Wheeler Newman never really went away, though it feels like it. He rose in the Orlando music scene of the mid-2010s, first as leader of psych-pop group Cosmic Roots Collective. Just as he began building a solo name, things went quiet. Between personal life and pandemic, his music stopped.
Although more behind the scenes this decade, Newman has remained active, engineering and playing on releases by Orlando artists like Brittany Schweizer, Steve Garron’s The Guarantees, The Chotchkies and Devin & Gage. And now he’s officially back.
Newman’s just-dropped record — the five-song ShaShe EP — is his first release in eight years. Before getting sidelined, he was already showing more experimental feathers both live and on recordings, like his exploratory 2017 solo debut (the Not Tired EP). Now, ShaShe is yet another evolution for Newman, and it’s the result of influences both new and old.
The jazz vein in ShaShe, a seemingly novel edge for Newman, was sparked by his transformative recent visits to the forward-thinking Big Ears Festival. “It reminded me why I love making music, especially influenced me blending jazz influences into what I was making,” says Newman. For him, this new turn is actually full circle. “I played saxophone in college, I was really into and played a lot of jazz back then.”
Now, with ShaShe, Newman reemerges at the arty intersection of indie and jazz. “Seeing like Jeff Parker, Herbie Hancock, Marc Ribot playing along with Low and Kurt Vile playing to the same audience is what really started to give me the inspiration to do what I want to do now,” he says. “It was all treated the same.”
Newman has synthesized all that into not just a sound but a state of mind. ShaShe doesn’t come to you; it lures you in. It’s a soft conspiracy of soulful slink, jazz caress and open intentions.
Mood rules so much here that words sometimes aren’t even invoked (“I Hit My Limit” and “Nesal”). Burning rocker “SHHH” and prog-pop jaunt “ShaShe” give the collection spice. But — from the bedroom soul of “Can It” (which perfectly features Orlando’s Katie Burkess on vocals) to the noir groove of “I Hit My Limit” to the Stax spirit of “Nesal” — the rest is horn-laden seduction.
ShaShe is a sure sign that Wheeler Newman’s not only back but already deep in the groove. Even better, he tells me the release is a prelude to playing out again. The EP now streams everywhere.
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This article appears in Sept. 10-16, 2025.
