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!
Title: DJ Colette Location: Reflections Cabaret, Halifax Link out: Click here Date: 2008-12-31
DJ Colette is super cute with a heartwarming demeanor. For the past ten years she’s been with the SuperJane troupe with fellow Chicagoan DJs Dayhota, Lady D. and Heather. On top of that, her independent tracks have been incredibly successful. Her album Hypnotized became the most downloaded dance album on iTunes (US). Other songs like “What Will She Do for Love” became Billboard’s No. 1 Dance Club Play Single as well as being licensed to The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack. You can check out her latest stuff when she plays Reflections Cabaret in Halifax on New Years Eve.
Title: Gypsophilia Location: The Marquee Club, Halifax Link out: Click here Date: 2008-11-28
Gypsophillia are among the best jazz bands in Halifax. They take their inspiration from legendary French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Their music is a combination of hot jazz and European gypsy music, adding their own modern edge and fusing elements of tango, klezmer, funk, and classical in their original music. So if you’re in the Halifax area, check out their live performance at The Marquee Club in Hells Kichen, Halifax, on November 28th.
Gypsophilia was initially inspired by the music of French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, but soon found its own distinctive sound through unique original compositions and the melding of the band members’ varied backgrounds and influences, including tango, klezmer, funk, classical music, hard bop and post bop.
Brian Borcherdt’s newest album, Coyotes, was recorded by his long time friend (and one of my all-time personal favourite artist) Jose Contreras of the super mega awesome band By Divine Right. While on a break from Holy Fuck’s tour schedule Brian performed a handful of recently written songs in Jose’s living room. Little else was added to the guitar and vocal, maintaining the songs’ intimate and delicate atmosphere. The album’s textural paper sleeve features original artwork by James Mejia, perfectly complimenting the haunting tone of these seven songs.
Part of Dove’s Campaign for beauty. Song: “The Lucky One” by Nick Zubeck
An inimitable stalwart of the Toronto music scene, Nick Zubeck is a versatile and accomplished guitarist, producer, and multi-intrumentalist whose talents have led him to play with Great Lake Swimmers (briefly, on bass), The Lavender Gloom (now defunct), Polmo Polpo (guitar and lap steel), and Barzin (currently). As a songwriter, he has released two albums under his own name (2002’s “A Meek Spectacle” and 2003’s “Hiding Out and Laying Low”), both of which were marked by his unequaled use of lush delicately-layered textures and unconventional song structures.
Garage soul rock ‘n roll from Toronto, Canada, Modernboys Moderngirls are a band to watch in the months to come. Led by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Akira Alemany, the six member band’s blistering live sets are quickly earning the group a reputation as one of the most exciting up-and-coming rock ‘n roll acts to emerge from the Toronto music scene.
Modernboys Moderngirls proved their rock ‘n’ roll mettle after standout performances at the Canadian Music Week and North by Northeast (NXNE) festivals. The band was also booked to play Edgefest 2008 (in support of such acts as Stone Temple Pilots and Sam Roberts Band)—all before even releasing an album.
The Just Barelys, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, began in 2000 as a recording project by Stephen Kelly. For the self titled debut, Kelly invited a host of collaborators to contribute to individual recorded songs. The resulting record was well received, reaching ..20 on Chartattack and ..23 on the Earshot (Campus/Community Radio) national charts. In 2005 Stephen paired with Eleanor King and recorded a new EP titled Top. The songs are simple yet musically peculiar. King plays drums, keyboards, and sings harmonies while Kelly plays banjo, guitars, accordion, air-organ, and a variety of original/home-made acoustic and electronic musical instruments.
Upcoming shows:
29 Aug 2008 22:00 The Seahorse w/ Memories Attack and Bloodsport Halifax, NS
Formed in 2002, and containing members of such noteworthy Maritime bands as Next To Red, Empty Handed and Not Funny Anymore, Hospital Grade’s sound is the sound of possibilities; the sound of plastic chairs being thrown out of the way to make room for movement; the bright, shining sound of the warm hull of a sturdy vessel breaking murky, restless seawater beneath a foggy Bay of Fundy sky. Under it all is a nervous twitch that could change everything in a heartbeat things could soar, plummet, or fall apart completely.
Hospital Grade released their first CD, Written Axe To Trigger, in 2004 on Kansas City, MO’s URININE Records, and followed it with a U.S. Tour. They just released their sophomore album, Secrets & Sawdust, on BBQ Records.
There was a time when music was a craft performed by artisans who rode the rails and played from the heart. A time when music was central to communities, bringing people together and inspiring change. If you have ever longed to go back to such a time, then Revival Dear will ride straight into your heart.
Revival Dear has found a way to pay homage to the past and herald in the future at the same time. Imagine a marriage between classic rock legends The Band and Fleetwood Mac, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of their sound. Yet Revival Dear’s music is fresh, totally alive, and very relevant in today’s music scene.
Olivier Jarda was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1984 to Haitian immigrants. He began playing piano when he was five, and picked up a few more instruments before settling on the guitar.
After high school, Olivier moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend Saint Mary’s University. There he co-hosted the student open mic for a few years with Jon Mckiel (of Jon Mckiel fame) and Matt Whiston, playing mostly originals but covering artists including Elliott Smith, Neil Young, Bob Marley, Feist, Wyclef, Ryan Adams, and Wilco.
Throughout university, the band released the first LP in 2006, Thirteen Telephone Towers. The band toured the country from coast to coast and has gone as far north as Whitehorse, Yukon, and can be heard on Canadian radio from time to time.
