Vancouver Musician Sarah Jickling Releases Powerful New Single SAINT

NEW ALBUM THE FAMILY CURSE OUT ON NOVEMBER 8th

WATCH/SHARE 'SAINT' VIDEO HERE

Vancouver musician, performer, and mental health advocate Sarah Jickling is pleased to announce the release of 'Saint', the first single from her upcoming sophomore album The Family Curse, which is set for release on November 8th. 'Saint' was officially released on Friday, June 28th, following the video premiere on Aesthetic Magazine.

On The Family Curse, Sarah explores mental illness within families and intergenerational trauma, and documents her childhood experiences and revelations about her family’s history of bipolar disorder. The decision to write about such difficult subject matter was not an easy one for Sarah to make, and the vulnerability she feels in sharing her story is conveyed through her performance of aerial arts in the video for ’Saint’.

"When I perform aerial arts in this video, I showcase the strength that I've gained in the past year; but as a relative beginner, I feel very vulnerable," says Sarah. "This is also how I feel about releasing this song about my childhood. There's some strength in sharing secrets, but there's also vulnerability. I wanted to reflect the hesitation and fear I felt about dropping this single with literal drops on the silks.”

In her music, Sarah Jickling marries shimmering pop melodies to sharp, candid lyrics about her personal struggles with bipolar disorder. As a touring performer in BC high schools with the BC Schizophrenia Society’s Reach Out Psychosis program she uses music and humour as a tool to deliver practical, destigmatizing education about mental illness. In her newest creative practice, pole dancing and aerial silks, Sarah has turned a coping mechanism into a venue for conversations about shame and body positivity.

Sarah's many artistic projects all orbit around the main project of survival - whether in conversation, performance, writing, or dance her voice rings through loud and clear as a fierce force for empathy and change. Vancouver reporter Paul McLellan (The Indie Mixtape) calls Jickling an “epic rock star and brilliant conversation starter for mental health.” Her first solo album, 2017’s When I Get Better, recorded her journey through bipolar recovery - not an unflinching, insipid inspiration-anthem, but a nuanced, smart, brutally honest account that embraces every flinch as part of the struggle. 

Sarah Jickling's new album The Family Curse will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes and other digital retailers and streaming services on November 8th. For more information and the most up to date tour listings, please visit: sarahsgoodbadluck.com

FOLLOW SARAH JICKLING:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

MEDIA TOOLS:
WATCH/SHARE Sarah Jickling's 'Saint' video HERE (via YouTube)
STREAM/SHARE Sarah Jickling - 'Saint' HERE (via SoundCloud)
DOWNLOAD high-res press photos + album art HERE (Photo Credit: Jordan Taylor Robbins)

 "Over the past couple of years the Lotsusland-raised singer-songwriter has proven herself one of the most interesting fixtures on the city’s music scene. Musically, Jickling traffics in a brand of pop that’s beautifully inspirational." - Mike Usinger, The Georgia Straight

The Producers Lounge presents: In Conversation with Sylvia Massy & Howard Redekopp @ The Warehouse Studio on July 6th

Saturday, July 6th
5:30 - 7:00pm

Limited Tickets Available to the Public via Eventbrite
CLICK HERE FOR TIX

The Producers Lounge is proud to present: In Conversation with Sylvia Massy & Howard Redekopp at Vancouver's Warehouse Studio on Saturday, July 6th. Join legendary US producer Sylvia Massy and Vancouver's own Grammy-nominated producer Howard Redekopp for an inspiring evening of conversation about music production and creativity, in front of a live audience.

Sylvia Massy is the unpredictable producer and engineer known for her work with Tool, Johnny Cash, Prince, Tom Petty, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but there’s a whole lot more to Sylvia than just music! Sylvia’s recorded some of the world’s biggest celebrities, and she is also a star herself. Unexpectedly appearing in the most unusual places, from caves and castles, to icebergs and submarines, doing the most unconventional recordings. She is a music producer by trade, but her style is so startling and ticklishly entertaining that she has millions of views, followers, and believers. 

Howard Redekopp is a Juno Award winning record producer, mixer, writer, musician and recording engineer, best known for his work with Tegan & Sara, Mother Mother and La Gusana Ciega. Howard's work has received two Grammy Award nominations and one Latin Grammy nomination. His work has played a significant role in the careers of Canadian favourites such as Mother Mother, The New Pornographers, Dear Rouge, Said the Whale, and Scenic Route To Alaska.

The evening will be moderated by the Creative Director of the Producers Lounge, Jane Aurora. The Producers Lounge is an innovative new initiative created for female and non-binary identifying music producers. 

Tickets to this special event are limited, and are on sale now for $35 plus booking fee via Eventbrite. Click HERE for tickets. Act now, as this is an exclusive opportunity to see Sylvia and Howard live with a small audience in one of Vancouver’s finest studios, and will sell out fast.

This event and the Producers Lounge are supported by Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia.
 

FOLLOW PRODUCER'S LOUNGE:
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Vancouver Musician Piper Cole Set To Release Debut EP on July 5th

FIRST SINGLE 'BONES' OUT NOW!

WATCH/SHARE 'BONES' VIDEO HERE

Grounded in the folk singer-songwriter tradition, Vancouver musician Piper Cole steps boldly forward into sun-soaked, pop-tinged landscapes with her debut EP release Wildish, set for release on July 5th. 

The EP's first single 'Bones' was officially released on Friday, June 7th on all digital service providers, after the video premiered at Aesthetic Magazine. Watch the video here. 

'Bones' accounts Piper Cole's personal journey towards striving for authentic self-expression amidst the internal limitations and barriers so intrinsic to being human. The compelling music video for 'Bones' was created in collaboration with local director Casey Kowalchuk and flamenco dancer, Michelle Harding.

"I am drawn to flamenco as an intensely expressive art that boldly confronts raw emotionality and uses it to create beautiful authentic art," says Cole. "I felt it was the perfect fit to visually represent ‘Bones’ as the song explores inner oppression and resistance and the fight to be heard and seen. The flamenco dancer translates emotions into movements and makes the powerful statement through percussive sounds to ‘claim your space’.”

Piper Cole's debut EP Wildish has a multi-dimensional dream-folk sound, produced by Cole herself with the assistance of co-producer Daniel Klenner. Cole has a background in sound design and production from both SFU Contemporary Arts and Berklee Music School and she chose to co-produce the album because she felt it was important to see the rise of more female producers in the music industry.

Combining traditional acoustic folk instruments with modern synths and sound design, Cole has created a work that beautifully tethers the breadth of her musical experience. The vocals are often layered, choral; Cole’s voice is controlled and elegant, but never restrained, characterized by high-pitched coloratura that embodies a baroque pop surreality reminiscent of Kate Bush. As the tracks progress, the vocals become focused and fierce, resounding through a forest of percussion, as Cole tells her story through music. 

"I work as a psychotherapist and my music is greatly influenced by the many people I have worked with on their journeys through pain, fear and disconnection and the striving to reach wholeness," says Cole. "I have struggled with perfectionism my whole life and it has painfully suppressed my creativity. When I turned 40, I was on a mission to get this album out after many years of dreaming about doing it. During the writing and producing of these songs I was met with a huge inner resistance, fear and lack of self-belief that felt crippling at times throughout the process. This album accounts my own personal struggle and transformation grappling with the veils of conditioning that cut me off from self-actualization and the spontaneity and sparkling creativity I had naturally as a child."

Piper Cole's debut EP Wildish will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes and other digital retailers and streaming services on July 5th. For more information and the most up to date tour listings, please visit: pipercolemusic.com

 
PIPER COLE | UPCOMING TOUR DATES
June 28 - Vancouver, BC - Trees Lounge
October 11 - Vancouver, BC - Deep Cove Coffee House

PIPER COLE - WILDISH | TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: JULY 5th, 2019 (Independent)
01.  Bones
02.  Caution Winds
03.  Paragon 
04.  Wildish
05.  Murmuration 

FOLLOW PIPER COLE:
Website | Apple Music | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
 

MEDIA TOOLS:
WATCH/SHARE Piper Cole's 'Bones' video HERE (via YouTube)
STREAM/SHARE Piper Cole - 'Bones' HERE (via SoundCloud)
DOWNLOAD bio, high-res press photos + album art HERE (Photo Credit: Jack Madeley)

Canadian Pop/Dance Recording Artist Dion Todd Releases New Single BE ALRIGHT

ALREADY #1 ON DANCE ALBUM CHART,
#2 ON DANCE SONG CHART - ITUNES CANADA

STREAM/SHARE Dion Todd ft. Maya - 'Be Alright' 

Following the success of his 2018 Top 50 Billboard hit 'Remedy for Insanity', Canadian pop/dance recording artist Dion Todd returns with his new single 'Be Alright'. The track was released yesterday on all digital platforms as a 7-song EP featuring remixes by some of the world's hottest DJs/producers: Dirty Disco, DJ Strobe, Lenny Fontana, Perry Twins, Guy Scheiman, and StoneBridge and Damien Hall. In just 24 hours, the EP has already hit #1 on the iTunes Canada dance album chart, #2 on the dance song chart, and is currently at #3 album sales for all genres combined!

Although it's just getting its official release this week, 'Be Alright'  has already been heating up the radio airwaves across Canada, including a premiere of the StoneBridge and Damien Hall remix on Sirius XM BPM on May 25th. A dance/pop gem with a breezy, laid back vibe, 'Be Alright', is ready to be your fave Song of the Summer for 2019. 

"At first glance, 'Be Alright' sounds like a typical love song, but it actually has a much deeper meaning," says Dion. "We wanted to really hit home with a message far beyond a couples relationship, or the ups and downs we've all experienced at some point with someone we love. The true message is actually much more powerful. It’s about overcoming our differences between race, religion, politics, skin colour, shape or size of a person, looking beyond the superficial of what's on the outside, and focusing more about what's on the inside. Something we’ve lost given the effects of social media. I'm excited for the release of the music video soon which I think really captures the essence of the message."

With its early success at radio, 'Be Alright' seems poised to follow in the footsteps of Dion’s previous single 'Remedy for Insanity' (released October 2018) which landed on the Billboard Top 50 Dance Club Chart and topped the iTunes charts in Canada, hitting #1 on the iTunes Top 200 dance album sales chart. The single also hit the iTunes Top 200 dance sales charts in several countries including  #10 in Belgium, #48 in the UK, #50 in France, #54 in the USA, and #56 in Germany.

Hit singles are nothing new to Dion Todd, who first gained success with hits including 'Maybe', 'Magic', and a 2005 remake of Corey Hart's megahit 'Never Surrender', all of which appeared on best-selling pop/dance compilation albums. After taking some time off to pursue an MBA at one of the world's most prestigious universities, MIT, Dion made his return to the music industry in 2017 with powerful dance ballad, 'Rocketship State of Mind', which was written and released to support a campaign to bring awareness to human trafficking and domestic abuse. 

Dion Todd's new single 'Be Alright' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes and other digital retailers and streaming services. For more information and the most up to date tour listings, please visit: diontodd.com
 

FOLLOW DION TODD:
Website | iTunes | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
 

MEDIA TOOLS:
STREAM/SHARE Dion Todd's latest single 'Be Alright' HERE
DOWNLOAD bio, high-res press photos + album art HERE (Photo Credit: Andrew Gleason)

Producer's Lounge For Female/Non-Binary Identifying Music Producers Launching in Vancouver

APPLICATIONS OPEN MAY 1st - MAY 15th

Do you identify as a female/non-binary music producer based in British Columbia? Would you like to participate in a skills development and peer learning program alongside local and world-class female/non-binary identifying music producers, engineers and beat-makers this summer?

If this sounds like you, sign up NOW to apply for an opportunity to attend events, workshops, and studio master-classes taking place in Vancouver this June, July and August.  Guest presenters include: Sylvia Massy (Johnny Cash, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Alysha Brilla, and Rae Spoon. Venues include: Monarch Studios, Blue Light Studios and Capsule Studios. More information will be available after the application intake. 

By applying and providing your information, you’ll help strengthen the network of professional and aspiring female/non-binary identifying music producers in BC.

To request an application package, please send an email to the Producer's Lounge HERE or sign up via the Producer's Lounge Facebook Page.

Applications are open May 1st – May 15th, 2019. All female/non-binary identifying music producers, engineers, beat-makers, and self-produced artists are welcome to apply.  LGBTQ2S and BIPOC artists are strongly encouraged to apply.  This initiative has been made possible by the generous support of Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia.

FOLLOW PRODUCER'S LOUNGE:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter