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 who are rooted in, Soul, Funk, Reggae, Beats, House, Breaks and all that afro-Jazz… and where to check them out in your favorite Canadian city! Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip!
She’s back with more concert dates and a new album! Monsters is set to be released on October 16th at Ottawa’s NAC!
Be sure to get out and show your support for fiery red heads and accordion music at one of the following shows!
13 Sep 2008 21:00 London Music Club London, Ontario
14 Sep 2008 20:00 Gladstone Toronto, Ontario
25 Sep 2008 20:00 with Meredith Grant, Carden Street Café (CD release tour) Guelph, Ontario
4 Oct 2008 15:00 Hair of the Dog @ Black Dog Edmonton, Alberta
16 Oct 2008 20:00 release of ’Monsters’ @ NAC! Ottawa, Ontario
18 Oct 2008 20:00 w/Jordi Rosen & Raylene Campbell @ St-Ambroise Montreal, Quebec
21 Oct 2008 19:00 Bywords Fifth Annual John Newlove Award Reading 2008 Ottawa, Ontario
Wintermitts are Lise Monique, David Thomas Manzl, Shane McMillan, Swann Barrat and Trevor Dunnett, a force of unique musical talent you cannot help but love. Wintermitts have a bilingual set list and a full length album “Cascadia Fault”. The recording took place in the wet Vancouver Winter of 06/07. They recorded all the music on this lovely little compact disc huddled in the dry warmth of Shane’s living room, the Lise Monique Manor, the Sullivan family basement and producer Christian Chaumont’s bedroom.
Taking inspiration from the music of the legendary French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Halifax’s Gypsophilia combines hot jazz and European gypsy music, adding their own modern edge and fusing elements of tango, klezmer, funk, and classical in their original music. Admired by listening and dancing audiences young and old, the group’s passionate, exciting and sophisticated sound has quickly catapulted them to unprecedented jazz popularity in Nova Scotia. Not simply a Gypsy-jazz cover band, Gypsophilia’s unique voice comes from the fusion of the members’ diverse musical and artistic backgrounds, as well as from their innovative and eclectic original repertoire. Initially formed for an appearance at the 2004 TD Canada Trust Atlantic Jazz Festival, the band was impressed with the immediate and passionate audience response.
The Halifax-bred musician plays within the borders of folk-tinged yet she isn’t afraid to infuse her work with experimentation, incorporating vocal loops and electronic flourishes like her musical inspirations Bjork and Radiohead.
Recorded with Joydrop’s Thomas Rider Payne over an intensely busy three weeks in Toronto, Rebekah Higgs is the tip of the iceberg of what this talented songwriter has in store for a long career ahead. Her material is steeped in melody, showcasing her often witty, perceptive tales, while the layered production provides a complexity that invites listeners to come back again for repeat listens. This is music to knit impossibly long scarves to.
Keep an eye on TransCanada Radio for more upcoming concert dates because this is a musician you have to see!
Meaghan Smith’s first official full-length album, Take Me Dancing, is on its way out the door and straight into your CD player. Complete with string quartets, mellotron samples, a full piece horn section, a guest appearance made by the fabulously musical DJ Kid Koala, and topped with Meaghan’s smooth, soaring vocals, this new album is sure to make you want to cut some serious rug or grab your sweet heart for a good old cheek to cheek.
To make this album, I had to let myself relax. After speaking to my friend Scott Trivers about this horrible writer’s block I had for about a year, he gave me the best advice I’ve received. He told me to go home and write the worst songs I possibly could. So I did! I got over my fears of writing bad songs and instantly the dam was broken so to speak. These new songs are what flowed out of me in the following weeks.
Haven’t heard of Jon McKiel yet? Perhaps its because he’s spent the last year hauled up in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a dim lit house, armed with a guitar and a cigarette, writing beautifully affecting indie-pop songs. Joined by his bandmates Josh Kogon (bass), Cory LeBlanc (drums), Mike D’Eon (guitar) and Colin Crowell (synth and trumpet), Jon improves on the tradition of fellow Canadian bands like The Stills and Great Lake Swimmers by combining deep pop sensibilities with rich descriptive lyrics and haunting melodies. On songs like “Poor Heart” and “Get Caught,” Jon McKiel delivers the genuineness that has attracted many to fellow singer/songwriters like Andrew Bird, Stephen Malkmus, and Ryan Adams.
Mark Berube is an artist that has proven to be very popular among our readers time after time so I’ve listed upcoming concert dates so that you can be sure to check him out in your area soon!
