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JUNO-Nominated Girl Pow-R Soar with Supercharged Remix of “This Is Us”

Eric Alper
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JUNO-Nominated Girl Pow-R Soar with Supercharged Remix of “This Is Us”

Volumes up and dance floors cleared: JUNO Award-nominated and chart-topping Markham/Richmond Hill/Hamilton, ON’s all-girl starlets Girl Pow-R soar with supercharged new remix of their hit single, “This Is Us” — available now.

The pop vets pumping out of your speakers are none other than a vibrant group of talented teens boasting a variety of ages, a diverse host of backgrounds, and storied life experiences — and therein lies their strength. These multi-talented dynamos ranging in age from 11 to 17 are a freight train of feel good, do good, be good vibes, setting a precedent for the fans who look up to them in every way.

Now their smash album This Is Us is back with a fresh take, and an even fresher electronica sound! This Is Us (Remix & Remix Instrumentals) features six songs — including its titular track, “This Is Us,” plus fan-favourites like “Never Let Go,” “Fun All Day,” and more — all reimagined into an exciting new pop production and instrumental versions.

“We love the energy the songs provide to us and our fans, and how these songs give everyone a way to get up and celebrate life!” Girl Pow-R says. “We also enjoyed mixing things up a bit by creating new vocal recordings with new solo opportunities and small groups within Girl Pow-R, such as GPR, The Squad, and The Club — each focusing on two songs in the Remix album.

“The universal things that join us together are dynamic skill sets, and a shared mission of empowerment for young women in the world today,” the group — featuring Carina Bianchini (Markham), Cindy Kofman (Richmond Hill), Emma Bown (Hamilton), and Aashika Reddy (Markham) — adds.

Lyrics like “passionate for some change,” “take our message, shout it out,” and “we won’t be pushed around, we are strong, we are proud” underscore how this all-girl supergroup continues to make their core mission banding together, and inspiring others around them with songs that carry optimistic, positive, upbeat, and inspiring messages of self-confidence and conviction.

Not simply vocalists, Girl Pow-R are a trifecta of talent including performing as a band with instruments, and dancing. Their ability to relate to their audience through both their songs, and their visuals gives way to legions of fans who eagerly linger on every word.

And it isn’t simply their listeners who are looking up and taking notice; Girl Pow-R are recognized for their work in their home country and around the world. In 2020, Girl Pow-R has had a number of headliner performances at a variety of important festivals, and they have been turning up on Canadian outlets including Breakfast Television, eTalk Canada, CP24, Sirius XM, and in Tiger Beat, as well as a host of other high-profile media platforms.

Most recently, the group scored a major victory in claiming a nod at the coveted JUNO Awards in 2020 for Children’s Album of the Year. This Is Us debuted at #2 on iTunes Canada streaming charts, only mere spins behind the cultural phenomenon of Baby Shark. This recognition renders Girl Pow-R the youngest outfit to receive a nomination for their debut album.

And, in the last month, the group has had a phenomenal response in the US radio market, rising to #49 on the Mediabase Top 40 radio chart, just above Alessia Cara’s song “Sweet Dream” which ranked at #53 in the same week.

As Girl Pow-R continues their journey, they continue to change, reinvent themselves and reimagine their place in the music world. Their songs reflect their dedication to evolution in their sound, while remaining pure in their mission to raise up others and spread positivity — all directly reflected in their album This Is Us, and its Remix & Remix Instrumentals release.

“To help inspire some positive vibes after this difficult time of the pandemic, we decided to create some remixes of our songs that are dance tunes, with strong influences from trap and high hats,” they say. “We’re excited to share this new album of both the six remix original songs, and the six instrumental versions of the remix songs!”

“This Is Us (Melshi Remix)” and This Is Us (Remix & Remix Instrumentals) are another exciting chapter in the lives and careers of Girl Pow-R, as they seek to solidify their place in Canada’s ever-growing culture of popular music that is written, produced, and performed by talented musicians who aren’t afraid to take chances, look forward, and give the world something to both believe in and dance to.

“This Is Us (Melshi Remix)” and This Is Us (Remix & Remix Instrumentals) are available now!

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Celebrate Night 2 Of Hanukkah With The Ramones’ “Blitzkreig Bop”

Eric Alper
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Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Celebrate Night 2 Of Hanukkah With The Ramones’ “Blitzkreig Bop”

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have revived their now-looking-like annual Hanukkah Sessions project, covering songs by Jewish artists. Once upon a time, two nice Jewish boys from Queens named Jeffery Hyman and Thomas Erdelyi changed the world forever with their music….. as Joey and Tommy Ramone!

Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson Sing-Off in “That’s My Jam”

Eric Alper
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Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson Sing-Off in “That’s My Jam”

Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson go mic-to-mic in a Mixtape Medley showdown singing their rendition of popular songs from iconic pop divas.

Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, “That’s My Jam” is an hourlong music and comedy variety game show that draws inspiration from the most popular “Tonight Show” games. Each episode features two teams of two celebrities competing for a charity of their choice in a series of music, dance, and trivia-based games and musical performances. Signature games to be played include Launch the Mic, Air Guitar, Don’t Drop the Beat, Perfect Mash-Up, Wheel of Impossible Karaoke, Slay It, Don’t Spray It and many more.

Stephen Sondheim teaches ‘Send In The Clowns’

Eric Alper
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Stephen Sondheim teaches ‘Send In The Clowns’

Stephen Sondheim teaches a student from the Guildhall School of Music, London a fragment of ‘Send in the Clowns.’

Rocky Mountains, AB Folk-Roots & Appalachian-Country Swing Band OVER THE MOON Release “Lonesome Bluebird”

Eric Alper
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Rocky Mountains, AB Folk-Roots & Appalachian-Country Swing Band OVER THE MOON Release “Lonesome Bluebird”

Straight from their ranch nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta folk-roots and swing duo Over The Moon deliver their signature stone-ground sound in the form of new single, “Lonesome Bluebird”— available now via Borealis Records.

“This song is basically about a beautiful young woman who is letting the fear of failure or the impression she might be making cause her to miss out on so many of life’s real experiences,” co-front Craig Bignell explains. “She makes up for it by only focusing on her outer beauty and possessions.

“We’ve always loved the movie ‘Cat Ballou’ and the way Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye are always in the shot somewhere, singing songs about the scene,” he continues, with a nod to the duo’s counterpart, Suzanne Levesque. “We thought this would be a great concept for the ‘Lonesome Bluebird’ video.”

As musicians that spent their previous careers recording and performing ‘live’ with other artists, the multi-instrumentalists and singer/songwriters endeavoured on their own pairing — in more ways than one… Somewhere between the milestones of having met and married, the duo discovered that, not only do they collectively draw inspiration from their surroundings, but their voices also blend together beautifully.

Creating music that reflects the pulse of life lived in a territory that is both dirt-hard rugged and breathtakingly stunning, their music is a wild ride from Appalachian old-timey 1940s-esque western swing to contemporary cowboy blues — all woven together with a common thread that speaks of the Canadian west. And as a follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut LP, Moondancer, in 2017, nowhere is this more apparent than through the soundscape that is this year’s 10-song sophomore album, Chinook Waltz.

“Our concept for Chinook Waltz was to try and convey a feeling that one gets living in the foothills of Southwestern Alberta’s ranching community,” Bignell offers, citing the pair’s home base of Longview. “It’s beyond beautiful, but also rugged and unforgiving; people help each other here, and a neighbour is just as important as family.

“Like John Denver’s song ‘Country Roads’ says: ‘Life is old there.’

“We produce and record our music at home, which was a huge learning curve for us, but we feel that we’re able to get the songs and sounds we wanted that way. Words that come to mind to describe it are ‘organic’ or a ‘stone ground sound’…

“There are no studio tricks because we don’t know any,” he adds, with a wink.

“Lonesome Bluebird” and Chinook Waltz are available now.

Waterloo, ON’s JP Sunga Delivers Powerful Testimony In Newest Alternative Soul “Dirty Water”

Eric Alper
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Waterloo, ON’s JP Sunga Delivers Powerful Testimony In Newest Alternative Soul “Dirty Water”

Diving into the theme of self-redemption and rediscovery, multi-award nominated Canadian singer/songwriter JP Sunga inspires listeners across the board to find inner strength with his profound new single, “Dirty Water” — available now.

“Many of us tend to collect, carry, and keep baggage as we journey through our lives from negative experiences we’ve endured,” JP Sunga shares, “and it can really start to wear us down mentally, emotionally and even physically…

“‘Dirty Water’ is about self-renewal; allowing oneself the courage to accept, and the strength to heal and progress from the hurt, burdens, and regrets of their past.”

In a full-circle moment, embracing the journey towards his own self-renewal is how “Dirty Water” came to be.

While JP Sunga’s career was put on a brief hold in pursuit of creating a loving family, Sunga long-felt the call of music. Launching his music career in the early 2000’s, his respective passions for his family and his craft culminated in the decision to record a legacy project for his children.

In wanting to give his children something they could remember him by forever and, after a long internal journey to prove to himself that, no matter your age or stage in life, you can and should continue to pursue anything you feel called to do, JP Sunga got to work on his upcoming album.

From there “Dirty Water” was conceptualized; featuring an interwoven message of courage and self-renewal, JP Sunga sought to deliver strength to his listeners: “strength to heal and progress from the hurt, burdens, and regrets of their past.”

“Dirty Water” features an eruption of texture and harmonies that pair perfectly with the explosion of joyful voices that are featured in the background. With the help of US-based gospel vocal group, STEMS Music, alternative soul singer-songwriter JP Sunga is able to deliver a mini-pop-opera that is as riveting as it is thunderous.

Pair “Dirty Water” with a music video that expertly outlines the internal struggle of moving forward, and you are graced with a truly remarkable experience. Beyond his innate ability for performance, the Toronto-born, Waterloo-based artist has found success in the scene accompanied by critical acclaim for visual storytelling; the music videos that pair with most of Sunga’s releases have landed this emerging artist several Canadian Independent Music Video Award nominations.

“Dirty Water” is available now.

Brazilian Alt-Rockers WRY Release Poignant, Electric “Where I Stand” About the Complexity of Relationships

Eric Alper
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Brazilian Alt-Rockers WRY Release Poignant, Electric “Where I Stand” About the Complexity of Relationships

Brazilian alternative rock band WRY blesses the musical landscape with their electric new single ˆWhere I Stand” — available now.

The latest single off of WRY’s forthcoming splashy new album Reviver is a poignant love song about the complexity of relationships, and our place within them. The airy nature of the music accompanies the hopeful tone of the message embedded in the lyrics, and demonstrates the sophisticated approach to music that flourishes within the well-travelled band.

“I’m going through this thing in my head
Love is here but she is in despair
I can see her in the shadows
She’s waving in slow motion
I’ll bring her back.”

The international appeal of WRY’s unique flavour is effortlessly telegraphed through their lyrics like a warm breeze across the sands of Brazil’s world-famous beaches. The fun and liberating aesthetic of the band is conveyed further through the music video by renowned director Alex Batista. The video is a callback to childhood innocence with the band riding bicycles on an airplane runway in their hometown of Sorocaba, Brazil.

ˆWhere I Stand” joins nine other catchy tracks set to form Reviver — the third in a trilogy of album releases planned by the band; the award-winning first record release, Noites Infinitas (2020), and the second remix album, Reimagining Noites Infinitas (2021) were released in the past year to critical acclaim.

For its part, Reviver is composed of musical arrangements accumulated throughout WRY’s career that have been resurrected and re-recorded. WRY’s philosophy is to “rescue and recycle art,” and “to show how timeless the power of music can be.”

While the writing process took place in multiple countries, the recording process occurred at the band’s own Deaf Haus studios in Sorocaba, Brazil.

With a culturally diverse and rich musical history, there is no shortage of inspiration for any aspiring band in Brazil. WRY was formed in the late 90s to counter conventional sound, and take cues from genre-defining artists — including The Cure, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and The Clash.

WRY’s debut album Direct (1998) would find some success locally before moving their musical operation to London, UK, to develop their artistry further. Gracing soundstages across Europe allowed the band to refine their craft while putting their music out in multiple formats on cassette, CD, and vinyl. The band is currently composed of Italo Ribeiro on drums, William Leonotti on bass, guitarist Luciano Marcello, and vocalist/instrumentalist Mario Bross rounding out the group.

WRY’s infectious new single “Where I Stand” is available now!

Toronto Folk-Rocker Dany Horovitz Captures the Joyful Sound a Mended Heart Makes with “Moving On”

Eric Alper
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Toronto Folk-Rocker Dany Horovitz Captures the Joyful Sound a Mended Heart Makes with “Moving On”

Capturing that golden moment when you realize time truly heals and that the spiritual superglue of making new memories can actually mend a broken heart is Canadian folk-rock artist Dany Horovitz and his joyful and personal debut single, “Moving On” — available now.

The lead single in advance of Horovitz’s forthcoming debut album, Free Times, due in early 2022, “Moving On” takes the ‘moving’ part of its title — moving, as in high energy — very seriously. The Toronto-based singer-songwriter calls this jubilant stomper “an upbeat folk-pub song about the moment you’re no longer heartbroken”; think The Lumineers plus a few beers.

Knowing so many playlists are packed top to bottom with romantic pathos, Horovitz gathered inspiration from personal experience for “Moving On” and opted instead to shine a light on a bright, new day after the dark drama. “We focus a lot on the agony of a breakup,” he explains, “but one day, some time after my heart had been broken, I became aware of feeling great for the first time in a while, and wanted to capture that feeling.”

Horovitz riffed on those good feelings and wrote down everything he could about them. “Then, I worked on and refined my thoughts until it became a song,” he says. “Our protagonist telling his tale in a pub to friends, and everyone relating, eventually joining in the chorus.”

And all my haunting memories,
They do not mean a thing to me,
They’ve faded and I know I lost my marbles.
But I kept my promise too,
I met the night, saw it through.
And so I pack my bags and I am leaving,
Moving on.

The jovial, Beatles-style double/single handclaps and foot stomps in “Moving On” go a long way to moving forward Horovitz’s musical cause of “resurrecting that old school rock ‘n’ roll sound and reforming it for the modern era.” It’s an influence and desire that hits very close to home for the Montréal-born artist.

“My grandfather, who was a watchmaker by trade, had a record store franchise in Montréal when I was growing up,” Horovitz recalls in a recent interview with podcast Music From Friends. “So, my parents always had great records in the house. We’d always be listening to a very old style of music. It would be ‘50s and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll.”

His father would play Beatles songs on guitar for him and his brother and eventually, Horovitz started picking up his dad’s guitar and writing his own songs.

A songwriter with a gift for infusing modern takes on familiar melodies, Horovitz lists his main influences as an all-Canadian, intriguing combo of urban poets Leonard Cohen, Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor and Bryan Adams, along with rural daydreamers Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers. Horovitz’s lyrics are stories of love, loss and life, drawing inspiration from ancient poets, modern philosophers and personal experiences.

“When you go to McGill and you’re in Literature, the ghost of Leonard Cohen is everywhere. I mean that in the best of senses!”

However, even though this songwriter has a literature degree, don’t expect a bunch of academic and pedantic prose. First and foremost, Horowitz writes songs to be enjoyed — and he hopes you do, starting with this one.

“Moving On” from the forthcoming debut album Free Times is available now!

Sonic Reducers: Oasis Cover Band Fans Snowed In At Venue For 3 Days!

Eric Alper
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Sonic Reducers. 1 topic. 2 music nerds. 5 minutes.

We discuss about the bunch of pubgoers being trapped with an Oasis cover band for 3 days by a snowstorm, try to imagine which bands we wouldn’t mind being stuck with.

Canadian Rocker SINEMATIC Navigate Depths of Reconciliation & Struggle in Blistering “Indigenous”

Eric Alper
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Canadian Rocker SINEMATIC Navigate Depths of Reconciliation & Struggle in Blistering “Indigenous”

Navigating the depths of reconciliation and the Indigenous struggle, Quebec-based hard alt.rock outfit Sinematic scorch the soundscape with a blistering new single, “Indigenous” — available now.

The alter-ego of author and composer Ayden Grey, “Indigenous” is the first single to land from the artist’s forthcoming sophomore album, The Dark Circus. The release was produced under NTRTNMNT.ca to craft a soundscape that complements his vision, and the visceral feel of the song was achieved by the sonic craftsmanship of Cree sound-designer/programmer Zachary Ithahokow, Metis guitar maestro Everett Mayhew, and with backing vocals provided by Janessa Von Koppen.

Armed with compositional expertise and stellar production value, Sinematic takes the stereotypical trappings of a hard rock/metal band and refines the formula. Along with the band’s signature sound, the heart-pounding lyrics are a testament to the resilience of Indigenous communities and the pride of a culture that has endured for countless generations.

“I am Indigenous
I will speak my voice out loud
So together we must rise up
After all this time in the dark
They can’t take control of our hearts
Cause we are Indigenous.”

Sinematic released “Indigenous” on Orange Shirt Day in remembrance of all the lives lost during the prominence of Canada’s residential school system. The song is inspired by the injustices that continue to be perpetrated against all First Nations communities, and serves as an urgent call-to-action in addressing the horrors that have tormented Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations for decades.

The lyrical intensity of the track aligns with Sinematic’s overarching agenda: to continue to shine a light on the darkness through the power of music so society may never again affirm a world in which cultural genocide is accepted.

Sinematic is challenging the status quo by harnessing his creative talents and aligning with other Indigenous artists to raise awareness in a genre of music typically scolded for promoting controversy and indecency.

Sophisticated compositions seamlessly weave through cerebral conversations on the fight for social justice and equality, and the unapologetic urgency with which Sinematic speaks on the most pressing issues reflects a new consciousness in the newer generation of artists.

With Ayden Grey’s musical storytelling ability ensuring Sinematic will be on the frontlines of fighting for Indigenous freedom for as long as it takes, this year’s upcoming release of The Dark Circus follows Sinematic’s 2020 12-track debut LP, Relentless.

“Indigenous” is available now. The Dark Circus is available December 2021.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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