After a tumultuous experience in the music industry, Kim Ho almost quit music entirely. He took time to recharge, pursue other interests, and ultimately it led him back to writing music. 

Kim’s solo music project, Apollo Lovely combines the old school soul and R&B that Kim loved as a young kid with the pop sensibility of his previous band, Creature. The self-titled album Apollo Lovely is the cool older brother – smoother, and just a little more laid back. The music has an upbeat and sultry swagger that is perhaps a reflection of Kim’s new found confidence and freedom as an independent artist.

The latest single, “Catch Me,” is about a cat and mouse relationship that is not necessarily healthy, but both people are still not able to end the relationship. 

Kim explains: “This song is about a person I was seeing several years ago. She was a bit of a princess and was used to always getting everything she wanted. I was never really committed to the relationship and would often remind her of our ‘it’s not serious’ status, but that would only make her want me more. And the more she wanted me, the more I pushed her away.”

“When recording the song, I thought of a cat,” said Kim. “A cat will often come close to you to be pet, but stay just at the edge of your reach. So I sang it with a teasing and aloof delivery. I was trying to give the song a coy and playful feeling.”

Okabe is the creation of Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Kevin Okabe. After traveling the world and discovering his own unique sound that blends elements of blues, rock, jazz, and alternative pop, he settled down in Toronto to pursue his solo career as an artist. 

Okabe’s new single, “Blue Was The Feeling,” is a crunchy rock and hip-hop influenced track that deals with feelings of being lost in life and confused about where your place in the world is. It’s his favourite track he’s released so far because it really represents his originality as a songwriter. 

The main riff of the song was something that Okabe always had in his back pocket as something that he envisioned as a hip-hop beat for someone else. Eventually, the melody fell into place as he kept toying with the main riff. 

“I think that everyone feels some degree of doubting their place in the world or where they are at in their lives at some point, but I wanted to write about that in a way that didn’t seem so depressing,” said Okabe. “You know that ‘stank face’ you make when you hear a really crunchy groove? That’s the feeling I’m trying to elicit in listeners.”

After 15 years as the co-creator and co-lead vocalist of Running Red Lights, Scarlett Flynn is stepping into the spotlight for her solo debut. She unveils lead single “Sour in the Sun” from forthcoming EP, Living is Hell, through which she pushes herself forward into unexplored creativity despite a high sea of insecurities so honestly on display in her lyrics.

“I was a begetter, a creator, a hustler and a health nut and then COVID happened and I fell under the thumb of the addict, the saboteur, the loafer and the self-hater. ‘Sour in the Sun’ is as honest as I can get to the recounting of my struggle to fight the worst parts of my nature,” Flynn reveals. 

The debris of old wounds, self-doubts and fears of irrelevance all orbit around the core of Flynn’s music, a spiritual sister to art pop feminists like Beth Gibbions (Portishead), Fiona Apple and St. Vincent.

Based out of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Carleton Stone is an award-winning artist, a songwriter with a growing list of credits, and a founding member of the group Port Cities. 

Ahead of his new solo release this June 2022, Stone has shared the latest single, “Papercut.” Written with collaborators Mo Kenney and Kayleigh O’Connor, it’s upbeat with a driving acoustic guitar part like a Tom Petty song, but the darker lyrics juxtapose the music. The title “Papercut” encapsulates the emotions of the character in this song –  obviously not very happy with his current situation, he seems to be going through the motions in a life that isn’t completely terrible, but just slightly painful and annoying like a “Papercut.”

On New Year’s Eve 2021, Justin Wiesinger took a leap of faith to pursue a full time career in pop music and songwriting. He is thrilled to grab this year by the horns and show the world what it looks like to be a passionate dealer in hope through energetic collaborations with other up-and-coming artists and producers. Justin is armed with a chest full of catchy tunes he plans to release over the year, and backed by an amazing team of friends to support his pursuits in becoming a household name and inspiring thousands of young people.

The hopefully melancholic new single, “FOMO,” released under the name WIESINGER, encompasses the fear of missing out everyone felt during the pandemic. Instead of loving people and using things, we found ourselves using people and loving things. We all bought an air fryer and collected possessions in order to feel that hole that only connection with others and community can fill.

Mary Clements is a singer-songwriter based out of Hamilton, ON, who uses her music to explore the world around her. Rooted in piano and voice, her songs can sometimes sound like indie-folk, pop, classical or even country. Her sincere vocals combined with the textures of her production create an experience that is simple and authentic. New single, “Farmer Song,” was written from the perspective of a son who is contemplating whether or not he is willing and even capable of taking over his family’s farm from his father. Filmed, directed and edited by Clements on a family farm in Ontario, the video shows the song’s main character’s expression light and happy as he thinks about his family memories contrasted with the heaviness of the consideration to let the farm go.