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!
Title: The VooDooMonx Location: Brutopia, Montreal Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-20
How about the dude on keyboard in this video? I guarantee his fingers were bleeding and reduced to bloody stumps by the end of the set. The VooDooMonx blend funk and rock into something that’s soul oriented but funk driven. The band has been playing together for 12 years now and the three have worked really hard on making a name for themselves. They’ve opened for a variety of shows and have played for crowds ranging from 100 to 15,000. Featured on the French Much Music, Musique Plus, as well as CKMF 94.3 in Montreal, their hard work has really paid off. Enjoy the soulful singing of Martin Joly, the passionate drumming of Leo Paul-Hus and the bass of Maxime Tremblay at Brutopia. The’ll be playing there on the 20th of December so check them out and try one of Brutopia’s many cheap and great tasting house brews.
Title: Moses Mayes Location: Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-27
Moses Mayes has a funk sound that reminds me a little of 70s mixed with a martini lounge vibe. Since 1999, Mayes has been touring with one of the best jazz/funk live performances out there. Mayes has shared the stage with legends Herbie Hancock and James Brown and his CDs have sold thousands. His most recent stuff combines jazz, house and pop into something you can dance to regardless of the nightclub you’re in. With an album that has won the 2007 WCMA for Best Instrumental, Moses is sure to continue pumping out great music. Check him out in Winnipeg on December 27th at the Pyramid Cabaret.
Title: vitaminsforyou Location: The Drake, Toronto Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-06
Bryce Kushnier’s vitaminsforyou have been hailed as the early originators of the lo-fi bedroom electronics scene. After having received critical acclaim for their albums I Am Sorry For Ever and For Always, as well as The Legend of Bird’s Hill, vitaminsforyou went on to tour with big labels around the world. Their tours have brought them through North and South America, as well as throughout Europe. They’ve played with The Stills, The Notwist, Ghislain Poirier, Venetian Snares and more. As I’m sure you’re super impressed right now, you should take a listen for yourself. A free track was posted to the vitaminsforyou MySpace page and we’re hosting it here. Or, you could check them out at The Drake on December 6th in Toronto.
elsiane was formed when singer/songwriter Elsieanne Caplette and drummer Stephane Sotto partnered to merge their styles into something that blends classical, jazz, rock and electronic. Stephane has a rhythmic, soft beat that nicely compliments Elsieanne’s idiosyncratic voice. Together, they make music that sounds like the soundtrack for having sex in space on your way to heaven. If you’re down, I think they’re playing either the 13th or the 20th at the Merucry Lounge in Ottawa. I’ll be sure to update.
Title: Amir Javasoul Location: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-18
Amir Javasoul is originally from Iran and moved to Montreal to start DJ’ing. It was then that he started Dj’ing around the St. Lawrence region of Canada. During this phase, Amir had one of those magical rave-like epiphanies. During Derrick Carter’s now legendary “Atomic” nights in Ottawa, where he says it became obvious that he would be a DJ for life.
“It’s funny; I still remember the exact moment when I had a ‘moment’. 5:30 in the morning, Derrick stopped everything, turned the lights off, silence, and then, Lil louis’ I called you. Two hours of mid tempo, obscure old Chicago acid, disco-not-disco followed. Inspired, is an understatement. I always knew music would be an integral part of my life. But I found out on that dance floor that it will now BECOME my life.”
In 2001, Amir moved to Paris where he currently resides. In 2008, he’s coming back to Canada and the town that convinced him to follow his dream, Ottawa. He’ll be playing the Mercury Lounge on Thursday, December 18th.
Title: DJ Vivie-Ann Location: Business, Montreal Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-31
I don’t think the music in the above video is her work but it does give you a good impression of what it’s like to be at DJ Vivie-Ann’s sets. The 24 yr old DJ has residencies around the world including Palladium in Acapulco, Hulala in Rome Mokai in Miami, and last year in Ibiza at Penelope. A six-year student of conservatory piano and a graduate of McGill University’s computer science program, she’s obviously not made for a cubicle world and has taken her talents to the nightclub scene. With her first release in 2006, she’s still going strong playing shows back-and-forth between Canada, Brazil and Morocco among many others. Check her out in Montreal on New Years Eve at Business.
Title: K-OS Location: Calgary, Alberta Link out: Click here Date: 2008-11-28
K-OS was raised a Jehovah’s Witness in Toronto. Not that it has anything to do with his music but maybe it does. Are Jehovah’s Witnesses into rap? Maybe they like trance. In any case, K-OS has had a whole bunch of jams and an incredibly long career. His mainstream superstardom has lasted a whopping 6 years. If you’re looking to feel nostalgic about old albums or interested in what he’s doing these days, check him out in Calgary on the 28th of November.
Title: Mother Mother Location: Richard’s On Richards, Vancouver, BC Link out: Click here Date: 2008-11-28
The Vancouver-based band Mother Mother have just put out their sophomore album, O MY HEART, out on Last Gang Records. This is the same record label that has signed such bands as Metric, DFA 1979 and The New Pornographers. The band provides an artistic and original expression of modern pop music that contains rich vocal harmony, deeply poetic lyricism, and dynamic instrumentation. You can hear all the hits from their old albums as well as tracks you may have never heard before at their CD release party at Richard’s On Richards in Vancouver BC on November 28th.
Title: Femi Kuti Location: Montreal, Toronto Link out: Click here Start Date: 2009-01-14 End Date: 2009-01-15
Femi Kuti accompanied his father’s musicians until 1986 when he went solo and began his own band. For the next 20 years, Femi developed an afrobeat with soul-jazz nuances that is entirely his own. He sang with Motown back in the early 90’s and then took a radical shift of musical stylings in 2001 when he joined forces with rappers Mos Def and Common for the album “Fight to Win.” Femi also has his own nightclub, the Shrine, located in Lagos, Nigeria. The Shrine is a political hot potato as well as a great place to hear cutting-edge African beats. You can check it all out in Femi’s DVD “Live at the Shrine” or hear him when he comes to Canada in January of 2009.
Title: Ben Wilson Location: Tranzac, Toronto Link out: Click here Date: 2008-11-29
Ben Wilson is from Ottawa but he’s done a lot of traveling in his day. His album Staying Places, is dedicated to his travels. Written, recorded, produced and mixed by Wilson in his own basement studio, the artist demonstrates a motivated and independent attitude. Take the time to hear about his unique perspective on the places he’s been both physically and mentally. He’ll be playing the following venues:
11-24 – Peterborough, Ontario – The Spill
11-26 – London, Ontario – The Alex P. Keaton
11-27 – Kingston, Ontario – BarNone
11-29 – Toronto, Ontario – Tranzac
