With their head in the sky and their eyes to the stars, progressive electro-funksters Moôn are Landing on Earth with their sophomore release — available now!
A swirling constellation of sonic outer-worldliness, Moôn and its ‘nauts — Murphy on vocals and keys, Martiti on guitar, and Bardin on drums — call on a meteoric mix off analog and digital sounds to create a cosmic confluence of pop, electro, funk, hip hop and alt rock music.
Landing on Earth serves as follow up to previous singles “Amiba,” “Sad Clowns” and “ILU” — complete with 42,000+ streams across YouTube alone. The trio released their debut EP Welcome to the Moôn in 2018.
With 11 tracks hosting their own identities and properties — not unlike the planets in our solar system, if you really think about it. Audiences can expect instrumentals, both ambient, catchy and inspired by the 80s, carried by darkly intense lyrics relating to everyday life.
Moôn says their spaceship is here and it’s time to board.
The Hood Internet is back to take us to 1987 with this glorious mashup of Aerosmith, Audio Two, Belinda Carlisle, Boogie Down Productions, The Cure, Def Leppard, Depeche Mode, Eazy-E, EPMD, Eric B. & Rakim, Eurythmics, George Michael, Guns N Roses, Heart, INXS, Jody Watley, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, LL Cool J, Love And Rockets, Madonna, MARRS, Michael Jackson, Midnight Oil, New Order, Pebbles, Prince, Public Enemy, R.E.M., Rick Astley, Salt N Pepa, Sonic Youth, Starship, T’Pau, Taylor Dayne, Tiffany, U2, Was (Not Was), When In Rome, Whitesnake, Whitney Houston.
The impact of Elliott Smith’s music holds no bounds. He has been championed, covered, and sampled by artists from Billie Eilish to Pearl Jam to Frank Ocean and his distinct, solemn sound reverberates in the work of the National, Phoebe Bridgers and Bon Iver. To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Elliott Smith’s self-titled second solo album, Kill Rock Stars is set to release the Elliott Smith: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition on August 28, 2020.
The package includes a revelatory new remastering of the original Elliott Smith record and a bonus disc of the earliest known recording of Smith performing as a solo act, from September 17, 1994 at Portland’s café and “art salon” Umbra Penumbra. The albums come encased within a 52-page coffee table book with handwritten lyrics, reminiscences from Smith’s friends and colleagues about his life at the time he was writing and recording this album, and two dozen previously unseen photographs from the era by JJ Gonson, who shot the image on the album’s cover.
Leading up to the reissue’s release Kill Rock Stars will be working with a handful of artists to release covers of Smith’s songs from this album. Artists confirmed for the project thus far include Bonny Light Horseman – the new project of Anais Mitchell (Hadestown), Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats) and Josh Kaufman (Muzz, Bob Weir, Josh Ritter), Marisa Anderson, MAITA, Prateek Kuhad and Califone, with more to be announced as we get confirmation.
When Elliott Smith was released in July 1995, it was so dramatically out-of-step with the later stages of grunge—and with the indie rock and Riot Grrl sounds associated with the Kill Rock Stars label—that it was completely ignored by the press but championed by artists from the Beastie Boys to Fugazi. “I’ve always felt like this record is underappreciated,” says Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon. “A lot of people overlook Elliott’s first two records—they think of them as a prelude to the bigger albums that followed—but when you go back, you discover they’re really great. This is Elliott’s most fragile and delicate music, and we wanted to honor that with a special and beautiful package.”
For this release, producer/engineer Larry Crane, the official archivist for the Smith family, dug through files, reels, cassettes, and DAT tapes to find the closest sources to the original Elliott Smith first-generation mix downs and spent days to carefully transfer and clean up the audio from the Umbra Penumbra high-quality cassette provided by Casey Crynes. “There are fan-traded MP3s out there of this show, but when people hear what I was able to extract from this original tape, they’ll be shocked,” says Crane.
The Umbra Penumbra show gives a sense of the contrast between Smith’s live and studio approaches. “He was goofier on stage, making jokes and messing with his own words,” says Gonson. “He worked the words very carefully—he was very admiring of Joni Mitchell and how she wrote. So it was fun, you’d hear a song and then it would change.” What emerged from this challenging creative evolution was a set of songs with the intimacy and intensity of an acoustic-based singer-songwriter and the gut-punch power of a rocker.
Smith’s joy and connection to the creative community in Portland, his home at the time, is beautifully documented by the photos and reminiscences in this new package. A few years after Elliott Smith was released, the singer himself looked back on the album that in many ways laid the groundwork for his image and his triumphant, ultimately tragic career. “I think that record gave me a reputation for being a really dark, depressed person,” he said, “but I think I’m just about as happy as all the other people I know. Which is occasionally.”
Fastest Time To Type Using the Nose? Tallest Staircase Built In One Minute In Minecraft? Most Bananas Snapped In One Minute? All these, yes, ALL these, can be your record.
tudents expect to have a better life in college full of freedom, free time, and fun. However, they usually face tons of coursework, writing assignments, and exams instead.
Many students have never mastered the basics of writing as they can’t do their writing assignments well. Although they spend a lot of time and effort, they ultimately fail to deliver a well-written essay.
Many students try to learn professional writing by taking part in workshops, reading books, or searching for online guides. Still, there are also others who prefer to outsource their assignments to some essay writing service.
When is it a good idea to outsource your work to online writing services? Keep reading to find out.
Lack of Time
Students are expected to do many tasks when they’re in college. Plus, most of them are away from home for the first time in their lives during this study period. Add to that the pressure of having to work part-time and dealing with life alone in the dorm, and you’ll understand why so many students don’t have time to do their assignments.
Thus, time management becomes crucial to them. To avoid troubles and anxiety, many students decide to outsource part of their assignments to professional essay writing services, so that they could handle the other part easily.
Lack of Skill
Teachers give out many coursework and writing assignments to students, but never teach them how to write like a pro. Students often don’t have a good grasp of the basics like grammar, terminology, and different writing styles, and that’s why they can’t deliver well-written essays.
It’s not that hard to learn the basic principles online. You can also search for the appropriate vocabulary, and read about different writing styles. Plus, with the help of technology, numerous tools like Grammarly can help you correct spelling and grammatical errors.
However, none of these methods are effective in the short term. That’s why many students choose to make an order using pro essay writing services and get rid of their tedious writing tasks.
Low Level of Confidence
Students aren’t experts in writing, and many of them have never written academic essays before going to college. Therefore, they suffer from a lack of confidence that stops them from writing. They’re afraid of putting words on paper and making mistakes.
When that happens, they believe they’re powerless and can’t do anything. They try to stay away from friends, and many other overwhelming feelings come to them. To avoid stress, anxiety, and side effects of low self-esteem, many students decide to outsource their writing tasks.
Getting Top Grades
As a student, your university success is directly linked to your grades. To get good grades, you should deliver a high-quality coursework before an expected deadline. Due to a lack of time and skill, many students outsource their writing assignments to essay on service online.
To get top grades, you should choose reliable service providers that deliver high-quality writings. Most writing agencies work with professional writers who can do extensive research, generate topics, create relevant outlines, and write quality content. That ensures the top grades and praise from your instructor.
Strict Guidelines
Some teachers expect students to do unusual, challenging tasks that take a great deal of time. Therefore, students can’t meet the project requirements and deadlines unless they ask experts for help.
Almost all instructors expect students to be disciplined, come to class on time, and work hard on their assignments. They carefully review the assignments to make sure they are written well. But not all students have time and energy to work hard to live up to those expectations. That’s why they choose to use essay writing services.
Emergency Situations
You’ve probably been in an emergency situation where you were under pressure to get several things done at the same time. There are also times when you have to stop what you’re doing and try something entirely different. For example, imagine one of your close friends or family members is sick, and they need your help. Or your mother asks you to help her go shopping.
What can you do in these situations? It’s tough to say no. When that happens, it might be a good idea to ask a professional writer to do your coursework and so that you could have enough time to handle other tasks yourself.
Bottom Line
As a student, you’re supposed to handle many writing assignments, get prepared for exams, and manage your life alone in the dorm. You may also have to work part-time or want to have an active social life. Clearly, it’s tough to handle all these tasks at the same time. Fortunately, you can ask help from writing services online and have part of the burden taken off your shoulders.
JUNO and CFMA-nominated Canadian singer/songwriter Craig Cardiff knows how hard it can be for young students to tell their stories or express their feelings as it is — let alone now, during a year like this one.
It’s one of the reasons the gold-selling artist continues to hold his highly sought after songwriting workshops, including pivoting online to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions.
He even set up a newly minted record label — Quarantine Collaborations / Workshop Label — for the students in the process.
With his current crop of workshops hosting hundreds of students in grades 7 – 12 throughout the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Cardiff has and continues to be at the craft for more than a decade, providing similar experiences for students across Canada, the United States, and Hong Kong in and around his usually busy tour schedule.
“I don’t care who you are — everyone has a song inside,” Cardiff says. He’d know: he’s released 16 albums over his 20+ year career, and counting.
“Each one of us has a song that got us through a hard time.”
It’s an especially poignant sentiment given many of the students in the classes came to Canada as refugees and have very unique life experiences. “Craig encouraged students to think and write about how they felt moving to a new country,” Woodroffe teacher Anne-Marie Reid shares. “The students were brave and eager to share their stories; they jumped right in, writing lyrics that meant something to them.”
His passionate work with students extends beyond the art of songwriting and helping transform stories into songs; he assists in them learning the nuances of performance and the recording process.
And while the workshops may be music-centric, they’re not just for music students, he adds. “Students interested in business, graphic design, creative writing, and technology all connect. They learn about all aspects of the process of song creation and distribution.
“Students see their songs started, completed, delivered and listened to on streaming services — Apple, Spotify, Amazon… They can’t say they don’t know the process works; they own it from beginning to end.
“It’s their song and album art up on Spotify.”
Which brings us back to Quarantine Collaborations / Workshop Label, Cardiff’s student-centric record label — including releases The Pink Canaries’ “Hope for Better Times,” Caged Peacock’s “A Viral Song,” J.A.R.S.’ “Stay Strong,” and Jackson Duxburry’s “TaxiTaxi.”
“We’ve just launched 18 songs to all streaming digital services,” he says of this year’s results. “They’re mostly from the Ottawa schools so far, but other school boards across Ontario and Alberta are coming, with more going up soon.
“The students deserve all the credit,” Cardiff adds, especially noting the new, unforeseen remote route the coursework had to take. “Thanks to the support of the OCDSB Innovation and Adolescent Learning team, these workshops — which first began earlier this year — have transitioned and continued into a virtual format. The students really rose to the occasion; they problem-solved, recorded with what was available, encouraged one another all online, on the Google Docs, and during the Google Meets.”
The teachers are just as enthused by the response.
“During the pandemic, it has been difficult to keep students motivated,” AY Jackson teacher Allison Bruneau considers. “Craig’s virtual songwriting workshops have really helped to inspire them during this difficult time.
“It was clear throughout the entire process that he cared about each student, and tailored the experience to their individual needs. It resulted in some beautiful moments.”
“I know the students found it challenging and rewarding, which is exactly what they need right now,” AY Jackson teacher Julie Whittfield adds.
Student recordings under Quarantine Collaborations / Workshop Label are available now.
JUNO Award-nominated and chart-topping Canadian all-girl teen pop supergroup Girl Pow-R have reimagined their hit single “This Is Us” into a visionary, uplifting anthem expressing immense gratitude for frontline workers during COVID-19. “Thanks To You” is available now!
“COVID-19 has changed everyone’s life,” says the band, “but more than anyone else, it is the frontline workers who have been there, making sure we have access to the care and services we need.
“We’ve created this remix of our song ‘This Is Us’ to reflect our support and thankfulness for these brave individuals.”
Ranging in age from 11 – 17, the members of Girl Pow-R are Canadian history makers in motion; as one of the youngest artists ever to be nominated for a Children’s Album of the Year JUNO Award, their late-2019 debut album This Is Us has garnered the group well over 1+ Million social streams, and countless media features in print, web, television and radio, including SiriusXM, Breakfast Television, CityTV, CP24 Breakfast, YTV, TVO Kids, eTalk Canada, Girls’ Life, Tiger Beat, J-14, Celeb Secrets, Fresh 95.3, and more.
Speaking of motion, those familiar with Girl Pow-R and their management team, led by Canyon Entertainment Group’s Dawn Van Dam, won’t be surprised the girls continue to roll up their sleeves to assist their communities; passionately advocating for social causes close to their hearts is an integral part of Girl Pow-R’s raison d’être, both as individuals, a band, and a growing movement.
At the onset of COVID-19, Girl Pow-R harnessed their expansive social reach to mobilize the masses by creating inspiring content encouraging fans around the world to help in any way they can. In the past, Girl Pow-R have helped contribute to charities who work on behalf of anti-war and anti-violence, SickKids, the Toronto Humane Society and SPCA, the Give and Restore Hope Children’s Charity, WE Movement, Food4Kids and anti-bullying.
“As a band, Girl Pow-R wants to continue to do our part and share ideas about how everyone can be a ‘helper’ to those who need support right now.”
In continuing their inspirational mission of spreading confidence, kindness, and ‘empow-r-ment’ among young women in the world today, Girl Pow-R saw their debut album’s title track “This Is Us” — the song “Thanks To You” is reinvented from — debut on the iTunes Canada Children’s chart at #2 and #15 in the U.S., all in the midst of a summer featuring back-to-back-(to-back) Canadian and U.S. tour stops.
Multi-award winning ‘Blues Boss’ ball-of-fire (and just-announced 2020 Western Canadian Music nominee) Kenny Wayne does nothing short of go for it in this, his latest single from this year’s album Go, Just Do It! — “I Don’t Want To Be The President” — available now.
And by that, we mean groovily, musically, and politically.
“Who can resist Kenny Wayne having a blast performing this song?” asks Rock and Blues Muse’s Martine Ehrenclou. “Take it with you into your weekend and see if it doesn’t get considerably better.”
“I actually stumbled across this song and had music already written that would fit perfectly,” Wayne notes of the happenstance around the track being made. “And the timing was right to mention the importance of this year’s election.
“To help get this message across, it needed a good beat… It needed a younger generation person to get the message to the youth.”
He’s referring, of course, to the tracks’ featuring of SeQuaL — aka artist and Wayne’s son Cory Spruell — who infuses a rap cadence and fresh verse into the Percy Mayfield cover, instantly elevating it into a duet for the ages, literally and figuratively.
Fans of Wayne’s internationally sold-out shows know what they’re in for, and “I Don’t Want To Be The President” lands no differently: smooth, robust, soulful vocals injected into a cannon that blasts quite the sonic sensation. With Wayne, it’s about preparing for a multi-faceted ride, as the musical terrain can shift just as quickly as the lyrical inspiration.
“I’m not looking for a different path,” the 75-year old man of the hour asserts. “I love that jump blues and boogie-woogie. That’s where my heart is at.
“I’m just trying to keep that style alive,” he adds. “That’s classic stuff, and I’m at that classic age so it all works out.”
Inducted into the Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Kenny Wayne also lines his shelf with seven Maple Blues Awards, a JUNO Award, three Living Blues Magazine Keyboard Awards, and more.
And if that critically acclaimed 11-album catalogue resembles a swirling, savoury pot of musical gumbo, richly layered with flavours of Ray Charles and Duke Ellington, to ingredients of gospel, jazz, Latin, R&B, soul, and dashes of bebop and swing for good measure, Go, Just Do It! hits the table as his spiciest serving yet.
In addition to SeQuel, there are guests on Go, Just Do It! and they garnish the already greatness with finesse; GRAMMY Award-winner Diane Schuur helps create a show-stopping duet in “You’re In For A Big Surprise,” there’s former B.B. King bassist Russell Jackson, powerhouse horn players Jerry Cook and Vince Mai (both mainstays with Powder Blues, Colin James, and more), plus Boogie Patrol guitarist Yuji Ihara, JUNO Award-winning former Parachute Club-er Julie Masi, award-winning Montreal vocalist Dawn Tyler Watson, Joey DiMarco on drums, and Incognito band and harp ace Sherman “Tank” Doucette.
On Go, Just Do It!, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne originals come in at 10 of the 13-song set, each artfully dovetailing soul-tinged sounds with the funkiest of sojourns.
An American expat by way of Spokane, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Orleans, Wayne long credits Canada for partly shaping him into the artist he is today. “I didn’t know what I was in store for except that the people were great,” he recalls of his move decades ago. “My blues career started in Canada, and I think this country really helps people create their art — whether it’s painting, theatre, or music.
“Why would I leave?!”
Go, just listen.
“I Don’t Want To Be The President” and Go, Just Do It! are available now via Stony Plain Records.
Award-winning, internationally acclaimed contemporary jazz songstress Fiona Ross delves into matters of unspoken, angst-ridden love in this, her newest video — a live rendition of “Don’t Say” from her recent album, Fierce and Non-Compliant.
“It’s basically about two people who love each other but won’t say it out loud; once you say it out loud, it becomes the truth and, in this case, problematic,” Ross shares. “Musically, there is also a huge story behind this song, and it will always be very close to my heart because of it.”
It all starts with writing “Don’t Say” for the album, she expands. “Literally, as I worked out and played the third chord — G#9/13/F# — I thought how amazing it would be to have the artist Snow Owl play on this track, and be a special guest on my next album. I really don’t know why, but the idea just came to me as I played that chord… I could sort-of hear him playing in my head.”
Ross’ familiarity with Snow Owl — multi-award winning world jazz virtuoso Juan García-Herreros — had solidified years earlier after she interviewed him for Jazz in Europe. “He has inspired me ever since,” she says.
Actively pursuing the vision into existence, Ross turned the notion into more than just a fleeting thought… “Long story short, I ended up flying to his current home base in Vienna and recording two songs in a castle with him for my album,” she recalls. “It also turned out that the chord that made me think of him is actually his favourite….
“Mind blowing! The whole experience was just incredible.”
While this song came to life in a castle, the live version — featured today — was reimagined in an equally stunning setting — St Cuthberts Church in London, England.
“I spent a few months basically wandering into churches across London, bursting into song and then leaving,” she recalls, laughing. “I love singing in churches because the acoustics give my voice freedom. I actually don’t like singing in a studio environment.
“There’s always pressure on my bassist Derek Daley when playing this song live,” Ross continues, empathizing. “I mean, Snow Owl was recently voted ‘best bassist’ in the world and… You don’t want to compete with that, ha!
“So, as he always does, I told him to just do his thing and put his own mark on the song for this video, which he really does.
“As with my other video, the purpose of these sessions was to record something simple, stripped back, and just enjoy playing in a gorgeous setting. The crew was tiny, and it was only people that are very close to my heart. I wanted to do a video that was just fun, and about enjoying singing… No fancy make up artists… No fancy settings… Just me doing my thing!”
Ross ‘doing her thing’ is the theme of importance on Fierce and Non-Compliant, and deservedly so.
Based in London and resonating throughout the international scene, Ross is known for her illustrative songwriting and unique fingerprint of sound that blends a Latin Jazz with vintage club styles, plus a touch of Neo soul for good measure.
“Her style is poetic and the messages ooze with Millennial angst,” says Jazz Weekly of Ross’ heart-wrenching ballads and demonstrable lyricism. “‘Don’t Say’ is stunning,” Jazz Quarterly adds, noting the track in particular. “Delicate, languorous, gentle like a sad reflection over a martini at the end of the night, but then the heart-yanking burst of passion, the emotion like a comet exploding with raw regret. It’s beautiful. The arrangements continue to be unexpected, original, thrilling, and perfectly judged for the exquisite instrument of her voice. Really, really beautiful. Seriously beautiful.”
The album is not merely a sonic sojourn into Ross’ songwriting journal, but also her jotter notes as an esteemed jazz journalist. “I’ve interviewed some incredible people,” she shares, including Maxine Gordon, Steven Gadd, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri Lynne Carrington, and Kyle Eastwood, to name a few. “I’d wanted to include some people on the album that have really inspired me as a person and as an artist. I was truly blown away they said yes.”
Since the age of two, there has rarely been a day for the award winning vocalist, pianist, composer, producer, educator, and journalist that hasn’t entered around music. Storied highlights include fibbing her age at 14 years old to elbow her way onto jazz club stages throughout London to gig on weekends, and attending England’s prestigious Arts Educational School. As Head of British Academy of New Music for nearly a decade, Ross is credited for having a hand in training the likes of Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, and Jess Glynne, to name a few.
“Finding the album cover photo of me as a child made me reflect on my childhood and my upbringing,” she continues of Fierce and Non-Compliant. “My parents always wanted me to be an artist, and my whole childhood was based on that. My mum wanted me to be the next Julie Andrews, even sending me to the same school, and my dad wanted me to be some kind of Judy Garland/Bette Davis combo.
“Now that I am finally doing my thing, I do find it sad that they can’t see it.”
In her artistic career, Ross has previously released Black, White and a Little Bit of Grey, Just Me (and sometimes someone else), and A Twist of Blue.
But Fierce and Non-Compliant has been the contemporary virtuoso’s most challenging artistry yet, she says.
This album “has been a huge challenge on many levels,” Ross says, having completed all of the writing, arrangement and production, save for two of the 13 tracks produced by Snow Owl. “I have reached into places I have just not been before.
“The ‘fierce’ is coming from many different angles,” she continues. “It has been emotional!”
“Don’t Say” and Fierce and Non-Compliant are available now.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and Slaight Music today announced that submissions for the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class are now open. Now in its sixth year, the program is renowned for offering emerging artists with opportunities to hone their craft and further develop their music careers, including an intensive week of mentorship from notable Canadian music industry professionals and a trip to Toronto, ON to be a part of the 2021 JUNO Awards.
The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class was co-developed in partnership with Canada’s Music Incubator at Coalition Music. Each year three artists are selected, and the experience aims to cultivate new talent through networking, collaboration opportunities, and curated mentorship. This year, the three artists will be joined by 2020 CBC Music Searchlight winner, Shawnee.
Interested artists can apply now at junomasterclass.ca. There are no fees associated with submissions and all eligibility requirements can be found here.
