Community Picks is a weekly series where artists submit a release to be voted on by members of the Nina community. Once a week, the release with the most votes will receive editorial coverage. This week’s winner is we're not really, strangers EP by ventanaCLUB, a strong debut for the Dallas alt pop band. We sent over some questions to the band, read the interview and listen to we're not really, strangers EP below.

Where are you from?

Dallas, TX 

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

Imagine you’re driving late at night, windows down, the air thick with an emotion you can’t name. The more you focus on a feeling, the environment adjusts—a dream you can’t completely control. The street lights blur, and for a second, you feel like you’re in a memory that hasn’t happened yet. That’s the space our music lives in. It’s textured—layers of electronic synths and ambient noise resting in unison with something raw, something human. There’s warmth in the imperfections, in the acoustic melodies that ground the tracks, reflecting humanity. It’s familiar. It's fleeting. 

Tell us about your release on Nina.

In search of a platform to independently release music free of creative constraints, we reached out to our peers, Nina was highly regarded and recommended multiple times. It seemed obvious. 

What kind of tools do you use to make music?

Built in a bedroom with whatever’s around—never too much, never too little, and never short on inspiration. Logic Pro, sometimes Ableton. Everything runs through a Universal Audio Apollo Twin. A Telefunken TF29 catches the room, the breath, the little imperfections. Fender Telecaster when it needs to cut through, Baby Taylor steel-string when it needs to feel closer. Korg Minilogue XD for the textures, the spaces in between. It’s not about what’s there—it’s about what you can make with it.

Who are 3-5 independent artists you think people should check out?

ClayNation, James Colm Mooney, tall mirrors, Requisit, nudo.