“I imagine us as a rock band, trapped inside of a nightclub,” says frontman Harry Parsons of the Newfoundland rave punk band Ctrl+V (pronounced paste). After more than a decade of being a drummer in touring bands, he began to experiment with making electronic music. Along with co-writer/producer Sweetboy Music, the songwriting soon began to flow, and the pair began shaping their sound, influenced by darkwave, hard rock, and a dash of punk.

Their debut EP, Prequels, is dark, yet optimistic. Mysterious yet fun. The bittersweet opening track, “Apple Blue,” sets the mood with a feeling of isolation and loneliness. “The title puts me in a neo-noir film headspace. It’s like a David Lynch version of a heavy song,” says Parsons.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?

Apple Blue was the 2nd song that Ctrl+V ever wrote. It’s a personal and a fan favourite, so I wanted to put together a little visual piece for it. For me, the song was evoking some imagery of constantly falling through space. I had envisioned the idea of the Ctrl+V text falling down the screen, basically like falling cards. It took a little while to find a motion graphics designer, but we eventually found Michael Speed, through the powers of the internet. We noticed that he had worked with Interpol, which we thought was pretty cool. After some discussion with him, he can back with basically the final version of the video. Instead of the Ctrl+V simply falling straight down the screen, Michael had the idea of giving some other types of directional movement around the screen, to spice things up a little extra. He also came up with the really awesome looking flashes of the Dusk Rider mask on the screen, during some key moments of the song. 

2.What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

My idea of the falling cards was basically the main inspiration for the video. I really wanted to emphasize the Ctrl+V logo, and make sure it was a very repetitive element of the video. I also related to Michael that I often enjoy when some colors are meshed together, which would not traditionally go together. I put together a mood board with some pictures that demonstrated this, and it certainly helped inspire how the video turned out.

3.What was the process of making this video?

The making of the Apple Blue video was done completely by distance. We are in Canada, and Michael is England. But it was very simple, in general. Just a few emails back and forth. We had come up with a Mood Board, which we shared with Michael, to help establish a color palette, and overall vibe for the video. He took that and ran with it, which is how we ended up with the nice orange and blue theme for the chorus part of the song.
This road to glossy and gritty darkwavey goodness was augmented by producers/mixers John Fryer and Mark Needham (who mixed the The Killers’ debut album, Hot Fuss) and the guidance of Ted Sablay (touring guitarist with The Killers), giving the songs a slick and heavy delivery.

Matías Roden is a Peruvian-Canadian singer-songwriter living in Vancouver, BC. After performing in cover bands and writing for others in the city’s indie pop scene (including landing college radio play for one of his cuts), Matías began developing his own material as an artist. Drawing from classic British synth-pop combined with a modern, sample-based production sensibility and unflinchingly personal lyrics, Matías wrote and produced over a dozen demos in his makeshift bedroom studio. Those caught the attention of acclaimed singer/songwriter/producer Louise Burns and shortly after he was signed to Vancouver’s Light Organ Records/604 Records.

New single, “Great Escape,” is sung from the perspective of depression itself, telling a depressed person they’ll never get over them, like a twisted love song. Written during COVID while recovering from a brain injury, Matías channeled the feelings of darkness from that time into the song’s lyrics but made sure to retain a twinge of hope in its rousing production.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?

This was the first song I wrote for my upcoming debut project as an artist. It’s a song bottling up intense feelings of wanting to get out and change your life at any cost, emotions I’d experienced all through my teenage years and early 20s, and seemed like the perfect starting point for me as an artist. As the first single and I thought it was important to have an accompanying visual that introduced me as an artist. Whenever I write a song, I usually start to picture visuals at the same time, from the artwork to the music video, and this one was no different.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

I wanted it to reflect the fast pace of the song and the paranoia and intensity of the lyrics, so me and the director, Peter Faint, came up with the idea of me running non-stop through different environments for the whole video. I’m dressed in a suit, which I thought could represent the formality and responsibilities of life (you usually only wear a suit on occasions like a job interview or a wedding), and I’m running through all these hallways, outdoors, up stairs, all these seemingly empty and abandoned places. It’s like I’m trying to run away from my own life, and that perfectly encapsulates the song.

3. What was the process of making this video?

I chose Peter Faint to direct the video because I’d seen his short films and I knew he had an amazing energy as a filmmaker. We sat down and discussed references and ideas until we arrived at the final concept. Then we had to location scout and pick an outfit that I’d be wearing as I’m running through all these different places. The actual filming took place over three days across Metro Vancouver (including apartment hallways and an outdoor park) and was quite physical and exhausting for myself and the cinematographer, Matt Sawtazky, as we’d both have to run in every take; myself towards the camera and him backwards as he filmed me. Then the editing process took place over a couple of weeks of back and forth until we were all satisfied. I’m very proud of the final video, I wanted to make something that had the same level of energy as the song but that was also very symbolic and I think we achieved that.

The official music video was shot by Peter Faint, a friend of Matías‘ who has worked as an editor on shows for Netflix, Adult Swim and others. His incredible energy as a filmmaker was exactly what Matías wanted for the propulsive song’s visuals.

Mickey Cake’s Jonny Drucker (guitar/vocals) and Graham Corrigan (bass/keys) met when they were 11 years old and played music together throughout high school and college. The band eventually morphed: Jonny and lead guitarist Brian Robertson began playing duets around Philadelphia, eventually convincing the latter’s brother Brett to join on drums. Graham brought his bass down from New York to join in, and a live set began to take shape. 

The name Mickey Cake is a nod to Jonny’s early days as a beatmaker. Their debut album, So That You Know, was made up of live takes recorded over the course of one weekend. Sadly, Brett passed away just a month after those sessions. Jonny moved to New Zealand, Graham to Los Angeles. But the music continued: their second album, The Mickey Tape, has been coalescing, slowly but surely, over the last three years. 

Mickey Cake have just released a self-titled compilation of tracks 2020’s So That You Know under Analog Machine Records. It features the energetic “Parakeet,” whose title spurs from the idea that being somebody’s pet is a cute idea, but a bit of a trap.

This album is a love story, a crescendo of adoration for an audience of one. Part plea, part sales pitch, all romance. – Graham Corrigan

Little Misty is a progressive folk band founded in Montreal, Quebec and led by Kathryn Samman (vocals) and François Jalbert (guitar). Although firmly grounded in folk music, their repertoire mixes indie and progressive rock with broader compositions. From cinematic landscapes to wailing guitar solos, the group explores a full range of musical possibilities, always searching for innovative ways to serve their story telling.

Little Misty are releasing a few songs that they recorded and filmed at their favourite studio in Montreal, Studio Mixart, including their new single, a cover of “Scarlet Town” originally performed by Gillian Welch and produced by David Rawlings. 

“This is a completely live performance by Little Misty,” states Jalbert. “We basically took a picture of what the band could deliver, without any post production. No edits, no tuning, no overdubs. What you hear was all played together as if it were a show.”

Ivytide is an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada. The story of Ivytide began as Nathan Gagné (vocals/guitar) developed a passion for making music in his teenage years, singing in his room with the door closed. Gagné was joined by Kyle Ruggiero (bass) and Jamie Snytte (guitar) to officially form the band, combining their unique influences to produce bedroom pop songs with intricate, but catchy melodies, which float on top of well-thought-out instrumentation. 

The focus track from their new debut album, portable darkroom, leaves nothing at the door. “vacant” delves into feelings of patience and self-reflection. Learning to carry personal luggage takes both time and introspection, yet the song’s uplifting feel hints at the protagonist’s moment of self-realization, choosing to leave his baggage outside where “rain will catch it.” The juxtaposition between the song’s rapped verses and falsetto choruses portrays the thoughtful disarray the protagonist finds himself in.

We do not recollect our memories in a pure way. Rather, when we reconstruct them in our minds, our portable darkroom, they are filled with artifacts, blemishes and impurities, like a photograph from a film camera gaining its color. portable darkroom provides an aperture into the band’s emotions, experiences and memories, as you hear the songs developing throughout. 

Dany Horovitz is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for delighting audiences with his memorable melodies and beautiful storytelling through vivid lyrics of love, loss, and life, drawing inspiration from ancient poets, modern philosophers, and personal experiences. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in Montreal and raised outside Toronto, Dany’s music is infused with modern takes on familiar sounds: melodic guitar and piano chords, popping bass licks, and toe-tapping percussion. 

“Roads and Roses” is about more than a break-up, it’s about making peace with breaking promises. The new single features an all-star cast of collaborators: The Strumbellas’ Izzy Ritchie on fiddle, The OBGMs’ Colanthony Humphrey on drums, Shade’s Sean Royle on bass, guitar, and keys.