Music
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Funk soul sensation
Influenced by the diverse sounds of Brazilian Bossa nova, American funk, soul and psychedelia, Toronto-based Maylee Todd transcends the role of musician: she truly is an artist.
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Jazz Fest Preview: He’s always been a faithful man
Elmer “Lee” Fields was born in 1951 in North Carolina. The son of a musician father and gospel-singing mother, he performed in his church choir, shaping his musical identity from a young age while attentively listening to his parents’ radio play the sounds of blues icons like Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and James Booker.
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Harry’s Top Picks
What not to miss at this year’s Jazz Festival
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In Memoriam
Alex Danyliuk, drummer for Winnipeg band The Revival, passed away unexpectedly on April 12 at the age of 22.
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An American trilogy
On May 14, 2013, Philadelphia’s The Wonder Years released The Greatest Generation, the final record in its realist pop-punk trilogy which started back in January 2010.
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Rusted roots
On a rainy Victoria Day afternoon, the Uniter sat down at the Toad with Matt Williams and Jory Hasselmann, the two founding members of local indie rock five piece Haunter. The band is about to release its debut LP, the disturbingly good Rivers and Rust, through local label Disintegration Records with national distribution from Outside Music.
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The Besnard Lakes are the Beach Boys Jr.
With such obsessive attention to detail on display on their records, it’d be easy to assume that Montreal psych-pop experimentalists The Besnard Lakes purposefully take three years between albums.
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Alone with everybody
Hayden sounds a bit overwhelmed when we connect. The Toronto singer/songwriter is navigating South By Southwest - unbelievably, his first time at the Austin, Texas music festival.
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Believe it or not
Seated on a sectional couch with a bowling ball between them at their “communal living/jam space,” guitarist Marshall Birch and drummer JP Perron of the Unbelievable Bargains await bassist Steve Basham’s return home from work.
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Bringing it back to The North
It’s tough to leave Stars out of any discussion concerning Canadian music.
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The spirit of radio
In an era where free media reigns supreme, the original mass communicator, radio broadcasting - which began transmitting signals globally as early as 1901 - is still the cheapest and easiest way to discover new music.
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Moving forward and promoting healthy community
Winnipeg singer-songwriter Rob Waddell remembers his very first time playing to an audience. It was a two-song performance some five-and-a-half years ago during an open mic night at what was then the Academy.
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Hometown heroes KEN mode remain grounded despite international success
After 16 years spent climbing the echelons of heavy metal hierarchy, it’s safe to say that Winnipeg-bred noise-rock trio KEN mode have far surpassed “local band” status.
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Calgary’s Go For The Eyes tour in support of new EP, Six Through Twelve
Alberta pop-rock machine Go For The Eyes has been making big sounds for almost three years, but its latest EP, the six-song Six Through Twelve (out at the end of this month), is the first of three recordings the band is truly proud of.
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Indiegogoing the distance
Since forming in April 2012, local melodic punk group Distances have released an EP and opened up for Pennsylvania punks Title Fight.
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The next next wave of alt-country
On the eve of White Ash Falls’s Canadian tour, front man Andy Bishop is spending the precious moments he has left at home in Vancouver, cuddling with his dog.
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Raising funds with the Reverend Rambler
Matt Colpitts has been putting himself out there, but you wouldn’t know it from scouring the concert listings checking for the Winnipeg singer-songwriter’s name.
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Cluster: The best fest you haven’t heard of yet
Cluster New Music + Integrated Arts Festival has been a fairly underground initiative since it began in 2010. Yet the little festival that could has been offering new and exciting programming, and drawing big name acts from around the world since it’s inauguration.
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Who produced it?
Steve Albini. Howard Bilerman. Rick Rubin. Jon Brion. Phil Spector. These are the names of some of the most innovative, beloved and notorious record producers/recording engineers of all time. What’s in a name though and what do they think about capturing that perfect sound? Do they help shape the musician’s vision? And - that question no musician really wants to know the answer to - how much is this gonna cost?
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Working with heroes
After forming in 2009, Winnipeg pop-punkers Kids and Heroes are finally ready to unleash their debut full-length record to the masses.