock, but with Underwood absent. The Record Plant sessions continued basic tracking for songs not finished or tackled during Caribou time. Given all the tensions surrounding both intense recording environments, this incarnation of the band ultimately fell apart, resulting in the departures of both Thompson and Underwood, though their imprints remain permanently ingrained on the music as Zappa went into dubbing overdrive in the New Year. Ultimately, four One Size Fits All tracks—“Inca Roads,” “Florentine Pogen,” “Andy,” and “Sofa”—persisted as consistent set list favorites until Zappa’s final tour in 1988. (One Size Fits All was also the final studio album credited to The Mothers of Invention.)
The cover art is yet another marvel of the A/V intersectivity synergy of the Zappa universe. As Zappa put it himself in an off-era interview with Disc, “It’s a very good cover, when you consider the front cover shows a picture of a sofa and the back cover is a reference to the universe in general.” For the more linguistically inclined, rearranging the initial letters of each word in One Size Fits All begats the name of both the cover’s prominent project/object and the two-part, split “Sofa” track itself. Zappa cover art vet Cal Schenkel and Vernon Simpson’s intricately designed but beautifully celestial map on the back remains a wonder to behold, as it is laden with minuscule-print gags, such as the star named after Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz in the constellation Aquarium.
In his research, which included 1974 live material, Travers discovered that recording and front of house engineer Brian Krokus seemed to be experiencing nightly issues with the gear he had at his disposal. The Swedish show, for example, did not contain a bass guitar track, while the Rotterdam show failed to capture all of Underwood’s percussion rig to tape – but thankfully, her marimba and vibraphone did increase in level as the show proceeded. He also found both shows had extremely prominent bass drum to tape, and Zappa’s overall guitar tone was very edgy. “All in all,” Travers concluded, “the four-track masters from that run are not perfect (they rarely are). But, the performances are, of course, legendary.” Travers then pointed out some prime Zappa DNA—namely, that the roots of “Zoot Allures” are implied by Zappa’s after Thompson’s drum solo in “Dupree’s Paradise,” further noting that “it seems those chords first appear in multiple instances on this tour!”
Regardless of the psychological stains and personal scars that Zappa ultimately overcame to get it all to the finish line, One Size Fits All stands tall as another testament to the man’s will to create something that truly found the right place to park itself. The 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition is a masterful celebration of half a century of one of Zappa’s unjustly overlooked best, an album that continues to infiltrate the cracks and crannies of all days and nights of our collective listening pleasures.
CD 1: One Size Fits All – The Original Album – 2024 Remaster + Album Session Bonus Tracks
The Original Album
1. Inca Roads
2. Can’t Afford No Shoes
3. Sofa No. 1
4. Po-Jama People
5. Florentine Pogen
6. Evelyn, A Modified Dog
7. San Ber’dino
8. Andy
9. Sofa No. 2
Album Session Bonus Tracks
10. Inca Roads – Rough Mix
11. Ralph Stuffs His Shoes – “Token” Outtake
12. Ralph Stuffs His Shoes – Basic Tracks, Take 5
13. Ralph Stuffs His Shoes – Instrumental Mix, Master Take
14. Can’t Afford No Shoes – Rough Mix
15. Sofa No. 1 – Basic Tracks, Take 6
16. Sofa No. 1 – Master Take, Early Mix
CD 2: Album Session Bonus Tracks Continued
1. Po-Jama People – Old Mix
2. Florentine Pogen – Rough Mix
3. Florentine Pogen – Alternate Solo
4. Evelyn, A Modified Dog – Session Outtakes
5. Bitch, Bitch, Bitch – In Rehearsal
6. Bitch, Bitch, Bitch – Basic Tracks, Take 1
7. San Ber’dino – Rough Mix I
8. San Ber’dino – Rough Mix II
9. San Ber’dino – Rough Mix III
10. Something/Anything – Rough Mix
11. Andy – Rough Mix
12. Sofa No. 2 – Rough Mix
CD 3: Live In Rotterdam, Netherlands, September 28, 1974
1. Tush Tush Tush (A Token Of My Extreme)
2. Stink-Foot
3. Inca Roads
4. Approximate
5. Cosmik Debris
6. Florentine Pogen
7. Montana
8. RDNZL
CD 4: Live In Rotterdam, Netherlands, September 28, 1974 (Continued) + Bonus Live Tracks
1. Dupree’s Paradise Intro
2. Blind Mice Blues
3. Dupree’s Paradise – Part 1
4. Dupree’s Paradise – Part 2
5. Pygmy Twylyte
6. Room Service
7. Tush Tush Tush (End Vamp)
Bonus Live Tracks
8. Ralph Stuffs His Shoes – Live In Gothenburg, Sweden, 9/25/1974
9. Po-Jama People – Live In Gothenburg, Sweden, 9/25/1974
Blu-ray Audio: One Size Fits All – The Album + Bonus Audio + Bonus Video
24-bit/48kHz Dolby Atmos / 24-bit/96kHz Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / 24-bit/192kHz PCM Stereo
One Size Fits All – The Album
1. Inca Roads
2. Can’t Afford No Shoes
3. Sofa No. 1
4. Po-Jama People
5. Florentine Pogen
6. Evelyn, A Modified Dog
7. San Ber’dino
8. Andy
9. Sofa No. 2
Bonus Audio
10. Sofa No. 1 – 1975 Quad Mix
11. San Ber’dino – 1993 6-Channel Mix
Bonus Video (Pillar-box format)
12. Inca Roads: Video – “Token” Outtake, Live In Los Angeles, CA 8/27/1974
13. Florentine Pogen: Video – “Token” Outtake, Live In Los Angeles, CA 8/27/1974
Pop Artist Ger Carriere Channels Fury and Freedom on Fiery New Anthem ‘Almost Lovers’
There’s something deliciously dangerous about the kind of anger that doesn’t need to scream to be heard. Ger Carriere’s new single, “Almost Lovers,” captures that exact voltage. It’s a track that feels like it’s smirking through gritted teeth, teetering between heartbreak and vengeance.
Carriere has strutted with confidence before on “Blessed In My Heels,” but this time she’s bitten down. Built on electric guitars that snarl over a hip-hop pulse, “Almost Lovers” turns disappointment into defiance. It’s the pure female rage that comes from someone who is done waiting around for a guy to finally decide to do better.
But instead of feeling sorry for herself, Ger uses it as a weapon. “Almost Lovers” feels like less of a breakup song and more like she’s declaring war on guys who talk a big game but don’t deliver.
There’s a swagger here that calls back to early Halsey or the venomous bite of Olivia Rodrigo’s rock-leaning tracks, but Carriere’s edge feels rawer and notably less rehearsed. Empowering, cathartic, and addictive, Carriere isn’t performing fury with “Almost Lovers;” but rather, is processing it in real time.
If you don’t know Ger Carriere yet, you probably will soon. “Almost Lovers” seems like when an artist stops trying to please people and just decides to destroy everything. It’s angry, it’s full of life, and it’s exactly what pop music needs right now.
Aryel Moon Ignite Dublin’s Alt-Rock Scene with Gritty New Single ‘Little Bit Closer’
Aryel Moon is an alternative rock/ grunge band led by Italy-born musician Donatella Camedda, who have been building a reputation on Dublin’s live circuit. The band now return with a new offering, ‘Little Bit Closer’. A song that speaks of the initial rush of desire during the initial stages of falling for someone and the gap between genuine connection and limerence. In the process, the song cements the band as rising ones to watch amongst Dublin’s music scene. Following the release of previous singles ‘Bluebell’ and ‘Eulogy’ which caught the attention of Hot Press, PureMZine, TheBeat.ie, Ragged Cast, Rock N Load, Turn Up The Volume, Daily Earworm on XRP Radio and The Mosh Pit on Dublin City FM, the band spent the next six months working intensely on new material. The result is a more refined and focused sound that is all at once melancholy but cathartic. Pulling on influences PJ Harvey, Hole, and St. Vincent the band channels the grit and emotion of ’90s alt-rock through a modern lens, blending grunge, punk energy, riot grrrl infusions and poetic depth.
The band centers around Donatella Camedda (guitar/vocals) as the primary songwriter for the band. Writing begins as a solitary exercise, songs often start life on acoustic guitar and find their own path into existence, they can come in a flash or develop over a period of time. Donatella pens the music, melodies and lyrics before taking the raw track to the band. A process she says is crucial in giving the band and music its unique vibe, adding layers and depth that shape the final expression of each track. The band is completed by Luca Masi (electric guitar), Stefano Vita (bass) and Nando Alonso (drums).
It’s this unique vibe that we hear on new single ‘Little Bit Closer’. Expanding upon and refining the sound establish on ‘Bluebell’ and ‘Eulogy’, ‘Little Bit Closer’ is the sound of Aryel Moon becoming a band. The song starts with Donatella’s distinctive vocal, the DNA of Queen Courtney running through it but sounding entirely herself. Chiming chords provide a brief intro before being joined by Stefano’s throbbing bass and Nando’s insistent drums as they drive the song forward. Allowing for Donatella’s velvet vocals to soar along a top the music. All before the chorus explodes and Donatella’s dual vocals act as her own call and response. Lyrically Donatella says “It carries that mix of desire, anticipation, and adrenaline you feel in the very first stage of falling for someone. That in-between space where you’re caught between genuine connection and the rush of limerence.” Much like the spark of desire in the song, at 2 minutes 45 seconds ‘Little Bit Closer’ appears like a flash and is gone. Building steadily over its run time towards its explosive crescendo with the band firing on all cylinders and over drive pedals driving amps to break up, it’s a euphoric finish to a track that is reminiscent of their influences but offering something fresh and contemporary as the band find their own voice.
When it came time to record the band looked inward, choosing to adopt a DIY approach they turned to Stefano to engineer, mix and produce the track. It was important to the band to accurately capture the band’s live sound and in doing so the energy and vibe of the track. Recorded at the band’s rehearsal space it allowed the band to be comfortable and relaxed during recording, not watching the clock, it meant they could experiment, adding different layers and harmonies to the track.
The artwork for the track was shot by Anna Burnett and then Michael Smyth (Old Crows Promotions) worked on editing and layout to produce the final piece. The artwork nods to rebellious folklore, mystical elements, and a touch of magic and dreaminess. It acts as the start of a visual language that will be developed over future releases, a red thread that will tie Aryel Moon’s universe together.
Upcoming Live Dates:
7th November – Fibber Magee’s
28th November Fibber Magee’s
Alan Doyle Announces 42-Date ‘Already Dancing’ Tour and New EP Featuring The East Pointers
Beloved Canadian music icon Alan Doyle, one of the busiest touring artists for more than three decades, has announced an extensive 42-date tour that will take him across Canada and the U.S. in the new year. Doyle’s “Already Dancing” tour begins February 28 at home in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and is set to wrap May 17 in Edmonds, Washington. Tickets go on sale October 24 at 12pm local time.
Joining Doyle on all Canadian dates is the JUNO-winning PEI folk duo The East Pointers, with Brooklyn indie-folk-pop-Americana outfit Bandits on the Run set to support the U.S. leg.
Doyle has also announced today the upcoming release of his new EP, Already Dancing, coming February 20, 2026. The foot-stomping, fiddle-fueled first single “Nancy” featuring The East Pointers is out today (LISTEN HERE).
Says Doyle: “New Tunes! New Tour! Hitting the road in the new year with The Beautiful Beautiful Band as we take the ‘Already Dancing Tour’ around North America. Come sing some new ones and all the favs with us, with special guests The East Pointers in Canada and Bandits on the Run in the U.S. It’s Gonna Be a Time!”
Doyle is currently starring in the musical Tell Tale Harbour, playing at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre until November 2. Based on the screenplay “The Grand Seduction” by Ken Scott, and co-written by Doyle, Tell Tale Harbour made its Toronto debut in September after a smash-hit sell-out run at Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI.
On November 4, Doyle will release his fourth book, “The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador,” a rollicking insider’s guide to the province, told as only Doyle can tell it. Few Canadian musicians are as synonymous with their home province as Doyle is to his – and even fewer once worked as tour guides. In “The Smiling Land,” he reprises his tour-guiding role to welcome the rest of Canada to his home and take readers on an adventure: a freewheeling road trip through Newfoundland, its history and its culture.
Alan Doyle is a multifaceted singer-songwriter, going on three decades strong as a musician – first as a member of the much-celebrated band Great Big Sea and now as an internationally acclaimed solo artist. His CV is extensive — he is a published author of four books, a film and TV actor-producer with multiple major credits, and star and co-writer of the musical Tell Tale Harbour. Yet the wildly popular musician from Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, remains most electrifying before a live audience, abetted by his ace band. “I am the luckiest guy in the world,” Doyle says. “It’s such a privilege to stand among those players on stage.”
2026 ALREADY DANCING TOUR DATES:
February 28 St. John’s, NL JAG Soundhouse
March 3 Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre
March 4 Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre
March 5 Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre
March 6 Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre
March 7 Moncton, NB Casino New Brunswick
March 8 Saint John, NB Imperial Theatre
March 10 Ottawa, ON National Arts Centre
March 12 Kitchener, ON Centre In The Square
March 13 Montreal, QC L’Olympia
March 14 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
March 17 Thunder Bay, ON Community Auditorium
March 19 Saskatoon, SK TCU Place
March 20 Regina, SK Conexus Arts Centre
March 21 Edmonton, AB Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
March 22 Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
March 24 Trail, BC Charles Bailey Theatre
March 25 Vancouver, BC Orpheum
March 26 Kelowna, BC Community Theatre
March 27 Victoria, BC Royal Theatre
April 22 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
April 23 Boston, MA The Wilbur Theatre
April 24 Newport, RI Jane Pickens Theater
April 25 Nashua, NH Center for the Arts
April 26 New York, NY City Winery
April 28 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
April 29 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
May 1 Buffalo, NY Buffalo State Performing Arts Center
May 2 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
May 3 Pittsburgh, PA City Winery
May 5 Cleveland, OH Music Box
May 6 Chicago, IL Athenaeum Center
May 7 Madison, WI Atwood Music Hall
May 8 St Paul, MN Fitzgerald Theater
May 9 Omaha, NE Holland Performing Arts Center
May 10 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
May 12 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum
May 13 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum
May 14 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
May 15 Novato, CA HopMonk Tavern
May 16 Portland, OR The Aladdin Theater
May 17 Edmonds, WA Edmonds Center for the Arts
David Gilmour With Romany Gilmour ‘Between Two Points’ Gentry Remix Out Now
‘Between Two Points’ is one of the highlights of David Gilmour’s critically acclaimed #1 album ‘Luck and Strange’ and its accompanying live shows. The track is a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ 1999 song featuring Romany Gilmour on lead vocals and harp.
The track was remixed by Rob Gentry, who played keyboards on both the album and the live dates, for a special 12” Record Store Day release earlier this year. Due to overwhelming demand, the 7-minute GENTRY remix and a shorter edit have been released digitally today via Sony Music.
‘Luck and Strange’ was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The record was produced by David and Charlie Andrew, best known for their work with alt-J and Marika Hackman. The album features nine tracks, including the singles ‘The Piper’s Call’, ‘Dark And Velvet Nights’ and ‘Between Two Points.’
The ‘Luck and Strange’ tour began with two sold-out warm-up shows at the Brighton Centre before moving to Circus Maximus in Rome for six sold-out nights, followed by the same at London’s Royal Albert Hall before moving Stateside for sold-out evenings at the Intuit Dome and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, before concluding with five sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Eric Lu’s ‘Chopin Competition Highlights’ Album Set for Release on Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is to release an album featuring highlights of the performances given by Eric Lu, winner of the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition. The American pianist was awarded first prize by the jury in Warsaw last night, following the final round of the Competition. His recordings were captured live during the various stages of the world’s most prestigious competition for classical musicians, which opened with an inaugural concert at the Concert Hall of the National Philharmonic on 2 October 2025. The awards gala and prize-winners’ concerts are being held at the hall between 21 and 23 October, with the pianists joined by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Andrzej Boreyko in the concerto performances. Eric Lu will now undertake a tour of some of the world’s most prestigious venues.
“I’m so grateful for this honour,” says Eric Lu, “grateful to all the Chopin lovers around the world who watched online, to the audience here in Warsaw, and to the jury for bestowing this honour on me. This is a dream come true.”
The winner’s album will be released digitally and on CD on 21 November 2025 on Deutsche Grammophon, with a first track – Chopin’s Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 – issued for streaming and download on Friday 24 October. The album will be the third release of its kind, marking a continuing partnership between DG and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute – which has organised and hosted the Chopin Competition since 2010 – and reflecting their joint commitment to promoting exceptional interpretations of Chopin’s music.
“It’s a great pleasure to release an album of live recordings by Eric Lu, a very worthy winner of this year’s International Chopin Piano Competition,” says Dr Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon and New Business Strategy Global Classics at Universal Music Group. “His performances over the last few weeks have won him millions of new fans around the world. We look forward to sharing these insightful and powerful readings of Chopin with an even wider global audience, thus transforming the spontaneous excitement of the competition into a lasting pianistic legacy, as we did with previous first-prize winners, ranging from Maurizio Pollini in the 1960s to Bruce Liu in 2021. We’re equally delighted to have renewed our longstanding relationship with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, whose artistic ideals are so closely aligned with those of DG.”
“It is hard to overestimate the importance of our long-standing cooperation, which, against the backdrop of such an extraordinary event as the Chopin Competition, helps spread the phenomenon of the Polish composer around the world,” says Stanisław Leszczyński, Artistic Director of the Chopin Institute.
The collaboration between the Institute and DG began in 2015 when the Yellow Label arranged the immediate release of an album by the winner of the 17th edition of the competition. Seong-Jin Cho’s debut recording, drawn from the recital rounds and finals, topped the pop charts in his native South Korea and led to his signing with DG in January 2016. Victory in the delayed 18th edition of 2021 went to the then 24-year-old Canadian pianist Bruce Liu. Like Cho before him, Liu has since gone on to establish a hugely successful career in both concert hall and recording studio, and is also signed exclusively to DG.
The International Chopin Piano Competition was first held in 1927. Since 1955, it has taken place every five years, with the exception of the 18th edition, postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A founding member of the World Federation of International Music Festivals, the Chopin Competition has set the benchmark standards by which all other classical music competitions are measured.
Its reputation also rests on the international stature and quality of its jury members. Over the years, these have included such leading figures as Wilhelm Backhaus, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Nadia Boulanger, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Artur Rubinstein and Karol Szymanowski. The chairman of the jury for the 19th edition is the American pianist Garrick Ohlsson.
As in previous years, the DG signature release of the First Prize winner will be followed in the coming months by additional albums documenting the competition and all the prize winners, to be issued by the Chopin Institute.
Adrian Lyles Closes His Alt-Pop ‘Horizons’ Trilogy with ‘Horizons: Night’ and Stunning Visual Series
Emerging alt-pop singer/songwriter Adrian Lyles wraps up his vulnerable series of Horizons EPs with final installment, Horizons: Night, out now via Hollywood Records. To accompany the EP, Adrian has released a series of conjoining music videos for each track. Listen HERE and watch the videos, directed by Cole Santiago.
This final EP is centered around finding ways to forgive yourself and moving forward. After exploring themes of relentlessly searching for love and grappling with self doubt on the first two releases, this EP sees Adrian finally exhale. Of the project, which includes production by OAK (Rihanna, Usher, Kehlani) and Housefly (Kim Petras, Tyga), Adrian shares, “‘Horizons: Night’ is all about forging new paths. ‘Dawn’ and ‘Dusk’ were focused on me being led by love and my old self. This is the first EP that follows me making the choices for myself. It’s freedom and acceptance. It is the end of this era of being led.”
Fans can hear the Horizons EPs live as Adrian joins Midnight Til Morning on their North American tour, which kicks off October 19 in Montreal, QC. The tour includes sold-out stops at Bluebird Theater in Denver and the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles before coming to a close on November 16 at San Francisco’s The Regency Ballroom. See full routing below – tickets are available HERE.
With his first 3 EP releases under his belt, Adrian has already showcased his knack for no-holds-barred songwriting and genre-bending production. The projects have earned critical praise from FLAUNT, Rolling Stone, People, Ones to Watch, and more…and he’s just getting started.
Stay tuned for more from Adrian Lyles!
Horizons: Dawn Tracklist
1. “I Can’t Hear You”
2. “Kinda Liked It”
3. “Than I Am”
4. “Take It Easy”
North American Tour
Supporting Midnight Til Morning
Sun, Oct 19 – Montreal, QC – Le National (Sold Out)
Thu, Oct 23 – Toronto, ON – Annabel’s
Fri, Oct 24 – Toronto, ON – Annabel’s (Sold Out)
Sun, Oct 26 – Detroit, MI – El Club
Mon, Oct 27 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall (Low Tickets)
Fri, Oct 31 – Austin, TX – Mohawk Austin
Sat, Nov 1 – Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
Mon, Nov 3 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater (Sold Out)
Thu, Nov 6 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Sun, Nov 9 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Mon, Nov 10 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
Sat, Nov 15 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre (Early 5pm Show)
Sat, Nov 15 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre (Late 8:15pm Show, Sold Out)
Sun, Nov 16 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
Morgan Wallen Scores 20th Country No. 1 as ‘I Got Better’ Tops Charts and ‘20 Cigarettes’ Ignites Country Radio
As “I Got Better” becomes Morgan Wallen‘s 20th Country Aircheck/Mediabase No. 1, and his fifth No. 1 from I’m The Problem, the 19x Billboard Music Award winner arrives with “20 Cigarettes” as most-added at Country radio today, while also sharing a simmering music video to coincide with impact.
Celebrated by Billboard as a “smartly told tale” and “a full movie in a three-minute song,” the story-song of “20 Cigarettes” is once again brought to life by director Justin Clough. The moonlit video recounts love lost and found again under the haze of cigarette smoke. “20 Cigarettes” was written by Chris LaCorte, Chase McGill, Blake Pendergrass and Josh Miller.
Clough also produced Wallen’s recently released music video for “I Got Better,” which uses a car accident as a metaphor for the wreckage of a relationship. The storyline follows Wallen as he walks away from the crash, his wounds gradually beginning to heal as he does so. Watch here.
Both songs hail from Wallen’s fourth studio album, I’m The Problem, released on May 16. I’m The Problem spent 12 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 albums chart and 13 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. It also became Wallen’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the UK Official Charts – making him one of only five artists to debut at summit with a country album.
The project debuted at No. 1 in seven countries upon release. In Australia, I’m The Problem became the longest-running No. 1 album by a country artist in 10 years, with three consecutive weeks atop the ARIA albums chart, while “What I Want (feat. Tate McRae)” spent five weeks at No. 1 on Australia’s Country Airplay chart.
Morgan Wallen sets the pace in, and beyond, country music – with Billboard calling him “one of the biggest stars in the music world right now” and The New Yorker adding “[he’s] popular on a scale that seems to circumvent genre entirely.” With 20 No. 1 singles at Country radio, 19 Billboard Music Awards to-date, 198 weeks spent atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (the most in country music history), the highest selling country tour under his belt and more, Wallen has propelled country music to a global level in less than five years.
Wallen’s fourth studio album, I’m The Problem, available now via Big Loud / Mercury, debuted at No. 1 globally across seven countries; while his preceding albums – Dangerous: The Double Album and One Thing At A Time – have remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for more than 100 weeks each, making him the first artist ever to achieve that feat. I’m The Problem – which Hits Daily Double observes is “a 37-song cycle of self-reckoning” – has already yielded five No. 1’s at Country radio, including the title track, which remained at No. 1 for eight weeks. Wallen also broke his own record for the most simultaneous entries in Billboard Hot 100 History, with 37 songs charting on release week.
Wallen’s 20-stadium-show 2025 I’m the Problem Tour recently concluded in Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to his 20 stadium-plays, Wallen held his inaugural, personally-curated and multi-genre Sand In My Boots Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama in May. He also performed an intimate album release show at The Roundhouse in London.
Wallen donates a portion of every ticket sold to his Morgan Wallen Foundation — which supports youth music and athletic programs and gives communities access to essentials in times of crisis.
Sony Music Central America and the Caribbean and Alofoke Music Announce Strategic Partnership
Sony Music Central America and the Caribbean (CAC) has announced a strategic alliance with Alofoke Music, the influential label founded by renowned media mogul and cultural tastemaker Santiago “Alofoke” Matías. Under the agreement, Sony Music CAC will serve as the exclusive distributor of all forthcoming releases from Alofoke Music, while also acquiring previously released titles.
The long-term partnership reflects a shared vision for nurturing the next generation of Latin urban talent and expanding their presence across international markets. The deal also allows for strategic collaborations on select tracks with potential for global rollout under a shared rights model.
The first two releases under the Sony Music CAC banner are already in development, with official release dates to be announced soon.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with Alofoke, who is a monumental figure in the music and media space in the Dominican Republic and beyond,” said Melissa Exposito, President, Sony Music CAC. “What he represents in terms of community, culture, and championing talent aligns perfectly with our vision. This partnership is about elevating regional voices in key international markets and building bridges for emerging artists to thrive globally.”
Santiago “Alofoke” Matías, Founder of Alofoke Music, shared: “This alliance is the result of a shared vision rooted in innovation and legacy, with our eyes firmly set on the future of music. Partnering with Sony Music not only validates the years of work we’ve poured into building a platform for talent—it also opens the door for new generations to break barriers and take their sound to global audiences.”
Alofoke Music, founded by Santiago Matías, is one of the most influential and culture-shaping forces in urban music. Originally launched as a digital platform to spotlight local artists, the label has grown into a powerhouse in music production, A&R, and cross-platform content. With a vast digital footprint across platforms including YouTube, social media, and all major global DSPs such as Spotify, Alofoke Music has helped launch viral hits like “Que Linda” by Lomieel, Donaty, and Papera (35M+ streams globally), “Con Sonido” by Bulin 47, Ceky Vicini, and Alofoke Music, and “Baje Con Trenza” by El Cherry Scom and Ozuna. The label has consistently collaborated with both local icons and global stars like El Alfa and Ozuna, contributing to the mainstream rise of urban sounds. Its cultural impact extends beyond the Dominican Republic into major diaspora hubs such as New York, Miami, and Madrid—making it a cornerstone of the global urban scene. To date, Alofoke Music has generated over 762 million global audio and video streams across platforms.
From his groundbreaking work on the Alofoke Radio Show to building one of the most culturally resonant and impactful music platforms in the region, Alofoke has consistently championed local voices and created pathways for artists in underserved communities to reach broader audiences.