Drawing from her twin passions for Americana and classic soul, Charissa weaves new, original stories that are at times gleefully hopeful, tearfully heartbreaking, and always a perfect blend of modern and timelessness.

“People Like You” was written in honor of Charissa’s late friend in hopes of shining a light on positivity and love. “Sometimes when we go through hard times, I think we can forget the impact we have on people’s lives, so it’s a reminder that we are all special in this world. Even when you feel small, I hope you know that you matter.”

Hailing from the Royal City of Guelph, ON, Royal Castles are the power trio of Katrin Sawatzky, Jordan Gabriel and AJ Johnson (Juno-nominated Cuff the Duke). The three-piece take influence from the bands of their formative years, delivering pounding drums, crunchy guitars and a healthy dose of wooly bass.

Last year, Royal Castles released a song called “Frickin Pretty” on their sophomore album, Just The Hits. Now, they’ve taken that same song and are sharing the German follow-up/re-release to this banger, where drummer Katrin Sawatzky has taken over lead vocals and translated them into her native tongue – introducing “Frickin Wünderschonon.” 

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Since their inception, Colour Tongues have taken hits and weathered storms, both literally and figuratively, and they’re still alive to tell the story. Coming from a variety of influences and life journeys, the band has survived mountain blizzards, floods and car crashes to bring you dreamy and high-energy nostalgic rock.

“Ashgrove” is named after a small suburb outside of Brisbane, Australia and represents a place where you learned to sink, or to swim, and came into your own as an adult. Their latest single conjures up memories of fleeting romances, lessons learned the hard way, and the exhilarating adventure that being a teenager brings.

Aladean Kheroufi, Canadian by way of Algeria, is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and DJ based in Edmonton. He writes songs that are idiosyncratic, soulful and devastating with a glass half full optimism that turns heartbreak into melancholy party anthems.

“Love! … (is the answer)” is a new ballad in line with Aladean’s espoused ideology. Velvet vocals, a playful swing to the drums, and intimate exchanges between guitar and keyboard tease at yearnings which harmonizing backing vocals satisfy with exultation. This isn’t a simple love song sharing romantic feelings for just one person, this is a grand gesture that declares love for everyone. This is therapy, philosophy, and a recipe to get through hard times. 

The video portrays love in a beautiful way: an afternoon basketball game, at home karaoke, spending time at the studio, a backyard concert all with people who Aladean cares deeply about. 

Josh Ramsay is ready for his foray into his solo music career. The Marianas Trench frontman indulged himself during isolation by writing songs in as many different genres as possible. 

The new single is “Best of Me,” a country song featuring the Canadian country singer, Dallas Smith. “The challenging part for me was that I don’t sound like a country singer…” said Ramsay. “I went back and did it over and over, trying to get it to a place that felt country but still felt authentically like me.”

While the song might initially come off as angsty, but at its heart, it’s really about having hope that your hesitancy about not being able to move on from your relationship might mean that there could be some unresolved feelings there. 

“Before we got married, there was a time when my wife and I were split up,” said Ramsay. “I felt like I couldn’t successfully be with anyone else because the best parts of me were still wrapped up in her. This proved to be very true for both of us – and we got back together and got married in the end.”

Immersive Instrumentalist MAYSUN explores the relationship between the temporality and spatiality of sound. Using sounds from real life environments and transforming them into musical tones to be used in the creation of soundscapes, MAYSUN channels his feelings, experiences, and wishes. 

His new album, Wanderlust II, will be released on February 14th. Drawing from his previous works, the tracks on Wanderlust II revisit earlier themes, the same way that memories can seem to condense over time. 

The first single, “An Opening,” captures the feeling of accepting new opportunities, and to trust the process and take a leap of faith. This song also highlights how MAYSUN takes advantage of the duality between rhythms and ambient sounds, drums vs. textures. 

The ambience of MAYSUN’s living space is preserved within the album. Recorded on a shared kitchen table, underwater in the bathtub, and even making use of the stove with temporary tape loop installations, MAYSUN worked quickly, impulsively recording ideas as soon as they came up. 

“My music stems from my life events,” says MAYSUN. “In this album, I imagined myself revisiting different rooms, which represent different time frames from the past. I pictured spaces that do not physically make sense, spaces where the areas overlap each other, fade into another and collapse on themselves.”