Lief Hall Announces Release of New Album on April 6th + Upcoming Tour Dates

LISTEN TO/SHARE New Single 'Lead Blood'

(Vancouver, BC) - Vancouver electronic artist Lief Hall is excited to announce the release of her new album Roses for Ruins on Friday, April 6th. Hall will celebrate the album's release with a Vancouver Release Show at VIVO on April 6th and then will head out on a West Coast Tour with LA electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist ERAS starting on April 10th. Today also marks the release of Hall's second single 'Lead Blood'. The first single, the title track, 'Roses for Ruins' was released earlier this year when the video premiered on Exclaim!. 

Previously a member of electronic duo MYTHS and no wave trio Mutators, Lief Hall began her solo project while living in Berlin in 2014, creating layered experimental all-vocal compositions in her album Voices (2014) and integrating dark electronic production with layered vocal harmonies in her EP Transform (2015). Recorded by Jordan Koop at The Noise Floor on Gabriola Island, Roses for Ruins marks a new direction for Hall's solo work, integrating acoustic instrumentation with Elisa Thorn on harp, Byron Peters on drums, Marin Reisle on cello and Jordan Koop on guitar.

Roses For Ruins is collection of songs which blends electronic beats, foreboding synths and haunting vocal harmonies into pop-flirting melodies which explore the connection between the personal and the political, nature, technology and the subconscious. The second single 'Lead Blood' is a song that continues to bring the album's themes into focus. 

"I chose to release 'Lead Blood' as the second single from the album because it differs distinctly from the first single, emphasizing the electronic production and evoking a more industrialized and technological landscape,” says Lief Hall. “Both tracks express elements that run through the whole album which interweaves metaphors of natural and technological landscapes while mixing pop with the avant-garde.”

Whether penetrating into the depths of the earth (in songs 'Dark Seed', 'Glass & Obsidian' and 'Snakes'), entering into subconscious dreamworlds (in 'Roses for Ruins', 'Fiction’s Refrain' and 'Dream to Forget'), exploring life as a machine (in 'Lead Blood') or entering into the burning industrial landscapes of global warming (in 'Paper Ash') the album is at once delicate and ominous, reflecting the complex relations of contemporary experience.

Roses for Ruins is being released on Hall’s new label, Aqua Aura Records, and will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, April 6th. The release will be followed with tours in the US, Canada and Europe, beginning with a tour of the West Coast with ERAS starting on April 10th. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: liefhall.com

LIEF HALL >> UPCOMING TOUR DATES
April 6 - Vancouver, BC - VIVO (Album Release Show), w/ Mourning Coup, Michelle Mackenzie + sound installation by Gabi Dao
April 10 - Tijuana, Mexico - Net Net, w/ ERAS
April 11 - San Diego, CA  - Kava Lounge, w/ ERAS
April 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Vertexx, w/ ERAS
April 19 - Portland, OR - Open Signal, w/ ERAS
April 21 - Vancouver, BC - Sunset Terrace, w/ ERAS

LIEF HALL - ROSES FOR RUINS TRACKLISTING
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 6th, 2018 (Aqua Aura Records)
1.  Dark Seed
2.  Roses for Ruins
3.  Paper Ash
4.  Lead Blood
5.  Glass & Obsidian
6.  Fiction's Refrain
7.  Snakes
8.  Dream to Forget

FOR MORE INFO: www.liefhall.com
Twitter: @LiefHall
Instagram: @LiefHall
FB: Facebook.com/LiefHall

MEDIA TOOLS
STREAM/POST Lief Hall - 'Lead Blood' HERE
WATCH/POST Lief Hall - 'Roses for Ruins' video HERE
CLICK HERE for high-res press photos + album art (Photo Credit: Lief Hall)

Reboot Lab Returns To Vancouver On Thursday, March 22nd During Juno Week

(Vancouver, BC) - Back by popular demand and just in time for Juno Week, musician/producer Ashwin Sood and vocal coach/music mentor Brian Farrell are pleased to announce the return of Reboot Lab in Vancouver on Thursday, March 22nd at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (138 East 7th Avenue). 

Reboot Lab is a workshop designed with the ambitious musician in mind. It's for those looking to brush up on their musical skills while learning how to navigate the tricky business of music in 2018. On March 22nd, Reboot Lab will be offering a one-day session open to all musicians. The workshops will cover topics such as: songwriting, performance, recording, studio process, practicing, PR, listening, and much more. The session is an open forum where participants are encouraged to ask any and all questions relating to the art of making music and performing. Click here for full details on the Reboot Lab session.

This is the 4th year of sessions for Reboot Lab. The idea for Reboot Lab was born from an interesting beginning - Brian was Ashwin’s junior high school music teacher. He saw qualities in Ashwin that could not be ignored and Brian became an integral mentor and ongoing teacher in Ashwin’s journey to becoming a respected professional and accomplished musician.

As Ashwin’s studio and production career became busy, he invited Brian out to recording sessions and live performances to first observe, and then help nurture the process. Ashwin quickly realized Brian’s approach and background as an educator and vocal coach added huge value to the process resulting in great breakthroughs with singers and performers. Brian and Ashwin made a great collaborative team that worked effectively to make an immediate and substantial difference for artists. Thus, the idea of Reboot Lab was born.

The combined history and background of Brian and Ashwin provides a unique and big picture approach that makes Reboot Lab stand out from all other industry workshops. After 4 years of successful Reboot Lab sessions in Vancouver and Calgary, the duo is planning to expand their reach across Canada very soon. 

"Brian and I are excited to be working together on another session of Reboot Lab here in Vancouver," says Ashwin. "Each year that we do this workshop it just gets bigger and better and we're planning to launch Reboot Lab workshops nationwide in the very near future!” 

Don't miss out on your chance to be a part of Reboot Lab on Thursday, March 22nd in Vancouver. Space is limited and early registration is now available: $200 for one-day session (After March 15th: $250). Register now at BrianFarrell.ca.

 

FOR MORE INFO:  BrianFarrell.ca
Twitter: @Reboot_Lab
FB: Facebook.com/RebootLabCanada

MEDIA TOOLS
CLICK HERE for select promotional photos
CLICK HERE for Ashwin Sood, Brian Farrell biographies
CLICK HERE for Reboot Lab 2018 poster

ABOUT ASHWIN SOOD:
Ashwin Sood is a Musician, Producer, Songwriter, and Music Mentor, who works with some of the finest bands, singers, and musicians worldwide. They include Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Rufus Wainwright, Delerium, Sheryl Crow, Jason Mraz, and other significant artists.

ABOUT BRIAN FARRELL: 
Brian Farrell has over 30+ years in the Calgary school system as vocal/choral and musical theater teacher, who subsequently has become a private vocal coach and mentored singers who have achieved international success including Kiesza, Raghav, Paul Brandt, Lindsay Ell, Kirby Sewell and other artists with charted singles.  Brian is also the artistic director for the Calgary based vocal group, Revv52, whose practice is to push the boundaries of artistic performance.
 

Winnipeg's Hearing Trees Announce Canadian Tour + Release Of New Album On March 2nd

CANADIAN TOUR DATES STARTING ON MARCH 2nd

Watch 'Telling Peter' Lyric Video
Premiere @ Exclaim! 

 

(Winnipeg, MB) - The third one's a charm! Winnipeg indie rockers Hearing Trees are following up their previous 2 EP releases with their 3rd release and debut full-length album Quiet Dreams on March 2nd. The lyric video for the first single 'Telling Peter' is premiering today on Exclaim.ca and in support of the new album, Hearing Trees will be embarking on a lengthy Cross-Canada Tour starting on March 2nd in Regina. See below for full tour schedule. 

Hearing Trees existed before frontman Graham Hnatiuk had ever picked up a guitar or penned a single lyric. Even as just an apparition in his mind’s eye, Hnatiuk’s musical vision essentially saved his sanity, maybe even his life. And now, with the release of their debut LP, Quiet Dreams, the creative seeds sown years ago have come to full fruition.

“I started this in 2009 because I had a serious mental episode and almost ended up in the hospital,” the singer, guitarist, and songwriter candidly explains. “I was pretty much unable to care for myself. My life just wasn’t going in the right direction, but I found solace and inspiration in art and music. I knew that’s what I needed to do.”

Dropping out of school and dedicating himself entirely to his creative calling, Hnatiuk slowly and steadily developed a sonic and lyrical blueprint for the band. Then, in 2013, he enlisted fellow musicians to finally realize Hearing Trees in the flesh.

The group’s lush, layered brand of ambient and anxious rock is built atop a foundation inspired by genre stalwarts like R.E.M., Matthew Good, and The Tragically Hip and tinged with the more modern and atmospheric musings of Wintersleep and The National. Coupled with sometimes cryptic, always captivating poetry, Hearing Trees offers a true masterclass in sweet-sounding catharsis.

Hearing Trees dropped their self-titled EP in 2014, and since then the band has evolved with a rotating cast of musicians entering and exiting the fold; however, whereas lineup changes are often treated as taboo, it’s all part of Hearing Trees’ growth and flourishing. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have the opportunity to play and tour and collaborate with these people, and learn something from every single one of them,” says Hnatiuk. 

One constant from the band’s debut EP and heralded 2015 follow-up, Dear Sahara, through to Quiet Dreamsis producer and mentor Michael P. Falk, the man behind acclaimed indie outfit Les Jupes and a staple of Winnipeg’s music scene. “He’s guided my hand more than anybody,” Hnatiuk says. "And his fingerprints are all over the 10 tracks comprising Quiet Dreams."

Hearing Trees' new album Quiet Dreams will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, March 2nd. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: hearingtrees.org

HEARING TREES >> UPCOMING CANADIAN TOUR DATES
March 2 - Regina, SK - The Exchange Club
March 3 - Saskatoon, SK - Vangelis Tavern
March 9 - Calgary, AB - Nite Owl
March 10 - Edmonton, AB - The Almanac
March 13 - Prince George, AB - Omineca Arts Centre
March 14 - Vernon, BC - Record City
March 15 - Vancouver, BC - The Roxy
March 16 - Nanaimo, BC - The Nanaimo Bar
March 17 - Victoria, BC - The Copper Owl
March 18 - Duncan, BC - Duncan Garage Showroom
March 20 - Mission, BC - The Railyard
March 23 - Kelowna, BC - Fernando's Pub
March 24 - Golden, BC - Rockwater
April 3 - Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge
April 4 - London, ON - Call The Office
April 5 - Guelph, ON - DSTRCT
April 6 - Peterborough, ON  - The Garnet
April 7 - Ottawa, ON - Rainbow Bistro
April 11 - Moncton, NB - Plan B
pril 13 - Halifax, NS - Gus' Pub
April 14 - Miramichi, NB - The Well Pub
April 15 - Charlottetown, PEI - Baba's Lounge
April 17 - Montreal, QC - Barfly
April 18 - Toronto, ON - The Piston
April 19 - Hamilton, ON - The Mule Spinner
April 20 - Sudbury, ON - The Townehouse
April 21 - Thunder Bay, ON - The Foundry
March 25 - Winnipeg, MB - Good Will Social Club (Quiet Dreams Album Release Show)

HEARING TREES - QUIET DREAMS  TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 2nd, 2018 (INDEPENDENT)
1.  Lights Out
2.  Telling Peter
3.  Holes In The Sky
4.  Fishing
5.  We're All Puppets
6.  I've Got Magic
7.  City Of Lost Love
8.  Let It Be Colours
9.  Aeroport Souvenirs
10. Nobody's Talking
 

FOR MORE INFO: www.hearingtrees.org
Twitter: @HearingTrees
Instagram: @Hearing_Trees
FB: Facebook.com/HearingTrees

MEDIA TOOLS
WATCH/POST Hearing Trees - 'Telling Peter' Lyric Video HERE
CLICK HERE for high-res press photos + album art

Ndidi O Premieres New Single, Announces The Release Of 5th Album On March 16th

Listen To Premiere Of 'Hands High' @ Spill Magazine

Vancouver, BC - Canadian singer songwriter Ndidi O is returning to her early blues/soul roots with the release of her fifth album These Days on March 16th. The first single from the album 'Hands High' is premiering today at Spill Magazine and she's gearing up for the album release with a few upcoming shows in BC and Alberta. See below for full details. 

These Days is an album dedicated to the tales of loving and losing, then dusting yourself off and trying again. It was created between Vancouver and Los Angeles and produced with Canadian/American producer Mischa Chillak, and includes co-writes with Grammy award winning songwriter Jimmy Harry and The Fast Romantics’ Matthew Angus. The first single release 'Hands High' is a powerful and uplifting preview of what the album has in store. 

“‘Hands High' is an ode to humanity," says Ndidi. “We live in such precarious, ugly times and this song was my response. It has been a reoccurring theme of mine, to explore the idea of togetherness. I truly believe that as a species if we start working together for the betterment of all of us, we will evolve and become the love filled humans we were meant to be. So this song is about that, it's about encouraging us to get together and to become strong and create the change we so desperately need.” 

Hailing from the wilds of British Columbia, Ndidi's artistic journey took her many different places before she landed where she is now. At the start, she found her voice through the "open mic" scene in New York City. From there she went on to discover her sound in the heart of Toronto’s blues and folk scene, and next she fine-tuned her live show with extensive touring across Europe. At the moment, you can find Ndidi settled back on the West Coast where most of her new album These Days was made. Making the new album was a very freeing process for Ndidi and she found the co-writing to be fun and liberating. 

"All of the writers I worked with were really respectful of what I brought and we just focused on reshaping some things to fit the sound I was trying to create," says Nididi. "I do enjoy collaboration, it is good when it is good. It tends to be rather male dominated though, so my hope is that in the future I will get the chance to work with more female writers and producers. However it was fun, and it was authentic. I really took the time to do what I actually wanted, to create what I wanted and my producer Mischa Chillak was really good at translating that and creating the sound that we did. The last time I had this much fun making a record was in 2007/2008 with The Contradictor, so this was a really welcome relief." 

Ndidi O's new album These Days will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, March 16th. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: www.ndidio.ca
 

Ndidi O >> Upcoming Tour Dates
February 9 - Burnaby, BC - Shadbolt Centre for the Arts GET TICKETS
February 16 - Calgary, AB - Studio Bell & The King Eddy (Block Heater 2018) GET TICKETS
February 17 - Calgary, AB - The King Eddy (Block Heater 2018) GET TICKETS

Ndidi O - These Days Track Listing
Release Date: March 16th, 2018 (Independent)
1.  Hands High
2.  What I Want
3.  No Mercy
4.  Baby Please
5.  Maybe
6.  Before You
7.  Lament
8.  Death Letter
9.  Daggers
10. Rise Up
11. Don't
12. Bring Me Back
 

FOR MORE INFO: www.ndidio.ca
Twitter: @OriginalNdidi
Instagram: @OriginalNdidi
FB: Facebook.com/NdidiO.Official

MEDIA TOOLS
STREAM/POST Ndidi O - 'Hands High' here
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Franco P. Tettamanti)

Ryan Hicks Announces Release of Sophomore Album on February 9th + Premieres New Video

Watch Exclusive Video Premiere On Live In Limbo

Regina-based singer/songwriter Ryan Hicks is set to release his 2nd full-length album on February 9th and today, the video for the first single and title track 'Pulsing Colours’ is premiering exclusively on Live in Limbo. Ryan will also be celebrating the release of his new album with a hometown release show on February 9th at The Exchange. See below for more details. 

Ryan Hicks makes melodic, cinematic alt-pop music which he describes as "if Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and the Fleet Foxes made music for a David Lynch film". Since the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Prairie Ocean in 2014,  Ryan has been hard at work on his sophomore release Pulsing Colours. The album, set to be released on February 9th, is a concept record of all of the thoughts, moods and emotions that can come to us at night. 

Pulsing Colours was inspired and written in tribute to Ryan’s stepmother, who took her own life in December 2014. Her loss made Ryan dig inward and look for meaning and his place in the world. 

"My stepmother died of depression and was discovered by my dad in their home," says Ryan. "Her loss was heartbreaking. After her death, it made me do some soul searching and think about my place in the world. What am I giving back? What is the purpose of creating? Where do I belong? What have I done with my life to make the world a better place? These are big questions, for which I found no answers. But what it did do is push me to make an album from the heart and musically address some of these questions." 

Pulsing Colours is a record about all of us finding our way in the universe. While the album deals with loss, it also gives a message of community, survival, love and hope.  With the release of the captivating first single ‘Pulsing Colours’, Ryan Hicks sets the tone for the journey that he intends to take the listener on with his new record. 

"This album came to me with just as strong visuals and moods as it did melodies and lyrics," says Ryan. "I was really inspired by David Lynch's work, specifically Twin Peaks, and wanted to channel some of that world's wonder, mysticism, humour, darkness and craziness. When I wrote the song, I imagined the song being sung from the perspective of a moon far away from other planets. Cold, silent, still and alone. This is a metaphor for how some people live their lives. It might not sound like it, but really it is a love song about someone coming into your life and making sense of all things. While you might not have all of the answers, you find the world is good and right when you are with them. This goes beyond romantic love, as there are people in my life who I feel bring clarity to the world when I am with them.” 

yan Hicks new album Pulsing Colours will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, February 9th. For more information and the most up to date tour schedule, please visit: www.ryanhicksband.com

Ryan Hicks >> Upcoming Tour Dates
February 9 - Regina, SK - The Exchange - Album Release Show (Ticket Link)
February 10 - Calgary, AB - Cornerstone Music Cafe

Ryan Hicks - Pulsing Colours Track Listing
Release Date: February 9th, 2018 (Independent)
1.  Pulsing Colours
2.  Quiet Town
3.  I Want It All
4.  The Smartest Man Here
5.  Footprints In The Sand
6.  Seriously Baby
7.  Jewel
8.  Dead Branches
9.  Floor On Fire
10. Sparkwood and 21
 

FOR MORE INFO: www.ryanhicksband.com
Twitter: @RyanHicks306
Instagram: @RyanHicks306
FB: Facebook.com/RyanHicks306

MEDIA TOOLS
WATCH/POST Ryan Hicks  - 'Pulsing Colours' video here (via YouTube)
STREAM/POST Ryan Hicks - 'Pulsing Colours' here (via SoundCloud)
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Ali Lauren)