There are bands that respond to their time. And there are bands that seem to exist slightly ahead of it, working from a place where urgency no longer dictates meaning.
New Constellations belongs to the latter. Based in Portland, Oregon, the band operates with a sense of authorship that feels deliberate and self-contained. Their music does not arrive as reaction or trend; it unfolds as a system of decisions, carefully placed, deeply felt, and fully inhabited.
Formed by vocalist Harlee Case and multi-instrumentalist and producer Josh Smith, New Constellations has built a body of work that prioritizes presence over performance. What holds their sound together is not genre, but perspective: an understanding that music, like constellations, only reveals its meaning when elements are read in relation to one another.
Author: Claudia Valdez
Listening to their work is less about impact and more about alignment. Songs are discovered rather than constructed, guided by intuition, physical response, and an acute awareness of when a moment has already said enough. Atmosphere becomes language. Repetition becomes depth. Sensuality emerges not as statement, but as consequence.
In a landscape driven by immediacy, their approach feels quietly radical. They do not chase what has already happened. They build from where they are, trusting that clarity, not speed, is what gives music its lasting power.
This exclusive conversation explores how New Constellations think about creation, identity, and sound, not as spectacle, but as an ongoing state of musical intelligence.
On Naming What Only Makes Sense Together
The name
TTT: New Constellations is not a neutral name. It suggests order, relation, and meaning that only appears when elements are read together. What were you trying to name when you chose it, and what does it say about you now?
Josh: When we were deciding on a name, we wanted one that truly reflected who we are as artists. Our goal as a band has always been to take every opportunity to make art, so even the name needed to feel like an art piece, an artistic statement in itself.
Constellations, and the stars that form them, are ancient beyond comprehension. Yet the shapes and meanings we assign to them exist only from our human perspective here on Earth. If we were to see those same stars from somewhere else in the universe, they would form entirely new constellations.
That idea has always resonated with us. It speaks to an ethos of understanding our place in the universe, and recognizing that what seems fixed or singular is often just a matter of perspective.
On Origin and Commitment
The origin
TTT: Before becoming a band, there was already a creative relationship between you. When did you realize that what you were building needed a name of its own and couldn’t remain private between two people?
Harlee: When we were 14 and 16, Josh recorded a song of mine in his bedroom just for fun. But what we were doing as adults was very different, it was intentional from day one.
We knew immediately that we were coming together to make a lifelong band. It wasn’t a project; it was going to be part of who we are. That’s why we felt comfortable taking years before releasing our first track or even naming the band. We understood early on that this wasn’t temporary, it was a commitment.
On Atmosphere Over Structure
Influence, without clichés
TTT: Beyond genres or obvious references, what kinds of music or experiences taught you to work with atmosphere instead of structure alone?
Josh: I’ve always been drawn to music that feels textural and emotional. As a producer, collaborating with a vocalist like Harlee really sharpened that instinct.
I find a lot of joy in creating an atmosphere, a landscape, for Harlee to paint over with her vocals. I’m careful not to make too strong of a statement in the production before she has the chance to make hers. By leaning into atmosphere, I can set a tone while still leaving space for exploration.
On the Body Knowing First
The body
TTT: Your music produces a clear physical response, pulse, tension, presence. At what point in the process do you realize a piece is already affecting the body, not just sounding right?
Harlee: From a melodic standpoint, I usually freestyle with gibberish until it feels right. Josh and I will look at each other when that moment hits.
When we both feel it, physically, that’s how we know it’s time to stop and move on to the next part of the song.
On Desire Without Performance
Sensuality
TTT: Some bands underline sensuality; others suggest it. You seem to trust the latter. Is that restraint a conscious decision, or simply how you understand desire in music?
Harlee: There’s a natural yearning that finds its way into most of the music I write. Wanting something deeply is sensual by nature.
Whenever we try to be intentionally sexy, it never really works for us. It has to be real, otherwise we can feel it immediately, and we don’t move forward.
On Choosing the Present Over the Past
Decisions
TTT: Nothing in your sound feels accidental. What has been a difficult creative decision that ultimately defined who you are as a band?
Harlee: The hardest decision has been continuing to explore what feels right in the moment, instead of chasing the sound of Hot Blooded, even though that’s what many people expect from us.
We try to stay grounded in the present when we’re creating, not chasing a moment that’s already passed.
On Trance and Discovery
The mental state
TTT: Listening to your music produces focus, almost a light trance. Is that mental state something you consciously pursue, or a natural result of how you build songs?
Josh: That feeling mirrors how we create. Often, it feels like we aren’t writing songs as much as we’re discovering them, almost channeling them.
Because of that, I think the listener can tap into the same channel we were connected to when we found the song. We’re all sharing the same cosmic space.
On Returning, Not Replacing
Repetition
TTT: Your songs invite return rather than replacement. What allows a song to withstand repeated listening without losing intensity?
Josh: That goes back to atmosphere and focus. Repeatability comes from being able to re-enter an emotional space.
It’s like visiting a place you love, a park, a favorite hike. The environment might be the same, but each visit offers something new.
On Hope Without Instructions
Identity
TTT: If someone heard only one New Constellations song and nothing else, what would you want them to understand about you without anyone explaining it?
Josh: We often say our goal as a band is to inspire hope, but not to tell people where to place that hope.
If someone hears just one song, we’d want them to feel something reflective or emotional. Rather than understanding us, we hope they gain a deeper understanding of themselves.
The Release
It Comes In Waves, the debut album by New Constellations, will be released on May 15 via Nettwerk Music Group. The record is the result of three years of sustained work, reflecting the band’s deliberate approach to creation: one that resists urgency, formulas, and the logic of immediacy.
Comprising thirteen tracks, the album explores the cyclical nature of human experience. Desire, loss, and hope are presented not as phases to be overcome, but as recurring states that coexist and reshape one another. Rather than following a linear narrative, It Comes In Waves is constructed as an emotional architecture, where each piece exists in relation to the next, forming a continuous body of work.
Sonically, the album moves between dream pop atmospheres, restrained electronic textures, and precise rhythmic structures that allow the voice to remain central. It is not conceived as a collection of standalone songs, but as a cohesive work designed to be experienced in sequence, honoring its internal tempo and conceptual coherence.
Early access to the album, along with visual and conceptual materials from the project, was shared exclusively with Topics That Transform as part of this editorial conversation.
