Chart topping musician, vocalist and songwriter Lindsay Ell today announces her highly-anticipated sophomore album heart theory, out August 14. The album’s pre-order launches tonight with the track “wAnt me back” which was co-written with Kane Brown, Matt McGinn & Lindsay Rimes and premieres at 23:00 British Summer Time / 5pm Central Daylight Time on BBC Radio.
With fans clamoring for new music from her – heart theory marks Ell’s first new original album in three years – she captivated them with a digital scavenger hunt this week, teasing the big news across social platforms before revealing album details on TikTok.
heart theory is an incredibly personal concept album comprised of 12 tracks that journey through each stage of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. Ell co-wrote 11 of the songs, enlisting help from acclaimed writers & artists including Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line and Brandy Clark among others on the project.
While heart theory stemmed from Ell’s personal experience, its arc serves as a source of solace for the universal process of experiencing any type of hardship.
“If theory is the science of music, heart theory is the science of a heart,” Ell says of the record. “I hope this roadmap can be a comfort if you need it, reassurance when you need to remember to believe in yourself or maybe just a glimpse into a memory that’s made you who you are.”
The concept of heart theory extends to every aspect of the album – its cover art features the spectrum of corresponding colors to each stage, mirroring the music’s movement itself from dark to light, while its tracklist subtly reveals the album title through use of seemingly random capitalization.
Due to quarantine, Ell completed heart theory with legendary producer Dann Huff from a distance and two different locations. Ell takes the unique challenge posed by the pandemic to almost every element of album completion in stride: “If my last record was called The Project, this could be called The Process.”
The Project – Ell’s first full-length album – debuted at No. 1 on the Country Album Sales Chart and was named Billboard’s Best Country Album of 2017.
Ell will co-host CMA Summer Stay-Cay special on July 1 with BBR Music Group label mate Jimmie Allen. She recently marked her first No. 1 at U.S. Country radio with her Brantley Gilbert duet “What Happens In A Small Town.” Ell has amassed more than 123 million on demand streams to date and is currently nominated for two 2020 ACM awards – New Female Artist of the Year & Vocal Event of the Year.
Old 97’s, the iconic alt-country outfit fronted by Rhett Miller, is returning with their twelfth album, the aptly titled Twelfth, to be released on August 21 on ATO Records. Twenty-seven years in, Old 97’s still features its original lineup – Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist Murry Hammond, and drummer Philip Peeples – and Twelfth is a testament to the band’s staying power. The album’s cover image of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach is both an homage to Miller’s childhood hero and a recognition that, in making their livings as musicians, the 97’s themselves have achieved their lifelong dreams.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Miller talks about how his five-year sobriety influenced the new album, saying, “Going back in, I thought, ‘What if I don’t bring anything to the table? What if I’m like Samson and the whiskey was my long hair and I cut it off and can’t write songs anymore?’… But [Twelfth] was the first record where, top to bottom, I felt I was back in the driver’s seat, found my voice, and came out the other side. It feels good.”
The band shares Twelfth’s first single “Turn Off The TV” today alongside a video directed by Liam Lynch that features Puddles the Clown as well as footage of the band throughout their career. Watch the video below.
Old 97’s – Twelfth
August 21, 2020 – ATO Records 1. The Dropouts
2. This House Got Ghosts
3. Turn Off The TV
4. I Like You Better
5. Happy Hour
6. Belmont Hotel
7. Confessional Boxing
8. Diamonds on Neptune
9. Our Year
10. Bottle Rocket Baby
11. Absence (What We’ve Got)
12. Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry
“Somehow what we’ve got never breaks down,” Rhett Miller sings on Old 97’s exhilarating new album, Twelfth. At first, the line comes off as a boast, as a declaration of invincibility from a band that’s managed to survive three decades of rock and roll debauchery, but as the phrase repeats over and over again, it slowly transforms into something more incredulous, something more vulnerable, something deeply human.
“We experienced some close calls over the last few years,” says Miller, “and I think that led us to this dawning realization of the fragility of it all. At the same time, it also led us to this increased gratitude for the music and the brotherhood we’ve been so lucky to share. I think all of that combined to make recording this album one of the most intensely joyful experiences we’ve ever had as a band.”
That joy is utterly palpable on Twelfth. Loose and raw, the record is an ecstatic celebration of survival, a resounding ode to endurance and resilience from a veteran group that refuses to rest on their considerable laurels. Working out of Sputnik Sound in Nashville, Miller and his longtime bandmates—bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea, and drummer Philip Peeples—teamed up once again with GRAMMY-winning producer Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White), and while the resulting album boasts all the hallmarks of a classic Old 97’s record (sex and booze, laughter and tears, poetry and blasphemy), it also showcases a newfound perspective in its writing and craftsmanship, a maturity and appreciation that can only come with age and experience. Perhaps the band is growing up; maybe they’re just getting started. Either way, Old 97’s have never been happier to be alive.
“You have to take pride in the unlikeliness of it all,” says Miller. “It’s mind boggling to think that we’ve been able to last this long, that we’ve been able to support ourselves and our families on our own terms for almost thirty years. Twelve is a lot of records.”
Formed in Dallas, Texas, Old 97’s first emerged in the early ’90s with an adrenaline pumping blend of rock and roll swagger, punk snarl, and old-school twang that quickly brought them into the national spotlight. Conventional wisdom places the band at the forefront of a musical movement that would come to be known as “alternative country,” but, as the New York Times so succinctly put it, their sound always “leaned more toward the Clash than the Carter Family.” Fueled by breakneck tempos, distorted guitars, and wry storytelling, the foursome built a reputation for high-energy albums and even higher energy shows, earning themselves performances everywhere from Conan and Letterman to Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza alongside countless rave reviews. NPR lauded the group as a “pioneering force,” while Rolling Stone hailed their music’s “whiskey-wrecked nihilism and slow-burn heartbreak,” and The New Yorker praised their songwriting as “blistered, blasted, and brilliant.” On top of his prodigious output with Old 97’s, Miller simultaneously established himself as a prolific solo artist, as well, releasing eight studio albums under his own name that garnered similarly wide-ranging acclaim and landed in a slew of prominent film and television soundtracks. A gifted writer beyond his music, Miller also contributed essays and short stories to The Atlantic,
Salon, McSweeney’s, and Sports Illustrated among others, and in 2019, he released his debut book, a collection of poetry for children, via Little, Brown and Company.
While part of Old 97’s charm has always been the air of playful invulnerability they exude onstage every night, reality began catching up with the band in 2017. The night before a television appearance in support of the group’s most recent album, Graveyard Whistling, Peeples collapsed in a hotel parking lot, falling backwards and cracking his skull on a concrete abutment. He spent weeks in the ICU and was forced to miss the first leg of tour. Bethea, meanwhile, began to notice a loss of feeling in the fingers of his right hand. As his condition continued to deteriorate on the road, the numbness spread to his leg, and he was eventually forced to undergo spinal surgery in order to regain full motor control. Miller, for his part, found himself at more of an existential crossroads, questioning attitudes and behaviors he’d long taken for granted. Yes, he was a rock and roll star (whatever that means nowadays), but he was also a father and a husband, and he decided it was long since time to get sober.
“Back when we were in our 20’s, we put ourselves through these terrible trials because we thought we could survive anything,” says Miller. “But over the last few years, it started becoming clear that we’re human.”
Rather than slow things down, the band decided to embrace their mortality as all the more reason to seize the day. Life is short—a lesson that was hammered home on the group’s first day of recording in Nashville, when a series of deadly tornadoes ripped through town—and Twelfth is the sound of Old 97’s recommitting themselves to making the most of every moment they’ve got left. Addictive opener “The Dropouts” sets the stage, taking stock of the band’s journey from its very first days, when they cut their teeth playing the bars of Deep Ellum in exchange for pitchers of beer and pizza. Like much of the record to come, it’s a nostalgic look back on simpler times, but it smartly avoids looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, instead recognizing that change is neither inherently good nor bad, only inevitable.
“There’s a line about sleeping on hardwood floors in that song,” says Miller, “and that’s what we did in the early days. But that image of hardwood floors keeps coming back and building on itself in different songs throughout the album, and over time it begins to mean different things as we grow up and start families and own homes.”
Miller has a knack for capturing those sorts of little details that tell a larger story, for crafting richly cinematic scenes that transform seemingly mundane moments into metaphors for life itself. The driving lead single “Turn Off The TV,” for instance, spins a
free cable hookup into a celebration of the visceral pleasures of living in the present, while the larger-than-life “Diamonds On Neptune” turns an astronomical phenomenon into a meditation on what really matters, and the waltzing “Belmont Hotel” finds emotional symbolism in the restoration of a Dallas landmark.
“‘Belmont Hotel’ is a microcosm of the album, and of our band,” says Miller. “When we first started out, the Belmont was in absolute ruins, and we even did a photoshoot in the empty parking lot. Now, though, it’s more beautiful than it was in its glory days, and that got me thinking about the way we approach our relationships. Whether it’s a friendship or a marriage or a band, it’s inevitable that you’re going to go through ups and downs, but if you’re willing to put in the work and stick out the hard times, you can wind up with something that’s better than it ever was before.”
While Miller collaborated with writers like Butch Walker and Nicole Atkins on Graveyard Whistling, he penned everything on Twelfth himself (outside of the Spaghetti Western-esque “Happy Hour” and hypnotic album closer “Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry,” which were both written and sung by Hammond). It’s a return to form he credits in part to his increasing comfort with sobriety, a comfort that finds him effortlessly running the gamut from playful romance (the dreamy “I Like You Better”) and brash bravado (the blistering “Confessional Boxing”) to supernatural fantasy (the Kinks-ian “This House Got Ghosts”) and old-school twang (the rollicking “Bottle Rocket Baby”). It’s perhaps the jaunty “Absence (What We’ve Got)” that captures this particular moment in Old 97’s history best, though, as Miller marvels at the way things change while staying the same. “The wine turns into whiskey / And the whiskey turns to tears / It’s been this way for years,” he sings, later summing the whole magic act up with a deceptively simple confession: “This is what I do.”
Old 97’s may be human, but somehow what they’ve got never breaks down.
Hundreds of concert venues, booking agencies, independent promoters/presenters, production companies, and independent music festivals from across Canada have come together, donating thousands of hours of their time and immeasurable resources to launch the #SupportCanadianVenues movement as the Canadian Independent Venue Coalition. The movement is asking for decisive government support for independent concert venues, for which the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified an important and systemic financial fragility. The movement is Canada-wide and covers countless spaces that together define Canadian culture.
Recent industry research indicates that 96% of the independent music industry across Canada, including over 90% of independent venues, will disappear in a matter of months in the absence of a very significant financial aid package. CIVC is asking the federal government to commit substantial emergency funding and an economic stimulus plan for
the unfunded live music and touring sector in Canada. The Coalition maintains that without this assistance, there will be no Canadian live music industry to come back to when venues are finally allowed to re-open.
The CIVC is also calling on people to share the website (supportcanadianvenues.ca in English and souteneznosscenes.ca in French) and social media with friends and colleagues, with the hashtag #SupportCanadianVenues in English and #SoutenezNosScènes in French. Public engagement, sharing this cause, and writing political representatives (see the action page) will be crucial to the movement’s success, as will be the voices of Canadian artists, whose careers could not have developed, evolved or flourished without the partnership of venues across the country, from coast to coast to coast, who are now at risk of closing for good.
Independent companies working in live music – including venues, booking agents, promoters, and others – are a sub-sector of Canadian culture not funded by the government. This has created fragile business models across the country, fuelled mostly by passion. Unfortunately, passion isn’t the currency of choice during an economic crisis, and a strong majority of these companies will face bankruptcy if they are left without help to ride out what promises to be an extended shutdown.
“What does this mean for Canadian citizens? Those who revel in having a unique, diverse,
and effervescent culture can stop reveling. Those who yearn to discover new artists not yet supported by multinational corporations can stop yearning. Those who earn their career, modestly or otherwise, traversing our enormous nation and providing inspiration and meaning for crowds from St. John’s to Tofino, will cease to inspire,” says Jon Weisz, founder of Indie Montreal, co-founder of franconnexion.info and both founder and Executive Director of Les Scènes de Musique Alternatives du Québec, the association representing the province of Quebec’s small venues.
The Coalition hopes to encourage the federal government to introduce specific relief and
recovery assistance for the live music and touring sector. Since the federal government does not normally fund independent venues, there is a massive blind spot in its understanding of the role they play. The Canadian Independent Venue Coalition maintains that Canada needs to speak up.
What CIVC hopes to achieve:
● In the midst of a complete shutdown – that is, with no income for an indefinite period of time for independent venues – specific federal support is needed.
● We need the public and artists alike to voice what live venues mean to them. Our continued existence is essential to people’s lives and wellbeing.
● We need to educate the government on the role that independent concert venues play in the economic and cultural life of our country. Without us, there is no live music industry in Canada – this is the naked truth.
● Live music venues will be the last to re-open. We need to be in a position to do so as soon as it is safe, and with the public’s confidence in our ability to offer safe and incredible events.
The Canadian Independent Venue Coalition comprises hundreds of concert venues, performance agencies, independent promoters/presenters, production companies, and independent music festivals across Canada. They have come together to address concerns around venue closures due to COVID-19. In collaboration with the Canadian Live Music Association and other industries, businesses, and non-profit organizations, they are advocating for emergency support funding and an economic stimulus package for the independent Canadian live music and touring sector, which was the first to close and will be the last to open. With little or no revenue over an extended period of time, many live music companies will not survive without sector-specific government support. If enough Canadian voices amplify this message, the fate of independent live music venues could change!
The Prism Prize announced today a virtual show to celebrate the Top 20 Canadian music videos of the year and reveal the 2020 Grand Prize winner, taking place Thursday, July 23 at 8:00 PM ET on PrismPrize.com and the @PrismPrize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels.
Following the cancellation of the 2020 Prism Prize Grand Prize screening and awards presentation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prism Prize decided to keep all previously announced Top 20 artists in the running for the Grand Prize. A jury of over 120 Canadian creative arts professionals voted to determine the winner who will be awarded $20,000, increased from $15,000 thanks to a contribution from Stingray. Each of the runners-up listed in the Top 20 will receive a $500 cash prize courtesy of Slaight Music and RBCxMusic. The Audience Award will also be announced, a fan-voted prize awarded to a video from the Top 20.
Along with the Grand Prize and Audience Award winners, the Prism Prize will recognize several Special Award recipients in the upcoming virtual show including a new honour, the Willie Dunn Award. Named after the groundbreaking Canadian singer-songwriter, film director and politician William “Willie” Dunn, whose 10-minute film for The Ballad of Crowfoot is often cited as “the first Canadian music video.” The award is presented to a Canadian trailblazer who has demonstrated excellence within the music video production community. The recipient is asked to select an emerging Canadian music video creative to receive a $5,000 cash grant. The Willie Dunn Award’s mandate is to encourage the professional development of diverse creators within the Canadian music video industry.
The recipient of the Willie Dunn Award will be announced alongside honourees for the Special Achievement Award (Presented by Slaight Music, established to recognize an exceptional contribution to music video art on the world stage), the Hi-Fidelity Award (Supported by FACTOR, established to recognize recording artists who utilize music video in innovative ways), and the Lipsett Award (Sponsored by iHeart Radio, established to celebrate a unique approach to music video art) in the lead-up to the July 23rd show.
“The music video is one the of the most important vehicles for social and political commentary, something the great Willie Dunn pioneered with his urgent art that still resonates today,” said Louis Calabro, VP of Programming & Awards at the Canadian Academy and Founder of Prism Prize “In a time when art and music are being used to tell important stories, we are proud to help amplify artists working in music video, as well as to introduce the Willie Dunn Award, to foster the next generation of creators.”
“This namesake award is a special honour for Willie; an innovator that will continue to blaze trails for other filmmakers and artists, making the world a more loving and inclusive place for all,” said Willie Dunn’s family; Liz Moore, Lawrence & Kalloosit Dunn.
THE 2020 PRISM PRIZE TOP 20 (In alphabetical order):
Alaskan Tapes – And, We Disappear (Director: Meredith Hama-Brown)
BAMBII ft. Pamputtae – NITEVISION (Directors: BAMBII & Kostadin Kolev)
Basia Bulat – Your Girl (Director: Brian Dale Sokolowski)
Backed by an orchestra’s worth of strings and horns from musicians from around the world, multi-award nominated Canadian folk singer/songwriter Craig Cardiff paints a picture of love in his new single, an ode of sorts to Canada’s North, “Yellowknife” — available now.
The song revels in Cardiff’s long-standing affection for a corner of the country he has increasingly visited and toured over the past decade. Recorded over the past year between tour dates, and completed during quarantine, the track features players from across the globe — Hong Kong to New York, and Utah, to home front talents based in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Craig Cardiff both a JUNO Award (Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Solo) and Canadian Folk Music Award (Contemporary Singer of the Year) nominee, plus a certified Gold-selling artist for his single, “Dirty Old Town.”
His signature style of songwriting is often inspired by the sights and souls around him; for almost a decade, the Arnprior, Ontario-based artist has passed around a notebook titled ‘Book of Truths’ during shows, encouraging the audience to write and share something — a story, a confession, a hope or a secret — they might be too afraid to say out loud.
As a result, Cardiff — dubbed by Gordon Lightfoot as a “songwriter who needs to be heard” — often finds himself responding by writing songs that offer glimmers of hope for people to hold onto. Audiences have connected; his growing library of releases have been streamed more than 100 million times, and heard on NBC’s award-winning television series, This Is Us.
He has played with and opened for artists such as Justin Nozuka, Glen Phillips, Lucy Kaplansky, Dan Bern, Natalia Zukerman, Andy Stochansky, Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards, Blue Rodeo, Gordon Downie, Hawksley Workman, Sarah Slean, Skydiggers, 54-40, and more, helmed a growing list of workshops and talks at schools, camps, festivals, and churches throughout North America and Hong Kong, as well as TED x University of Western Ontario, TED x Kanata and TED x KitchenerED.
Craig Cardiff is signed to True North Records, and represented by APA Agency, and Tom Sarig and his Esther Creative Group in New York City.
“Yellowknife” is available on all major music platforms.
“I wrote ‘Rain Check’ when remembering the feeling of not being able to let go and move on,” says Orillia-based folk rock singer/songwriter Shane Cloutier of his new single, available now.
“It’s about feeling guilty for being stuck in difficult circumstances, and gives a glimpse of hope that someday in the future, you’ll be able to embrace the present,” he continues. “I think sometimes we carry a lot of luggage from our past, and this can inhibit and sometimes prevent us from living life the way we are supposed to.
“‘Rain Check,’ for me, is my inner dialogue in those moments of apprehension and uncertainty. I truly believe our inner voice is how our spirit pushes forward, even when that voice feels dark.”
“On set shooting, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the emotion I felt when I originally wrote the song,” he adds. “Sometimes we have support we can’t even see because we’re so consumed by our own emotions, and I think this song and video really portray that struggle.
“Visually capturing content that would express my inner dialogue was made easy by the location, which was moody and full of dark corners. It’s always an absolute pleasure to work with Adam Fair of Villa Sound; he shot and edited the video and, because he has an insight into the song having recorded it, provided a real consistency in the translation of the ideas.“
The track lands as an early preview to his forthcoming album, one that promises to further embody Cloutier’s emotive voice and unique approach, complete with his signature heavy metal influence, a sojourn into programmed beats, and a nod to his collaborations with multi-award winning blues drummer Tom Bona and legendary guitarist Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush.
“I wasn’t planning on recording again this soon,” he marvels, noting his most recent 2019 album release, Red Wagon. “But everything came out more naturally because I didn’t have time to overthink anything. Everything felt very organic.
“The material for this new record feels really good to me. I am in a great place in my life and, because of this, I was able to branch out lyrically to more topics and feelings that are important to me. I feel the isolation we have all been in has really pulled some different topics and feelings out.
“The album Red Wagon was very much a prequel and sequel to In Light,” Cloutier continues, referring to his debut release. “When I wrote In Light, it was very much a cathartic response to some traumatic events in my life, facing the death of my wife and mother of my children. It is very much an album of perseverance and strength, as well as surrendering to vulnerability.
“When I wrote Red Wagon, I was in a much happier place, and I feel I had a much more enlightened perspective. Both albums helped me emotionally, physically, and spiritually move forward. They tethered me to real life, sort of, and didn’t allow me to sink — which was exactly where I felt like I was heading.”
Sinking has never ultimately been an option for Cloutier, who was once told he’d never ‘make it.’ “My grade 12 music teacher was a narrow-minded, mediocre teacher who only listened to classical music,” Cloutier recalls. “He told me at the end of grade 12 that I’m a great student, but I’d never make it as a musician for a living.
“Every day being a full-time, professional musician is me giving him the proverbial finger… Especially being asked to join Mahogany Rush and playing for Frank Marino, who is my guitar idol. It still doesn’t feel real, and might never feel completely real to me.
“This is important to me to hold onto because, in life, we are continuously met by individuals who doubt us.
“I believe everybody has an outlet that they have found — or need to find — and this is mine.”
It’s been nearly 35 years since the Beastie Boys released their classic debut album, Licensed To Ill. In this candid conversation, Rick Rubin, who started out as the Beastie’s DJ, reconnects with Mike D and Ad-Rock. Spike Jonze, who directed the new Beastie Boys documentary, Beastie Boys Story, also sits in and plays moderator. It’s been nearly 20 years since Ad-Rock and Rick have talked and like old friends, they jump right into a slew of inside jokes and hilarious memories of their lives leading up to the release of Licensed to Ill.
In partnership with filmmaker Lauren Tabak and writer/consulting producer Barry Walters, Amazon Music dives into the music career of Sylvester, starting from church choir in South Central LA to his early years in San Francisco. It follows his ascent to stardom through his evergreen, international hits “Dance (Disco Heat)” and “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”. Through his groundbreaking career, Sylvester blew open the doors for queer visibility and gender fluidity in mainstream music, leaving a legacy that continues to influence today’s pop music. The documentary features candid interviews with Billy Porter, Martha Wash (The Weather Girls, Two Tons o’ Fun), Sylvester’s sister Bernadette Baldwin, biographer Josh Gamson, producer/songwriter James Wirrick, and more.
Multi-award winning, chart-topping Indigenous folk artists Twin Flames are back, this time with their highly anticipated new single, “Battlefields” — available now.
The husband and wife duo of Chelsey June, métis (Algonquin Cree) from Ottawa, and Jaaji, Inuk and Mohawk from Nunavik, are long celebrated for their sonic landscapes spanning Canada and the Arctic, and honouring their ancestors through song in English, Inuktitut and French, along the way; “Battlefields” is a stunningly poignant addition to their discography.
That said, the new song — and the first preview to land ahead of their forthcoming and third studio album, OMEN — is a surprising departure from music the band has released in the past. Backed by an album teeming with pop and synth-heavy sound exploration, this track’s theme is based on a self-reflective consciousness covering the subject of mental health, a topic that hits home for the band.
“Mental health is a battle that many people face in silence,” Chelsey shares. “This song speaks to the stigma associated with it.”
“In the Arctic of Canada, Inuit People face the highest amount of suicides in the world,” Jaaji continues. “‘Battlefields’ is a song to remind our people we have to fight our own minds to survive…
“That we are fighters and, together, we can feel less alone and win this battle.”
“Battlefields” isn’t the only track Twin Flames expect to expand their storytelling repertoire; set for release later this year (/season 2020), early insight into OMEN offers an intricate exploration into an edgier, darker musical feel that merges alt-pop, rock, and electronic genres into one.
Using unique sounds, Indigenous Spirit flutes, traditional drums and western instruments, synthesizing harmonies, and traditional Inuit throat singing — including a collaboration with two-time JUNO Award nominees, Silla — Twin Flames unveil in OMEN a raw and honest experience. Certain to follow the successes of their previous two critically acclaimed albums — Jaaji and Chelsey June (2015) and Signal Fire (2017) — Chelsey and Jaaji dive even deeper into stories of courage and survival on OMEN, revealing a true passage into the hearts and minds of the beloved couple, and a gapless release that encourages listeners to take in the entire journey.
“The album is concept-based around a dystopian reality, global warming, and humankind being free of social classes, mental health, and addictions,” they say. “It speaks to seeking Omens and signs of hope within ourselves and Mother Nature.”
With OMEN, Twin Flames question the human mind revealing how one can endure the darkness, and still find a way to bloom; it’s a truly moving experience, foretelling a brighter future while signifying the advent of change and a time for strength. “We speak to the inner turmoil that so many, including ourselves, have experienced. We hope to express that, if one dares to dream of meeting their heart’s longing and purpose, the world can be forever changed.”
Before combining their talents under the title of Twin Flames, Chelsey June and Jaaji had their own respective award-winning and nominated careers; they met on-set during the filming of APTN’s TAM (Talent Autochtones Musical). Since joining together, both professionally and as spouses, they’ve been nominated for 24 awards — including two Canadian Folk Music Award wins, and three Native American Music Award wins — Two number 1 Hits on the Indigenous Music Countdown’s Top 40, played more than 1000+ shows throughout Canada, Greenland, the United States, Australia and France, were selected as artist-in-residence for the 2019 Folk Alliance International conference, partnered with UNESCO to write the official song celebrating the International Year of Indigenous Languages, The song was also chosen as part of CBC’s Music Class Challenge their music video for Broke Down Ski’tuuq was the first all Inuttitut music video to be featured on MuchMusic, and more.
“Battlefields” is available now. OMEN is available in August, 2020.
