Toronto-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Les Cooper has just shared his brand new single In The Morning, the latest single to be taken from the deluxe edition of his album Noise, which is out now.
For this song, the talented teamed up with fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Jill Barber, whose lush vocals fit beautifully with Les Cooper’s distinctive tone, creating rich and memorable harmonies that glide effortlessly over the Americana-inflected folk production. In The Morning finds Cooper and Barber inhabiting the roles of a couple who still love each other yet are in a relationship that’s breaking down. This message is backed by a deeply melodic production that incorporates lap steel guitar, as well as gentle acoustic playing and steady drum patterns that create an overall warm and intimate atmosphere.
Vancouver-based Chinese-Canadian music facilitator CNFMUS (C-INFAMOUS) has always been an avid westcoast rap/G-Funk fan. Through the years, he found that he was growing farther and further away from the genre. After accomplishing many goals in his career while abroad in Hong Kong, this new song was a way to get back to his roots and passion in music making.
This summertime groove, “Sophisticated Lady,” features vocals from songwriter/producer terrytyelee and Bo Roc from G-Funk group, The Dove Shack.
Originally, this beat was created by CNFMUS years ago in LA. He played the beat during a studio session with DJ Cell, and Bo Roc came up with the hook and harmonies immediately. Unfortunately, the laptop with the track ended up getting stolen, along with dozens of other beats and songs. However, CNFMUS couldn’t get the hook and beat of “Sophisticated Lady” out of his head and was able to recover Bo Roc’s vocals from DJ Cell to recreate the song.
Later, while visiting Taiwan, CNFMUS met with his frequent collaborator, terrytyelee. When he heard the song, there was an instant connection and he was basically able to lay down all the verses on the fly.
The artwork of this single, as well as other songs in the collection, was done by OG Joecool, the artist who was responsible for Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle album.
Ben&Ben is bursting into the American music industry with their first ever English song, “The Ones We Once Loved.” Along with their new single and an accompanied visually stunning music video, Ben&Ben is also announcing their debut North American tour. Currently the number one band in the Philippines, Ben&Ben is formed by twin duo, Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin, as well as, Poch Barretto, Keifer Cabugao, Andrew De Pano, Toni Muñoz, Pat Lasaten, Anges Reoma and Jam Villanueva.
Critically acclaimed in the Philippines, Ben&Ben has decided to bring their musical genius to the States with their debut English song, “The Ones We Once Loved.” This emotional ballad pulls on the heartstrings of all who listen, pulling them into the realm of broken young love. The flowing piano melody perfectly accompanies the passionate feelings behind the song’s lyrics. Deep, moving words paint the story of hard lessons learned from relationships that once were, and partners that were once loved. “The Ones We Once Loved” is the ultimate, sentimental goodbye between lost lovers, making it the perfect single to break-through Ben&Ben’s established fandom in the Philippines, to shattering the top charts of the U.S. music world.
Ben&Ben has mastered their own original sound of folk-pop music, which has landed them over a billion streams on Spotify and 2.6M subscribers on YouTube. They have also collaborated with American artists Us The Duo and Bernard Harvey. In addition, the band’s first album Limasawa Street was awarded a Quadruple Platinum status. Ben&Ben was nominated for the Best Southeast Asia Act at the 2020 MTV Europe Music Awards, Best Asian Band at the 2022 BandLab NME Awards, and won 8 Awit Awards, 2 MYX Awards, and 9 Wish Music Awards. They have also performed internationally, at festivals in Hong Kong, South Korea, Dubai and Singapore. Adding to the international list, Ben&Ben’s first North American tour is set to hit 8 U.S. and Canadian cities from September to October 2022. The tour will open with a send-off concert at the CCP Open Grounds in Manila, Philippines, September 3, 2022.
Aside from Ben&Ben’s long-standing record of international support and success, the band has a passion and drive for philanthropic endeavors in the community. During COVID-19, Ben&Ben started fundraising campaigns in support of students and teachers’ e-learning needs, in total raising $110,000.00 USD.
Ben&Ben LIVE on Tour 2022:
9/23 – San Francisco, CA
9/24 – Los Angeles, CA
10/1 – Calgary, AB
10/2 – Edmonton, AB
10/6 – Vancouver, BC
10/9 – Toronto, ON
10/14 – Washington DC
10/15 – New York, NY
ABOUT Ben&Ben
Ben&Ben are a folk pop/pop rock band from the Philippines. Debuting in 2015, the band consists of nine members and are currently the number one band in the Philippines. They have over a billion streams on Spotify and have performed in many music festivals all over the world including Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival 2019, Singapore Music Matters, and YouTube Fanfest. Ben&Ben have won numerous awards such as NME Awards “Best Asian Band” and Wish Music Awards “Group of the Year”. They have also been nominated for MTV Europe Music Awards “Best Southeast Asian Act”. Their debut studio album Limasawa Street was certified 4x Platinum in the Philippines.
Based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, recording and performing artist Chudi Harris has taken his distinct sound and live performance experience around Atlantic and Central Canada. With multiple EPs, singles and collaborations to his credit, this alternative R&B artist and singer-songwriter is poised to make a giant leap into the Canadian music landscape. Highlights of his young career thus far include opening for Rich Aucoin, Born Ruffians, Weaves and Lowell and collaborating with Aquakultre, T. Thomason, Ghettosocks, and Tachichi.
Written during the summer, Chudi’s new single, “How It’s Always Been,” takes direct inspiration from the season’s warm weather and fun vibes. Although the song does lean towards romantic love, it’s also influenced by the love and security that can be shared between friends and family.
Sufferin Mall is the project of Yoyo Comay, a musician and poet from Toronto. It is a space for him to explore the relationship between desire and suffering. Initially, this exploration will take the form of a musical project, Crushed, which will be released in 2022. The sound of the EP is twisted metal and spun sugar, like licking honey off of a razor blade.
The bridge of lead single “The Chase,” with its near nonsensical stream of syllables, is fine-tuned to provide maximal sonic pleasure. While poetry and pop music might seem to be at odds with one-another, these two practices are connected by Yoyo’s obsession with the sonic properties of language. In both cases, he is always looking for the sounds which hit the ear just right and are chewy in the mouth.
Yoyo is half of dream-folk duo Lottery with Elyse Parr, and a founding member of the Toronto Experimental Translation Collective. He is currently completing his Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of Toronto, where he is working on a novel which builds upon the Sufferin Mall universe.
Calgary-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Bourne is about to transport you to another era with his psychedelic new song, “Anemone Sound.”
There are a few unconventional things happening in the song, musique concrete nods with long strains of backwards cymbal and flute sampled from cassette recordings that Ryan made. There’s also these traffic sounds inspired by a transition in Mingus’ Cumbia & Jazz Fusion where all these jungle bird sounds and traditionally-inspired Cumbia elements suddenly pivot into a midtempo bebop and it feels like you’re suddenly seamlessly transported to Greenwich Village in the 50s… Ryan definitely wanted to emulate this transportive quality.
“I wanted to play with this metaphor of a lover being a siren or a sea god, a mythical psychedelic creature whose love took you through a kind of ego death,” says Ryan. “In this sense it could refer to spiritual love, spiritual transformation, the death of the old, rebirth of the new, illuminated self.”
Modern Mystery 
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