⭐️TNMF 2026 Houston Composer Fellow Spotlight ⭐️
Darren Will @smileoutofhell is a composer and lifelong musician living in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the Detroit area, Darren first fell in love with the bass guitar, and quickly moved on to piano, guitar, drums and synthesizers.
Darren has created music and sound for short films, art exhibits, commercials and short documentaries. His musical style incorporates minimalism and drama, approaching each piece with an open mind to create evocative compositions.
Calm Transmissions, Darren’s current project, is a duo that creates instrumental ambient music, often incorporating layers of field recordings.
#composer #music #texasnewmusicfestival #newmusic #houston
Some early lyrics that Blimes came up with for this song reminded me of a horrible car accident that I had many years ago. So I told her more about it, and she came up with words and ideas that really captured some of the imagery and some of my thoughts and struggle following the accident.
I couldn’t believe how spot on she was actually. She has such an ability to cut through to the human experience and reflect it back in a creative way.
She mixed that in with other concepts and themes and Black Ice is the result. Hope you enjoy!
Lyrics, Vocals: @blimesbrixton
Music, Production, Mastering: Moi
Artwork, Art Direction: @darthvadenz
Go dig into Blimes’ music, so much amazing stuff!
@calmtransmissions is my and Tee’s music/art project. check it out if you haven’t yet!
The song Riverside was the last one we worked on for the Phthalo EP, and I think it captures a sort of hopefulness and excitement. Find it on the usual streaming platforms!
Phthalo is a 4 song EP made in collaboration with Norvik. Stream it now!
Working on these songs has been really inspiring and enjoyable. Happy to be sharing them now.
I really love the artwork Tee dreamt up. Their work spans many disciplines and I’m in awe of their creativity.
Last person to touch these songs was Benjamin at Middle Mastering, we’ve been working together for a few years now, always excellent work!
#ambientmusic #independentartist #dronemusic #newmusic
Adding this little somber glimmer of a song to the world’s catalogue. Stream ‘Let Go’ wherever and whenever.
Music x Darren Will
Art x Tee Vaden
Mastered x Benjamin Lincoln
Thanks to @middlemastering for always elevating our music!
A little @anderson._paak for a Friday afternoon. This song was on my jogging playlist for a long time and now when I play it I feel like I’m running.
#bassguitar #basscover #andersonpaak #drdre #bassist
A very cool song from a couple years back - Show Me How. By a very cool and vibey band - @menitrust - Tons of great songs by these folks.
#basscover #menitrust #fenderjazzbass #bassguitar #indiemusic
