NYC punk veterans, a Detroit guitar virtuoso, an Oceanside rapper,and R&B artist King Takeshii, whose new EP arrives today, open Grooves on the human-first music network

NEWTON, NJ / ACCESS Newswire / November 13, 2026 / FriendsGroove, the social network for music operated by Remergify, today welcomed five independent artists who joined the platform over the past month. They span punk, blues and folk, hip-hop, pop, and R&B. Each has opened a Groove, a single artist community where every fan who joins claims a permanent, numbered friend spot.

The new class joins the early adopters who built FriendsGroove’s first communities, the artists who signed on when the network was brand new. Fans can now find all of them in one place, listen free, and tip directly, with artists keeping 95% of every tip.

Meet the new artists

King Takeshii (R&B, Soul, Pop, Hip-Hop). King Takeshii opens his Groove days before his new EP, “Wet off Memory”, arrives this Friday, November 13. Fans who join now claim their numbered spot in time for the release. Listen to the album: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/kingtakeshii/wet-off-memory. Groove: app.friendsgroove.com/artist/king-takeshii King Takeshii’s groove will be live shortly.

Spike Polite & SewAge (Punk, Hardcore, Rock – New York, NY). Founded in Tompkins Square Park in the early 1990s, the band came up playing Pot Parade, anarchist and squatter shows, CBGB and Coney Island High. Their message-driven punk is built for slam dancing. Groove: app.friendsgroove.com/artist/spike-polite-sewage

Randy Kaplan (Blues, Folk, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter – Detroit, MI). A guitar virtuoso working in blues, bluegrass, folk and Tin Pan Alley styles, Kaplan is widely known for his music for kids, pairing sophisticated playing with irreverent lyrics. Groove: app.friendsgroove.com/artist/randy-kaplan

AC (Hip-Hop – Oceanside, CA). Alexander Concepcion, born in Encinitas and raised in Oceanside, writes, produces and engineers his own introspective rap about uncertainty, loss, growth and finding clarity. Groove: app.friendsgroove.com/artist/l-ac-l

Joining the originals

The newcomers take their place beside the artists who believed in FriendsGroove first. That founding group includes Graham Lee of Gateshead, England, the platform’s first artist, along with Michael Walker, Pride Before the Fall, Killah Cortez, Glass Suburban, Don Drapery and Sussex, NJ rock band Emery Rhodes. Founding artists keep permanently locked rates and free access to every future feature.

“The originals took a chance on us when there was almost nothing here, and every one of these new artists found us because of the community they started,” said Stuart Fine, founder and CEO of Remergify. “Punk that came up at CBGB, a guitar player kids sing along with, a rapper who engineers his own records, and King Takeshii with an album out Friday. That range is what happens when people, not an algorithm, decide who gets heard. The fans who show up for them now will hold those numbers forever.”

How FriendsGroove works

  • One Groove per artist. Every fan who joins claims the next permanent friend number.
  • 95% of every tip goes to the artist through Stripe. FriendsGroove covers the processing fees.
  • Friends-only feed. No algorithm and no advertising.
  • Human-made music only. A person reviews every artist application.
  • Free for fans, always.

Artists can apply to open a Groove at friendsgroove.com/bands. Fans can join free at app.friendsgroove.com.

About FriendsGroove

FriendsGroove is the social network for music: mutual friendships, a friends-only feed with no algorithm and no advertising, artist communities in which every fan claims a permanent numbered spot, human-made music only, and direct fan-to-artist support with artists keeping 95% of every tip. It is developed and operated by Remergify, a technology holding company that builds and owns a portfolio of software ventures. Learn more at friendsgroove.com.

Media Contact: Stuart Fine, Founder & CEO, Remergify stuart@friendsgroove.com

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SOURCE: Remergify, Inc.

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