O Frontera Premiere New Video + Announce Release of New Album on October 6th

Watch Premiere of 'Heed To My Song'
@ Northern Transmissions

(Toronto, ON) - Toronto-based experimental post-rock trio O Frontera are independently releasing their first full-length album In The Arms Of Stoics on Friday, October 6th, and the creative and cinematic video for the first single ‘Heed To My Song’ (shot on a Super 8 camera in Iceland!) is premiering today at Northern Transmissions. To celebrate the release of their new album, O Frontera are playing a release show in Toronto on Saturday, October 7th at Art Square Gallery (334 Dundas Street West). See below for full details.

In The Arms Of Stoics is O Frontera’s first full length but it’s not their debut release. The band released their beautifully sparse O Frontera EP in 2014 and since then have evolved to incorporate elements of classical, ambient, pop, and experimental music. Their sound is cinematic and the influence of Radiohead, Sigur Rós, and Philip Glass can be heard immersed in the ambient soundscapes of their music. 

O Frontera is made up 3 members: Sebastian Cushing (vocals/guitar), Emily Wang (viola) and Sarah Riegler (percussion/vocals) and together they explore the relationship between melodic and rhythmic hooks by playing with song structures to create O Frontera's powerfully evocative music.  When making In The Arms Of Stoics the band wanted it ebb and flow like a great story often does; when the album plays from beginning to end, it's narrative flows like a film. And because it feels cinematic and like a continuous piece of art, it’s difficult to single out a favourite track on the album.

“My answer to this has changed multiple times over the last year," says Sebastian Cushing. “Belle Époque is one song I find myself frequently returning to. It's so raw. It's one of those songs that takes me back to the moments when I wrote it. Another one is Letter to Catherine. That song was inspired by Michael Collins, the Irish independence hero. While fighting he would send love letters to his fiancé. I was fascinated by the breadth of the man. He risks his life for his cause but still has an enduring love for this woman. It was like the wounds of war couldn't completely harden him. Channelling those stories is such a powerful experience as a songwriter.”

O Frontera’s new album In The Arms Of Stoics will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, October 6th. See them live in Toronto on October 7th and look for more tour dates to be announced soon. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: Facebook.com/OFrontera

O FRONTERA IN THE ARMS OF STOICS ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
When: Saturday, October 7th
Where: Art Square Gallery (334 Dundas Street West)
Doors at: 8:00PM
Tickets: $10 at the door

O FRONTERA - IN THE ARMS OF STOICS TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 6th, 2017 (Independent)
1.  Rien Ne Se Perd
2.  They Scoff, The Broken Hearted
3.  Salvador
4.  Heed To My Song
5.  Jué
6.  Letter To Catherine
7.  Torch Lake
8.  Girl In Blue
9.  Belle Époque
10. Ruins Where The Love Rung

FOR MORE INFO:
Twitter: @ofronteramusic
Instagram: @ofronteramusic
FB: Facebook.com/OFrontera

MEDIA TOOLS
WATCH/POST 'Heed To My Song' video here
STREAM/POST 'Heed To My Song' here
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Liam Cushing)
 

The Ruffled Feathers Set To Release New Album On July 28th

STREAM/SHARE First Single 'Cadaverine'

Vancouver, BC - Vancouver-based chamber pop band The Ruffled Feathers are independently releasing their 2nd full-length album Hand-Me-Down Centuries on July 28th, and will be celebrating with an album release show in Vancouver at Jim Green House Studio at The Cultch on July 29th. The first single 'Cadaverine' is available for streaming and sharing today. 

The Ruffled Feathers formed back in 2008 with Gina Loes (vocals, guitar, ukulele), Andrew Lee (vocals, trumpet) and Charley Wu (piano, guitar), They released their first EP Lost Cities in 2010 and in 2012 the band added a few more members, then released their first full-length album Oracles.

The Ruffled Feathers’ released their next EP, Bottom of the Blue in 2014. The EP featured the video single 'It Doesn’t Last' which ranked as a Top 10 Regional Finalist in CBC Searchlight 2014, followed by 8 weeks on CBC Radio 3’s Top 30, rising to #2 on the chart. All of this momentum led to more ambitious projects and collaborations (and more band members!) and the band started working on their new album Hand-Me-Down Centuries in late 2014. And 3 years later, after a lot of hard work, it's finally seeing the light of day. 

"I think recording has always taken us a long time," says lead vocalist Gina Loes. "And this one took a little longer. With the previous releases under our belt, I think we felt an expectation to increase the production value of our recordings and strive for the next bigger and better thing, and all of that takes time...AND money."

On Hand-Me-Down Centuries, The Ruffled Feathers' collaborative approach to songwriting results in richly-layered compositions that fold the whimsical textures of the ukulele into darker, wilder themes. Inspired by bands like Beirut and Sufjan Stevens, The Ruffled Feathers bring fanciful musicality to lived experience. They deliver songs about the vibrant, poignant moments that give shape to our lives: the stories of love and loss, petty victories and delicious failures, that move us and bind us together as human. The first single 'Cadaverine' is one of the darker tracks on the album, but it still is very much in the The Ruffled Feathers wheelhouse.

"Cadaverine is the chemical that releases from dying organisms that our brain immediately recognizes as the smell of death," says Gina. "Our trumpet player Andrew is a chemical engineer and studies air pollution and the chemicals that damage our ability to breathe. The song 'Cadaverine' reflects on the immediate, primitive awareness of death. This actually isn't the darkest song on the album, it’s just the most obvious. If you really want something dark listen to 'Sea of Hesitation' or 'Only 25'. 'Wood Buffalo' and 'How Many Days' are upbeat but ultimately heartbreaking."

Full of expert musicianship and talent, The Ruffled Feathers are a high-energy indie outfit that writes and records and plays shows for an established fan-base that is always growing. Their live performances push the limits of their recordings in style, arrangement and dynamics, resulting in unique, compelling audience experiences. The Ruffled Feathers’ current lineup is Gina Loes (vocals, guitar, ukulele), Andrew Lee (trumpet, vocals), Sam MacKinnon (drums), Molly MacKinnon (violin), Sophia Xiang (piano), and Paolo Brian (bass). 

The Ruffled Feathers - Hand-Me-Down Centuries will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, July 28th. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: www.theruffledfeathers.com.

THE RUFFLED FEATHERS >> UPCOMING TOUR DATES
July 16 - Burnaby, BC - Civic Square
July 22 - Kelowna, BC - Fernando's w/ The Wayward Hearts
July 29th - Vancouver, BC - Jim Green House Studio at The Cultch w/ Laura Reznek (Album Release Show)

THE RUFFLED FEATHERS - HAND-ME-DOWN CENTURIES TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: JULY 28th, 2017 (Independent)
1.  Burgundy
2.  How Many Days  
3.  Cadaverine  
4.  Le Marche
5.  Caravan  
6.  Sea Of Hesitation
7.  Strange Dreams  
8.  Wood Buffalo  
9.  Only 25  
10. Kiss Me In The Moonlight

FOR MORE INFO: www.theruffledfeathers.com
Twitter: @Ruffled_Music
Instagram: @theruffledfeathers
FB: Facebook.com/theruffledfeathers
 

MEDIA TOOLS
STREAM/POST The Ruffled Feathers - 'Cadaverine' HERE
WATCH/POST The Ruffled Feathers - 'Kiss Me In The Moonlight' HERE
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Matt Reznek)

Sarah Jickling Premieres New Single + Announces Release of Debut Solo Album on July 14th

Watch Premiere of 'This Time' Live Video @ The Revue

Vancouver, BC - Sarah Jickling, neurotic songstress and theatrical front woman of pop-rock band The Oh Wells, is taking to the stage on her own as Sarah Jickling and Her Good Bad Luck and will be releasing her first solo album When I Get Better on Friday, July 14th. When I Get Better documents Sarah’s mental health issues and is a candid portrayal of her ongoing struggle with debilitating anxiety and bipolar disorder. The first single ‘This Time’ explores the difficulties of maintaining friendships and romantic relationships while living with a mental illness. Click here to watch the acoustic live video and album teaser premiering today at The Revue.

Sarah Jickling’s new solo project pairs the unbridled emotion of her voice with synths and loops, and graduates lyrically from high school daydreams to honest accounts of a chaotic young adulthood. On When I Get Better, Jickling paints an honest picture of the past few years of her journey to recovery, and explores what it means to “get better” when living with a chronic mental illness.  

"The songs on this album were written because I needed them," says Jickling. "I write songs to sort out my own emotions, to tell the truth about what I am going through, and to turn my illness into something positive. I didn't intend to write an album, I just wrote songs when they came to me. In the end, I realized that all of the songs led me to this place of acceptance. I learned to accept my illness, and make peace with what it means to have bipolar disorder. The album is called When I Get Better because it was through songwriting that I realized there is no "better," that recovery isn't a straight line, but that there is beauty in that."

When I Get Better will be released in tandem with a mental health themed zine co-written by Jickling and illustrator Amelia Butcher. The zine was created as a way for Jickling to poke fun at her own emotional instability, while also sharing the coping tools that she finds helpful with her audience.

"The zine is called 'It's Okay, A Guide For Human Beings' and I wrote it as a reminder to myself and others that no one is perfect," says Jickling. "We are all struggling in different ways, but there are things that we can do to make things easier. I was inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement from the 90's, when bands and fans would create handmade zines to give out at shows. At that time, those zine started conversations about intersectional feminism. I think that right now, there is a bit of a mental health movement going on, and I like the idea of creating little works of art to spread awareness and ideas." 

Based in Vancouver, Sarah Jickling is a strong local advocate for mental health awareness and has opened up about her mental illness on radio, local television, podcasts, blogs and at live speaking events. She can also be found performing her new sound and sharing her personal stories with ReachOut Psychosis, a program created by the BC Schizophrenia Society that tours high schools across BC educating on psychosis and early psychosis intervention. 

Sarah Jickling's new album When I Get Better will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, July 14th. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: www.sarahsgoodbadluck.com.

SARAH JICKLING AND HER GOOD BAD LUCK >> UPCOMING TOUR DATES
July 13 - Vancouver, BC - The Emerald (Album Release Show)
July 15 - Victoria, BC - Copper Owl

SARAH JICKLING - WHEN I GET BETTER  TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: JULY 14th, 2017 (Independent)
1.  You Let Me Down
2.  Anything That You Want
3.  Repetitive
4.  Untitled
5.  Lullaby
6.  I'm Not Broken
7.  When I Sing
8.  This Time
9.  When I Get Better

 FOR MORE INFO: www.sarahsgoodbadluck.com
Twitter: @sarahjickling
Instagram: @sarah.jickling
FB: facebook.com/sarahsgoodbackluck

MEDIA TOOLS
WATCH/POST - When I Get Better album teaser trailer here
WATCH/POST 'This Time' acoustic live video here
STREAM/POST 'This Time' album version here
READ the 'It's Okay, A Guide For Human Beings' zine here
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Nelson Mouellic)

Rococode's YOUNG ONES EP Out Today Via Marquis

"Vancouver’s Rococode genuinely captivate with their singular musical aesthetic, an infectious marriage of classical synth-pop, quasi-hip-hop beats, layered
with male-female ideological dichotomy.”
- BlackBook

Vancouver, BC – Vancouver’s Rococode inject hook-laden songs with lush synth textures and duet vocals, resulting in an infectious sound. Today, the duo of Andrew Braun and Laura Smith releases the Young OnesEP, which debuted earlier this week at Blackbook. 

Co-produced by Caleb Shreve (Phantogram, Bear Hands, Tegan and Sara) and Jon Siebels (Eve 6, Switchfoot, Dreamers), the six song set highlights a musical chemistry by fusing Braun’s exploratory tendencies with Smith’s razor-sharp pop sensibilities.

Stream / Download Young Ones EP:
Spotify | iTunes | Apple Music | Amazon

The fuzzy low end of “A Love That You Will Never Know” is dark and menacing, yet the cloudburst chorus is pure sunshine, while the swaggering title cut centers on an unforgettable wordless chorus. 

But it's standout single “Is It Real”, set with acoustic strums against euphoric, pitch-bent synths, that ties it all together with Earmilk saying, "Filled with the duo's signature lush beats, layers of ethereal synths, and detached boy/girl vocals, 'Is It Real' is the perfect example of Laura Smith and Andrew Braun's knack for stripped down electronic pop."

Enjoy / Share “Is It Real” Video:
https://youtu.be/6srTkdaM5rs

http://rococode.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Rococode
https://twitter.com/rococode
https://www.instagram.com/rococode/

# # #
 

MEDIA TOOLS:
Download Rococode high-res photo HERE (Photo Credit: Lynol Lui)
Download Rococode high-res album/single art HERE

Declan O'Donovan Announces Release of New Album on June 2nd + Premieres New Video

Watch Premiere of 'Down To The Bottom' on LiveInLimbo.com

Vancouver, BC - Yukon-based singer/songwriter Declan O'Donovan is excited to announce the June 2nd release of his new album Broken Sky with the video premiere for the first single 'Down To The Bottom', exclusively at LiveInLimbo.com. O'Donovan is touring in support of the album, starting with a string of dates dates overseas that kicked off with a show in Berlin last night, and has Western Canadian dates coming up in June. See below for full tour details

Broken Sky is the follow-up to Declan O’Donovan’s self-titled debut album, released in 2012. The sophomore release was recorded with Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson, Adam Cohen, Lhasa) at Studio Masterkut in Montreal and features members of Patrick Watson including: Robbie Kuster, Mishka Stein, and Joe Grass; and Brad Barr from The Barr Brothers. All music was written while Declan was living between Whitehorse, Toronto, and Montreal from 2014 to 2016.

 “Jean gave my songs a landscape to live in and explore," says O'Donovan. "He brought with him a sound and an approach that gave every note warmth and direction, and he gracefully coaxed out incredible performances from everyone involved, making the songs simultaneously grounded and unrestrained."

With a European and UK tour dates underway and Canadian dates coming up right after, it's safe to say that O'Donovan will be spending much of 2017 on the road. Following the dates in Western Canada, the next stop will be Japan in late July which will include a performance at the Fuji Rock Festival with more Canadian dates coming up in the fall. It's a busy year of touring and that suits O'Donovan just fine: "I don't really have a home, and with the exception of a piano, most of my belongings fit into a suitcase. I'm quite happy to just live on the road for a while." 

Declan O'Donovan's Broken Sky will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, June 2nd. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: www.declanodonovan.com


DECLAN O'DONOVAN UPCOMING TOUR DATES
May 11 - Berlin, DE -  Madame Claude
May 12 - Offenbach, DE -  Hafen 2
May 13 - Cologne, DE - Lichtung
May 14 - Essen, DE - GoldBar
May 16 - Dresden, DE - Blue Note
May 17 - Hamburg, DE - Spielbudenplatz
May 18 - London, UK - Green Note
June 22 - Whitehorse, YK  - Yukon Arts Centre (Album Release Show)
June 23 - Vancouver, BC - Wise Hall
June 25 - Chilliwack, BC - Tractor Grease Café
June 26 - Salt Spring Island, BC - Tree House Café
June 28 - Duncan, BC - Duncan Showroom
June 29 - Victoria, BC - Northern Quarter
June 30 - Port Alberni, BC -  Char’s Landing
July 1 - Cumberland, BC - Studio Live
July 4 - Kamloops, BC -  Riverside Park (Evening Concert Series) 
July 5 - Salmon Arm, BC - Marine Peace Park
July 6 - Penticton, BC - Dream Café
July 7 - Atlin, BC - Atlin Arts and Music Festival
July 8 - Atlin, BC - Atlin Arts and Music Festival
July 9 - Atlin, BC - Atlin Arts and Music Festival

DECLAN O'DONOVAN - BROKEN SKY TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 2nd, 2017 (Independent)
1.  Let It Rain
2.  Down To The Bottom
3.  Broken Sky
4.  Reckless
5.  Burn It Down
6.  The Boatman
7.  Something To Run Away From
8.  Keep Me In Mind
9.  When I Wasn't Looking
10.  Out Of Mind

 

FOR MORE INFO: www.declanodonovan.com
Twitter: @declan_odonovan
Instagram: @declan_odonovan
FB: facebook.com/declanodonovanmusic