Vertical · Pocket · Voice · The Slow Burn

R&B / Blues / Soul

Pocket, voice, and the records that hold up when nothing is in a hurry. Coverage that takes its time on purpose.

Voice Blues Production Live

Field Notes

Slow Burns: The Soul Cuts Doing the Real Work This Month

Five records you'll keep coming back to — and the studio choices that make them sit so well.

By Maren Holloway · 8 min

Slow Burns: The Soul Cuts Doing the Real Work This Month

More in R&B / Blues / Soul

Pocket · Voice · The Slow Burn

The Vocal Choice That Separates a Soul Singer from a Soul Stylist

Voice

The Vocal Choice That Separates a Soul Singer from a Soul Stylist

On phrasing, restraint, and what gospel taught the format.

By From The Stem · 9 min

The Blues Guitar Records You Should Be Bothering Your Friends About

Blues

The Blues Guitar Records You Should Be Bothering Your Friends About

A short list, updated quarterly.

By Caleb Reyes · 7 min

Building the R&B Pocket Without Burying the Singer

Production

Building the R&B Pocket Without Burying the Singer

Mixing notes from sessions that got it right.

By Joshua Mollohan · 11 min

The Reading List

Recently filed

The Soul Revue That Still Sells Out the Room

Live

The Soul Revue That Still Sells Out the Room

What the touring playbook looks like in 2025.

By Caleb Reyes · 6 min

Three Donny Hathaway Vocals Every Singer Should Sit With

Catalog

Three Donny Hathaway Vocals Every Singer Should Sit With

A short study session.

By Maren Holloway · 8 min

Adjacent reading

Cross-pollination from other desks

R&B / Blues / Soul writers tend to also read these other corners of From The Stem. We try to make the connections explicit.

Song Production → Independent Label / Artist Dev → Singer-Songwriter → How this vertical gets edited →