After crushing Thanksgiving leftovers and saying goodbye to all your house guests, it’s time to wind up the work week with some Monday motivations. First up is Bay Area artist Jackson Phillips (aka Day Wave) with “Before We Knew.” The first music since last spring’s Crush EP, Phillips says this of the new tune: “I wrote ‘Before We Knew’ last fall after taking a long break from writing songs. When I sat down to create again, I knew I wanted to let go of my old process, I wanted to make music feel fresh for myself again.”

R&B singer-songwriter and Pasadena, California native Fana Hues is up next with her latest, “Pieces.” With accolades coming in from Variety, The FADER and Spin—and a feature on Tyler, The Creator’s “SWEET/I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” from his latest LP—Hues is poised to become a huge crossover star. Similarly, Hawthorne, California’s Cuco dropped his critically acclaimed debut album, Para Mí, on Interscope back in 2019, and his cumbia-flavored “Under The Sun” is the first cut off what will be a new album coming in 2022.

The last two cuts on this week’s Mood come from two emerging LA-based singer/songwriters: Nick Dorian and Anna Ash. Ash has a new album, Sleeper, coming out January 21 on Black Mesa Records, while Dorian’s EP, Rooster, arrives on December 3 via Boom.Records. Both tunes are smooth and vibey, perfectly built for that comedown you’ll need today around 6pm after reentering back into the office atmosphere.

Want to add a little more California to your life? Jump over to Spotify and smash the follow button on our “Stay Golden” playlist. Every week we add new tracks by established and up-and-coming musicians from the Golden State. Enjoy!

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