Songwriter Brandon Joseph bares it all on his debut album, ‘Before You Go.’ In this exclusive commentary, he talks through key tracks from the album. Born to Trinidadian parents and raised in southern California, he’s creating a soulful brand of alternative guitar pop on songs such as “2 Good” and “Before You Go.” Reflecting on the making of the project, he explains how he wrote the dark track “You” while visiting the island of Tobago, where he was surrounded by beauty, but “really alone.” It’s the “emotional root of the album,” Brandon says. Listen now, only on SoundCloud.

Voice Notes: Brandon on "You"

Voice Notes: Brandon on "Her Too"

Voice Notes: Brandon on "2 Good"

Øneheart’s latest album, ‘Samsara Passengers,’ is an ambitious project; undertaken with help from the ambient producer Dean Korso and Øneheart’s father, the artist leadwave. In this exclusive commentary, the Russian electronic project breaks down tracks from the album. As the title suggests, ‘Samsara Passengers’ explores the spiritual concept of samsara: the endless life cycle of birth and rebirth. With his peer Au5 on the track “while the time sleeps,” Øneheart has created “a sonic landscape that allows the listener to lose himself in time.” The track “lagrange point,” which features Moby, marks a turning point in the life journey. As Øneheart tells SoundCloud, it signals “the first point of no return.” For him, the collaboration with Moby was huge: “His music opened something inside me, a sense of space and emotion.” Hear more from Øneheart, only on SoundCloud.

Voice Notes: Øneheart on "while the time sleeps"

With his latest album, French producer LB aka LABAT is celebrating hitting new career milestones, including booking his first sessions in a professional-grade recording studio, in both Paris and Berlin. In this SoundCloud-exclusive commentary, LB breaks down the making of‘Double Happiness,’ including reflecting on recording the title track on a beautiful day in Berlin. “I wanted an uplifting summer track,” he recalls. “The workflow was amazing.” Hear more from LB aka LABAT, only on SoundCloud.

Voice Notes: LB aka LABAT on "Double Happiness"

The pioneering hip-hop group De La Soul are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their classic fifth album,  ‘Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump.’ In this exclusive commentary, member Posdnuos reveals how the track “All Good?” was already targeted for OutKast and Goodie Mob, but then they lined up the legend Chaka Khan instead. The song was meant to celebrate the good things in life, until Chaka asked a good question: “Are things always really good?” As Pos recalls, “So we changed it to ‘All Good?’ with the question mark.” Hear more from De La’s Posdnuos, only on SoundCloud.

In addition to breaking down tracks from their album in exclusive Voice Notes, De La Soul is also partnering with SoundCloud to invite you to remix the track “All Good?” for a limited period. Grab the stems to the track by September 25 and upload your remix to SoundCloud with the tag #DeLaSoulRemix2025 for your chance to be heard.

Download the stems: https://store.soundcloud.com/collections/de-la-soul/products/all-good-stems

Voice Notes: De La Soul on "My Writes"

Voice Notes: De La Soul on "I. C. Y'all"

Voice Notes: De La Soul on "All Good?"

Voice Notes: De La Soul on "Squat!"

Voice Notes: De La Soul on "U Can Do (Life)"

SoundCloud Stories elevates artists’ creative journeys, spotlights vibrant music communities and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the defining sounds of today and tomorrow. Original content includes the Sound Advice interview series, exclusive track-by-track artist commentary on Voice Notes, and the Weekly Download playlist, which highlights essential scenes and groundbreaking artists.

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