Tag: Canadian singer-songwriters

WATCH: Honey Harper, “Broken Token” (Live From EastWest Studios)

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Artist: Honey Harper
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Song: “Broken Token”
Album: Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky
Release Date: October 28, 2022
Label: ATO Records

In Their Words: “Baudrillard talks about how the world we live in is so far removed from the original source, it’s impossible to distinguish between what’s authentic and inauthentic. But with country music, every former generation questions the authenticity of the new guard: in the ’60s all the players from the ’50s said, ‘That’s not real country music,’ and that way of thinking has kept repeating itself to this day. With this record we wanted to question and play with the idea of authenticity, to push against the limits of country and hopefully create something that’s never been done before.

“‘Broken Token’ is our take on a new kind of southern rock anthem, whether you were home in 1973 or 2073, we wanted to take you all the way there. We wrote and recorded the song in just 30 minutes taking cues from the Allman Brothers Band’s bluesy breed of southern rock and the Grateful Dead’s pastoral lyrics, unfolding in soulful harmonies and free-flowing rhythms.” — William Fussell, Honey Harper

Photo Credit: Angus Borsos

LISTEN: Bailey Bigger, “You, Somehow”

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Artist: Bailey Bigger
Hometown: Marion, Arkansas
Song: “You, Somehow”
Album: Coyote Red
Release Date: March 25, 2022
Label: Madjack Records

In Their Words: “‘You, Somehow’ is not only my story of finding something for the first time that healed me, and helped me on the road to understanding what it feels like to be loved genuinely, but it’s a love song for all the people who have also struggled to find that, and the ones who still haven’t yet. It’s out there, and you deserve it.” — Bailey Bigger

MADJACK Records · Bailey Bigger – You, Somehow

Photo Credit: Bethany Reid Visuals

WATCH: Jeffery Straker, “Ready to Be Brave”

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Artist: Jeffery Straker
Hometown: Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada
Song: “Ready to Be Brave”
Album: Just Before Sunrise
Release Date: May 7, 2021

In Their Words: “At its core ‘Ready to be Brave’ is about reconciling; about mustering up the bravery to have a difficult conversation. In working with director Dylan Hryciuk we came up with this story together and I felt that telling it through a cast that didn’t include me would be an interesting approach. I love the way he brought the song to life visually — there’s so much love in it. And what better way to share such a beautiful story than during Pride month.” — Jeffery Straker

“As a director, there’s nothing more exciting to me than working on a project that you know will matter. It was an amazing experience creating this film with our cast and crew for Jeffery’s deeply personal song “Ready to be Brave.” I really think it’s one of the most important stories I’ve had the privilege of telling and I hope it resonates with people and maybe even sparks positive conversation.” — Dylan Hryciuk

Photo credit: Ali Lauren

LISTEN: Cat Clyde & Jeremie Albino, “Hello Stranger”

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Artists: Cat Clyde & Jeremie Albino
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Hello Stranger” (The Carter Family cover)
Album: blue blue blue
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Label: Cinematic Music Group, Majesticsilk (CAN)

In Their Words: “It’s amazing to think the first recording of this old folk song was done about 80 years ago. It feels sad, but also beautiful. Playing with the perspectives brings out the vulnerability in the song. We’re all strangers really — but great connection can come from this knowing and an openness can unfurl that may not be there with someone you are already close to.” — Cat Clyde & Jeremie Albino

Photo credit: Second Prize

WATCH: Dana Sipos, “Breathing Barrel”

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Artist: Dana Sipos
Hometown: Hamilton, ON (currently residing in Victoria, BC)
Song: “Breathing Barrel”
Album: The Astral Plane
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Roaring Girl Records

In Their Words: “‘Breathing Barrel’ is ultimately a meditation on being at peace with the present moment. Written immediately upon returning home to the city from a music residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, deep in the foothills of the Rockies, this song is an attempt to integrate a very powerful experience into the more mundane, everyday life. I was trying to trick or convince myself to ‘be July in the wintertime’ — ‘July’ being the Banff Centre in the middle of a bleak Toronto winter, trying to buoy myself and bring back that feeling of abundance and ripe possibility. So in visiting many landscapes, changing seasons, and fleeting moments while focusing on staying present, ‘Breathing Barrel’ turned into a bit of a dreamscape.

“The video was created by Victoria musician Trevor Lang, with dozens of high-resolution scans of vintage magazine cutouts, finely tuned to line up with the rhythm of the song. The pairing of vintage magazine cutouts with the text made to look as though it was coloured in by hand and was intended to mirror the warm and analog textural quality of the recording, the feeling of paper and pencil. The slightly unusual frame rate of this video (eight frames-per-second as opposed to the typical stop-motion animation of either six or 12 frames-per-second) was intended to give the video a familiar but unique rhythm akin to the drum machine featured throughout the song.” — Dana Sipos

Photo credit: Chris Dufour

WATCH: Ariel Posen, “Now I See”

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Artist: Ariel Posen
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Song: “Now I See”
Album: Headway
Release Date: March 5, 2021

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by my own personal growth over time but more specifically by a friend that had once told me that ‘now they could see’ that everything was left behind them. They were struggling with some relationships and some severe personal issues and it took time, but they finally found acceptance in themselves and were able to move past it. Just because they weren’t the type of person that they thought they would be, and just because someone isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean that they don’t belong. Sometimes the smallest realizations and changes lead to gigantic breakthroughs and in the theme of the album, make significant ‘Headway.'” — Ariel Posen

Photo credit: Lynette Giesbrecht

LISTEN: Son of John, “Lonely Door”

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Artist: Son of John
Hometown: Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada
Song: “Lonely Door”
Release Date: January 29, 2021
Label: Kootenay River Music (Independent)

In Their Words: “‘Lonely Door’ is a song that has taken on a different meaning in our new world since it was written several years ago. The line ‘things don’t matter much anymore’ was spoken by my now 100-year-old grandfather after the loss of his wife (and my dad’s mom), and it served as inspiration for this song about love, loss and longing. We used the analogy of walking through a lonely door to capture that painful feeling of heartbreak after losing a loved one. Although the lyrics of the song depict the heartbreak as being one’s own fault because of mistakes that were made, we are all experiencing those feelings of loneliness and sadness in different ways as we endure the effects of these times. We just want everyone to know that they’re not alone; we’ll be able to walk back through that lonely door when this is all over and we can all be together.” — Javan Johnson, Son of John

Photo courtesy of Son of John

BGS 5+5: Spencer Burton

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Artist: Spencer Burton
Hometown: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Latest Album: Coyote

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I was playing a solo concert at a beautiful hall in London, Ontario. The Aeolian. I was being introduced (they introduce the artists there before they perform) and following that, was called on stage. The audience held a steady round of applause. As I made my way to the front of the stage through the maze that was the other acts instruments, I heavily scratched my guitar on some sort of piano or synthesizer. One of the loudest sounds I’ve ever made on stage. The entire audience stopped clapping. I stopped moving. There was a mild chuckle then we all simply stared at each other. I loved that moment. I have a mark on my guitar to remember it forever.

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

I never knew I wanted to be a musician and still don’t know if that’s what I am. I simply live and breathe. Whatever happens, happens.

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

The in-between. The time when I’m not writing. That’s the toughest. I sometimes go months upon months without writing. It feels hopeless, but then I’ll sit down and write seven songs in a day. It’s frustrating. Those times when nothing is happening, it can make one feel like nothing will ever happen again.

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

I love the outdoors. I spend most of my time there. Be it in the woods, on the farm, simply hiking around. It’s inspiring. I wrote a love song once for a deer. No one will ever hear it. Most people don’t understand ungulate anyways.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I’ve had daydreams before… sitting around a campfire in a time forgotten listening to some unknown mountain man with a silky voice, singing songs of adventures past. Feasting on fresh wild game with a marrow sauce. Maybe a berry or two. That would be nice.

Photo credit: Vanessa Heins

WATCH: Raine Hamilton, “Brave Land”

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Artist: Raine Hamilton
Hometown: The flatland prairies of Winnipeg, Manitoba
Song: “Brave Land”
Album: Brave Land

In Their Words: “I am a prairie person, but this album is about the mountains. As a flat lander, I was in a good position to appreciate the contrast of the open, vulnerable spaces of my upbringing, with the courageous, up-reaching lands of the mountains. We don’t have ‘up’ where I come from, so I really had a lot to learn from the mountains, this brave land that connects both the earth and the sky. This song, ‘Brave Land,’ is the title track of the record, and speaks to the courage of these landforms that reach out beyond their earthly world, and the spiritual connection that represents. ‘Brave Land’ is a joyful song that celebrates being alive on the Earth! What an amazing time that can be!” — Raine Hamilton

Photo credit: Megan Steen

WATCH: Sarah Harmer, “Little Frogs”

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Artist: Sarah Harmer
Hometown: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Little Frogs”
Album: Are You Gone?
Release Date: February 21, 2020
Label: Arts & Crafts Records

In Their Words: “Written from a list of summer memories and life’s small pleasures, the video takes you through a day in the life of a little frog — hoser by day, crooner by nightfall.” — Sarah Harmer

“Creating this video for Sarah was so joyful. Her music always makes my heart feel so good, so to support her art through visuals was a golden experience. As a friend, Sarah has taught me a lot about the science of nature and staying grateful inside its gifts – so our little frog friend decided to spend some quality time high-fiving that feeling.” — Ali J Eisner, director and puppeteer

Photo Credit: Vanessa Heins