Stylus Magazine -- August/September 2013

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Stylus

Aug/Sept Issue4 2013 Volume24

Production Team Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheldon Birnie Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Mazurak

On the Cover

GREG GALLINGER is a photographer, film school graduate, and vegan food enthusiast living in West Broadway. He is rarely seen without a camera slung over his shoulder, scanning the periphery with an attentive eye. He is particularly fond of the places rarely seen on postcards – the neglected landscapes of daily life. His photographs can be seen on his website greggallinger.com

Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zach Fleisher Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . Ted Turner

204-786-9779, outreach@theuwsa.ca

Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Michalishyn Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Gallinger Printed by JRS Print Services: 204-232-3558

Contributors Devin King Shanell Dupras Victoria King Mister Jan Kristel Jax Justin Quigley Harrison Samphir Topher Duguay Mischa Decter Ben Hunter-Dearman Daniel Emberg Maddie Pearlman Myke Lewis Matthew Dyck Dave Guenette Topher Duguay Gilad Carroll Martyna Turczynowicz Dave Guenette Nick Van Doeselaar Grace Moyer Laura Sexsmith Broose Tulloch Stylus is published bi-monthly by the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association, with a circulation of 2,500. Stylus serves as the program guide to 95.9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond. Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media. Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large. Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature.

All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus.

All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors. Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

Stylus Magazine Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 Phone: 204-786-9785, Fax: 204-783-7080 editor@stylusmagazine.ca www.stylusmagazine.ca Contributions will be accepted in the body of an email. No attachments please. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. Unauthorized reproduction of any portion of Stylus is strongly discouraged without the express written consent of the editors.

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TableofContents Blah, Blah, Blah Events Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Stylus does Sled Island Iceage // Superchunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Stylus does Folk Fest Colin Meloy // Cold Specks // Bombino. . . . . . . 16 CKUW Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Local Spotlight Haunter // Animal Teeth // The Unbelievable Bargains . . 21 Mental Notes Kanye West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Ulteriors Tricky // Emika // Jesse Boykins III // Panos // FaltyDL . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Around the World Ballaké Sissoko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Jazzy Belle Kye Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Root Cellar Young Benjamins // Christopher Paul Stelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Under the Needle The Postal Service // La Chinga // Jane’s Party . . . . . 26 Fear of Music Jay Z, Jay G, and the New Génération Perdue . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Features CKUW Celebrates 50 Years on the Air! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Union Sound Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Electric Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Les Jupes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Royal Canoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Real Love Winnipeg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 August Festival Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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WIDOWSPEAK OPEN UP FOR IRON & WINE THIS FALL. WE CAUGHT EM IN AUSTIN WERE CATCHING EM AGAIN HERE

Blah, Blah, Blah We’re into the dog days of summer here in the ‘Peg, folks. Let’s squeeze the life right outta these last months of hot, hot heat. Fuckin’ rights reserved. *** Check the Cavern most Mondays for the Bros Landreth, while Tuesdays are Soul Night down below the Toad *** Wednesdays Andrew Neville & The Poor Choices rip it up over at the Rose N Bee Pub *** Open Mic Comedy goes down every Thursday at the RnB as well! New shit night the first of every month! *** Sundays check out the Blues Jam at the Times Change(d). If that ain’t your gig, then check out the ever evolving lineup for No Cover Sundays, at the Rose N’ Bee, hosted by the exciting Mischa Decter *** Well shit, son! The Unbelievable Bargains are finally releasing their debut LP at the Windsor Friday August 2nd! Things are going to get weird, alright... *** August 7th the WECC plays host to Dry Bones “August Hootenanny” with guests Miss Rae & The Midnight Ramblers *** August 8th, we’re celebrating the release of this issue (hey, only a week late!) at the new Union Sound Hall with performances by Northcote, Little House, and Alfa! Mosey on over to the Times for Washboard Hank and Geoff Berner, while you’re in the area *** August 9th, the incomparable Fred Eaglesmith takes no prisoners at the Park Theatre *** August 9 thru 11th, hit the Highway and check out Trout Forest Music Festival over in Ontario.

Killer line-up including Ghostkeeper, CR Avery, the Weber Brothers, and more *** Macca takes on Investors Group Field on Aug 12 for the first time ever *** The Sword hits the stage at the Pyramid Aug 13 *** Majical Cloudz descend on Union Sound Hall August 14 with Moon King; while the soon-to-be RBC Convention Centre hosts A Day To Remember, Pierce the Veil, and The

Ghost Inside *** The Vibrating Beds, Salinas and Clipwing get down and dirty at the Windsor on the 15th *** Righteous Ike takes the stage at the Times August 16 *** Aboriginal Music Week, featuring Digging Roots, Derek Miller and more Aug 16 - 18 at the Pyramid *** Also from Aug 16 - 18, hit the Highway again to the Rainbow Trout Music Festival for an amazing line-up including Mahogany Frog, VIKINGS, Federal Lights, and more. Fuck, why not eh? MEME is also going on in Winnipeg, with some of the world’s biggest names playing for free at the CUBE in Old Market Square, and a ton of parties at different venues around the city [check our festival round-up on page 20 for more info] *** Saskatoon’s psychedelic lovelies Powder Blue are in town August 17 at the Windsor. Don’t miss out, they are the bomb! *** Wintersun and guests will be at the Park Theatre on Aug 18th *** Royal Canoe launch their highly anticipated new album at Park Theatre on August 22 (all ages) and Union Sound Hall on August 23; Andre Williams prepares to rip the Pyramid a new one August 23 *** The 4th Annual Matlock Festival of Music, Art and Nature takes place August 23-25th. Come celebrate the beautiful scenery and roots music of the Interlake *** JD Edwards Band are back at the Times on August 30 *** September 4 through 6, the UWSA will be hosting a ton of great events on campus for O-Week. Details are still being worked out, but keep posted for some awesome announcements in early August! *** September 4th is a decision day: Passion Pit makes their first Winnipeg appearance at The Garrick, while Lightning Dust will be playing Park Theatre *** September 5th, Union Sound Hall’s first huge event features James Murphy of LCD Sound-

PHOTO BY ANDREW MAZURAK

system. Nuff said *** September 6th, Over at the Windsor Electric Soul are launching their album Second Paradise, with guests Mariachi Ghost *** September 13 - 15, hit the Highway yet again (man, we’re sure loggin’ some clicks this summer, eh?) to Clearwater, MB for Harvest Moon, possibly the best little fest going. Always a good time! *** September 13 Bleached rock the Union *** September 15 sees The Dodos at the Park Theatre with Cousins *** The 17th has Twiztid at the Pyramid.

Juggalos TRANNNSFOOORM! *** Wednesday September 18th, Check out Zeds Dead, DJ Green Lantern and more at the Garrick Centre, while Young Galaxy will also get the crowd moving at the WECC *** September 19th has Iron & Wine and Widowspeak playing the Pantages Playhouse Theatre for a very special night *** September 21 sees the return of Chali 2NA to the Pyramid *** Now, this has nothing to do with music, or getting wild, but the Uniter & Canadian Dimension are presenting a night with author Christopher Hedges at the West End Cultural Centre on Sept. 21st that ought to be attended by all free thinking individuals in this Great City of ours. Tickets are selling fast so get the fuck on it, already! *** September 22nd sees AroarA playing Park Theatre *** On September 24th the Pyramid has Groenland poppin’ on stage*** On September 26th No Joy will be shoegazzing the shit out of Park Theatre *** October 4 Cheering for the Bad Guy’s Next Year Country release party goes down at the Windsor with the Reverend Rambler, so get to it! *** Our next issue hits the streets October 3, with our next Launch Series at Union Sound Hall later that night. Check stylusmagazine.ca for more details. *** See y’on the streetz, suckaz!!!

STYLUS LAUNCH SERIES Northcote, Alfa & Little House on Aug 8th @ Union Sound Hall

PRESENTS:

4TH ANNUAL ASSINIBOINE RIVER MUSIC ARMADA Aug 1st -10th DRY BONES “AUGUST HOOTENANNY” w/ Miss Rae and the Midnight Ramblers on Wednesday, August 7th, 2013 ABORIGINAL MUSIC WEEK Aug 16th-21st FACTOR WITH PIP SKID, ROB CROOKS AND SMRT Saturday Aug 31st @ The Winsdor THE BROS. LANDRETH “LET IT LIE” ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT w/ Red Moon Road & Daniel Champagne on Thurs. Sept 5th @ WECC YOUNG GALAXY Wednesday September 18th @ WECC POTATOES W/ STEVE BATES Friday September 27th @ The Windsor ROSE COUSINS Saturday October 5th @ WECC AUSTRA Saturday October 5th @ The Garrick

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Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

03

CKUW CELEBRATES 50 YEARS ON THE AIR!

BY VICTORIA KING, CKUW VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

More often than not, we’re mistaken for a secret

study space. People wander up our flamboyant yellow stairs, hoping to find repose and peace amidst a sea of textbooks and cell phones. Instead they stumble upon a den of music geeks, activists, anarchists, journalist-types, etc. There are posters on the walls, stickers attached to almost every surface, and odd pieces of nostalgia that have been propped up on bookshelves and cabinets (see the Hillary Clinton nutcracker above Program Director Robin Eriksson’s desk, for one example). This attic-like sanctum is home to CKUW, 95.9 FM; that campus-community beast on your radio dial, smack-dab in the heart of downtown Winnipeg.

CKUW began in 1963 as a radio club that existed only in closed-circuit format until 1999. Current station manager Rob Schmidt arrived at CKUW in 1996, and recalls that, “some people were putting all this energy into just three speakers,” and doing fullblown radio shows.

The station’s first home was in the Bulman Centre, where many records were played (sometimes backwards) and many cigarettes were smoked. As Ted Turner, CKUW’s Outreach and Sponsorship Coordinator recalls, the pre-FM CKUW was, “a hideout from the world in the basement.” Ted stumbled through CKUW’s doors in his first year of university, having heard about the station as a teen. He says he knew immediately that this place would be an important and pivotal part of his life as, “it gave me a place to belong on campus.”

For many (if not all) of CKUW’s volunteers, that’s a common response. “People learn incredible skills while doing radio – maybe they come in and they’re shy, or maybe they have a fear of public speaking . . . radio helps them learn to do these things, and improve themselves and their community,” attests Schmidt. “We’re not just here to feed people’s egos and play music, we’re here to improve the community and the people in our community.”

This year, CKUW celebrates 50 years of radio in the downtown area. To mark this occasion, we hosted the National Campus Community Radio Conference and welcomed campus/community stations from across the country to participate in several days’ worth of workshops and events. There’s also the Lieutenant Governor’s reception for the station in September, in recognition of the contribution of our many former volunteers. Moreover, whispers are flying around about birthday party-like celebrations . . . stay tuned for more details!

There’s definitely a gap in CKUW’s history though, particularly between the mid 60s to early 80s, where it’s damn near impossible to find records

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of volunteers, programs, activities, etc. We can probably safely assume that CKUW was the radical & righteous soundtrack as girls marched outside and burned their bras, or as a T-Bird inspired crew snuck out the Ellice doors for a quick drag, never to return to class again.

Those are only assumptions though. That gap in CKUW’s history has a “romantic ghostlike reputation,” says Turner. Apparently there were jackets made, with the slogan “Downtown Underground” emblazoned on them. Unfortunately, like so many other pieces of our history, these have disappeared and been forgotten over time.

“We’re looking for memories of the station,” explains Schmidt. “Maybe you dated someone who use to DJ here, maybe you sat on the couch, maybe you heard stuff for the first time on CKUW, like R.E.M. or the Sex Pistols . . . At that time, you only would have heard that on closed circuit [stations] because they wouldn’t play it on the mainstream.”

This station – a refuge for the alternative – doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. While she’s no beauty queen, CKUW has trained thousands of citizen broadcasters and has been serving up a healthy dose of controlled community radio chaos for 50 years. We’d love to get the whole story.

If you want to get back in touch, or have photos, charts, programs, set lists, pre-90s memorabilia, send them our way – we’re happy for anything. You should e-mail Rob at ckuw@uwinnipeg.ca.

CKUW ARCHIVAL PHOTOS

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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PHOTO BY ANDREW MAZURAK

BY SHELDON BIRNIE

Tyler Sneesby sashays into Parlour Coffee on a warm

July afternoon wearing a sharp denim outfit and brand new, bright white sneakers. We order Americanos, his hot and mine cold pressed. We are here to discuss, with great anticipation, the opening of Winnipeg’s newest – and certainly one of its most ambitious – live music venues, Union Sound Hall.

With a number of young, local music heavies putting their money and reputations behind the space, the opening of Union Sound Hall has been a buzz throughout Winnipeg’s live music community. After months of frenzied activity, and plenty of sweat equity being poured into the place, Union Sound Hall is set to open its doors.

“The opportunity came up in October [2012],” Sneesby (aka DJ Hunnicut) explains. “For Tim [Hoover, aka DJ Co-op] and I, the idea of owning a venue has been in our minds for a long time.

We’ve been performing together for so long that we thought the next step would be to have our own venue.”

For Sneesby and Hoover, years of touring and performing across the globe have informed their ideas about how a venue should operate, for performers and customers alike. Alongside the other partners in Union, they are ready to put those concepts into praxis.

“We have ideas of how to make it comfortable for artists, local and touring, to feel welcome and to feel like they want to come back and continue using the space,” he explains. He pauses to consider what he calls the “intangibles” of what makes a good venue from the perspective of a showgoer, before settling on a perfect example: the Lo Pub. “As a venue to see shows, the sightlines were shitty [at the Lo], the sound wasn’t great, but there

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was something intangible that made people want to be there. We can’t just put on paper that [Union Sound Hall] will be cool. But we think we’re the people that can at least get it going in the right direction, and just hope that the city of Winnipeg supports us.”

The space itself, located in a restored warehouse space in the Exchange, is well tailored to accommodating small to mid-sized shows. A small room suitable for approximately 100 patrons greets visitors upon entrance, while a larger main room is capable of accommodating over 400. Both spaces are serviced by bars, appropriately sized stages, and top of the line sound systems.

“We’ve got a few things that we’re going to try to do festival style,” David Schellenberg (Les Jupes, exPlaying Cards), the whippersnapper of a booking agent hired by Union, told Stylus earlier over beers at Cousin’s. “One band will play the main-stage, and one band will play the side-room as soon as they’re done. So we can just go boom-boom-boom, back and forth with very little time in between. We’re also going to do early shows in the side-room, some 8:30-10:30 stuff, then some 11:00 till 2:00 stuff in the big room. Basically, just more shows. It may be a little hard for the city to adjust, but once they do it’s going to be great.”

“My personal goal is for it to be the home of great live music in the city,” says Schellenberg. “Winnipeg just doesn’t have a room like this. Essentially, to be honest, we’re trying to change how people tour through North America.”

Apart from bringing in high quality touring acts, Union Sound Hall aims to be a venue that local bands can feel comfortable booking for album release parties or other major showcases. Royal Canoe

[see our feature on the group on page 15] will be the first big local release party celebrated in the venue, with others to follow. Union will also be home to DJ Hunnicut and Co-op’s annual New Year’s Eve and Halloween dance parties, as well as popular local club nights like Devotion.

“With the Albert gone and the Lo Pub gone, it’s really just the Windsor, the Pyramid, and us,” says Sneesby. “We’re hoping we can be an option for bands to throw their own shows.”

As far as what goes into a name, Sneesby says that the name Union Sound Hall is a throwback to the history of the building, which is found on the upper level of 110 Market Avenue.

“110 Market is an old saddlery,” Sneesby explains. “It’s a building that’s over 100 years old now … [And] we didn’t want to use the word ‘club’ or ‘cabaret.’ We wanted the focus to be on live music, rather than a nightclub.”

“We don’t have a [musical] format,” admits Sneesby. “As a matter of fact, if we don’t get pigeon holed, it’s better for us,” he says, explaining that the more varied an audience the club can attract and maintain, the better for Winnipeg’s live music scene.

“I want people to be comfortable riding their bikes here wearing what they’re wearing to see a show.”

Shows start happening at 110 Market in August (including this issue’s launch party, August 8th!), and with big gigs from James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) in September announcing the venue’s arrival.

Other highlights include a stop by buzz band Majical Cloudz (August 14) and Bleached (September 13), with more lined up to be announced in the coming weeks.

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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PHOTO MANIPULATED BY ANDREW MAZURAK

BY BROOSE TULLOCH

Summer’s just begun and Electric Soul is already plan-

ning for the end of it, for that’s when they unveil their sophomore disc, Second Paradise. The prog-influence quartet features Ed Durocher (guitar, vocals), Dave Guenette (keyboards, vocals), Joey DeCosse (Drums), and Chris Tuscherer. Stylus caught up with Ed Durocher and Dave Guenette to discuss the new album, weddings, and band names.

Stylus: You were aware that there were other bands named Electric Soul, but you kept it anyway.

Ed Durocher: I really felt a strong attachment to that name and I can stand behind that name. Actually the name came when Chris (bass) and I played in a band that was the house band on Thursday nights at the King’s Head Pub four or five years ago and Electric Soul was the name of that band. Then it broke up. So when Dave and I got a band going, Chris came back into the fold and I knew we had to keep that name. I just loved it so much. It suits us but it doesn’t define us. It’s wide open and we can take it anywhere.

Dave Guenette: Electric Soul strikes me as a very timeless name for a band, and one that partially gives away our sound, but not completely. It sounds like it could be anything from rock to funk to soul to R&B. We all come from different backgrounds musically, both in what we listened to and how we learned to play, and the name Electric Soul doesn’t sound like it fits in any specific genre.

Stylus: One of those other Electric Souls is a Welsh Wedding Band!

Have you ever played a wedding?

ED: No, we have never played a wedding but if it comes up I would totally be down for that! Actually, my girlfriend, Hannah and I met at one of our shows! So that is awesome; best show of my life right there. She commented on my Zappa shirt and www.stylusmagazine.ca

it was all over from there.

DG: There was one gig a while back at Ozzy’s where some guy we didn’t know came up on stage and started dancing around us with a full beer in hand, spilling some onto our instruments. No harm done, though, and it was actually a really cool moment.

Stylus: What is your vision, where do you want to take the band musically?

ED: It’s funny, whenever I bring in a song to the band I have an idea of how the song should sound and be arranged, and rarely does it stay like that but the

song always comes out better. I feel like this band is always hungry to evolve. I like what we have done in the past, but we need to move forward always.

That’s what we take from Prog Rock, they were always looking for something new. I want us to keep on exploring, looking for new colours and emotions because that’s what good music is.

DG: Musically I have no idea where this band is going to go, and that’s how I like it. As people I feel we evolve mentally, and what I want to see the band doing for the next album may be completely different now than what I want when we actually record it! That’s kind of the fun part: we have no idea what the songs are going to sound like until we write them!

Stylus: Tell us about your sophomore album, Second Paradise, which will be available September 3rd.

ED: It was a hard album to make.

Lenny (Milne) worked us hard and never let us just “settle” for something. We are a better band now and know what we have to do to move forward as a band and as musicians.

It brought us closer together. You really have to be there for each other even when you are arguing. Recording an album of songs you care about so much is mentally, physically and emotionally draining.

DG: Making the album was a really great experience because it brought us to the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. We put our hearts and souls into this album and in the end we’re very happy with it.

On September 6th, Peg City rockers Electric Soul release their second effort, the aptly titled Second Paradise, at the Windsor Hotel, along with Mariachi Ghost and King Cabernet. Tickets are available at Music Trader and Into The Music. Electric Soul can be found online at electricsoul.ca.

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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Les Jupes

BY SHANELL DUPRAS

A

fter the great success of Les Jupes’ Modern Myths, their new EP is bound to be exciting! Stylus sat down with Michael Falk (guitar/vocals) and David Schellenberg (bass) over some hot noodles and chopstick lessons to talk about the upcoming EP, their endless touring, and a brand new member.

Stylus: Tell me a bit about the new EP. David Schellenberg: We did the EP in March I believe, with Cam Loeppky and Rusty Matyas (of Imaginary Cities). It was just over a weekend. We did the bulk of it in about three days, and then we just did some…

Michael Falk: Overdubs and edits.

Stylus: So it’s ready to go then?

MF: It is ready to go… We’re getting design work.

Stylus: What kind of plans do you have for cover art?

MF: We don’t have a set idea yet. We’ve asked permission from someone to use art of theirs, hopefully they say yes… It’s still a little up in the air.

Stylus: When you think of your new EP, what colour comes to mind? How does this vary from Modern Myths?

DS: I see some really nice bright colours. I see some pink hues and some yellow hues… I guess Modern Myths would be a very nice dark purple.

MF: [The EP] is like a ray of sunshine.

DS: With very dark subject matter and really nice sounding songs…

Stylus: What kind of subject matter?

MF: “Save Your Friends” [is about] ...

DS: How we lost literally all of our friends and potentially loved ones to play rock and roll music.

MF: It’s about what you sacrifice to chase something and missing the life you had and getting really tired.

Coming home at the end of a long day and being utterly exhausted and kind of questioning what the heck you’re doing.

DS: Getting frustrated with the in and outs of people in a band. That’s a recurring theme.

MF: “Hold Me Down” is kind of framed in the struggles of a small town and people who think or act differently…

DS: It all just sounds like pink and purple hues to me. All very happy go lucky… [and] “Contract Killers;” a song that you wrote like how long ago?

MF: Like 2005? It was just a dark song, but playful.

Trying to take a little window into the world of mafia hit men because I like that kind of stuff…

Stylus: I’ve read that you’ve been touring endlessly. Is this an exaggeration?

MF: For almost two years we travelled somewhere almost every month… Something important was happening every month for two years…

DF: I did the math. We played in seven countries in the last two years...

Stylus: What kind of cultural differences did you experience?

MF: That drive from Northern Germany to Milan.

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PHOTO BY MATS BAKKEN

It’s not really cultural experiences, it’s just chaos…

So leaving Germany, crossing over into Switzerland, driving through the Alps. [We drove through a] major crazy snowstorm, like stupid blizzard.

DS: …Like I’ve never seen anything like it here.

MF: Not speaking the language, and getting lost twice… At the end of that we got into Milan and we needed directions. So we stopped at this brand new, crazy posh hotel. It was like out of a crazy architecture magazine… Having been in a van and stinking, and driving through the Alps in the snow storm…

And coming out the other side and walking into this hotel to ask to use the phone to call your friend and get directions to her place!

DS: I’d say when we were in France; that was the weirdest cultural experience… You’d see 14-year-old boys wearing Gucci shirts and smoking cigarettes. I was so confused!

MF: In Cannes, it’s not like a farmers market, but a little market in the middle of the town on Sundays.

So you have all these 75-year-old, rich southern France, Mediterranean women rummaging through piles of designer clothes that are brought in off some discount truck or something. Weird crazy make up,

like once you’ve lost your mind a little bit, the kind of make up you’d do…

Stylus: How did you guys recruit your new keyboard player Adam Fuhr?

MF: I recorded his old band years ago, and I hadn’t seen his new band but David had.

DS: I was raving about Adam’s band Yes We Mystic, which he played guitar in. I knew that he could play, and that he had a bunch of years of piano under his belt. So when Mike was going to record them, I said “Mike I don’t care if this record needs piano, make this kid play piano for you because he’s going to be good.” And so he did…

Stylus: With the release of your EP, what are your plans for the fall and winter?

MF: We’re going to go all over the place. West Canadian tour, we’ve got some shows in Europe getting lined up. We’ve got some shows in the States getting lined up.

Come catch Les Jupes as they release their newest EP at the West End Cultural Centre on September 20.

Check stylusmagazine.ca at that time for an unedited version of this interview.

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers

ILLUSTRATION BY MISTER JAN

By Martyna Turczynowicz

Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers are one of Win-

nipeg’s most interesting up and coming acts. From eclectic live shows to intricately put together indie opuses, the band is one of this city’s most exciting. With their EP Fruit and Ash behind them, Stylus connected with Lindsey Collins (bass) to talk about the new EP, Winnipeg’s music scene, and plans for the future.

Stylus: What’s the inspiration behind your latest album? And the title?

Lindsey Collins: Our latest EP Fruit and Ash is inspired by organisms in the natural world, specifically one fish (salmon) and three insects (the dragonfly, the ant and the water boatmen).

The album title comes from a lyric in “Salmon,” which I believe is a reference to the peaks and valleys of existence, be it in the life of a human or any other organism. There is a specific intent with the lyrics to draw parallels between the struggles of human existence and the struggles faced by other creatures in the animal kingdom.

Stylus: What’s exciting and original about Fruit and Ash? LC: This is the first recording for us to feature our new lineup of musicians; Kyle Wedlake (tenor sax) and Andrew Littleford (trumpet) have been our horn section since fall 2012, and Jaime Carrasco has been playing drums with us for almost two years now. It’s great for the newest members to finally have a new recording with their own playing on it. Fruit and Ash also features our singer Jesse Krause’s new project the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir. There were just over 20 male singers crammed into the recording studio to contribute to a very triumphant section of “Ant Eating Matriarch” where we inserted a segment of the Russian song “Ochi Chyornye.” The pace of recording this EP was also extremely blistering; we recorded all four songs in one weekend, they were mixed by engineer Ryan McVeigh evenings during the following week and the mixes were finalized the following Saturday, mastered on Sunday and sent to manufacturing on

12 Stylus Magazine Aug/Sept 2013

Monday. Basically it was all done in about ten days.

Stylus: How are you promoting your latest album?

LC: We toured Western Canada at the end of May – all the way out to Vancouver and back in ten days.

We also have two summer tours in Saskatchewan and Alberta booked for early July/early August.

Joelle May from ModMay Promotions has been working as our publicist for the release of Fruit and Ash, and she’s been doing a great job so far of helping us to spread the word about the band.

Stylus: How does it compare to your previous works?

LC: The pace with which we recorded Fruit and Ash was considerably faster than our previous full length album Hans My Lion. Aside from the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir, we didn’t have any additional musicians, and we kept the overdubs to a minimum, whereas on HML we had a small orchestra on a few songs and also our singer Jesse Krause overdubbed a great deal of cello and violin as well.

Stylus: Flying Fox definitely has a theatrical feel to it and it’s something that should definitely be seen live. How would you describe a Flying Fox show to somebody who has never been to one?

LC: I’d like to think our live show is very energetic and entertaining; as long as the show goes according to plan I end up with an extremely sweat-soaked shirt. The audience should hopefully feel like they’ve seen something that is a combination of many musical and visual elements that they’ve never quite seen combined in such a unique format.

Stylus: How do you feel about Winnipeg’s music scene?

LC: I’m probably too biased to answer this fairly, but I think Winnipeg’s music scene is the best one in Canada. There is a ton of talent here, but more importantly I think there is a tonne of innovation, which I think is even harder to come by. Bands like Chic Gamine and Royal Canoe are mixing genres to create extremely inventive pop music that defies genre classifications. The F-holes are doing the same thing in the roots genre, so there’s no lack of innovation here in the river city.

Stylus: What’s in your plans for the near future?

LC: After a busy summer of touring we are planning on working on our next full-length album, which we plan to release in the spring/ summer of 2014. We’ve already got some shows and tour plans made for this time frame and we are eager to finish another album before the 2014 summer festival season.

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ROYAL CANOE

BY NICK VAN DOESELAAR

Royal Canoe has been getting a lot of attention, both at home and internationally, over the past few years.

After releasing a couple teaser EPs, their long awaited full length is ready for the world. Stylus was able to sneak in an email interview with Royal Canoe’s Matt Schellenberg during a very busy time of touring and preparation for their upcoming August 23 album release at Union Sound Hall.

Stylus: Since last time we talked, did Today We’re Believers change at all? Did you tweak anything or have any other ideas later on?

MS: After listening to our track listing a bunch of times we realized there was a lull in the back half that needed a little push. So we went back into the studio after a tour and wrote the track “Birthday” to fill that role, which no one has really heard yet. It will be our second single coming out in September.

Stylus: How do you feel the album will hold up?

MS: It’s one of those things you can never predict.

You have this concept of this thing you’ve spent the last three years creating and then other people can see it in a totally different light or context. That’s part of the beauty of making art though. There is this Wilco lyric that I have always thought described that feeling so well “And if the whole world’s singing your songs, And all of your paintings have been hung, Just remember what was yours is everyone’s from now on.” So you can’t really worry about it. Just make something you think is the best thing you have to offer and hope others will get something out of it as well.

Stylus: How was getting signed?

MS: It’s a funny thing that question, because in the music industry there are all sorts of divisions of labour: management, booking agencies, publisher, publicists, music lawyers, etc, but the one that most people seem to really understand as the validating moment is being “signed” to a label. So it was really www.stylusmagazine.ca

interesting as we have had a number of these other things in place for a while. But in short, it was great!

We had people congratulating us and sort of rallying around us locally. Also it’s crazy to know that every day a staff of people around the world wake up and their job is helping our music get out there.

We’re really happy with the three labels we’ve signed to and they’ve all been extremely supportive.

Stylus: How was your last tour all together? Different than the past tours?

MS: The last tour we did was sort of ridiculous.

We flew to LA to play two pool parties. One at the Canadian Consulate and the other at Danny Masterson’s house for a reopening of his Bronson Island sessions. It was different from the past tours in that we just got to fly out and play LA, New York and Montréal and Toronto around the release of our vinyl and it felt sort of surreal being in all those places in such a short time. We are really appreciative of the opportunities we got in those cities and as a bunch of prairie kids really excited to have felt so embraced in those major cities.

Stylus: The last time I asked you guys what the future held for the coming year, and all that stuff pretty much happened and more! What are your new goals and plans for the next years to come?

MS: It’s funny you ask because we have this black moleskin book where once a year we write down fairly specific predictions for the coming year and hope they will come true. Uncannily, last year’s page was sort of ridiculously accurate. So now we joke that anything you write down in there will come true. For instance, originally we were really disappointed that we’d have to move our full CD release to September as we wanted it out in June, then we checked the book… it said the record comes out in September! That was written on January 19th so… ha. Anyway we have our goals and they’re all set out on the next page. I think broadly our goal at this

point will just be touring the hell out of our record to get in into as many ears as possible and take all the opportunities that come our way during that time.

Stylus: How do you like your Winnipeg gigs?

MS: I remember the Festival du Voyageur gig and that was pretty. Winnipeg has been so supportive to us I sometimes get teary near the end of some of our local sets. It just feels so great to be championed by a city that we love so much, and that has inspired most of our songs. Specifically the Festival du Voyageur gig was a very special one for me because my father had actually passed away earlier that day after a long struggle with cancer. He was a musician as well and I knew he would have wanted me to keep the gig. So I did and it was obviously very emotional but an amazing feeling of support seeing the line go 200 feet or so out the door for the show.

Stylus: Are you proud to be from Winnipeg?

MS: I could not be more proud to be from Winnipeg. It’s a bunch of people holed up in their basements during godforsaken cold-as-hell winter making art for art’s sake, throwing little gallery parties or spending their summer biking around in giant ad-hoc bike gangs. That said, at the same time I will say that Winnipeg can also be a total shit-hole full of big box stores, urban sprawl, a fractured and mostly forgotten downtown, at times it can be just downright ugly. So it’s got its issues thats for sure, but I like to believe that they are the sort of issues that help build character in the people that choose to stay here, and I am proud to have chosen Royal Canoe are officially celebrating the release of Today We’re Believers at Union Sound Hall on August 23rd and at Park Theatre for an all ages show on August 22nd. Look for a full, unabridged feature interview online at stylusmagazine.ca at that time.

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

15

WINNIPEG

FOLK FESTIVAL PHOTOS BY ANDREW MAZURAK*

BLUE KING BROWN

BOMBINO THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA

JASON COLLETT TAKING IN COLIN MELOY

FOR ALL OUR FOLK FEST PHOTO COVERAGE VISIT STYLUSMAGAZINE.CA/FOLKFEST/

DR. DOG PATRICK WATSON *PHOTO BY JORDAN JANISSE

COLD SPECKS XAVIER RUDD

Real Love Winnipeg

PHOTO BY LAURA SEXSMITH

BY ZACH FLEISHER

We’re rolling down Hazel Street in Winnipeg Beach

and I can already feel it; the calm tone of an acoustic guitar, gentle laughter among close friends and the always refreshing breeze of Lake Winnipeg. As we walk up to the deck and into the sunroom of 228 Hazel, I notice folks in hushed tone of conversation; local recording artist Claire Bones is currently recording a track in the main cottage room, doubling as a makeshift recording haven and I’m told that we all need to whisper in order to continue our conversation.

Welcome to Beach Station Blues, a project spearheaded and coordinated by local music aficionados, Gilad Carroll, Adam Soloway and Josh Winestock, all from Winnipeg. These budding musicians have planned this project extensively and heralded it through their recording company and organization, Real Love Winnipeg, formed last year. The idea works as a plan to bring a dozen or so bands to a quaint cottage in Winnipeg Beach for a weekend and for each of the bands to record one song in the cramped and converted studio, with the results being mastered and released at a later date as a compilation record.

Carroll and Soloway are the original brainchildren behind the project and brought Winestock in as a third voice last year. In talking to the pair, they spoke of their plans to hold these recording sessions annually, building on the successes of last year’s effort, which included fresh songs from local favourites such as The Hoots, Micah Erenberg, as well as a psychedelic jazz track from Brandon University alumnus Dave Thiel and Winestock. Despite some unfortunate delays, the record from the initial recording sessions was released last December and stands as a fair and accurate depiction of the music written and recorded during the sessions.

2013’s edition of Beach Station Blues features even more local groups; among others are returning artists Poorboy, new addition Surprise Party, as well the local Winnipeg buzz group Animal Teeth. One www.stylusmagazine.ca

addition for this year, which serves as an area of focus outside the main release of the record, is the recording of Deck Sessions. These Deck Sessions feature some of the bands involved with the project recording outside of the makeshift studio and instead performing on the deck of the cottage for a much simpler and stripped down sound.

For Soloway, the main focus of the project lies not only in the recording of the music itself, but also the fact that “bands are meeting other bands,” referring to the idea of community and camaraderie that naturally develops between groups while they are out for the weekend. According to him, a lot of the groups that played on the initial record last summer ended up playing shows together throughout the year at various Winnipeg venues. Beyond the

music, partnerships and friendships form here that will likely last years after this jam-packed weekend of musical exploration. Soloway also remarks “each day keeps on getting better and better” as they keep on recording and enjoying the fine atmosphere that this creative environment accords them.

Some artists that weekend praise the physical location and atmosphere of the project, in particular.

Adam Nikkel of Animal Teeth speaks highly of the idea behind the project, pointing to the relaxed feel of the cottage. “[It] gives you a chance to explore a song in a way you couldn’t normally,” Nikkel tells me as we sit on the deck and quietly listen to the recording taking place in the room over. “We don’t hear each other usually. [There is] no pressure, you can kind of explore and do what you want.”

While attending the recording sessions, I could sense that most of the performers were truly at ease. In many ways, this was a musical paradise, with the freedom to what folks wanted to do. The whole seems to project and extremely down to earth environment.

So what comes next for Beach Station Blues and Real Love Winnipeg?

Gilad Carroll tells me that after this weekend, they are moving to have the album mixed and mastered and Real Love Winnipeg is aiming for a September release. Stemming from the inaugural release, Carroll mentions that he has “high goals for the project” and that he’d like to see these recording sessions evolve into a biannual event, with both a summer and winter meeting for the groups, which would inevitably create a separate dynamic for both sessions. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the impending release of Beach Station Blues II, as well the timed announcement of the individual Deck Sessions and a launch party for the record.

For information on the project, feel free to check out last years record at http:// reallovewinnipeg.bandcamp.com/ or email the fine folks at Real Love Winnipeg (at) reallovewinnipeg@gmail. com Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

19

ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE MOYER

BY DANIEL EMBERG

Summertime

signals a bevy of exciting festivals throughout Manitoba and fine music may be heard ringing across cities, woods, and lakes. One of the busiest weekends for festivals will be August 16-18, and here we focus on three festivals taking place during that stretch, which hint at the wide range of options available to Manitoba music lovers.

Rainbow Trout Music Festival: August 16-18 (Oroseau) This community-minded festival is beloved in Winnipeg for offering a diverse range of the finest local talent in a secluded rural setting. Rainbow Trout has a solid reputation with regard to the musicians on stage, but another of their focal points has been improving the site—and by extension, the entire experience for attendees.

According to festival organizer Ben Jones, “Now that Rainbow Trout has a gorgeous permanent home on the banks of the Rosseau River, we are able to make the site more amazing each year. Last year we added a sweet little swimming pond and this year we are expanding the camping area to hold another 200 people with room to spare. We plan to keep the festival intimate, and are focusing our energy on building an unbeatable site!”

Headliners include Mahogany Frog, Rastamils, Vikings, and Hana Lu Lu. Other notables include From Giants, Romi Mayes, and a rare appearance from Winnipeg favourites, the Lonely Vulcans. The range of styles represented on the roster is no accident, and Jones says, “There are plenty of amazing acts....We pride ourselves on having a lineup that showcases the best in local Winnipeg music.”

Tickets are going fast and available at Music Trader, Natural Cycle, and the Rose ‘n’ Bee Pub. More information at www.rainbowtroutfestival.tumblr.com Harvest Sun Music Festival: August 16-18 (Kelwood) Combining quality music with an explicit commitment to supporting family farmers in the area, Harvest Sun is a respected destination for folk fans who view art as a meaningful instrument for social improvement.

In this, its eighth year, Harvest Sun is working alongside Farmers With Disabilities and the Farm and Rural Stress Line to raise support for inde-

20 Stylus Magazine Aug/Sept 2013

pendent agriculture. A hugely appealing component is an on-site farmers market, which gives local producers an opportunity to sell organic and sustainable foods. Tickets and camping passes are fairly priced, and Harvest Sun even offers a “puppy pass” for those who might otherwise miss out for lack of a dog-sitter.

As for the music, there is much that will tickle Manitoba folk families: Burnt Project 1, Rah Rah, Old Bones Buffalo, Cara Luft, Red Moon Road, and Sierra Noble are just some of the acts scheduled to appear. There will also be a lot of Al Simmons, who is pulling double duty as both a host and performer.

Local favourite JP Hoe, whose first Harvest Sun appearance punctuates a hectic summer full of festival performances throughout the prairies, had this to say: “I’m looking forward to eating the sustainable food from local farms, and participating in the group dynamic that makes a folk festival come alive. Old music friends, new friends, existing fans and new ones; folk festivals, as most people know,

always create lasting memories.”

Advance tickets and camping passes for Harvest Sun can be purchased online at http://www.theharvestsun.com/ Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition (MEME): August 15-18 (Winnipeg – various venues) Music lovers who stay in the city also have ample opportunity to hit some great shows, as the fourth annual MEME fills several downtown venues. Festival director Nathan Zahn says it has become, “probably the biggest urban electronic festival destination in western Canada,” noting that most comparable events take place in rural areas. This year, more than two dozen local producers line up with some of the biggest international names in electronic music.

It takes some brass for a festival to offer up its biggest act for free, but that is exactly what MEME has done; the legendary Funk D’Void plays The Cube (10pm, Aug. 17) for everyone to see. As explained by Zahn, “We are fortunate to have great sponsors... but those free shows at The Cube also attract big crowds that fill up our after-parties.”

Those after-parties showcase many of the best-known acts.

Zahn says the ones to watch for include Daniel Steinberg (“dance friendly but still underground....it’s jazz and funk samples with more tech house stuff ”) and Longwalkshortdock (“almost like a one-man band playing keyboards, drum pads, and singing. People who are mostly drawn to rock music like watching him”).

Many free shows are planned extensively for varied audiences and according to Zahn, “This year all the Cube acts on Sunday, like Desert Dwellers, are doing more of a worldbeat style combined with electronic sounds. Fans of the Folk Fest vibe will really enjoy those shows.”

MEME also hosts a full-day workshop, offering budding producers an opportunity to talk shop with world-class artists and pick up pointers on how to hone their craft.

Tickets are available at Into the Music, Stella’s at Plugin, Crown Toyota, or online at www.memetic.ca

Local Spotlight ing From,” a serene duet with Keri Latimer, and through to the closing “Anthem For A Broken City,” this album is well written, beautifully put together, and one that is sure to show up on Top Ten lists for 2013. (Disintegration, hauntermusic.tumblr.com) Sheldon Birnie

HAUNTER Rivers & Rust Haunter’s Rivers & Rust, is one of this year’s most anticipated local releases.

After five years of gigging around the city and beyond, expectations were high for this debut. And it does not disappoint. From the first spin, the album as a whole, and the individual songwriting, pull you into a space that is both new and refreshingly familiar.

That Haunter have found a perfect home on Disintegration Records comes as no surprise, as when I’m listening to this album, I keep getting flashes of old Winnipeg tapes, 7” EPs, and short run CDs of the 1990s; a taste of the Bonaduces here, a flash of Painted Thin there. Maybe just the tiniest hint of Red Fisher somewhere in between? Despite these subtle references, Rivers & Rust really does stand on its own. From opening track “July, 2005” to “Where I’m Call-

THE UNBELIEVABLE BARGAINS Fun Times Why Not This debut from local rockers the Unbelievable Bargains is just what I expected: tight little garage rockers about food, getting dressed, animals, and poop. Fun Times Why Not is just great. If you’re hammering away on some tedious work (like editing this issue of Stylus?), cleaning the house, or hanging out with your bratty niece or nephew, you can throw this album on and your mood will improve immediately. “Let’s Go Feed Ducks” and “Let’s Get Dressed” are perfect to

pump you up for a fun outing, while “Lunch” and “Free Potato Wedges” will have your belly rumbling for some hot eats. The garagy/pop sensibilities of the songwriting would not be out of place in the 1960s, 90s, or today, and the harmonies and back up barks and hollers are fun as heck. Fun Times Why Not is gonna be available soon as a beauty slab of vinyl, and I for one cannot wait to get my mitts on one. Let’s go! (Independent, unbelievablebargains.bandcamp.com) Sheldon Birnie

ANIMAL TEETH Me & You Animal Teeth’s debut album depicts an upwards spiraling path of a band to the apex of an indie rock mountain.

For a band that has been playing for just over a year, they have tapped into a number of pop sensibilities that take you from point A to point Z.

“Borealis Buffalo” and the title track set a mood of lazy joy, accompanied by a lead guitar that seems to dance behind lead singer and principal songwriter Stefan Hodges’ soaring range of catchy melodies. This is immediately contrasted by “Holly” an attempt at forlorn depression that fails to break your heart. It’s like an apology to a girlfriend that you broke up with but never really cared about that much in the first place. The standout track is “Circles,” which begins with a Slowdive-esque reverbed out guitar sequence that feels like you’re swimming in the clouds. The structure of the song is circular, starting at a dreamlike state, then to the moment you wake up in the morning, confused and unimpressed, to the end of the day when you can’t sleep and there are bending tones screaming in your ears. And then all that over again. The album ends with “Faust,” a danceable ballad that finally captures the raw energy that the band exerts at their live shows. The loudness is accented by a screaming guitar ostensibly influenced by Isaac Brock. Me & You is a strong record that promises interesting things to come from these four prairie youngsters. (Independent, animalteeth.bandcamp.com) Mischa Decter

Mental Notes

KANYE WEST Yeezus At the time of this writing, much has

www.stylusmagazine.ca

already been said of Kanye West’s sixth studio album, Yeezus. Critics marveled at its “dark and sonically experimental” presentation. Writers celebrated its “minimalist” aesthetic and nods to early-00s Southern trap and mid-80s Chicago acid house.

Some even construed its songwriting as social commentary while admiring West’s narcissism as a sort of ironic self-reflexivity.

Whatever the interpretation, Yeezus is Kanye’s sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2010’s critically polarizing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,

and the third in a string of highly ambitious releases dating back to 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. More than a dozen collaborators including Mike Dean, Daft Punk and Justin Vernon worked on Yeezus, making it a true “producer’s record.” Behind Kanye’s (still) uninspired raps are unusual samples blended with retro synths and a host of musical themes, new and old, throughout. As hip hop records go, you won’t hear another like this all year.

Unlike Kanye’s lyrics–which shift from painfully specious anti-capitalist

jabbering to vacuous claims of holiness–the album carries a consistently aggressive tone. On “Blood on the Leaves,” Kanye distressingly illustrates a collapsing marriage, while on “New Slaves” he posits a fierce polemic of inequality in America. Yeezus will dazzle some with its eccentric production and Kanye’s idiotic yet provocative hubris. For others, it’s discordant chaos of sounds and themes might cause one to wonder what the man is trying to say in the first place. (RocA-Fella/Def Jam, kanyewest.com) Harrison Samphir

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

21

Ulteriors

RAFFERTIE Sleep of Reason Sleep of Reason is the debut album of British composer and producer Benjamin Stefanski (aka Raffertie) and showcases an impressive blend of soul, electronica, and the avant-garde. Raffertie has a distinct talent for creating atmosphere with each track of Sleep of Reason feeling like an exploration into a different corner of the same world.

And this world feels fully fleshed out with constantly evolving layers of sound moving in and out of range.

Only the beats are clear-cut, but even they tend to skitter and break in unexpected ways. “Undertow” gets the album off to an eerie start with muffled vocals and rumbling synthesizers, while “Rain” sees an R&B melody waver through a wash of reverb. “Build Me Up” combines soulful vocals with pulsing synths, giving it a strange and ghostly swagger, and “Gagging Order” feels like a remixed R&B tune with its choppy beats and melancholy piano.

Most of the lyrics on Sleep are incomprehensible, but the melodies shine through, like the female vocals on “Principle Action.” “Black Rainbow” burns slowly until pounding drums and crunching guitars start to explode while an angry beat and a vocoder melody makes “Back of the Line” both beautiful and aggressive.

Everything about Sleep of Reason is dark and murky in a way that reminded of Ask the Dust by Lorn – one of my favorite albums from last year.

But it does take a little while longer to warm up to Raffertie’s cold idiosyncrasies. Luckily, with its excellent production value and intricate layers, Sleep of Reason gives a listener plenty to explore and is worth sinking into multiple times. (Ninja Tune, ninjatune.net) Matthew Dyck ALEXAZIZ AL-HAWWAZI Saudi Suite An old, online only release, this is one

22 Stylus Magazine Aug/Sept 2013

of my go-to experimental albums.

Alexaziz, aka Aleksei Malakhov, an original Solntsetsvety member/collaborator from Minsk, recorded six tracks while in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Suite’s crystallization of Alek’s loneliness, fascination and feeling of strangeness in a different place is the fog that binds these pieces together.

Regional musical forms mix with Alek’s own background as a hardcore, psych and as a rock guitarist in his ex-Soviet homeland. Radio samples, field recordings and prayers move as a mist on the recordings. I’ve never heard something so emotionally accurate to the exhilarating and suffocating conflictions of being alone in a strange place.

After years of teaching in New York City, Aleksei left his troubled birthplace in Belarus (where his instruments remain due to customs) for good and emigrated to Canada with his family. He now lives in Toronto where he is have him working in a factory. I hope one day he’ll find some gear and start a band with me. (HAZE Net, h-a-z-e.org) Kristel Jax

PANOS Panos Experimentation is the name of the game for this debut self-titled album Panos by instrumentalist-turnedsongwriter Panos Giannoulis. With the recent decision to try his hand at writing and producing music, Giannoulis sets off to define himself as a true recording artist in Panos, using a wide array of genres to build a progressive, avant-garde, and above all explorative sound.

Taking cues from ambient pop, Panos is really all about exploring sound and the instrument. Panos experiments with odd scales, quirky time signatures, and unusual instrument effects, with a real drive towards pushing the bar on traditional songwriting. The album’s song arrangement even feels

experimental while running through the album, giving the listener a side seat to the often chaotic and unpredictable nature of working with a new medium as an artist. The results, though, are hit-and-miss. Some pieces work and some pieces just miss the target. But that doesn’t take away from the truly enjoyable experience of listening to an artist find himself in a new endeavor.

The only real piece that doesn’t seem to find a place in the album are the vocal components. While alone, the vocals are eerie and expressive; they don’t seem to stack up to the level of exploration found in the accompanying instrumental pieces. Many times, the album was able to set an exceptional layering of sounds, only to be jarred by a more traditional vocal accompaniment that just didn’t quite reach the same quality of exploration that the rest of the album was treated to. Barring this, Panos Giannoulis is an exceptional musician that appears unafraid and uninhibited to explore music and have fun doing it. This is an album that encourages enjoyment and makes this listener excited to see where this artist finds his niche.

(Independent, www.panosband.ca) Justin Quigley

MALAIKAT DAN SINGA Open the Crown All around psychedelic guy Arrington de Dionyso double times as a visual artist and a musician and he’s consistently exploring interesting territory.

My personal belief is that his public love of noise patterns can help free the bodies and spirits of Western music fans from the tyranny of the male plaid paradigm makes him a folk hero.

Noise patterns! Free your mind.

Malaikat dan Singa are Arrington’s Indonesian post-punk band. Dionyso fell in love with the language and music of the country while traveling there and his experiences in Asia influence much of his current work.

While their live show can be a bit jammy, Dionyso gets a pass for entering hippy-dude-cliche (or appropriation disaster) territory because he approaches cultural exploration in both a respectful and contemporary way.

He has mastered his instruments (especially his ability to throat sing, like, actual discernible lyrics), and follows his own unique and compelling sense of direction within the sound.

Open the Crown is the band’s first release to feature English as well as Indonesian vocals, and I’m into the new English language stuff. Single “I Create in a Broken System,” for an avant dance track, actually reminds me of Pavement, but in a way that’s fresh and unique, which really, how can that be possible? “Open the Crown” and “I Feel the Quickening” are spookier and kinda ride a Liars vibe.

Nuts guitar lines might be the messy black outlines of Dionyso’s paintings.

Civilizations melt and are built again.

Malaikat dan Singa take a far out idea and make something real with it, broken system or not. (K Records, krecs. com) Kristel Jax

FALTYDL Hardcourage You know those upscale hair salons that look like they brought in a Feng Shui expert to design the place to be both comforting enough to feel like you can open up emotionally to your hairdresser, but still intimidating enough that upon first visit you look and feel like the scum of the earth?

The walls are covered in earth-tone art found at an almost upscale art gallery, but was more likely purchased at Ikea? The waiting area has a table piled high with magazines that are 200 pages of mostly ads, organized in a faux-disorganized way to make it seem like everyone has been rifling through them, but really they haven’t? The clientele is comprised largely of upper-class suburbanites that only venture downtown to get

their hair done so they can flee back to their homes and name drop that salon, thereby instilling envy in the neighbours, all of whom are too uncomfortable with the idea of going downtown no matter how trendy?

And the hairdressers are celebrities within the confines of the building, dressed for a gala, made up to look like an Anne Hathaway nightmare, with nails that are too long to function in the outside world? The smell of chemical treatments masked by floral arrangements placed just out of the way enough to only be noticed on your fourth or maybe fifth visit? And the cost is way too much, but worth it if it means being able to say that you got your hair done there? And they never call it a “hair cut?” FaltyDL’s Hardcourage is being played in a hair salon like that. (Ninjatune, ninjatune. net) Myke Lewis TRICKY False Idols If you’ve listened to Tricky before you know what to expect from this.

Recontextualized interpolations of an eclectic collection of artists’ material interspersed with moody/morose drum beats comprise most of the material here, harkening back to a

somewhat poppier version of Maxinquaye. It appears that by now Tricky has completely purged himself of the vaguely corporate sounding butt-rock that plagued albums like Blowback and Vulnerable and has reacquainted himself with his trip-hop roots, while being somewhat influenced by current R&B trends. “Nothing Matters” is slick horn-and-string driven track reminiscent of the 90s, and “Bonnie and Clyde” sounds like a modernized version of Tricky’s old sound. Also of note is “Parenthesis,” a cover of The Antlers’ “Parentheses” that features Peter Silberman and, while being a cover of a strong song by The Antlers, is functionally and practically identical to the original. One wonders why Tricky bothered including it on the album at all. False Idols is far from perfect, opening with “Somebody’s Sins,” an uninspired reading of Patti Smith’s verses from “Gloria,” and penultimate track “Hey Love” features Tricky obnoxiously rapping over a beat cobbled together from samples of Japan’s “Ghosts.” All in, False Idols is uneven but provides a nostalgic experience for those pining for the glory days of trip-hop. (False Idols/!K7, trickysite.com) Topher Duguay

JESSE BOYKINS III Zulu Guru An album laden with the kind of lush atmosphere typically found on one of those Ibiza chillout records, Zulu Guru’s potential to lull you into a trancelike state of enlightenment is marred by jagged rhymes and hey-girl-style soul vocals. The album is repetitive in a way that, if it were instrumental, would make for non-invasive background music. As it is, Zulu Guru is a douchebaggy soundtrack to a drunken night out with too much hair gel, a Honda Civic and drinks with umbrellas in them. The mc-ing is the worst part; words hurled with no regard for sense or reason, no rhyme, no rhythm.

The track, “Schwaza,” is a particularly good example of bad rap. The word “schwaza” may mean “I’m not even trying” in some other language, so perhaps there’s validity to the painfully funny performance. Ninja Tunes was, at one point, the go-to label for kickass electronic music. If Jesse Boykins III’s Zulu Guru is any indication, it’s time to hang up the throwing stars.

(Ninja Tune, ninjatune.net) Myke Lewis EMIKA Dva Operatic vocals. Pulsing synthesizers. Swelling strings. Stereotypical dubstep wah-wahs. All are present on Emika’s sophomore album Dva. The Berlin-via-Bristol artist’s offering is as dark as it is danceable, despite it being a fairly downtempo affair. The album begins with the track “Young Minds,” a song drenched in synthy horns, driving drums, and epic delayed vocals. The same can be said about following track “She Beats,” yet the two songs are done in very different ways.

Whereas the former can be seen as more of a upbeat affair, the latter is more of a walk through the proverbial electronic marsh, with it’s humming lows and reversed vocals. Things then take a turn on “Filters,” a song with washy, atmospheric piano reminiscent of Radiohead’s more recent catalogue; a song that sounds like it could have been a classic blues song if written several decades ago.

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Other album highlights include an amazing cover of Chris Isaak’s classic “Wicked Game,” here re-imagined using distant pianos, glowing synth pads, near-inaudible vocals drenched in reverb and delay, and simple, effective drum beats. The Kate Bushinspired “Primary Colours,” with its touching violin and swelling strings, makes for a delightful, relaxing tune.

At a running time of over an hour, however, the album suffers from what most albums of that length tend to do. Despite Emika’s ability to alter sounds and noises in a variety of different ways, the latter half of Dva is filled with the sense that you’ve already heard it before. However, the songs are interesting enough it listen to them at random, making for a good electronic addition to your MP3 player if you like to shuffle your songs. (Ninja Tune, ninjatune.net) Dave Guenette MIXHELL Spaces Spaces, the first full-length from EDM band Mixhell, blends sharp beats with some interesting synth work and makes for an entertaining experience, although not entirely fulfilling. Iggor Cavalera of Brazilian metal band Sepultura brings his rhythms to the front and center, and his ferocity is what gives Spaces its punch.

His DJ wife, Laima Leyton, handles synth duties admirably, as well. “Intergalactic” opens with a gradual rise of energy, tight loops, and Cavalera’s kinetic drumming. The unfeeling female vocals of “Mind Drop” repeating the title through an intercom-like filter gives the track a distinctly late-90s groove that proves dancy but a tad predictable. Hyperactive synthesizers, driving drumbeats, and female whispers make “The Way” sound like a track from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ It’s Blitz. “Internal” is the most distinctly retro track on the album with its analogue tones filling out a murky groove and “White Ropes” lets Cavalera show off the heavy rhythms he does best. “Daria” showcases a refreshing blend of live bass, guitar, and drums with more eccentric synth tones and makes for an understated funk track that stands out as the album’s highlight. Spaces delivers plenty of hooky and danceable numbers but it also feels very of-the-moment – a record worth hearing but one that could easily get lost in the crowd of electronic releases. (Boysnoize, boysnoize.com) Matthew Dyck

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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Around the World

BALLAKÉ SISSOKO At Peace Although most of his latest album, At Peace, was recorded in western France, Ballaké Sissoko is one of the

world’s most highly regarded players of the kora, a 21-stringed instrument that sounds somewhere between a harp and a guitar. Sissoko, who grew up playing in Mali, has come to be one of the best-known kora players in the world and is also respected as an innovator who helped to popularize the use of guitar chord progressions on the instrument.

Sissoko says the title of this album reflects his need to put in time building a connection before playing with anyone, and the payoff of his approach becomes evident upon hearing the incredible level of comfort and ability

he shares with collaborators. There is no vocal work on the album, but the music is expressive enough that a careful listener will be rewarded with frequent blasts of virtuosity and whimsy thanks to the large number of first takes that made the cut.

The tone of Sissoko’s kora is addictively hypnotic, and the album has several standout tracks. “Badjourou” features an insistent balafon beat over which Sissoko invites guitars and a cello to join him in melodic play, and it is delightful to hear. “Kalata Diata” features a light-hearted treatment of a playful melody, and sounds like one

of the most polished compositions of the bunch. “N’tomikorobougou,” a sweeping kora/guitar piece that was recorded in Sissoko’s courtyard, features some gorgeous playing – a couple of times the musicians can be heard feeding each other vocables of palpable satisfaction; to hear it feels like eavesdropping on some beautiful secret. Sissoko may be working in an idiom that is unfamiliar to most listeners in this part of the world, but fans of sensitive and masterful musicianship will surely surrender to the quality of this disc. (Six Degrees, sixdegreesrecords.com) Daniel Emberg

(Bass), Andrew Scott (Guitar), Ethan Ardelli (Drums), Mark Duggan (Percussion), Kent Teeple (Viola). These experienced veterans of the Toronto music scene support and improvise along side Marshall in setting that sticks close to the bop side of jazz.

The first song, aptly named “Celloing,” gives listeners a taste of her musical chops in a straight-ahead bop setting (and boy, does she swing!).

She proceeds to show an array of versatility as the album progresses by injecting Latin grooves and funk beats into her compositions. One of the most outstanding parts on this

album is her fusion of Classical and jazz music into a pair of songs called, “I Remember Johann Sebastian,” and its introductory counterpart. Those acquainted with popular jazz standards will notice that it is a clever mash-up of “I Remember April” and the Bach Cello Suites. As a composer, improviser, and cellist, Kye Marshall stands as a person can do it all, and Pencil Blues is an excellent example that. It is an album that provides one with fresh and exciting music on a vibrant and lyrical instrument. (Independent, www.kylemarshall.com) Ben Hunter-Dearman

as a gunslinger for hire, Lone Hunter should serve Zdan well in staking her claim as a force to be critically reckoned with. (Cavalier Records, brandyzdan.com) Sheldon Birnie

be found and the songs are generally honed well enough to keep from melting into derivative inanity. The band colours most of its songs with tricks from several pockets of the contemporary indie-folk tickle trunk: liberal dashes of violin throughout most tracks; the guileless vocal delivery of frontman Neusha Mofazzali makes it easy to understand all his words; and spacious arrangements on songs such as “Less Argue,” and “Common Thief ” heighten the impact of sweeping poppy choruses. They even include a song named after a Canadian town, and “Jasper, AB” is a satisfying trip with an appealing new-wavey lead guitar line.

The album also features a number of

Jazzy Belle

KYE MARSHALL Pencil Blues When one thinks of what a jazz quartet is made up of, a cello is not usu-

ally one of the first instruments that comes to mind. Kye Marshall, with her sixth album release, Pencil Blues, once again reminds listeners that jazz is for the taking and never limited.

The cello, which often is thought of in a classical context, breaks free of any preconceived borders of its instrumentation in the hands of Marshall.

For those who have not heard of her, her background includes classical but extends into jazz (having studied it in York University and the Banff School of Fine Arts), and reaches out into avant-garde.

Marshall is joined by Don Thompson

Root Cellar

BRANDY ZDAN Lone Hunter This debut solo EP from Winnipeg ex-pat Brandy Zdan is a lovely little demonstration of both Zdan’s songwriting ability and her musical chops.

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As one half of the Juno nominated duo Twilight Hotel, the quality of Lone Hunter comes as no surprise.

But the six song disc shows a different side of Zdan than her previous work, and displays her unique songwriting voice well. “O Where” is a melancholy, yet hopeful ballad, with beautiful lap steel guitar work and vocal harmonies. “Does Everything Break” delivers more heartache, but Brandy’s vocals and guitar work make it hurt so good. “Blood as the Ink” cranks it up a notch midway through the EP, with vocals that are reminiscent, at points, of Tegan and Sara if they were on a heavy Texas trip. Already making a name for herself down in Austin, TX

YOUNG BENJAMINS Less Argue Young Benjamins have quickly become one of the better-loved bands on the scene in Saskatoon, and Less Argue, their debut full-length offering, is loaded with enough likable tunes to help the uninitiated figure out why our friends to the west have so warmly embraced the group. Young Benjamins are not out to reinvent the wheel, but there are some twists to

unusual tweaks in timing, which signals a rhythm section strong enough to impress without needing to scream for recognition.

The group also seems very much at home with sparse songs: opener “Colonial Pt. 1 (You’re Only 20)” is the only track featuring lead vocals by multi-instrumentalist Veronique Poulin, and sets a moody tone that remains present just beneath the surface throughout the remainder of the album. “Green Eyes” is a cavernous guitar-accompanied piece based on a Farsi poem penned by Mofazzali’s grandfather. It is the shortest track on the album, and as close as it comes to feeling like a tease.

(Dollartone, youngbenjamins.com) Daniel Emberg DUSTIN BENTALL & THE SMOKES You Are an Island This latest EP from Dustin Bentall & The Smokes is presented ostensibly as a companion piece to 2012’s Orion. While a few songs off You Are an Island would fit into the vibe of Orion, this EP also features work that is definitely a departure from much of Dustin’s previous output. Producer Ryan Dahle (Limblifter, Age of Electric) clearly helped Bentall move out of his comfort zone. The result is an short, eclectic set of songs that is perfect for a summer afternoon booze cruise or a day spent sipping LuckDogs on the beach. While the experimental tunes are a nice addition (especially the title track), I’m still drawn to the classic Bentall sound on “Pretty Good Life,”“Every Chord That Rings”, and “Shine.” Regardless of whether you’re a fan of Bentall’s already, or this EP marks your introduction, you’ll be listening to this album on repeat for a good while. (Aporia, dustinbentall. com) Sheldon Birnie CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING False Cities This album had my full attention

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shortly into the opening track, “Brick X Brick.” An aggressive finger-picking and an impatient voice that shifts between hoarse growling and caterwauling, backed by tight bass and violin, set the tone for a bundle of songs that positively drip yearning and persistence.

Christopher Paul Stelling’s second album, False Cities, is laden with songs so strong they sound good as anything from solo pieces to large group works.

Freedom, transformation, and the desire to move on are some of the most pervasive themes, though the number of religious references I do catch have me convinced I’m missing many more.

It is all delivered by Stelling with great clarity and an urgent guitar style that seems a most appropriately aching complementary element on songs such as “How Long” and “Writhing In Shambles,” the beat of the music underscoring the tone of the words.

There is much to dig through in the words, starting with the album’s very title, which just feels like an invitation to homonym analysis.

The aforementioned “Brick X Brick” feels like the most overt eruption of music on the record, but there are a number of other memorable songs.

“Free To Go” is a bouncy number that sounds like an acoustic dance band and a gospel howler met at some open stage, which is meant as a sincere compliment. “Who I Am” sets a dusty droning tone, then delicately adorns it with swells of string and voice. “You Can Make It” is one of the more restrained tracks, but having only a guitar with which to compete brings out the starkness of lines such as, “All that’s left of liberty is the right to blame, but all is mere conjecture once you’ve given up your name.” Stelling is a memorable vocalist, solid guitarist, and compelling songwriter. There’s a whole lot to like here for people who appreciate up-tempo guitar folk.

(Dollartone, christopherpaulstelling. com ) Daniel Emberg

come across my desk in the past two months. Here’s to hoping Whitfield & The Savages will be rocking it out for a while, this time around. (Bloodshot Records, bloodshotrecords.com) Sheldon Birnie

BARRENCE WHITFIELD & THE SAVAGES Dig Thy Savage Soul Barrence Whitfield & the Savages are a balls-to-the-wall, whisky and wine soaked rockin’ motherfuckin’ blues band. Typical of most Bloodshot releases, these guys are the real fuckin’ deal, and they pull no punches in delivering classic, raw American music.

Whitfield’s growl has seen hard times and harder times, but he does not give two fucks when he’s telling you some honest to God truths on “Bread,” “My Baby Didn’t Come Home,” or “I’m Sad About It.” The whole album rocks, and I’ve been blasting it on repeat here in the Stylus office, in part to console myself about working in a dungeon during the heat of summer, and another because it’s been hard to find anything raw or powerful that’s

JULIA STONE By the Horns Julia Stone’s second album, By the Horns is something to get excited about. Her voice, fragile as ever, has gained a maturity and strength, less childlike than her earlier albums with her brother, Angus Stone. Julia’s style hasn’t changed. By the Horns is heavily loaded with tales of broken hearts, lessons learned and some bitter afterthoughts, especially in the title track, which is downright full of rage and despair, yet at the same time, she repeats “I Believe in love/I believe in love” over and over. It’s hopeful and lends some light to an otherwise extremely depressing track. Another standout track is her cover of “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” her soft voice combined with the gentle acoustics make it stand out. This album is about the ups and downs of relationships, while the lows are really low, the highs leave you feeling good. (EMI, juliastonemusic.com) Martyna Turczynowicz

Aug/Sept 2013 Stylus Magazine

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Under The Needle

ASTRAL Forever After Right out of the gate, Astral sounds like the early 90s The Cure that got really angry. Blend that with some Joshua Tree-era U2 without the histrionics of a self-righteous front man and you’ve got Astral. Forever After is an interesting combination of dreamy atmosphere and shrieking walls of guitar, which contributes to an underproduced sound to the album. It is this raw energy that sets Forever After apart from so many other post-pop records released in the last decade and contrived or not, it adds a sincerity to the music sorely lacking in Astral’s contemporaries. The opener, “Narcissus,” will have you thinking “fuck yeah” within seconds and by the time “Fall Away” hits a few songs later, you’ll be saying “fuck yeah!” The song “Not Too Late” sounds like something that would have fit nicely in a Lynch film like Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive. “Dahlia’s Falling” is reminiscent of Failure’s Fantastic Planet record, while “Eye to Eye” sounds like My Bloody Valentine with a pulse. In short, Astral’s Forever After is worth repeated listens. And remember to listen loudly. (Vibraphone, vibraphonerecords.com) Myke Lewis NATHAN LAWR Chance Encounter Though only earlier this year he released an album with his band Minotaurs, Nathan Lawr has chosen to follow up that release with the solo record Chance Encounter. Whereas Minotaurs was an afrobeat sound with political overtones, Lawr’s solo work returns him to the indie sound that he developed in while working with bands such as Royal City and the Constantines. There’s little of the political imperative that appeared on the last Minotaurs album. Here, explores typical songwriter fare such as “stories

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about Che Guevara and Fela Kuti, living in a union town like Sudbury, strained but unbeatable friendships and unstoppable break-ups, love and sex, and the secret to success.”

Dave Mackinnon of the Fembots produces the album, bringing a balanced sound even with increased instrumentation. Whether on the jaunty “See it Through” or the swaggering “My Forest is a Curtain” the inclusion of brass instruments would, on less capable albums, overpower the whole song.

Here instead it’s used in moderation to subtly add to the mix without overshadowing the songwriting. This is one of the album’s strengths – it simultaneously feels rich with instrumentation without feeling crowded.

Quite the opposite, this is one of the most self-assured and confident albums that Lawr has produced. This, Nathan Lawr’s third solo album, is a warm welcome; Lawr’s indie-folk sensibilities are some of the best this country has to offer. Don’t be turned away that this is a download-only release. It’s well worth your time. (Static Clang, staticclanglabel.bandcamp. com/releases) Devin King

JANE’S PARTY Hot Noise Toronto’s Jane’s Party know exactly how to write a catchy indie pop/rock song. However, they seem to be stuck using precisely the same formula for every song to achieve said catchiness.

Whereas the album Hot Noise, the band’s second record, is an enjoyable, consistent and easy listen, the album flows from track to track, with the general sound and feel going unchanged. Jane’s Party is clearly a talented group on account of their impressive vocal harmonies, guitar chop and tone. However, the album remains underwhelming throughout. Fans of Guster and Phoenix would be immediately drawn to Hot Noise, however lyrically the album is full of recycled

jaded views on being in your twenties and people you know moving away.

While lyrically uninspired, the band is full of potential, the harmonies hit the mark and the music is pleasant and accessible while maintaining some cool factor. Jane’s Party earlier EP features an extensive horn section which is clearly missed on the full LP. “Til You Got Yours” is an album highlight that gives listeners a very clear idea of what the album is all about.

Hot Noise is worth the listen and can be a great soundtrack for a fun night, even though the lyrics are already in your head. (Cameron House Records, janesparty.com) Gilad Carroll

STILL CORNERS Strange Pleasures I was speaking to a friend and former music critic about the difficulty in reviewing music that wasn’t noteworthy.

It so happens that a lot of music exists that isn’t terrible and isn’t great, but it somewhere in between. What can be said about an album that is technically sound, but is unimaginative?

This is the quandary with Strange Pleasures. There are highlights to the album; opening track “The Trip,” at over six minutes, should be a bore but with both acoustic and lush electronic textures, it’s a strong start to the album. Another above-average track is “Beatcity” which moves the tempo up to be a more active number and maybe sounds better simply by comparison to some of the other songs. Largely though, the songs on this record are a lot of the same: breathy vocals, crystalline synths and pretty harmonies.

None of this bad, but none are terribly exciting. These might also be bsides to Washed Out or M83 albums.

Depending on your perspective, that’s either high or faint praise. (Sub Pop, subpop.com) Devin King JOSHUA RADIN Wax Wings As expected, Joshua Radin’s newest album consists of 11 hopelessly romantic tracks, showcasing his airy and upbeat sound. Whether you’ve found it, lost it, or are still searching for it, this album makes it nearly impossible not to believe in romance and love. The passionate appeals to one’s lover like “Cross That Line” and “Lovely Tonight” are both reminiscent of Radin’s critically acclaimed single “Winter” (2004). The album stays true to Radin’s unique fusion of folk and indie-pop. However, songs such as “Beautiful Day” and “When Were Together” that have a super stripped

down, country vibe, seem somewhat out of place amongst more predominant ballad tracks. Nonetheless, this album has great potential to be another musical success on radio and televisions circuits. Play this album under the starlit sky, light some candles and let the magic happen! (Independent, joshuaradin.com) Maddie Pearlman SAN SEBASTIAN Relations San Sebastian describes themselves as five close friends heeding from Hamilton, Ontario. Formerly known as The Pumps, their debut album Relations sounds just like summer.

Opening track “Baby” is energetic and playful and makes you want to twist and shout. It’s probably the strongest track on the album, and it’s easy to see this one climbing up the charts.

“Baby” is followed by equally upbeat “Wake Up,” which is not as much fun but catchy nonetheless. Things start to wind down, all the way to the obligatory break-up ballad, “In or Out,” which is followed by “Things I Wanted to Say,” an adorable acoustic, upbeat song about pining away for somebody. Relations is lots of fun, and the perfect summer soundtrack.

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(Universal, sansebastian.com) Martyna Turczynowicz THE POSTAL SERVICE Give Up (deluxe reissue) Here we are provided a prime example of Simon Reynold’s thesis to Retromania: a reissue of an album by a band with only one album to their name, released only ten years earlier. Less a cultural ouroboros here and more a capitalistic one (coinciding with the reunion tour that no one asked for), the reissue of Give Up provides the opportunity to critically re-appraise this release, the legacy, and the extra material provided. Give Up reveals itself as uneven in retrospect. It was easy to get caught up in “Such Great Heights,” “We Will Become Silhouettes,” and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” These were great singles and still are; they epitomize the band at their best and “Such Great Heights” could rightly be considered one of the best singles of the 2000s. Beyond this though, the album lacks more in memorable songs; most are unmemorable but acceptable. Beyond that, what has been the legacy of The Postal Service?

They seem not to have had any sort of profound impact on music, their only

cultural influence comes by reissuing their own material a decade later.

Perhaps the archival aspect of this will shed some new appreciation on the band? What do the b-sides and remixes say about the band? It’s more of the same, which depending on how you feel about the band will be a good or bad thing. The two original tracks, “Turn Around” and “A Tattered Line of String” are average Postal Service songs that reveal little about the band that “Clark Gable” didn’t already show.

The remixes are almost completely irrelevant. The covers here (by Iron and Wine and The Shins) bring a slightly different aspect to the songs that is appreciated, but they, like the remixes, were widely available elsewhere.

This is a document for completists and Postal Service fanatics (if they exist) only. The band is best remembered for their singles which evidenced a high watermark, but as most of the content here has already been released, little else warrants the casual listener to buy this if they already have the original album. (Sub Pop, subpop. com) Devin King EMORIE Never Goes Away Emorie are a Toronto-based duo who play electronica-influenced rock featuring an electric violin and a female singer. The vocals and lyrics combine to give the impression that she is an English major who enjoys drinking tea while knitting quirky sweaters. One’s hopes for a delicately twee post-rock album given form by the intro of the first song are crushed within approximately ten seconds by the stultifying combination of her voice and her profoundly mediocre melody. The rest of the album continues in the folktronica vein opened up by the first track, but the tempos are speedy and the music is unmemorable. One imagines it soundtracking a self-styled urbane professional drinking chai latte at a small-time coffee shop in Brandon, sipping this yuppie elixir as the trebly drum machine provides rhythmic accompaniment. The subtle harmonies and pizzicato strings of “Seven” interweave as he stretches, ready to face a brand new day of telecommuting and yoga. He goes to his Smartcar, attempts to turn the radio on to NPR, and then realizes this is Canada and turns the radio to CBC Radio 2. Life is good for him. Basically if you’re into that sort of thing, you will probably be into Emorie. (Independent, emorie. bandcamp.com) Topher Duguay

LA CHINGA La Chinga Over the last decade, the sounds of classic rock and roll have been in resurgence. The big rocking sounds of Led Zeppelin, the catchy hooks of AC/DC, and the overall heaviness of Black Sabbath have inspired a new generation of rockers with the likes of Wolfmother, The Darkness, and Langley, B.C.’s own La Chinga. On their self-titled album, La Chinga channel all the bands that made rock and roll what is is today, and even draw inspiration from some bands you wouldn’t expect. The album is a riff-heavy affair, with solid drums, soaring vocals, and a song or two that you just might find yourself singing to yourself while walking down the street.

There are some bands who use the classic rock sound to forge new sounds going ahead, and those who pay tribute to those who have passed.

Opening track “Early Grave” is an unmistakable mission statement that puts La Chinga firmly in the latter camp. With it’s dirty guitar riff and vocals, a bassline that sits still only when it needs to, and drums that power through the song, it evokes a time when musicians used to rely on the power of in-your-face passion to evoke emotion in the listener. “Snake Eyes” sounds like it would be right at home on an early Bon Scott-fronted AC/DC record. But unlike some later AC/DC records, not all the songs sound the same. “To Let Silver” has a slow, psychedelic riff that sounds like it was a lifted b-side from Funkadelic’s first album. Later track “Country Mile” sounds like The Allman Brothers Band if they grew up further north of the Mason-Dixie line, with its inconspicuous slide guitar and southern-inspired lyrics.

Overall, La Chinga proves that the current rock and roll revival in the world is alive and well, and shows that bands can still play rock in 2013 without sounding like the generic sludge that is currently dominating the airwaves of mainstream radio.

(Independt, lachinga.bandcamp.com) Dave Guenette

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fear of m usic Jay Z, Jay G, and the New Génération Perdue

By Devin King There was probably no musician better suited to executive produce the soundtrack to the new Baz Luhrman version of The Great Gatsby than Jay Z. Jay Z referred to Gatsby as a “classic American story of one’s introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion.” In a departure from hip-hop’s origins, the brand of hip-hop popularized by Jay Z, not unlike the Jazz Age depicted by Fitzgerald, is obsessed with status and wealth. When he speaks of the extravagance and decadence it shows that his understanding of Jay G(atsby) is pretty surface level, as he found Gatsby to be an aspirational figure. Like so many university students, Shawn Carter seems to have read the first part of Gatsby and improvised his understanding of the rest of the book. Don’t worry Jay, I won’t spoil it for you.

In a year when a contemporary like Kanye West released his misogynistic Death Grips fantasy that is Yeezus, Jay Z released the similarly Christian name-dropping Magna Carta, Holy Grail. While critics tied themselves in knots trying to justify liking Yeezus despite its lyrical content, the consensus around MCHG was a collective shrug. However, whatever Jay Z lacked in musical ingenuity this time around, he made up for in business sense. The language of capital is something that he clearly pays close attention to, and more evident why he views The Great Gatsby as an aspirational text. While Yeezy spent his time making an artistic statement, Jay Z decided he wanted to make money.

Jay Z partnered with Samsung to release free copies of MCHG on an exclusive app, receiving an upfront payment of five million dollars, guaranteeing a platinum record even before the record itself was released. The five million was a part of a larger twenty million deal with Jay Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation. This might seem like a lot, but it’s worth noting that Samsung’s marketing department spends four billion per year, which is equal to one quarter of the profits made by the music industry last year. These sorts of upfront deals could signify a shift in how revenue is generated, and how traditional models of generating capital are becoming less profitable. In this sense, the music of MCHG seems as if it’s a bit of an afterthought. It’s as if Jay Z knew he could make money in this, or some other form of a lucrative business model. The music could be churned out without effort as a means to facilitate the increased exchange of capital.

Theoretically, the app was meant to be an earlyrelease album stream app exclusively for Samsung owners. People excited for the new album were a bit surprised at what they found. The app requested a number of interesting permissions including full network access, precise (GPS) location, and determination of your phone number and device IDs. In my day job I work with teachers, technology and social media, and one thing I tell teachers is that it’s

30 Stylus Magazine Aug/Sept 2013 28

important to read and understand terms of service and privacy policy. If they don’t, it’s entirely possible that they and their students’ data and privacy could be at risk. So it might be entirely necessary that an app would ask for your location (Google Maps won’t work as well without it, for example) but there certainly is a question of why Jay Z or Samsung would need your exact location if all you’re doing is streaming an album. It’s likely it’s meant for nothing more sinister than targeted advertising, but the precedent exists that users are more willing than ever to give up their private information, knowingly or not.

That the PRISM scandal happened shortly before this is perhaps indicative of new American norms. Just as Gatsby was a depiction of the excess of the Jazz Age, MCHG, as a sort of meta-marketing exercise, shows a new age in America that combines desire of wealth with the willingness to give away aspects of our identity. What Jay Z is engaging in is a new sort of capital – data capital. Combining the ever blurring line of privacy and access is another notion of what is valuable. The vast proliferation of the MCHG app – even illegally – seemed expected, as if the goal wasn’t totally to sell an album in the

first place. The collection of data, used to target consumers, has not only proven profitable in the short term but may prove profitable in the long term as well as the data capital collected could be used to communicate directly to the consumer. This trend can only encourage artists and labels to offer more and more for data, the emerging capital of power.

Fitzgerald and his contemporaries wrote of a people known as “the lost generation.” It meant something different than we might consider it now – a generation giving away its identity, in exchange for material goods (or immaterial, in the case of an app, I guess.) What does it mean when you trade your thoughts, secrets, and privacy for the latest single? It’s not unreasonable to think that corporations and labels will ask more of us, and not just money, to access music. This is the problem. The further that artists like Jay Z fall down the hole that was warned about in The Great Gatsby, that was evidenced by the NSA wiretapping, the further disconnected we will become from music as a form of expression.

Instead, it and our privacy will just be another currency. Tomorrow we will run faster, reach our arms farther, but we will know not what for.

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