Samples of more than 60 songs from 1999 mixed together into one 3½-minute song by The Hood Internet, featuring (takes another deep breath), 702, Aimee Mann, Alice Deejay, American Football, Aphex Twin, B.G., Backstreet Boys, Basement Jaxx, Beck, Blink 182, The Bloodhound Gang, Chemical Brothers, Christina Aguilera, Citizen King, Dead Prez, Destiny’s Child, Dido, The Dismemberment Plan, DMX, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Eiffel 65, Eminem, Fiona Apple, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, Guided by Voices, Hot Boys ft. Big Tymers, Jay-Z and UGK, Jennifer Lopez, Kelis, Le Tigre, Len, Lit, Macy Gray, The Magnetic Fields, Mariah Carey and Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Nas, Eve and Q-Tip, Moby, Montell Jordan, Mr. Oizo, Nas, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Ol’ Dirty Bastard (feat. Kelis), Q-Tip, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Santana (feat. Rob Thomas), Sigur Rós, Sisqo, Smash Mouth, Tal Bachman, TLC, Vertical Horizon, and Wilco.
Everbloom Virtual Music Festival Announces Second Showcase Lineup
Everbloom Virtual Music Festival is happy to announce a second virtual showcase following their successful launch in January 2021, which brought together national and international audiences to discover new Canadian musicians. On April 30, 2021 Everbloom Virtual Music Festival will feature 10 new & emerging Hip Hop/R&B artists and DJs from Canada. Everbloom is funded by the Ontario Reconnect Festival and Event Program, and created in partnership with Arts Help and This Is Owen creative agency.
The FREE virtual experience on April 30th will include some of the city’s most promising emerging acts: rapper, songwriter and creative Lillian Blue Makin; alternative indie R&B artist Melo Griffith; R&B/Neo-Soul artist Zenesoul; alternative R&B artist Tanisha; R&B and soul singer Ley Vara; Lo-Fi House DJ Miasalav; Jazz, R&B and Pop singer-songwriter Sammy Jackson; rapper and songwriter Dejuan; R&B/alternative artists Elyssa Plaza; and singer-songwriter Malaika Khadijaa. Everbloom will be hosted on the Toronto-based livestream platform Happin.
Everbloom showcases the musical talent within the diverse arts and culture sector of Ontario, all the while creating jobs and performance opportunities for those impacted by COVID in the province’s music industry. Each artist in the festival will be presented by a local Toronto business that was hit particularly hard by the pandemic:
RISE Edutainment presents Dejuan
Serious Betty presents Zenesoul
Juice Toronto presents Ley Vara
Pirate Life presents MIASALAV
This is Owen creative agency presents Malaika Khadijaa
Arts Help presents Sammy Jackson
JB Audio + Visual presents Elyssa Plaza
Happin.app presents Tanisha
Granite Brewery presents Lillian Blue Makin
Myodetox presents Melo Griffith
2021 Country Music Association of Ontario Award Nominees Announced
The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) is excited to announce the nominees for the 9th Annual CMAOntario Awards, taking place Sunday, May 30, 2021 as a drive-in style event at the Ancaster Fairgrounds in Hamilton, Ontario. Leading the nominations are 15 time CMAOntario Award winner Meghan Patrick, nine time CMAOntario Award winner Tim Hicks, and viral sensation Robyn Ottolini, with five nominations each.
Hosted by Jason McCoy and Beverley Mahood, the CMAOntario Award Show will close out the CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend May 28 – 30, 2021. After presenting the first ever, live, drive-in country music awards show in October 2020, CMAOntario is happy to do it all again this year in Hamilton. The CMAOntario Awards, presented by Slaight Music, will acknowledge the talent and achievements of Ontario’s country music industry across 18 categories.
The Final Nominees for the 9th Annual CMAOntario Awards are:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“All I Can Do” – Buck Twenty
“F-150” – Robyn Ottolini
“Girls Like Me” – Meghan Patrick
“No Truck Song” – Tim Hicks
“Thank Her For That” – Owen Barney
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
All Woman – Nicole Rayy
Highway Mile – Aaron Allen
Jade Eagleson – Jade Eagleson
Love Wins – Kelly Prescott
The I’m Not Always Hilarious EP – Robyn Ottolini
SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
Callie McCullough, Scotty Kipfer – “After Midnight”
Recorded by Callie McCullough
Jamie Appleby, Owen Barney, Alyssa Reid, Dave Thomson, Mike Wise – “Thank Her For That”
Recorded by Owen Barney
Meghan Patrick, Jobe Fortner, Ryan Nelson – “Girls Like Me”
Recorded by Meghan Patrick
Robyn Ottolini, Mark Schroor, Erik Fintelman – “F-150”
Recorded by Robyn Ottolini
Tim Hicks, Bruce Wallace, Jeffrey Coplan – “No Truck Song”
Recorded by Tim Hicks
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Elyse Saunders
Kelsi Mayne
Meghan Patrick
Robyn Ottolini
Tianna Woods
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Aaron Allen
Andrew Hyatt
Darcy John
David Boyd Janes
Tim Hicks
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
Buck Twenty
Jess and Tay
The Abrams
The Reklaws
The Western Swing Authority
FRANCOPHONE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kristine St-Pierre
Les Rats D’Swompe
Melissa Ouimet
Reney Ray
Stef Paquette
RISING STAR OF THE YER
Buck Twenty
Callie McCullough
lyse Saunders
Robyn Ottolini
Sacha
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“All I Can Do” – Buck Twenty
“Broken Boys” – Nicole Rayy
“Girls Like Me” – Meghan Patrick
“No Truck Song” – Tim Hicks
“Where I’m From” – The Reklaws
FANS’ CHOICE
Andrew Hyatt
Jade Eagleson
James Barker Band
Meghan Patrick
Steven Lee Olsen
Tebey
The Reklaws
Tim Hicks
RECORD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Dustin Olyan – Callie McCullough, Twin Kennedy, Mallory Johnson
Jeff Dalziel – Aaron Allen, David Boyd Janes, River Town Saints
Mark Schroor, Erik Fintelman – Robyn Ottolini, Alexa Goldie, Cory James Mitchell
- Richard Hutt – Jamie Warren, Sean Hogan, Jessie T, Tianna Woods
Shawn Moore – Ben Hudson, Matt Teed, Emily Clair, Evan Farrell, Emily Kate
ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Kelly Prescott
The Abrams
The Good Brothers
The Redhill Valleys
The Western Swing Authority
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (LARGE MARKET)
CHKX KX 94.7, Hamilton
CIKZ COUNTRY 106.7, Kitchener
CJKX KX 96, Oshawa
CKDK COUNTRY 104, Woodstock
CKKL PURE COUNTRY 94, Ottawa
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (MEDIUM MARKET)
CFCO COUNTRY 92.9, Chatham
CHCQ-FM COOL 100.1 FM, Belleville
CJQM COUNTRY 104.3, Sault Ste. Marie
CKQM PURE COUNTRY 105, Peterborough
CKXC COUNTRY 93.5, Kingston
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (SMALL MARKET)
CFDC COUNTRY 105, Shelburne
CHAW COUNTRY 103, Little Current
CHVR PURE COUNTRY 96.7, Pembroke
CICX PURE COUNTRY 106, Orillia
CJDL COUNTRY 107.3, Tillsonburg
CKYY COUNTRY 89, Welland
MUSIC INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR
Amanda Kingsland, Country 92.3/Rogers Communications
Dave Woods, In The Country
Randy Owen, Radio Host/Personality
Steve Coady, Warner Music Canada
Tommy KW Lam, Reve Music Group Inc.
Voting for the awards is restricted to CMAOntario members, with the exception of the Fans’ Choice award, which is open to both public and membership voting. Eligible members will have the opportunity to vote on the final ballot as of today up until April 19, 2021.
Music fans can cast their votes for the Fans’ Choice award beginning on April 19 until May 7, 2021 at www.cmaontario.ca/awards/voting.
Philadelphia, PA Singer/Songwriter TRACY COLLETTO is “Diving In” with Atmospheric New Dream-Pop Single
Philadelphia, PA singer/songwriter Tracy Colletto is “Diving In” with an atmospheric new dream-pop single.
The powerful, piano-led ballad spans three minutes and 35 seconds and includes a versatile range of sonic influences, which make it uniquely its own… From pop, to folk, to ambient, Colletto manages to keep the listener on their toes — and with ease.
With the aid of diverse influences, “Diving In” is driven by the calming aura of Colletto’s emotional vocal tracks and triumphant lyrics, which expand upon the renowned musician’s journey back onto the music scene in 2016 after a decade away from it; this single in particular arrives more than a year following the release of the Philadelphia-based artist’s most recent original, “Pretty Lights.”
Tracy released her debut album Home in 1999 (it was released digitally in 2006), before taking a lengthy hiatus and focusing on other aspects of her personal life — including her passion for art. “Music and art have always been with me, but the art was way easier to share,” the multi-talented artist shares. “I put away music for other interests.
“Although it was nice to travel the world and to have my paintings in exhibits,” she adds, “the songwriting kept hounding me.”
These feelings inspired Colletto to get back to the songwriting board and come up with what became her hit 2016 album, Chocolate Happy Cake.
Touching on the journey of what inspired “Diving In,” Colletto says she really wanted to express how she felt when she began writing songs and performing them to live audiences. “It was uncomfortable and exhilarating at the same time,” she explains of the feeling.
The title was actually inspired by a famous David Bowie quote; according to Colletto, he said “you will find excitement in life when your feet aren’t quite touching the bottom…”
Colletto liked the idea of taking a “deep dive” into something she always wanted to do.
Though she started writing “Diving In” in early 2017, Colletto admits it didn’t truly take shape until mid-2020 when she was feeling trapped inside of her home no thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t just the global health crisis that pushed her to get it produced, however. After hearing she had been included on the Nashville Songwriter Association International’s “Ones to Watch” list, she felt a resurgence of creative energy and knew the timing was just right for new music.
“It’s amazing how one little step leads to another, simply because I decided not to make excuses anymore for what I love to do,” Colletto considers. “It has been a great ride — sometimes very hard, and other times magical — and I am grateful for that.”
As well as releasing albums Home and Chocolate Happy Cake — plus an abundance of singles, including the Independent Music Award and Best Alt. Country Song-nominated “The Ride” — Colletto earned an Honorable Mention in the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition in 2000, before working with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Glenn Barratt to bring Chocolate Happy Cake to life.
When she’s not creating music or visual art — or stuck inside — Colletto is a world traveller who cares deeply for the natural world and its decaying environment. Her worldwide ventures have inspired many of her songs, including “Complete Peace” and the fan-favourite “Rosa” — which explores her Sicilian ancestral roots.
Montreal’s JOJI REDBACK Drops Playful New Music Video for Funky French-Language Single, “Sa Mère”
Less than a month after the release of his highly-anticipated sophomore EP, A Stranger Everywhere, French/Australian Montreal-based singer Joji Redback has released a brand-new music video for the project’s latest single, “Sa Mère” — available now.
Though he’s been releasing music since 2017, Joji began to blow up late last year after releasing the lead single off 2021’s A Stranger Everywhere, “Puerto.” The infectious tune was added to Spotify’s coveted Discover Weekly playlists and quickly racked up over 160,000+ Spotify streams alone, contributing to his 250,000+ total across all platforms.
The 24-year-old musician began making music at the mere age of six, but it wasn’t until his late adolescence that he began playing the drums and recording his vocals. Once he turned 19, music became Joji’s life.
While living in Canada, the ambitious singer has stayed true to his French roots throughout his career by releasing a mix of French and English singles and EPs. Though A Stranger Everywhere highlights the young virtuoso’s sound as a singer and rapper, his overall approach to music is extremely versatile, as he intertwines various styles with different upbeat house tempos.
Following the release of 2018’s debut LP, Aminals, this year’s sophomore full-length offering of A Stranger Everywhere was first developed in early 2019 after an unexpected surge of creativity and recording a mass number of demos — each, for the most part, covering a different genre.
Though the musician intended to make the release as versatile as possible, he wanted it to give him a core identity: a troubled yet talented musician, with no real roots or ties to a specific place.
Expanding upon that “core identity,” Joji said: “By the age of 19 years old, I had already lived on four different continents. I was born in Australia; moved to Paris as a child; moved to Hong Kong as a teenager; then moved to Canada as a young adult.”
Though the culturally-enriched artist said there were “so many benefits of growing up in different corners of the world” — including learning about all of the different musical styles he’s covered — he admitted to not knowing where “home” really is.
That feeling of being lost is exactly why Joji decided to not only call the new eight-track album A Stranger Everywhere, but why he recorded half of it in French and half in English. “I’ve grown to feel comfortable in many places, but (I have) the frustration of not feeling attached to one particular place,” said Joji. “I feel comfortable singing/rapping on many different styles of music… But along the same lines, this is the reason why I decided to have half of the EP in English and the other half in French.”
Folk Singer/Songwriter DEANNA FAYE’s “Reassure” Bears the Weight Behind Hardships of Love
Toronto-based indie folk singer-songwriter Deanna Faye poetically contrasts the light side of love and its inherent pressure with this, her new video for “Reassure” — available now.
That latest to land from her breakthrough EP, Good To You, the song grapples with the concept of love — and how difficult it can be to grasp.
While the word, in and of itself, denotes feelings of joy and happiness, the reality behind such an emotion is that of balance; with balance comes weight, and “Reassure” exemplifies the beauty in the struggle in such a reflective way.
The instrumentation within the single instills a disheartening sensation, as the twang and reverb of the guitar march along with the pensive beat of the drums. This appropriately sets the tone of “Reassure,” as it’s a reflection of the stress and pain love can bear. Deanna Faye’s mellow and articulate vocals carry the metaphoric weight of her lyrics with innocence and conviction.
In terms of metaphors, the single is representative of Faye’s thoughts on the cycles of relationships, as well as the impulsivity of rushing into a romantic connection. She compares these experiences to pillars, in the sense that two people can pull apart yet still be close together by way of the weight they both share.
The weight, she describes, is structured around the intertwining of boundaries and desires.
“I’d been walking around the city and on hiking trails aimlessly,” she shares. “I noticed these tagged pillars that always stood out to me as being a cool piece of architecture. This is a song that illustrates the ebbs and flows. Ultimately, in a healthy relationship, the pillars still stand strong but they are always just the perfect distance apart to keep the structure sound.”
It’s been a reflective time for the emerging singer-songwriter, and the poignancy of “Reassure,” in its entirety, holds nothing short of that.
The video itself is vibrant. It revolves around a still of Faye’s face as it’s surrounded and augmented by soulful imagery that relates and reflects the song’s message. Interspersed throughout the video are live action cuts featuring the musician performing the song.
“Reassure” is the lead single from Deanna Faye’s debut EP, Good To You — which was released on January 29, 2021, and has upwards of 10,000+ streams on Spotify. All songs on the EP, including the single, were written by Faye. The EP was produced and mixed by Gavin Whelehan. Charlotte Cornfield (drums), Aimee Bessada (electric guitar), Juan Gabriel Olivares (clarinet) and Ian Koiter (bass) are featured on the recording. The drums were recorded at Revolution Recording.
Bruce Springsteen Talks ‘Born in the USA’ With Barack Obama
President Barack Obama asks Bruce Springsteen what was going through his mind when he was writing “Born in the USA.”
Robert Plant & AC/DC’s Brian Johnson walk in Wales and talk Led Zeppelin III
On a beautiful day in Wales, Robert Plant and Brian Johnson walk to Castell y Bere in the the Dysynni Valley at the foot of Cader Idris, near where Led Zeppelin III was recorded.
Royalty-Free Music: Your Guide to Using This Great Resource for Video Editing
If you are an aspiring filmmaker, then you’ll know all about the trials and travails of video editing. When it comes to putting together your masterpiece, at whichever level you are producing (be it a fully-fledged feature to a student short-film), the editing process can be the fine line between success and failure.
Regardless of the type of project you are involved in, there are bound to be several obstacles to overcome in order to put together a well-structured film that is edited to perfection, and you can never underestimate the importance of music when it comes to this part of the post-production process.
Music Is Your Friend
The art of using music to help tie up any loose ends in the editing process is as old as the art of filmmaking itself. Of course, your musical soundtrack has an inherent value to the overall production. After all, what the viewer hears (be that an original score or soundtrack or your choice of sound effects) is pretty much as crucial as the visuals they accompany.
Music can help to either mask an edit or add weight to it. As with any element of the filmmaking process, experience is a key factor in how effectively you use these ‘tricks’ and below are just a few examples of where music aids the editing of a project.
Blurring the Transition
If you are looking to cleverly move from one scene to another in a way that feels almost invisible, then the right choice of musical arrangement can be key to completing the effect.
A subtle transition can be used to indicate a passing of time or a movement in the action, and an excellent example of how music can add weight to this could be seen in a famous scene in the blockbuster comedy Notting Hill.
In this movie, we see a character, Hugh Grant, walking through a market, and as he does so, the seasons appear to change, and the way the piece is edited gives the impression of one seamless shot. Of course, this is a series of shots attached to each other, but the music helps complete the deception.
This is an example of music aiding the edit.
Jump Cutting
The use of a good jump cut, where your action moves abruptly, but the scene appears sequential, is aided by a nice sharp sound effect of a musical bridge. Usually, this is, perhaps not too subtly, with a loud break and restarting of a sound or musical score.
Editing these types of cuts can be very stylistic, and therefore the choice of musical score can be a nice additional unique aspect you can create.
Putting Together a Great Montage
Perhaps your film contains a scene where your character is undergoing some level of physical or spiritual change. Typically, this is put together in a series of shots called ‘a ‘montage’. In action movies, these are standard shots, and the use of a great piece of music works wonders.
Here the proper selection will dictate your narrative’s mood and tone, and again, this is a prime example of where music can aid the editing process.
Scoring Your Video Project
Putting together the soundtrack for your film project can prove costly and time-consuming, especially if you don’t happen to have access to a bunch of musicians who are willing to work for free.
Many, in the past, have looked to use existing and well-known music without securing a license. This is a big mistake. The costs of getting approval for these types of music, regardless of how big a hit the track was, will be high, but the punishment for doing so without clearance could prove even more problematic.
Better than elect to use royalty-free music for your film projects. Royalty-free music, or copyright-free music as it’s sometimes known, is a more readily available and cost-effective option.
Royalty-free music providers offer large databases of great quality music from hundreds and thousands of less established musical artists, all available for a much more affordable fee. These musical indexes also house huge sound effects libraries that are of course of huge importance to any film project.
The rise of user-generated content and the lowering of the costs associated with the technology required to film, produce and edit a film have led to a real boom in the royalty-free music market.
There are now countless reputable royalty-free music providers, and in turn, this has improved the overall quality of the service and now is an excellent time to check out what’s on offer.
Pink Floyd ‘Live At Knebworth 1990’ to be released April 30
Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 gets released for the first time on CD, double vinyl and digital platforms on April 30, 2021. The concert was part of the star-studded 1990 Silver Clef Winners performance at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, headlined by Pink Floyd.
The monumentous Silver Clef Award Winners Knebworth concert saw Pink Floyd topping the all-star bill that included Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Genesis, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Robert Plant (with Jimmy Page), Cliff Richard, Eric Clapton and Tears For Fears. Around 120,000 music fans saw these giants of rock appear on the hallowed stage of Knebworth, all in aid of the Nordoff Robbins charity, profits from which went towards setting up the BRIT School. The concert was broadcast globally on MTV.
David Munns, Chairman of Nordoff Robbins, remembers the event well: “The Knebworth Concert was a defining moment in the music industry’s commitment to Nordoff Robbins, the BRIT Trust and the concept of the BRIT School. What a fantastic day it was, culminating in this brilliant performance by Pink Floyd. The money raised allowed the BRIT School to come into being and allowed Nordoff Robbins to significantly expand its service. Knebworth will go down in history as one of those great moments and the music industry should be very proud of what it achieved.”
Nick Mason also reminisces about the gig: “There is something special about Knebworth. We all still have fond memories of playing there in the 70’s, and this show was no different. As a North London boy this was almost a home game, but with the added delight of being the re-assembly of the band after a fairly mega tour that had lasted for well over a year. It was also an opportunity to get the wonderful Candy Dulfer to play – I had been a fan of hers for quite a while, and it was just a shame we didn’t have an opportunity to utilise her for more. We also had our dear friend Michael Kamen guesting. Michael had contributed so much to PF over the previous ten years, it’s great to have something of his playing on the recording.”
Pink Floyd – David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright – were joined on stage by members of their touring band including Guy Pratt, Jon Carin, Tim Renwick and Gary Wallis. Backing vocals came from Durga McBroom, Sam Brown and her mother Vicki, and (original The Great Gig In The Sky vocalist) Clare Torry. Pink Floyd also welcomed guest musicians including sax player Candy Dulfer and keyboard player and composer Michael Kamen. David Gilmour and Andy Jackson have remixed the audio from this iconic concert featuring all seven tracks performed on the day, and the album features new artwork shot by Floyd collaborator Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell of Hipgnosis and designed by Peter Curzon of Storm Studios. The concert, previously unreleased until it appeared on 2019’s Later Years box set, is now available as CD or double Vinyl set for the first time as a stand-alone album.
FORMAT LISTS
LP
Disc 1 Side A
1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5
2 The Great Gig In The Sky
Disc 1 Side B
1 Wish You Were Here
2 Sorrow
Disc 2 Side C
1 Money
Disc 2 Side D
1 Comfortably Numb
2 Run Like Hell
CD
1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5
2 The Great Gig In The Sky
3 Wish You Were Here
4 Sorrow
5 Money
6 Comfortably Numb
7 Run Like Hell