When Towa Bird first dreamed up the title track for her sophomore album Gentleman, the 27-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist unlocked an entirely new way of moving through the world. A knowing subversion of the old-world archetype, the Hong Kong-born artist’s take on the modern gentleman reimagines the term as an emblem of queer confidence: an exquisite blurring of masculine and feminine, defined by unapologetic swagger and disarming sensitivity. In a daring evolution of her acclaimed debut American Hero (a 2024 LP that inspired Rolling Stone to proclaim that “Towa Bird is the rock & roll firecracker we need right now”), Gentleman unveils that fully embodied identity in a suite of songs both supremely assured and resolutely tender—ultimately marking a profound shift from self-discovery to self-possession.

Produced by Patrick Wimberly (MGMT, Blood Orange) and recorded in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Gentleman strays from the tautly composed alt-pop of American Hero and achieves a thrilling new collision of attitude and atmosphere. By approaching the album with an audacious spontaneity, Towa arrived at the boldest expression yet of her wholly singular artistry. “In a lot of ways this record feels like a conversation with me, and a reflection of my personality and the body I inhabit,” she says. “I love that all these songs sound like how I look.”

A formidable opening statement to Towa’s new era, Gentleman’s title track launches the album with a lustful but outrageously fun ode to her own bravado and gender-bending magnetism. “I wanted to start off the record by leaning into androgyny and expressing that side of my sexuality, without getting too vulnerable,” says Towa. “There’s definitely some vulnerability later on the album, but with ‘Gentleman’ I just wanted to kick things off with a great big bang.” As the first song written and recorded for the LP, the irresistibly brash, gang-vocal-fueled anthem immediately set the tone for Towa and Wimberly’s anything-goes collaboration. “Our only real intention that day was to write something punky and exciting and fast—we were just throwing things at the wall and seeing what happened,” she recalls. “Going in with that mindset completely took the pressure off, and that feeling of freedom carried through the whole album.”

Another moment of sublime abandon, “All Gone” finds Towa joining forces with punk icon Kathleen Hanna for a dance-ready declaration of pleasure and power. “That song came from me telling Kathleen about my friend group in L.A. and how whenever we go out to a bar, we take over the whole space—all these queer kids and trans kids from all different backgrounds, and we all have our own look and style,” says Towa. “Kathleen talked about how that’s something she always wished for as a young person, and it turned into a song about being young and queer and not being afraid to be loud in public spaces.” Equal parts escapist banger and defiant manifesto, “All Gone” merges Towa and Hanna’s voices in an instant explosion of collective joy—a mood exponentially magnified by the track’s feverish riffs and bass-heavy grooves.

Created after a year of incessant touring (including an arena run as support for Billie Eilish), Gentleman bears a dizzying unpredictability that comes from deliberately broadening her sonic palette beyond the confines of the live show. “Instead of future-tripping about how I’d recreate everything live, I focused on making the songs sound as great as possible—whether that meant using a lot of synth or adding orchestral strings or experimenting with different vocal treatments,” says Towa. One of the album’s most synth-forward tracks, “Dirty Habit” brings twitchy textures and pounding beats to a satirical takedown of those hyper-privileged children of wealth who treat people as accessories. Meanwhile, on “Dog,” Gentleman slips into a gritty minimalism as Towa speaks to the raw exhilaration of surrendering all control. “It’s a song about sex where the sentiment is essentially, ‘Go ahead and use me,’ and I loved the idea of making it sound completely bare and naked,” she says. “It’s just three verses and a bridge, and there were moments when I felt the temptation to give it a chorus and a more conventional structure—I had to hold all that back and tell myself, ‘This feels fucking amazing, so let’s just go with it.’”

The latest distillation of the prismatic musicality she’s cultivated her entire life, Gentleman surfaced from a period of recalibration for Towa—a half-Filipino, half-English artist who spent much of her childhood in Thailand and London, took up guitar at age 12, and cut her teeth playing dive bars and street festivals in Hong Kong. “In the past I’d try to show off my knowledge and play a million different notes on guitar, but now I’m at a stage where I’m much more interested in seeing what happens when I strip everything back,” she says. As she learned to embrace restraint and trust instinct over virtuosity, Towa stepped into a whole new sense of musical possibility. “There’s something about working within limitations that pushes you to get more creative with what’s available,” she says. “I took a lot more risks than I did on the first record, instead of just playing it safe, and now I want to keep leaning into those places of discomfort and uncertainty.”

Since the arrival of American Hero, Towa has emerged as a rising cultural presence whose reach extends beyond the music world, including being named the face of luxury fashion house Miu Miu. As her profile has grown and her following continues to expand, she’s increasingly heard from fans who’ve felt inspired to fully own their truth since discovering her music—an impact she hopes to sustain with the release of Gentleman. “One thing people keep telling me is that I somehow helped them come out to their families,” she says. “It’s incredible to me that my music might help someone to get comfortable with their own identity, and then talk about it with the people they love. If my songs can have that kind of effect on people, that means everything to me.”

Mother Soki is among a generation of new artists forging their paths and creating music that attracts fans seeking a soul connection. That creativity led her to sign with independent label Mom+Pop early in 2025.

A bit farther back in her trajectory, Mother Soki wasn’t even clear about how to pursue music. Carving her way through adolescence with a fierce artistic drive, though, the Minneapolis-based musician discovered her passion for making music while attending college in Chicago.

Attempting to pursue other forms of art and avoiding what was her true calling, Mother Soki says, “I realized it was far more fulfilling than any art medium I had tried (and I’ve tried a lot), from beginning to end, and even after. Something about the process of music felt so natural to me, even when I did not know how I was doing it, I was just doing it.”

Now immersed in her passion for music, Mother Soki gravitates toward the dreamy textures of Dream Pop and the sonic nostalgia of the ’90s. Drawing daily inspiration from her surroundings, she channels her creativity through classic influences: The Sundays, Imogen Heap, and Cocteau Twins.

Her sound blends modern interpretations of vintage synths with heavy guitars and airy, spacious vocals—creating contrasts that shouldn’t work, but somehow do. Mother Soki makes the unexpected feel seamless.

That became the inspiration for her current hit song, “Rivet Gun”. Released earlier this year, the song resonated with millions of fans making “Rivet Gun” a viral and sonic explosion. Upon its release, the song was shared over 800 times on TikTok within the first 50 hours, resulting in more than 12,000 creates in under eight weeks and over 4.8 million streams globally. The song propelled Mother Soki into the public spotlight in unexpected ways, with prolific user-generated content, as creators used scenes from the TV show Severance and clips from another Minneapolis native, Prince’s Purple Rain. “Rivet Gun” is inspiring other artists with singer Ellie Goulding posting the song with the comment, “What is this sorcery?” just days after its release.

The lyrics to her songs create a dreamscape that defies explanation. She adds, “I find music intriguing if there is a certain level of vagueness incorporated with lyrics, having layers of metaphors within one big metaphor. I also believe in my own subconscious. If I come up with a metaphor that doesn’t make sense at first, most times, it fits perfectly once it all comes together.” As Mother Soki continues her creative arc, fans can expect more songs with an EP planned for later in 2025.