It started during the R40 tour when, after a gig, someone handed frontman Geddy Lee a bottle of Robinson’s “Iron Maiden -Trooper” beer. Geddy took one look at it and jokingly asked where the Rush beer was. That quip stayed in the mind of the band, and recognizing the growing craft beer movement, particularly in their hometown of Toronto, the band decided to look into it seriously.
Beer has always been an important part of the touring experience for the band. That first after- show beer helping to draw a line between the focus of performing and the wind-down that follows. After hundreds of shows in so many countries around the world, the band really began to see how different beer could be.
“When I get off stage, I really, really enjoy an ice-cold beer, it’s like a little reward,” commented Geddy Lee on a recent visit to Henderson Brewery.
The band chose Henderson as they are one of the fastest growing micro-breweries in Canada and have won many gold medals for their beer. As is true with all of Rush ethos, quality is key. It didn’t hurt that the hometown brewery also had a love for the band given Henderson had previously released a “Put Your Scarf On Geddy” limited edition Canadian Imperial Stout in 2016.
In the summer of 2020, Rush and Henderson began taste testing many prototype brews and early in 2021 the band and the brewery both felt they had come up with a brew they could stand behind. Subtly complex, refreshing and satisfying and uniquely Canadian, as the beer gets its taste from Canadian ingredients, including Rye.
“Rush Canadian Golden Ale is golden in colour with a dense ivory head. It has an earthy aroma with hints of orange-peel, pine and spicy rye. While the emphasis is on refreshment, there are elements of pine, rye spice and a citric hop flavour that add to the subtle complexity of the beer,” remarked Alex Lifeson, the band-proclaimed Beer Scientist.
Rush Canadian Golden Ale launches across Canada August 30th, with distribution primarily in Ontario to start.
Canadian artist Tobin James Stewart and his rock project Carpet of Horses unveil a dreamy new synco-pop, low-fi indie offering with this, CoH’s recently released single, “Honeybee” — available now.
The song is the latest to land from Carpet of Horses’ new album, Ballroom — released July 2021. An entire dance floor of tantalizing soundscapes daring listeners to disappear inside their party for a memory or two, each song on the full-length challenges the next to be the ‘belle of the ball.’
Placing artistic freedom on an album chocked full of unique instrumentation, harmonies, unsuspecting hooks and melodies, CoH compressed its expansive sound into nine-tracks of cosmic space that leaves listeners reaching to dial-up the good vibes. It’s a new “old” album, and its recording setting is just as much a part of it as its sound…
To set the scene: Tobin James Stewart had left his hometown of Toronto for a stint across the world. Landing in Berlin in 2008, the environmental shake up proved fruitful for the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; CoH delivered on a laundry list of creative projects, namely the first full-length record, Red Paper Flames (2016), released alongside Collages, Vol. 1 (a compilation disc comprising the CoH first three EPs.) These releases lead to the inception of Carpet of Horses’ own label, Montsou Records.
That trip would also prove to lay the groundwork for Ballroom, as it stands (and sounds) today…
“I had been living in Berlin for the better part of a decade and, on a whim, decided to rent a house in a tiny village in the former GDR countryside,” CoH shares, referencing Bergsdorf. “The house had previously been the village restaurant, and behind it stood an unused 200m2 ballroom.
“I brought all of my gear from Berlin, and converted the ballroom into a huge recording studio,” he continues. “Someone in a nearby village was giving away their piano, and a local family of farmers I’d befriended helped me move it in.
“The local villagers shared lots of stories about the festivities and weddings that had taken place in the ballroom over the years. There was a lot of intense history embedded in those walls.”
Inspired by the room that housed his creativity, and coupled with his penchant for storytelling, it would take two short weeks for Carpet of Horses to write Ballroom from start to finish.
The LP’s nine original tracks are each a dazzling course of audio and picturesque moments prepared to infiltrate your whimsical desires. Beyond “Honeybee,” “Starland Waltz” channels a romantic ¾ time, while “Rosie’s Garden” pops out of the speakers, like succulents soaking in the sun.
What Carpet of Horses manages to create is a visual from audio — heavy percussion precariously plucked between distorted riffs, juxtaposed in delicate melodies, and cheery harmony.
“The ballroom had an immense sound but, as it had been built for orchestras to play in, it was perfectly controlled,” Carpet of Horses explains. “I used the room itself as a sort of musical instrument while bringing these songs to life, placing microphones all over the space, utilizing the amazing natural reverb to give the record its distinctive sonic character.”
Andi Haberl (The Notwist) was recruited for the album’s percussion. Later, Masayoshi Fujita (Erased Tapes) brought his family and his vibraphone to flesh out the album. Other collaborators to the LP include Michael Feuerstack (guitar, pedal steel), Ray Cammaert (Wurlitzer, backing vox), and Tyler Greenleaf (trumpet, trombone).
“The next five years saw me moving countries twice — first to Italy for three years, then back to my native home of Canada — and raising two small children,” Carpet of Horses reminisces. “As a result, this record sadly lay dormant on hard drives for several years while I struggled to find the means to finance it being mixed and mastered.
“So, at this point it’s a brand-new, old record.”
And therein lies even more of its charm as it rests firmly in its delicate commitment to tell a big story, in a big room, with big instrumentation — all without complicating the message. “Honeybee,” in particular, lays the foundation for an album that criss-crosses indie boundaries, never fully nesting in any specific genre. Ballroom allows the listener to strike the chord in what it chooses to hear, and how to interpret it; just as Carpet of Horses did as he transformed and channeled a new approach to creating it.
Taking on the “lies and deception” this Ottawa-based, Bangladeshi-born rocker experienced in a past relationship, bilingual musical virtuoso Ash Ravens has burst onto the Canadian music scene with a brand-new, tongue-in-cheek single called “Beautiful Lies” — available now.
Complemented by emotional instrumentals, Ravens’ richly layered lyricism is drenched in satire as he sardonically projects so-called love for his partner’s lies — all while feeling used and trapped in a cycle of toxicity, with no idea how to escape.
In his own words, the veteran musician summarizes the song as being about “knowing when the other person is lying and cheating,” he shares. “You let them keep doing it, and let them dig their own grave.”
The line “so lie with me / and lie to me” helps underscore his feelings about this former flame and, while the lyrics might be hard to stomach for those familiar with the subject matter, “Beautiful Lies” is a real treat for avid six-string enthusiasts. There’s a lot to absorb in this three-minute, 30 second tune, from intermittent sweep-filled guitar licks, to undeniably melodic fills shredded by Ravens… You’ll be itching to go back and hear it again.
And to top it all off, the listener is treated with a mind-blowingly clean and awesome electric guitar solo following a hard-hitting vocal breakdown. (During the filming of the video for “Beautiful Lies,” Ravens attempted the “play-guitar-behind-your-head” act — made famous by Jimi Hendrix — during said solo and, because the director liked it so much, it ended up making the final cut.)
Following his most recent single — “Jochhonay Doobi” — “Beautiful Lies” is the first and only song Ravens wrote, recorded, and released after his migration to the Great White North. It serves as Ravens’ eighth overall single, and comes four years after his most recent and stunning self-titled debut album.
Born with the soul of a nomad and the heart of a musician, Ash Ravens graduated from the Los Angeles College of Music before finding himself down under in Australia — where he would play some of the country’s biggest music festivals, and earn two music degrees from Melbourne Polytechnic.
The musician then moved to Ottawa earlier this year; though he’s new to the Canadian music scene specifically, he’s been making music for nearly a decade now — all across the world. From his hometown in Bangladesh, where he was born and raised, all the way to some of the most iconic venues on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip and the streets of Melbourne, Australia, Ravens has come a long way in the short span of his music career.
With his recent move, Ash Ravens is making his mark on Canada’s thriving music industry by blending the sounds of pop, country, rock, and alternative into something new and unique for the masses.
As Canada and the rest of the world emerges from a year-and-a-half of pandemic-induced shutdowns and closed borders, musicians everywhere are keen to get back to touring, or to travel to other cities for recording and songwriting sessions, and more. The problem is, the travel-related rules and regulations are still pretty unclear and constantly evolving, and often change when crossing into a new province or state, and certainly when crossing international borders. So, in this webinar, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Michael Raine and a panel of experts will be explaining the legal requirements that musicians need to understand in order to plan their next shows or other work-related travel.
On Thursday, August 26th at 2pm EST, there’s a FREE live webinar that can assist with your questions, or just to hang out.
In this informative webinar, Michael Raine, Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Musician magazine will be joined by:
Dani Oliva is a Canadian artist advocate, speaker, and music attorney now based in Los Angeles who is focused on helping talented creators thrive in the music business.
Catherine Glazer is an attorney practicing U.S. immigration law in Toronto and an international consultant for the Norwegian Refugee Council. She also has a lot of experience helping musicians, artists, and athletes obtain visa and work permits.
A continued force within the immersive world of contemporary music, Canadian composer and singer/songwriter Carmen Braden has released her new single, “Kick Kick” — available now.
As the premiere glimpse of the multi-talented artist’s forthcoming third album Seed Songs, “Kick Kick” reveals the first of many moments captured and woven through song across the new full-length release.
“Each song has a core — a ‘seed idea’ — I tried to capture,” Braden shares. “They’re each a kind of vignette: a moment in time; a snapshot of joy or struggle, fragments; phrases; edges…
“Through this past fall and winter of the pandemic, the minutiae and small details of everyday life were my focus. I wrote dozens of these short ‘seed song’ ideas — all connected to moments of beauty I encountered, or struggles of the day-to-day. I strived to share things that may seem ordinary or simple at first, but are actually profound, fulfilling, and nuanced.
“Most of the songs are very short,” she continues — noting the shortest track clocks in at just 38 seconds. “I feel there is beauty in miniatures, in brevity. If I can say something meaningful and musical in one minute, then that’s all the time it needs to take!
“I chose 18 of the strongest ‘seeds’ to bring together in this album, and it was a journey in releasing expectations, allowing each song to have the sound or length it needed.”
Given how the album’s inspiration was gleaned somewhere between the ebb and flow of navigating Covid, the tangible construction of the album also presented a creative curveball, given social restrictions.
“I worked through the writing and recording of Seed Songs all by distance from my home in Yellowknife with my friend and producer Mark Adam in Nova Scotia,” Braden recalls of the process. “Working that way meant I brought the music to life with Mark in ways I hadn’t done before.
“Mark encouraged me to embrace the rough while not sacrificing the concise. I also used instruments and technologies that were new for me — guitars, synthesizers… This brought a process of freedom and exploration to the recording process.”
Carmen Braden is long familiar with the process of exploration. Her debut album, Ravens, was released in 2017 combining her songs and compositions, and her sophomore offering, Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars, followed two years later as a deep dive into her contemporary works for chamber ensemble.
Among her many accolades, Braden won the Western Canadian Music Award for Classical Composer of the Year in both 2019 and 2020, and received nominations for ECMA Classical Album of the Year (2020), WCMA Classical Artist of the Year (2019), and WCMA Classical Composition of the Year (2017).
And having taken the stage at intimate theatres and MainStage folk festivals — including the 2010 Olympics, Koerner Hall, the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Folk on the Rocks, and many more — Braden is lauded as an esteemed solo performer and collaborator. Her extensive contemporary classical compositions are nationally recognized, and she has been commissioned and performed by world-class ensembles, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes and the Canadian Chamber Choir.
Seed Songs, Carmen Braden’s third album, is set for release Fall 2021.
Canadian singer-songwriter Amanda Kind’s new single ends with a namesake question: “Does it get easier?”
It’s a musing we’ve all wrestled with amidst the throes of heartbreak, and the new song — “easier,” stylized in the humble lowercase tradition of e.e. cummings — explores the more complex query of how to grieve the loss of someone who’s still living.
Based on a personal experience she describes as “the intersection of grief and rejection,” Amanda experienced a difficult break-up that wasn’t her choice. “Knowing that someone you love(d) is out there in the world, happier without you, is a complicated pain,” she shares. “I kept thinking, ‘does it get easier?’
“That question turned into a refrain.”
With a lyric video and cover art that make use of ocean imagery, Amanda belts her alt-pop ballad out with a bold, full-bodied confidence over elegant piano and strings. Listeners feel the engulfing pain, riding the waves of courage needed to move forward, before being enveloped in the searing heartache all over again; Amanda Kind’s voice soars above the choppy waters, the horizon always in sight, until she finds resolve.
Born in British Columbia, and based in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Amanda Kind is a multi-talented singer and songwriter with a wide range and a powerful voice; she is known as much for her own work as she is as one of the area’s most in-demand vocal coaches.
When the COVID-19 pandemic capsized the music industry, the change of routine allowed time to reflect on her own journey as an artist. After years of teaching students to ‘claim their space,’ ‘use their voices’, and ‘do what you love, no matter what,’ Amanda realized she needed to re-apply those lessons to her own life; she joined a number of virtual songwriting groups, met musicians and performers from across the country, reconnected with old performer friends, and began voraciously writing new music.
Her new single “easier” is one of the fruits of that time of radical self-care.
Grappling with her own grief, Amanda found relief and answers through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Because of this, it was important for her to find a collaborator who understood the power of therapy, and she connected with songwriter and producer Sam Hillifer (JP Sunga, Safe as Houses, Will Currie and the Country French).
As personal as the song is, the two considered many iterations of loss while writing “easier.” “We talked about all the kinds of loss where the other person is still out there living in the world: Divorce. One-sided break-ups. Losing someone slowly to dementia or Alzheimer’s. Fractured friendships. Broken families,” she recalls of the process. Essentially, “the scenarios where you thought that person would always be in your life, and now they aren’t.”
Writing “easier” proved a cathartic and essential gateway to healing for Amanda. “Ironically, it helped me process the pain and made it easier to accept,” she says. “I hope it will strike a chord with others who have experienced the dissolution of an important relationship.
“It’s a special kind of grief.”
By the end, the song reveals the title is, in fact, the answer to the question… It does.
With positivity, love, and self-empowerment front and centre, ease into a musical escape like none other with Latin-Pop singer/songwriter Mia Lailani’s stunning debut album, Blink of an Eye — available now via Mighty One Music.
Backed by dulcet-ballads and fresh beats, Lailani’s breakthrough offering explores concepts of love, self-awareness, and the world around her. A natural storyteller through lyric, the 11-track LP lands as reflective, insightful, and wise beyond her years.
“If I had to use one word to describe this release, it would be ‘growth,’” Lailani shares. “In truth, this word not only describes my past year as an artist, but as a person…
“While being in the process of making this album,” she continues, “I realized and analyzed how each of these experiences helped me to develop, and become a more mature and understanding young woman. I also considered just how much time flew during that moment in my life… It made me think, ‘wow, everything just passed in a ‘blink of an eye.’”
As an album, Blink of an Eye also delves further into the concept that “people connect with music for several reasons, but one thing they have in common is that they go through an evolution,” she adds.
With that, songs like “Sweet Dreams” and “Mama Said” — a soulful, R&B swooner about self-improvement and embodying one’s self-worth, and a track touching on political issues in the world, and its effect on the younger generation, respectively — are mere starts at spanning the breadth of this 16-year old Bronx-based artist’s rich and varied perspective.
And if hot sauce and honey were lyrics, track “Sippin” would be it.
Primarily a Latin-Pop release, Blink of an Eye soars with added elements of retro-R&B and Reggaeton. Mid-tempo driven, the confidence in Lailani’s vocal execution — combined with a diverse lyrical content and instrumentation — makes for an infectious listening experience.
Blink of an Eye may be Mia Lailani’s first full-length album release, but she first officially stepped onto the scene in 2018 with the single, “We Have.” From there, follow-ups — including “Magic Hour,” “The Love You Owe,” “Clue,” and more — have garnered her upwards of 40,000+ streams across Spotify alone.
She also just unveiled a new official mini documentary, “You Found Me First;” the first-hand, behind-the-scenes eight-minute visual tracks Lailani’s path through today, and is available via YouTube.
Speaking of path, to say Lailani has been a singer from the start would be an understatement; discovered in her crib at age two singing Alicia Keys’ “No One,” her mother and their musical family would waste little time starting to nurture her craft. With her first songwriting credit by age 10, Lailani’s track — “Be With You” — was also the start of her work being produced by her brother, DJ and producer Devan Ibiza.
“The energy that was created by both of us was unintentional,” she says of working with her sibling in the studio. “But it captured instantaneous magic… He brought the incredible beats, which were so effortless for me to write to. Together, we’ve been unstoppable.”
Sonic Reducers: One topic. Two music geeks. Five minutes.
It’s a big week for classic rock fans: The Who’s iconic release Who’s Next just celebrated its 50th anniversary, while Metallica’s Black Album just turned 30.
Ahead of the release of the ‘Oasis Knebworth 1996’ documentary, Noel Gallagher chatted to us about what those shows were like and how Liam Gallagher and the rest of the band were at their best.
Gearing up for the highly anticipated film Flag Day, Seattle Surf/Republic Records/Universal Music Canada release “My Father’s Daughter” by Olivia Vedder from the upcoming Flag Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack available August 20th. The song was written by Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder.
The official music video for the song features footage from the Cannes Film Festival selected film starring and directed by Academy® Awards winner Sean Penn and starring his daughter Dylan Penn. The scenes from the film and the lyrics of the song tell the tale of the special bond between father and daughter.
Sean Penn says, “After this flood of gorgeous songs from Cat Power, Glen Hansard, and Eddie Vedder, we were just about to do a final mix on the film when Ed sent me Olivia singing ‘My Father’s Daughter.’ It became just the perfect cherry on top of the sundae.”
The upcoming soundtrack found Eddie Vedder bringing together Glen Hansard and noted singer-songwriter Cat Power who contributes three new original songs, along with one cover. It also features the debut of Olivia Vedder on two tracks. In total Vedder and Hansard collaborated on eight new compositions for the soundtrack. See the full tracklist below.
This marks Vedder’s second film collaboration with Penn, the first being 2007’s “Into the Wild” for which Vedder won a Golden Globe® for Best Song Motion Picture. In the same year, Hansard starred in and wrote the music for the film “Once”, which would earn him an Academy® Award for Best Original Song (“Falling Slowly”).
Praise for the soundtrack has begun to roll in with features from LoudWire, Audacy, and more, while NME described “My Father’s Daughter” as “a moving ode to adopting the traits of your parents.”
TRACKLIST:
01 Olivia Vedder – “My Father’s Daughter”
02 Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder – “Flag Day”
03 Cat Power – “I Think Of Angels” (KK cover)
04 Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder – “Tender Mercies”
05 Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder – “Rather Be Home”
06 Cat Power – “I Am A Map”
07 Glen Hansard – “As You Did Before”
08 Olivia Vedder, Glen Hansard, & Eddie Vedder – “There’s A Girl”
09 Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder – “I’ll Be Waiting”
10 Cat Power – “I Will Follow”
11 Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder – “Wave”
12 Eddie Vedder – “Drive” (R.E.M. cover)
13 Cat Power – “Dream”
