Tag: Canada

BGS 5+5: Wild Rivers

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Artist: Wild Rivers
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Album: SIDELINES
Personal nicknames or rejected band names: We were very close to being called Wolf Island. Someone else unfortunately snagged that Facebook page in 2015 so we decided against it.

Answers provided by Khalid Yassein of Wild Rivers

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Very tough one. We all have many different influences for our songwriting, singing, playing, recorded music, live performances, they’re all different things. I’m going to go with Paul Simon. He’s probably my favourite songwriter, and over the course of his career he’s made so many incredible records with entirely different sounds. He has somehow found a way to have such depth, while sounding so light and casual. Love us some Paul.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

We all have been doing vocal warmups which has been awesome. It’s basically buzzing our lips for 20 minutes and it’s kind of silly and fun. Then we huddle up and someone does a pre-show speech and we bonk heads and say “TEAM!”

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Probably movies and TV are the main ones that inform our music. Character studies and stories about people are so inspiring. Recent ones that come to mind are Call Me By Your Name, Nomadland, and Minari. All kind of slow burns about people just getting through it. There’s no better feeling than connecting to someone’s emotion. I think that’s what we try to do with our songs — pursue being as honest as we can with ourselves and dig into how we really feel. And then hopefully someone will connect with that.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

One of our latest songs, “Long Time,” was a tough one to crack. I took breaks from it and came back to it throughout a year to really carve out the melody and find the lyrics that fit. Sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it takes a really long time (sorry).

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I think the moment I fully decided in my mind that this is what I wanted to do for my life was when we were making our first record. Going into the studio and crafting this big piece of art bit by bit was such an ambitious and exciting process. Everything coming together in real time. We had no idea what we were doing, and it was the best.

Photo Credit: Samuel Kojo

WATCH: Clever Hopes, “Made You Mad”

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Artist: Clever Hopes (Andrew Shaver & Eva Foote)
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Made You Mad”
Album: Artefact
Release Date: January 20, 2022

In Their Words: “With a tip of its cap to the great rock duets that gave it life, ‘Made You Mad’ is the phoenix that soars out of love’s fiery demise. A reminder that, even when it is your fault, it’s going to be ok. It’s the kind of brokenhearted love song that might come too late to fix it, but just in time to try again. This is the song that documents the catalyst for the breakup and, as such, the album. It’s also the first song Eva and I worked on together. We had sorted out harmony lines for her, but it was originally written just from my perspective. We were days away from recording before we realized that we needed to divvy up the verses to really tell the story properly. We switched the pronouns and it came to life in a whole new way. I can’t imagine it otherwise now. It became the blueprint for how we approached the rest of the album in-studio.” — Andrew Shaver, Clever Hopes

Photo Credit: Ian Lake

WATCH: The Lonesome Ace Stringband, “The Hills of Mexico” (Live)

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Artist: The Lonesome Ace Stringband
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario / Horsefly, British Columbia
Song: “The Hills of Mexico”
Album: Lively Times – Live at the Anza Club
Release Date: November 26, 2021

In Their Words: “We recorded ‘The Hills of Mexico’ on our first album, Old Time. Since then it’s become our most requested piece. Although the original version of this song comes from Roscoe Holcomb, our version owes more to the band The Renegades, which featured the singing of Carol Elizabeth Jones. Our interpretation has evolved in the ten years since we recorded it, so it was great to capture it in this live performance from back in 2019. The new album, which will be streaming on November 26, was recorded at a live show in Vancouver, BC. It features some of our favorite songs by artists such as John Hartford, Gus Cannon, Bill Monroe, Marty Robbins, and The Stanley Brothers.” — Chris Coole, The Lonesome Ace Stringband

Photo Credit: Jen Squires

WATCH: Bella White, “Just Like Leaving” (Acoustic Live)

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Artist: Bella White
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Song: “Just Like Leaving” (Acoustic Live)
Album: Just Like Leaving
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “For some reason, playing ‘Just Like Leaving’ by myself feels more honest sometimes. This song is a diary entry of sorts and I usually only write in my diary alone. It was so special to record this video in Vancouver, BC. It felt very cyclical to come back to western Canada after putting out an album that orbits around my journey of leaving western Canada. When I play this song alone, there’s vulnerability that feels more tangible.” — Bella White

Photo Credit: Portia Burton

BGS 5+5: Twin Kennedy

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Artist: Twin Kennedy
Hometown: Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
Latest Album: Homebound
Personal nicknames: Carli guitar-ly, Julie fidd-ooly

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

Looking through old family videos, we have footage of us singing together as young as 3! We put on living room concerts for our mom and dad and their friends, so we knew from a young age that performing was something we loved to do. We started playing as a family band with our dad and our younger sister, Katelyn, when we were 7 years old, and we were really excited and serious about rehearsing and preparing for shows even at that age. We have always been passionate about music — from creating and writing to arranging and harmonizing. We feel so lucky that we were introduced to all of this in our early days with our family because it’s what made us fall in love with performing, and we knew that we wanted to make music our career!

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

Live performance has always been our true love as musicians. We fell in love with being on stage when we were kids, and we have spent many years building practice routines and rehearsal rituals together. As twin sisters, we do have that stereotypical connection of “reading each other’s minds.” We call it “twin-tuition” — we can sense how each other is feeling — and so we make it a priority to focus on creating positive energy before every show. When all of our tour dates were cancelled due to the pandemic, we missed live music so much, and we spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted touring and performing to look like when we could return to that part of our career. For our Homebound Tour dates, our pre-show ritual includes a moment of gratitude. We hug each other and wish each other a great show like we’ve always done, but then we take time to give thanks that we are able to walk on stage again and share music, feel that connection with the audience, and do what we love to do.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

We love every step of the creative process of building a new musical project — and that comes with many different art forms, from video creation to styling to graphic design to merchandise design. We are so inspired by the artists that we get to work with, from our incredible co-writers, to the photographers and directors! We love when music can be reflected in the artwork on the page, say of an album cover, or in a grand sense, like a music video on a mountaintop. When we’re writing a song, we always love it when we can envision the music video or the single artwork as the song is being written.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

We wrote our mission statement as Twin Kennedy in the first year that we started touring full time, and although it has evolved over the years, the foundation has always remained the same: To spread joy through music. We aim to create genuine connection through songs and performance, and create a legacy of love and positivity both on and off the stage.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

With this new album, we have been the most open we have ever been as songwriters and artists, and all of the songs come from a “me” perspective. All of the co-writers on Homebound are people that we have worked with for years — friends who we have built a trust and connection with that allows us to open up in the writing room. For us, this kind of “safe space” creates our best music. We are really proud of the diversity of emotion and messages that we share on Homebound, and they all come from a personal place. We hope that people can relate to our lyrics and hear their own stories in our songs!

Photo Credit: Suzanne Sagmeister Photography

BGS 5+5: AHI

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Artist: AHI
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Latest Album: Prospect, out November 5, 2021
Rejected band names: UrbanPeasant (high school rap name) and Back To Now (University band name)

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

Before I left home to backpack across Ethiopia, I gave away, sold or just plain threw away hundreds of CDs — the only thing I kept was my Bob Marley stuff. I felt like nothing contemporary was speaking to me the way The Wailers did, even though this was music from before I was born. So I said to myself, if there’s no contemporary music that gets me through life the way Bob Marley does, then I’ll teach myself how to play guitar and sing, and I’ll make the music that I need to hear. Because if I need it, I know someone else out there does too.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

The crescent moon is probably the most captivating thing in nature to me. The moon in general. For some reason the moon makes me feel less alone and less on the outside of everything. We’re all looking at the same moon and it connects me to something bigger than myself. I want my music to connect us to each other and give people the reassurance that they’re not alone.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Life is an art form. And I try to draw everything from real life. My own life, people I know, my family, my friends. There’s art in struggle, hardships, and triumphs of life.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

The song “Until You” went through more changes than any song I’ve ever written, before ultimately becoming the first single off my upcoming album Prospect. I had a base melody that I knew was special, but just couldn’t figure out where on earth the song was trying to go. The first conception of the song was written in 2017 and it took me over three years to get it to a place where I was happy with it. I have at least three or four completely different versions of that song on my computer, with different titles and everything, but it was worth the struggle.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

I found my voice through music, so I write songs to help you find yours.

Photo courtesy of ShoreFire
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LISTEN: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, “Groundhog’s Retreat”

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Artist: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Groundhog’s Retreat”
Album: Make Each Second Last
Release Date: October 15, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “Instrumentals I write are often ones that would serve as song melodies, too, if they had words, and that’s the case here. I wrote it on the guitar, but envisioned it as a mandolin tune, so I wanted to bring in Mark Stoffel to join in the composition and take it in that direction.” — Chris Jones

“Chris presented me the idea for an instrumental co-write on ‘Groundhog Day,’ which is an important day in the Stoffel household because we get to watch our all-time favorite movie. Need I say the title? In any case, I loved the melody and the structure of the tune …. and to be honest, I didn’t have to add much to it, just a few minor tweaks. But I do take full credit for the title!” — Mark Stoffel

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Digging Roots, “Cut My Hair”

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Artist: Digging Roots
Hometown: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Cut My Hair”
Album: Zhawenim
Release Date: 2022
Label: Ishkōdé Records

In Their Words: “‘Cut My Hair’ is a mishkiki (medicine) song about the Indian Residential School experience which is directly linked to genocide, colonialism, oppression, and the actions that this country is built upon. While our families were taken from their homes and sent to these horrible Canadian institutions, we were the last generation to not attend, but consequently suffer from over 100 years of generational effects. With the growing present findings of over 6,000 buried children at Residential Schools across Canada this song was written as an attempt to focus our energies in a positive and grounded direction. Where does one go when one’s people have suffered this much? It gets funnelled into belting out lyrics that feel meaningful and playing slide guitar until my bellbottoms quiver because the amplifier is cranked. We believe in the transformative power of music and its healing effects, this is our offering.” — Raven Kanatakta, Digging Roots

Photo credit: Ratul Debnath

WATCH: Colin Linden, “Honey on My Tongue”

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Artist: Colin Linden
Hometown: White Plains, New York; Toronto; Nashville since 1997 and as long as they let me.
Song: “Honey on My Tongue”
Album: bLOW
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Highway 20/Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “Roots music and blues do speak to a lot of people right now. Much of the healing and release you get from listening to this music, the power and form of expression, has shown itself to be so vital in these times. It feels timeless because it’s such a raw nerve. I hope the memories of every soul who has loved and been loved are like honey on our tongues.” — Colin Linden

Photo credit: Laura Godwin

WATCH: Field Guide, “Tupperware” (Live at Monarch Studios)

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Artist: Field Guide
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba; now Toronto
Song: “Tupperware” (Live at Monarch Studios)
Album: Make Peace With That
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Birthday Cake

In Their Words: “Once in a while if you’re open to it, the universe may use you as a vehicle. This was the case with ‘Tupperware’ which came bursting out of me in a cool 20 minutes. I love that feeling and I really love this song. It’s about my early days living in Winnipeg; it’s about Tuesday nights in Osborne Village where a couple of wicked soul bands play weekly; it’s about my favourite restaurant which has since closed its doors; it’s about the beautiful parts of life that aren’t meant to last forever, and that’s okay.

“I wrote this album while swimming through a sea of change. ‘Tupperware’ came to be as my life in Winnipeg was coming to a close. I’d just moved out of my house, ended a relationship and was set to move to Toronto as soon as a cheap sublet surfaced. In September 2019 I finished mixing my previous release You Were just outside of Vancouver. I jumped on a plane and flew straight to Toronto to move into a little basement apartment at Crawford and Harbord St. in Toronto’s West End. For the next few months I wrote songs, put together a band and started to play around town, and then I met someone who made the songs come out even faster than before. The world shut down and I started looking inward, writing and writing some more. In the summer of 2020 I rented a van and drove back to Manitoba to make this album with my dear friends. I hope you like it!” — Dylan MacDonald, Field Guide

Photo credit: Joseph Visser