Toronto Musician Sandra Bouza Releases New Single + Video THE CITY

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1ST SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM
A SOUND IN THE DARK

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Toronto musician Sandra Bouza shares her new single and video ‘The City’ out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.

The first single from Sandra’s new album A Sound In The Dark (out in September), ‘The City’ shows us a nostalgic look at youthful ignorance.

“This is a song about the naïve exuberance of youth,” says Sandra. “Trying to bypass your innocence because you think you’ve got it all figured out. I really felt a connection to Neil Young’s ‘Birds’ when I wrote this song.” 

Known as musical shapeshifter, playing R&B, Soul, Rock, and everything in between, Sandra has a lot to offer through her music and life experience. Having spent a large part of her life in Spain, as well as travelling to far corners of the world, Sandra’s worldly vision is evident in her songwriting. Sandra lets her stories breathe in songs that are deeply personal.

For the moment, Sandra’s travels have ended. She’s home in Toronto playing regularly. And the fact that she was the winner of the 2019 Toronto Blues Society Talent Search confirmed her conviction to stay with a music career. In January 2020, she was asked to represent Toronto at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, where she and her band made it into the semi-finals out of 240 international artists. 

Her upcoming LP follows the release of her acclaimed album ‘Falling Away From Me’, which was released in February 2020. Though well-received, the album, produced by Hill Kourkoutis, was sidelined as the pandemic was declared and all live music ground to a halt. She continued pushing the album, but without live performance, everything, including her momentum, was at a standstill. 

But then, fate intervened, and Sandra was introduced to producer Ross Hayes Citrullo while filming a livestream concert from the Empire Theatre in Belleville, ON. The two struck up an immediate friendship, connecting over their mutual love of the Laurel Canyon era, and artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, CSN&Y, The Byrds. They also connected over old school production techniques, like recording an album live off the floor, as opposed to more modern layering of tracks. 

Shortly after this meeting, the two started working together on a new album. This album; ‘A Sound in the Dark’ represents a return for Sandra to her folk/classic rock roots, while still maintaining the soulful sound that she has built upon in her career. 

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

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Alberta Musician Rebecca Lappa Releases New EP + YOUR ONE Video

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3rd SINGLE 'YOUR ONE' HERE

Edmonton singer-songwriter Rebecca Lappa unveils her glimmering new EP Tales of a Taurus, featuring the new single ‘Your One’.

Opening the EP, ‘Your One’ sets the stage for Rebecca’s bold new indie-pop direction with its multitude of beautifully layered harmonies and captivating chorus. Be sure to watch the epically frozen video here - a striking visual of an icy landscape set against the swathe of understated synths.

"'Your One' is a love song written about holding up a mirror so that your partner can see what you truly mean to them," says Rebecca. "This song came together really fast with co-writer Dana Blayone. During the production in the studio we had fun adding brassy synths to the song to really capture the feeling of the chorus lyric 'I don’t want to be your one in a million, I just want to be your one'”

Recent single ‘Blue Lips’ uses ice-cold imagery in a sprightly pop song about unrequited love - fun and rich in sound, and the much darker ‘Lolita’ takes inspiration from the 1955 novel of the same name. Here Rebecca dares to explore the forbidden relationship in the book, one of lust and desire in a sinister situation. And don’t miss the atmospheric standout ‘Forecast’. A very tender and sweet song, with expertly used weather analogies, Rebecca’s vocals shine on top of soaring guitars shimmering in reverb. 

For all the gorgeous layered soundscapes Rebecca creates in her new found sound, she still manages a nod to her previous folkier releases, as demonstrated on ‘Witch’s Way’, staying true to her acoustic singer-songwriter roots and her accomplished skills as a storyteller. In contrast to the rest of the EP it opens with a gently plucked guitar line, building to a rootsy stomp that feels contemporary and classic at the same time. The EP’s journey ends with ‘Brick by Brick’, a modern country sounding song with subtle slide guitar and several vocal lines floating in and out.

Says Rebecca: "Just like people change over time, my choice of how I express myself as an artist has changed over time. I am currently at a point in my life where the most raw and authentic version of myself feels best expressed through pop and alternative music. With this EP, I am continuing my journey of creative expression. My focus is making music and stories that matter to me and hopefully it will impact others."

Produced by Louise Burns and recorded between The Audio Department in Edmonton and 604 Studios in Vancouver, Tales of a Taurus was brought to life with Burns’ multi-layered previous experience, both as a band member in Lillix and as a solo performer in her own right. Not only did she carry out production and programming, Burns also contributed bass, synthesisers, and backing vocals, with drums played by Alex Glassford and Flavio Cirillo, additional guitar played by Max Cunningham and mixed by Chris Perry. Of the collaboration between herself and Louise, Rebecca proudly comments that "She captured the intricate and intimate quality of my voice and my full range of expression, which shines through on these tracks. Louise had a lot of impact on the instrumentation because she was really tapped into the influences of the artists that I was inspired by for this EP."

Born in San Francisco but raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Rebecca has been singing since childhood and plays multiple instruments. After watching Taylor Swift open for Brad Paisley, she decided, “That’s like me. I want to do that.” Rebecca subsequently went on to be nominated five times for the Canadian Folk Music Awards, winning Young Performer of the Year in 2015. In 2019, Rebecca was nominated for three titles at the Edmonton Music Awards, taking home the win for Singer-Songwriter Recording of the Year. Among her previous releases are 2016’s Reckless Heart, 2017’s Spirit EP and 2019’s Unfiltered EP. 

Tales of a Taurus is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit rebeccalappa.com.

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BC Musician Jeff Andrew Releases New Single THE LAST WILD WEREWOLF

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1st SINGLE FROM BLOOD MOON
OUT ON JUNE 9th

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BC indie folk musician Jeff Andrew returns with his eclectic and ominous new single ‘The Last Wild Werewolf’ out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here. 

Jeff is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and fiddler with an eye for the unusual. His songs are like a cracked-mirror reflection of the world we know - a parallel reality told through ghost stories, underground travel tales and weird historical fiction. 

On his new album Blood Moon, set for release on June 9th, he explores this dream-like landscape through an electrified patchwork of folk, rock and post-punk, with echoes of old-time Americana and 80s horror movie soundtracks. The first single ’The Last Wild Werewolf’ leans heavily into the folk noir theme, with Jeff playing a Stroh Violin (aka a horn violin) to help set the spooky tone.

“This song is about an alternate world, where werewolves used to be common, but have now been hunted nearly to extinction," says Jeff. "The narrator is one of the last ones, and they’re kept locked up and studied as a zoological abomination. One full moon night they hear a wild werewolf howling out on the plains (there aren’t supposed to be any left), and decide it’s time to break free and go find her. It’s kind of a love story, and kind of a fantasy about breaking the chains of a world that doesn’t understand you. It’s also about our relationship to nature, and how disconnected we are from our place in it. What if the animals we hunted were also human?”

Recorded in Cumberland, BC with acclaimed engineer Corwin Fox, Blood Moon mixes keyboard synths, orchestral instruments and tight vocal arrangements with Jeff’s story-driven songwriting. The result is a new, harder-edged sound, inspired by genre-crossing artists like Neko Case, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. Fantasy and survival are the major themes, as werewolf love songs lead into post-apocalyptic visions of a future we may yet inhabit.  

Since 2009, Jeff has released 3 albums of original songs, to airplay and critical acclaim across North America and western Europe. He has been a featured performer at over a dozen festivals and has toured Canada multiple times, playing hundreds of shows between Vancouver Island, Newfoundland and the Yukon. His live shows range from solo acoustic performances to loud, effects-driven electric guitar and foot-stomping fiddle tunes, all spun together with his folksinger’s baritone voice.  

'The Last Wild Werewolf' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit jeffandrew.ca.

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Vancouver Musician Blake Havard Releases New Single YOU MAKE IT RIGHT

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blakehavard · 'Make it Right' Blake Havard

Vancouver musician Blake Havard unveils his infectious new single 'You Make It Right' out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here. 

‘You Make it Right’ is an optimistic pop rock track about unchanging love in a world gone wrong. The song comes complete with an all-star backing band courtesy of two veterans of Bryan Adams’ band (Pat Steward on drums, Norm Fisher on bass) with a liberal dose of Hammond organ and keyboards courtesy of the legendary John Webster. Produced by Blake, the song was mixed and engineered by Hayden Watson (Bryan Adams’ Grammy nominated So Happy it Hurts).

"‘You Make it Right’ is about unconditional love,” says Blake. "As I think about my crazy journey in this world, I have been lucky enough to have some great friends and family that have been there when I needed them. Some are still around and some have passed on. They have all left an indelible mark on my life, and I carry their love with me in my heart."

Blake Havard has been a part of the fibre of the Vancouver music scene for a number of years. Hailing from Alberta, Blake heard about the music scene breaking out of Vancouver back in the 90s. Nobody really remembers when Blake rolled into town, but in very short order, he was writing, producing, and recording some of the finest indie rock in Vancouver. And he still is. Blake is currently working on a new album set for release later this year. 

'You Make It Right' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more information, please visit blakehavard.com.

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Luke Elliot Releases New Dark + Twisted Murder Ballad WILLIAM TELL

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3rd SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM OUT MAY 19th
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Oslo-based American singer-songwriter Luke Elliot gets macabre on his new single 'William Tell', a dark and twisted murder ballad out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here. 

'William Tell' is the 3rd single from Luke's upcoming album Let Em All Talk, due to be released via Icons Creating Evil Art on May 19th. The track is based on William Burroughs shooting his 2nd wife, Joan Vollmer, in Mexico City in 1951.

"I was always fascinated with William Burroughs," says Luke. "This song is about him killing his wife by placing a glass of whiskey on her head, trying to reenact the famous stunt. Burroughs was hiding out in Mexico, fleeing drug charges. After her death, he went back to the states and his career really began with Junky."

Let Em All Talk follows the release of Luke's evocative second LP The Big Wind (2020) – a boldly textured and instantly immersive album with a film noirish touch that is simultaneously sleek and modern at the eye of the storm. Rolling Stone France picked The Big Wind as its Album Of The Month upon release and referred to Luke as an “undeniable talent combined with a truly stunning voice.” MOJO Magazine in the UK called him “...a master of accessible, twisted, gothic Americana.” 

Musically, an eclectic mix of influences pumps through Luke’s veins that range from John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Dylan to The Cramps, Gun Club and Mink DeVille, to films such as Badlands, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers. And his interest in film hasn’t stayed with music, it has also taken him to the big screen. It turns out the multi-talented artist has acting skills as well. He performed his song ‘All On Board’ in the Norwegian TV-series hit Exit, Norway’s most streamed series ever, and he played against Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) in crime series Wisting.

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

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