Michele Stodart is an award-winning solo artist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in London. Born in Trinidad, she spent her early years surrounded by Caribbean music and culture, until she and her family moved to Queens, New York where she spent a large part of her childhood. Michele is best known as bassist, vocalist and co-songwriter of Mercury-nominated, double-platinum selling band, The Magic Numbers, who have released five critically acclaimed studio albums with top ten singles. Her third solo studio album, Invitation, will be released on Sept. 15. 

The final single from the LP is “Push & Pull.” It’s a play on words – there is always a rhythmical push (ahead of the beat) and pull (slightly behind), when playing music. On an emotional level (inside of one’s body) the push and pull is a feeling of being torn, pulled in many different directions. This part of the album touches on motherhood, the responsibilities and sometimes guilt that comes with and around being a single mum.

There is a cinematic experience that happens with the music arrangements on this song. There are crossover rhythms, creating a heartbeat atmosphere around the conversational lyrics which build in intensity and sudden relief. The soaring melody line of both violin and piano breaks through and sings – creating that yearning musical pull. 

The songs on Invitation come from a place of inviting in the darkness, the hard times, the sadness, anger, loss, love and grief – all of the unknown feelings that get woken up inside you. To practice staying with them, no matter how uncomfortable. To understand that they are trying to tell you something, and that ultimately it’s ok to feel these emotions, even if you can’t make any sense of them.

Raised in the small town of Hopeville, Ontario, Rachael Bawn knew she was destined to be a singer before she even can remember. Discovering her voice as a songwriter and developing a core message to help other young women took a bit of time as she weathered life lessons. And now, a few years after the release of Bawn’s debut album, signing a recording and publishing deal in America with BMG New York, and later parting ways with the record label, her innate talent and positive persona are aligned with a melodic missive primed for the masses.

Teaming up with songwriter Rosanne Baker Thornley, and producer Ben Pelchat, Bawn has co-written powerful new songs with an overarching theme of truth-telling. They confront the toxic side of social media (“Snapshot”), inspire courage for the inevitable hard things in life, and encourage listeners to slow down and not allow the busyness of life to overwhelm.

“Snapshot” in particular is about the social media paradox and its negative effects. “We use it to feel connected but we end up doom scrolling, comparing ourselves to others, and end up feeling more lonely and bad about ourselves,” says Bawn.

Dead Levee is a 4-piece old-school, no-nonsense rock band consisting of members Tayler “Izzy” Morgan, Ray Klapatiuk, Rylan “Buck” Dusyk, and Preston Laschuk. Their aggressive, organic, and attitude-driven style harkens back to the high energy rock of the late 60’s with the attitude of 90’s rock. 

Playing alongside established bands such as Chilliwack, The Trews, Monster Truck, The Lazys, The Wild!, Econoline Crush and touring coast to coast for hundreds of shows, they are no stranger to the stage. Dead Levee’s worked with renowned producers Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Nickelback, Alice Cooper), Kevin Dietz (The Glorious Sons, JJ Wilde) and Noah Mintz (Arkelles, Billy Talent, Matt Mays, Death From Above 1979).

On their latest offering “Love & Misery,” the group delivers a polished arena rock sing-along wall of sound that chugs with howling swirling guitars in an ode to a toxic but passionate relationship. 

“In the case of this song, it’s about a relationship where the sex outweighs the obvious toxicity. Even though the peers around you can all see how bad it is, they don’t know how good it gets.”

Mitchell Makoons (he/him) is a Roots/Rock musician from Brandon, Manitoba. Mitchell started playing guitar at the age of seven to accompany his grandfather and brother playing Metis fiddle tunes. He continues to be an active member of the Manitoba Metis community and writes songs that incorporate traditional Ojibway music and culture with modern influences.

Under his legal name of Mitchell Mozdsen, he released five EPs accompanied by their own Western Canadian tour. In early 2021, he decided to change his stage name to something that nodded to his Ojibway heritage. Makoons is an Anishinaabemowin word that means “Little Bear or Bear Cub.” Since Mitchell Mozdzen’s spirit name is “Standing Strong Black Bear,” and he is only 5’5, this name is perfectly fitting.

Anytime Mitchell was feeling low while pursuing his first Bachelor’s degree at Brandon University, it was the same three friends that helped him out of it and made him feel better. New single, “Cold Coffee,” was written to show his appreciation for them. Privileged to still have these folks in his life, the trio still play in his band today – Matt on bass, Daniel on lead guitar, and Caitlin on the fiddle. 

On her sixth album, singer-songwriter Norma MacDonald explores new songwriting tactics, reimagines old demos, and conducts sound experimentations that expand her folk and country influences into 60s pop, Motown harmonies, and jangly early millennium indie-rock. 

“The Heart Wants” was actually a song that was written back in 2011. However, it never fit in with her release at the time (her third album, Morning You Wake). Over the years, MacDonald tried rearranging and producing the song in different ways but it didn’t seem right. Luckily, MacDonald’s band and producer Dan Ledwell didn’t give up on it and saw her vision through, capturing that dreamy sound that kept slipping through their fingers until now. 

The upcoming album In Waves (Oct 27) takes listeners through the seasons, starting with winter. MacDonald wrote the bulk of the track list during lockdown in which she and partner Chad Peck (of indie-shoegaze trio Kestrels) would challenge each other to write three songs in three hours to combat their anxieties and Netflix tedium. 

Alternative pop artist ROKI started writing and producing music at a young age as a creative outlet, and later headed up multiple bands. After taking a brief hiatus from music to pursue her love of filmmaking, she returned, producing new tracks with Ben Kaplan (Mother Mother) and Winston Hauschild (Wanting Qu). During the process of recording her debut solo album, MOTHER, she experienced the greatest changes and challenges of her life: becoming a mother while losing her own. The latter spun her into a darker state, and unsure how to process her grief she poured herself into her music. 

Looking forward, ROKI will be releasing a song every couple months until early 2024 when her EP Lovable drops. This EP heralds a new era of sound for ROKI – dreamier, brighter, “loved up” and hopeful for new possibilities. 

The lead single, “The One,” is about watching the person you love hold back the hurt in their life and bear it on their own to save you from feeling it too. ROKI wanted to write this song to reassure those individuals that it’s okay to feel hurt because that’s part of being human, and you should feel comfortable sharing those feelings with your partner. Whatever the reason for hurt may be, your loved ones will be here for you. 

“For these next few songs, this little era of music is definitely brighter than I usually write and release,” says ROKI. “My EP is called Lovable, which sums up this batch of songs pretty well I’d say. We are all lovable, and they are written from a place of peace, happiness, love or wanting to make a relationship work.”