Reuben and the Dark cover The Hip's 'Bobcageon'

The enigmatic "Bobcaygeon" has been covered by spirited folk rockers Reuben and The Dark and is available now for purchase. Proceeds from the track will go to the Gord Downie And Chanie Wenjack Fund. (Listen hear -> )

“The Downie Wenjack Fund is important because of its focus on youth, its active education on Indigenous history, and the creation of connections with this land's rich Indigenous culture. I am compelled to be a part of this action, to be both a listener and a participant in these conversations, a student of these issues, and a proponent of progress,” Reuben Bullock says in a press release.

Reuben and the Dark recently released a new album, Arms of a Dream, on Arts & Crafts and is touring extensively across Canada with a dip south in to the States for a couple of dates.

Photo by Scott Ramsay

Emmauel Jal, Skydiggers headline two day Crossing Point in Oshawa July 27 and 28

Some fine Oshawa folks launch the first Crossing Point festival this weekend at Brick by Brick Park. This is a ticketed event featuring live music, artisans, food and craft beer vendors. Tickets available here -> 

Friday, July 27, 2018
Opening night: The Professors Of Funk back up. 
Gates: 6:30pm
Performance: 7:30-9:30pm
Featuring:
Sarah Fazackerley
Patrick Dorie
Ammoye
Emmanuel Jal

Saturday, July 28, 2018
Gates: 2pm
Performances: 3:30-10pm

Ben Reines – acoustic snapshot features between some artist changeovers
Annie Sumi – 3:30pm
Hairy Holler – 4:30pm
Jxck Kxlly – 5:30pm
SATE – 6:30pm
Crown Lands – 7:30pm
Skydiggers – 8:45pm

Daniel Caesar shortlisted for Polaris Music Prize

The Polaris Music Prize tightened up to ten with DC's "Freudian" making the cut. 

The full lis is:
Alvvays – Antisocialites
Jean-Michel Blais – Dans ma main
Daniel Caesar – Freudian
Jeremy Dutcher – Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
Pierre Kwenders – MAKANDA at the End of Space, the Beginning of Time
Hubert Lenoir – Darlène
Partner – In Search Of Lost Time
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – The Average Savage
U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited
Weaves – Wide Open

The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. Additionally, the nine other nominated acts whose albums make the 2018 Short List will receive $3,000 each courtesy of Slaight Music.
My money is on DC but then it would be wouldn't it or is that would it?

Nashville star Lennon Stella's releases new track 'Bad' - less Blake, more Drake

Lennon Stella, star of the TV show Nashville, and eldest daughter of The Stellas, recently signed to Records/ Columbia Records and has just released a demo version of her single "Bad". Its a whole lot more city than country, with a Hotline Bling-ish hook. 

Electro-soul Adrian Underhill will shine over Hillside Friday July 13

By Will McGuirk

Pay attention to this chap - I'm a fan, and I am so because Adrian Underhill manages to build something human into his synth-sized jams. When we talk about soul we can says its a genre, we all know it, Stevie, Smokey, - but there's also the other soul music, the spiritual, we know that too,  Marvin, Nina. Adrian Underhill is of the latter, the spirit in the machinery of his debut album "CU Again" available on Indica. He will be bringing that spirit to the gathering, to Hillside this weekend. Its a festival he is quite familiar with. 

Slowcity.ca: I saw you wrote you were a volunteer at Hillside and are now of course playing onstage, how excited are you for this weekend and do you feel as if this is the culmination or a beginning?

AH: "Yes, that's true! I was a volunteer at Hillside for a number of years and it is my favourite music festival I've been to so I'm really looking forward to playing this year.  Hopefully this won't be the last time I play the festival, so yes, perhaps it is a beginning :)" 

SC: What will the live show look like - just you or do you have other players with you?

AH: "I'm playing with 2 good friends who are both extremely talented songwriters in their own right.  Charlotte Cornfield will be playing drums and Anna Horvath (who writes music as Merival) will be singing backup vocals."

SC: There's an elegance to your songs which to me broaches Bon Iver as well as Hall 'n Oates, where do you draw your inspiration for sound?

AH: "Hmm. I think you've hit on something there. I definitely have a fondness for soft pop and things like Blood Orange, Martika, Prince, early Phoenix, The Doobie Brothers, Todd Rundgren."

SC: There seems to be an old soul lurking in your songs, how does a young man in 2018 find himself writing songs which harken back to the late 60s, early 70s classic soul sound?

AH: "Before I started writing this batch of songs that became 'CU Again' I was pretty obsessed with 60s soul for a few years so I that has found it's way in there."  

SC: The tracks seem to be deeply layered, are they?, what is your process for building up a song? Where do you begin and how do you know when you've finished?

AH: "Yes, there is a lot of layering on these tunes. I worked on this record with Adam Bainbridge (aka Kindness) and he brought a lot of that approach to the recording process.  The songs started with my demos that I had been working on for a number of years already.  Once Adam came on we started working from those demos, remixing them, stripping the drums away, programming new elements, sometimes speeding things up.  After we had had a few weeks to do that we took the songs down to LA where we worked with some amazing live players: Damon Riddick (aka DāM-FunK) on drums, Keith Eaddy on bass and Brandon Coleman (Kamasi Washington) on keys.  That added a lot and lots of the outros came from their live playing.  Then Adam and I took the sessions back to Montreal and decided on a track by track basis what songs needed live playing vs. programmed electronic elements or a combination of both.  It was a really interesting process and one I couldn't fully conceptualize until I saw it happen!"

Birds of Bellwoods to play Hillside Sunday July 15

By Will McGuirk

Birds of Bellwoods have been through Oshawa many times, so many we at Slowcity.ca consider them part of the Shwa-clan. So here's the beef. They are heading to Hillside on Sunday, last week they played a very successful gig at Mariposa. They are one of the hardest working bands out there and its paying off for them. But the lads still had time to check in with us about their upcoming shows.

In an email the Birds say they will be bringing new songs, new shirts and an energetic set. In return the audience can bring their dancing shoes.

Slowcity.ca: I have enjoyed seeing the evolution of your music and shows - tell me, what drives you to keep pushing the envelope?

Birds of Bellwoods: It's less of a conscious choice with us so much as an inevitability. The music we enjoy, the shows that get us excited, week by week our influences are changing. So it follows that our own work matches this. We hold ourselves to a high standard and we still feel there is a long way to go - but we try to keep things fun and fresh. It's also a process of discovering and liberating ourselves - the more we let ourselves be seen the more truth works its way into the show."

SC: There is also the question of influences - being on the road so much you see many different acts I’m sure - How do you stay true to your roots while still exploring musical options?

BOB: "Similar to what we said above, our roots have always wandered. Our base in the folk scene keeps us focused on the songwriting and storytelling, but from that focus we let songs take us in any direction they need, rather than imposing a perceived 'style'. You're right that the road is an incredible place to learn and grow. We are lucky to play music in a country with such a wide range of immensely talented acts and we believe that the feedback loop of this community keeps us all honest and striving for something better."

Chastity releases video for 'Heaven Hell Anywhere Else'

Last time we checked in with Chastity it was in a barn in Whitby, with METZ, also on the bill. Such a great show, next day we signed up for a pre-order of new album, "Death Lust", which drops Frrrrriday July 13. Looking forward to hearing this album and while we're waiting Chastity has released this video.

The Standstills release video for 'Wild'

By Will McGuirk

The Standstills make rock with spirit. Spiritually is deep at their core and they have followed that path to one of the scared sites of rock 'n roll, Joshua Tree National Park, for the video for their latest single, "Wild" from their upcoming album 'Badlands'. The director is Jeff Scheven of Black Fawn Films.
Guitarist Jonathan Fox says the idea for the location came from drummer Renee Couture and says intriguingly they are working on a novel which will explain the video and its connection to The Pyramid Code. 
WHUT? as the kids also say. The video is trailer for a book?
Well I can't get my head around that without help. Maybe the answer as some of the kids say is in the desert.

Oshawa's Crossing Point joins Mariposa, River & Sky, Hillside for festival filled July

By Will McGuirk

It's festival season and this year Oshawa joins the list with the debut of Crossing Point Friday Jul 27 and Saturday July 28. July is a full month of music with Mariposa followed by Hillside followed by River & Sky and now ending with this debut festival at Brick by Brick Park just south of Downtown Oshawa.

Brick by Brick, its a good name. This festival has been built brick by brick but the bricks are not uniform. Crossing Point is built on a diversity of sounds from folk to jazz to R&B and funk. The line-up includes Skydiggers, Crown Lands, Annie Sumi, Sarah Fazackerley, Sate, Ammoye, Jxck Kxlly and Patrick Dorie. There will be more details I’m sure as we get closer to the event.

In the meantime Mariposa (July 6,7,8) is a must attend. The festival has a special vibe, a confidence and a swagger to it. Its been around a long time, five decades and counting. 

This year featured acts among the scores performing include Alan Doyle, Bill & Joel Plaskett, Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets, Bahamas, Walk Off The Earth and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Buffy is an icon of the folk scene and her presence at Mariposa is not be missed.

Hillside (July 13,14,15) has quite the eclectic line-up this year with A Tribe Called Red, Cadence Weapon, Destroyer, Five Alarm Funk, Megative, Twelfth Day and U.S. Girls. Hillside always challenges, there is a discomfort with the variety of performers and every year Hillside delivers exactly what we need, not necessarily what we want. This year there are a couple of Oshawa/Durham acts included, Crown Lands, Annie Sumi and Mappe Of.

River & Sky in Field, near North Bay, is celebrating ten years. I've been attending the last few years and have loved seeing it evolve. Like Hillside the growth has been not on size but on experience. Each year it delivers more and more. Its valued too by those who have performed with some R&S alumni returning to celebrate the anniversary. Born Ruffians, Land of Talk, Chad VanGaalen, Julie Doiron, Dan Romano, Operators, The Pack AD, Shotgun Jimmie and much more. Its a good drive for us in the GTA but I would encourage you all to head north and see and hear what is happening up there. Its a beautiful location and a beauty festival and folks will welcome you to what will be your home for a weekend, every year.

Why is it the Middle Kids are always the smart ones?

By Will McGuirk

Now don't quote me and I won't quote him but I think I heard Johnny Marr on CBC saying something along the lines of how his response to all the crap in the world is to not let it deter him from his task, you know to keep on keeping on doing good things and maybe that pile of good things will eventually overwhelm the crap until it loses its voice and falls silent and loses oxygen and dies or maybe he didn't and I just wanted him to but anyway I think Middle Kids are doing that and its just so good to hear folks making shiny happy tunes because god knows we need them so don't be hiding, get out, do good, keep on keeping on and get seen and get heard.
The track "Don't Be Hiding" a call to arms for the shy ones is available on their Domino debut 'Lost Kids'.

"They come to build a wall between us but we know they won't win"

Indigenous sound and visions at Yonge & Dundas Square Wed June 24

By Will McGuirk

Toronto's Yonge & Dundas Square will be the site of a free Indigenous History Month Celebration hosted by The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) together with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT) on Wednesday June 26 2018. Along with music performances by A Tribe Called Red, Keys 'n Krates and Iskwe, those massive screeens will show Indigenous historical moments, 50 contemporary artworks by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women artists and Caroline Monnet's short film 'Mobilize' and the National Billboard Project 'Resilience'.

"It is an extremely exciting opportunity for me to work with 50 Indigenous women artists and with MAWA on Resilience, the national billboard project,” says Lee-Ann Martin, Resilience Curator. “For these artists, resilience is embodied as endurance, adaptability and sovereignty in relation to customary practices, contemporary identities, the land, and the impact of colonial practices and strategies. The large-scale billboard images exist outside of art galleries, standing alongside the country's roadways. The artists in Resilience stand as Defenders of their cultural sovereignty and Protectors of this land."

Lucy Rose changes up 'Something's Changing', remix album drops July 6 on A&C

Photo by Laura Lewis

Its sunset Friday and these unobtrusive gentle remixes are just the thing; the English rose who is Lucy Rose alights on Feist, Carole King, and even the Celtic chanteuse Loreena McKennitt on her album "Something's Changing" and as good as that is this album of remixes on Arts & Crafts takes it higher, to a cloud of ten. Dig deep, find a book, put it down, dream, look up, dig.

SOMETHING’S CHANGING (REMIXES) TRACKLISTING

1. Intro (Chartreuse Remix)
2. Soak It Up (JAWS Remix)
3. Moirai (Liz Lawrence Remix)
4. Second Chance (Fryars Remix)
5. Is This Called Home (Anatole Remix)
6. All That Fear (Otzeki Remix)
7. Strangest of Ways (JM∆C Remix)
8. Love Song (Evan Klar Remix)
9. Soak It Up (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Remix)
10. Strangest Of Ways (Marcus Hamblett Remix)
11. Second Chance (Intalekt Remix)
12. No Good At All (Tobie Tripp Remix)

Barrie songstress Kalyna Rakei draws on ska, soul and R'nB for 'Who Knew'

Who knew? Lots going on with Kalyna who has a sweet Amy Winehouse vibe, a little Jully Black, a little Serena Ryder. Lots going on and not just in the song from her new album, her fourth, "Before & After You" now available. Along with a lyric video which was drawn by Kalyna, the album comes with a hand drawn 24 four page comic telling the story of the album and which includes lyrics and liner notes. AND . . . the record is a two-part concept album, the before and the after. So after all that settle in, look, listen, read, immerse yourself in Rakei.