Snez is the artist name of Ezra Mendel, a hip hop artist from the Annapolis Valley, NS. Snez‘s versatile fusion of elements from rock and pop with hip hop and rap are key aspects of his style. As a young teen, he dropped his first two singles which immediately garnered attention in his home town and would be asked to freestyle at parties, leading to being referred to as the “Jewish kid who can actually rap.” He is currently building his local and online audience and working on his first full-length release.

Snez exudes a chameleon-type prowess of musical artistry, showcasing many different styles of hip-hop that heavily emphasizes lyrical ability, cadence and delivery. He strives to combine elements from different genres like rock, pop-punk and country. Snez shares similarities with SonReal, Mac Miller, Logic and Futuristic. Versatility is a key factor to his craft and this encapsulates his identity as a creative.

The inspiration for new single, “Never Enough,” comes from Snez‘s regular inner back-and-forth dialogue about his struggle with substance abuse, pride, overthinking and self-worth. He also opted out of working with a professional producer to record, mix and master the track themselves to add a personal and unpolished feel to the raw lyrics.

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

I have been working on this song as sort of a back-burner project for about a year now, but recently got the inspiration to finish it after a careless mistake led me to fall back into an old routine. 

I believe that the self-questioning nature of the lyrics could be validating to someone struggling with substance abuse, pride, overthinking or self-worth. While writing the lyrics for Never Enough I felt that this inner dialogue could be visually represented in a cool way, so I knew there had to be a video to go with it. 

Self-questioning nature of the lyrics

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

For quite some time I struggled with substance abuse issues, and I found it interesting that even when I got sober I had these two conflicting instincts, or personalities around whether I could stay clean or keep using. I wanted this video to visually represent that fight for control, and how easy it is to fall back into old patterns. 

3. What was the process of making this video?

I was planning a single release a few years ago while in high school and I heard from a friend that there was a kid at school who had video editing skills, so I hit him up and we made a music video. I looked super awkward on camera, neither of us had any idea what we were doing while filming, and the whole video was shot behind a local Canadian Tire, but the editing was fantastic. Shoutout to Josh Cummins (@jc_inc__ on Instagram). When I decided I wanted to shoot a video for the new single Never Enough I knew that I wanted Josh to edit the video. I learned after contacting him that he was in film school and had been working on his skills, so I figured what the hell, he killed it with the last one, so why not have him shoot, direct, and edit?

After talking with Josh about the sentiments around the lyrics for the song, he came up with the idea to have me turn blue to represent the fight for control, and I was sold. It fits the vibe of the song, and a line in the hook is “I’m feeling blue again,” so it just made sense. 

We shot the whole video in a day (which was more than enough time spent covered in blue paint, thank you very much) with the help of my girlfriend who stars in the video as the black-eyed demon lady, and my friends, who starred in a couple 

Louis Armstrong was once asked what his favorite kind of music was, and his response was simple; “good music.” Petunia & the Vipers‘ sound may not sit comfortably in one certain genre, but “good music” describes it well. Hank Williams on acid… Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s Hobo junction… Avant-Country night club scene music… One of the best bands in the world today, of any kind… A new music that springboards off of music of the past and jumps into the present day, left with only echoes of the past… Something in between 1920’s and steampunk. It’s good for your mind… These are just a few of the words uttered by folks around the globe trying to pin down a description of all that is Petunia & the Vipers.

Inspired by reading a book on Billy the Kid, an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21, Petunia & the Vipers‘ new single, “Billy the Kid,” is written to portray Billy in a good light, as an underdog. Punching with horns, and a train steady tempo, the single transports you to a wild era.

Hey Melissa, hope you enjoy the long weekend ahead!

Louis Armstrong was once asked what his favorite kind of music was, and his response was simple; “good music.” Petunia & the Vipers‘ sound may not sit comfortably in one certain genre, but “good music” describes it well. Hank Williams on acid… Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s Hobo junction… Avant-Country night club scene music… One of the best bands in the world today, of any kind… A new music that springboards off of music of the past and jumps into the present day, left with only echoes of the past… Something in between 1920’s and steampunk. It’s good for your mind… These are just a few of the words uttered by folks around the globe trying to pin down a description of all that is Petunia & the Vipers.

Inspired by reading a book on Billy the Kid, an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21, Petunia & the Vipers‘ new single, “Billy the Kid,” is written to portray Billy in a good light, as an underdog. Punching with horns, and a train steady tempo, the single transports you to a wild era.

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

The story of the song follows the storyline, historically speaking, of the famous outlaw known as Billy the Kid. The story of making the video is one of just doing it off the cuff (see below).

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

The visuals were inspired from the campground setting (see below). The video storyline basically follows the song lyrics chronologically. The “ghost” visuals were a result of the trench coat and cowboy hat that I generally have with me wherever and whenever I go camping.

3. What was the process of making this video?

Candice Roberts made the video. Her and I were camping out at the Goldpan campground in the high desert around Lytton, BC, Canada (the town that later burnt down in the extreme heat of the summer while a spark from a passing train purportedly started the fire that burned the town right to the ground).

The Thompson river flows right by the campground (pictured in the video), and not much further along, joins up with the mighty Fraser river.

This setting in and of itself, inspired the shooting of the video which was very lucky at the time. The campground has since flooded, the groundwater there and the grounds poisoned (lead poisoning I think). The campground is now permanently closed. So had we not shot the video on the spur of the moment, when we did, it would not have later been possible.

Canadian instrumental band, Nok Novum, are embracing their diverse range of influences and dynamism as a progressive metal group on their long awaited sophomore album, II. Recorded over several years, II finds the band leaning into the production value of their 2015 singles, while reflecting the creativity of the writing seen in their 2012 debut, a fusion of 70s progressive rock, jazz-fusion, and heavy metal.

II features the sinister and wide ranging focus track, “Ominous Kyle,” which is energizing as much as it is unnerving.

This is a good one to head bang to if you’re into that! “Ominous Kyle” is that frightening figure that plays a recurring role in your nightmares. He’s haunting, morbid, terrifying, and you just can’t shake him out. The track was written as a stream of energetic passages punctuated with a motif that’s hammering nature draws you in early in the track and repeats throughout. Tonally, this track has an eerie, nightmarish quality.  – Brady Mason, drummer and co-founder of Nok Novum

Though much of Toronto rock band A Short Walk to Pluto’s success is owed to their social media engagement, it is their genre-defying original music and energetic live performances that have generated a loyal, consistent, and far reaching following. This young and professional-sounding foursome is prepared to deliver a show that concert goers will remember for a lifetime. 

Unique and cathartic new single, “Outcast,” is a tribute to Canadian Rock heroes. Written in the style of Rush, The Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette, and Big Wreck, this song pays tribute to a long history of Canadian rock music. Lyrically, the song has undergone many iterations with the final version being an expression of depression due to social ostracization and the feeling of loneliness in a relationship.

“Outcast” has no silver lining, no positive message, and no inspiring ending. It is simply an expression of pain through loneliness. We hope this song brings comfort in that everyone experiences loneliness from time to time but through art, one can ease the pain of feeling outcast.

Henry Taylor is a Kitchener-Waterloo, ON based singer-songwriter with five studio albums under his belt and recent co-writing credits with award-winning songwriters in Nashville, TN. Henry’s music is mostly considered Americana – a mix of rock, blues, folk, and country. He’s currently working on his sixth studio album between Kitchener-Waterloo and Nashville where he and longtime songwriting partner and lyricist Monique Montgomery are co-writing with renowned Nashville songwriters Cory Lee Barker, Mark Barnowski, and Ri’chard Trest. 

Latest single, “I’ve Got The Guns,” is an upbeat and playful romantic track. “This song is clearly about Henry,” says Montgomery. “He’s often trying to impress me with his manly physique, and he is quite a manly specimen. I thought I would poke a little fun, since he’s also very tender and gentlemanly. I guess we all want to be appreciated for more than just ‘the guns’ – but, in the end, you’ve got to show off your most impressive assets.”

Ways in Waves is the brainchild of Brian Raine, a multi-instrumentalist and music producer living out of Edmonton, Alberta. With malleable form and the spirit of experimentation at its core, the group began as a live duo, and eventually expanded to a five-piece live band with Raine picking up vocals as well as guitar and keys parts. 

Their upcoming album is set for release next month (September 2024) and combines aspects of rock, art-pop, and electronic music together into a mixture that propels the listener through controlled chaos. With drums engineered by Quinn Cyrankiewicz of Royal Tusk and performed by Joel Joeske of Whale and the Wolf, the newest releases from Ways in Waves (including “Who in War,” “Everything Taken,” and “Ovum Nova”) are explosive and driven while maintaining an ethereal backdrop. 

Latest single, “Death of Others,” was written in the midst of Raine losing several platonic relationships. 

There’s a lot of breakup songs out there, but most of those are about romantic relationships. The feelings that came out of feeling this distance growing between myself and people I used to love was very painful, and made me contemplate just… starting over, imagining leaving everything and everyone behind and beginning life again as a new person, with no ties to anyone or anything. – Brian Raine