New music from new places

Time to open your mind

By Terry Paquet

Terry Paquet is an award-winning copywriter with more than 20 years' experience. He is a regular contributor to SideOne.

Jeff Lynne from ELO once said that “old music is the same as new music – it’s just a different way of delivering it.” That inherent truth is what I’m listening for when I curate this collection of artists for you. Because I know it’s hard to open your ears up to new music when so much of what’s on the radio is, from my point of view, uninspiring. So, I look for something different and new but that’s still rooted in the past. Or inspired by it. Real harmonies, catchy melody lines, lyrics that mean something and, most of all, musicianship. Believe it or not, they’re all alive and well somewhere in this vast world – you just have to know where to look. The hope is that you give them a chance, discover something new and in some small way expand your musical world.

TO LISTEN WHILE YOU READ, CHECK OUT SIDEONE’S NOVEMBER/DECEMBER PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5MEx8bsqYoYGYOOSAe6b9X?si=236a09a7ea0a4629

JMSN Most musicians are creative, but some more than others. Such is the case with JMSN (pronounced Jameson) who hails from Detroit. In previous career incarnations he has gone by the names of Christian TV, Snowhite, and, as recently as 2016, Pearl. His real name is Christian Berishaj, a one-man musical force with a business card as long as his arm. As a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, music engineer, mixer, producer and video director, his creativity reaches far and wide. And although his music may be new to you, he’s been around for some years. He’s been called your favourite artist’s favourite artist because he outputs inventive, yet classic, R&B that smolders and builds in all the right places in just the right way. Small wonder Usher proclaimed him his favourite new act in April of 2012. His influences include Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Radiohead, and Fiona Apple, but they’re not obviously noticeable in any of his songs. “I’ve built up my confidence enough to know that I don’t have to take so many outside influences and worry about what’s going on in the music game.” His catalogue is a sultry, melodic world where grooves rule and he’ll do whatever it takes, creatively speaking, to get the best sound. Even if that means doing very little. On his 2017 album, Whatever makes you happy, he recorded most of the songs in one take. As he explains it: “There’s something about the first time you sing it, there’s this innocence about it.” It’s a gutsy move in this world of overproduced pap, but it pays off big time. TRACKS TO CHECK OUT Drama - Velvet (2018) Street Sweeper - JMSN (2014) Drinkin’ - Whatever Makes You Happy (2017) Always Something - Whatever Makes You Happy (2017) Funk Outta Here - It Is. (2016)

Mike Pinto Raised in the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pinto has become a prominent fixture in the Southern California music scene, taking his gritty East Coast perspective and blending it with laid-back surfer vibes to create a sound that is silky smooth. His musical influences include Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, and The Beatles, but it’s Bradley Nowell, lead singer from Sublime, that he seems most inspired by. No coincidence that Pinto was asked to contribute on The House That Bradley Built, a collection of artists paying tribute to the late singer. With his signature narrative style, Pinto's songs are deeply personal, yet widely relatable. While he can be pigeonholed into the world of ska, reggae and dub styles, the man is fearlessly exploring alternate genres. For example, his most recent single, Danny Loves A Fight, is Irish punk rock. As Pinto puts it, it’s “a far cry from my other songs, but this f*$ker is just too catchy to resist.” On 2017’s Hotel Rendezvous, Pinto borrows from a broad spectrum of musical styles including folk and even country music (on Nine Lives). Musically schizophrenic? Yes. But the common thread throughout is an unabashed love for music that ekes out of every note. TRACKS TO CHECK OUT Crooks - Hotel Rendezvous (2017) Come a Long Way - Single (2020) Superstar Punani - The House That Bradley Built (2021) Where the Beach Meets the Ocean - Truthful Lies (2013) Bad Luck - Live @ Sugarshack Sessions (2019)

BROS The BROS is a project from Ewan and Shamus Currie, actual brothers and members of platinum-selling Canadian band, The Sheepdogs. Far from the crunchy rock of that band, this outing is a cool, vibey, vintage-y promenade into a world of yester-pop with influences that run the gamut from Gilberto Gil to Badfinger. Musically, it’s consistently familiar from start to finish, and yet it all seems so new and fresh. That’s no easy task to pull off but the BROS do it with bucketloads of mustachioed style. On You Love This Song, there’s a crazy guitar line that harkens back to The Isley Brothers classic, Who’s that Lady? Boogar Sugre is all the funk you never knew you needed with a rhythmic guitar line, groovy horns, and a preacher-like invitation to “come on.” Close your eyes and listen to Crazy Schemes, then tell me this couldn’t be an intro to a 70’s sitcom. Garbanzo Man is a sonic dose of pure happiness and could have come from Zach Gill himself. All in all, what the BROS have created is catchy, campy, feel-good music that’s clearly not from these times, but feels oh-so right for them. TRACKS TO CHECK OUT Never Gonna Stop – Vol. 2 (2021) Garbanzo Man – Vol. 2 (2021) Crazy Schemes – Vol. 2 (2021) Tell Me – Vol. 1(2016) Boogar Sugre – Vol. 1(2016)

Conor Gains Conor Gains is a singer/songwriter from Toronto who first started playing when he was 12 years old. Even though he was so young, he’d purposely hang with more experienced musicians who would encourage him to pursue his love for performing and writing. Lucky for us, Conor listened. Today, he’s toured all over Canada, the U.S., Jamaica, and Costa Rica but currently has his sights set on bringing his music to Japan and China. His sound sits in the same room as Amos Lee, Hozier and Donny Hathaway and draws from a wide range of influences to create a '90s R&B sound. To give you an idea where he operates from, he has said the Unified Field is what drives him to wake up and create every day. This explains why he gets out of the way before he writes, because he believes great songs come through people rather than from them. Clearly, this belief in a higher, bigger force and where he sees himself in the creative process is driven more by spirit than ego. Of course, that may be a big notion for some to believe, but it has given him a catalogue of truly inspirational music… so more power to him. In a world desperate for healing, Conor’s voice just might be the medicine we are all looking for. TRACKS TO CHECK OUT Ordinary Love - Compass (2018) Walking Alone - Compass (2018) Light Shine In - Light Shine In (2021) Mirror - Three (2021) Mexico - Compass (2018)