Few things give me more joy than watching my favourite local artists make it big, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Torontonians DIANA, fronted by the ridiculously talented Carmen Elle (with Joseph Shabason, Kieran Adams and Paul Mathew). Now signed to Paper Bag Records, their debut full-length album drops on August 20th, but I’ll be watching the above video for “Born Again” on repeat until then. Check them out at NXNE and on tour supporting Austra all summer.
Diana – Born Again
Tagged austra, born again, carmen elle, diana, paper bag records
Still Life Still – Burial Suit
Almost four years after their debut album’s release, Still Life Still is back this summer with their sophomore record ‘Mourning Trance’, and yesterday they released the video for brand new single ‘Burial Suit’.
“This video is a glimpse into my family’s memories: birthdays, travels, and everyday life growing up in the west end of Toronto,” says drummer Aaron Romaniuk. “(The footage was) filmed from 1960 to 1970 by my grandmother (Stella Romaniuk) and my grandfather (Paul Romaniuk) who passed away before I was born.”
Watch the video above and you can download the single for free via Arts & Crafts‘ Soundcloud, below (click through to view on their Soundcloud page, as the download link doesn’t show up in the embed)!
Donovan Woods – The Coldest State
In today’s edition of “things that make me smile…” I bring you Torontonian Donovan Woods‘ video for his song ‘The Coldest State’, featuring the best in interpretive dance moves alongside Woods’ stunning vocal.
Check out his latest album, Don’t Get Too Grand, for a collection of tunes not to be missed!
Field Mouse – Tomorrow Is Yesterday
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Field Mouse were introduced to me by their fantastic publisher, Red Brick Songs, here in Toronto. I quickly fell in love with their song ‘Glass’ (available to download via Bandcamp below!) and so was excited to see today’s release of their new video for ‘Tomorrow Is Yesterday’. Give it a watch, and stay tuned for the quartet’s debut full-length later this year.
Durango Songwriters Film & TV Showcase 2013
This past weekend I was delighted to be invited to participate in the 2013 Durango Songwriters Film & TV Showcase in Ventura, California alongside some of the best music supervisors, industry folks and songwriters in the biz. As a music supe at the event, I spent two and a half days in showcases and pitch sessions, being introduced to new musicians for use in future projects.
A million thank you’s to the Durango Songwriters team, particularly Jim Attebery, and Jessica Garey from Firefly Music for inviting me!
You will soon be able to read all about my adventures and some of my favourite tunes and artists of the weekend over at the Vapor Music Blog, but I’ve posted some of my favourite pics from the beachfront weekend below.
Photo Credit: Dianne Adamo
Posted in Music Supervision
New Music Pick – Bear Mountain
The Vancouver music scene strikes again with Bear Mountain’s EP, ‘XO’ – the debut EP from the electronic duo. Released by Last Gang Entertainment (home of Metric, Mother Mother and Crystal Castles, to name but a few!), ‘XO’ shows off the group’s ability to mix beats and builds into a fully danceable final product. Bear Mountain will be rockin’ Toronto for next month’s North by Northeast Music Festival, so check them out if you’re in town!
Download ‘XO’ on iTunes here and listen to ‘See You Through’ below!
Posted in listen, New Music Tuesday
Tagged bear mountain, last gang, last gang entertainment, last gang records, vancouver, xo
New Music Pick – Emma Louise
With so much amazing international music being released every week, sometimes it’s hard to be from North America. Despite being available in Australia and parts of Europe for a few months, the wait is now over for those of us in the US and Canada as Emma Louise’s debut album ‘Vs Head Vs Heart’ is finally here! The Aussie songstress is definitely one to watch. Check out her videos for ‘Mirrors’ and ‘Jungle’ (my favourite!) below, and download the album on iTunes here (‘Boy’ is the free single of the week in the US!).
Posted in listen, New Music Tuesday
Tagged australia, boy, emma louise, frenchkiss records, jungle, mirrors, new music tuesday, vs head vs heart
