NEXT Magazine May 2021

Page 1

MADE IN CANADA• 05|2021

FREE

THE GLISTENING WEST COAST SONICS OF HIP-HOP DUO

MANILA GREY AUDREY NUNA

IS MAKING WAVES

+

CADENCE WEAPON ST. VINCENT SHAWNEE KISH RENFORSHORT GREG KEELOR AND MORE!

CANADA'S BIG MUSIC NIGHT

JUNOS VIEWER'S GUIDE PG. 25


ANYONE

1

JUSTIN BIEBER

DRIVERS LICENSE

2

OLIVIA RODRIGO

SAVE YOUR TEARS

3

THE WEEKND

4

WITHOUT YOU

THE KID LAROI

MY HEAD & MY HEART

5

AVA MAX

LEVITATING

6

DUA LIPA ftg. DABABY

BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES

7

MAROON 5 ftg. MEGAN THEE STALLION

8

MONSTER

SHAWN MENDES & JUSTIN BIEBER

9 10

WE’RE GOOD DUA LIPA

I’M NOT PRETTY JESSIA

GOOSEBUMPS (REMIX)

11

TRAVIS SCOTT & HVME

YOU BROKE ME FIRST TATE MCRAE

12

LIKE GOLD

LOUD LUXURY & FRANK WALKER ftg. STEPHEN PUTH

PEACHES

JUSTIN BIEBER ftg. DANIEL CAESAR & GIVEON

WEST COAST

JUST AS MUCH

DELANEY JANE ftg. VIRGINIA TO VEGAS

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN MASKED WOLF

HAPPY HOUR

FELIX CARTAL ftg. KIIARA

16

17

SILK SONIC

ARIANA GRANDE

14

15

DVBBS ftg. QUINN XCII

34+35

13

18

19

20

PODCASTS

Join Shannon Burns twice a week on iHeartRadioCA’s YouTube Channel as she breaks down the biggest stories in music.

2 MAY 2021 NEXT

The Social Podcast Missed The Social on air today? Catch the show’s fiery discussions and debates with Melissa Grelo, Cynthia Loyst, Lainey Lui and correspondent Jess Allen! You don’t want to miss it. This is Paris Join Paris Hilton each week as she speaks candidly with her friends and family, the hottest in movies, music, and television, innovators, creators, newsmakers, and icons.


05

Contents

4

2 0 2 1

THE SHORT LIST

Canadian Music Week roars back online, top Indigenous musicians live-stream and Cruella gets an origin story.

23 MUSIC

Singer Shawnee wins Slaight award; rapper Cadence Weapon reveals fave Real Housewife, and Greg Keelor says sad not so bad.

32

FEATURE

Shapeshifting songstress and rapper Audrey Nuna’s career is about to explode with her up-coming wEP—find out why.

38

COVER STORY

JUNO-nominated West Coast rappers Manila Grey are determined to be the Filipino role models they never saw as kids.

46

ALBUM REVIEWS

Brockhampton, Japanese Breakfast, Greta Van Fleet, Art D’Ecco, Allison Russell, Rag’n’Bone Man and more.

50

THE LOCAL PAGES

Toronto’s got CONTACT, Calgary celebrates Black filmmakers and Vancouver goes deep with DOXA doc festival.

COVER:

Manila Grey photographed by Zuleyyma Prado (@zuleyyma)

63

THE FUNNIES

Figure o Who does Led Zeppelin better, Greta Van Fleet or Zep? Let M*A*S*H tell your fortune and connect the dots for JUNOS.

+

06 FOOD We want some dim sum 10 DRINKS More booze and soda solutions 12 CANNABIS Lots of bottled buzz bliss 14 FASHION DePop’s rummaging rewards 16 GAMING Resident Evil finds new evil residents 18 TV/MOVIES Sex on TV is good for you

NEXT MAY 2021

3


ShortList THE

NEXT’S PICKS FOR THE TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN CANADA THIS MONTH

1 NO

2 NO

LIVESTREAM SPOTLIGHTS INDIGENOUS CANADIAN MUSIC TALENT

TIME FOR A GREAT ESCAPE

THE GREAT ESCAPE ONLINE DATE: THURS., MAY 13–FRI., MAY 14 VIRTUAL EVENT PRICE: FREE (MUSIC FESTIVAL PASS), $78 (CONFERENCE PASS) greatescapefestival.com

TKARONTO MUSIC FESTIVAL DATE: FRI., MAY 21 TO SUN., MAY 23 ONLINE FEST PRICE: FREE / tkmf.ca

The Great Escape is a U.K.based music festival and conference that is going virtual for the first time. Canadian talent will be highlighted in their own Canada House showcase, curated by the Canadian Independent Music Association, MusicOntario, Music BC, Manitoba Music and Music Nova Scotia. Performers include Ethiopian/Eritrean singer-songwriter Witch Prophet, Francophone electro-artist Rayannah, R&B musician Laura Roy and soulful singer iamtheliving. Performances are free to watch with registration.

The Tkaronto Music Festival, an international Indigenous music festival streaming entirely online, enters its second year this month with a spotlight shining on some of the best Indigenous artists in the world. Produced by the 50/50 Performing Arts Collective, the groundbreaking festival is streaming for three days, starting May 21, and features some of the biggest and brightest names in Canadian talent, including: Crown Lands, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Lido Pimienta, Northern Cree, and Shawnee Kish. The festival also has gorgeous exclusive merch—you can purchase beautiful, hand-beaded pendants by Mad Aunty and shirts by Chippewar. The Collective’s mission is for all Canadians to support Indigenous musicians as passionately as they do settlers, so if you’re looking to support and enjoy some of the greatest talent that so-called Canada has to offer, this is the place to do it. The schedule, full lineup, streaming link and more can be found at tkmf.ca.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids 4 MAY 2021 NEXT


3

4 NO

NO

CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS HIP HOP AWARDS

CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL DATE: BEGINS MAY 1, VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING THROUGH 2021 VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT PRICE: FREE VIEWINGS; WORKSHOPS FROM $15 scotiabankcontactphoto.com

Art galleries might be closed but the streets are fair game: the CONTACT Photography Festival is filling them with excellent photography exhibitions this month, and dressing at-home screens for the rest of the year with their virtual programming. Head to Dundas, College and Bloor West to check out the sterling work of Sheridan College graduates splashed across billboards until May 16, or check the CONTACT website for a variety of pop-up outdoor exhibitions to satiate those art cravings. Prefer to stay home? Learn to properly design a portfolio, self-publish a photobook or explore the politics of still life photography with one of the myriad workshops on offer.

5 NO

SPOTLIGHT ON SEARCHLIGHT

CBC SEARCHLIGHT DATE: NOW UNTIL TUES., JUNE 22 ONLINE CONTEST cbc.ca/music/searchlight

The CBC’s cross-country search for the next great musical act is back and they need the public’s

Aquakultre

help to pick their grand prize winner. Registration runs until May 3, and artists are encouraged to submit their best original song for consideration. After a few rounds of online voting and deliberation among a panel of industry judges, the winner will receive an Alan Slaight JUNO Master Class, recording time at Calgary’s National Music Centre and $5,000 worth of equipment and studio funds. Past Searchlight winners include Edmonton pop singer Shawnee–profiled on page 31—and Halifax R&B artist Aquakultre.

MsShellz INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS HIP HOP AWARDS DATE: SAT., MAY 22 AND SUN., MAY 23 TIME: 10 AM–4:30 PM CT (SAT.); 4 PM–10 PM CT (SUN.) VIRTUAL EVENT PRICE: $16 (GENERAL ADMISSION); $40 (VIP) indigenoushiphopawards.com

Broadcasting from this year’s host city of Winnipeg, this two-day virtual event celebrates arts and culture from national and international Indigenous creators.

Saturday is an all-day music industry conference with guest speakers, workshops and virtual booths. Sunday is a red carpet and award show hosted by Lil Mike and Funny Bone, and judged by Masta Ace, MissChristie Lee, Blahzay Blahzay and Rex Smallboy, among others. The weekend will be filled with musical performances including MsShellz (pictured), spoken-word pieces, DJ sets and visual art showcases.

Coldplay

6 NO

A VERY WORTHY EVENT

LIVE AT WORTHY FARM DATE: SAT., MAY 22 AND SUN., MAY 23 TIME: 7 PM ET (SAT.); 9 AM AND 2 PM ET (SUN.) GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL VIRTUAL EVENT PRICE: $35 worthyfarm.live

Forced to cancel their world-renowned festival for the second year in

a row, the Glastonbury team is bringing live music to the small screen with their first-ever livestream event. This five-hour extravaganza will include performances from Coldplay, HAIM, Jorja Smith, Wolf Alice, IDLES and more, all shot by Grammy-nominated

director Paul Dugdale at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England. Performances will be interspersed with spoken word pieces from special surprise guests. Make sure to join the stream on time—much like a real festival, if you miss a set you won’t be able to rewind! NEXT MAY 2021

5


The ShortList

8 NO

7 NO

MONTREAL METAL LEGENDS STREAM VINTAGE VOIVOD

iHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS

IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS DATE: THURS., MAY 27 TIME: 8 PM ET TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCAST / PRICE: FREE iheart.com/music-awards

The eighth annual iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrates some of the top artists played and requested on the iHeartRadio plat-

forms throughout 2020. Broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the show is available to watch on FOX and listen to on local iHeartRadio stations. Several Canadian acts are receiving some love this year, including The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, JP Saxe and Tate McRae.

10 NO

TATE MCRAE, NOT “TOO YOUNG” TO BE LIVESTREAMING TATE MCRAE LIVESTREAM WHEN: SAT., MAY 8 TIME: 8 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT PRICE: $20–$200 TATEMCRAE.LIVE

After surpassing one billion streams on her single you broke me first, Calgary’s rising star Tate McRae announced a special virtual event to connect with fans worldwide. The TATE’S TOO YOUNG TO BE SAD Global Virtual Show is a professionally produced concert with a full band, dancers and big-time visuals. McRae will perform songs from her new Too Young to Be Sad EP, as well as old fan favourites. Tickets start at $20 and packages include signed merchandise, online meet-and-greets and a separate, exclusive virtual performance with a fan-voted setlist and Q&A. 6 MAY 2021 NEXT

VOÏVOD LIVESTREAM DATE: SUN., MAY 30 AND SUN., JUNE 27 TIME: 4 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT PRICE: $22–$32.50 voivod.com

Montreal metal legends Voïvod, who got their Heavy Metal Album of the Year JUNO in 2019, have announced two virtual concerts as part of their Hypercube catalogue, deep dive sessions. Hypercube is the group’s series of livestreams performing vintage Voivod filmed at

RadicArt Recording Studio in rural Quebec. On May 30, Voïvod will perform their album Nothingface in its entirety for the first time live. Fans will get to watch them do the same for the classic Dimension Hatröss album on June 27. Both performances include exclusive afterparty Q&As. The shows are presented by Heavy Montréal and Greenland Productions, and tickets are $22 per livestream or $32.50 for both.

9 NO

CRUELLA ORIGIN STORY TOLD WITH FASHIONABLE FLOURISH CRUELLA WHERE: DISNEY+ PREMIER ACCESS WHAT: FILM, 135 MINS WHEN: RELEASES FRI., MAY 28 GENRE: FAMILY PRICE: $30 TO RENT movies.disney.com/cruella

Academy Award winners Emma Stone and Emma Thompson come together in 1970s London, England to tell the origin story of iconic Disney villain Cruella de Vil. Stone plays Estella, an aspiring fashion designer who befriends a pair of young thieves. The three build a life for themselves through crime and mischief. Thompson plays a new character, Baroness von Hellman, who drives Estella to new, wicked heights. This film promises stunning costumes and brilliant performances. While movie theatres are still closed, viewers can catch the action at home on Disney+ Premier Access.


The Magazine That Plays Music on Your Phone

NEXT Magazine Editor/Publisher Michael Hollett

MADE IN CANADA• 05|2021

Creative Director Troy Beyer

FREE

Associate Editors Laura Robinson (Calgary) Rayne Fisher-Quann (Vancouver)

THE GLISTENING WEST COAST SONICS OF HIP-HOP DUO

Contributors Kristen Chew, Jen Cutts, Amy Lloyd, Zack Kotzer, Khufu Najee, Zuleyyma Prado, Nicole Richie, Laura Stanley, Sarah Wade

MANILA GREY IS MAKING WAVES

Advice Columnist Amy Millan askamy@nextmag.ca Sales and Marketing Manager, Sales and Partnerships Barbara Hefler Media Sales and Partnerships Amanda Gregoire amanda@nextmag.ca Advertising Inquiries: sales@nextmag.ca Administrative Coordinator Amy Lloyd Circulation Coordinator Eric Caldwell Circulation Harry Brewer, Adam Matthews, Olivia Matthews, Callum Miller, Conner Radcliffe, Ian Vidovich

+

CADENCE WEAPON ST. VINCENT SHAWNEE KISH RENFORSHORT GREG KEELOR AND MORE!

AUDREY NUNA

CANADA'S BIG MUSIC NIGHT

JUNOS VIEWER'S GUIDE PG. 25

We encourage you to read NEXT Magazine with your phone handy. When you see a QR code, Apple Music QR Code or Spotify Code, your phone's camera will instantly deliver extra music, video and exclusive content from your favourite streaming services.

Published by NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc.

How To

NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc. Board of Directors Michael Cohl, Michael Hollett, Gary Slaight Distribution NEXT Magazine is distributed in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto For distributor info: distro@nextmag.ca Contact Us 115 Danforth, Suite 302 • Toronto • ON • M4K 1N2 T. 416.519.5004 email: info@nextmag.ca All content property of NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc. ©2021

Issue #4

nextmag.ca

  

nextmagcanada

QR Code

Apple Music

Spotify

1. Open the camera app on your phone.

1. Launch Spotify app on your phone.

2. Hold your device so that the QR code is centred in the viewfinder.

2. Go to the search bar on Spotify search page.

3. Tap the notification that pos up to open the link associated with the code.

3. Tap camera icon on the right of the search bar and then hover camera over the code. NEXT MAY 2021

7


FOOD

GIMME SUM! DIM SUM: THE CHINESE WAY TO BRUNCH IS DELICIOUS ANYTIME No part of the battered restaurant industry has suffered as immensely during this past pandemic year as Chinese restaurants across North America—doubly struck, by the economic effects of pandemic shutdowns, and by continued systemic injustices and racist violence towards AsianCanadian communities. Now more than ever, it’s time we show our support and love for the stalwart Chinese restaurants in our NEXT Three Cities. This month, we celebrate the dim sum restaurants that have always been there for us in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. By NICOLE RICHIE

8 MAY 2021 NEXT


WHERE TO SCORE GREAT DIM SUM IN YOUR TOWN VANCOUVER Little Bird Dim Sum

While Little Bird has only been operating for a year, the Lee family has been in the business of serving traditional Cantonese cuisine for more than four generations. Keeping the tradition of yum cha (gathering to drink tea) alive, but reinvigorating it with local craft beer and wine. Little Bird defines itself as a contemporary restaurant serving authentic dim sum. To get the full experience, make sure to try their chive and shrimp dumplings and sticky rice, along with a pint or two of one of their many local brews. 2958 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, littlebirddimsum.com

Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant

Western Lake has been providing Vancouverites with tasty and affordable dim sum for over a decade. With a focus on fresh, this restaurant is committed to providing its loyal local crowd with dishes prepared daily with the freshest ingredients. For the full experience, try the award-winning salted, free-range chicken. 4989 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, westernlake.ca

Kam Wai Dim Sum

This takeout-only spot has been serving Chinatown’s hungry lunch crowd since 1990. With humble, hole-in-thewall takeout beginnings, Kam Wai has transformed into one of the largest dim sum wholesalers in BC. Get there early and beat the lunch rush for a hot bowl of wonton soup or their superior mushroom dumplings. 249 Pender St. E, Vancouver, kamwaidimsum.ca

TORONTO Rosewood Chinese Cuisine Rosewood sits in the centre of Toronto’s original Chinatown, Toronto’s go-to spot for all-you-can-eat, all-day dim sum. It wouldn’t be a trip to Rosewood without an order of sticky rice with meat in a lotus leaf and shrimp dumpling soup. Their assortment of cheung fun (rice noodle) rolls are also silky and divine, especially when stuffed with barbeque pork. 463 Dundas St. West, Toronto, rosewoodasiancuisine.com

Jade Dim Sum Jade Dim Sum is not much to look at from the outside, but their authentic dim sum is unmatched in the area. With reasonable prices and generous portions, Jade is a superb spot for Sunday brunch. Get into a basket of their char sui bao (barebque pork buns), and don’t forget the always succulent beef spare ribs. 2280 Dixie Rd., Mississauga Yu Seafood

This place is, deservedly, one of the most highly regarded dim sum restaurants north of the 401 (a second location is scheduled to open in Yorkville later this year). This always busy dim sum spot has all the classics, along with some of the freshest and most luxurious seafood. Try the sticky rice stuffed with scallops and the baked BBQ pork buns—10 per cent off if you pick it up. 270 West Beaver Creek Rd., Richmond Hill, yuseafood.com

CALGARY Central Grand

Looking for a more formal dim sum experience? Head to Central Grand for a royal feast. For over 20 years, this upscale Chinese restaurant has been feeding hundreds of guests in their banquet-style dining room. Besides the always fluffy and rich char sui bao (barbeque pork buns), the small dim sum here is definitely worth a try. Go for the deep-fried sesame balls, and an egg custard tart for dessert. 295-1623 Centre St. NW, Calgary, centralgrand.ca Silver Dragon The Silver Dragon has been serving authentic Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine in the heart of Chinatown since 1966, and is the longest-standing dim sum restaurant in Calgary. Trained in Hong Kong, the Silver Dragon’s chefs, move out trolleys of traditional dim sum, along with some of the best ginger beef in Canada. 106 3 Ave. SE, Calgary, silverdragoncalgary.com

Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine

Located downstairs from the Chinese Cultural Centre, this one-of-a-kind dim sum restaurant specializes in seafood and Hong Kong-style dim sum. Come for teatime classics, like the perfectly wrapped har gow and monstrous sui mai shrimp dumplings, as well as the stand-out green peppers stuffed with shrimp paste. 88-197 1 St. SW, Calgary, chineseculturalcentrecuisine.com

MAKE SUI MAI (SHUMAI) AT HOME Makes: 25-30 dumplings Prep time: 1 hour Difficulty level: 6/10 Additional equipment: Parchment paper or steamer liners, bamboo steamer INGREDIENTS: ½ pound ground pork ½ pound of shrimp (shelled, deveined and peeled) 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 1 hour then drained and finely chopped (replace with water chestnuts for texture if impatient)

1½ tsp sesame oil 1 tsp salt 1½ tsp corn starch 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 egg white 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, aka shaoxing wine (substitute: mirin) 1 tbsp minced ginger 20-30 round egg/wonton wrappers Garnish ¼ cup of flying fish or shrimp roe (you can also use finely diced carrots)

MAKE THE FILLING 1. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground pork, sesame oil, and salt, and mix vigorously with a spatula or your hands to break down the pork into a paste. 2. Chop shrimp into small ¼-inch pieces and add them to the ground pork. 3. Add in shiitakes, corn starch, sugar, soy sauce, egg white, Chinese cooking wine, and ginger; mix to combine. WRAP YOUR DUMPLINGS 1. Line a bamboo steamer with liner or parchment paper (Using parchment paper? Punch a few small holes to let steam release). 2. Make an “O” with your thumb and forefingers and place the wrapper on the “O.” Add about 1½ tbsp of filling to the centre of your wrapper, and push it down into the “O.” Smooth down the top with a butter knife. 3. If you are using square wonton wrappers, fold down and smooth the excess wrapper edges using your fingers dipped in 1 tsp of water. 4. Dip your fingers again to smooth out the creases on the outside of your sui mai. STEAM YOUR DUMPLINGS 1. Set up your wok or pot (big enough to hold the steamer with about 2 cups of water). 2. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat, place your sui mai in the steamer and cover with the lid. Place the steamer into the wok. If using a plate, put sui mai on the plate, the plate in the pot, and cover. 3. Steam for about 8 minutes. Looking for an internal temperature of 165 °F. 4. Remove steamer from wok, remove lid and place a ½ tsp of roe (or carrot) on each dumpling. If using a plate, remove lid and plate. Be careful of the steam when removing lid. 5. Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy! NEXT MAY 2021 9


THEO TAMS’ NEW SINGLE

JEKYLL HYDE LOVE AVAILABLE AT ALL DSP PROVIDERS.

www.slaightmusic.com We’re back, and looking forward to hearing what you’ve been working on, so start preparing your songs and videos and get ready to take your shot!

PREVIOUS WINNERS

Liz Coyles

Liteyears

Jillea

Submissions accepted at

10 MAY 2021 NEXT

Sam Drysdale

Kayla Diamond

Notifi

ITSYOURSHOT.CA

Moscow Apartment

Johnny Shay

until July 31ST, 2021


D R I N KS

CHERRY SPLOOSH CRAFT SELTZER Longslice Brewery

Brewed in Ontario, available in Toronto longslice.com Addicted to sour cherry blasters? This is the seltzer for you, friend. Think of it as the clean eating version of those scrumptious gummies—but liquid form, lightly flavoured and infused with alcohol. It’s pretty much a diet.

ORANGE’SICLE VODKA SODA Wize Spirits

Brewed in Vancouver, available in Vancouver and Calgary wizespirits.com This all-natural orange and vanilla-spiked recipe scratches all those nostalgic Popsicle itches. With a fuller, creamier-tasting flavour than the straight-up fruity versions on the list, it’s the closest you can get to an actual Creamsicle without cheating on those #fitspo #goals.

GRAPE LEMON VODKA SODA Burwood Distillery

Brewed in Calgary, ships to Vancouver and Toronto burwooddistillery.ca Call it grape soda for grown-ups. Infusing carbonated water and vodka with fresh pressed grapes and lemons, Burwood Distillery serves up a fruity and fresh cocktail ripe for the crushing. We’ll take a flat of this, please!

CARBON NATION Support your local with these 6 Canadian hard seltzers and sodas we love. Since White Claw swept up from the U.S. several summers ago, it has been dominating social media, popping up in memes and touting itself as the best alcoholic seltzer out here. But why should White Claw get all the love? Local bottle shops are bubbling, toiling and troubling over brandnew brews to quench your thirst. This sip consists of carbonated water, flavouring and alcohol—typically from fermented cane sugar or malted barley, but some go straight for the vodka shot. Delicately flavoured and bursting with bubbles that snap, crackle and pop, hard seltzers go down like, well—water. Just be sure to mix in some real H2O when enjoying. Water is boring. These cans aren’t. Here are the NEXT Test Kitchen’s favourite bubblies. By LAURA ROBINSON

SQUISH HARD PINEAPPLE SELTZER Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Brewed in Vancouver, available in Vancouver and Calgary parallel49brewing.com

Oh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea? You do, imbibing this tropical seltzer from Vancouver’s Parallel 49, also known for its damn good beer. None of that fake aspartame flavour lurking in the shadows here—natural flavours saturate this refreshingly sunny quaff.

WATERMELON VODKA SODA Nude Beverages

Brewed in Vancouver, available in Vancouver and Calgary nudebeverages.com Get that Watermelon Sugar high—without the sugar. From Vancouver-based Nude Beverages, this minimalist can packs a burst of never-ending summer flavour while also being sugar-free. Sparkling, crisp and refreshing, it will almost quench that burning thirst for Harry Styles.

RASPBERRY VODKA SODA Ace Hill

Brewed in Ontario, available in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver drinkacehill.com

With splashes of real raspberry juice siphoned into the soda, this can earns points for its bright and jammy fruit flavours. If Anne of Green Gables (an avid fan of a drink called raspberry cordial) ever went to a bar, she’d no doubt order a tall glass of this stuff. NEXT MAY 2021

11


STYLE

FEELING THE PRE-LOVED Online thrift platform Depop

has started a secondhand revolution where young vendors can sell their vintage finds to a limitless audience. Laid out like an Instagram feed but built like eBay for the Tumblr generation, the one-of-akind platform creates space for expertly curated, constantly cutting-edge online boutiques serving customers with oneof-a-kind finds—and they’re taking over the internet. Some stores have amassed tens of thousands of followers and boast virtual lineups around the block. Whether you’re itching to explore the new y2k craze or looking to expand into cybergoth, we’ve collected some of our favourite Canadian Depop sellers to highlight their iconic finds, their fashion inspiration, and how you can find your next fashion holy grail online. By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

Town Tramp

@towntramp / Toronto Scrolling through Town Tramp’s eclectic feed is like the best kind of acid trip—colourful, unexpected and beautifully trashy. With expertly curated flatlays and retro photoshoots, her feed is so vibrant and unique that you almost don’t need to be buying anything to enjoy it. Fave item: Retro wooden roller skates Signature style: Campy, unabashedly trashy couture that spans decades Top Depop tip: Do your research and search for specific brands! Filtering by price is another godsend that helps you stay thrifty.

12 MAY 2021 NEXT

Sustainable Fashion with Arlo Parks


siftedrubble

The Alias Attire

Erica Caruso

Calgary-based siftedrubble sells classy, vintage-inspired finds and relies on vibrant colour pallets, classic silhouettes and unique statement pieces to build their signature style. “People come back to my shop because you definitely never know what you’ll find!” she says, and she’s right— her pieces range from ornate gowns to vintage lingerie to combat boots. Fave item: A blue suede patchwork top from Daniel Signature style: A mix of things your grandma would wear and things your grandma would pick out for you; vintage pieces you never knew you needed Top Depop tip: Search for hashtags instead of phrases—it’ll help you find the serious sellers.

Sophisticated-yet-quirky Depop seller The Alias Attire boasts a classy, muted colours, a bevy of unique pieces and enough stylistic diversity to offer something for everyone. Her items range from essential basics to unique statement pieces and span several decades, subcultures and vibes. Fave item: A perfect, sparkly, red prom dress. Signature style: Always changing! Inspirations include y2k, girly, skater, grunge and everything in between. Top Depop tip: Get specific when searching. Nail down your searches to decades, brands and specific adjectives to find what you’re really looking for.

Sliq.rick unearths and reworks cool-girl clothes that are basically begging to hit your IG feed. Caruso founded the shop to quickly shed extra items while moving cities, but found instant success—and now boasts almost 3000 followers itching to pick up her one-of-a-kind pieces. Fave item: Pink Christian Dior Monogram Shoulder Bag, found for $10! Signature style: Paris Hilton-inspired Y2K vibes, featuring everything from high-end designer pieces to Heelys Top Depop tip: Work to find a seller that fits your size and style and follow them closely for upcoming drops; use Depop’s DNA tool for personalized finds.

@siftedrubble /Calgary

@thealiasattire

@sliq.rick / Toronto

NEXT MAY 2021

13


ALL BUZZ, NO BOOZE

XMG WATERMELON Potency: 10 mg THC Another member of the impressive Belleville, Ont.-based Truss Beverages Co. roster, XMG beverages are for those looking for a more invigorating buzz. The guys at Truss are dedicated to creating flavourful drinks that pack a punch. With the highest dose of THC on our list, these THC-infused dank dranks are great for experienced tokers or those looking to kick the party up a notch.

S

unny spring weather means socially distanced hangs with friends. Make those daydreams of park life an even better reality with cannabis-infused sips that generate a buzz without the dehydration that can come from beers or seltzers. These new beverages are the talk of today’s edible market. Low dose, refreshing and completely nonalcoholic, these bevvys are the perfect choice if you’re looking for a mild high guaranteed not to bloat like a beer or sedate like a gummy. After a rigorous review of the booming buzz beverage market in the NEXT Cannabis Test Kitchen, we have selected the best chuggable cheech for every occasion. Whether for a relaxing night in or a day spent out with the gang, these drinkables are guaranteed to elevate you to new highs. By NICOLE RICHIE

14 MAY 2021 NEXT

EVERIE MANGO PASSIONFRUIT CBD SPARKLING BEVERAGE Potency: 10 mg CBD Everie Mango Passionfruit CBD Sparkling Beverage is all about relaxation. Developed with attention to taste, this 98 per cent pure CBD beverage is about getting you and your taste buds to a place of bliss. Bursting with passionfruit and mango flavours, this slightly sweet smashable has minimal amounts of THC, making it the perfect drink for a cannabis newbie.

VERYVELL STRAWBERRY HIBISCUS SPARKLING WATER Potency: 15 mg CBD and 0.5 mg of THC The invigorating Veryvell Strawberry Hibiscus Sparkling Water is the perfect accompaniment to your post-yoga session or even an afternoon spent lazing in the sun. With a high concentration of CBD and a touch of THC for balance, this energizing bev may very well have you reaching for a second.


VAS-Y MOLLO 2.5 Potency: 1:1 Ratio (2.5 mg CBD and 2.5 mg THC) Say bye-bye to your beer belly, and hello to Mollo from Truss Beverage Co. This malted sparkling water has a natural hop flavour, but—instead of alcohol and tons of starch—it’s got a low dose of 1:1 THC to CBD. With a crisp and refreshing taste, consider switching up your summer beer for a drinkable bud. Vas-y Mollo is even bottled in old-school chubbies, like the Coors Banquets or Molson Exports dads used to enjoy at family BBQs.

QUATREAU BLUEBERRY + ACAI SPARKLING WATER

CANNABIS

Potency: 1:1 Ratio (2.0 mg CBD and 2.0 mg THC) This balanced soda from Quatreau tastes like candy while providing an easy, mellow high that will help drinkers get through their busy day. Whether doing laundry, gardening or playing with the pup in the park, Quatreau provides enough elevation to take any daytime activity to the next level.

TGOD ORGANICS ZEN GREEN SENCHA WHOLE LEAF TEA Potency: 10 mg CBD and 1.0 mg THC Don’t feel like meditating? The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) is creating some holistic and completely organic “green” tea that’s an easy shortcut to nirvana. Steep this CBD tea bag in hot water and feel blissful in minutes. The moderate CBD dose relaxes your body and calms your mind without any psychedelic effects.

A1 CANNABIS CO. SUMMIT THC CITRUS WATER

LITTLE VICTORY SPARKLING BLOOD ORANGE SODA

Potency: 2.5 mg THC

Potency: 1:1 Ratio (2.5 mg CBD and 2.5 mg THC)

Subdued, with no cannabis taste, this lemon and grapefruit infused water is perfect for beginners or cannabis users looking for a low dose and satisfying sip. With 2.5 mg of THC, this hydrating and totally refreshing drinkable ascends to higher heights, slowly but surely.

Replace that Aperol Spritz with a zesty Little Victory Blood Orange Soda. Refreshingly sweet with a bitter finish, this elevating sparkling beveraqe has equal parts THC and CBD for a very light, yet invigorating high. The dosage is great for a park date or as a refreshing bev after a long work day. NEXT MAY 2021

15


GAMING

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

Resident Evil Village, the eighth installment of the legendary franchise, brings spectacular visuals and big... very big vampires. By ZACK KOTZER

A

fter 25 years, the Resident Evil saga is getting a little long in the tooth. While it’s true Capcom’s zombie series has seen remakes, countless spinoffs and seven theatrical films—including one that just wrapped shooting in Toronto—that’s not why we’re talking about what big fangs it has. Rather, it’s because Resident Evil is unleashing a clan of statuesque vampires and burly werewolves with the launch this month of the eighth entry in its main series: Resident Evil Village. A lot has happened since 16 MAY 2021 NEXT

Resident Evil debuted in 1996, when Raccoon City was overtaken by brain-eating ghouls and it was up to Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield to stop the Umbrella Corporation’s bioweapons program. While the two escaped with their lives, they ultimately failed to stop the spread of Umbrella’s viral projects, setting up the series for a global tour of horror. As the series progressed, the designers introduced solving puzzles, exploring, and managing equipment as players operate under constant threat from Umbrella’s largest mutants, such as the unstoppable Jack Baker,

stone-faced Mr. X and the fleshy Nemesis. In this latest instalment, the action is centred around the hapless Ethan Winters. We first met Winters in Resident Evil 7, the first in the main series to become a firstperson shooter game. In 7, Winters travelled to a marsh in Louisiana while looking for his missing wife, and encountered the unhinged Baker family in what was, initially, a riff on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Players then unravelled a mystery revealing the Bakers were actually victims of yet another Umbrella Corporation spill-over.

At the beginning of Resident Evil Village, we find Winters has been abducted and dumped in a frozen, isolated village somewhere in Europe. The game’s newest setting seems to operate using Old World magicks, as ruling-class vampires dead set on completing a “ritual” treat superstitious locals like cattle. Of course, this scenario doesn’t disqualify involvement from everyone’s favourite nightmare factory, Umbrella. To further complicate matters, Winters’ abductor is none other than Chris Redfield. Redfield’s intentions are

unclear, but may be related to the fact he’s growing hair in unexpected places—and we’re not talking about adolescence, if you catch my drift. As much of a baddie Redfield seems to have become, the biggest threat in the game comes in the form of Castle Dimitrescu’s matriarch. Lady Dimitrescu, a towering vampiress dressed for a Gatsby party, will tease and


GAMES AT A GLANCE: MAY

PlayStation Network to shutter service for PS3 Sony confirmed rumours that the PlayStation Network service for the PlayStation 3, Portable and Vita will be retired this summer. It follows a disturbing trend set by Nintendo and Xbox after the shuttering of WiiWare and XBLIG. A library dating back to 2006, PSN’s retirement will sadly wipe out a number of games that are entirely unavailable elsewhere, including many by the foundational and recently closed Tokyo Studio. Buy Tokyo Jungle right now. I cannot stress this enough.

Restored, retooled and re-imagined Not everyone’s ready to give up the past. After the runaway success of NieR:Automata, Square Enix decided to revisit Automata’s even more cult and stranger predecessor NieR Gestalt. The just-released NieR Replicant is more than just a restoration and re-release. Gestalt has been retooled to be more accessible and in line with Automata, including its bullet hell-inspired combat.

torment players throughout. When the colossal femme fatale was first revealed earlier this year, those fine, normal people of the internet lost their minds—and Capcom responded by specifying that Dimitrescu is nine feet, six inches tall. Thank you, Capcom! You can solve the mysteries of Castle Dimitrescu and a Redfield gone rotten, all while having your guts ripped out by a big fancy lady, starting on May 7, when Resident Evil Village arrives on current and next-gen PlayStation, Xbox and Windows.

Say yes to Say NO! More Whether it’s in our private or professional lives, many of us stumble when setting our own personal boundaries. Now there’s a video game to pump you up. Say No! More follows a recent hire whose office wastes no time in trampling over them—that is, until they discover the immense power of just saying…NO! Say it loud. Say it soft. Just make sure to keep your adversaries on their toes. Discover just how far you can go by screaming NO! in this just-released game on Steam and for the Nintendo Switch.w NEXT MAY 2021

17


Watch TV / MOVIES / STREAMING

SEXIFY: THE CASE FOR ONSCREEN SEX

Polish sitcom Sexify, which just launched on Netflix, is an unfiltered look at sex, intimacy, and pleasure centered around a team of young women building an app to maximize the female orgasm. By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

18 MAY 2021 NEXT

What To


May Streaming

I

t’s clear that Netflix is trying to break nered a tsunami of criticism, and been called ground: Sexify’s trailer alone includes everything from perverted to pedophilic— more on-screen vibrators than every and not entirely without cause. episode of network television ever aired, I liked the show, and while I may be combined. And while it has some obvious exposing both my age and my late sexual shortcomings (like many feminist-coded development here, it offered a type of noshows before it, its version of groundbreaking holds-barred sexual education that genuinerepresentation ostensibly only involves white ly helped me understand my teenage body women), it could potentially introduce a whole in a way that school couldn’t. new generation of girls to sexual self-advocacy. Netflix’s Sex Education was a— It’s a potent reminder that sex on TV has slightly—less controversial addition come a long way since the early days of Name: Sexify to the onscreen sexual revolution broadcast television. of the late 2010s. It’s one of the Where: Netflix In fact, television’s entire sexual best shows of the past 20 years, in What: Series, revolution has been relatively recent. part because it’s perhaps the best season one, 8 episodes, 50 While the cause for publicly broadcast example of what onscreen sex can mins horniness advanced incrementally accomplish. The quality of the show throughout the 20th century, one of the When: Now was so high that it made heavily Genre: Sitcom most notable jumps forward came in researched, widely inclusive sexual Why you 1998, when HBO revolutionized the idea education a must-watch for every should watch: of sex on TV through the release of the teenager with a Netflix account. This femmeexplosive hit show Sex and the City. Sex Education covered topics focused sitcom HBO’s very existence had already features unique like vaginismus, queer sex, erectile provided an alternative to sex-negative dysfunction, body-positive sex and sexual franknetwork TV, but SATC’s remarkable suc- ness, feminist more—topics that are too hotcess normalized frank discussions of sex motifs, and a button for most of the sex-ed curhealthy dose and sexuality in North American culture ricula in North America. But unlike of education in a way that set the stage for almost freshman-year classes, teenagers wrapped up in everything that came after it. actually wanted to pay attention. a fun, quirky Before the groundbreaking, provoca- storyline. This is the value of good sex on tive dramedy, relationships on mainTV—when done right, it has the abilistream television had been puritanical, ty to normalize and de-mystify sex in chaste; sex was implied at best and ignored a way that’s accessible, grounded and cool. at worst. Broadcast standards kept nudity to a Classroom sex-ed is often too clinical to minimum and any kind of sex—especially when be applicable to the average teenager, and it involved queer relationships and female pleawhile porn is far more accessible, it’s often sure—was highly controversial. violent, misogynist and one-sided. But today, the sex scenes and relationThis new wave of realistic, unfiltered, onship foibles shown in Sex and the City seem screen sex draws on the allure of one and practically parochial—when they’re not outright the efficacy of the other to hit the metaoffensive and outdated. The advent of private phorical G-spot of representation. And with streaming services has changed the game for shows like Sexify hitting the mainstream and sex on home screens, and now that television centering women, masturbation and sexual broadcast standards hold little to no leverage exploration in their narratives, empowerment over what Netflix, Crave, Prime and the rest can through sex education is more accessible display in their original content, we’re seeing sex than ever. discussed more frankly, honestly and explicitly than ever. That doesn’t mean that sex isn’t still controversial. One of the most provocative and heavily criticized cultural TV moments in recent history was the release of Netflix’s Big Mouth (2017– ) a raunchy, purposefully gross, offensively in-yourface animated series about middle-schoolers going through puberty. The series’ penchant for showing animated teenage genitals has gar-

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Where: Amazon Plus What: Limited series, 10 episodes, 60 mins When: May 14 Genre: Alternative historical drama Why you should watch: Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) creates a riveting, sometimes gruesome, alternative history where an actual underground railroad—with an engine—provides a route to freedom for enslaved people. Based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name, Jenkins delivers an essential look at African American life in the 1800s.

SELENA: THE SERIES

Where: Netflix What: Series, season 2, nine episodes, 35 mins When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: Following the true story of one of the most successful Latin artists ever, season one started at the beginning of Selena Quintanilla’s career: singing in a family band in small-town roadhouse restaurants and county fairs. In season two, picks Selena is on brink of stardom, and adjusting to hustle of life in a demanding music industry before she catapults to mega-fame.

OSCAR WINNER

TWO DISTANT STRANGERS

Where: Netflix What: Short film, 32 mins When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: Rapper Joey Bada$$ stars in this Oscar-winning short, produced by P. Diddy, Jesse Williams and Pulp Fiction producer Lawrence Bender, as a cartoonist named Carter James who just wants to get home to his dog—but keeps getting targeted by the cops. In Groundhog Day fashion, he has to keep reliving the same terrible day over and over again.

TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY

Where: VOD What: Film, 78 mins When: Now Genre: Documentary Why you should watch: Ghost-faced, grubby with a perpetual smile, Tiny Tim projected an addictive innocence with his ukulele-powered, falsetto warbling that was briefly a tonic for the troubled 60s. His Johnny Carson Show wedding was most watched TV show of the time, after the moon landing. Archival footage, interviews, animation and diary entries shine a light on his rise fall and struggle to get back in the spotlight. NEXT MAY 2021

19


May Streaming

BEAST BEAST

Where: VOD What: Film, 85 mins When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: In a sleepy Southern U.S. town that seems fit for nothing more than coming-of-age stories—first crushes, kisses, school projects—a rude awakening comes when social media, technology and gun violence clash. Following the intertwined stories of three teens and young adults, Alec Baldwin sits in the executive producer seat of this South by Southwest (SXSW) and Sundance Film Festival selection.

ALICE IN BORDERLAND

Where: Netflix What: TV series, 8 episodes, 50 mins When: Now Genre: Thriller Why you should watch: Japanese dystopian thriller, based on a popular manga series, follows Arisu, a young guy obsessed with video games—until they become too real. Arisu finds himself in a parallel-universe Tokyo with his two friends, forced to compete in sadistic schemes in order to survive. Recommended by: Manila Grey “They have to play these games or they die. It’s amazing” – Sol

20 MAY 2021 NEXT

FOR ALL MANKIND

Where: Apple TV What: Series, two seasons, 60 mins When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: Mankind presumes 60s space race, Soviet Union and Cold War just kept on going, processing misogyny, racism, homophobia and more along the way. The first season is set in the 60s, while the justwrapped second season offers a twisted version of Ronald Reagan’s 80s America with a satisfying soap opera-esque narrative that bounces between the moon and the earth. Season three confirmed.

THE RETREAT

Where: VOD What: Film, 81 mins When: May 21 Genre: Horror Why you should watch: Filmed in Ontario’s Mono Mills area, this getaway weekend gone-wrong flick aims to reframe how LGBT characters are portrayed in horror films. When Renee and Valerie head to the woods to meet friends for a relaxing weekend, they arrive to find them already gone. Stumbling through relationship woes and alt-right extremists in the forest, it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll make it out alive.

FRENCH EXIT

Where: VOD What: Film, 113 mins When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: Michelle Pfeiffer and Oscar-nominated Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) turn in powerful performances as a widowed, recently wealthy New Yorker and her young adult son, as they suffer a Schitts Creekian fall from grace with subdued humour. “I thought I’d die before the money ran out,” Pfeiffer's character says. The two move to Paris, toughing it out with a group of eccentric characters.

THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY Where: YouTube What: Clips from philosopher Slavoj Zizek’s 2012 film Genre: Politics/ philosophy Why you should watch: Public intellectual, internet micro-celebrity and controversial communist thinker Slavoj Zizek has one of the most fascinating brains on the planet,

and these clips make his musings accessible and interesting. Sophie Fiennes, 2012 release The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, a documentary-style film exploring Zizek’s ideas on reality, fantasy, media consumption, sexuality, and more has been separated into YouTube clips.

THE BIG SHOT WITH BETHENNY

Where: HBO Max What: TV series, 7 episodes, 60 mins When: Now, new episodes May 13, 20 Genre: Reality Why you should watch: The (former) baddest bitch on The Real Housewives of New York and the founder of the Skinnygirl empire, Bethenny Frankel is now giving budding business moguls a chance to earn a coveted spot on her executive team. Kind of like Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, but for professionals.

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST OPEN DOOR Where: YouTube What: House tours from some of the world’s biggest stars Genre: Celebrity Why you should watch: Want to see how the 0.1 per cent live? There’s no better way to beat pandemic cabin – or apartment – fever that

than Architectural Digest’s Open Door series as celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell and Dakota Johnson tour their extravagant, visually stunning homes. The combination of classenvy and ASMR-level satisfaction makes these an addicting watch.


CANADIAN FILMS

telefilm.ca/en/seeitall

NEXT MAY 2021

21


22 MAY 2021 NEXT


Music T H E A R T I ST S , A L B U M S , T R AC KS A N D M E R C H W E L OV E T H I S M O N T H

CADENCE WEAPON’S SOCIAL COMMENTARY CUTS DEEP IN NEW ALBUM PARALLEL WORLDS

Edmonton-born rapper, Cadence Weapon (aka Roland “Rollie” Pemberton) has released Parallel Worlds his most raw and politically charged album yet, taking inspiration from sonically menacing U.K. drill with biting kicks and sliding 808s, he turns news headlines into tight rhymes designed to stop listeners in their tracks. You’ve lived in Edmonton, Montreal and now Toronto. How do the hip hop/rap scenes vary in each city? I was always hanging out in more of an electronic, indie kind of scene. Edmonton was definitely a DIY, rock-oriented city. When I moved to Montreal, it was just this artistic Mecca where everyone is given the time and space to create. I was hanging out with people like Grimes and Mac DeMarco and worked with Kaytranada. I felt like my whole life was a movie when I lived there. I ended up moving to Toronto randomly—my girlfriend at the time got a job here. It’s been really advantageous—the music industry is based here, and rap is really popping. How do you find the words to explore the debilitating, tough topics of Parallel Worlds? I have a way of synthesizing what I encounter. I feel like that’s my role as an artist. I can see what’s happening on the news, the George Floyd protests, and what I see isn’t just Black people being killed by the police.It’s the institutional issues that caused all this to happen—to me, that is really compelling. I wanted to zoom out from these individual incidents, and

CADENCE WEAPON Parallel Worlds Genre: Rap Sound: Skittering electronic backtracks mix with thumping bass and no-bullshit bars If you like: Skepta, Public Enemy, Shad Why you should listen: Whiptongued verses spit hard truths about systemic racism, society becoming an episode of Black Mirror and Toronto’s rapid gentrification, coated in spiky trap and drill beats Best track: Eye to Eye really think about what brings our entire society to a point where you racially profile. What were some of your influences in making Parallel Worlds? I don’t want people to feel it’s really heavy and super impenetrable, it’s still a fun album. Stand-up comedy really influenced me. I was watching a lot of old Richard Pryor Dave Chapelle and Chris Rock. They had this way of talking about big subjects—making light of them—but making you really think about the meaning behind them. Truth in jest. What are you streaming? Here’s the thing: I’ve been watching straight trash. I consume nothing but garbage TV. Life is just so gnarly; I can’t really watch anything serious. My girlfriend and I have been watching Real Housewives of New York—but I prefer Beverly Hills. NEXT MAY 2021

23


24 MAY 2021 NEXT


JUNOS PARTNER CONTENT

VIEWER’S GUIDE

JESSIE REYEZ JUNO Nominations Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Contemporary R&B Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year (x2) Jesse Reyez has racked up a stack of JUNO noms since her 2016 single Figures made her a Canadian household name—for good reason. She’s stayed on top of the charts thanks to a steady stream of heartfelt, soulful tracks. And, like her recent heart-stopping performance of O Canada from the top of the CN Tower for the NBA playoffs, the sky’s the limit for this rising star.

CANADIAN MUSIC’S BIG NIGHT 12 Artists to Watch on Sunday, June 6

CURTIS WATERS JUNO Nominations JUNO Fan Choice, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Alternative Album of the Year Nepali-Canadian Curtis Waters taught himself to make his infectious pop bops via tutorials on the internet. With his first hit single Stunnin’ catapulting him to fame last May after it blew up on TikTok, and his debut album Pity Party dropping last fall, Waters is racking up the nominations as the new kid on the block.

The 50th annual JUNO Awards, on Sunday, June 6, at 8 pm ET and broadcast on CBC platforms, celebrates the best in Canadian music. Despite the obvious challenges, it has been a great year for Canadian artists and there is so much to celebrate. Here are 12 JUNO hopefuls to root for on the Big Night.

NEXT MAY 2021

25


JUNOS

VIEWER’S GUIDE | SUNDAY, JUNE 6

JUSTIN BIEBER JUNO Nominations JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year Justin Bieber once won the JUNO Fan Choice Award four years in a row— and except for 2015 and 2019, he’s been nominated every year since 2010, including this one. JB continues to create exciting new music, and his latest album, Changes, is nominated this year for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year. Will he start another Fan Choice winning streak this year?

TOBi JUNO Nominations Rap Recording of the Year, Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year Nigerian-Canadian rapper TOBi has picked up two JUNO nominations in categories previously won by national superstars Drake, The Weeknd, Daniel Caesar and Tory Lanez—heady company for this determined singer, who started writing lyrics when he was six years old. His nominated release, Elements Vol. 1, features winning mixes of hip-hop, afrobeats, jazz, R&B and soul.

CELINE DION JUNO Nominations Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Adult Contemporary Album of the Year The queen of Canada does it again. Winning her first JUNO in 1991, Dion has earned a handful of nominations this year for her 12th English-language studio album, Courage. The second most-decorated JUNO nominee of all time, counting 20 previous wins, Dion is a heavyweight contender. Win or not, she can never be knocked off her throne.


PA R T N E R CO N T E N T

THE WEEKND JUNO Nominations JUNO Fan Choice Award, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year. First, The Weeknd’s track Blinding Lights took over TikTok in 2020. Then The Weeknd took over the Super Bowl halftime show, in a year where the Canadian superstar reaffirmed his place at the top of global charts with the multi-Juno nominated album After Hours. Winner of the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award in 2013, and with nine more JUNOs since, will The Weeknd add to his collection in 2022?

WILLIAM PRINCE JUNO Nomination Contemporary Roots Album of the Year Rich vocals and raw storytelling propel the compelling work of Anishinaabe singer-songwriter William Prince of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. A trip to Nashville helped Prince record his breakthrough debut album Earthly Days, which won the JUNO for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2017. This year, he goes for his second win in the same category, for Reliever.

LENNON STELLA

TATE McRAE

JUNO Nominations

JUNO Nominations

JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Pop Album of the Year

JUNO Fan Choice Award, Breakthrough Artist of the Year

Lennon Stella began her career as an actor in the hit TV series Nashville and continued to gain traction on Instagram, singing covers with her hauntingly beautiful voice. Winning the JUNO for Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2020, she finally answered fans’ prayers with her stunning debut release, Three. Two. One.

Calgary’s Tate McRae is an international sensation at only 17 with her smash hit single You Broke Me First. But McRae’s been making waves in the industry since she was 13, when she became the first Canadian finalist on So You Think You Can Dance. The wunderkind’s two JUNO noms come on the heels of her recent appearance on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.


JUNOS

VIEWER’S GUIDE | SUNDAY, JUNE 6

PA R T N E R CO N T E N T

ALI GATIE JUNO Nominations JUNO Fan Choice, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year The world fell in love with smooth-singing, Iraqi-Canadian singer Ali Gatie’s heartfelt global hit It’s You in 2019. The Mississauga, Ont. hometown hero followed that dazzling debut with You, one of this year’s nominees for Album of the Year. With that success, it’s no surprise to find him in the running for JUNO Fan Choice too.

SAVANNAH RÉ JUNO Nominations Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year, Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year It’s no surprise that Savannah Ré has garnered two nominations for songs off her debut EP Opia—the Toronto R&B soulstress has been fine-tuning her sound on her way to the top, collaborating with fellow homegrown talent like Daniel Caesar and OVO Sound’s in-house producer, Boi-1da. Pouring her smooth-like-honey vocals over R&B-chill-pop beats, Ré is a strong contender.

JP SAXE JUNO Nominations JUNO Fan Choice Award, Single of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Pop Album of the Year JP Saxe conquered the world with his heartfelt ballad If the World Was Ending, nominated for Single of the Year, from his album Hold It Together, which is also JUNO-nominated. Saxe worked with Finneas O’Connell to re-record World as a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders, featuring Saxe with guest artists H.E.R., Sam Smith, Keith Urban, Alessia Cara and Niall Horan.

HOW TO WATCH The 50th JUNO Awards will be broadcast nationwide Sunday, June 6 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT/6 pm MDT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and globally on CBCMusic.ca/junos.

Watch the JUNOS on CBC.ca

28 MAY 2021 NEXT

Livestream the JUNOS on YouTube


Renforshort NAME: Renforshort AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: Toronto, Ont. STYLE: Diverse musical influences, grungy guitar riffs, and raw, authentic teen-angst lyrics define Renforshort’s constantly shifting style LISTENING TO: Radiohead, Glave, Wilco, Mitski, Mac Miller IF YOU LIKE: Olivia O’Brien, Billie Eilish, bülow

A

t 18, Toronto-born up-and-comer Renforshort is already breaking the mould. The multifaceted teen artist, who started writing viral hits while still in high school, is showing no signs of slowing down—in fact, she’s planning a move to L.A. and working on expanding her sound beyond anything she’s released before. Renforshort, full name Lauren Isenberg, has been on a prodigious trajectory since dropping her first few singles in 2019. Her debut EP, teenage angst, was released to much acclaim in 2020, and her fanbase has been growing steadily with every subsequent drop. “It was so slow and steady,” she says of her success. “Every time I put out a song my audience just grows and grows by a bit each time. I like that. It feels steady and sustainable. It feels like I have some sort of longevity—there’s something there that feels good with a steady growth rather than just one viral hit.” Ren’s unique brand of alt-pop utilizes grungy guitar riffs, unfiltered lyricism, and pop-punk and psych-rock influences to build a screamable, accessible discography. Her influences—which include Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Kendrick Lamar, Mitski and The Strokes— are as diverse as they are plenty, and she’s determined to create a unique presence in an industry that seeks to minimize and homogenize female artists. “There are always comments calling me a Billie

Eilish wannabe or whatever. I’m like, okay… let’s keep comparing every young female artist to the same person. Not that I don’t love Billie Eilish, but I feel like people are constantly comparing every one of us to each other. That doesn’t happen with male artists... they don’t have to deal with that.” Building an online audience in the tens of thousands before finishing puberty isn’t easy for anyone, and Ren has used her anxiety as the inspiration for some of her biggest hits, like her neurotic banger I drive me mad. “I’m always over-analyzing everything. Everything that’s posted about me, everything that’s out there. But I’m lucky, because my audience is the perfect size right now. It hasn’t been too overwhelming.” As for the future? “I just want to remain in the headspace I’m in right now,” Ren says. “I want to keep positive and happy. Making music is literally the only thing I can see myself doing with my life—there’s no other thing I could do.”

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

NEXT BIG THING

NEXT MAY 2021

29


THE MERCH TABLE SUPPORT THE ARTISTS YOU LOVE AND BUY THEIR STUFF

PUP BAG ON THE WIND BUCKET HAT $40. cutloosemerch.ca/ collections/pup

RENFORSHORT VIRTUAL REALITY HOODIE $45 shop.renforshort.com MOTHER MOTHER SWING SWING TOTE $17 castore.mothermothersite.com

BROCKHAMPTON ROADRUNNER RACING JACKET $195 shop.brckhmptn.com

SCOTT HELMAN EVERYTHING SUCKS SLIPPERS $33 store.warnermusic.ca

OLIVIA RODRIGO DRIVERS LICENSE TISSUE BOX $13 shop.universalmusic.ca/ oliviarodrigo

THE DIRTY NIL FUCK ART LONGSLEEVE SHIRT $30 dinealonestore.com

JAPANESE BREAKFAST PERSIMMON GIRL PIN $10 japanesebreakfast. rocks/shop 30 MAY 2021 NEXT

SILVERSTEIN WORLDWIDE HAT $25 silversteinstore.com


SHAWNEE KISH'S STAR IS RISING

S

inger-songwriter Shawnee Kish is a two-spirit Indigenous performer who has already had at least two careers in her relatively short time as an artist. And now the Edmonton-based Kish is one of this year’s Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class winners, a program that sees four emerging Canadian musicians each year receive intense professional development sessions. Kish’s powerful, soulful singing won her the CBC Searchlight Rising Star 2020 emerging artist award last year—and the festival gigs, later cancelled, that came with it. “I feel like I’m starting over, I am expressing who I am more comfortably, and honestly than ever,” says Kish of a career that saw her first take the stage as a 12-year-old Shania Twain impersonator. Industry pros spotted her talent early, and were eager to push her into a pop career—as long as she played by their rules. “There was a time I wasn’t out and I was told not to be out by industry people. That struggle deeply saddened me from the inside; as artists we are supposed to be exactly who we are and celebrate that, and I didn’t feel that way at all. “Being closeted is entirely scary and intimidating when you’re out there showcasing yourself, but you’re not really yourself because you’re closeted.

“Two spirit is being reclaimed by Indigenous people; it is a new term but it’s not a new tradition. It’s an Indigenous person who carries and walks in the male and female spirit, and they have an understanding of both those spirits. As an Indigenous person, it’s an honour.” After years of being told to cut her hair and never mention being gay “so men will feel invited,” Kish is almost exuberant that her “true voice” is being so well received. She calls the Slaight award ”awesome and exciting,” and says that “when I win things I laugh, because I’m always the odd duck, always.” She even thought the call telling her she’d won the CBC award “was a prank.” After working through her frustration and disappointment at how the pandemic caused her career, then rising, to stall—“it was depressing and sad,” she says— Kish spent the resulting downtime writing and recording. Now, she has a fresh EP set for June. “Taking that energy and struggle and getting right back into creating is exactly what I did.” Kish teases out two new tracks from her new EP (that’s slated for June) and the fresh tunes display the influence of her heroes Whitney Houston, Etta James and Nina Simone that suggest the new music will keep winning this rising star acclaim —and awards.

By MICHAEL HOLLETT

ALLAN SLAIGHT JUNO MASTER CLASS 2021 WINNERS Command Sisters

MONOWHALES

Myles Castello

Previous Winners include: Haviah Mighty, Cave Boy and The Fortunate Ones. NEXT MAY 2021

31


NUNA


AUDREY NUNA

AUDREY NUNA

CONSTANTLY INNOVATING AND POISED FOR HER BIG BREAK, THE FRESH-FACED MULTI-HYPHENATE IS MAKING WAVES EVERYWHERE SHE GOES By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN Photos By KHUFU NAJEE


SHAPESHIFTING SONGSTRESS AUDREY NUNA HAS BUILT A CAREER THAT RESISTS GENERALIZATION, BUT ONE THING IS ABSOLUTELY INARGUABLE: SHE IS VERY, VERY COOL. Aurally, she’s unquestionably badass. She raps in a fierce monotone, spitting lyrics with clinical precision and fiery intention. Her avant-garde music videos often feature her staring straight at the camera, dressed in intricate outfits that land somewhere between streetwear and spacewear, unwavering and intimidating to the max. She emanates cool. She oozes it. “My style is like, futuristic suburban grandpa mixed with pre-professional skater,” she says. In the lyrics to her song Comic Sans, a fast-paced track featuring Louisiana rapper Jack Harlow, Nuna describes herself as a “polymath, polyglot.” In the past year, she’s proven herself right: she’s released tracks ranging from silken R&B slow-jams to fiery, braggadocious bangers; self-directed music videos; styled herself into a streetwear fashion icon; and released a capsule collection with NYC label BOBBLEHAUS. Her upcoming debut EP is sure to cement her status as one of the most interesting artists in the game. The fact that she’s managed to remain humble throughout her ascent into the cool-girl stratosphere is almost as impressive as the accomplishments themselves—which is why it’s her groundedness that struck me the most during our early-morning Zoom call. She spends the first 10 minutes of our interview practically asking me more questions than I ask her; she inquires about my school, my hometown, about how I’ve been doing. When I bring up the challenges inherent in being an artist during a pandemic, she seems genuinely puzzled, like she’s never even considered them before. “I guess it’s weird, but there’s just so much more shit that’s happening. It’s way harder to be a waitress right now, you know?” I ask her about her dreams for the future, and she pauses for a second to think before saying, without a hint of irony, “If there’s no limits, probably to be able to fly.” My first impression of Audrey Nuna was that she was someone I desperately wanted to know.

N

una dropped out of NYU to pursue music three years ago and never looked back. “I don’t like half-assing anything. I’m a full-ass person. I need both cheeks involved,” she laughs. During her first year of university, she was going to school during the days, commuting an hour and a half both ways to her producer’s studio to record for hours during the night, and catching a couple hours of sleep before doing it all over again. “I made it work because I knew that music was the only thing I wanted to do,” she explained. “I’ve never wanted anything else.” 34 MAY 2021 NEXT

It was during this time in NYC that Nuna began to rediscover a part of herself that had been lost growing up and going to Catholic high school in New Jersey. “I would say that I have much more in common with my 10-year-old self than I do with who I was in high school. It really took something out of me. But New York City brought that back, because people just don’t give a fuck here! “I wish that for everybody, you know? To rediscover that. I lost it for a bit and that was scary. I view it as so sacred, the freedom of thinking how you want to think and doing what you want to do.” And Nuna’s individuality isn’t just internal: she’s also one of the first Korean American women in her genre to hit the mainstream in North America, and part of a notable new wave of Asian American rappers and artists making waves in the cultural consciousness.

pressed, and not talking about the things that I experienced. It’s only been hard because it’s been bottled up for such a long time—it’s always just been this nameless thing that I’ve felt and experienced. “I never put English words to it. So figuring out how to properly represent my experience has just been challenging, because it’s so new to me. But I feel really grateful to have a platform. I think these are the conversations that we need to have. “I grew up in a town where there were maybe two or three Asian kids in my elementary school. So I grew up just accepting it,” she says, growing somber. “You know, you’d go to school and the other kids would ask you why your lunch smelled like that, and you’d go home and eat that same food with your family. “Which is why I think that now is such a better time for kids, There’s so much more openness. So much more of our culture is available.”

H “I grew up not really seeing any faces similar to mine on TV, or on the radio or onstage,” she says. “So the fact that it’s not even just me—between 88rising, and that movie Minari that just came out, and Crazy Rich Asians, there’s just a shit ton of Asian culture finally being spotlighted. So I feel really hopeful. And I feel like it’s only the beginning. We’re only getting started.” However, her recent rise to fame makes her visible at a tumultuous time for the Asian community in North America. A recent spike in Asian hate crimes have sparked anti-hate rallies across the continent, and more eyes are on Asian American artists and influencers than ever before. “I have a natural desire to speak out on those issues. I don’t feel pressure to do it. Because I grew up so sup-

ere’s something I’ve noticed about the world: often, when someone is very cool and very talented, most people sort of let them off the hook about being nice. In certain parts of the entertainment industry, being kind is an embarrassment; an indication that you’re not cool or smart or funny enough to get away with being cruel. And Nuna is so cool, so prodigiously talented, that one would imagine she could be as callous as she pleased—you’d imagine that it would only make her cooler. This makes her humility and her kindness all the more apparent. She spends a great deal of our time together talking about the appreciation she’s found for the mundane: riding bikes, reading books, eating dinner with her mother. Her upcoming EP deals heavily with the emotions and experiences surrounding solitude. “I’m very much a loner, and that’s a source of strength as much as it is a source of sadness at times,” she says. “There’s a lot of liberation found in being alone.” The work ethic that Nuna fostered during those sleepless nights at NYU never seemed to go away. After only a few years in the industry, she’s managed to secure herself as a rising fashion icon, an in-demand collaborator and an enduringly unique artistic mind. So, after the release of her heavily anticipated EP, what are Nuna’s plans for the future? “Oh my god, toe rings,” she exclaims. “I want to do a toe ring collaboration so badly. Toe rings are coming back, I’m calling it now. Please put that in print.” Given the reputation she’s built for herself, I’m happy to take her word on that one. 


“I DON’T LIKE HALF-ASSING ANYTHING. I’M A FULL-ASS PERSON. I NEED BOTH CHEEKS INVOLVED.”

NEXT MAY 2021

35


MERCK MERCURIADIS

NILE RODGERS

CEO/Founder Hipgnosis Music Ltd.

GRAMMY®-Winning Composer, Producer, Arranger and Guitarist

TIMBALAND

WENDY ONG

Award-Winning Record Producer, Rapper, DJ, Singer, and Songwriter

SAM HOLLANDER

President, TaP Music

DALLAS AUSTIN

CHRIS BLACKWELL Founder, Island Records

RAINE MAIDA CHANTAL KREVIAZUK Moon vs. Sun, JUNOAward Winning Artists

CARIANNE MARSHALL COO, Warner Chappell Music

DESMOND CHILD

GRAMMY -Winning Producer, Songwriter ®

THE HONOURABLE STEVEN GUILBEAULT

BYRON WILSON

BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE

DANNY ZELISKO

Minister of Canadian Heritage

CEO/Founder, 1851 House Inc.

President, Singer, Songwriter Oscar -Winning Composer Danny Zelisko Presents ®

PORTIA SABIN

DAVID ZEDECK

Songwriter, Producer, Hitmaker

GRAMMY -Winning Producer, Songwriter, Musician & Film Producer

EVP, Global Touring & Talent, AEG Presents

DEBRA RATHWELL

CHRIS MORTIMER SVP Head of Digital Marketing, Interscope

President, Music Business Association

Partner & Co-Head of Music, United Talent Agency

EMILY LAZAR

IAN MONTONE

MICHAEL CHUGG

Grammy®-Winner Founder/Chief Engineer, The Lodge

MARTIN ELBOURNE Advisor/Booker Glastonbury Festival

36 MAY 2021 NEXT

®

Founder, Monotone Inc.

LARRY MESTEL

Founder & CEO Primary Wave Music

BRITTNEY KING BROCK

MICHAEL HUPPE

RYAN PRESS

NATALIA NASTASKIN

FABRICE SERGENT

GINA WATERS MILLER

President of A&R Warner Chappell Music

Chief Content Officer Primary Wave Music

President of Operations, General Manager 10K Projects

Managing Partner Bands In Town

President/CEO SoundExchange

SVP/General Manager Entertainment One

Founder/CEO Chugg Entertainment

MARCIE ALLEN President, MAC Presents


4?s FOUR QUESTIONS

GREG KEELOR

A

Canadian music legend, Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor has been hard at work over the pandemic. His just released latest solo record, Share the Love, is out after over a year-and-a-half of writing and recording—and re-recording—so it’s clear that, even after a lifetime of Canadian music icon status, Keelor has no intentions of slowing down. And here’s a tip from Keelor: sad is not always bad.

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

1

The pandemic has slowed everything down. How has it changed the way you make music? Completely. I’ve had trouble with my ears; I’ve had tinnitus for 30 years. So it’s been nice to give my brain a rest. It’s given me time to recoup and focus on singing and writing songs. One thing that’s been different about the pandemic that I really enjoy is how performers are using Facebook, Instagram and livestreams. That’s been a really nice way to connect with the artists that you love and for them to connect with you. It’s so intimate.

2

Tell us about the making of this “pandemic” record.

This record was actually recorded twice. We did a studio version a year and a half ago, and that was set to go: mixed, mastered, a release date. The idea of going to a retreat and recording and filming these songs was just to have a lot of

emotional, promotional material for the release. So we recorded the nine songs and did some alternates, and when we heard it back, it just had an energy to it—we just knew it was better. It had a connection and a spirit. We knew we had to release the album with those recordings.

3

What’s the inspiration behind these tracks?

Writing the songs and recording them was very cathartic. These songs are about a time in my life when a very good friend of mine had died, and the woman I’d been going out with for five years, we’d just broken up; so I’d been in this melancholic landscape for quite some time. A large part of my musical being comes from the landscape of melancholy. I love a sad song. I love to be at a party and sing the saddest song. I’ll always have a sadder song than anyone else. I love that emotion—Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, those songs that break your heart. That’s the great thing about music—you can put on a sad song and it’ll break your heart for three minutes, and then it’s over and you can do whatever you have to do.

4

Was this record therapeutic, turning that pain into something beautiful? Yes, absolutely. There’s something so nice about being devastated. It takes you out of the world and puts you in a very sympathetic and empathetic state of mind. I’m very lucky I get to sing about it. There’s something about singing that is very soothing to a broken heart. It’s an amazing thing that songs can do. NEXT MAY 2021

37


MANILA GREY VANCOUVER HIP-HOP DUO WORK THEIR ASSES OFF TO BECOME THE MUSICAL ROLE MODELS THEY NEVER HAD By LAURA ROBINSON Photos By ZULEYYMA PRADO (@ZULEYYMA)

38 MAY 2021 NEXT


NEXT MAY 2021

39


GHOSTRIDE NEEKO AND BLAME SOLIVEN

of Manila Grey have a litmus test for a good song. If they hit play while driving down Knight Street—a long stretch of highway known for fast cars and drag racing that connects Vancouver and their hometown of Richmond—and the song flows with the racing speed and whipping wind, it passes. “We’ve always had this kind of night rider, late-night drive kind of vibe to our brand,” says Soliven, who goes by Sol. “That’s the final test for a song. You gotta play it down Knight and just kind of vibe to it.” It’s fitting, then, that the sleek hip-hop duo’s newest album is titled No Saints on Knight Street. Neeko’s ferocious verses throb with 808s that send vibrations through mosh pits or shake the frame of a souped-up Honda Civic, while ice-cold hi-hats cut through the big-room sound as Sol slinks in with his silky falsetto hooks. Their glistening West Coast sonics recently earned them a JUNO nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year. Neeko remembers rubbing sleep from his eyes after a late-night recording session as he heard the news: “I woke up to a text from Sol and I was like, ‘Is this a dream? What’s going on here?’” Sol chimes in, laughing, “When we finally woke up, we were like ‘holy shit, it’s a JUNO.’ I called my mom right away.” Both Neeko and Sol (not their birth names) are first-generation Canadians, their parents having emigrated to B.C. from the Philippines. Of living in Richmond, Sol explains, “it’s very immigrant-heavy. People are just trying to survive. That’s something Neeks and I could always relate to.” 40 MAY 2021 NEXT

S

eparated from Vancouver by the Fraser River, Neeko and Sol grew up with the buzz of the big city just out of reach. Now, as professional artists, they’re gratuitous with the material exhibitionism in their music—cars, sex and money make up the main lyrical content, representative of the fortune they didn’t have as kids. That’s not to say they don’t give a nod to their upbringing: confessional track Long Game (Neeko’s Redemption) is just one of several instances where they do. Long Game feels like an ode to their tough roots and a love note to their strong Filipina moms: rapping about being hungry in food bank lineups, Neeko weightily declares, “Momma, we survived the coldest winters.” The duo met when they were 13 years old, collecting a tight-knit crew of boys who shared their appreciation for hip-hop music and contemporary street art along the way. Together they formed a group they called the 1z Collective (as in “day ones”). For fans of late-2000s TV series Entourage, aka Sex and the City for men, the narrative of a few rowdy young dudes orbiting the nucleus of their superstar friend will sound familiar. But the 1z Collective is different: it’s not just a title Sol and Neeko slapped onto their friend group to pat themselves on the back and glorify the odd creative exploit, as collectives can be. When it comes to 1z’s role in Manila Grey, each member brings his own professional skillset to the table and plays a different role: creative director, videographer, producer and touring DJ. They’re more like Odd Future, an alt hip-hop collective responsible for the likes of Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean.

“All of our friends became professionals. Everyone just kind of managed to make their passions their career. A lot of people think we’re paying some crazy companies to make crazy videos, but honestly it’s just gang, from day one,” Sol asserts. It’s just one of many instances in this interview in which he and Neeko make sure to give their crew love. The fact that they met the best friends they now call creative partners in grade school keeps them grounded. Manila Grey may seem like a duo, but they don’t talk about themselves in one breath without giving credit to the 1z in the next. The 1z Collective is almost entirely Filipino, although a couple of members represent Pakistan and Iceland. “It’s this Richmond multiculturalism—the 1z know the weight that it holds. They know that we’re one of the first Filipino acts to break out or even have a JUNO nomination. They know the importance of that. They know they’re a part of that.”

W

ith their first nomination under their belts, and after a sold-out 2019 tour across Canada and Asia routinely filled clubs with upwards of a thousand fans, Manila Grey have come a long way from where they started. And where was that, exactly? Why, nowhere other than at the ultimate expression of the North American dream. “I was at the mall, doing stupid-ass shit,” laughs Neeko. “We just spent our high school days making music, especially in the summertime. Every day it was record, do stupid shit, and then record and do stupid shit. So, it


MANILA GREY

“THEY KNOW THAT WE’RE ONE OF THE FIRST FILIPINO ACTS TO BREAK OUT OR EVEN HAVE A JUNO NOMINATION. THEY KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT.”

NEXT MAY 2021

41


“THAT’S THE TRUE ESSENCE OF HIP HOP. WHERE YOU ORIGINATE FROM, YOUR ROOTS— EVERYBODY HAS SOME SORT OF STRUGGLE THAT THEY COMPARTMENTALIZE. AND IT’S HARD TO EXPRESS. YOUNG ASIANS SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL THAT STORY.”

42 MAY 2021 NEXT


was a cycle,” Sol grins mischievously. They’d cut class and meet at community centres outfitted with microphones, record when their parents weren’t home and run around town tagging walls like any good young Basquiat would do. Naysayers might call them problem kids, but they were obviously committed to their craft early on. Neeko cites visual artist Daniel Arsham and the late street artist Keith Haring as influences, adding that Manila Grey is “a balance of bougie art and hip hop.” Now, on their way up, they like to stay connected with their fans, many of whom are just like the young mallrats they once were. One way the duo makes that connection is by watching fan vlogs. “Post-show, Neeko and I would watch fan vlogs on YouTube,” says Sol. He recounts a vlog recorded at their Manila show: “One kid went there by himself; he’s never been to the big city. He’s vlogging, saying things

like, ‘Oh, I’ve got their tweet here: looks like they just landed.’ This guy is up at like 9 am, saying goodbye to his mom. He has his Neeko haircut, he has his ‘fit, thinking, ‘I’m going to meet some shorties there.’ To us, that is so fulfilling.” Neeko sees it as a full circle moment: “It’s funny, because I feel like the fans don’t know that we watch them, but we watch every single one. Sometimes you go on a deep dive, and see what people are posting about Manila Grey. It’s amazing. These kids are just hype. Sol and I would wait at Foot Locker from 12 midnight until eight in the morning so we could get a pair of sneakers. That’s the same experience these kids are going through—just to watch us play a show.” The guys talk about their younger fans so affectionately that it almost feels as if they’re talking about a younger sibling they feel protective about. Throughout the interview, their demeanor is warm and good-natured: laughing readily, asking me questions in return, beaming when they talk about their moms, tossing around words like “blessed” and phrases like “the come up was real.” I was surprised—it came in such stark contrast to the cool, polished exterior of their brand. They might even be two of the most polite rappers in the game: they logged onto our Zoom call early.

S

MANILA GREY

o, what was their come up like, anyway? Success didn’t just pop up overnight for Manila Grey. In fact, their first attempt to launch the duo failed. As Sol recounts, “Neeks and I quit our jobs and the music didn’t work out.” Their very first song release, 2016’s 1z, sat at a few thousand plays online for the first two months. Both guys feared they made the wrong decision by quitting their jobs in a seedy Richmond casino. “Neeks was a dealer and I was a security guy. It was very, very dark times. River Rock Casino is not the best place to be at. We wanted to get out of there as soon as possible,” Sol says. Thinking the music would take off, they both quit their jobs on the same day. They initially went to LA to chase the dream; it failed. Manila Grey wasn’t created for another three years after that. “The repercussions of that were bad. We had to really figure it out. I think that’s what put us in the do-or-die mindset, like yo, we either make Manila Grey now, or we don’t. It was just a choice,” says Sol matter-of-factly. Noses to the grindstone, they cut hair in a barber shop and worked another security gig just so they could put in time on Manila Grey in the midnight hours. Neeko cites a dogged work ethic and commitment to the music for finally giving Manila Grey its wings. “Music is not a cheap career to start up. You’ve got to invest in your craft. People say they can’t do it, that it costs too much. And it’s like, no bro, there are 24 hours in a day. If you really want to go get it, go work the eight-hour job, go work the four-hour part time, go put in eight hours in the studio, go sleep for four hours and do it again. Take out all excuses. If you want it, you gotta go for it.” There were no industry connections, no silver spoon to feed them. As the children of immigrants, Sol and Neeko made sure they worked harder than the rest to make their dream a reality. As clichéd as it may sound—you’ve got to respect their hustle. Sharing details about the part of the Philippines his family emigrated from, Sol says, “When you go to my home city, there’s a goat and you can get stabbed.” Neeko adds, “You see the slums, the hardship, the markets and it’s so different. It’s not like Superstore, it’s not like Walmart—markets are just on the street. They’re up at six in the morning, grinding. That’s the part of the Philippines that I knew.” This struggle is part of the reason both artists gravitated towards hip hop. “That’s the true essence of hip hop,” says Sol. “Where you originate from, your roots—everybody has some sort of struggle that they compartmentalize. And it’s hard to express. Young Asians should be able to tell that story.”

NEXT MAY 2021

43


MANILA GREY The other major reason they pursued hip hop is the lack of Asian representation in the genre. Passion mounting in his voice, Neeko explains: “It was definitely hard growing up, because you want to see somebody that looks like you so you can look up to them.” The term “role model” doesn’t exactly conjure up images of rappers drag racing, waxing poetic about their girl’s insane ass or fanning fat stacks of green Queen Lizzies into a sweaty crowd. But that doesn’t make them bad influences. Sure, they embody the strutting, conspicuous, look-at-me-ness of mainstream hip-hop culture, but a gritty work ethic got them there in the first place. The hustle they represent isn’t exactly possible for those who live in a town where there is a goat, where they can get stabbed, where they have to grind from 6 am onward to provide for their family. As first-generation Canadians, the door to accruing wealth and pursuing their dreams is open much wider for them than it is for their loved ones living in lessfortunate parts of the Philippines. And with so many harmful stereotypes of Asians perpetuated in popular Western media throughout modern history, Manila Grey’s unapologetic, swaggering presence blows those restrictive preconceptions wide open. “We encourage the youth to see us as an example

44 MAY 2021 NEXT

of what you can achieve if you’re just truly passionate about the music,” Sol states with conviction.

T

he duo puts a distinctly Asian flair into their discography. In the music video for 1z, they taunt the camera as they bob and weave through the aisles of an Asian convenience store, ending up at a table with what looks like a Crock Pot on top. But instead of being filled with simmering dope, it’s a rice cooker. This is Manila Grey after all—not Migos. Blue Vegeta, a smooth track off No Saints on Knight Street, their fresh new album, is a reference to a superpower-harnessing character from the globally popular Japanese manga series Dragon Ball Z. Further injecting that Filipino feel, they pepper Spanish phrases throughout their oeuvre—Tagalog, one of the Phillipines' offical languages, features bits and pieces of Spanish as the island nation was once a colony of Spain. Another art form they’re passionate about? Fashion. Sporting everything from utility vests à la Off White to shiny pleather pants, they’re comfortable playing around with their style. Counting obvious streetwear legends Virgil Abloh and Jerry Lorenzo as influences, Neeko also nods to Rhuigi Villaseñor, “another Filipino in the mix that’s killing the fucking game.”

The duo styles themselves for shoots and gigs, with a keen eye for one very specific detail. “We look at a lot of silhouettes. Like, if you were fully silhouetted, is it dope? I think Kanye is amazing at that,” Sol enthuses. Perhaps that’s why he sported a North Face puffer at a packed gig in Montreal before COVID. It’s a trend among rappers onstage, albeit a wildly impractical one. When asked how he performs in packed clubs wearing a coat designed for -30°C weather, he laughs: “It looks good in photos, it feels better—you go out there a little more confident. But it’s not the best idea. I took it off after two or three songs.” Always a team effort, the 1z Collective gives their two cents. “The team will tell you if your outfit is wack. If you’re rocking a fedora and suspenders, they’ll be like, ‘you might need to go back and change.’” The hype surrounding Manila Grey may be accelerating, but they aren’t at risk of forgetting where they started. Cruising down Knight Street isn’t just about testing the limits of the speedometer—it’s also a place to reminisce, the calm eye of the storm. Sol concludes, “Every time we’re driving down there, that’s when we just talk, like ‘holy shit, how’d this all happen?’ Those are the nights that we cherish.” 


Reviews ALBUMS/TRACKS/VIDEOS/LIVE

ST. VINCENT PROVES SHE'S THE DADDY

ST. VINCENT Daddy’s Home

Genre: Neo-psychedelic rock Sound: Nostalgic tales weave through verses amid psychedelic reverbs and soulful choruses in a tapestry of rock, blues and jazz If you like: David Bowie, HAIM, Prince Why you should listen: Channelling her new alter-ego Candy Darling, named after a transgender Warholian muse, Annie Clark tells a love story about early 70s New York, her relationship with her onceincarcerated father and tips her cap to the feminist icons that paved the way for her to become the immaculate art rocker she is today. Best track: The Melting of the Sun

A

nnie Clark is a chameleon. The artist created St. Vincent so she could experiment with an infinity of personas, sidestepping the confines of personal branding to which so many musicians are tethered. Rocking everything from futuristic pleather suits to 80s spandex leotards, past iterations of St. Vincent earned Clark Grammys for her slick electronic sound and juggernaut guitar shredding. The version of St. Vincent on Daddy’s Home has emerged in tinted shades, bell-bottomed power suits and a curled bob in a collection of 70s ensembles taken to deliciously campy levels. Somewhere, David Bowie is smiling. It’s not all kitsch—Daddy’s Home is a technically masterful album. Clark commands her guitar, creating psychedelic undulations while simple drums shimmer and a power-packed chorus cries soulfully across the sound. It’s a superb sonic mirage. Rife with dirty organ riffs and bursts of saxophone, the title track—Daddy’s Home—references her father’s release from prison after participating in a multimillion-dollar stock manipulation scheme. In The Melting of the Sun, Clark pays homage to female performers—icons like Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Marilyn Monroe—who were suppressed by an industry and a time that refused to hear their voices beyond their microphones and silver screens. Clark’s seventh studio album is both glamourous and tough, fusing layers of personal struggles, retro influences and nods to old school legends with such masterful execution that it’s clear the real daddy is Clark herself.

NEXT MAY 2021

45


REVIEWS

30¯SECOND ALBUM JAPANESE BREAKFAST Jubilee

Genre: Art pop Sound: Dreamy, ethereal vocals over layered synths and atmospheric instrumentation If you like: Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Alvvays Why you should listen: Sophisticated production and a more mature, understated sound make Japanese Breakfast’s 80s-inspired album a must-listen. Best track: Posing in Bondage

JEFF ROSENSTOCK SKA DREAM

Genre: Ska Sound: Bouncy, shouty and danceable, this album checks every classic ska box If you like: The Interrupters, Joyce Manor, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Why you should listen: Jeff Rosenstock’s ska tribute album is definitely a bit of a meme, but his signature screamy angst and undeniable musical talent make it genuinely great. Best track: ***SKA

GIRL IN RED

MITSKI

Genre: Indie pop Sound: Distorted, fuzzy angstpop If you like: King Princess, Mxmtoon, Chloe Moriondo Why you should listen: Girl in red is one of the most visible queer femme artists in the industry right now, and her new album may be her best work yet. Best track: You Stupid Bitch

Genre: Art pop, country Sound: An artistic, world-building soundtrack that’s provocative even without the accompanying graphic novel If you like: Johnny Cash, Phoebe Bridgers, Tom Waits Why you should listen: This is Mitski’s first soundtrack, and the art-pop songstress’s talents are put to work building a moody, country-inspired track list unlike anything she’s done before. Best track: The Baddy Man

If I Could Make It Go Quiet

This Is Where We Fall

GRETA VAN FLEET

The Battle at Garden’s Gate

Genre: Rock Sound: Bluesy guitar riffs and wailing vocals make for modern-day rock classics If you like: Led Zeppelin, The Glorious Sons, Crown Lands Why you should listen: Greta Van Fleet are often compared to Led Zeppelin, and for good reason: their latest album pays homage to their great rock predecessors without being derivative. Best track: Tears of Rain

THE NEXT PLAYLIST

1

Drip Dreamin’ Omega Mighty

A regular guest in her sister Haviah’s shows, this is Omega’s rich and rewarding soulful soul debut.

46 MAY 2021 NEXT

2

Light of a Clear Blue Morning Waxahatchee

Katie Crutchfield’s raw and pure ode to renewal and hope is as fresh as a sunrise over the mountains in West Virginia.

3

He Said She Said CHVRCHES

This Scottish trio expertly juxtaposes uplifting pop synths with lyrics that call out the contradictory societal pressures put on women.

4

Waves of Blue Majid Jordan

Smooth cruising or cuddling crooning from Toronto duo overdue for their mega-break.

5

The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version) Taylor Swift

This mature rerelease of Taylor Swift’s iconic hard-love banger is more tragic and cathartic than ever.


REVIEWS

SUFJAN STEVENS

TWENTY ONE PILOTS

GREG KEELOR

LONDON GRAMMAR

ART D’ECCO

Genre: Alternative Sound: Experimental, melancholy ambient noise with biblical undertones If you like: Aphex Twin, Beach House, The Antlers Why you should listen: Revelations is the third installment of Stevens’ most ambitious project yet: a sprawling five-part album mourning the death of his father. While this album is far more experimental than anything he’s released before, it’s evocative, emotional and a must-listen for fans of his work. Best track: Revelation X

Genre: Alternative Sound: An upbeat revamp of their well-known, eclectic altpop sound If you like: Neon Trees, Grouplove, Panic! at the Disco Why you should listen: The Columbus, Ohio duo got famous off of their angsty, suicidal lyrics and unique combination of rap and alt-pop, but the band is back with a completely new (and surprisingly upbeat) 80s-inspired sound. Best track: Shy Away

Genre: Folk Sound: Stripped-back, melancholy tunes played with a rustic live band If you like: Blue Rodeo, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan Why you should listen: Inspired by a year of loss, sadness and rebirth, Keelor’s raw, authentic album is classic Canadian folk. Best track: White Dove

Genre: Indie pop Sound: Reverberating guitars and moody synths paired with soaring, breathy vocals and the occasional string section If you like: The xx, Florence + the Machine, Wolf Alice Why you should listen: London Grammar’s long-awaited return builds on their signature melancholy sound with more introspective lyrics and deeper atmospheric instrumentation that pairs perfectly with a relaxed evening at home. Best track: How Does It Feel

Genre: Alternative Sound: Danceable, retro tracks that sound straight out of the 70s but pack a modern punch If you like: David Bowie, T. Rex, Brian Eno Why you should listen: Art d’Ecco is a musical and aesthetic chameleon who uses a flamboyant persona and a variety of 70s influences to send messages about pop culture, consumerism and technology. Best track: TV God

Revelations

Scaled and Icy

Share the Love

California Soil

Renée Reed

10 TRACKS THE NEXT STAFF CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH

6

Strange Astrology Slothrust

This slow, soft release from Seattle grunge band Slothrust will be relatable for Libras and Leos alike.

7

Naked Bickle

A disco banger for when the urge to dance naked arises. Just be sure to close the blinds.

8

Rainforest Noname

This chilled-out R&B track draws parallels to Chance The Rapper’s style, while making a pointed statement about race and class relations in America.

9

COUNT ON ME BROCKHAMPTON

A catchy song with a whistling backtrack off of the boy wonder rap group’s second-last album ever.

10

Cherry Pit

Luna Li

A hazily shimmering dream track destined for summer chill out playlists.

NEXT MAY 2021

47


30¯SECOND ALBUM REVIEWS 48 MAY 2021 NEXT

JAYWOOD

K.D. LANG

Genre: Indie pop Sound: Lo-fi vocals and jazzy chords create a happy-golucky sonic disposition If you like: Mac DeMarco, Blood Orange, Toro y Moi Why you should listen: Originally recorded in 2015 when he was learning to make music on a borrowed MacBook, the DIY divots in this debut are still audible—but charming. Channeling heartbreak into warm, sunny tracks, it’s a feel-good, easy listen. Best track: Some Days

Genre: Dance Sound: Glossy beats mingle with k.d.’s epic, Grammy-winning voice on a turn-of-the-millennium dance floor If you like: Madonna, Cher, Peggy Gou Why you should listen: To celebrate Pride Month in June, Nonesuch Records has curated a dance remix collection of the beloved Canadian icon’s biggest hits between 1992 and 2000. Talk about nailing the 90s club nostalgia. Best track: Sexuality (Tony Maserati Remix)

Some Days

makeover

CHARLIE HOUSTON I Hate Spring EP

Genre: Pop Sound: Funky chords punctuate cool and breezy vocals ruminating about distant lovers If you like: Clairo, Charlotte Day Wilson, beabadoobee Why you should listen: This downtempo debut from the 20-year-old Toronto artist explores first kisses, dark days and sexuality with hooks so light and catchy that listening feels like getting lost in a daydream. Best track: Things

RAG’N’BONE MAN

Life by Misadventure

Genre: Roots rock Sound: Ground-shaking vocals and strings imbued with Southern blues sensibilities intensified by cinematic drums and keys crescendos If you like: Jacob Banks, Matt Anderson, Alabama Shakes Why you should listen: A tough-looking man with face tattoos, Rag’n’Bone Man bares his soul flawlessly on this powerful sophomore release. His beautiful baritone and collaboration with P!nk will send shivers. Best track: Talking to Myself


KANDLE

BROCKHAMPTON

Genre: Alt Rock Sound: Staticky lead guitar, vocals forged with retro swagger create sound that swings between tender, rebellious If you like: The Beaches, Lana Del Rey, Zella Day Why you should listen: Vancouver’s JUNO-nominated rocker croons with noir pinup vibe, her raspy bite reinforced by her badass female musicians. Influenced by 60s legends like Nancy Sinatra, Kandle adds none-of-your-bullshit attitude to glamour of old school romantics. Best track: Honey Trap

Genre: Hip hop/Rap Sound: Throbbing bass, melodic backtracks set scene for boisterous, confessional verses If you like: Travis Scott, Odd Future, Aminé Why you should listen: Announced as their second last album, the rap group gets real about personal struggles while finessing their beats to be the best yet—ensuring they go out with a sonic bang. Best track: Don’t Shoot Up the Party

Set The Fire

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine

JOSEPH SHABASON

ALLISON RUSSELL

Genre: New Age/Jazz Sound: Fluctuates between tranquil and anxious maze-like compositions built by woodwind instruments, synths, horns, percussion, guitar and so much more If you like: Destroyer, Harold Budd, Beverly Glenn-Copeland Why you should listen: The saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and all-star collaborator takes listeners on a vivid familial journey that soothes and hypnotizes. Best track: 15-19

Genre: Folk/Rock Sound: Dreamy and soulful folk-rock arrangements with resonant vocals If you like: Valerie June, Nathaniel Rateliff, Rhiannon Giddens Why you should listen: Outside Child is a mournful, celebratory and powerful record, and Allison Russell (Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago) is wholly captivating. Best track: Nightflyer

The Fellowship

Outside Child

Best track: Peaches

CAT CLYDE & JEREMIE ALBINO Blue Blue Bluee

Genre: Blues/Folk Sound: Dusky blues and twangy folk passionately delivered by a duo with great chemistry If you like: Shovels & Rope, Shakey Graves, Lead Belly Why you should listen: Two of Canada’s finest folk artists join forces and make a charming album of original tunes and familiar favourites, including songs by Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Best track: Been Worryin’

NEXT MAY 2021

49


THE LOCAL PAGES

Y Y Z TORONTO ARTS & EVENTS MAY

50 MAY 2021 NEXT


REEL ABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL GOES ONLINE ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival

Wed., May 19 – Mon., May 31 Virtual event / Pay what you can reelabilities.org

ReelAbilities (RAFF) is hosting their sixth annual Toronto festival entirely online. The festival showcases important stories about Deaf and disability cultures by filmmakers and actors with disabilities and/or who are Deaf. In addition to over 20 short and feature film screenings, the festival hosts a comedy night, educational presentations and workshops for grade school students. All films will screen with open captioning and all workshops and panels will include live captioning and ASL. The festival’s feature documentary is, The Reason I Jump (82 minutes), based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida. This documentary explores neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe that leads viewers to Higashida’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say. The Reason I Jump is paired with two short films by young Autistic directors. Post-screening, ReelAbilities will host a Young Autistic Voices panel and highlight the perspectives of nonspeaking Autistic youth.

May 8-15, 2021 in partnership with CANZINE and HAND EYE SOCIETY

FE ATU R IN G PR O G R A M M ING WIT H

Ho Che Anderson, Daniel Clowes, Robin Ha, Jaime Hernandez, Nalo Hopkinson, Lee Lai, Hartley Lin, Kabi Nagata, Jeff Smith, Jill Thompson, Adrian Tomine, Eric Kostiuk Williams, and many more! Digital marketplace! • Over 400 exhibitors! TORONTOCOMICS.COM

Follow @TorontoComics for news and updates

#TCAF #TCAF2021

Art by © Cole Pauls

TCAF wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors:

CONSULAT GÉNÉRAL DE FRANCE À TORONTO

THE TCAF

SHOP

NEXT MAY 2021

51


YYZ MAY

Exco Levi

EXCO LEVI, MÉTIS FIDDLERS HIGHLIGHT CITY HALL LIVE City Hall Live Spotlight Thurs., May 6 and Thurs., May 13, 7:30 pm ET Virtual event / Free toronto.ca/explore-enjoy

City Hall’s virtual music showcase continues into May with performances by Exco Levi and the Métis Fiddler Quartet. Levi is a five-time Juno Award-winning reggae artist, whose spotlight will be streamed from the Reggae Cafe. The Quartet is a bilingual sibling ensemble and will be sharing Métis fiddle traditions from the Olde Stone Cottage Pub. The Spotlight series is filmed in music venues across the city and raises money for the Unison Benevolent Fund.

TORONTO FAVE PHOTO FEST, CONTACT, TAKES IT TO THE STREETS CONTACT Photography Festival Date: Begins now, with virtual programming throughout 2021 Price: Free viewings; workshops from $15 /Various street locales and online scotiabankcontactphoto.com

Toronto’s spring visual art feast, the CONTACT Photography Festival, returns for its 25th year both in the streets and online. The pandemic makes the festival’s focus on the spirit-raising power of art especially timely—and therapeutic. The Festival pandemic-pivots with photos outdoors, including a vivid image stretched across Ryerson’s School of Image Arts Building at Gould and Bond, as well as throughout the west end highlighting the work of students from the Sheridan Photography graduating class. A series of artists talks and practical photography sessions are available online. 52 MAY 2021 NEXT


MAY YYZ THE HIGH ART OF COMICS CELEBRATED AT TCAF Toronto Comic Arts Festival

TCAF is going digital! Comic artists and readers will have a week of on-demand programming to peruse, including workshops, Q&As and hundreds of international exhibitors. Panels include Science in Comics, Wrestling and Comics and a live drawing event paired with a DJ set. Keynote speakers include Jeff Smith, creator of the New York Times bestselling BONE series, and Governor General’s Literary Award-winner David Robertson.

There’s No Line When You’re Online

Beer, Liquor & Wine Delivery, Anywhere in Ontario

TRY IT NOW!

NEXT MAY 2021

53

COLE PAULS

Sat., May 8 – Sat., May 15 Virtual event / Free torontocomics.com


YYZ MAY

Dep BCS

Odreii

CMW MUSIC FEST, CONFERENCE BOUNCES BACK ONLINE CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK

Date: Tues., May 18–Fri., May 21 Virtual event Price: Free (for the music festival); $99–$149 (for the conference) cmw.net

After cancelling last year, Canadian Music Week (CMW) is back with a free online music festival, along beside fee-based conference sessions with lots of how-to programming lead by industry experts. Viewers can catch dozens of emerging artists from across the country and around the world,

Nile Rodgers

54 MAY 2021 NEXT

including Montreal pop singer Odreii, Toronto’s Dep BCS and Chilean experimental artist Chakranegra. Conference topics include navigating the current live music ecosystem, the value of collaborating with songwriters and launching your music on TikTok. Grammy-winners Nile Rodgers and Timbaland will sit down for an in-depth conversation—Chic’s main man, and a legendary producer and songwriter, Rodgers’ appearance at CMW 2014 was epic, and the Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award was subsequently named for him.

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Oscar-winning Canadian hero and music superstar Buffy Sainte-Marie will share how her music became a tool for Indigenous activism, and a session with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell— the man who brought Bob Marley to the world—is certain to be a highlight. Artist of the Year winners Monowhales will be performing at the festival’s annual Indie Awards (event, date and details still to come). The music showcases are free to attend with online registration, but delegate passes are required for keynote speaker events and industry panels.

Timbaland


RJ MITTE

ARI MILLEN

MARTIN ROACH

NICHOLAS CAMPBELL

“DELICIOUSLY DARK & DISTURBING”

DAVID FERRY

AND

PETER OUTERBRIDGE

“EFFECTIVELY HORRIFYING”

- THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS

- STARBURST MAGAZINE

“EXACTLY THE MOVIE YOU’RE MEANT TO STUMBLE ACROSS”

“A HARDBOILED PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER”

- NOW MAGAZINE

- IRISH EXAMINER

THE

OAK ROOM

NEXT MAY 2021

55


The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

DOXA DOC FEST DOES IT RIGHT DOXA Documentary Film Festival May 6–16 Film festival On-demand plus livestreams, various times Single screening $10, all-access pass $65–$75 doxafestival.ca/program

THE LOCAL PAGES

Y V R VANCOUVER ARTS & EVENTS MAY

56 MAY 2021 NEXT

DOXA, one of Vancouver’s most groundbreaking film fests returns with 10 days of fully online programming as they celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. The festival delivers nonstop streaming of some of the world’s most hot-button docs, with a packed program of artist talks, discussion sessions and exclusive features. Every DOXA doc will be available on-demand throughout the festival: an all-access pass lets you view everything the fest has to offer, but single screenings are available too. Top picks include: Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, a film on one of history’s greatest Black woman punk rockers; The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, featuring backroom footage from the resistance group’s heyday; and a special lineup of films about the war on drugs curated by Vancouver’s own Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU).


Crafted Vancouver

Now until May 25 / Various times / free Art festival in six Vancouver “districts” craftedvancouver.com

Crafted Vancouver, North America’s largest craft-based festival, is an annual 25-day event that puts outstanding local, Canadian and international craftsmanship at centre stage. Events take place at galleries, shops and other venues across Metro Vancouver and include gallery exhibitions, artist talks, hands-on workshops, classes and more. Crafted Vancouver also offers free online screenings at their REEL Crafted Film Festival, a two-day event that features craft-focused films from around the world. The festival separates the city into six walkable “creative districts” with closely connected events: Armoury District, Chinatown, Gastown, Granville Island Artisans, Parker Street Studios | Mergatroid Building, and Railtown. So, no matter where you are, there’s something nearby.

A FEAST FOR THE EYES A Feast for the Eyes

Now until May 30 / Wed.–Sun., 10am–5pm Art exhibition / Free 101 Carrie Cates Court thepolygon.ca/exhibition/feastfor-the-eyes/

The Polygon Gallery’s Feast for the Eyes explores the rich history of food as one of photography’s most prevalent and enduring subjects. Through photographs, advertisements and famous artworks, this exhibition aims to examine the timeless ways in which food influences our culture, our relationships and ourselves. The exhibit includes iconic works from Andy Warhol, Guy Bourdin, Weegee and over 50 other artists.

ED RUSCHA, SPAM, 1961, GELATIN-SILVER PRINT. © ED RUSCHA, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN GALLERY.

CRAFTED VANCOUVER BRINGS ART TO THE STREETS

OUKA LEELE, PELUQUERÍA, LIMONES, 1979, C-PRINT. COURTESY THE ARTIST.

MAY YVR

NEXT MAY 2021

57


YVR MAY

SPRING IS TIME TO FLEA, VANCOUVER Vancouver Flea

Every weekend / 9am–5pm $1.50 703 Terminal Ave vancouverfleamarket.com/home/

There’s no spring Vancouver activity quite as iconic as a weekend trip to the Vancouver Flea. The must-shop spot is open all year round but, come springtime, everyone from antique collectors to UBC freshmen to art school dropouts emerges from their rain-imposed exile to unearth hidden gems at the Lower Mainland’s largest flea market. It costs only $1.50 to gain access to a cornucopia of curated thrift finds, vintage treasures and historical oddities.

58 MAY 2021 NEXT

MOVING BOY IN THE MOON MEMOIR The Boy in the Moon

May 6–9 / various times Livestream / $29 for solo viewer; group packages available thecultch.com/event/the-boy-in-the-moon/

The Cultch, one of Vancouver’s most iconic theatre and culture hubs, is hosting a highly anticipated theatre experience based on Canadian journalist Ian Brown’s memoir The Boy in the Moon. Brown’s deeply moving story recounts his experiences raising a child with a severe disability. The show is playing via livestreamed performances from May 6–9, along with pre- and post-show talks with the cast and crew. Tickets start at $29 with group packages available.


THE LOCAL PAGES

Y Y C CALGARY ARTS & EVENTS MAY

GLOBALFEST STAMPS CULINARY PASSPORTS GlobalFest Flavours: Vietnamese Cuisine

May 18, 5:30 pm MST Virtual cooking classes / $10 per class globalfest.ca/flavours

Though a normal year for GlobalFest entails a buzzing and colourful blur of music, dancing and crackling fireworks, it’s up in the air if it will be able to return this summer. In the meantime, they’ve pivoted for the pandemic and kept one very key element: mouth-watering international cuisine. Showcasing delicious Vietnamese cuisine on May 18 is the Calgary Vietnamese Women’s Association. Embark on the whole journey with them: purchasing spices, shopping for ingredients in local stores, and virtually stepping into the chef’s home and learning to cook a tantalizing new dish with love. Didn’t cop a ticket in time? No problem. New classes and cuisines are added every two weeks until the end of June. NEXT MAY 2021

59


MAY YYC  John Ware Reclaimed

71 minutes Director: Cheryl Foggo / Country: Canada Available on demand from May 26–30 Trailer: vimeo.com/445607505

Unearthing the suppressed history of a thriving Black presence in the Prairies, Calgary filmmaker Cheryl Foggo investigates the mythology surrounding Black cowboy John Ware, who settled in Alberta before the turn of the 20th century. Drawing from her personal experience with racism growing up in Calgary, and her own Indiana Jones-style archeological and historical digging, Foggo sets the record straight on the often-racist retelling of Ware’s story.

 Since I Been Down

105 minutes Director: Gilda Sheppard / Country: United States Available on demand from May 26–30 Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=SL7eHbqD-KA

CALGARY BLACK FILM FEST CELEBRATES ONGOING STRUGGLE

Under the Clinton administration in 1993, Washington State voters passed a three-strikes law—which saw children sent to prison for life without parole. In 2020, 16 states continued to uphold this rule. In a film applauded by legendary civil rights activist Angela Davis, director Gilda Sheppard shares the story of these brave children— now adults—as they pave a path to justice and try to heal from inside prison walls.

Calgary Black Film Festival

May 26–30 Virtual screenings / $49 all-access pass CalgaryBlackFilm.com

Showcasing a dynamic collection of films that shine a spotlight on the realities of Black people around the globe, the Calgary Black Film Festival aims to connect Black stories with viewers from all walks of life in Alberta—the province with the third largest Black population after Ontario and Québec. Presented by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, a not-for profit organization dedicated to promoting Black art, cinema and culture in Canada and around the world, the stacked lineup includes everything from documentaries to feature-length films, plus an additional 20 selections from Being Black in Canada, the largest incubator in Canada for young Black filmmakers focusing on racial and social justice stories. Exciting panel discussions will also take place at the Black Market, featuring conversations with renowned industry professionals on the cutting edge of their craft. Full program online. 60 MAY 2021 NEXT

 The Special

91 minutes Director: Ignacio Márquez Country: Venezuela Available on demand from May 26–30 Trailer: vimeo.com/420205718

In this cerebral and emotional film, the charming young Chuo navigates the challenges of early adulthood with Down Syndrome. He begins to feel the need for independence from his father, José, who struggles to care for his son while grappling with his past demons and the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams. Caught in a tangle of silence and shame, father and son try to break free and fulfill their dreams while building a common future.


YYC MAY

FOREVER FLOWERS BLOOM AT WALLACE GALLERIES

QUEER FILM FEST SHIFTS PERSPECTIVES WITH FAIRY TALES Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival May 21–30 / $100 all access, $12 per film fairytalesfilmfest.com/home Screening the boundary-pushing work of nearly 40 queer filmmakers worldwide, the Calgary Queer Arts Society’s 23rd annual film festival offers a cornucopia of perspectives over its 10 days of programming. This year’s theme is Perspectives: No Two People See The Same Film. Viewers will see queerness through another’s eyes, and each unique viewer will will experience the same film differently. Here are some of our best festival bets.

Forgotten Roads

71 minutes Director: Nicol Ruiz Benavides / Country: Chile Available on demand from May 30–June 2

Say It With Flowers

May 8–26 / Wallace Galleries / Virtual and in-person / free wallacegalleries.com/exhibitions

Take a picture, it’ll last longer: a gorgeous bouquet of flowers is a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift, but Robert Lemay’s floral paintings on view at Wallace Galleries are forever. Painted chiaroscuro style with dramatic sweeps of bright colours and saturated shadows, the artist was inspired by the Italian flower markets of Rome, where he was staying when the pandemic took hold. “I wanted to paint from the viewpoint of the person leaning into a bouquet of flowers and absorbing the scent and the sensations of the textures,” says Lemay. Granted, original artwork is not in everyone’s budget— spend quality time with Mom by masking up, making an afternoon of it and just browsing the stunning collection. Of course, viewing online is always an option.

OTAFEST IS A VIRTUAL ANIME EXTRAVAGANZA

Isolated on a turkey farm and grieving her husband’s death, 70-year-old Claudina moves in with her daughter and grandson despite a strained relationship. Sparks fly when she meets their next-door-neighbour, a confident and independent married woman. They begin a secret romantic relationship, but when word gets out, things begin to unravel.

Otafest 2021

May 22 / 10am–12 midnight Virtual anime fest / free / otafest.com

Love, Spells, and All That 96 minutes Director: Ümit Ünal / Country: Turkey Available on demand from May 28–31

God’s Daughter Dances

Two women, who had a love affair as teenagers, were forced to separate by their families when their relationship was revealed— sending each girl to different places far from the summer island on which they met. Twenty years on, the women reconnect—but one believes it’s because of a superstitious spell. Over the course of on sun-drenched day, they embark on a journey around their nostalgic island while trying to lift the black magic.

Finally comfortable in her own skin, Shin-mi has built a happy life for herself as a dancer in a nightclub surrounded by fans and friends. A transgender woman, Shin-mi is unable to escape the examination for mandatory military service. Forced to prove her identity, she becomes mired in a web of accusations and humiliations.

24 minutes Director: Sungbin Byun Country: South Korea Available on demand from May 25–28

Born in 1999 when the University of Calgary’s Dedicated Otaku Anime Club decided to put on an anime film fest, the cult favourite festival also showcases manga, video games and cosplay. The full-day online event will feature anime-themed games, performances and Q&As with famous voice actor guests like Billy Kametz of Naruto Next Generations. In the market for some new cosplay swag? Browse the diverse online artist and vendor hall. Love Animal Crossing? Get your Dream code on stream day to explore the exclusive Otafest Island. Whichever adventure you choose, it promises to be a day full of fantasy and fun.

NEXT MAY 2021

61


MUSIC DAY ON CBC HIGHLIGHTS

JUNE 6

Music Day on CBC is a multi-platform, day-long, celebration of Canadian Music leading into the 2021 JUNO Awards broadcast. Listen to special programming on CBC Radio, watch on CBC TV, and find all editorial and streaming coverage at

cbcmusic.ca/junos

5 PM ET

ON CBC TV

5 PM ET

ON CBC MUSIC

6 PM ET

ON CBC TV

CBC Music Presents: The Intro

Hosted by Saroja Coelho, this special

JUNOS edition of The Intro showcases rising artists from across the country through interviews and live performances.

JUNO Songwriters’ Circle Presented By SOCAN In Association With Music Publishers Canada Some of Canada’s finest songwriters perform acoustic songs and tell the stories behind them.

CBC Music Presents: If These Walls Could Talk A one-hour special taking you inside Canada’s iconic music venues and hidden gems. Top Canadian musicians share stories of their historic nights at some of the country’s best concert halls.

6 PM ET

The JUNO Winners Circle

7 PM ET

CBC Music Presents: My JUNOS Moment The biggest Canadian artists

ON CBC MUSIC

ON CBC TV

A celebration of all the winners from the JUNO Opening Night Awards.

relive their iconic JUNO moments. Alessia Cara takes on hosting duties and some of Canada’s top music experts help define these special moments in Junos history.

The 2021 JUNO Awards The 50th annual celebration of Canadian music.

8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT

ON CBC TV CBC Gem

CBC Radio One CBC Music Globally on cbcmusic.ca/junos

cbcmusic.ca/junos 62 MAY 2021 NEXT

For more information and the full Music Day on CBC schedule.


FUNNIES THE NEXT

TIME-WASTING PUZZLES, GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

61

CONNECT THE DOTS

59

58

57

62

60

63 64

56

65 66

55

67

54

95

94

53

93

92

68 69 91 90

36

70

WHO'S GOING TO TAKE HOME A TON OF JUNOS? This year’s 225 JUNO nominations

96 means there’s lots of glittering 97 89 100 52 hardware up for grabs. 101 51 98 99 88 48 72 71 34 37 50 Connect-the-dots to see who 49 102 42 47 103 could walk off with one of the 111 110 43 87 86 38 33 85 73 104 46 biggest armloads of JUNO glory 82 109 39 40 41 112 81 105 80 ever. Tune in June 6 to CBC, 127 78 74 44 113 45 124 79 128 84 to see this year’s big winners. 126 108 123 106 83 107 122 125 130 129 75 77 131 121 76 144 120 119 118 117 132 115 114 116 135 146 138 139 28 145 137 136 133 134 29 27 147 143 26 202 140 141 142 32 148 31 2 201 150 151 22 30 23 1 3 24 198 20 25 203 21 199 10 16 233 227 9 4 196 19 18 204 200 232 149 234 195 11 228 226 221 152 197 5 220 153 17 222 156 235 231 229 6 214 194 15 166 225 157 205 213 215 193 14 167 8 223 154 230 155 212 7 165 206 191 192 209 168 236 216 211 224 12 219 190 210 169 217 164 158 218 208 13 207 163 237 162 159 178 170 160 161 171 189 177 248 172 242 176 173 174 175 238 243 241 186 247 179 244 259 187 239 240 185 246 188 245 254 257 184 35

249

ILLUSTRATION: SARAH WADE

Watch the JUNOS on CBC.ca

250 180 253

251 252

258 255

256

260

183 261

182

181

Livestream the JUNOS on YouTube

NEXT MAY 2021

63


FUNNIES

PREDICT YOUR FUTURE GAME

*

MANSION

*

APARTMENT

IC E MAG SPIRAL TH HE AW RE R D

*

SHACK

HOME

FUTURE CITY 1 MONTREAL 2 WHITEHORSE 3 EMO, ONTARIO 4 DILDO, NEWFOUNDLAND 5 VICTORIA

FUTURE TRANSPO 1 RAZOR SCOOTER 2 TESLA 3 TOBOGGAN 4 TOYOTA COROLLA 5 HORSE

YOUR LUCKY NUMBER

FUTURE KIDS 1 0 2 100 3 2 4 8

5 11 CATS AND A DOG NAMED "STEVE"

FUTURE SPOUSE

FUTURE JOB

1 SHAWN MENDES

1 BRAND MASCOT

2 ORVILLE PECK

2 PLUMBER

3 GRIMES

3 SUPERSTAR

4 DRAKE

4 ELON MUSK'S MASTER OF COIN

5 TEGAN AND/OR SARA

5 PORTO-POTTY CLEANER

64 MAY 2021 NEXT

MASH

How to M•A•S•H Using some of the finest elementary school prognostication techniques, we at NEXT are giving this schoolyard fortune-telling tool an update. All you need is a pencil and paper (and a friend for extra fun) to find out your future. Spin Your Way to Your Lucky Number To start, you need to draw a spiral in the circle to determine your lucky number. You can either just draw it and stop, draw it with your eyes closed, or draw it for a friend and stop when they say stop. After the spiral has been drawn, count the number of rings in the spiral. Record your lucky number in the box. Predict Your Future The last step is to predict your future. Start counting up to your lucky number in the first box at Mansion. Stop counting lines when you get to your lucky number. Cross that item out. Continue counting up to your lucky number and crossing items out, leaving only one option left in each section to predict your future. Where will you live, who will you live with, how will you get to work and what is your job? Let the M*A*S*H game determine what your future holds!


FUNNIES

Who Zeps it better? Every generation needs it’s Led Zeppelin, guitar-fueled, bombastic rock excess, both onstage and off, powered by shrieked vocals from a lead singer whose playful androgyny doesn’t overwhelm an insistent heterosexual, er, thrust. The sound is as big as the lifestyle where nothing is too much from drum solos longer than a feature film to power chords ripped by wind-

milling arms and jeans jammed with crotch-busting bounty. The 60s and 70s had Zep for their Zeppelin but ever since drummer John Bonham fatally choked on his own puke in 1980, the Rock Gawd crown remains to be claimed. Bands like The Cult, Black Crowes, and even Soundgarden have tried to howl their way to the top and this generation gets, Greta Van Fleet to

Greta Van Fleet's Josh Kiszka

twirl the mic, imply narrative gravitas and screech their way into our hearts. Think of it as a public service, bands like Van Fleet ensure the guitar won’t become the saxophone of the 21st century but will remain at the forefront of rock. And even Robert Plant isn’t Robert Plant anymore, not Zep Plant anyway. He’s got a sensible beard, wears lose

VS

jeans and sings lovely, countryesque songs that seem torn from the classic American Songbook rather than the elf-and-troll-infused rock rage of his earlier years. NEXT provides this handy “Who Does Zeppelin Better?” chart to help ensure the Zep legacy is preserved and that lemons continue to be squeezed, mountains remain misty and rock never stops to roll.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant

Hair Flow, Toss-ability

Hair Flow, Toss-ability

7/10

9/10

"Fuck Face" expression

"Fuck Face" expression

7/10

7/10

Shriek Resonance

Shriek Resonance

11/10

11/10

Boyish Chest Hair

Boyish Chest Hair

4/10

3/10

Mordor Influence on Jewelry

Mordor Influence on Jewelry

4/10

8/10

Outfit Kimono Resemblance

Outfit Kimono Resemblance

4/10

8/10

Mic Holding/ Twirling Skills

Mic Holding/ Twirling Skills

6/10

6/10

The Junk Display

The Junk Display

10/10

10/10

Crotchforward Thrust Motion

Crotchforward Thrust Motion

6/10 Overall Stage Strutting

10/10

8/10

69%

80%

Overall Stage Strutting

10/10

NEXT MAY 2021

65


ASK AMY ANTI-VAX FAMILY FRUSTRATE, INFURIATE

Dear Amy: Now that vaccines are being circulated, albeit slowly, we can all see a small glimmer of light in the COVID tunnel. Or so I thought. I’ve just discovered my sisterin-law and niece, my older brother’s second wife and adult daughter, are refusing to get vaccinated. Apparently, they don’t trust the science and they won’t listen to facts or reason. They just shut down and refuse to engage. I’m shocked, appalled and furious this is happening in my own family. On top of it, they both have public-facing jobs. I’m probably not the only one facing this issue. What can I do? Vax Fax Jack Dear Vax Fax: It is incredible, after this truly difficult year, that there are people who are set on keeping us in this place. I have listened to a lot of podcasts on this topic and the experts say, 66 MAY 2021 NEXT

JOB HUNTING FEELS HOPELESS

Dear Amy: I’ve been trying to navigate the job market for these last few months and have been rather unsuccessful. I’ve been struggling with feelings of inadequacy, that my work and qualifications aren’t good enough to even get a call back. What do I do? Good Enough? Dear Good Enough?: Watch Working Girl! And 9 to 5! Get those motivational Instagrams to inspire you! Also, you must know that when you can’t navigate in the world during a pandemic, then it is almost impossible to find work right now. While we are in lockdown, maybe look at upping your credentials through some online courses and trawl on LinkedIn! You’ve got this!

The pandemic has caused me to re-evaluate a lot of the goals and priorities I had in life. There is a growing part of me that says “Fuck it.”

mostly, that shaming is no route to success. If met with empathy and understanding for their fears, then people are more likely to be persuaded. It would be a hard pill for me to swallow for sure, as my passion burns pretty hard for science, but it seems this is the only way to maybe change their minds. That being said, once people are set, it is very difficult to change them. If you want to remain cordial with your sister-in-law and niece, the topic may have be one of those things that just doesn’t get brought up at Christmas dinner and will have to be ignored for the sake of the family. But, with you being vaccinated, you know you will be safe if they are still carrying the virus. So sad when people think they are smarter than the scientists. VACCINATIONS ARE OPEN NOW, CANADA—GO GET THEM SO WE CAN GO BACK TO LIVE MUSIC!

NEED ADVICE ON LOVE, SEX, RELATIONSHIPS, THE MUSIC BIZ OR HAVE A CONFESSION TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST?

ASK AMY MILLAN.

RUNAWAY THOUGHTS: REAL OR FANTASY?

Dear Amy: The pandemic has caused me to re-evaluate a lot of the goals and priorities I had in life. There is a growing part of me that says “Fuck it” and wants to drop my life here and move to some distant shores and start anew. How do I tell if this is a passing pandemic fantasy or something I really want? Dropout Dreamer Dear Dropout Dreamer: This has been a common line of thought with many people. My advice? Maybe it’s not such a great idea to make sweeping, massive changes to your life during a worldwide pandemic. If the feeling is truly moving you, would you consider taking a sabbatical? Take six months, a year, to move to a new place and

search for new work. You could get to the quiet lands or the ocean and then decide small-town life is the last thing you need and you miss the bustle of the city when it gets going, which is only around the corner. Dipping toes is sometimes a better way to started than a full cannonball into new waters.

USE ART OF WAR TO WAGE PEACE Dear Amy: I have a colleague who I work with closely, and he has recently been making subtle jabs at the work I’m doing and comparing me to another co-worker, who he is suggesting is doing better work then I am. I really like the guy but I feel like he’s trying to take all my confidence so I don’t move ahead. What should I do? Work Worrier Dear Work Worrier: The Art of War—read that book! The best lesson from it is that the smartest way to win a war is to never go to battle. I would say it’s time to slowly tune him out. Put up a psychic hood that is a barrier to his criticism. Then—most importantly—you buddy up with the person he claims is doing a better job then you. The two of you can then bind together and dominate, making a super team that cruises by him as he treads in shallow water. Amy Millan is a Canadian indie rock singer and guitarist. She records and performs with Stars and Broken Social Scene and has a successful solo career. Have a question for Amy? askamy@nextmag.ca


NEXT MAY 2021

67


LIVE

J U N E 6 | 8 ET / 5 PT

68 MAY 2021 NEXT


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.