JJJJJerome Ellis Turns the Stutter Into Sound on “Evensong, Part 1”

Virginia-based Grenadian-Jamaican-American artist JJJJJerome Ellis introduces Vesper Sparrow with the release of “Evensong, Part 1 (for and after June Kramer),” the first movement in a four-part composition that establishes the album’s conceptual core. Arriving November 14 via Shelter Press, Vesper Sparrow continues Ellis’s singular practice of exploring time, sound, stuttering, and Blackness through music. As Ellis explains, the piece searches for connections between stuttering, pollination, and granular synthesis—the audio-processing technique that anchors the composition.

The track opens with a simple but radical assertion: “The stutter can be a musical instrument.” From there, Ellis builds a dense and meditative sound field of hammered dulcimer, flutes, piano, and layered voice. Midway through, spoken-word narration gives way to a sudden deconstruction, as the song’s elements are pulled apart and examined in motion. This “exploded view” exposes the stutters embedded in the composition and directly links them to Ellis’s editing process, affirming the stutter as a force that suspends time and creates openings—sonic and conceptual—for possibility.

Vesper Sparrow expands on Ellis’s ongoing study of how stuttering and music both shape our experience of time. Rooted in Black religious inheritance and Caribbean and Black American musical lineages, the album weaves granular synthesis, spoken word, and atmospheric instrumentation—saxophone, organ, hammered dulcimer, electronics, and voice—into immersive soundscapes. Ellis describes the process as sculptural, chiseling away at large bodies of recordings to reveal the final form beneath the surface.

Ellis’s artistic practice is inseparable from their lived experience as a person who stutters. Growing up, verbal expression was difficult, and their performance moniker—spelled “JJJJJerome”—reflects the word they stutter most often: their own name. Though briefly placed in speech therapy as a child, a turning point came in seventh grade with the saxophone. “I still stutter on the saxophone, but it’s different,” Ellis has said. Since then, their work has centered on honoring the stutter through music and examining how both can stretch, fracture, and reshape time.

Now an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Ellis approaches each instrument as a threshold into new sound worlds. Their voice and compositions are guided by reverence for the earth and for ancestors—human and otherwise. With maternal ties to the church and memories of a grandmother who performed as a pianist and organist, Ellis’s growing affinity for keyboards carries deep personal and spiritual significance.

With Vesper Sparrow, JJJJJerome Ellis invites listeners into a practice of attentive listening—where stuttering becomes architecture, time is suspended, and the spaces between silence and sound are filled with care, presence, and self-honoring. Ellis is currently touring in support of the album, following recent performances at the Bienal de São Paulo, Sound & Gravity in Chicago, and Roulette in Brooklyn, with upcoming dates across North America.

Vesper Sparrow is out November 14 via Shelter Press.

Pete Josef Revisits the Origins of “Colour” With Original Version Released for 10-Year Anniversary

Ten years ago, a song quietly emerged that would go on to shape Pete Josef’s career and soundtrack thousands of deeply personal moments around the world. That song was “Colour” — a radiant meditation on beauty, joy, and the restorative power of nature, first written on a warm summer’s day in the hills of Somerset.

Now, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his beloved debut album Colour (Sonar Kollektiv, 2015), Pete Josef returns to the very beginning, unveiling the original version of the title track as it was first conceived. Long before it became the jazzy, acoustic quartet ballad fans grew to cherish, “Colour” was born from drum machines, synths, and the wide-eyed spirit of 80s-inspired dance-pop. At the time, Pete was immersed in collaborations with artists such as Darren Emerson (The White Lamp), Friend Within, and Jody Wisternoff, and that creative energy pulses through this early incarnation of the song — playful, euphoric, and full of possibility.

Written in just a few hours, “Colour” was a spontaneous burst of inspiration that captured the light and joy of the moment. Its simple yet profound refrain — “Colour in my life, makes me happy / Colour in my life, gives me joy” — struck a universal chord almost immediately. From radio premieres with Gilles Peterson to soundtracking weddings, births, and funerals, the song took on a life far beyond its humble beginnings.

Over the past decade, “Colour” has quietly become a modern classic, amassing more than 10 million streams, appearing in over 400 playlists, and resonating with listeners across continents, platforms, and generations. This newly released (but original) version presents the song exactly as it was first imagined: bold, bright, naive, and undeniably joyful. It’s not a remix in the traditional sense, but a revelation — a shimmering, beat-driven counterpart that opens the door to a new audience while offering longtime fans an intimate glimpse into the song’s origin story.

“As we hit the 10-year anniversary, it felt like the right moment to share where this all began,” Pete Josef explains. “This version has been sitting on a hard drive since the day it was written. It’s raw, simple, and joyful — and I hope it resonates in the same way it did for me that day in Somerset.”

Welcome back to Colour. Let it make you happy once again.

Uwade Unveils “Harmattan,” a Lush New Single Ahead of Debut Album Florilegium

Nigerian-born, North Carolina–raised musician Uwade has shared “Harmattan,” a glowing new single and music video from her long-awaited debut album Florilegium, out April 25 via Ehiose Records / Thirty Tigers. The song offers one of the clearest views yet into Uwade’s evolving musical world—rooted in memory, shaped by experimentation, and carried by her unmistakably emotive voice.

Uwade grew up surrounded by hymnal choral music and Nigerian Highlife, sounds that played constantly from her late father’s car radio. Those influences surface vividly on “Harmattan,” a track born during a period when she was deeply immersed in West African music, afrobeats, and string arrangements that reminded her of medieval European harpsichords. While recording the song’s drum solo, Uwade shared videos of an Esan dance masquerade called Egbabonelimhin—performed during her father’s burial—with percussionist Jason Burger. The emotional weight of that reference came through immediately, giving the track a haunting, physical power. The finished song stands out on the album as both richly textured and unmistakably pop-forward, revealing a new, earworm-ready side of her sound.

“For a long time, this song was a giant puzzle,” Uwade explains. “I couldn’t figure out lyrics, a compelling arrangement, or how to transform it from the earliest stages of the demo to what it is now. Somehow the song’s creative cycle is reflected in the subject matter—lots of questions, few answers, and being forced to find comfort in the chaos.” She adds that each phase of experimentation unlocked something new she loved, eventually refining the song into exactly what she envisioned. One lyric in particular—‘Will you sway with me when my voice gives out?’—became central, helping her untangle deep anxiety around being a musician. “I don’t think there’s an answer,” she says, “but I’m ok with that for now.”

Directed by Jason Wishnow, the music video for “Harmattan” visually mirrors the song’s emotional movement, adding another layer to an already transportive release.

Over the past few years, Uwade has been everywhere quietly. Her voice opens Fleet Foxes’ Grammy-nominated album Shore, and since then she’s earned widespread acclaim from outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, UPROXX, Stereogum, The FADER, Consequence, Pigeons & Planes, and Brooklyn Vegan. Critics have praised her genre-defying blend of folk, soul, pop, and electronic elements, as well as the hypnotic, vapor-like quality of her vocals. Along the way, she’s collaborated with her North Carolina community on Psychic Hotline, opened for artists like The Strokes, Jamila Woods, Sylvan Esso, and Local Natives, and balanced touring with studies at Columbia and Oxford.

Florilegium marks the first full-length project entirely her own. The album is a shimmering anthology that finds sweetness and light within sorrow, weaving together disparate influences through Uwade’s expansive voice and intellectual depth. Currently pursuing a PhD, she cites Catullus and Virgil alongside Julian Casablancas and Nina Simone as inspirations. The album’s title comes from the Latin florilegus, meaning “flower-gathering.” “I offer these songs as flowers of gratitude to those who have seen me through my life,” Uwade says. “I share them with the world as a reminder to cherish opportunities for renewal.”

The album was recorded across three studio sessions over a year and a half: first in upstate New York with Sam Cohen in 2022, then in New York City in early 2024 with Jon Seale, and finally back home in North Carolina with Alli Rogers at Betty’s, Sylvan Esso’s sun-filled studio in Chapel Hill. By the end, Uwade felt decisive, empowered, and fully in control of her creative vision.

In support of the release, Uwade will perform a run of headline shows, including sold-out dates in London and Big Sur, with upcoming performances in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and appearances at major festivals in the UK and US.