Following the release of their debut EP, the band is gearing up to release their debut full-length, Everett, later this year. They’re starting with new single, “Stuck In The Middle” – a more subdued version of the band’s usual alt-rock with chiming guitars and broken-up baritone vocals.
King Park turn out mercurial, high-contrast indie rock. Gritty and lush, the quartet’s sound mirrors the antitheses of their hometown, Hamilton, Ontario: on the one hand, blue-collar and raw, and, on the other, artful and lovely.
Several years out from the release of 2016’s radio-smashing, Juno-nominated breakthrough, Swooner, The Zolas are ready to start a new cycle and a new direction. Forthcoming new album, Come Back to Life, touches on everything from waking up to Canada’s appalling treatment of its First Nations to global wealth disparity to artists being priced out of the cities they’ve helped make great.
“Wreck Beach/Totem Park,” the newest single to be shared from the LP, is about the process of opening your eyes to realize in horror that your funniest, sweetest moments of nostalgia are – in many ways – the spoils of colonization. The Zolas’ vocalist/guitarist, Zachary Gray, lived his whole life beside the Musqueam reserve, never being taught and never thinking to ask why they live quietly in a small corner of a land that used to be all theirs.
Stemming from his fascination of conscious exploration, man’s connection to nature, and cultural wisdom, Savej auditorily guides listeners through Solstice. Released via Gravitas Recordings, Solstice is a six track album that embodies Savej’s experiences as a student of life. By creating a compilation of work that infuses ancient cultures with ones in modern day, Savej preserves a worldly resonant vibe to prompt journeys of the mind.
“Solstice” spotlights Savej’s practice of the Kargyraa style of throat singing, a skill that demanded weeks of training to achieve proper vocal cord disengagement. As the Native American flute searches for “One Truth,” percussive rhythms support the binding of matter and spirit into one energy. “Eye For An I” employs entrancing trap soundscapes with an organic tribal flair. Nature comes to life in “Sirens,” as creatures who roam the jungle are dazzled by hypnotic bass tapestries. When the Sun’s path crosses the celestial equator, “Equinox” escorts wanderers towards a groovy celebratory dreamscape. Concluding the paradisiacal globe-trot, “Vilca” pays tribute to the sacred psychedelic ritual, offering one last dance in the shamanic wonderland.
“Paper Plain,” the newest single from the forthcoming full-length, is a lo-fi conglomeration of bits and pieces. Its simple groove is carried by mostly two chords – not Jenny’s regular style – and has a freeform melody that borders on melodic rap.
Jenny Banai blends jazz, folk, and rock into sophisticated pop music that both celebrates and laments the dynamic of human relationships and the relationship with one’s self. Following the 2015 self-release of her debut album, Flowering Head, Jenny independently undertook several Canadian tours, collaborated on the documentary Where We Come Home, and early in 2017, her song “Boars” was featured on TV and web series The Drive. In 2018, Jenny received Fraser Valley Music Awards, Folk Artist Of The Year.
A true creative chameleon and seasoned traveler, Marie-Clo’s eclectic indie pop tackles current themes & conscious lyrics, but also conjures a colourful and enchanted world.
The singer-songwriter and dancer’s latest release, Shell(e) Pt II, encapsulates slightly different emotions than its predecessor, Pt I. The first EP is about darkness, call-out culture, and pain, while Pt. II is more about the beginning of a healing journey.
Each song tells its own story. New single, “The noise,” speaks of the proverbial ‘noise’ marginalized groups have to deal with on a daily basis. Penned in 2017, in reference to never ending sexist micro/macro aggressions, “The noise” can mean so much more than just a woman’s felt experience.
17 year old Shelby Merchant has just released her debut album Way Past Seventeen and we’re floored by the amount of talent that can be packed in one project by someone so young. We’re confident she’ll be following in the footsteps of other young greats such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. Her first single off this album was for her track “Flammable” which was fully created during the COVID pandemic. Talent and resilience? We’re here for it. Read on to find out more about Shelby’s extraordinary, debut music video.
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
The song is about the battle between your head and your heart when you find yourself falling for someone who you probably shouldn’t. I wanted the video to follow that story, depicting the before, during, and after of an explosive relationship. Because the major lyrical motif is fire, I included a lot of that in the video. Since this was the first single, I also added a couple of easter eggs for other songs on the album!
What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
The storyline follows that of the song, where two people who aren’t necessarily good for each other defy all logic and run headfirst into a love affair. I wanted to explore the idea that the person in the song would get “burned” whether they entered the relationship or not. That’s what the fire represents in the video, why I’m “on fire” both by myself and otherwise. The visuals follow the three stages that I described earlier. There are images of good times, bad times, and the loneliness that follows. I got a lot of inspiration from the dozens of videos I watched leading up to filming, specifically Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.” video and The 1975’s “Robbers” video. I wanted that sense of chaos in my video that they had in theirs.
What was the process of making this video?
This being my first video I didn’t have a whole lot of equipment/ knowledge on how all this is done! But I had this concept in my head, so I figured there was no better day to start than that day! I recruited a couple of my friends and went headfirst into it. The filming took about 5 days, and the editing took a week. I think because none of us really knew what we were doing, there’s an element of youth in the video. It was so much fun to just goof off with my buddies and create something we all could be really proud of.
Check out Shelby Merchant’s video for “Flammable” below:
Modern Mystery 