FELLER RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM SOUND COLORED PENNY

Chicago’s Feller released their debut album Sound Colored Pennyvia Shuga Records on February 13. The rambunctious trio of Pete Willson (vocals, guitar), Ethan Toenjes (drums), and Ramsey Bell (bass) have been making music together since 2023. Recorded last year in Chicago with producer Doug Malone, the album manages to capture the authenticity of pent-up energy, and being a young musician navigating a seemingly never ending big-city music scene in about 25 minutes of non-stop calculated power.

NYU’S SONY AUDIO INSTITUTE NAMES 7-TIME GRAMMY® WINNER JACOB COLLIER AS NEXT ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The Sony Audio Institute at New York University announced that Jacob Collier has been named the Institute’s next Artist-In-Residence. A seven-time GRAMMY® winner and 16-time GRAMMY® nominee, Collier is widely recognized for his genre-spanning work as a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. In his residency, Collier will work directly with Sony Audio Institute students and faculty to provide mentorship, creative guidance, and real-world perspective on modern music-making—spanning composition, arrangement, production, and the evolving relationship between creative practice and emerging audio technology.

WAR CHILD RECORDS RELEASE NEW SINGLE “FLAGS”

War Child Records has released “Flags”—a new song by Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten, and Kae Tempest—from the highly anticipated HELP(2) album. "Flags” is the crowning collaboration on HELP(2), a powerful reflection on youth and selfhood written by Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Grian Chatten (Fontaines D.C.), and recording artist/poet Kae Tempest. Produced by Albarn, James Ford, Marta Salogni, and Toby L, the track stands as a bold statement of resilience.

AUSTIN’S NIGHT TRAVELER SHINES AS GIBSON’S ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Each month, the Gibson Artist Spotlight introduces a new musician or group, connecting them with Gibson’s global audience, and February saw Austin, TX-based duo Night Traveler in the spotlight. Formed in 2018 by Adam Fischer and Hunter Glaske, Night Traveler is continuing to craft nostalgic, cinematic, indie rock built for midnight moments and headlights on an open road.

INDIE ROCK ARTIST JUSTIN SCHAEFERS RELEASES MODEST HITS

Boston-based indie rock artist Justin Schaefers has released his debut solo project, Modest Hits. Self-written and recorded with minimal, unconventional equipment, the project embraces imperfections to capture an honest, personal sound. With this release, Schaefers encourages listeners to feel the vulnerability, change, and intimacy of his world, while he continues sharing music through upcoming singles and live performances across New England and beyond.

TOMMY TORRES CREATES MUSIC MAGIC WITH KRK

Musician, producer, and engineer Tommy Torres gravitates toward tools that challenge him, and at his Miami studio sits his KRK ROKIT 8 Generation Five studio monitors—not because they glamorize the music, but because they refuse to. “What I love about KRK is that the speakers don’t lie to me. They don’t try to sound hi-fi or pretty—they make me work,” he says.

SINGER-SONGWRITER SAVANNA LEIGH AND ARTIST BERTIE NEWMAN RELEASE “WHAT’S NOT MINE”

Nashville singer-songwriter Savanna Leigh and London-based Bertie Newman released their new single, “what’s not mine.” A song about real connection and the fear of being fully seen, Leigh and Newman explain, “It unpacks the ways we protect love by staying surface-level… showing only the healed parts, holding back the truth, masking the mess. But real connection asks for honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable. It’s about learning that love can’t be unconditional if we’re not willing to be unconditional with ourselves.”

The post Studio Mix 2026: Feller, Justin Schaefers, Jacob Collier, and more first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.