Episode 25: The Gentle Art of Holding On

How are you today?
It’s one of those questions I asked my community this week.
It may sound simple, or even funny. But in a world that’s losing its sense of gentleness, asking “How are you?” is already an act of care.

We shouldn’t go to bed angry.
We shouldn’t start a new day without a smile.
And yet, sometimes the small shadows find their way in.

Are we, as artists, more fragile than others?
I don’t think so.
But our sensitivity, that strange gift that lets us capture beauty and sadness in sound, sometimes cracks us open a little faster.

We scroll through headlines.
Same wars. Same insults. Same disasters.
It’s almost as if joy itself became suspicious, as if freedom and serenity were privileges instead of needs.
So today, in my Salon Indie, your living room too, I wanted to repaint the walls with a little color, a little warmth, and a few surprises.

After the luminous Maximum Joy by my Berlin friend SFSF, the German producer Gengvej reminded us with I Rule My Mind that freedom starts from within. That’s a powerful thought: when the world goes dark, the switch is still in your hand.

Then Kim Lunner, from Norway, brought us deep into Black Circuitry, a place where the cold meets the human pulse. And from there, Cul De Sac Kings and The Flying Beets took us on a nostalgic trip through sound and time.

The poetry of dreams

I recently discovered Piège à Rêves, a French band whose song Aux Abords de mes Doigts blends poetry, emotion, and raw power.
Their lineup alone sounds like a short story: Mikael Birraux (vocals, guitar, saxophone), Julien Morand (guitar, vocals), Fabien Richard (bass, backing vocals), Benoît Mariani (drums).

There’s something deeply human in their sound, not polished, not artificial. Just four hearts breathing together in rhythm.

Silence and censorship

This week, I’ve also been thinking about silence, not the artistic kind, but the imposed kind. When social networks suddenly decide that an artist no longer exists. When Joe Booe, one of the most generous pillars of the indie community, sees all his pages deleted.

Is it a glitch? A mistake? Or just another sign that the algorithms no longer understand humanity? Whatever it is, we stand together.

That’s why I wanted to include Storm Kingdom’s haunting Raindrops Fall on Stained Glass Petals.
A song born from friendship, from empathy, and from the stubborn belief that beauty still matters.

Healing through collaboration

Another new world premiere this week: Isn’t It Haunting?, a collaboration between Nadine de Macedo and Jay El Dee.
A song about survival, toxic love, and the courage to walk away. Five years to heal, and the music says the rest. When words fail, the voice becomes light again.

Then came Nighthymn with Outgrown, and Arcane Moon with Sunday Gravy, proof that the indie world is still overflowing with creative energy, no matter the obstacles.

Until next week

Music, wherever it comes from, is our shared comfort, the invisible bridge between souls. That’s all I wanted for this episode: a moment to breathe, to listen, and to hold on gently.

We close this session with two beautiful voices: Debbie Campbell’s Updated Version, a self-reflective song about evolving without losing yourself,
and Subtlety’s Empty Spaces, an intimate new chapter in Tracey Crawford’s sonic journey.

Thank you for being part of this community.
Take care of yourselves. And if you can, smile before you sleep.

Replay available here