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April / May 2022 Stylus Magazine
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Get involved with
There are lots of ways to volunteer, and we’re always looking for contributors!
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Contributors who identify as BIPOC, women, and / or LGBTQ2S+ are especially encouraged to volunteer! To contribute writing: email editor@stylusmagazine.ca or assistanteditor@stylusmagazine.ca To contribute graphics or photos: email design@stylusmagazine.ca Visit us in our office, 0RM12 Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @stylusmagazine 2 Stylus Magazine April / May 2022
APR/MAY 33 2022VOL NO. 2
Production Team Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Keeley Braunstein-Black
editor@stylusmagazine.ca
Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . Myles Tiessen
assistanteditor@stylusmagazine.ca
On the Cover YAN WU 吴燕霓 (they/them) is a self-taught Chinese artist born in Winnipeg and currently living in Leaf Rapids, Manitoba. Their cover art is titled Flow. Check out more of their work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyan2222/
Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Campbell
design@stylusmagazine.ca
Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yan Wu Advertising Contact . . . . . . . . Rob Schmidt
manager@ckuw.ca
Print by JRS Print Services . . . 204-232-3558
Contributors Olivier La Roche
Ted Turner
Michael Duboff
Harmandeep Sains
Daniel Kussy Jesse Popeski
Noah Cain Jackie Weseen
Isabella Soares
Matt Harrison
BNB Studios
Paul Newsom
Brittany Lambert
Katie Kolesar
Stylus is published bi–monthly by CKUW 95.9 FM, 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 Writing submissions: editor@stylusmagazine.ca Graphics submissions: design@stylusmagazine.ca
Table of Contents The Business of Music: Setting Up A Music Publishing Company in Canada . Blah Blah Blah: Live Music Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CKUW Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CKUWho: Break North Radio with DJ Hullewud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Local Releases: Album Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Features Artist Spotlight: Paper Machetes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interview with Alpha Toshineza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Jacques Tribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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April / May 2022 Stylus Magazine
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The Business of Music:
Setting up a Music Publishing Company in Canada MICHAEL DUBOFF, entertainment lawyer at Edwards Creative Law – Canada’s Entertainment Law Boutique™ Setting up a music publishing company may seem like a daunting task - but it’s fairly straightforward and we’re here to help guide you. What is SOCAN and what do they do? SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) represents the Canadian public performance rights of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. As SOCAN describes it, whenever a copyrighted piece of music is played publicly, such as on the radio, in concert, or on television, the writers and copyright owners of the music are entitled to a performance royalty. For example, a Canadian TV network that uses music for public performances, pays license fees through a series of tariffs (set by
the Copyright Board of Canada) to SOCAN, who pay a performance rights royalty to the relevant writers and publishers of music that was performed publicly. SOCAN has writer memberships and publisher memberships. What are the splits when registering a composition? Once you have a writer or publisher membership you can register compositions. The composition’s writer(s) are entitled to at least 50% of the performance rights royalties – the socalled writer’s share. The copyright owner(s) are entitled to a max of 50% – the so-called publisher’s
share. Generally, if there is both one or more writers and one or more publishers, it’s a 50/50 split between the writer and publisher shares. A musician will be entitled to all the publisher’s share in her music unless she granted some of her rights to a publisher. In the case where a songwriter is the only writer and he doesn’t have his own publishing company and didn’t grant rights to a separate publishing company, the composition registration will list the writer alone as having 100% of the composition’s ownership. Naming The first step when setting up a SOCAN publisher membership is choosing a name. I’d call mine Duboff Music Publishing. SOCAN does not require that it be a corporation. It can be a corporation, but it may also be a sole proprietorship or a partnership. I would also register the name of the business for $60 to comply with Manitoba law. (A preliminary Request for Name Reservation is often required and costs $45.) If you carry on business under a name other than your own, there’s a legal obligation in Manitoba to register the business name. If not, you could be fined, among other issues. Also to note is that a business name registration doesn’t grant exclusive rights to the business name. For the context of this article, a name registration is needed for SOCAN. If you are incorporated, there’s no need to separately register a business name, as it’s already been done. Set up the Membership Start the journey at https://www.socan.com/signup-for-performing-rights/ To set up a SOCAN publisher membership, which no longer has a required registration fee, you must demonstrate you either (a) own at least 5 copyrighted protected musical works written or co-written by a writer member of SOCAN or by a Canadian; or (b) are entitled by contract to receive the publisher’s share of the performance credits of at least 5 copyright protected musical works that were written or co-written by a writer member of SOCAN or by a Canadian. If you’re a Canadian songwriter, who has written 5 songs, one option is to assign (give) the publisher’s share of the performance rights royalties from you personally to your publishing company. This can be done by a short and sweet agreement. If it were me, the publisher’s share of the performance rights royalties from songs A, B, C, D and E (I need better song names!) would be assigned from myself personally to Michael Duboff carrying on business as Duboff Music Publishing. The assignment would include the song names, and would be submitted to
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SOCAN during the application process. We prepare these assignments for people all the time, but it’s something you can do without a lawyer if you wish. Why Am I Doing This? It’s not required that self-published writers (writers who do not have a deal with an unrelated publishing
company) set up a SOCAN publisher membership in addition to their writer membership. However, there are times when clients have told us that they were offered opportunities, but were entitled to less money because they didn’t have a publisher membership. Writers should not accept losing money because they don’t have their own publishing company.
to works written by you and others, it’s helpful to have a SOCAN publisher membership to ensure you receive a larger share of the royalties that you may be eligible to receive for your music. Michael can be reached at: michael.duboff@edwardslaw.ca
If you are playing the role of a publisher with respect
Blah Blah Blah It’s spring!! Let’s get out there and see some live music! *** Boy Golden’s Church of Better Daze Anniversary Celebration at the West End Cultural Center April 20 *** Ben Caplan at the Park Theatre April 21 *** Son of Dave with Paige Drobot at the Good Will April 21 *** Sergeant and Comrade at Times Change(d) on April 23 *** Blessed & J.R.C.G at the Good Will April 23 *** July Talk with local opener Jaywood take over the Burton Cummings on April 25 *** Dan Mangan at the Park Theatre April 26 *** Slow Leaves with the Lockdown at
the Good Will April 29 *** Passenger at the Park Theatre April 28 *** Royal Canoe at the West End Cultural Center April 29 & 30 *** *** Crywank at the Rec Room May 5 *** Jamboree May 5 at the Goodwill *** Nashville MB Songwriters’ Round at Times Change(d) May 5 *** Arrogant Worms at the West End Cultural Center May 6 *** Apollo Suns with Zrada and the Remedies at the West End Cultural Centre May 7 *** Local Jukebox with JD Edwards Band, Romi Mayes, Sophie Stevens and more at the Park Theatre May 7 *** Shaky Graves
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at the Burton Cumming Theatre May 9 *** Prairie Joggers EP Release at Times Change(d) May 13 *** Holy Void, Á la Mode, and Secret Guests at the Handsome Daughter May 13 *** Steve Basham & the Vanity Dads at the Handsome Daughter May 20 *** Paul Jacobs with Tired Cossak & Alice Hamilton at the Good Will May 28 *** Big Loser, Diaphanie, & Jacob Brodovsky at the Handsome Daughter May 21 ***
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Artist Spotlight:
Paper Machetes ISABELLA SOARES If isolation plays out as a non-ideal setting to produce a heavily cinematic adult contemporary EP, then Paper Machetes surely subverts this situation with their latest project Balancing Act. The band formed by lead singer Christy Taronno and drummer Danny Nguyen, dates back to 2017. However, aside from releasing a few singles, the group only reignited shortly before the pandemic began and consequently changed the game for their music-making process. Teaming up with producer and guitarist Justin Delorme, the couple used limited equipment in their basement to record the EP. “Every step of the way I was on the phone with him ( Justin), because we were recording completely remotely. So that was a very interesting process. We were making do with whatever we had,” Taronno says. Although the polished version was set to go for a couple months, the EP was left under wraps for a while before it was released in December 2021. Filled with strokes of existentialism, unsureness,
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and conflicting emotions, this project has a proper branding to go along with its themes. The cover art features a colourful aesthetic with Taronno sitting bored while surrounded by games and objects of interest. The tracks are easily relatable in and out of the lockdown mode. An example of one of its atemporal tracks is “The Weather”. “It (the song) sounds very pandemic-like, but it was actually written shortly before it. I was already scared of time passing by me and things changing too fast,” she says. Another emblematic installment in the EP is its powerful title track. Starting off with a primarily piano-led melody, it then takes a life of its own when the distortions come in halfway through it. According to Taronno, the messaging behind the cinematic tune is about coming into terms with all the big questions in life. Although the band hasn’t had many chances to perform these songs after they came out, Paper Machetes felt like their release show at the Good Will Social Club was a highlight thus far.
“We have kind of worked backwards because we had this idea, we recorded it, and then performed it on stage. It was insanely exciting and also very vulnerable to have this work sitting in the back pocket and to be able to finally give it to the world and say it’s not mine anymore,” she says. Ever since Balancing Act came out a couple months ago, much has happened in Manitoba. With changes causing people to resent the political spectrum, the band decided to release a brand-new single called “Apocalypse.” “This song is very inspired by frustrations in this late stage of being a Manitoban during a pandemic and being part of a public that doesn’t necessarily believe in their government anymore,” she says. By approaching music as a canvas for paradoxes, the group is driven to continue finding words and sound palettes that convey the bittersweet emotions that everyone deals with. With prospects already in line for the near future, Paper Machetes is only getting started.
PHOTO: BRITTANY LAMBERT/ HOLD FAST PHOTOGRAPHY
Interview with
Alpha Toshineza
OLIVIER LA ROCHE
PHOTO: BNB STUDIOS
After an online-only 2021 edition due to the pandemic, the Festival du Voyageur was finally back in person this February for the first time since 2020. Due to restrictions at the time of planning, capacity and activities at the park were reduced compared to prior years, with the nighttime shows particularly suffering. However, the daytime atmosphere at the park was pleasant as usual and some great concerts were put on at the CCFM not too far away. Among the performers at the cultural centre was Alpha Toshineza, a supremely talented artist with whom I had the chance to speak about his experience with this year’s Festival where he performed on February the 20th. The rapper is based in Winnipeg, having arrived here with unique experience he gained growing as an artist in Luxembourg and Belgium. His impressive musical resume now spans over four decades and includes countless performances across the world, collaborations with a myriad of hip-hop acts, opening up for artists as monumental as De La Soul and multiple solo projects to his name. Stylus: Can you tell me a bit about the work you did in Europe and how it kickstarted your career? Alpha: I started listening to hip-hop very early, listening to 90s hip-hop, that’s really my era. I was into beat making too, so I kind of learned how to do everything myself. I was part of a hip-hop crew called MQP. At that time, in your crew you had graffiti artists, MCs, DJs and break dancers. We would move around to cities in Luxembourg and we’d go there to attend hip-hop parties or perform at a cypher.
Around 2005 I released my first EP. At that time I was going under Gospel Emcee, but Alpha Toshineza was my alter ego as a beat maker and creative director. I would create my own album covers and make the beats as Alpha Toshineza. It’s a bit like Madlib and Quasimoto. In the end I decided to rebrand myself by just using the name Alpha Toshineza. It’s more than just a rapper, it’s also the creative director. You need to have a whole vision for your brand. Stylus: How was the CCFM as a venue for your show during this year’s Festival? What was the crowd like? A: It was a very warm, welcoming place. Festival did a great job actually, in creating a space for musicians to perform in a way that they feel close to the audience instead of just being on stage. I really like how the Festival did this, kudos to the organizers. Stylus:How would you say this show compared to other performances you’ve done in your career? A: I’d say it showed me the importance of connecting with real people. Just to be on stage, connecting with live people in front of you, dancing, shouting. The communication, that’s something when you haven’t had after a while and you reconnect, it’s really eye opening about the importance of human connection. This is beyond music for me, this is not just about performing, it’s really about connecting with people. Rediscovering this made it a very particular show to me. I would rate this one in the top shows that I’ve done, due to the circumstances. People showed up, people engaged and you could feel the energy that people were just happy to be there and share that
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with you. It was a very important show in my career, a very, very important one. Stylus: Is the music scene in Winnipeg something that inspired you to move here or was that something you discovered afterwards? A: A little bit of both. I moved here as a francophone, I wasn’t even familiar with any French community in Winnipeg, so I thought maybe Montreal would be my place, but what attracted me to stay in Winnipeg was actually to discover this artistic scene. People with little are still able to create something and it’s a very alternative music scene but at the same time it’s a growing professional music scene that still has some grassroots underground aspect to it. There’s a lot of key people here in Winnipeg and historically Winnipeg has played a major part in music in Canada. It comes down to certain festivals, we talk about Jazz Fest, we talk about Folk Fest, we talk about key artists who are from Winnipeg or Manitoba. I discovered that later on but I could feel there is a legacy that cannot be discounted. What I like about Winnipeg is there’s room for everyone. You go to Toronto, it’s a city that swallows you. Winnipeg gives you room to breathe, to create and to recreate yourself. Stylus: Thank you so much for doing this, it’s been a pleasure. A: Thank you. Alpha Toshineza says he’s staying creative with some new music coming eventually and he hopes to perform more in the not-too-distant future.
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DUB DITCH PICNIC BASEMENT STUDIO, 2019 PHOTO: KEELEY BRAUNSTEIN-BLACK
CHRIS JACQUES TRIBUTE TED TURNER
I find myself thinking of all that time and knowledge, the endless hours listening and discovering, all those songs and sounds and the joy and wonder and multitude of it all that Chris carried around with him and always so instantly shared, how can it all be gone? It feels like an impossible kind of silence and I reject it.
We have very sad news to share. Long time builder of CKUW/Stylus and the local music community Chris Jacques had passed away on April 11th. On behalf of the entire CKUW and Stylus community we send our deep condolences to Chris’s family and everyone who had the privilege to know him. Chris had passion, belief and vision for CKUW and Stylus that had a lasting legacy. We will always be grateful for his immense contribution and we will miss him greatly.
where he was the Chair in the early 2000’s playing an important leadership role as CKUW established itself as an FM station.
Like so many of you reading this, Chris was a constant inspiration, a close colleague and a good friend. He was kind and crusty and generous, he really cared and he really believed in people. Chris Jacques was a Sweetheart.
He was also an early and long time contributor to Stylus Magazine and wrote for local publications Interchange and friction as well among others.
Thank you Chris, you gave us all so very much, we love you and you will be so dearly missed, but we’ll be hearing you around. (TT)
More recently, in 2011 he had founded Prairie Fire Tapes and the Dub Ditch Picnic and Sundowning music labels where he issued an astonishing 142 releases over the last decade.
Links to Chris’s labels with playable music archives below:
Chris was CKUW Station Manager in 1990 and CKUW Music Director in 1991. He brought a professional and mature leadership style to the station during an important period in its development. Chris fostered lasting relationships with record labels and the local music community that continue to serve CKUW and Stylus today. He was also instrumental in keeping Stylus magazine moving forward toward its future growth. Chris went on to sit on the CKUW Board of Directors,
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Chris knew and loved music. He had an insatiable curiosity and encyclopedic knowledge of independent/underground artists. He had a true and rare ear for what was interesting and different as heard in great abundance on the early CKUW FM radio shows he hosted, Blast Off Spaceman and Outlaw Superstar.
Through these labels, at first with a bold focus on the cassette format, Chris curated, shared and celebrated an incredible range of local, national and international artists all of which were either emerging independents or previously unknown or underappreciated collectively. Please have a listen at the links below.
Play some music that Chris had introduced you to, or immerse yourself in the archives below, he’s right there and always will be.
https://dubditchpicnic.bandcamp.com/music https://sundowningsoundrecordings.bandcamp. com/
CHRIS JACQUES AKA DUB DITCH PICNIC IN HIS BASEMENT STUDIO, 2019 PHOTO: KEELEY BRAUNSTEIN-BLACK
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6AM 7AM
8AM 9AM 10AM 11AM NOON 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM 6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10PM 11PM
1AM
MIDNIGHT
2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM 6AM
Folk Roots Radio
The Sentinel's Marvellous Kaleidoscope
Making Contact
FrAÑOL
Worldbeat Canada Radio
Truth Before Reconciliation
OutSpoken
CANQUEER
Fly Travel Radio
BRIDGING THE GAP
World - Island Music
DEAD MEDIUM
THE SATURDAY MORNING SHOW
Roots Music
SUNNY ROAD LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HOMELESSNESS
NO FIXED ADDRESS
!EARSHOT DAILY
HOW TO SURVIVE A TORNADO
ACCESSIBILITY MATTERS
BINKY PINDER'S FUNHOUSE
For Kids (Adults too)
THE ELECTRIC CHAIR
TEMPLE TENT REVIVAL
CKU-Speaks
SHADES OF CLASSICS
Classical and New Age
Medicine Wheel of Music
NEON BEIGE SOUND EXCHANGE
Gospel
YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM GOD
Active Voice
GLOBAL RESEARCH NEWS HOUR
Eclectic Mix
Orange Groove Radio
TICKLE MY FANCY Blues
Eclectic Residents
THE IVORY TOWER THE EXILE FILES
CKUW Album Feature
Let's Play DJ
BARKING DOG
THE C.A.R.P.
Caribbean
GIRLIE SO GROOVIE
R�V�L�T�O� R�C�
Rainbow Country
ISLAND VIBES
THE GASHLYCRUMB TINIES
SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC
The Completely Asinine Radio Program
BOOTS & SADDLE
THE TRIP
RED BOX DANCE HALL FEVER
Your Show Here
Dancehall and Reggae
Hip-Hop
Hip-Hop
PSYCHADELIC ROCK
THE HOW DO YOU DO REVUE
CHECK CA Funky
QUADRAFUNK Electric Dance Party
(Local Hip Hop)
S�r�e�K�l�i�z G�n�r�t�o�
MANITOBA MOON
WE BUILD HITS
Behind the News with Doug Henwood
B�R�I�G D�G Past 'n Present Folk 'n Roots
STARROAD JUNCTION PAGES EAT YOUR ARTS & VEGETABLES
TAWNY, THE BRAVE Pop/Rock
Adult Kindergarten
Dub City Steppers
PHASE ONE Electronic
THE WONDERFUL & FRIGHTENING WORLD OF PATRICK MICHALISHYN
MUD PUDDLE RADIO
Wooden Spoons
FanTasTic fRidaY
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY F R I D A Y SATURDAY S U N DAY
Talking Radical Radio After Thought
MORNING BREATH Shortwave Report
FreE city Radio
Local Experimental Music
After Thought
DEMOCRACY NOW!
CounterSpin
This Way Out
WINGS
ALTERNATIVE RADIO
(Jazz)
VOYAGE
DEMOCRACY NOW!
POP/ROCK
DEPARTMENT 13
COUNTRY
BOOTS & SADDLE C�M�D�O�O�O�I�A� R�P�R� THE GREEN MAJORITY The Phil-In Show
The Meta World Stoopaloop Show
SPACE CADET
MUSIC, OUT OF THIS WORLD
AMATEUR HOUR So Bad, It’s Good
TWANG TRUST Country/ Roots/ Big, Dumb Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Local Indie)
Radio Art Hour
S.A.N.E. * RADIO
Indigenous in Music
On My Way Home
Best of Bluesday
Lost Chunes
System Kidz
Winnipeg Arena is on Fire
The Stuph File
outSPOKEn Truth Before Reconciliation
GROUNDSWELL
(Local music)
SEAN SHOW Radio Eco Shock Journey Into Sound (Music History)
THE WORLD World
THE TONIC
Garage, Punk, Surf,and R&R
DESTINATION MOON
! E A R S H O T D A I LY
H�r�e�e�t� S�r L� T�u�d�a
The Meta World Stoopaloop Show
WINNIPEG ARENA IS ON FIRE
Two Princes Princes
! E A R S H O T D A I LY MONKEY SPARROW
Sock-Hop-A-Go-Go
! E A R S H O T D A I LY
LISTENING PLEASURES
BACKBEAT
The Motherland Influence
NIGHT DANGER RADIO
BREAK NORTH RADIO
METAL MONDAY MODERN JAZZ TODAY
AMPLIFIED RADIO
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MUSIC
LOCAL SPOKEN WORD
WEEK
CKUW@UWINNIPEG.CA
EMAIL:
FAX: 204-783-7080
ON AIR: 204-774-6877
NEWS DESK : 204786-9998
OFFICE: 204-786-9782
WWW.CKUW.CA
Temporary Programming
ALTERNATING
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Live shows are marked with a lightning bolt -
New shows are marked with a star -
Some programs are on hiatus and/or airing different content due to university closure for COVID-19.
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ckuWho?
Break North Radio with DJ Hullewud JAYME HULL AKA DJ HULLEWUD
HARMANDEEP SAINS Stylus: What made you interested in Hip/Hop? Jayme: In the early 80s I was fascinated with what I referred to as breakdance music, not really knowing what it was called. It wasn’t until I heard RunDMC’s album Raising Hell in 1986 that I really fell in love with hip hop. It was at this time that I started to track down and buy every hip hop cassette that I could find, mostly during trips to Detroit, Michigan. The love for music and the culture has continued ever since. Stylus: How would you describe your radio program? J: Break North Radio really is an extension of the type of hip hop music that I like and grew up on. The type of hip hop that is played on Break North Radio is, for the most part, underground hip hop, boom bap hip hop, mixed in with a healthy dose of old school classics and Canadian hip hop. Break North Radio doesn’t play what you would normally hear on commercial radio…no trap, no auto tune, etc. Stylus: How has college underground artists?
radio
helped
J: Campus and community radio has always been a big part of any artist or group trying to establish themselves. Most artists can’t get their music played on big commercial radio stations and therefore campus and community stations are where they turn to. A large portion of what I play on my radio show is from underground, independent and unsigned artists. I feel that it is very important for these artists to have their music heard and we can offer that to them…and the artists for the most part are very appreciative of my support for their music and helping their music be heard. Stylus: How did the name “Break North” come
Mondays 11 PM PM-12 -12 AM PHOTO SUPPLIED BY BREAK NORTH
up and what’s up with Hullewud? J: Prior to Break North Radio hitting the airwaves I was part of a radio show on Radio Western called Sausage Gut Radio. This show was hosted by Uncle Ando and Mat Labatt. I met both at local hip hop events and was invited up to their show to spin some music. This ended up becoming a regular thing on Saturday night, and at one point Uncle Ando left the city for work and I was brought in full time as the DJ with Mat and Lou Brown hosting. In early 2020 Mat Labatt left the station and I was offered to keep the Saturday night time slot, which I took and rebranded the show as Break North Radio. As for the name Hullewud, this was a nickname given to me in grade 10 while attending Beal High School. The name Hullewud is just a play on my government name, “Jayme Hull.” I took my last night and mixed it with Hollywood…and in typical hip hop fashion I messed up the rest of the spelling… and Hullewud was born. This nickname was given to me prior to me becoming a DJ. In 1991 my focus on purchasing hip hop switched from cassette tapes to vinyl records and it was during the same year that I purchased my first set of turntables and a mixer… and thus DJ Hullewud was born.
Stylus: How is the future of the Break North Radio shaping up? J: I am extremely thankful to all the outlets that have shown interest in Break North Radio and continue to broadcast the show on their platforms. Big shoutouts to Tim at Radio Western, Eroc at WRAP.FM, Flatline and Chuck D at RAP station, Robert at CKUW and Dylan at SVP Radio. As for the future of Break North Radio my plan is to continue forward and produce the best hip hop show that I can. In a few weeks I will be celebrating the shows 5th anniversary…and the only change that I am currently working on is to involve my longtime friend Crucial in a larger role with the show. Over the years Crucial has appeared numerous times on Break North Radio in a segment called Crucial’s Corner…and we are in the planning stage to rework his segment into something bigger. Stylus: How did you feel your transition from a DJ to a radio jockey was? Do you feel pressured working and managing alone? J: The transition from a DJ to a radio host was seamless, as I had already been a big part of a radio show prior to my own show. The only difference was that I now had to also host the show and talk on the mic, which took some time and was a big adjustment since I hadn’t really done that in the past. That took some getting used to but really that was the only difference during the transition. I don’t feel the pressure doing the show by myself and I quite enjoy it. It can get a bit hectic doing everything by myself, but this is something that I have a passion for and enjoy doing.
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Local Releases the loss. In the end, he accepts his fate: “Good luck, godspeed, glad someone made it out / Better than burning here with me.” He’s singing to his horses, but he’s also singing to everyone he feels is better off without him. Inman is at his strongest when he’s singing about love. Love is not just contained in the lyrics. It hums across the whole album. The title track, which I consider the album’s best, captures the power of unconditional love. Despite unpaid debts, an old friend RICHARD INMAN tells the wanderer, “Brother, always COME BACK THROUGH come back through when you go away.” Richard Inman’s new album, Come In the wake of this love, the wanderer Back Through, is narrated by desperate finds a way forward, reflecting, “If I cowboys, gamblers, and lovers at the start right now and take it day by day, I edge of what’s bearable. They stare could make it right and chip that debt down mistake-filled pasts, debt- away.” In these times of intense conflict and ridden presents, and overwhelming futures, struggling with the question division, the love that Inman invites of hope. Recorded over a weekend, it us to witness on Come Back Through, is sonically unified and organic. You though broken and tenuous, is tender can feel the magic of that specific time and a great comfort. Noah Cain and place as Inman’s baritone rises above classic country chord patterns and instrumentation. As with all of Inman’s work, the storytelling takes center stage. In the chorus of Come Back Through’s opening song and lead single, “Waiting on the River,” Inman introduces us to the album’s major themes: troubles with gambling and drinking, the beauty of rural central Canada, the precarity of loving and being loved, and the certainty of death: “I’m digging for change, waiting on the river/ Just JAMBOREE hoping that my liver and my luck hold LIFE IN THE DOME out/ Thinking on your dark eyes, dark-haired darling/ Chase away my Alternative-rock band Jamboree’s worries and wash away my doubt.” Like the other great country sophomore album Life in the Dome is a songwriters (and he is among the best), delicate balance between hope, despair, Inman can communicate a lifetime of melody, and broken chaos. Released baggage in a few verses and a chorus. on April 1 by House of Wonders He is the master of evocative detail, Records, the album in its entirety is a operating outside of generalization melancholic delight. and cliché even when the subject is, Throughout the album, you get on the surface, the stuff of country a flavour for the various influences music tropes. Take this couplet from Jamboree has cultivated and their the terrifying and cinematic “Cut creative expansiveness and ability to Fence (Let God Sort Them Out)” portray each song as having its own (co-written with Markus Skovsgaard), unique identity. The lyrics are raw which depicts a lonely rancher setting and express a general sense of being his horses free as a fire barrels toward pretty bummed out, and rightfully them: “Had the keys been by the door, so. “The Birds Are Chirping” grants instead of blue jeans on the floor / us a glimpse into the album’s overall Might have had a chance to haul out concept: the idea of an entire city being a load.” With this one detail, Inman confined under a dome-like structure. gives us what we need to understand The record begins with Jamboree’s the story the rancher has been telling first single, “The Snow,” which gives himself for years, the story that he’s the listener a short, calm disposition already constructing about this freak and then quickly falls into a despairing fire: that his carelessness is to blame for guitar distorted scream—highlighting
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the confusion and frustration the lyrics contain. “The Snow ‘’ represents one of the more musically and lyrically confrontational tracks on Life in the Dome. Concluding with the repeated request “Just get away from me” and slowly submerging into a cosmic array of guitar feedback. Slowing down the pace with songs like “Walk” and “The Dome,” Jamboree manages to combine a lighter, airy guitar with an apathetic taste in the vocals and lyrics, complimenting each other quite nicely by weaving together a paradoxical sound of cheeriness and despair. “The Dome” conveys a more traditional pop song structure as a melodic lullaby is sung through the choruses. “Quebec” and “Another Day” highlight possible influences of 1970s hard rock and late 1960s alternative rock, while “Be True” is pleasantly nostalgic of 1990s alternative rock. Swaying back and forth between an unassuming innocence and a hard-hitting guitar lick, “Quebec” is a definite headbanger. “Another Day” brings forth a more existential vibe reminiscent of The Velvet Underground & Nico’s “Venus in Furs.” “Victoria” and “The Trees” continue a theme of opposites meshed delicately together. “Victoria” has gentleness sprinkled with a moment of chaotic and spacey feedback. “The Trees” is anthem-like and passionate but begins with vocals almost as quiet as a whisper. The album ends with “Stop Moving,” a pleasantly dreamy acoustic song. Jamboree’s Life in the Dome shares vulnerably with its listeners the depths, frustrations, and conundrums of life in mass isolation. Jackie Weseen
and Michelle Anderson with bassist Alasdair Dunlop and drummer Sandy Fernandez. Each of the eight tracks on this album have a clean mix of instruments with thoughtful and interesting lyrics. With beautifully sung harmonies, unique instrumentals and interesting rhythms this album plays like the soundtrack for the start of summer. Track three, “Same Roads,” tells the story of a person caught wandering the same wrong paths in life again and again. Try as they might to break through and live a new life, the writer stays caught in the same tracks: “I keep walking the same roads again; that road keeps breaking me down.” The very next track, “Really Great,” picks listeners up from the disposition of old ways. An interesting song to note is “Confetti.” The story of this song is of a wealthy older woman who has a lesson to teach her “money grubbing children.” Since she can’t take her great wealth with her to the otherside, the woman chooses to have her riches used as confetti at her funeral. “She had this one idea To teach her money hungry children That stuff is temporary And you just can’t take it with you when you go.” Sweet Alibi has gifted listeners with a fresh and upbeat sound. It makes me want to throw the windows open or take a walk somewhere the sun is shining. An exploration of oneself and what is most valuable in life, Make a Scene is sure to make an impression on all who hear it. Matt Harrison
THE BROS. LANDRETH COME MORNING SWEET ALIBI MAKE A SCENE
The Bros. Landreth are back and have done it again. Joey and Dave Landreth’s new album, to be released Released in late January 2022, Make May 13, comes with a run time of just a Scene is the newest album from under 40 minutes. Come Morning is Winnipeg’s own Sweet Alibi. These chalked full of emotion and harmonyeight songs were collectively written heavy soulfulness. Tackling difficult by Amber Nielson, Jessica Rae Ayre emotional themes, Come Morning is
about balance, fatherhood, priorities, emotional healing, hard truths, new beginnings, and change. Come Morning has layers of harmonies over atmospheric analog synth, Hammond organ, and guitar. Beginning with the singles “Stay” and “What in the World,” the album continues to “Drive All Night,” a song filled with ethereal synths, guitar, and driving rhythms and vocals on the chorus. Traveling onto the next songs, the brothers wrap you in a blanket of slow, sorrowful melodies in “Shame” and “You Don’t Know Me” about loss of friendship. “After the Rain” is more an upbeat, uplifting, and hopeful song about needing a change. Moving on, “Don’t Feel Like Crying” is a powerful, relatable song about moving on and the next step in the healing process. “Corduroy” highlights the keys reminiscent of the past. Layered melodic guitar and vocals, “Come Morning” holds you in sway, making you wish you were still dreaming before morning. Taking you by the hand, “Back to Thee” leads you back to reuniting and mending relationships to conclude the album. In Come Morning, The Bros. Landreth collaborates with others.
Two songs, including “After the Rain,” a song about the need for deep, meaningful change, were co-written with Jonathan Singleton. The album also has appearances with Leith Ross (“Don’t Feel Like Crying”), Joe Pisapia (“You Don’t Know Me”), drummers Aaron Sterling and Daniel Roy. The Bros. Landreth takes you along on their journey of sadness, healing, change and hope for new beginnings. Perfect for long drives and chilling at home Come Morning is a beautifully crafted and soul-touching album you will want to add to your collection. Keeley Braunstein-Black MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW CAID JONES FOR THE GAME Hopscotch and skipping his way through slick rhymes and eccentric flows, 22-year-old Caid Jones is an unrelenting force on “For The Game.” Historically, the Winnipegbased rapper uses his voice for public awareness and in support of various social justice issues. On “For The Game,” he keeps the spirit of community outreach alive, showcasing the beautiful grit of the middle
Ulteriors
THE WEATHER STATION HOW IS IT THAT I SHOULD LOOK AT THE STARS Toronto singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman returns with an equally deft and personal album as her group’s prior efforts. The Weather Station’s previous forays into bluegrass, pop, folk and jazz shine through in turn on her newest record, whose musical tone meets the album cover’s dense-darkhopeful vibe. Global conflicts, relationship struggles and existential musings often comprise the lyrical body of any given song. As lilting keys anchor tracks, the singer drops lines like: “…all I can see today is black…those stars don’t guide you anywhere” (Marsh). Lindeman’s lyrics find an intriguing balance
between unfiltered journal jot notes and considered poetic musings. The support band - variously playing guitar, flute, sax, upright bass, clarinet, and more - sound lower in the mix than on previous records, yet no less important to the album. It is hard not to think of experimental jazz in the vein of Brad Mehldau when the woodwinds pipe in with critical emphasis on “Taught”. “Stars” is reminiscent of fellow Canadian Stan Rogers’s ballads, finding the singer proclaiming: “So overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars. How could I not be?” with stoic fervour. Even at the album’s most pained and lonely moments, its warm production upholds their sanctity. “Song” finds Lindeman reflecting on songwriting itself as she considers: “… what I’d place inside, if I could bury light, in something I could write.” Not just light, but darkness, conflict, hope and pessimism ring out with startling clarity over the album’s course. How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars? represents a poignant and measured entry in the growing catalogue of pandemic-era “personal” records. The Weather Station’s members are more than familiar with attunement to cultural moments, having focused their last effort on
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province. “It’s like we always been walking the line/ I put in work but still watch the poverty rise/ Until I’m in the dirt with my thoughts and a shrine/ I give it all, never stop ‘till I die,” raps Jones over a 90’s indebted beat. A pseudo-psychedelic looping sample underpins the track’s entirety, creating an excellent launchpad for Jones to catapult into the stratosphere. A deep and booming bass envelopes the listener and gives the song the catchy edge it needs. One of the most compelling aspects of the production is the subtle, hard to hear synth melody that feels reminiscent of early Dr. Dre and would fit perfectly on Doggystyle. The song’s accompanying music video takes a note from Jones and similarly captures the abrasive spirit of Winnipeg. Interspersed between shots of Jones’ crew cruising through downtown Winnipeg in an old Cadillac are profiles of real people who are a part of the community Jones exalts. “Pressuring the city like a diamond,” raps Jones about the place that raised him. Rarely seen alone, the video profiles Caid Jones surrounded by friends and family. They ride bikes, pop
champagne, and fine dine together, all working towards the vision of unity Jones expresses so vehemently through the track. “For The Game” is a blissful and encouraging song about community actualization. With a strategic blend of old-school beats and modern takes of socio-economic upheaval, Jones addresses the one aspect of Winnipeg that has captured and confounded the soul of anyone who has lived there— the Adonic grunge. Myles Tiessen
CAID JONES PHOTO: KATIE KOLESAR
climate change with 2021’s “Ignorance.” One can only hope the group stays the course with comparably astute and relistenable entries. For fans of: Aimee Mann, Sibylle Baier, Cassandra Jenkins, Vashti Bunyan. Paul Newsom
DANA GAVANSKI WHEN IT COMES When It Comes is a passage into a fantasy world. Dana Gavanski has long been lauded for her ability to convey deeply intimate emotions through the power of melody. Her latest album uses those powers to transport the listener into an entirely different realm. From the first glimmering piano ballad of “I Kiss The Night,” Gavanski brings us down the rabbit hole into a world
filled with imaginative and extravagant sonic offerings. With a melody like a lullaby and introspective lyrics, “I Kiss The Night” dazes the listener into a captivating trance that remains throughout the entirety of When It Comes. The Vancouver-raised artist has firmly cemented herself as one of the foremost indie-pop artists working in Canada. Gavanski uses When It Comes to push her ambitions into the stratosphere. The record simultaneously sounds intimate and omnipotent—personal yet universal. There are moments on When It Comes where it feels as if you are stepping into the inquisitive reverie of a poet. The song “Lisa,” for instance, is a meditative examination of the natural world, written from the viewpoint of the sea. “I watch you roam the streets, a frown upon your face/ Chasing after days that melt behind,” sings Gavanski through a lush wall of synthesizers. As the chorus builds, a looping guitar riff lulls you into the track, and you can practically feel the ocean waves beneath your feet. One highlight of When It Comes is “Bend Away and Fall.” At some points, sounding truly medieval, and at others, diving into science fiction, the track
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glides in an ethereal, timeless space. Gavanski’s vocals twirl and spin in the atmosphere, entangling with the equally evocative instrumentation. “I give a chance to experience as they bend away and fall,” sings Gavanski in a nursery rhyme-like fashion. Gavanski’s poetry is a little harder to audit than her objectively beautiful melodies. Her metaphysical syntax is like reading through hazy glasses. It’s generally hard to interpret individual lines, but broad, comprehensive readings make it all crystal clear: “Love, reach inside the rhyme/ Oh love/ Love, oh you are not mine/ Oh love/ I watch the space, the bending frame,” Gavanski sings on “Under the Sky.” While each track on When It Comes” has its own aura—“The Day Unfolds” sounds like a Super Mario score until it dissolves into free-form jazz—they all seem to work concurrently in service of the album’s larger vision. All tracks live somewhere in Wonderland and are unrelenting in their poignant instrumentation and lyrical affectation. Myles Tiessen PEDRO THE LION HAVASU POLYVINYL RECORD CO. On Pedro the Lions 2017 LP Phoenix, their first studio album in 18 years, the closing track “Leaving the Valley” anxiously documents a 12 year old’s uprooting and the stillness in motion that comes with trekking across the
country in a van. The track wraps up with a guitar melody flickering like a lightbulb until the lights are gone. On “Don’t Wanna Move,” the first track off the new LP Havasu, that same flickering guitar melody finds light again to start the track, echoing in the same direction, down the same highway where a young David Bazan is stuck in a van. The anxiety turns to cemented fear of starting anew and a firm resistance of his new home, his destination: Lake Havasu. Released on January 20th to the surprise of many, Havasu is less of a follow up album as it is a direct continuation of the adolescent stories shared by Midwest Emo veteran David Bazan. Bazan’s seasoned and weary vocals add an emotional layer to life lessons and experiences that still hold their value in moulding a teenager into a grown up. Apart of a fitting burst of distortion and drum fills on “First Drum Set,” the trio keep a tame and rather melancholic energy throughout the album, almost like a comedown from the hard rock energy we heard on Phoenix. Pedro the Lion’s surprise new LP helped to bring peace and clarity to my living room while an orchestra of truck horns occupied the airspace I inhabited for what seemed like an endless period of time. A soundtrack for reflection; Havasu is a must-listen for the dedicated fans and newcomers alike. For fans of: Death Cab for Cutie,
Advance Base, The Appleseed Cast, and repeated bending guitar figure of “Not Unlike a Rock” resemble a American Football. Daniel Kussy restrained Velvet Underground. When Whitney sings, his voice carries a hint of country drawl like Kristofferson, especially as he weaves country tropes into his ramblings: “Head upon the dashboard, feet under the wheel/ Well I didn’t see her coming blue eyes, and shining steel/ And the paper said it was an accident” he sings in “Two Strangers.” “They sent for the ambulance/ And one was sent/ Somebody got lucky/ But it was an accident,” Dylan croons over a trudging blues on Blonde on Blonde. Perhaps it’s an accident that WHITNEY K so many of Whitney’s lines engage HARD TO BE A GOD so directly with Dylan, a coincidental “There was a wicked messenger, from collision of influence and creativity Eli he did come/ With a mind that as Whitney forges his own path as a multiplied the smallest matter,” sang songwriter. If Whitney hadn’t put his idols on the Bob Dylan on his mysterious, biblical cover - and had made a longer album album John Wesley Harding. Whitney K’s Hard To Be A God - it wouldn’t feel like confronting his confronts the influence of his idols influences was the main theme of this Lou Reed, Kris Kristofferson and Bob mini-album. Putting that theme aside, Dylan, whose corpses are strewn across the songs stand on their own, from the album cover. “In a past life/ I was a surprising humor in the lyrics (“you wicked messenger,” retorts Whitney, looked like Khruschev addressing the perched in the background, taking committee”) to the variety of musical notes that delight in multiplying the influences. From the chamber music of smallest matters on the opening song the opener and closer to the cinematic Appalachian theme of the title track, “While Digging Through the Snow.” Whitney’s influences are direct and the music always fits perfectly with compartmentalized. When he intones each clever turn of phrase. Jesse in mostly unrhymed prose, he channels Popeski Lou Reed, who also inspires the music: the tumbling rhythms, droning chords
TRISH KAY PERFORMING AT BULLDOG PIZZA ON APRIL 8 PHOTO: KATIE KOLESAR
BRAIDS PERFORMING AT THE WEST END CULTURAL CENTRE ON MARCH 26 PHOTO: KEELEY BRAUNSTEIN-BLACK
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