Vancouver Fusion-Pop Artist Cinnamon Sandhu Shares New Single MATERIALISTIC RANI

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Cinnamon Sandhu · Materialistic Rani - Cinnamon Sandhu

Vancouver fusion-pop artist Cinnamon Sandhu shares her new single 'Materialistic Rani' out now on all digital streaming platforms. The fun and empowering pop song is a cultural blend featuring a unique mix of English and Punjabi, a nod to Cinnamon's identity as an Indo-Canadian. Listen to the track here.

Cinnamon wrote 'Materialistic Rani' with empowerment in mind. The track encourages listeners to embrace their desires and aspirations unapologetically through the spirit of modern feminism. The song's message invites audiences to reconsider their views on materialism and recognize its positive aspects within the context of personal agency and empowerment.

"'Materialistic Rani' is a lively fusion of English and Punjabi, capturing the essence of a modern-day queen who revels in materialism," says Cinnamon. "The song embodies the spirit of 'Rani'—meaning 'queen' in both Hindi and Punjabi—celebrating a bold embrace of desires and dreams in a catchy, culturally rich anthem."

An emerging South Asian artist from Vancouver, BC, Cinnamon calls her genre fusion-pop because it’s a mix of Western and Indian pop music. Her music career began nine years ago, when she began singing covers of Punjabi and English songs on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Since then, she's gained 180K followers, 2M likes on TikTok, and 3.5M views on YouTube.

But despite this early success, according to Cinnamon, it wasn't until years later that her career fully took off: "I consider 2021 the year my career officially launched as it’s when I released my first single and booked my first paid show at 5X Fest, a well-known South Asian Festival in BC. In 2022, I independently released four singles and one self-funded music video, with my music video reaching over 10K organic views on YouTube."

In 2023, Cinnamon released her debut EP Love Story and strategically timed its release to coincide with her trip to India, allowing her to market it to a wider audience and generate content tailored to the EP. Also that year, she booked 3 festival performances marking a milestone in her career. One of those festivals was the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts at the Punjabi Market Live event in Vancouver, where she had the honour of performing in the time slot immediately preceding the two headlining acts.

'Materialistic Rani' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit cinnamonsandhu.com.

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Montreal Folk-Pop Group Mascara Wizard Share New Single ELDERBERRY

LEAD SINGLE FROM DEBUT EP SUNBATHING IN THE
VALLEY OF DEATH OUT ON APRIL 21st

WATCH/SHARE LYRIC VIDEO HERE

Montreal-based folk-pop group Mascara Wizard share their new single 'Elderberry' out now on all digital streaming platforms. The chill and romantic electronic-influenced folk track is the lead single from the band's debut EP Sunbathing In The Valley Of Death set for release on April 21st. Listen here. 

Mascara Wizard is a project that was created during the COVID lockdown in 2020. It all began when poet/musician Simina Banu gifted the song 'Elderberry' to fellow musicians Iola Patalas and Michael Johancsik to play with their acoustic band, The Oops Kitchen, who recorded several demos of the track and performed it live, but it never felt quite right playing it without Simina. And so, Mascara Wizard was born. The trio then decided to give the song new life as a more "digital” collaboration and add Simina’s singing voice back to the track, which led to the creation of a full EP.

“When I wrote this song, I was really into enigmatic lyrics that could have a variety of interpretations," says Simina. "I wrote it a long time ago but I think it was mostly led by feelings, wordplay and sounds, and then I tried to arrange them into something cohesive.”

Following a long and storied history as archenemies on an anonymous writer's forum as teens, Simina and Iola finally became friends over a spare Andrew Bird ticket and a bucket of beer and the rest was history. The two encouraged each other's artistic pursuits and bonded over experimental poetry and a shared love of Buck 65 until Simina moved to Montreal and they realized they could make music together on the same couch. Michael, who never had beef with anybody, joined the project as a producer to complement Simina's poetic writing and experimental beats and Iola's love of harmonies and wordplay.

'Elderberry' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. 

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Tracklisting:
Sunbathing In The Valley Of Death 
Release Date: April 21st, 2024
(Independent)
01. Sunbathing In The Valley Of Death
02.  Elderberry
03.  Sponsored By Beer
04.  WTFaucet
05.  Horrible Song! (Bottomless Pit!)

Download High-Res Album Art

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MASCARA WIZARD IS: 
Simina Banu: Vocals, Beats, Lyrics, Production
Iola Patalas: Vocals, Flute, Lyrics, Arrangements, Cover Art
Michael Johancsik: Guitars, Piano, Whistling, Arrangements, Synth Programming, Production


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Victoria Indie Rockers r.mason Share New Single VELVET SHADE

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r.mason · Velvet Shade

Victoria-based indie rock group r.mason share their new single 'Velvet Shade' out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.

r.mason is a project created by singer-instrumentalist Rebecca Mason, and guitar player Jonathan Blokmanis. r.mason filters soulful songwriting through explorative moods to produce music textured with paradox: lightness and tension, desperation and transcendence. And that feeling of contradiction comes through on their new single 'Velvet Shade.' 

"For years I have hated the way other people love - from my father to friends to lovers," says Rebecca. "Their love doesn’t always look the way mine does, and like all other vibrations from our human feelings, I am fascinated by this. Through this song, I am trying to accept the way other people love, and not turn my back on it."

Rebecca's music career started early. She began writing songs when she learned to carry a note at age 4 and ever since, music has been a second language and the only constant in her life. Her songwriting has been shaped by childhood echoes of church music; passion writers like Bob Dylan, Josh Ritter and Kathleen Edwards; singers like Lana Del Ray, Nina Simone and Norah Jones; duos like Angus and Julia Stone; and composers like Eric Satie.

As r.mason, Rebecca and Jonathan weave Rebecca’s textured vocal tones with classically influenced electronic keys, gritty atmospheric guitar, and attractive beats, immersing listeners in the heart and depth of their evocative soundscapes.

'Velvet Shade' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit rmasonmusic.ca.

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Vancouver Musician Naomi King Shares New Single + Video FETISH

1st SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM
BLACK WATER OUT ON MAY 17th

WATCH/SHARE VIDEO HERE

[Naomi King's pronouns: They/Them]

Vancouver alt-rock musician Naomi King shares their empowering single 'Fetish' out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here. 

'Fetish' is the lead single from Naomi's new album, Black Water, set for release on May 17th. They wrote the bare bones, in-your-face lyrics about one of their friends, who unfortunately turned out to be exactly what Naomi had thought.

"'Fetish' is a song I wrote about a friend," says Naomi. "Funnily enough, just a few months after I'd written it, he proved himself to be exactly what I knew he was. If only I'd listened to myself and trusted my gut. I know who I am in the eyes of men - I'm a fetish.”

'Fetish' is a fun single that comes with a sexy music video. Naomi admits, “I really leaned into the whole fetish thing. Maybe a bit too much.”

Music has always been a part of Naomi’s life. In fact, their mother says they sang before they spoke. They began learning to play the piano at four years old, picking up the violin at six, and when they were nine, Avril Lavigne released her first single. And Naomi was never the same. They stole their mother’s guitar and never gave it back, and have been writing songs ever since.

When Naomi was fifteen, they started posting their original songs on YouTube. Over the years, they would not only grow as a singer and songwriter, but as a producer. They have released over twenty albums independently, and while you can tell they didn’t really know what they were doing in the beginning, Naomi wears that badge with pride. But with Black Water, they did it differently.

Completely self-written and produced, Naomi's new album Black Water is a deep and personal project, exploring mental health, bipolar disorder, manipulative relationships, coercion, assault, and healing. From quiet and ambient tunes, to loud and angry rock, to happy pop, to fantasy soundtrack themes, Black Water explores the deepest parts of some of the hardest years of Naomi King's life.

'Fetish' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit naomikingofficial.com.

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Yukon Musician Erica Dee Mah Shares New Single From Upcoming EP

LEAD SINGLE FROM NEW EP
PAPER WEALTH OUT ON MAY 8th

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Erica Dee Mah · The Garden

Yukon-based orchestral folk musician Erica Dee Mah shares her new single 'The Garden' out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here. 

'The Garden' is the lead single from her new EP Paper Wealth set for release on May 8th. Erica wrote the song as a tribute to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

"I see the garden as a symbol of long-lasting cultural resilience," says Erica. "I was inspired to write the song after visiting the new Chinese-Canadian museum in 2021 with my brother and seeing how much the Chinatown community was struggling."

A singer-songwriter and contemporary guzheng player, Erica grew up in Smithers, BC, and then lived in Vancouver from 2000 to 2014 before moving to her current home in Whitehorse, Yukon. In 2022, she released The Sargasso Season, an original collection of songs written on the traditional 21-stringed Chinese zither. The album, which received national media recognition, is an exploration of sounds and possibilities on the versatile instrument, and seeks out a place for the guzheng in Canadian folk-roots music. Erica writes about transoceanic journeys, Chinese-Canadian identity across generations, and finding connection in new landscapes. Her highly anticipated new EP Paper Wealth draws on similar themes, but with much deeper knowledge of the traditional instrument.

'The Garden' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit ericamah.com.

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