Gentle Party is a chamber pop trio that pioneers an expansive sound distinct to their West Coast roots. The band are sharing a series of three videos from their upcoming album, God Complex, beginning with “Unsafe.”

“Unsafe” is a gentle, harp led incantation sung from the perspective of a sexual assault survivor addressing her abuser in court. She wants to subject him to extreme vulnerability to understand her experience and feelings.

Gentle Party chose to visualize the prejudice that people can carry towards survivors by veiling the video’s actors in different colours. Their veils match the guilty party’s in the beginning of the video, but by the end they are removed to reveal teal coloured veils – the colour used to represent sexual assault awareness.

The group shares:

We wrote “Unsafe” from the perspective of a sexual assault survivor on the stand wanting her abuser to feel what she feels. It’s an incantation to reverse their positions and subject him to experience extreme vulnerability. We visualized prejudice against others by showing people veiled in different colours. At the beginning of the video they wear veils that are the same colour as the guilty party, which is meant to show society’s knee jerk reaction to not believe women. But by the end, when they’ve heard her story, they remove it to reveal a teal veil which is the colour of Sexual Abuse Survivor Awareness.  

Note the dreamy sounds of the harp, violin and pedals.

Reph’s had his hands on music since before he even knew it was his passion. Inspired by his mother, a Hindu artist performing live throughout his childhood, and with musical influences Drake and The Weeknd, he realized his love for performing and song writing, cultivating a musical style that he describes as “a soulful trap vibe.” Though he is inspired by some of the biggest names in Toronto music, it has always been very important to him to keep the tone of his work original, and away from the sound that has come to characterize his city. He hopes to bring all of that together with this first single, “Blackout.”

Listen to the song here: https://reph.lnk.to/Blackout

Going forward, Reph sees himself having a heavy hand in the creative aspect of his career reaching far beyond the boundaries of the music itself. He has a clear vision, and a lifetime of passion and creativity ready to be unleashed to the world.  

Hamilton trip hop artist, Mandolynne, has a new single out entitled “SCREAM.” The husky, foreboding track builds from understated to industrial, drawing inspiration from a traumatic experience that Mandolynne had while living in the foster care system.

She lived in what police refer to as a “sex cult,” which took many years of therapy and dissecting her experiences to recognize. “SCREAM” depicts Mandolynne’s experience of being groomed and disassociating from her body.

Mandoynne’s music is based on her lived experiences and serves as an extension of herself, her trauma, healing, and uprising.

Mandoynne shares:

“SCREAM” depicts being groomed and disassociating from your body. My new release is based on my personal experience with sexual assault. I know my story isn’t an isolated experience, it’s just the only one I can tell.

Women are conditioned to stay quiet and not report because it’s almost less harmful than the assault itself. All you want to do is scream, take your power back, and tell your abuser and the system to stop, but since the road to justice is trying and traumatizing, many choose silence. Though I believe there is power in coming forward, as I found with creating this song, it isn’t met without resistance and pain. Our system and its dealings with survivors of sexual trauma are inherently flawed, and this showcases what that looks and feels like when you’re on the inside.

3x Grammy Award winner David Bottrill’s (Tool, Peter Gabriel) mix takes you on a cinematic journey and Alfio Annibalini’s (Alex Lifeson, Arkells) production showcases me at my most vulnerable. I hope that with more education and survivor-centric care, a cultural shift occurs, and fewer women will have to relive their trauma.

What started out like every other modern day connection, founding members Nate Prevedoros (vocals, guitar) and Rhea George (vocals, keys) met on a dating app – coincidentally, however, both Nate and Rhea were searching for someone to start a new band. After a lengthy conversation about favorite guitars, pedals, and synthesizers, the two knew they had found their match. It wasn’t long after until the two met up to play and SLEEPSHAKE was born.

The pair had no trouble fleshing out their cannon-firing rhythm section: Enter Steve Clark (bass) and Sascha Enns (drums). Now, like the sweet aroma of a thunderstorm brewing on the horizon, SLEEPSHAKE is here to deliver the most electric and adrenaline-inducing live experience for miles to come.

Vividly electrifying new single, “Medicine,” is about the desperate need for stable emotional stimulation.

Midland, Ontario’s Opeongo, also known as Keegan Trumpour, has returned with a new single, “maybe maybellene,” written as a love song to a man that he loves infinitely – his late, great friend, Liam Steffler.

“maybe maybellene” is a stark, earnest folk number which centres around Trumpour’s evocative lyrics, blending optimism and the reality of addiction. “Ain’t we here after all?” Trumpour sings as slide guitar and gentle drums join him. 

Singer-songwriter Daniel James McFadyen began his musical journey by playing at small, bustling pubs in and around the Annapolis Valley. After touring Nova Scotia extensively in 2019, Daniel’s music began to gain publicity and popularity. His upbeat and captivating storytelling mixed with his interactive performances has made him a crowd favourite across the province.

Daniel’s debut album “August, I’m Yours” was released earlier this month. 

“On this fog filled morning, the smell of leaves fill your throat, I saw you leaving you took your bag and you took your coat” 

These are Daniel’s favourite lyrics from the album. He expands below:

“I think that these lines sum up the feeling of the end of summer. There’s a new smell in the air and everything feels a bit crisper. You can start to see your breath and there’s a sense of abandonment. Summer always goes by so quickly in Canada and you always feel that you didn’t take advantage of the time you had.”