The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) has partnered with NVision Insight Group to offer The Path: Your Journey through Indigenous Canada, an Indigenous cultural awareness training program, for the live music industry. Designed by NVision, this certificate course meets various Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action for Canadians to receive cultural competency training by teaching about “the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal– Crown relations.” This training is for anyone committed to creating a stronger Canada, a more compassionate Canada, and a Canada of empowered Indigenous communities.
This course will introduce you to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis ─ the three Indigenous peoples recognized in the Canadian constitution. Topics include the cultural and historical differences between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis; the evolution of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people from pre-contact to yesterday’s headlines; stories of social and economic success, reconciliation and resilience; understanding intercultural communication in the workplace, and ways to strengthen relationships with Indigenous peoples.
“It’s our responsibility to learn about Indigenous communities, businesses, and the many artists and industry workers who contribute so much to the excellence of our sector. This way, we can create respectful and sustainable relationships to promote a more inclusive live music industry that’s welcoming to Indigenous peoples,” says Erin Benjamin, President & CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association. “Our goal is for all members of the Canadian Live Music Association to complete this training. This program is a small step that we can all take together in creating a more inclusive sector moving forward.”
The online course is completely video-based, available in English or French, and is the only course of its kind to focus in equal depth on all three Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The full course takes approximately 4 to 5 hours to complete with a certificate provided upon successful completion.
CLMA members in good standing can access the full course for just $95 + HST. The course is also available to non-members for $150 + HST. For more information and to register for The Path, please click here.
Montreal, Quebec-based record company GSI Musique announces the release of the new animated music video for the track “Vert” [translated to English as “Green”] from the acclaimed double album Histoires sans paroles – Harmonium Symphonique, a symphonic re-interpretation of the music of influential 1970s Montreal-based progressive rock act Harmonium. The album was recently certified platinum in Canada and has been gaining traction in the U.S. and worldwide.
The video’s animation style is fluid and evocative, adding a cinematic visual flair to the piece’s bold musical language. GSI Musique President Nicolas Lemieux remarks, “Working closely with multi-media firms NOISY HEAD STUDIO and CHAMPAGNE CLUB SANDWICH, animator Vince Hurtu and a talented team of producers, we were able to portray the themes of the original ‘Vert’ in a style in perfect concordance with the orchestral interpretation of the new version from Histoires sans paroles – Harmonium Symphonique. We invite everyone to explore this video’s visual world and let the music and images wash over you!”
Legendary 1970s Montreal-based progressive rock act Harmonium, led by musical visionary Serge Fiori, is one of the most influential bands in Quebec music history, and their success reached across North America as the sound of progressive rock came to characterize the 1970s music scene. Over the course of just three years in its 70s run, Harmonium released three distinct albums: the self-titled Harmonium, its follow-up Si On Avait Besoin d’Une Cinquième Saison, and the band’s swan-song L’Heptade. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed the album Si On Avait Besoin d’Une Cinquième Saison at number 36 of the Best 50 Progressive Rock Albums of all time and declared it “the pinnacle of the whole Folk-Prog movement.” In 2007, all three of Harmonium’s studio albums were named among the 100 greatest Canadian albums of all time in Bob Mersereau’s book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.
The new album Histoires sans paroles – Harmonium Symphonique presents the band’s repertoire revisited and orchestrated by talented music arranger Simon Leclerc, who also co-produced the album with Serge Fiori under the artistic direction of GSI Musique President Nicolas Lemieux. A large ensemble featuring 68 musicians of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) performed on the album, conducted by Maestro Leclerc at Montreal’s Maison Symphonique. The album, within just seven weeks after its December release, was certified platinum in Canada with over 80,000 units sold, and is now surpassing 100,000 units sold. And staggeringly, this album has done the unthinkable: by going platinum the OLD way, sticking to physical units and downloads and not releasing the record to streaming services, and being available only via online orders through www.harmoniumsymphonic.com, not being distributed in any brick and mortar stores (a first in Canada for such a major project). The project has maintained its unique momentum for many weeks, with further sales certifications imminent.
The album is available in the following formats: a digital version; a boxed set containing two CDs and a booklet illustrated with photos taken during the recording at the Maison Symphonique de Montreal, in Serge Fiori’s presence; and a new boxed set containing four vinyl albums and a booklet consisting of extensive texts and a wide selection of pictures commemorating this unique moment. All formats can be purchased exclusively from https://www.harmoniumsymphonic.com/.
What is music? How is it made? And what’s changed — and what hasn’t — about how we listen to it? Here’s all the best stuff about the science and history behind our connection to music. Though most of us know we love listening to music, we may not spend much time thinking about how this came to be, or the science, technology, engineering and mathematics that are crucial to its existence. This illustrated book explores all of this, starting with the basics — how does sound work? and what, exactly, is music? — and then describes how music and the ways we experience it have transformed over the years.
The Science of Song: How and Why We Make Music details the progression of recorded music, from the phonograph to streaming. It covers how everyday items like headphones were created, and includes a look at the science of how we experience music (like why we can’t get certain songs out of our heads). And, to amp up the interest, playlists accompany each topic, featuring a range of artists and multiple genres and styles.
Alan Cross, Emme Cross and Nicole Mortillaro — a creative team of well-known journalists and writers from television, radio and print — have created an engaging, accessible and relevant look at music geared to adolescents who are just beginning to get interested in the subject. It’s a fascinating blend of history and science, broken into readable chunks, with graphic, colorful illustrations by Carl Wiens to enhance the text. This book has strong cross-curriculum links to physical science, engineering, technology, music and history. The playlists on every spread can be used to spark discussions as children “listen along.” Includes a timeline, glossary, resources and index.
Rock/pop singer/songwriter Emily Taylor Hudson picked up all the pieces with this, her latest single — “Hearts We Wanna Break” — available now.
This stand out cut off the LA-based artist’s debut EP, Love Is a Dirty Word, yearns with a grinding sorrow cast amongst velvet vocals and driving rock n’ roll.
“‘Hearts We Wanna Break’ was written about a friendship I thought would last a lifetime, and the brutal feeling of betrayal ripping apart the good between me and someone I loved,” she shares. “This song represents the moment I realized that love is a dirty word.”
Her talents were fostered from an early age, growing up in a creative family with her parents, Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley) and Bill Hudson (The Hudson Brothers), and her brother, musician, Zak Hudson.
As far as uber-talented features on the five-track release go, Hudson didn’t need to look far; she got her best friend, musician and lead guitarist, Billy Newsome, to help produce the sound she was going for, and her brother, Zak, to produce the rhythm section. She then called upon J.P. Hesser at Castaway 7 Studios for mixing; it was mastered at Golden Mastering.
“I recorded this album with Billy in his hometown of Pikeville, Kentucky,” Hudson recalls. “It wasn’t recorded in a studio; it was recorded in the dead of winter, up a holler in a Kentucky trailer.
“Billy and I have never had to explain music to each other, and music is most magical when it’s intuitively understood,” she continues, detailing the divine and tacit creative connection. “He is one of the greatest guitar players to ever live.
“From there, my prolific brother Zak completed Love Is a Dirty Word once I got back to LA with his natural and monumental talent on drums and bass. He recorded his portion in a laundry room where his drums were set up. And then, J.P. made it sparkle.
“There was no metronome,” she continues. “This whole release was about the spirit of music…
At 200,000+ Spotify spins across his three breakthrough singles, Canadian pop singer Avry gets mellow for this, his debut music video for ”Back to You” — available now.
The ambient, three-minute pop track not only follows the release of the Vancouver-born, Toronto-based artist’s previously released singles “Close to Me” (2020) and “Running Dance” (2020).
The song begins with the ringing of a phone and an automated voice message for a “not-in-service” number, and it’s not long after that “Back to You” really kicks off into the mellow and relaxing hit unsuspecting listeners and fans are already praising and recognizing it to be.
Avry’s smooth melody and lush vocals are backed by an infectious and consistent digital bass groove, oscillating drum tracks, and sporadic sound samples. The singer/songwriter revealed the instrumental track was created by the Canadian producer, Chiara, and that he heard it while sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s JEEP. In the span of just one minute, Avry said he had a topline for the beat and rushed back to his home studio to record the first draft of the project that night.
To help complete the song, Avry enlisted Canadian producer Chris Stiliadis to complete all post-production and mastering work and ultimately help bring “Back to You” to “the next level,” he says. Though he didn’t produce the instrumentals, Avry (AKA Connor Anderson), wrote all of the lyrics and the vocal arrangement. He described it as one of the most organically created songs he has ever made, and that “the lyrics came so quickly and naturally.”
Following the initial release of “Back to You” last November, Avry said he immediately had an idea and rushed to set up a meeting with Vancouver-based photographer Muni to see if he would help record a music video. He wanted the film to be recorded on the rooftop of Gastown — a Vancouver landmark — because he felt “Back to You” is “a great representation of the summers in Vancouver and Toronto, and the carefree life we’ve been trying to live among the craziness of the pandemic.”
Before starting his solo career, Avry was — and still is — part of the Canadian music trio 4.0.4, along with group members Noah and Memblem. He wanted to pursue his own career on the side to help expand his discography, network and skill sets.
Waterloo-raised, Ottawa-based indie folk legend-in-the-making, Craig Cardiff, sets out on his latest musical journey with his warm and gripping new single “All This This Time Running” ahead of his new album of the same name — available now.
The three-minute-six-second single is an indirect ode to Cardiff’s long withstanding journey exploring the frontiers of, not only the Canadian, but international folk music realms, while coming back to his roots as a musician. The message is also indicative of our personal journeys we embark upon; always coming back as a stronger, humbler, and wiser version ourselves.
To quote Cardiff himself: “All of the movement and all the activity is only to arrive where we’ve been for a long time — Home.”
“All This Time Running” is a splendid piece laden with nimble frets and melodious keys, accompanied by gentle snares and pleasing plucks of the banjo. The musical elements are serenely aligned with Cardiff’s signature warm, scratched, and mellow voice taking the helm. If the music is the driver, the uncompromisingly human and poetic nature of the lyrics are, undoubtedly, the vehicle for this single.
The single is one showcase of the works featured on the All This Time Running album. The 11 track entry also marks his debut on True North Records.
When reflecting about his upcoming release, Cardiff feels like this collection of material is his most well-rounded and career-defining work to date.
“It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done,” the humble, soft-spoken father agrees, in a rare moment of pride. “It didn’t start out that way. I didn’t have that scope and scale in mind at the beginning. It just kind of grew that way. It was actually kind of a gift.”
The musician credited COVID for how this latest release came to fruition, while being mindful and sympathetic towards the hardships and uncertainties which the pandemic has caused many the world over.
“I never had time to pause like this before,” Cardiff reveals. “It scared the hell out of me at first. Everything went out the window; we had to rejig and scramble. It was like Mad Max.”
Always being able to find the light in the darkest of situations, he then continues by saying, “It became a positive. We were able to access some players we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. And the time to sit with the songs and the recordings — that was critical.”
“All This Time Running” is the second single to delight fans and win the hearts of new listeners. The first single, “Yellowknife”, has already received a nomination for Canadian Folk Music Award for Single of the Year.
To say Craig Cardiff is active as an artist is truly an understatement. While All This Time Running is his first album of new material in six years, Cardiff has independently released an astounding total of 25 albums and EPs since his debut release in 1997. He has been nominated for a JUNO award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year for his 2012 album, Floods And Fires, as well as a Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year, in the same year. He credits the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello and Leonard Cohen as being inspirations for his music.
Throughout all his time running, Craig Cardiff has played festivals and concert stages, alongside indie icons such as Glen Philips, Kathleen Edwards and Sarah Harmer, as well as Canadian heavyweights such as Hawksley Workman, 54-40 and the late Gordon Downie. The limelight hasn’t quelled his values, as he still gravitates towards playing more quaint venues like backyards, coffeehouses, church basements and prisons in search of that sense of community and connection.
Cardiff remains humble about his achievements and accomplishments. At the forefront, his approach to songwriting has always been about connecting with his audience and nurturing a sense of community. He views his talents as a calling, going as far as to label his artistry as a commitment, even a mission.
“I need to know I’m singing to somebody who connects with my songs,” he says. “The goal is to take a roomful of strangers and bring them together.”
Many performers follow similar approaches, by way of stage presence and audience interaction. Cardiff goes further to build that connection with his attendees on a much deeper and personal level. At his shows, he is known to pass around, what he calls, his Book of Truths. Only for people who wish to contribute, he asks those in attendance to contribute something personal — an admission, a desire, or a secret — that one might be too worried or scared to say out loud. Some of these inscriptions inspire him to write songs. Others compel Cardiff to seek out the contributor personally to offer hope and reassurance. It doesn’t stop there. While on the road, he stops at schools to facilitate songwriting workshops to encourage and inspire children to pursue their creativity.
The second annual Sauga City Music Conference will take place virtually on Zoom over two weeks from March 17 – 26, 2021. The conference is free with registration on Eventbrite.
Featuring two keynote speakers, a webinar and three music panels, the conference will provide tools and advice for emerging and veteran musicians adapting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first keynote speaker is much sought after writer and business consultant Karen Allen. She’s the author of Twitch for Musicians Second Edition: A Step-by-Step Guide to Producing a Livestream, Growing Audience, and Making Money as a Musician on Twitch. Her timely presentation, Livestreaming on Social Media Platforms for Profit, will reveal the revenue generating opportunities on Twitch, Instagram and other livestreaming platforms for musicians. Allen, who also works as a business consultant, has been ahead of the digital curve and her insights are much in demand, especially during the pandemic.
The second keynote speaker is Alex Kresovich, who will give an equally important presentation titled Rap Music and Mental Health. Kresovich, who is the Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow at the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media, argues that Rap music is changing, just as the mental health conversation is changing around the world. He is also a Billboard #1 and RIAA-Platinum music producer. Kresovich will outline his research into the changing mental health conversation in popular rap music and explore the implications – good and bad – especially for young people who struggle with their mental health.
This year’s Sauga City Music Conference will include several relevant panel discussions with expertise from music industry and related industry professionals. The panels include: Digital Strategies to Reach a Diverse Audience; Overcoming Challenges Faced by BIPOC Artists in the Music Industry; and Funding Support for Culturally Diverse Artists. Representatives from various funding agencies will share their insights on funding programs.
The conference will also include a special webinar titled Recording at Home…Like A Pro. This timely webinar will be presented in association with the Mississauga Arts Council.
“It is imperative that we support artists who have suffered immensely during the pandemic, especially those who rely on live performances at music festivals and gigs to make a living, says Phil Vassell, the Artistic Director of Sauga City Music Festival and the TD IRIE Music Festival.”
The organizers of the Sauga City Music Conference bring a wealth of experience, having produced the IRIE Music Festival, the Toronto Urban Music Festival and Urban Music Week over two decades. We’d like to acknowledge FACTOR and the Department of Canadian Heritage for their support of this initiative.
Brooklyn-based alt-pop duo K. Sofia are standing in the wake of Valentine’s Day with their cheeky new single (and comedic, innuendo-laden video to match) — “Intimate” is available now.
Throughout the video, K. Sofia can be seen dancing together — with various outfit changes — throughout their apartment. A consistent backlight vignette with a pink glow sets the scene, accompanying sporadic messages such as “You’re sweet,” “Be mine,” “Only you,” and “I’m yours.” The funny and lighthearted creation started out as another one of their “DIY music videos,” according to the group — something they’ve been doing since breaking out onto the music scene last year, to help pass time during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Lead singer and songwriter behind the project, Kristos Sofia — where the group’s name initially stemmed from — recalled the making of “Intimate” in an interview, saying that while he was standing on his balcony in Brooklyn, he heard a song blaring out from a car on the street below and was reminded of how “much more common a lyric about physical intimacy and sexuality is than perhaps anything else in pop music.
“I started playing with this innuendo-filled idea of getting mentally or spiritually intimate with someone — as I do believe that’s what we all actually crave in life and love,” he added.
The track also features a light and playful rap verse from New York City’s very own Dreux, who also appears in the video. On how the pair enlisted him to feature on the track, they revealed he only lived a block away from Kristos’s apartment. The singer continued: “I remember just planting the seed with everyone that in a few months we would have this song called ‘Intimate,’ with a pop/hip-hop sensibility and all the right play on words … and that we’d have to be naked on the album art (sorry).”
The overall vision behind K. Sofia is to build a platform for love and togetherness through relatable human stories through enjoyable music, which highlights “singable melodies, danceable grooves and passionate soundscapes.”
On their relationship together, as producer and singer, K. Sofia agreed: “We’ve known each other for a long time and we’ve lived and died a few lives already, so we create from a foundation of brotherhood and trust … and we write for whoever might need to hear it.”
Along with 2020’s “Heart in Mind,” “Lonely Together,” “Angel” (2021) and their breakthrough, debut single “The Fool,” K. Sofia’s brand-new single, “Intimate,” is available now.
Toronto-based folk quartet Samways acknowledge the work of a late, great Canadian poet in this, their new single, “Untrodden Ways” — available now.
Landing ahead of their forthcoming debut album, the song is backed by a steady bass groove and the sounds of lead songwriter, guitarist and composer Nathan Hiltz’s acoustic, and driven by the beautiful and smile-inducing vocal harmonies of co-lead singers Shannon Butcher, Melissa Lauren, and Jessica Lalonde.
On the creation of the “Untrodden Ways,” Nathan said: “I tried to channel Joni (Mitchell)’s rambunctious and expressive strumming,” adding that it highlights a “polyrhythmic feeling … which might fit in with Paul Brady — somewhere between a jig and a 1960s songwriter.”
In the same format of their small, yet steadily-growing back-catalogue — and their soon-to-be-released debut album — Samways’ music incorporates lyrics drawn from 19th century Canadian poetry and beyond. It’s composed that way to serve as an homage to the suffering and triumphs of pre-confederation Canada.
The music for “Untrodden Ways,” for example, was written by Nathanm, but the track’s lyrics are based off of the poem of the same name, which was written in 1913 by the late and renowned Kingston-based author and poet, Agnes Maule Machar.
As well as Agnes, Samways’ music has highlighted the works of famed Canadian poets like Bliss Carmen, Susannah Moodie, and E.J. Pratt. The band themselves describe their sonic approach as a marriage of old prose with new musical idioms.
Though the up-and-coming four-piece is not able to tour during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve performed a number of gigs and festivals over the last few years, accompanied by session musicians Neil Macintosh (drums), Chris Banks (bass) and violinist Mark Fewer.
To help support their upcoming 2021 album, Samways hopes to have the opportunity to hit the road again to showcase the infectious live shows which have had crowds all across Ontario irresistibly toe-tapping along to the percussive and grooving nature of their diverse and colourful folk music. For now, however, they will continue to perform to audiences digitally, across the web.
While Samways is a fairly “young” band and only just breaking out onto the music scene, they’re not holding back one bit. Before even releasing their debut single, or any singles for that matter, they’ve already garnered a large mass of fans and have earned themselves a recording grant from the Toronto Arts Council.
“Untrodden Ways,” the first taste of Samways’ upcoming and untitled debut album is available now.
