TRANSCANADARADIO is proud to celebrate Canada’s Current Cultural artists and their locations! Traveling across Canada’s vast surface and finding the best of the under and above-ground artists, and where to check them out in your favorite Canadian city! Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip!
Summertime is always a great chance to appreciate Canada’s cultural scene, especially with the many festivals happening all over the country. Thankfully, Exclaim magazine has put together a useful musical festival guide so you know about all the wonderful music taking place around you. You can sort festivals by month or by region, which is quite helpful!
Speaking of music festivals, make sure to check out all our coverage of this summer’s festivals via our festival category.
Tympanic is a rock band based in Ottawa, who over the last year and a half have burst into the local music scene, frequenting local venues and playing and placing in competitions such as Emergenza (2nd place Ottawa area), Supernova (First place Ottawa Area), The Bear’s Rock Resolution (finalists), and The Live 88.5 Big Money Shot. Drawing from diverse influences such as Dave Matthews Band, Jamiroquai, The Chili Peppers, Ben Harper, and many more, Tympanic’s members come together to create music that has solid, driving rhythm, and captivating melodies.
Tympanic is drummer Carlos Constantino (formerly of My Tiny Sofa), Sax player Charity Corbett, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Troy Lajambe, bassist Murray Matheson, and newly added lead guitar Dylan Shields (formerly of Kris Ward and the Downtown Swingers). Each member of the band brings his or her own history, musical influences, and culture to the song writing process. You can find out more about each member in the band section.
A writer and label owner, versatile musician and producer, Emm Gryner has captured the hearts of wayward souls with songs that are filled with dark and haunting hues behind their subtle shine.
This is true of Emm’s newest release, “The Summer of High Hopes”. Released earlier in the year in Ireland, where Emm broke through in 2005 with an unlikely collection of critically-acclaimed Irish covers (”Songs of Love and Death”), the new album of originals has already garnered wide praise.
Confederation Park was the home to legendary Herbie Hancock with his Grammy awarded Album “River: The Joni Letters”. The lyrics from the album “River” were written by Canadian artist Joni Mitchell. Herbie Hancock graced the stage with two fantastic vocalists, Sonya Kitchell and Amy Keys. Sonya Kitchell’s sound is a cross between Norah Jones, Ella Fitzgerald & Joni Mitchell. While Amy Keys a sound not unlike Tina Turner and Christina Aguilera.
There was definitely no lack of genius musical talent last night! Herbie Hancock was accompanied by Dave Holland on Bass, Chris Potter on Saxophone, Vinnie Colaiuta on Percussion and Lionel Loueke on Guitar.
Currently Theology 3 is working towards the Late Summer/Fall 08 release of the new album Airplane Over One Way Streets. This long running, award nominated show features the mixing of DJ Serious and DJ Fase (both of whom have played with TCR favourite Abdominal) as well as hosting by Theology 3 and Planet Pea.
Toronto emcee Theology 3 burst onto the Canadian Hip hop landscape with his first 12″ release, It’s Ovah distributed by Arlington Ave. Entertainment. Having climbed the independent vinyl charts in Toronto and Montreal respectively, the 2000 release gained critical acclaim in Peace and Pound magazine while propelling Theology 3 into soundtrack work (Concrete Wave on OLN), TV appearances (U8tv.com, Much on Demand) and a host of successful showcases in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo.
As we wrap up our NXNE coverage, we wanted to give you one last chance to grasp a taste of what it was like to be in Toronto for one sweaty week of music. Check out the best images we took of NXNE (ignore the poor composition and low resolution; we’re very DIY).
That’s right, folks, we’ll be there! And we hope you will be too! The Ottawa International Jazz Festival is the National Capital Region’s premier music event. Entering its twenty-eighth year of consecutive programming and operation, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival is the second longest continuous- running jazz festival in Canada, and boasts the biggest loyal audience of any event in eastern Ontario! It is known to have presented some of the most dynamic jazz artists on the scene today from the traditional to the avant-garde.
So be there or be square, ya dig? All the hep cats will be there, man. Watch for us and be sure to say hi!
We got the chance to see Royal Wood perform at a BBQ hosted by Six Shooter Records during NXNE. I had seen him previously as he opened for my favourite Canadian songstress Sarah Slean in May and he quickly found a place in my heart. There is something to be said for an opening act moving an entire audience to tears with a song he wrote about the death of a friend’s grandparents. He had all of us singing along. Putty in his hands.
On Jan 30th 2007, Royal Wood and Dead Daisy Records/Outside Music unleashed A Good Enough Day to rave reviews. Carefully writing, performing and producing the effort, Royal decided to have a few guest musicians sit in, including well-known Toronto musicians Hawksley Workman, Kurt Swinghammer, Harmony Trowbridge and Kevin Fox.
Toronto based band Tokyo Police Club have made their cover of The Rentals’ “Friends Of P” available to stream and download at friendsofp.org. The song was previously only available on the bonus disc to the U.K. version of Elephant Shell, but the band have teamed up with the Lupus Foundation Of America to give more people a chance to hear it. All money raised from donations made on the site will go to lupus research. The first 50 people who donate $15 or more will receive a free “Friends Of P” tote bag.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body attacks and destroys its own tissue and cells. It has no cure, can be fatal, and can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver, skin, lungs, brain and other body parts.
