Photo by Jodie Ponto
Bluesy duo HAM pour some sugar on this soulful groove, 'Forever Fool" from their album Apocalipstick dropping Mar 24. Its got some slide on it and you gotta love slide. They're touring with a couple of dates with a date at Lee's Palace in TO Apr 13 and in the Market Hall in Peterborough Apr 14 2017.
Wild River blur country, folk and pop on their new single 'Do RIght'. Its a sweet joyful track, built on the all the good things that can happen out on the road with best pals. Sending it out to BFFs everywhere.
Photo by Nate Burrell
“It is a tough thing to write about, but as a citizen of St. Louis and as an artist, I had to say something. Hopefully this song does more good than bad and, ultimately, gets the dialogue started. Although it’s also important to not forget the peaceful protests and those that spread the message of love in the pursuit of justice and equality, this particular song is about people being marginalized and brought to the brink. It was only a matter of time before they fight back. I hope you feel that tension in the song—even from the first bass click.” - Pokey LaFarge
The family Bordeen have a Mumford & Sons vibe, strong harmonies, folk melodies but add in a smimmery pop-finish and they move over into the spirit of early U2. The band are Brianna Bordihn on keys and vox, Daniel Bordihn on drums and Ryan Bordihn, lead vocals and guitar. Dip into Ocean Tide for a listen.
Lush Buffalo
Lo-fi fuzz rich garage rockers Lush Buffalo are the swamp spawn of 60s Nuggets kats and the 80s comps It Came From Canada. Here’s a game; pick a Nugget and smash it into a Came From, and you will find something akin to at least one of the tracks on the Buffalo’s debut album. Listening to this will have you digging through your crates for the most obscure one-hit underground indie college rock bands ‘cause there’s a subtle little riff-du-homage in each one. Ah yes its easy to think oh Weezer, oh, yes Zeppelin, Monkees, Count Five but go deeper baby deeper. Lush Buffalo are channelling the Stand GT, the Dik Van Dykes, The Chesterfield Kings and the Chessmen. Lush Buffalo have all the records, they may even have The Fiends, they’re a vintage vinyl shop all of their own.
The Buff Lushalos have a record release show Saturday Mar 4 at the Horseshoe Tavern in TO. Can’t wait for these diggers of vinyl to have their own platter and to get my scrawny spawny hands on one. Didn't know I was seeking my next fave band but looks like I found it.
Leif Vollebekk continues the winning streak of great records with Twin Solitudes, which has a lot of the beauty-eyed mystic soul of Van Morrison hovering just under. Listen to Elegy and hear the escape hatch music is. Vollebekk has an extensive tour with a date in Toronto Sunday Apr 16 at the Great Hall. Its a Massey Hall presentation.
"The lyrics of the song are about the great changes in the world that move populations, and forces the weaker to adapt to an intense and strenuous lifestyle. Filming Dabké dances inside one the most emblematic buildings of the Capital of Europe (Palais de Justice) is a way of showing the positive side of civilization shifts," says Francois
The track, 'Grand Dereglement' , is from the album Solide Marage, now available on Domino.
Website here ->
Adrian Underhill gets in touch with his inner Alice Monroe and pushes back against the scolding doubt on "Not Good Enough", the first single and video from his upcoming debut. Its got a beauty of a hook and a mellow message for the kids, hold on and hold on to each other.
"Through this video we wanted to explore the relationship between isolation and togetherness. The repetitive mechanical movements serve as a meditation on the simultaneous individuality and connectedness between people. As we navigate the steps of this dance we each exist in our own bubble - infinite distances between even the closest of friends (I’m paraphrasing Rilke). This tension between distance and connection is played out over and over, and only through exposing their vulnerabilities do the dancers begin to see each other clearly," says Underhill
Latent Recordings, home to the Cowboy Junkies, is launching the Latent Lounge at the Monarch in TO. Its a four night concert series showcasing the label's roster and friends presenting their own material and also a set of covers.
Mar 22 - Lee Harvey Osmond, Thompson Wilson and The Songs Of Lou Reed , imagine Sweet Jane will be part of this.
Mar 29 - Cowboy Junkies, HarpAcash & The Morals and Dead Heroes, songs by Bowie, Prince, Cohen and Strummer and others.
Apr 5 - Jerry Leger, Ivy Mairi and Latent covers The Trinity Session
Apr 12 - Skydiggers, Jerry Leger and Canadiana, covers from the Canadian canon
“There are very important things going on in Indian country right now. This is a song I’d like to hand to any of our Aboriginal candidates who really are in a position, finally, to make a big difference,” said (Buffy) Sainte-Marie, the 2015 Polaris Music Prize winner.
Written by Sainte-Marie, the song was inspired by champion dogsled racer George Attla, who competed in the first-ever Iditarod dog sled race in 1973 and was the subject of the 1979 film, Spirit Of The Wind.
“It reminded me of growing up in Nunavut,” says Tagaq, winner of the Polaris in 2014. “Sometimes when things get difficult you have to pick yourself up, you can’t let things bring you down. You could take it to be an anti-suicide message. I really appreciate its powerful lyrics."
The song was recorded in Fall 2016 at Orange Lounge in Toronto with producer Jon Levine. It was mixed by Howie Beck. It will be available as a download and on vinyl.
Photo by Falling Tree
I'm going to refer you to this article by Jesse Wente in the Globe and Mail here. The video speaks for itself.
Steve Krecklo, of ‘90s alt-rockers The Carnations, knew his passion was making music. However now he is making music for other people’s passions too. Krecklo composed the soundtrack for CBC’s new Saturday morning short cartoon, “Ollie, The Boy Who Became What He Ate”, debuting Feb 18 2017. The show was produced by The show is produced by Radical Sheep Productions and Mickey Rogers Media, with animation by Keyframe Animation. It is based on the work of Sheena Macrae.
Source: Radical Sheep Productions
Krecklo says Ollie is a picky eater who discovers the healthy foods turn him into a superhero. Adventures follow as he travels around the globe trying all kinds of different foods.
“Musically, score needs to highlight the sense of adventure throughout each episode, so I went for the big orchestral thing as a general style,” he says, “Then I had to figure out a way to theme each character in the show. For example, Ollie is a bit overconfident and fearless, so I play him with rock guitar and brass. his sister is a carefree and sweet, so she’ll generally get oboe, uke, and celeste."
“Most importantly, the job of the music is to support the story, the dialog, and the emotions of each episode. It needs to turn on a dime and never settles into cruise control or wallpaper. Sometimes I’ll spend an hour on 3 seconds of picture,” he says.
Krecklo credits ex-Starling and onetime Carnations drummer, Canadian Screen nominee Ian LeFeuvre for the opportunity to work on Ollie.
“He has made a name for himself in animation doing score for shows like Johnny Test and Dot, and so the opportunity came through him. The plan was to work together to start, with him teaching me the ins and outs of writing for animation, and then let me run with it. We made a pitch for Ollie and everyone liked it enough and here I am,” he says.
Source: Radical Sheep Productions
Krecklo started making music as a teenager in Bowmanville, east of Toronto. In 1995 he formed a band with his best pal, Thom D’Arcy, called Pseudonym.
“Our only goal was get into the Bandwarz battle-of-the-bands at the Eclipse/Moon Room in Oshawa. I tried to outgrow music when I went off to school, but I didn’t have to patience or work ethic for anything else,” he says.
After Pseudonym they formed The Carnations but they broke up in early 2000s. Krecklo has been a session guitarist for other acts, including JUNO winning rapper K-OS, sharing stages with Drake. He has written music for Property Brothers, Carnival Eats and Etalk.
“I’m extremely fortunate to have hit upon something that allows me to do music full-time, writing music for TV. Until only recently, music was not the sole source of income for me. It was more of a partially-paying passion with some fun perks like travel and free beer, even on the higher-profile sideman gigs like with K-OS.”
Krecklo says the Ollie project initially was quite a challenge but he grew into the work and has arranged his gig schedule and family life accordingly. Unfortunately just as he began work on the score his father passed away.
“It was tough to manage the feelings of loss while at the same time having this amazing opportunity in front of me. I think it having the show in a way helped me deal,” he says. “My dad was a player and writer, and gave me the foundation of my musical education. So this music is really just a continuation of his life passion.”
And a continuation of Krecklo’s own passion too.
