You Remain

Philadelphia singer, songwriter and guitarist Mutlu has released “You Remain,” a song about the persistence of grief and the second single from his forthcoming album Lonesome Dreamery. The track premiered October 27 in MAGNET Magazine, following the earlier single “The Mad King.” The self-released album is expected in early 2027, although a specific release date has not been announced in the reports accompanying the new song. BroadwayWorld described the project as drawing on love, grief and hope, themes that place the new single within a broader period of change in the artist’s life.

The release brings together musicians and producers with ties to Philadelphia. Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey produced Lonesome Dreamery at Miner Street Recordings, and the players on “You Remain” include Charlie Hall and Robbie Bennett of The War on Drugs. Mutlu’s new music also arrives alongside a return to the stage with John Oates: BroadwayWorld reported that he was invited to support Oates at City Winery Philadelphia on October 27. The announcement continues a professional relationship that has included earlier touring with Daryl Hall and Oates.

A song about grief and its lasting presence

Mutlu described “You Remain” as a song about carrying loss from one day to the next. “That absence stays with you,” he said in a statement published by MAGNET and BroadwayWorld. His description focuses on grief as an enduring experience rather than a feeling confined to a single moment. BroadwayWorld reports that the artist experienced a profound personal loss in recent years and connects his new music to the struggle and the life he has been building afterward. Neither report identifies the circumstances of that loss, and Mutlu’s comments about the single do not specify whom or what he is mourning.

In BroadwayWorld’s account, grief is one part of the emotional range planned for Lonesome Dreamery, which the publication also associates with love and hope. “You Remain” offers a first-hand statement of one of those themes, while the full album has yet to provide the rest of the context. MAGNET’s premiere makes the recording available to hear and identifies it as the follow-up to “The Mad King.” Together, the two releases establish the opening sequence of singles from the project; the publications do not provide a complete album track list or say where either song will appear in the running order.

“The Mad King” was released on September 1, according to Apple Music’s artist listing. On his own website, Mutlu describes that earlier song as a “cosmic indie soul” work and connects it with the folk-soul roots of his music. MAGNET says he uses the same broad description for the forthcoming album, identifying R&B and indie influences in the project. Those descriptions give the two singles a shared musical setting without establishing that every track on the record will use the same arrangement or address the same subject.

The Philadelphia musicians behind the recording

McTear and Morrissey produced the album at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia, BroadwayWorld reports. On “You Remain,” Mutlu sings and plays guitar; Hall plays drums and percussion; Bennett plays keyboards; Tom Spiker plays bass; and McTear contributes electric guitar. The credits put a full group of instrumentalists around Mutlu’s vocal and guitar performance. Hall and Bennett’s connection to The War on Drugs is noted in both BroadwayWorld’s report and MAGNET’s premiere, although the published credits for the single do not establish which musicians play on every other song on the album.

The distinction between album and track credits is useful in reading the announcements. McTear and Morrissey are named as producers of Lonesome Dreamery, while the specific instrumental roles published by BroadwayWorld apply to “You Remain.” MAGNET also confirms contributions to the album from Hall and Bennett. Neither account gives a session-by-session history of the recording or details how the arrangements for the remaining tracks were assembled. For now, the single’s credits offer the clearest published picture of the musicians heard on this particular release.

The album has a Philadelphia visual collaborator as well. BroadwayWorld reports that collage artist Joe Castro was commissioned to create artwork for Lonesome Dreamery and its singles. The commission extends across the full-length project and the songs being released ahead of it, although the report does not describe each cover or announce a schedule for additional artwork. Alongside the production work at Miner Street, Castro’s involvement adds another local connection to a project made by a Philadelphia native with a group of musicians associated with the city.

BroadwayWorld describes Mutlu’s music as grounded in Philadelphia soul and incorporating elements of folk, reggae and rock. MAGNET emphasizes R&B and indie influences in its account of the new album, while Mutlu’s website describes the earlier single “The Mad King” in terms of his folk-soul background. The different descriptions reflect the range of styles associated with his work rather than a definitive map of the unreleased album. “You Remain” can be heard through the player accompanying MAGNET’s premiere, and BroadwayWorld’s report links to the track on Spotify.

From Philadelphia soul to a new album

Born Mutlu Onaral, the artist is a Philadelphia native and a first-generation American of Turkish descent. His artist biography on the Bandsintown concert listing traces his musical background to the city’s R&B traditions, while his Spotify biography says he began writing music after taking up guitar in his teens. He played in bands and joined an a cappella group during college, according to the Spotify profile. In that biography, Mutlu names Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Al Green among the soul artists who inspired him to pursue a career in music.

His earlier recordings include Livin’ It, released in 2008 on Manhattan/EMI Records. The Bandsintown biography identifies T Bone Wolk as its producer and lists Daryl Hall, Amos Lee, G. Love and Raheem DeVaughn among the guests. Apple Music’s artist biography also traces Mutlu’s earlier development through Philadelphia clubs, cafés and open-mic nights, followed by independently released material and recordings for Manhattan Records and Blue Note. Those releases and performances preceded the self-released Lonesome Dreamery, giving the new project a place in a career that has moved between local stages, collaborations and solo recordings.

Mutlu’s touring history includes work with artists who also appear in his recording biography. BroadwayWorld says he toured the United States and Europe with Amos Lee, supported Joe Jackson, and was invited by Daryl Hall and John Oates to support a national theater tour. The Bandsintown biography describes him as both a support act and a backup vocalist on tours with Lee. His invitation to support John Oates in Philadelphia thus follows earlier work with Oates and Hall, rather than introducing an entirely new pairing.

Listening to other artists has also figured in Mutlu’s recent creative life. During the pandemic, he began co-hosting the music podcast The Carl Landry Record Club with Spike Eskin, according to BroadwayWorld. The publication says the experience of listening to albums for the show helped shape his listening and inspire his newer sound. The podcast has also addressed his own work: an episode titled “Mutlu’s New Song ‘The Mad King’” was recorded on September 13, 2026, according to its listing. The reports do not identify a particular podcast discussion as the source of “You Remain.”

A Philadelphia show alongside the release

BroadwayWorld reported that Mutlu was invited to open for John Oates at City Winery Philadelphia on October 27, the date MAGNET published its premiere. Bandsintown listed Mutlu and Oates on the same bill and described Mutlu as opening for Oates. City Winery’s event page listed John Oates & The Good Road Band on its Main Stage at 990 Filbert Street, with doors at 6 p.m. and the show scheduled for 7:30 p.m.; the venue page did not name Mutlu or specify a separate start time for his set. The listings establish the planned appearance, not what was performed. For the album, the announced window remains early 2027, with “You Remain” and “The Mad King” available ahead of the full release.