MAYSUN Comes Alive with “An Opening”

Immersive Instrumentalist MAYSUN explores the relationship between the temporality and spatiality of sound. Using sounds from real life environments and transforming them into musical tones to be used in the creation of soundscapes, MAYSUN channels his feelings, experiences, and wishes. 

His new album, Wanderlust II, will be released on February 14th. Drawing from his previous works, the tracks on Wanderlust II revisit earlier themes, the same way that memories can seem to condense over time. 

The first single, “An Opening,” captures the feeling of accepting new opportunities, and to trust the process and take a leap of faith. This song also highlights how MAYSUN takes advantage of the duality between rhythms and ambient sounds, drums vs. textures. 

The ambience of MAYSUN’s living space is preserved within the album. Recorded on a shared kitchen table, underwater in the bathtub, and even making use of the stove with temporary tape loop installations, MAYSUN worked quickly, impulsively recording ideas as soon as they came up. 

“My music stems from my life events,” says MAYSUN. “In this album, I imagined myself revisiting different rooms, which represent different time frames from the past. I pictured spaces that do not physically make sense, spaces where the areas overlap each other, fade into another and collapse on themselves.”

Rosanne Baker Thornley Debuts Glorious New Single “In Paris”

Based in Toronto, Rosanne Baker Thornley is an internationally recognized, award-winning singer, and prolific songwriter. Rosanne loves that she is able to step in behind the eyes of a diverse range of artists to write their heartfelt songs, such as Justin Nozuka, Tyler Shaw, Ryland James and Colin MacDonald of The Trews.

“As my songwriting years have evolved, my writing is more grounded in writing what I know. In searching my heart and writing that. To be honest. To be vulnerable. To be brave,” she shares about her own intimate album, Sorry I’m Late, coming in the summer of 2022. The lush, expansive songs are an ode to self-discovery and the subtle-yet-profound moments of life, resulting in an unpredictable, strident and sincere album built upon strong lyricism and dynamic musicianship.

“In Paris” is the latest single, a narrative of experiencing the past, the present and the future all in one moment. On a trip to Paris with her daughter, Rosanne “realized that life is forever in motion and that it’s important to savour the journey. I remember thinking, ‘just take this all in, because it all goes by so fast. Don’t waste time pining for the past when you’re undoubtedly standing at the edge of the future.’”We think “In Paris” would be a great fit for OUTLET: 

STVB Has “Made Up My Mind”

Steve Bosch, professionally known as STVB, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Following the release of four albums and many performances with indie rock project White Lightning, he continued with the creation of the darker solo persona STVB.

Inspired by his now-fiancée, he blends trap, hip-hop, and pop in his dancey and upbeat track “Made Up My Mind” about an undeniable relationship about to unfold.

It would be great if you could share the dark and mysterious music video at OUTLET:

Nelson Sobral Comes Alive on “Dancing Fool”

For Toronto-based Nelson Sobral, when you inject Americana with a hard-edged, urban blast of gritty midwest blues, rock’n’roll, and northern soul, the genre adopts an entirely new identity, one of overpasses, subway trains, and the grit of city streets. 

On his full-length album Second Arrow (out Feb 25), Nelson’s lifelong love of country, soul and rock is woven into a sound aptly described as a torrential downpour of jubilation. The album title is “a reference to a Buddhist parable,” Sobral explains. “If someone does you harm, that’s the first arrow; but dwelling on it, that’s you causing yourself the next wave of suffering. The second arrow is the arrow that you fire upon yourself. It’s all about how you deal with things.” Listen to the full album here.

High-energy opener “Dancing Fool,about letting go of what no longer serves you, leads the charge with its bombastic chorus, raw swagger, and virtuosic guitar playing.

Victory Chimes Debut “Holiday”

Jeff Louch started his own band in 2008, Victory Chimes, after many years of playing with various Montreal rock bands.

A new album, When the Fog Rolls In, arrives on May 20th and goes down the rabbit hole of psych synth layers, sub bass drones, hypnotic hip hop drums. Inspired by solitude, lyrical colouring spans across the spectrum from the macabre to blissful fantasy, and styles stretch from narrative to stream of consciousness to absurdity. 

The characters in the single “Holiday” are isolated and in search of connection online. It’s a satirical narration of two friends going on a holiday together whose situations take a turn for the worse with quite a dark but hopefully humorous ending. “I wanted to juxtapose the apocalyptic events with a light kind of ‘50s psych beach vibe,” Jeff adds.

Stream + share “Holiday” now: https://soundcloud.com/victorychimes-743557669/sets/holiday-single-release/s-EoSKvVYUPU

John Orpheus Unveils “House of Cards”

Born and raised in South-Central Trinidad, John Orpheus is a multi-cultural musical artist and published author. For the past year and a half, he had been writing his memoir called SAGA BOY which was published by Penguin Random House Canada and Milkweed Editions in the US last year. With the book done, John decided to return to music and release a companion album entitled SAGA KING. The release of his album was the beginning of a new phase and introduced listeners to his deeply personal story. His new single being released on February 25th is his version of the Radiohead song, House of Cards.

Watch the official music video on YouTube now.

John explains the choice and direction of the song:

“I feel if you’re going to do a cover that slavishly copies the original, it’s the worst thing you could do. There’s no way you’re gonna out Radiohead Radiohead. The key is to make it your own. We wanted to do it in our style, but still hold true to the song’s inherent qualities. As with many of their songs, it is haunting with an ambivalent lyric and a subtle, yet powerful feeling, but we wanted it to be danceable, Caribbean and soulful – three things Radiohead is rarely accused of, but which perfectly speaks to what we do!”