Archive for the 'Featured' Category

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Abdominal in profile: a lesson in vocal diversity

Published on May 28, 2008 in DJ Music, Featured and Live Music. 0 Comments Tags: Abdominal, Abs & Fase, Andy Bernstein, Cut Chemist, DJ Fase, DJ Serious, Do Right Music, Echo Songwriting Prize, Elizabeth Shepherd, Escape From The Pigeon Hole, hip-hop, Jazz Cafe, Jurassic 5, Scott C, The Supermarket, Toronto, Young Einstein.

Alright friends, let’s be honest with each other here. Just in case it somehow wasn’t painfully obvious, here’s a big secret from me to you: my knowledge of hip-hop? Sorely, sorely lacking. That being said, today’s profile is of my newest favourite hip hop artist: Abdominal and he’s… awesome! A text from TCR editor to myself stating “Abdominal. Good artist. Canadian?” was enough to get me very curious about this guy. Abdominal? I thought. Yep – Abdominal. When I spoke to the man himself, he had this to say:

‘Abdominal’ came about ‘cuz years ago I was doing 1 of my 1st shows & I lifted my shirt up to wipe the sweat from my face…a random girl in the crowd yelled out, “nice abs!”, & my friends started jokingly calling me Abs afterwards. Kinda just stuck from there.

Abdominal (Andy Bernstein) grew up in Toronto, Ontario where he formed his first rap crew with DJ Serious and Scott C. called Rushholme and right away they started recording tracks. Continue reading ‘Abdominal in profile: a lesson in vocal diversity’

Layah Jane in profile: A resonance all her own

Published on May 26, 2008 in Awards, Featured, Festivals and Live Music. 1 Comment Tags: Clarendon, Folk, Healey's, hip-hop, House Concert, Jazz, Joni Mitchell, Layah Jane, Lethbridge, Moonshine Cafe, New Music West, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Council of Folk Festivals Conference, Ontario Independent Music Award, Ottawa Folk Festival, Peterborough, Reggae, Samba, Soul, The Slice Bar and Grill, The Supermarket, Toronto City Roots Festival, Toronto Independent Music Awards, Toronto Indie Music Week, Trip-Hop.

Singer-songwriter Layah Jane is a hearty young musician with a mission. With soulful vocals and a poetic, articulate tongue, Layah’s sound recalls Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones and Ani Difranco, with a resonance all her own.
Continue reading ‘Layah Jane in profile: A resonance all her own’

Julie Ann Bertram in profile: Finding her place in the world

Published on May 21, 2008 in Featured, Festivals and Live Music. 0 Comments Tags: Graffiti's Bar, Julie Ann Bertram, Little Montreal, Sudbury, The John Lennon Songwriting Competition, Toronto, Toronto Independent Music Awards, Vancouver.

Julie Ann Bertram is a very talented indie folk musician from Toronto, Ontario. But to do her justice, I can’t peg her down to any one location really — this woman is everywhere! She’s really made a life based around artistry, taking in every beautiful outcome along the way. At a young age she left university (where she was taking theatre studies), packed her bags and moved to Vancouver where she began a monumental journey. Armed with a tent and a guitar, she took off hitchhiking along the West Coast crossing into the U.S., Mexico and back again. Though many days were tough and nearly unbearable, alone in strange woods and stranger cities, she really honed an artistry – melding her crafts of writing, music and performance art into busking on street corners Continue reading ‘Julie Ann Bertram in profile: Finding her place in the world’

Taylor McFerrin in profile: Keeping the buzz on high

Published on May 16, 2008 in DJ Music, Featured, Live Music and Producers. 0 Comments Tags: Beat-Box, Benji B, brooklyn, footwork, Footwork Bar, Gilles Peterson, hip-hop, Lance Baptiste, McFerrin, medeski, Mercury Lounge, Mr. V, Ottawa, Soul, synthesizer, Taylor, Toronto, TransCanada Radio, Vibes.

Taylor McFerrin is redefining the one-man show. Combining his skills as a producer and performer, Taylor is making music heads around the world take notice as he seamlessly builds songs from scratch with his ambitious solo project. Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, samples, vocals and beatboxing are meshed together in his Brooklyn bedroom studio as Taylor builds from his roots in ‘60s soul to his vision of future hip-hop.

Thriving on a solid fan base through MySpace and the online hip-hop community, Taylor has gained considerable popularity and captivated audiences at some of the Continue reading ‘Taylor McFerrin in profile: Keeping the buzz on high’

Mark Berube in profile: Breaking boundaries

Published on May 6, 2008 in Featured, Live Music and Spoken Word. 0 Comments Tags: Black Dog, Centre St. Ambroise, Divan Orange, Edmonton, Hulbert's, Jesson Moen, Kelowna, Leaky Heaven Circus, Lethbridge, Marie Michelle, Mark Berube, Mercury Lounge, Montreal, Nelson, Ottawa, Pacific Contact Showcase, Patrick Dugas, Rancho Relaxo, The Fugitives, The Minstrel Cafe, The Patriotic Few, The Royal, The Slice Bar and Grill, Toronto, Vancouver, West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg.

Mark Berube is an artist that has proven to be very popular among our readers time after time! Just in case you missed him the first time around, I’ve re-posted his profile so that you have the chance to check him out once again. And believe me, it’s absolutely worth it!

Mark Berube (and The Patriotic Few, based in Montreal) are an eclectic group of musicians. All powerhouses in their own domains, they are Jesson Moen on bass and mandolin, Patrick Dugas on drums and percussion, and Marie Michelle on cello and voice. Mark was a Peacedriven Songwriting Award Honourable Mention winner for 2006. His latest album, “What The River Gave The Boat”, has received critical acclaim across North America. The song/poem ” Barber Shop” was part of the CBC documentary “Battle of The Bag”.

He is also a proud member of The Fugitives. Their first album “In Streetlight Communion” was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award in 2007 as best album in the “Breaking Boundaries” category. He also composes music for dance and theater. Most recently, he worked with Leaky Heaven Circus, in Vancouver, BC. He received a Jessie Richardson Reward Nomination for the music he composed and performed in the project “Salome”.

Mark has toured Canada, the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Austria.

Here’s a list of his upcoming shows. If you are even remotely close to any of these venues, I suggest you check him out live. TransCanadaRadio will be at the May 9th show to show our support for this outstanding artist.

Sample or buy his albums right now at CD Baby!

Mercury Lounge, Ottawa, May 9th, with Tim’s Myth
Rancho Relaxo, Toronto, May 10th, Two Way Monologues Compilation CD Release
Centre St Ambroise, Montreal, May 15th with Coco Love Alcorn
Divan Orange, Montreal, May 29th with The Unsettlers and L’embuscade.

Haitras in profile: Mind-bender

Published on April 24, 2008 in Awards, DJ Music, Featured, Labels and Producers. 0 Comments Tags: , Blow Media, Carole Pope, Danny Tenaglia, DJ Dan, Electronic, Hatiras, Hatiras Presents, Hatrax, Junior Jack, Juno Awards, Kylie Minogue, Liquid Adrenaline, Loleatta Holloway, Socan Award, The Chemical Brothers.

Hatiras clearly loves to DJ. I would say he’s definitely one of the planet’s top electronic music DJs & producers. He’s produced loads of mind-bending and butt-wiggling music — over 100 releases! He’s won two Juno Awards, a Socan Award for most radio play in Canada and multiple nominations. He owns and operates two record labels (Hatrax and Blow Media ). This man has sold over half million records worldwide. Continue reading ‘Haitras in profile: Mind-bender’

TransCanada Radio Podcast: Episode 1

Published on April 21, 2008 in Featured and Podcast. 0 Comments

That’s right, soon TCR will have our very own podcast! Now, I know you follow us on a daily basis, eagerly anticipating our next post, but now you can look forward to downloading and listening to us! We’ll be doing a range of things from interviews with up-and-coming Canadian artists to the latest news and reviews!
Excited? I know I am!

Here’s a sneak preview, for your listening pleasure!

Laughro - Lokl Yoklz (aka Trevor Walker and Lance Baptiste)
Rok It Rite – Rise Ashen and Trevor Walker
Don’t Lie – Rise Ashen feat. Maya Ethier

Rainer Trüby in profile: Not just about making obscure German music awesome anymore!

Published on April 10, 2008 in DJ Music and Featured. 0 Comments Tags: , Acid-Jazz, Beanfield, Bobby Matos, Bossanova, Brazilian, Carl Craig, Christian Prommer, Compost Records, Drum and Bass, Frederic Galliano, Gilles Peterson, Glucklich, House, Jazz, Krautrock, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Latin, LTJ Bukem, Minus 8, Mr.Gone, Patrick Forge, Peace Orchestra, Peter Kruder, Rainer Truby, Roland Appel, Root Down, Techno, The Amalgamation Of Soundz.

Rainer Trüby is a man who appreciates the finer things in life. And I’m not talking prima donna DJ behaviour here either. This is proved by the fact that despite being awarded ‘Best DJ’ in his native Germany, and named by Gilles Peterson as one of his favourite DJs, when I meet him he’s in Bristol to play a tiny and packed venue of 150 people. He’s also Compost Records‘ world travelling A+R man, one third of the Truby Trio (in cahoots with Fauna Flash), and curator of the wonderful ‘Glucklich’ compilations. Starting in 1994 Rainer’s ‘Glucklich’ series of compilations have become a must have for all those seeking links between the old and new of Brazilian influenced sounds, and the selections have moved with Rainer’s own taste. Continue reading ‘Rainer Trüby in profile: Not just about making obscure German music awesome anymore!’

Amália Leandro in profile: Not just another pretty face

Published on April 1, 2008 in DJ Music and Featured. 0 Comments Tags: Amalia Leandro, Buck 15, Crobar, Delano, Jon Secada, Karu & Y, Mansion, Miami, Nikki Beach, Space, Toronto, Victor Calderone.

Toronto born Amália has been a Miami based DJ for 6 1/2 years, playing at Karu & Y, Space, Crobar, Mansion, Buck 15, Nikki Beach, Amika, Envy, Delano, Nerve, Blue, Cafeteria, Pearl, Touch, as well as other events. The Recording Academy’s 2005 holiday party @ Shine and Winter Music Conference March 2005 Amália played the opening set for NYC’s legendary Junior Vasquez, for Michael Tronn’s “Anthem” at Mansion. She was an “Anthem” resident, and in 2004 she played along with Peter Rauhofer (also at Crobar NYC for an Armani Exchange event), and in 2003 with Victor Calderone both for Michael Tronn’s “Anthem” party, “Little” Louis Vega for the MTV Latino Awards 2003 after party, (both events were at Crobar, Miami). As well as Sandra Collins at Nerve, Miami Beach. Continue reading ‘Amália Leandro in profile: Not just another pretty face’

Danny Torrence in profile: Seamless sets, full throttle beats

Published on April 1, 2008 in DJ Music and Featured. 0 Comments Tags: Century Room, Dance, Danny Torrence, DAvid Guetta, David Morales, Deep Dish, deep-house, DJ Vibe, Fly, Hector Romero, House, House Night Club, Paul Oakenfold, Peter Rauhofer, Sonic, Stereo, Techno, Terminal, Tiesto, Tribal, Unity, Victor Calderone.

While keeping in step with his own brand of dark and sexy House, Montreal DJ Danny Torrence believes that all good records should be mixed regardless of the genre. It is this instilled belief that allows Danny to uplift, inspire and rock the dance floor like few others. Danny’s artistic vision is exceedingly broad, touching on many different styles including deep house, tribal and techno. All of these elements combined are what makes Danny’s fans describe him as “powerful and eclectic”.

In 2004, Danny Torrence became a resident at the internationally acclaimed after hours Stereo Nightclub in Montreal, leading up to his first extended set to the delight of his fans and newcomers alike. The party was “Dirty 30”, a monumental occasion for Danny as it created much deserved recognition from his fans and peers alike. As one of three local Montreal DJ’s to behold a Stereo Residency, Danny plays alongside greats such as David Morales, Victor Calderone, Hector Romero and DJ Vibe, just to name a few. Stereo is also the stomping ground for his own night: Climaxxx, a smashing bi-monthly where Danny takes his fans on an all night journey.

Continue reading ‘Danny Torrence in profile: Seamless sets, full throttle beats’