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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Janet Adamana
When The Daylight Comes Note From The Editor
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New Found Sound A Vicious Kind and his new single, “W.T.W.C”
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From the Ground Up Industry Profile on Trendkill Productions
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Creative Catalyst 12 Lukr is changing the realm of pop music
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ally Sigurdson PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR Steff Shields
SOUND, PHRASE & FURY is a Canadian music magazine out to promote musicians not usually covered in mainstream media. All music, photos and articles used are for the purpose of spreading the knowledge of these artists and their music. We always encourage readers to support every act by purchasing releases, merchandise and attending live shows.
Artists To Watch Artists that have our attention in the new year
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info@sound-phrase-fury.com @soundphrasefury facebook.com/soundphrasefury soundphrasefury.com
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+ EDITOR’S NOTE
WHEN THE DAYLIGHT COMES Here we are – Our Five-Year Anniversary. It is a surreal and humbling experience to be able to celebrate such a milestone. When SOUND, PHRASE & FURY started we had no set plan; no real roadmap. We were simply writers, dreamers and music lovers whose only goal was to help promote the artists that we loved. We built SPF with the simple desire to find and share our biggest passions. Somehow along the way, we have been lucky enough to meet an amazing collection of artists and music lovers. It was this community that helped build SPF into what it is today and what it is gearing up to be in the future. With this new issue we sat down with several artists who celebrate the value of building the artistic community, and how important it is to lean on each other – through the late night jam sessions or snagging feedback and ideas from different perspectives. Artists simply need other artists, and we’re elated about the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing independent scene. Whether you are new to SPF, or have been with us since the start, we express the utmost thank you. It is the eyes and ears of our readers and the talent and passion of the incredible artists we feature that really makes SOUND, PHRASE & FURY what it is.
Won’t look back. No way, no way, no way 4
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Janet Adamana Editor-In-Chief
SOUNDPHRASEFURY.COM
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NEW FOUND SOUND BY ALLY SIGURDSON There is nothing better than the gift of raw emotion, especially when it’s been building for years. They say all good things take time, and this was certainly worth the wait. A Vicious Kind just broke out into Winnipeg’s music scene, and the new alt-rock band has no plans of holding anything back. We talked with the musician behind AVK to discuss his new single, “W.T.W.C. (Wounds That We Carry),” growth as a musician, finding his way to his own musical happiness and his plans for the future.
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AS: Your new sound is very different from what we have heard from you before – what inspired this new sound and feel? AVK: [“W.T.W.C.”] was something that I had started writing while I was with Latka. I had my own influences and style outside of what I was doing with that band but they had already established a sound when I joined. Because of this it was always me trying to fit into their element and not so much my own. This song was very heavily influenced by Fall Out Boy’s “Thriller.” I really connected to that musical style and that’s kind of how the song started. I’ve always loved music like that. I didn’t even write the lyrics until – well, when we were at our peak, I finished writing the lyrics for this song and we played it all together as a band for a while, but never released it. It was kept separate from my other musical projects for a while, something I worked on my other band and whenever something wouldn’t completely fit the Latka vibe, I would just put it aside. I slowly started to work on it over time and here we are.
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independently and I was finally ready to show this heavier side of my musical self. So, I guess everything that you’re hearing is solely coming from me and not trying to fit into a project that already existed. In my opinion, this song is a great transition from what I used to do in Latka. It still has that catchy, pop vibe to it and then it gets a little more raw and heavy, which is more of the direction I am heading in. AS: How long have you been working on this style of music? AVK: I probably started dabbling in this genre of music five or six years ago. I always enjoyed listening to heavier music, but I think I finally started writing for myself in my early twenties. I was writing a lot for my other band and whenever something wouldn’t completely fit the Latka vibe, I would just put it aside. I slowly started to work on it over time and here we are. I finally get to do something with the music that I really love to play.
AS: Who do you look up to for inspiration or any sort of creative ideas right now? AVK: This is a VERY tough question to answer, because honestly, the older I get and the more I am developing a style and what I like, my influences change. I’ve had tons of bands give me some kind of musical influence and all for different reasons. I’ve pulled ideas from local bands to big names; I love listening to all kinds of music, getting ideas through their production or how they like to structure their songs or anything like that. I think this song has a lot of different influences to it. I grew up listening to all genres of music and I pull from countless artists. But in the bridge of the song you see something much more organic for me, not really influenced from anything. It just came from a very raw place within me. I think a lot of the music that I am going to be releasing is going to be following that same idea; I’m really trying to stick to this raw side of who I am. It’s just me writing things that I want to write. I’m not trying to fit into anything. I’m not trying to please anyone. I’m not trying to stick to what has been done and what works. I’m really pushing myself to just be nothing but me.
AS: What do you want people to take away from your new song, “W.T.W.C.”? AVK: I guess the important thing I find with any kind of art, for it to have any sort meaning, is it needs to make you think of things that are important to you, to the AS: What’s the plan for 2017? people around you, to the world; you need to connect AVK: I’m hoping my full album will be ready by summer to it. time, so that’s the big plan for now. Once that album is complete I would like to get right to work on an EP, and I think this first single definitely touches on elements that will definitely have more of a Four Year Strong feel of mental health and surrounding that thought. If to it. I’m aiming for lots of studio projects and I am still that idea can touch anybody or make someone feel undecided on live shows. I’m kind of enjoying the idea something, that’s the point of art, of MY art. And I’ve of keeping my name out of this; nothing will matter but done more than I ever thought I could have possibly the music. So I’m still not sure if shows are in the cards created. So, if anyone can identify with anything that I for me, or at least not yet. have ever created, that’s above and beyond anything I have ever hoped for when I first started playing music.
Grab a copy of “W.T.W.C.” through iTunes or at AViciousKind.Bandcamp.com. Follow AVK at Facebook.com/AViciousKind
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FROM THE GROUND UP INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT ON WINNIPEG’S TRENDKILL PRODUCTIONS BY JANET ADAMANA
When hip-hop artist Beatox met local producer Ron Hooper, their careers and the state of the local music scene were forever changed. The duo has spent years building off their talents to bring the city a new ‘one-stop-shop’ for artists. More than just a recording studio, Trendkill Productions is changing the way we see, hear and feel music. We caught up with Beatox to talk about their humble beginnings, their wild and busy year and what’s in store for the new studio.
JA: What can Trendkill Productions provide? BT: We can do multi-track recording, mixing and kind of unofficial mastering. We can go portable too. We can bring in a giant mixer multi-track somewhere else, like if you need a grand piano we can go to the grand piano, mic everyone up and bring it back to the studio. We’ve done a lot of in-studio videos where people can come do live off the floor. I’m just there with a steady cam; throw in some colouring, maybe some special effects if their budget can afford it. I mean artists don’t have a lot of money so we’re just trying to make the best products as affordable as possible.
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We do kind of end up managing some of the artists because a lot of them in general have no idea how to do anything besides their music. We’ll put their stuff up on the website. We’ll upload their stuff to Soundcloud. Some guys even give me management on their Facebook pages so I’m dealing with their social media and helping artists get their digital portfolio together. The whole space is massive. Half of it is rehearsal space, the other is a quiet and separate studio side. Eventually, I’d like to expand the rehearsal space to become a whole digital media place so having someone like a photographer working there, or a someone in PR.
INDUSTRY +
JA: Basically, you’re going to make it into one-place for artists to get everything they need. BT: That’s kind of what we’re building towards - the one-stop-shop for artists, specifically musical but it could be anything really. Like videographers have come by. We have a pretty good computer for editing, colouring and 3D so we could create editing suites. That’s an option that we’ve thought about exploring but so far the main focus is music.
I was helping demo, paint, and drywall. We even took it to the next level with an acoustic ceiling, building iso booths, giant glass walls, and a drum room. We finally finished all the renovations this past summer so we’ve been able to just produce more intensively for the past four months.
Now we’re just trying to go to the next level of getting accredited so the government can give us funding. JA: You run Trendkill Productions with Ron Hooper. Even if they give an artist a grant, it has to be recorded How did you guys meet? at an accredited studio so that’s what we’re trying to BT: I met him five years ago through a mutual friend. go for right now. My friend was like ‘Ron’s got a studio in his house. You should come beatbox and hang out.’ So I went. JA: So what’s that whole process like, just a lot of I started beatboxing and rapping and Ron was super paperwork? into it. That was our first hang out. BT: Yeah, basically. It was cool though because as a result, when we were doing the paper work we got to Months later I found out he decided to take [his studio] look back and see like ‘holy shit we’ve done all this.’ to the next level and buy a commercial space. It was an office space. He started flipping it and doing some We’ve recorded people doing Jazz Fest, we got to do renovations. At that point I was also learning how to live recordings of other festivals and shows, and actual do my own recording at the University of Manitoba recordings in the building. We’ve done a bunch of radio station. I recorded my own mixtape there but I records. We’ve done jazz auditions. didn’t really know anything about in-depth mixing and mastering so I [went to Ron], like ‘you have a whole We got to take a step back so now we’re like ‘okay, space now. This is crazy. Do you want to mix my thing we’ve got our stripes. We know how to record. We’ve and I can make you a website or something?’ So he proved what we can do and we’ve touched enough mixed my mixtape and I built him a website and helped genres that we aren’t in a niche.’ with him demoing. Ron comes from a bit more of a hardrock, metal area With the studio I could see the potential and working and I come from a more jazzy, hip-hop realm. We’ve with him I could see his passion and drive, and so I was done all that. We’ve done punk. We’ve done rock. like ‘how can I get more involved in this? Right now I We’ve done indie, so I think we can handle pretty much see it’s nothing, but I want to get involved.’ any type of project at this point.
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We’ve got our stripes. We know how to record. We’ve proved what we can do and we’ve touched enough genres that we aren’t in a niche.
JA: What’s been some of your most fun or favourite projects so far? AF: It’s all been fun. Jazz auditions sound boring but I got to learn and listen to all of these really great talented jazz musicians. We got to do this one where we actually went to the University of Manitoba and I got to record all the jazz professors and heads of the department. So like Steve Kirby on bass - he’s this amazing bass player and Quincy on drums, who is one of the best jazz drummers. That was really cool to witness ; like ‘I’m recording this. I’m filming this.’
Being on stage filming people is really fun. I get to capture someone else’s performance, edit something really cool and make it sound really great - that’s sweet. We did a video for a band called Silence Kit. They’re more punk. They came in to do a full, so they had a singer in the booth, guitar player in the main studio and the drummer all playing live. I got to film it. That was our first time with all three rooms utilized at once. It made for a pretty cool feeling - all organic.
Stay up-to-date with all the news and releases
Joanna Majoko - I love her voice and I got to hear it and from Trendkill Productions at Trendkill.ca. Like she got into the Manhattan School of Music because of them at Facebook.com/TrendkillProductions. it, and just to be like ‘I was a part of that’ is really fun. I’m a little bias but I find that what we’ve been able to do with my music has been really cool. I got to perform Jazz Fest and Ron filmed it. We did the same thing for another group called Super Duty Tough Work. They’re really big in the hip-hop, jazz realm and they’re doing really great.
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Get a glimpse of what Trendkill can do and catch a performance by Beatox at the Centennial Concert Hall for The HUB Opening Night: Winnipeg New Music Festival Afterparty January 28th.
More interviews, reviews, streams and videos
Independent Music Magazine
SOUNDPHRASEFURY.COM
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CREATIVE CATALYST Neon, indie, alternative, pop - however you want to describe it, the music by singer/ songwriter Lukr is just plain brilliant. Through various collaborations and stylistic explorations, the Nashville-based artist hopes to shatter the stereotypes and blur the lines that used to define what made a great pop song. Lukr takes us through his transition from band member to solo artist, the value of working with others and the emotional rollercoaster that is being a musician.
BY JANET ADAMANA PHOTO BY JESS FOLEY
JA: How did you get started in music? LF: I started playing music around the 9th grade. I played the piano when I was in middle school and then I started to learn guitar. When I was 17 I started a band called Farewell Flight. We did a lot of DIY touring and hustled around the country in a van trying to make it. We did that for a few years, then I moved to Nashville. I moved here with my band because we did the band thing for a while but it never really translated to the next level for us. I was getting to work with a lot of cool artists here and after a while I wanted the opportunity to do my own thing, like ‘what would I do if it was just my voice.’ When you have a band you’re restricted to a particular sound. When you’re a solo artist you can do whatever you want. It has been really liberating to experience that.
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JA: This is your first time as a solo artist – what has that transition been like? LF: Change is always scary. It’s feeling every spectrum of the human emotion. It’s a lot of heartache because when you’re in a band you have this comrade together and you miss that in a way. Transitioning from the band to doing a solo thing was a natural progression. We were all kind of working on different pursuits, like two of the guys were playing with a country artist, writing songs. We were all doing different stuff and we realized it made sense to focus on that instead of letting the band be our main focus just because that was what we started off doing.
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JA: How has Nashville influenced your music? LF: Nashville transformed me as a person and as an artist and songwriter. I was so protective before I moved here. I never wrote with other people. I pretty much only wrote by myself. I thought that was more pure somehow. I wanted to be some sort of creative genius like I was going to go off to a cabin somewhere and write all by myself or something. I was afraid to let go. I think my songs were okay but I think the work suffered overall because of it.
person that makes it and also the people that consume the art; the person that receives it. It’s all about that connection between the artist and the audience. JA: It’s always nice to be able to feed off of other people’s creativity too. LF: Yeah, working with other people has really been a huge thing. I just learn so much by working with others.
When I was in Farewell Flight I would only focus on writing one style of music in whatever genre I thought When I moved to Nashville I started co-writing with my band was but when I started writing with other other people and collaborating. Art is so much more people I was trying to help someone else accomplish amazing when you start to work with other people. The their goals or help them find a particular sound that I whole purpose of art is communication. With being an would not naturally do. You get a lot of chances to be artist there are two sides of that equation – there’s the wrong then and that’s an amazing gift.
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It doesn’t matter what styles you mash together. When I started co-writing I still thought about writing as this mystical thing that would come, like you had a finite amount of ideas and then you run out, but writing with other people and what you can create with them, its exponential. It inspires creativity. You get to work with other people who may have this sort of hip-hop flow or something that I would have been afraid to use before because it was too radio, too urban, too pop or whatever. Now it’s like, who gives a shit! Is it cool? Just make a cool song that people connect to.
feeling but it’s also really scary. It feels very exposing. It feels like it’s happening really quickly. Sometimes that can be a little bit stressful. It’s weird how you can want something for so long and then it all of sudden starts to move so fast, and you’re like, “Uh, I don’t know if I’m ready!”
It’s weird because there’s no road map. We live in a really cool time where there’s no set way to do anything. I feel like the lines of art are blurring in how you release stuff. You can be creative and do whatever you want to do. I’m just trying to explore. I feel like someone has given me permission to do whatever I want to do and JA: Your first singles have already blown up on that’s what these first two songs were for me. These are the Internet. How does it feel to see that kind of songs that I feel represent me and are personal to me. response so early on? LF: It’s crazy. Again, it’s like every emotion that you can JA: What do you have planned for the new year? imagine. It’s really exciting but in some ways it’s kind of LF: I’m going to be releasing a lot of new music and scary. You get so used to working towards something playing around Nashville. I also plan on playing SXSW. and then all of a sudden your art is exposed to a huge A bit after the summer I might be doing some touring amount of people. I mean it’s a big amount to me, but but I mainly want to focus on releasing more music. I’m in the world of the Internet it’s a drop in the bucket going to be doing a series of mixtapes. I just want to compared to Drake or somebody like that; but just the release a lot of music and not be worried, you know, fact that you’re in Canada and I’m talking to you about you start to think “Is this the final version of the song? some songs that I wrote and released. It’s an amazing Is this the album?”
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‘It is real? Does it feel authentic?’ People want authenticity. JA: Can you take me through what inspired your musical style? LF: I pull influences from all over the place. I like songs, ideas and feelings that grab me. I know at one point I felt obsessed with “Time” by Hans Zimmer from the Inception soundtrack. He did the Batman, Dark Knight and The Gladiator movies. I love cinematic ideas and big emotional feelings in a song, so that would be what I would say influence me.
It’s such an exciting time for ‘pop music’ because I feel like anything goes for pop-radio. For a while you heard a lot of the same stuff. When I was first coming up and playing music it was almost cool to not like the radio. Radio sucked and it was cool to like alt-rock bands like Taking Back Sunday. Now, with the radio it doesn’t matter. It’s just like, ‘is the song good? Does it make you feel something?’ It doesn’t matter what styles you mash together. ‘It is real? Does it feel authentic?’ People want authenticity. It’s a really fun and exciting My favourite artist would probably be Kanye West. I time to be making art. think our generation is lucky to have somebody who is that much of a genuine creative artist. He does some crazy stuff. I know he is a guy who people either really Stay up-to-date on tours, video and song love or really hate but I think he’s saying so many releases at IAmLukr.com. Like Lukr at Facebook. important things, and creatively he is such an amazing com/IAMLUKR. producer. One of the very first albums I liked was August and Keep an eye on his upcoming mixtapes and Everything After by the 90s band Counting Crows. single releases at Spotify.com. That’s just this amazing album but I also love Chance the Rapper. He’s probably my favourite hip-hop artist right now. I think he’s incredible.
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+ ARTISTS TO WATCH IN 2017 COMPILED BY JANET ADAMANA
As most of the world would probably agree, 2016 gave us some less-than-pleasant occurances in those 366 days. However, it was an undoubtly great year for many independent artists. We’ve compiled some of the brightest stars of 2016 who are paving their way to having an amazing 2017. Check out our picks for Artists To Watch in the new year.
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+ ARTISTS TO WATCH
MILESTONES
POP-ROCK NORTHWEST, UK
Facebook.com/MilestonesUK Milestonesband.co.uk 2017 HIGHLIGHTS New Debut Album UK/European Tour North American Tour
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Milestones is coming off a great 2016 that included touring heavily and opening for the likes of Hawthorne Heights, Tonight Alive and Taking Back Sunday, releasing their debut EP ‘Equal Measures’ and signing to Fearless Records. Milestones is sure to keep up the momentum in 2017. The pop-rock quintet will hit the studio early 2017 to record their debut album and hit the tour circuit with a huge UK/European tour alongside With Confidence. If that wasn’t enough, the boys ring in the spring with pop-rock’s Mayday Parade for their 10th Anniversary tour of A Lesson in Romantics. With such a busy year ahead of the band will definitely be taking the year to hit their own musical milestones and become a household name in the pop-rock scene.
ARTISTS TO WATCH +
Facebook.com/WhereIsMuna WhereIsMuna.com 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
New Debut Album Album Support Tours
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With their inventive mix of 80s pop, 90s rock, and 21st century beats, MUNA will be getting everyone on the dance floor in 2017. The self-proclaimed ‘dark pop’ trio pulls lyrical inspiration from the negativity that painfully surrounds the world these days, and splatters it against the backdrop of addictive pop hits; ultimately creating music that gets your body moving and your mind thinking. Their latest single, “I Know A Place” is an ode to societal outcasts - those forced to live in fear because of their gender, sexuality and colour of their skin. With their new single, and their forth coming debut album, about u (February 3), MUNA is bound to take mainstream music by storm and make much needed statements with them.
MUNA
DARK SYNTH-POP LOS ANGELES, CA
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+ ARTISTS TO WATCH
MICAH VISSER
INDIE-POP Winnipeg, MB PHOTO BY ADAM KELLY
When we first met Micah Visser in 2015 he was a bright and budding solo artist just breaking out into the local scene. His emotional dreamy synth-pop quickly captured the hearts of music lovers all over town. Building on that momentum, Visser expanded his musical endeavour into full-band form. This addition yielded an exciting new sound. Still borrowing from his original emotional whimsy, Visser and co. give us an addicting splash of dance hall vibes, elevating their upbeat indie-pop.
MicahVisser.com Facebook.com/MicahVisser Music @MicahZVisser 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
New Album Album Support Tours
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Micah Visser spent a good chuck of the last few years on the road promoting the new tunes, writing, recording and releasing single after single. 2017 will see fans awaiting the release of Micah Visser’s new album, as the band steadily solidifies its status as one of Winnipeg’s most talented musical exports.
ARTISTS TO WATCH +
Facebook.com/CavingMusic CavingMusic.Bandcamp.com @CavingMusic 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
It takes a special musical touch to snag our attention in just 3 songs – Caving is one of the rare artists that have done just that. The singer/songwriter released his debut self-titled EP back in October and has since had us excitedly waiting for more. With a nostalgic touch of acoustic emo from yesteryear, blended with simplistic but revealing lovelorn lyrics, Caving creates an incredibly endearing EP sure to woo the hearts of fans of The Spill Canvas and Dashboard Confessional.
New Music
Local Shows
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CAVING
EMO/ACOUSTIC Thayer, IN
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CAROUSEL KINGS
POP-PUNK Lancaster, PA
Facebook.com/CarouselKings VictoryMerch.com/store/ CarouselKings 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
New Sophmore Album Album Support Tours
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Steadily climbing the ranks of the pop-punk world, Carousel Kings will be smiling at the top in the new year. The Lancaster-based quartet have been pumping the scene full of their addictive blend of pop-punk and alt-rock for years, but now they’re gearing up to share a newly tailored sound. Still sticking to their upbeat punk roots, the band aims to draw much inspiration from a deeper reservoir within their musical souls and connect with their fans through a much more reflective and mature sound. With their third album, Charm City, about to drop on February 10 via Victory Records, and a slew of shows slated for the next few months, you bet 2017 will see the Carousel Kings reign.
ARTISTS TO WATCH +
MobinaGalore.com Facebook.com/MobinaGalore Music 2017 HIGHLIGHTS New Album
Heavy Touring
Fresh off a giant European tour opening for punk legends Against Me! Mobina Galore ended their whirlwind 2016 with a proper bang. With last year chock-full of shows, signing to New Damage Records, releasing a new EP, a new video for their single, “Spend My Day,” and hitting the studio for their upcoming album, it’s clear the duo will continue to go all out in 2017. As they take a short but much-needed break at the start of the new year, fans are guaranteed to be excitedly awaiting the new hard-hitting edgy punk offerings of Mobina Galore.
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MOBINA GALORE
PUNK Winnipeg, MB PHOTO BY DWAYNE LARSON
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