Donovan Woods, photo by Briony Douglas
By Will McGuirk
“‘Golden Arches’ is a song of escape and a song of possibility. Built from a load of software loops during hot days spent inside, dreaming of the drizzling open road.” - One True Pairing
“It’s about sitting with grief and loss. Feeling all of the heavy and uncomfortable feelings. And wanting to hear nothing but your own heartbeat.” - Megan Nash
Raine Hamilton, photo by Megan Steen
By Will McGuirk
“When I was writing this song, I was shining that light around inside, seeing who had been left behind, and I rediscovered some parts of myself that I had long ignored. For me, that discovery had a lot to do with queerness, and finding my way to deep love of that part.” - Raine Hamilton
“After dating the wrong gender you're finally feeling something that feels right to you, things you’ve never felt for another person. At the exact same time you're realizing who you are. It really is finding yourself through loving someone else, which is why for the queer identity, who we love and who we are are inextricably intertwined.” - Elina Filice
“It took me leaving my comfort zone, buying (and living) in a van to find myself again. My songs reflect that – and reflect that recharge that I needed. Not only in my artistic life, but in my personal life as well.” – Jonathan Roy
“When I'm giving voice to my vulnerability, that's when the magic arrives. I've been re-learning how to trust my instincts, and so far I'm being shown that they're good.” - Debra-Jean Creelman
“We are strong as humans, even when we are vulnerable. We can be both reflective and confident at the same time.” - Parks N' Rec
Laurent Bourque, Photo by Rebecca Chan
By Will McGuirk
Perseid meteor shower, night. The meteor shows up often in the n rock ‘n roll lexicon of journos, like hail, no one hails from anywhere in real life but in rock n roll speech everyone hails from somewhere, like meteors do too, better to burn out etc, but tonight as I look upwards and wait for those brief glimpses of something else alive in this system of ours I listen too to all of you out there burning to make and making in this oh so brief moment we have together and the connect happens, you appear on the horizon and you are seen and you are heard.
“Skateboarding has been a teacher, learning to smile through pain. Push past fear. I’ve taken many lessons and feel like I owe it so much in return. “weightlessness” is a small gift back to a culture that has given me so much; friends, community, confidence, and individuality. And I’m always just looking for an excuse to get on a board." - Reuben Bullock
“‘Thoroughfare’ is about following something pure and beautiful down a narrow, colourful path, but getting a little lost along the way and leaving a bit of yourself behind, quietly lost in time,” - Matt Holubowski
“We can't believe what is happening. We don't know what to do. Scientists reveal they have built a spaceship that can take the top candidates for continuing humanity to New Earth. We've never been there, but we have heard transmissions that suggest life exists like ours. Who are the lucky ones that get to board starship Harmonia for planet B? “- Elephant Stone
“It's an earnest, autobiographical song about self-preservation, something I'm trying to get better at but constantly struggle with.” - Brandon Wolfe Scott
By Will McGuirk
One can smell the Fall. It is coming. The air is crisp, fragile, breakable, it creaks upon passing. The ground hardens; it is not so tolerant of our trespassing. She pushes back.
“Many of the songs are dubious (though endearing) reaches for love and hope over emptiness. Though the subject matter of these songs can be a bit bleak, they come from a place of love.” - Young Clancy
“. . . starting off in a sort of reflective, passive state, moving into a romanticising of the situation, then to anger and accusation towards the other person, followed by anger and accusation towards myself, and finally a truce of some sort.” - Laura Reznek
“I’ve always believed that in order to create something new with purpose, one must be steeped in the past and work from within the tradition, It has more gravity that way.” - Logan Ledger
“My life became far less mapped out than it had ever been, but suddenly the path seemed a lot clearer,” - Robert Counts