In an age of hyper-curated releases and algorithm-driven strategy, I’LL STAY, the debut EP from newly-formed collective goodtoknow, arrives as a rare and welcome outlier — spontaneous, vulnerable, and strikingly sincere. Released today across streaming platforms, the five-track project marks the official emergence of a band that didn’t plan to exist, yet now feels essential.
Born during a single impromptu recording session at Estudios Noviembre in Mexico City, goodtoknow is the unexpected union of four Latin American songwriters: Paula Prieto (Argentina), Benjamín Walker (Chile/Mexico City), Sir Hope (Argentina), and Mariano Gillio. Originally gathered to help Paula workshop some unfinished material, the session quickly evolved into something far more collaborative. “We didn’t plan to start a band,” Prieto explains. “But these songs didn’t feel like our solo work. They felt like their own thing — like us.”
Blending soft indie-pop and alternative folk, I’LL STAY is a warm and understated meditation on change, resilience, and emotional honesty. Minimal production and acoustic textures serve as the foundation for intimate vocal performances and shared lyricism that avoids cliché in favor of clear, lived-in truths. The project’s emotional centerpiece, a raw and haunting ballad written in a single evening, is already set to lead a focused campaign across Latin America, the U.S., and the U.K., with targeted press, radio, and newsletter drops coordinated through each member’s fanbase.
Though each artist is a respected solo act — with recent performances at SXSW, Latin GRAMMY nominations, and support slots for artists like MARO and Ed Maverick — goodtoknow is not a supergroup. It’s a new entity with its own identity, defined less by ambition and more by instinct. “It’s not about brand or ownership,” says Walker. “It’s about making space for songs that wouldn’t exist anywhere else.”
With I’LL STAY, goodtoknow delivers an understated but undeniable debut — one that whispers instead of shouts, but leaves a lasting impression all the same. For listeners seeking depth, softness, and musical connection without pretense, this EP offers a quiet kind of magic — and signals the beginning of something worth holding onto.
