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Sam Akpro and London Soul Trailblazer TYSON Deliver Nocturnal New Single “Wayside”

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Today, Peckham-born alchemist Sam Akpro shares a brand-new single/video for ‘Wayside’, featuring a guest turn from London soul trailblazer TYSON, available now on ANTI-. The single marks Akpro’s first new music since his acclaimed 2025 debut album ‘Evenfall’, a stunning document of his singular, prodigious talent. 
 
A dub-laced slowburner, “Wayside” marks some of the richest production work yet from Akpro and his close collaborator Finn Billingham, finding a nocturnal hinterland between trip-hop and neo-soul. It fuses off-kilter beats, washes of woozy bass and flashes of brass to Akpro and TYSON’s alternating vocals. 



 
“‘Wayside’ is about moving from one change to another & the feeling of isolation that brings,” explains Akpro on the song’s genesis, which aptly enough came to life shortly after the completion of ‘Evenfall’. Opting to carve out a new direction with the track, he linked up with TYSON at Billingham’s studio in Camberwell only for the session to be cut short by a fire in a neighbouring building. Continuing the process remotely, TYSON went on to finish the vocals from a studio in New York. The results speak for themselves. 
 
TYSON, meanwhile, adds: ”When Sam asked me to be on this track I was struck by how much the lyrics resonated with me, like they could almost be thoughts in my own head. So I felt like I could comfortably climb into the track. I suppose it’s about being frustrated with yourself and life, going round and round in what feels like the same place forever, but there’s something hypnotic, meditative and soothing about it. I hope my vocals lend to that.” 

The Role of Packaging Design in the Success of Cosmetic Brands

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By Mitch Rice

The beauty industry now evaluates products based on their visual appearance and tactile experience, which customers observe before using them. Packaging functions as more than a safety measure because it serves as the initial customer view and its unspoken narrative, which typically determines customer decisions. 

The success of cosmetic brands depends on their ability to create effective packaging design solutions. A well-designed custom cosmetic box helps build trust by improving how customers perceive the product’s quality and reliability at first glance. These design elements also help create a connection with customers, which goes beyond the product itself.

Why First Impressions Count Now More Than Ever

The moment a customer first sees a cosmetic product, their brain begins to process the visual information. Customers can provide product evaluations through visual assessment without reading any text. 

People experience intense emotional responses during their first visual interaction with a cosmetic or beauty product. Packaging needs to maintain a clean appearance because this characteristic reflects the sophistication of its design. 

The appealing design of product packaging attracts consumers, which leads them to purchase specific items.

Packaging as a Reflection of the Brand’s Personality

Cosmetic brands have personalities, some of which may be perceived as luxurious and elegant, while others are young and fun. Be it lipsticks or face powder, packaging can reflect a brand’s personality.

The brand does not always have to emphasize its messages through marketing; instead, it may do so by expressing its personality through design. Packaging makes recognition easier, as customers instantly associate the look with the product.

And this is when personalized makeup packaging comes into play.

The Experience Begins before Using the Product

It’s not just about what’s inside;  it’s about everything that goes with it. The moment the customer gets his/her hands on the package, he/she starts interacting with the brand.

This interaction can include even the following tiny details:

  • The feel of the box when it’s held
  • The ease of opening the package
  • The way the product is presented inside
  • The sense of care and thought behind the design

These elements come together to create an emotional moment. When the experience feels special, customers remember it, and that memory influences whether they return.

Protection That Builds Trust

While design attracts attention, functionality builds confidence. Cosmetic products need to be protected from damage, especially during shipping or storage.

A well-designed custom cosmetic box ensures that:

  • The product remains safe and intact
  • There is no leakage or breakage
  • The quality is preserved until it reaches the customer

A properly functioning product will increase the customer’s faith in the brand as well. This means that the organization respects not only the product itself but also its customer.

Designing Products Based on Valuable Customer Attributes

Modern customers are more conscious of their decision-making process. Besides focusing on the functionality of the product, consumers are also concerned with the production process and packaging.

Brands that consider such attributes within their packaging will have an easier time attracting their target market. One way to do this is by:

  • Utilizing reusable or environmentally friendly materials
  • Avoiding unnecessary packaging layers
  • Keeping designs simple and meaningful
  • Choosing responsible production practices

Thoughtful choices like these make customers feel more confident about their purchase. Packaging becomes a way to communicate responsibility and care.

Differentiating When Everyone Looks Alike

Cosmetic products come into a very competitive market environment. Products tend to have similar advantages, and hence their packages become one way to differentiate themselves from each other.

Attractive and well-designed packaging can attract consumers at first sight. It can make the product seem higher quality than its rivals, make it more dependable, or more attractive than competing products.

Businesses often choose custom product boxes because it allows them to get a customized design according to their product’s specific needs, while adding unique elements that help their products stand out on shelves crowded with similar products from competitors.

Packaging as Part of the Marketing Journey

Packaging doesn’t stop working once the product is sold. In fact, it continues to play a role in how the brand is seen and shared.

In today’s digital world, packaging often appears in:

  • Social media posts
  • Product reviews and unboxing videos
  • Online product images
  • Customer-shared content

Good packaging leads to higher chances of being shared. This provides the brand with some free exposure, enabling it to reach out to more people without extra work.

Building a Permanent Relationship

Cosmetics are very personal items. They can be applied to achieve different purposes, like expressing oneself, boosting one’s confidence, or improving activities performed during the day. The package plays a significant role in this process.

With packaging that is well-thought-out and aesthetically pleasing, there is the creation of a bond with the consumer. The brand makes the consumer feel understood and appreciated.

It is through such a connection that loyalty to the brand will be created.

Conclusion

Cosmetic packaging design exists as an essential element that determines the success of cosmetic brands because it goes beyond its visual function. The design of custom cosmetic boxes creates permanent brand recognition through its three functions, which include product security and the development of customer emotional connections with their products.

Cosmetic packaging design is of extreme importance in the current competitive business landscape. Conclusively, cosmetic companies can achieve better outcomes by considering custom cosmetic boxes.

Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.

Foxwarren and Dan The Automator Reimagine “Strange” in a Hazy, Intergalactic New Remix

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A member of Handsome Boy Modeling School and Deltron3030, producer of Gorillaz’ debut album and a contributor to dozens of film and television scores, Dan The Automator brings his hazy, intergalactic-inspired West Coast hip hop sensibilities to this catchy rendition.  
 
“It was a pleasure to work on the Foxwarren remix,” said Dan The Automator of their collaboration. “It (the track) just made sense to me and I hope that comes through in the final mix.” 
 
Last month Foxwarren shared electronic avant-pop artist Helado Negro’s warmly pulsing remix of their song “Yvonne”. Listen to it HERE. Describing his approach to the song, Negro explained: “I wanted to create a sense of wistful dancing—a mellow bump of bouncing bass, subtle dissonance from the rearranging of the strings, and asymmetrical shapes in the phrases. A smoke screen of soft reverbs and hard-to-hold chords. Andy’s voice has a texture of its own, a beautiful landscape from a distance, and is full of delightful surprises as you listen closer.”   
 
‘2’ became an uncanny revelation for Foxwarren, a rock band allowing itself to be sampled in order to become something else. They warped and pushed the florid folk-rock of their past until it evolved into a song cycle about the vagaries of love, where voices sampled from the past commingled with songs that sparkled with the power of their collective imagination in the present. It is a fun and surprising record, where boundaries between genre and song are constantly blurred.  
 
By himself, Shauf has already had a stellar career; his reputation built not only by the sweetness of his melodies and sharpness of his words but also his inability to rest with past success. Foxwarren, especially here, is a crucial part of that ongoing process, but ‘2’ represents something even more significant—five friends now nearing the end of their second decade making music together, pushing against what they’ve learned how to do to venture somewhere new. It is the sound of friends who trust each other, cutting themselves loose from their past and their preconceptions to have some fun with a sampler and the very idea of songs.  

Son Little Takes His Soulful New Album ‘CITYFOLK’ on the Road With an Extended World Tour

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Son Little has a new album, ‘CITYFOLK,’ and the story behind it is as compelling as the music itself. The songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose real name is Aaron Livingston, followed a deep curiosity about his ancestry south to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he connected with two-time Grammy-winning Alabama Shakes member Ben Tanner to record the album at Tanner’s home studio. What started as voice note demos with subtle instrumentation evolved through drum machine beats and live sessions with a drummer, bassist and horn players into something rooted in the musical richness of the Shoals. “I realized, in moving here, that my mother’s people all came from this area,” Little explains. “Sometimes the spirits will guide you to a place when you don’t even know why you found yourself there.”

The recently shared single “Cherry” captures the album’s emotional range well, drifting through hazy memories with a tenderness that sits comfortably alongside Little’s catalog of over 250 million streams. He’s toured with Black Pumas, Kelis and Mumford & Sons, appeared at Newport Folk and Bonnaroo, and collaborated with The Roots and RJD2. This world tour puts ‘CITYFOLK’ in front of audiences across the US, Europe and beyond, with a June East Coast run newly added to dates already underway.

Son Little Tour Dates:

April 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso

April 9 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Annabel

April 10 – Brussels, Belgium @ Le Botanique Orangerie

April 11 – Hamburg, Germany @ Betty

April 13 – Berlin, Germany @ Frannz Club

April 14 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Cafe V lese

April 15 – Warsaw, Poland @ Jasmine

April 17 – Cologne, Germany @ Yard Club

April 19 – Brighton and Hove, UK @ DUST

April 20 – Bristol, UK @ The Croft

April 21 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall

April 22 – London, UK @ Jazz Cafe

April 25 – Paris, France @ Alhambra

May 21 – Honolulu, HI @ Blue Note Hawaii

June 10 – Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads

June 12 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club

June 13 – Spring Green, WI @ The Shitty Barn

June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Garcia’s

June 17 – Toronto, ON @ Great Hall

June 19 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater

June 20 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair

June 23 – Washington DC @ The Atlantis

June 24 – Westport, CT @ Levitt Pavilion

June 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

June 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s

July 10 – York, PA @ Appell Center

Twisted Sister Announces First Shows With Sebastian Bach Stepping In for Dee Snider This Fall

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Twisted Sister have announced their first shows with Sebastian Bach fronting the band, four dates this fall in Alaska, Oklahoma and Canada. Bach steps in for Dee Snider, who recently resigned from the group due to complications from degenerative arthritis, forcing the cancellation of the band’s planned 50th anniversary tour. The lineup alongside Bach includes founding guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, bassist Russell Pzütto and drummer Joey Cassata.

The pairing came together after SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk suggested Bach for the role, prompting a private rehearsal that French describes as immediately convincing. “Sebastian came in and just nailed it,” French told Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. For anyone still skeptical, French points to Bach’s existing recording of “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll” on Spotify as proof of concept. Additional shows beyond these four are expected to be announced as the band continues its 50th anniversary year, and none of Bach’s solo dates are affected by the Twisted Sister commitments.

Twisted Sister with Sebastian Bach 2026 Tour Dates:

September 4 – Palmer, AK @ Borealis Theatre

September 12 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater

October 8 – Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino

October 10 – Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor

Riley Green, Jon Pardi and Tucker Wetmore Headline the Inaugural Country Splash Festival in Cabo

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Country Splash is doing something that hasn’t been done before. The inaugural edition of the first multi-day country music festival held directly on the beach in Cabo San Lucas debuts Labor Day Weekend, September 4-6, with Riley Green, Jon Pardi, Tucker Wetmore and Diplo headlining. The supporting lineup includes Dasha, LoCash, Cameron Whitcomb, Dee Jay Silver and more, with additional artists still to be announced.

This isn’t a standard festival setup. Paradisus Los Cabos serves as the host resort and festival grounds, with additional accommodations available at properties including Las Ventanas al Paraíso (A Rosewood Resort) and Montage Los Cabos. Beyond the nightly Main Stage performances, the weekend includes a daytime Pool Party with country DJ sets, sunset acoustic sets, artist-led wellness experiences and Diplo’s beach yoga. Hotel packages bundle four nights of accommodation, round-trip airport transfers, premium open bar access and festival entry. Villa packages layer on private chauffeurs, personal concierges and chef service. Pre-sale for hotel and villa packages begins April 14 at 10am PT, with general sale opening April 15 at 10am PT.

Mexican Alt-Pop Star Siddhartha Brings the “Tú y Yo y Tú” Tour to Five U.S. Cities This August

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Siddhartha is heading back to the United States. The Mexican singer-songwriter has announced the Tú y Yo y Tú Tour, a five-date Live Nation-produced run hitting Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago and New York City this August. Presales are underway, with general on-sale beginning Friday, April 10 at 10am local time.

The tour arrives in the middle of a productive creative stretch. New single “Escápate Conmigo” follows “Tú y Yo y Tú” and “Abrázame,” three releases that are collectively mapping out the emotional terrain of his upcoming 2026 album. Siddhartha recently debuted the new material live at Tecate Pa’l Norte in Monterrey, one of Latin America’s most significant festival platforms for rock, pop, indie and urban music. His catalog, which includes 2016’s ‘Únicos’ and 2022’s ’00:00,’ has established him as one of the most influential voices in Mexico’s indie and alternative pop scene, and these U.S. dates give North American audiences a chance to hear where he’s headed next.

Siddhartha 2026 Tú y Yo y Tú Tour Dates:

August 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater

August 7 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory San Diego

August 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren

August 16 – Chicago, IL @ The Auditorium

August 18 – New York City @ Palladium Times Square

Saliva and Thousand Foot Krutch’s Trevor McNevan Team Up on Powerful New Single “Cope”

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Saliva are back with “Cope,” a new single featuring Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, out now via Judge & Jury Records. Produced by Cameron Pierce Mizell (Machine Gun Kelly, Sleeping with Sirens) and Luke Fiadino, the track pairs Bobby Amaru’s crisp rap cadence with McNevan’s soaring vocals to deliver something that consciously echoes the sonic territory of Saliva’s No. 1 modern rock hit “Always” and their No. 2 mainstream rock hit “Your Disease.”

Both Amaru and McNevan share a genuine passion for reaching people struggling with addiction and personal demons, and that mutual commitment shapes every line of “Cope.” “It’s for every kid who feels too much, thinks too hard, and is just trying to make it through the noise,” says Amaru. McNevan adds that the song captures the moment of hitting bottom and realizing the only way forward is surrender. That’s not easy territory to navigate in a rock song, but “Cope” handles it with honesty and directness.

Goose Announce Sprawling New Album ‘Big Modern!’ and an Equally Ambitious World Tour

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Goose have announced ‘Big Modern!’, their sixth studio album, arriving June 12 via No Coincidence Records, and lead single “Good2B” is already making a strong case for the record. Fifteen tracks built on the band’s improvisational foundation, moving between heartland rock piano ballads, orchestral jazz interludes and high-octane synth rock, the album takes aim at the overstimulated, hyperconnected world and meets it with equal creative force. “It’s doing the electric slide down the grocery aisle between the Pop-Tarts and Frosted Flakes,” says Rick Mitarotonda. “Lost in the digital sauce and feeling pretty good about it.”

The rollout has been characteristically inventive, with two weeks of guerrilla marketing in major US cities, a Morse code-laden website, and Emmy-nominated actor Jake Lacy sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden between the four members of Goose, each wearing yellow hoodies spelling out “FACE,” a nod to fan-favorite track “Big Modern!” The tour is already underway with a spring run through the American South, followed by the second edition of destination festival Viva El Gonzo in San José del Cabo, Mexico (May 7-9), featuring My Morning Jacket, The Disco Biscuits, Cory Wong and more. A European headline run follows in late May, hitting London’s Electric Brixton, Amsterdam’s Melkweg and Paris’s Élysée-Montmartre, before the summer North American tour launches June 13 at RBC Amphitheatre in Toronto. One dollar from every ticket sold benefits the Western Sun Foundation.

The “Good2B” single hits with disco-funk immediacy, sun-drenched congas and slinking bass lines carrying an anxious undercurrent beneath all that joyous surface energy. It’s the right introduction to an album that promises to reward close attention across all fifteen tracks.

‘Big Modern!’ Tracklist:

(begin)

Big Modern!

Scavenger

(you are here)

((savengerspell))

Good2B

MEDIA

Torero

(faena)

POP

SALT

(again)

Good Times // End Times

((nocturne))

(((postplace)))

M.I.A. Announces Seventh Studio Album ‘M.I.7’ Featuring Sunday Service, Dropping April 17

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M.I.A. has announced ‘M.I.7,’ her seventh studio album, arriving April 17 via Ohmni Music, her independent label. Seven songs, written in seven places over seven days, recorded across Ethiopia, Egypt, India, London, Australia and Los Angeles, and featuring American Gospel group Sunday Service. The lead single “Everything” is out now. This is her first release fully on her own terms, and it arrives as one of the most intentional projects of her career.

‘M.I.7’ is M.I.A.’s gospel album, not in genre but in spirit. Rooted in the Book of Revelation, the Ark of the Covenant and her own relationship with Christianity, it’s Biblical in its references and deeply personal in its delivery. She leaves politics aside here and moves toward something more ancestral and existential, channeling the production instincts and vocal presence that have defined her for two decades into a framework that feels entirely new. The album lands alongside the second launch of Ohmni, her protective-fabric clothing collection built around digital sovereignty. M.I.A. also joins Kid Cudi on his ‘The Rebel Ragers’ North American tour from April 28 through June 27.