Over the past decade, JoJo Worthington has emerged as a distinctive presence in creative Canadian music, pairing deftly penned songs with spectacular sonic landscapes. Having wandered through the “lost, enchanted forest” (Bandcamp, New & Noteworthy) of 2016’s breakthrough album, \\, and sailed the seas of her epic avant-pop odyssey TCYK, BAPTIZED I sees this visionary songcrafter adorning her armour, grabbing her sword, and beginning a quest towards the divine.

The thunderous song, “Win Butler,” is a cacophony of feelings. It’s about the juxtaposition of wanting to succeed in the music industry and make art, while there are adverse and tragic events happening everyday, all around JoJo. Over the pandemic, it felt like the last thing anyone needed was more music.

When JoJo was in high school, she loved Arcade Fire (and still does), and she romanticized moving to Montreal to make amazing music. When she did finally move there, she was living downtown, and was heartbroken by the housing crisis and how many people were living on the streets here. Pursuing her dreams seemed like an incredibly selfish and insignificant thing to do, while people outside her apartment were just trying to get their basic needs met. The lyrics are inspired by some of the conversations she’s had with those people, and the conflict she felt as she pursues a career in music in this broken world.

The song ends with the sound of a tape being stretched, stomped, and ripped apart, to emulate producer Will Crann’s idea of the sound of God picking up the song and crumpling it up. 

“The song is not really about Win Butler personally. I have nothing against him whatsoever,” says JoJo. “I honestly really hope he listens to it. I just wanted to call the song that because of my love for Arcade Fire’s music and how much it impacted me growing up. I wanted to move to Montreal, be in a 10 piece stadium art rock band and live the dream.”

BAPTIZED I finds JoJo making sense of her surroundings by looking inwards and going deep. On one hand, this means looking back and reconsidering formative memories and intimate relationships; on the other, it means looking critically at the present: seeing the local outcomes of ubiquitous housing crises, systemic racism, and mass misinformation. Through unprecedented vulnerable songs, Worthington works to make sense of what has happened, find spiritual purpose, and strive towards wisdom. 

Up and coming alt-rockers, Rebelle, of Wakefield, Québec, are sharing “Head On Fire,” a raw and angsty call to take a stand for yourself and reject a toxic relationship.

This energetic and cathartic rock track calls out an individual for their games, declaring “I’m going to shed some light expose the lies you’ve submersed.” 

Recorded during the chaotic and frustrating period of March 2020 in Toronto with producer Anton Delost, “Head On Fire” is an electrifying and assertive show of strength.

Queens County Roots is home to the blues rock songs of New York City-based guitarist Marlon Hurt. Collaborating with Jesse Maxwell, Hurt has created “Feed The Hungry,” harnessing the age-old metaphor of love as sustenance.

Jesse Maxwell’s vocals lead this track into an R&B vein, complete with ethereal and yearning lyrics, such as, “I have a thirst that I can’t seem to quell by drinking deeply from a wishing well.”

Undercurrents of neo-soul, prog, and major key blues rock flesh out this soaring and eclectic track.

“Feed The Hungry” is taken from The Moon Sessions, Queens County Roots and Maxwell’s collaborative EP, which features a collection of songs that deal with intolerable situations.

There is an uplifting quality to this music, approaching difficult topics with a positive outlook and clear-eyed vision.

GRAMMY Award-winning producer and multi-platinum selling electronic dance music icon Afrojack and innovative House music duo Black V Neck have combined forces to create the hit single, “Day N Night.” The addictive House track features vocals by Muni Long, MTV’s Global PUSH Artist of the year and one of the most buzzworthy artists in R&B today. 

“Day N Night” is now available on all digital streaming platforms HERE . 

Listen via Spotify: 

“Day N Night” is a powerful, energizing track with an addictive bassline that leaves audiences craving more after each listen. The dream collaboration of Afrojack, Black V Neck, and Muni Long highlights every aspect of each artist’s talent, and in combination with the rhythmic, pounding production, fans can’t help but be transported into the heart of a colorful dance music festival. Black V Neck have collaborated with Afrojack numerous times in the past, including their collaborative single “To The Floor.” On top of the elite production, Muni’s vocals add a perfect vibrance and life to the track’s already uplifting sound.

Afrojack has produced some of the biggest hits in the past decade, and cemented his legacy as one of the top names in dance music culture. In late July he released his surprise EP ‘Afrojack Presents NLW,’ an 8 track project that returned to his club roots. Earlier in July, he teamed up with R3HAB for their first collaboration in a decade with “Worlds On Fire,” released through Tomorrowland Music ahead of their back-to-back performance at Tomorrowland Belgium.

Afrojack also announced a partnership deal with Universal Music Group in July for all his future releases and all the releases on his record label WALL Recordings. Prior to that in March, Afrojack and David Guetta released an all star cross-genre collaboration featuring Missy Elliott, BIA, and Doechii, “Trampoline,” which can be found HERE. The Dutch musician started the year with his fourth GRAMMY nomination, this time, and for the first time, for Best Dance Recording for his inspiring dance pop crossover Summer song “Hero” alongside David Guetta. 

Long time friends, Ian and Julian came together in 2017 to form the innovative and original House music duo, Black V Neck. They have released popular songs such as “Sex, Drugs, Alcohol,” which has collected over 21 million streams globally. With the support of underground artists such as Claude VonStroke, Chris Lake, Green Velvet, Lee Foss, and Shiba San, the duo has appeared and collaborated on festival performances, club sets, and radio shows worldwide with some of the biggest names in dance music like, Afrojack, Dipo, Marshmello, Tchami and DJ Snake, to name a few. They have released remixes for tracks by David Guetta, Afrojack, Salvatore Ganacci, John Summit, Tommy Trash, and Walker & Royce, and worked with numerous record labels such as on Sink or Swim, Repopulate Mars, Confession, Insomniac Records, and OWSLA.

One of the most streamed and buzzworthy artists in R&B today, Muni Long has exploded with the success of the certified platinum #1 urban and rhythmic breakthrough smash “Hrs And Hrs.” The hit single has netted over 200 million streams, has reached the Top 5 of Apple Music, and #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Muni has performed on NBC’s The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, was named the MTVs Global PUSH Artist of the month in June, named to iHeart Radio’s ‘On The Verge’ program, BET Amplified, YouTube’s Artist On The Rise, Spotify Frequency Artist, Snapchat Artist to Watch, and Amazon Breakthrough Artist of the Month.

Singer-songwriter Taylor Grey has released her catchy new single “Idiot,” available on all music streaming platforms today. The indie pop songstress’ latest track describes the trials and tribulations of  a rocky, dysfunctional  relationship in the modern age as she realizes she’s better off post break-up. Last month, Taylor released her first single in 2 years, “Ever Knew Me,” as she continues to lead up to plans for a fuller release later this year.

Immediately drawn into the edginess of the song’s pop rock rhythms in combination with bold riffs of the electric guitar that align perfectly to her emotive and empowering lyrics, listeners can deeply sense the raw feelings and sensitivities behind “Idiot.” The song starts with a steady pop rhythm, accompanied by Grey’s lyrics of “guessing” what the truth really means in her relationship. As the intensity of her words build, so does the song’s indie pop rock styled energy that ascends with her lyrical expressions. Her words perfectly capture the passion of experiencing a relationship with flawed love; one which turns down a bumpy road before you realize you have the strength to move on as you take your power back.

“Idiot is about leaving a relationship and that person in turn gaslighting you and weaponizing your past – especially your mental health – against you; insisting that you would be crazy to leave, that no one else could love you,” says Grey. This song basically says, “Okay, I would rather be every single name you call me than be with you.” If it‘s “stupid” to leave you, I guess I’m just an idiot, was my take. 

The accompanying music video for “Idiot” visualizes situations that capture the meaning behind Grey’s emphasis on anything being better than her past relationships. The inspiration for this video strongly models the moody angst of a young relationship in the early adult years, but uses scenes embodying the words described in her lyrics to share her sense of frustration, sensitivity and hope for brighter days ahead. The final scene of “Idiot” encapsulates the unfiltered emotions throughout the song with a dark, rainy street setting as Taylor walks into the middle of the scene and lets the rain wash away the pain of her past and looks towards her future. 

In 2017, Taylor released her first studio album Space Case via her standing relationship with Kobalt Music Group and won two Independent Music Awards. The 12-track release featured a notable collaboration with The Vamps’ Brad Simpson. The same year Taylor revealed the Indie-Ballad single “Poison,” which further showcased the playful yet meaningful side of her writing and on-stage presence. A gifted songwriter and talented performer, she provides pristinely produced tracks with enrapturing vocals that surround each piece. Taylor’s 2018 project, her self-titled EP GREY,  was produced by Oliver “Oligee” Goldstein (Foster the People, Ellie Goulding) with executive producer Josh Abraham (Thirty Seconds to Mars, Weezer, P!nk). The release was featured on Official Spotify playlists, and supported by Just Jared, iHeartRadio, among other high profile outlets.

Taylor has toured internationally with Why Don’t We in late 2019, and has shared the stage with Walk the Moon, Fall Out Boy, Sabrina Carpenter, The Vamps, Flo Rida, Jake Miller, and more. Driven by an intricate sound that is vibrant, seductive, classy, and distinctive, Taylor is quickly paving her way in the music industry.  With several releases slated for the upcoming months, she’s going full-steam ahead in her musical endeavors with 2022 gearing up to be Taylor’s biggest year yet.

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