Groover Radar – Vol. 1 2026
Songs that came through Groover and, for one reason or another, we want someone else to hear. No single criteria, just the fact that something in them was worth it. Ten artists, one playlist.
Aneta George – “Eclipses”
A Macedonian vocalist based in Paris who built her fifth album’s recording sessions around two real celestial events, a solar and a lunar eclipse, after a conversation with Steve Coleman got her thinking about how that energy might shape a recording. “Rollercoaster” comes from the lunar session: jazz with Balkan rhythms, melodies that won’t sit still, and a constant sense of movement that earns the title. A good way into the album.
Chris Pannella – “Margo”
Quiet acoustic folk that quietly becomes something else. The song opens with a steady tempo and melodies that don’t surprise much at first, but there’s something in Pannella’s voice that earns your attention, an emotional weight the instrumentation alone doesn’t fully explain. Around the 2:17 mark the guitar opens up and the vocals push harder, and that shift is the heart of the track. Near 4:05, subtle electric elements come in without breaking anything, just adding density. It has the spirit of those early-nineties MTV Unplugged sessions: raw, honest, the feeling of being in the room.
Gold.RS – “Montreal”
A nocturnal dive into the Quebec metropolis. Melancholic guitars, rap that occasionally drifts into auto-tune territory, and an urban narrative about family sacrifice and wanting to rise from the inside out. Gold.RS paints a Montreal that contradicts itself, the harshness of the street and the hope that persists anyway. Not a postcard. A mood.
Annika Bellamy – “Angels”
The song was written as a tribute to people she’s lost, her father, her cousin, her nephew, and that weight is audible without being heavy-handed. Produced from her home studio alongside Jayden Panesso, it has a cinematic production and a voice that carries more emotional honesty than most of what comes through in this register. A quiet, personal release that arrived just before the holidays and felt timed right.
E.G. Phillips – “The Music I Still Adore”
A San Francisco songwriter approaching jazz from the singer-songwriter side. “The Music I Still Adore” is the first preview of Signals in the Dark (May 2026) and it’s deliberately intimate: upright bass, warm Rhodes, electric archtop guitar. The song traces a late-night walk through the city that ends up being a reunion with one’s own musical sensibility. No big moments, just a quiet elegance that sounds almost anachronistic right now — and that’s exactly what works about it. Recorded at Hyde Street Studios with a small group of musicians, it carries the weight of something made with real care.
OMS Lafibre – “Optique 0”
OMS frames this as the start of a cycle (Optique 1, 2…) and that comes through: it’s more of a statement than a finished song. The production is deliberately bare so the writing and delivery are the only things that matter. There’s an economy here that isn’t common in francophone rap right now. Whether the cycle that follows will live up to this opening is an open question, but “Optique 0” holds its own weight.
SiahRa The Alchemist – “Locked In”
Atmospheric hip-hop out of Lake Elsinore, California. The song is about focus, the long nights before anything pays off, the discipline nobody sees. It carries a strong spiritual dimension that won’t be for everyone, but the delivery is genuine and the production holds without overwhelming. SiahRa is an independent artist and “Locked In” sounds like someone who’s been putting in the work for a while.
César Infame – “Ay Señor”
Venezuelan-Chilean rocksteady made from his own studio, El Infame Records. The starting point is the anxiety of waiting for an important call, and the song turns that into rhythm and irony. The guitars are warm, the groove is real, and César’s voice carries an expressiveness that goes beyond style exercise. There’s a Caribbean and ska tradition here that’s been absorbed rather than borrowed. If you follow artists like Desorden Público or Gondwana, this will feel familiar in the best possible way.
Benjamin Navy – “Mango Avocado”
Alternative R&B with minimal production and a voice that sounds like it’s being sung right next to your ear. “Mango Avocado” was written during a period of personal recalibration and you can hear it: there’s a deliberate slowness, a decision not to rush that feels genuinely refreshing. Solange, Frank Ocean, Cleo Sol float nearby as reference points, but it doesn’t sound like a derivation of any of them. It won’t make anyone jump. It has a texture that makes you want to stay.
DUPLEXITY — “Labyrinth”
A sibling duo from Los Angeles, Savannah on bass and lead vocals, Luke on guitar, who grew up as child actors before taking their energy into music. “Labyrinth” is indie rock with a 90s alternative influence, built around the feeling of being stuck inside your own emotional walls. The production is dense enough to sell the concept without overdoing it. They’ve been moving fast since their 2023 debut, playing the Troubadour and SXSW along the way, and “Labyrinth” sounds like a band that’s still figuring out its ceiling.
That’s it for this first installment. Follow our playlists.
