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.
Tag Archive for 'Halifax'Page 2 of 3
“Space Monkey” By Glory Glory Man United
“Soaring melodies, intricate riffs, skull-crushing drums.” “An assault of oddly precise, off-kilter grooves bathed in swirling, psychedelic guitars, undeniable hooks and delivered with intensity and conviction.” This is how Glory Glory Man United describe themselves.
More on Glory Glory Man United including their upcoming concert dates
The Halifax-based quartets’ first full-length album The Coast Is Clear exceeds all expectations. The disc is a superb cinematic pop experiment that tugs at your heartstrings upon first listen.
Starting out in Vancouver, the band began work on five tracks with producer Warne Livesey (Midnight Oil, 54-40), who took the band under his British wing for a month-long recording adventure. On their return to Halifax the band enlisted Laurence Currie (Sloan, Ghandharvas) to help bring the record towards the finish line. But, when it came time to sculpt the album into a satisfying wall of sound, In-Flight Safety opted for the hands on approach.
Taking its name from a religious tract, The Burning Hell has been slithering around in the muck in one form or another since the dawn of the millennium. Fronted by the moderately agoraphobic songwriter and occasional history teacher Mathias Kom on electric ukulele, The Burning Hell currently features between one and twelve people, depending on the night.
The variable lineup promises a very different show every time: sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes rock, sometimes roll. Always folk, never anti. Quirky? Maybe. Cute? Never.
The latest Burning Hell album, ‘Happy Birthday’, celebrates the beauty of age, the joys of decay, the possibility of dating after death, and the inevitable repetition of mistakes. Combining happy little melodies and depressing Old World fatalism, the music of The Burning Hell is sure to make you smile and want to give up.
(and if you want a good laugh, check out these boys doing an impromptu cover of Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’)
Laura Peek & The Winning Hearts - Stand Right There
Laura Peek and the Winning Hearts is a three-piece project featuring cat-lady-in-training Peek on piano and vocals, and moustachioed hunks Dave and Joel on drums and bass. They play quirky, literate, melancholy pop songs and wear matching outfits. They would like to bake you cookies and pet your kitties.
In April 2007, Just Friends Records released From the Photographs. This astounding LP is Laura Peek’s first full-length album and it also marks pop icon Mike O’Neill’s (The Inbreds) first venture into producing. The album features melodic pop songs with dark undertones, using a “less is more” production approach that focuses on Peek’s unique voice and songwriting. From the Photographs was engineered by Charles Austin (The Super Friendz) and features a small, tight-knit cast of musicians, including both O’Neill and Austin.
More on Laura Peek & The Winning Hearts including upcoming concert dates
The music industry can be a tough game. Finding success in that game is something few artists can claim. Never is this more prominent than in Canada’s Hp Hop Industry. Halifax based artist Classified has defied the odds and has found success where others could only try. Through his own label, Halflife Records, Classified has dropped hit after hit, appealing to everyone from the casual to the most underground of fans. And after ten-plus years in the game, this critically acclaimed producer/mc is showing no signs of slowing down.
More on Halifax’s Classified including upcoming concert dates
You might remember our shining recommendation of this pretty lady back in June after we saw her at NXNE.
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!
Arriving fully formed, Brent Randall & His Pinecones released the expertly crafted debut EP, Quite Precisely, in late 2004 (Charting 34 on Earshot). The seven songs on the album showed a style of song and depth in writing rarely seen since Brill Building era pop. Randall quickly became a enigmatic yet renowned character throughout the East Coast. Along with His Pinecones, made up of Laura Peek, David Ewenson, Joel Goguen, Brian O’Reilly and Jess Lewis, he played several legendary shows in the years that followed, previewing new songs from an ever forthcoming LP that never seemed to materialize.
More on Brent Randall & His Pinecones including upcoming concert dates
The video for Jesse Dangerously’s “Righteous Badass (Fester’s 45s Mix)”. Directed by Heather Harkins, featuring appearances by Wordburglar, Tacktishon, EMC, Hermit, Spesh K, Dexter Doolittle, Y Rush, Kool Krys, Uncle Fester, Heartz, Ambition, Demikz, DJ Anderoc, Darla Kitty, Rachelle Goguen, Rezvillain, Beat Mason, Dridden.
Jesse Dangerously has been making rap for more than half of his 28 years. He has released five solo albums, and toured Canada and the US. A devoted fan of 1988 to 1994 “golden era” hip hop, Dangerously’s influences include the lilting hyperspeed of Chip Fu; the pop culture whirlwind of Das Efx; the indigence and unabashed political overtones of Public Enemy; the intricate rhyme schemes of Lord Finesse; and the cocky arrogance of teenaged LL Cool J or Fresh Prince. After carving out a place for himself in the Halifax hip hop scene, Jesse has recently relocated to Edmonton.
You can pick up Jesse Dangerously’s albums here, and I suggest you do - he’s got fantastic style, great lyrics, and some really killer beats (check out the video above for yourself!)
Halifax rhyme machine SJ The Wordburglar is fast becoming known nationally and abroad as one of the most original, clever and entertaining hip hop MCs in the game. Incorporating topics as varied as life itself, Wordburgler breezes over banging beats and soulful medleys with an emphasis on wordplay, humor and good times. A seasoned crowd-pleaser and mic-wrecker, Wordburglar has spent the last year touring and promoting his latest album, Burglaritis, to much success. Dubbed a unique hybrid of Beastie Boys, Fresh Prince & Buck 65, Wordburglar was listed as Earshot’s 3 most played Hip Hop Artist on Canadian college radio for 2006. He went on to win a CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award for Best Lyrics and was nominated for a 2007 Canadian Music Week Indie Award for Favourite Urban Artist and as one of URB Magazine’s NEXT 1000 in 2007 and NEXT 100 in 2008. Wordburglar was also chosen as one of Stealth Magazine’s (Australia’s 1 Rap Magazine) “STEALTH SEVEN”.
03 Aug 2008 20:00 The Black Dog Bayfield, Ontario
14 Aug 2008 20:00 TBA Halifax, Nova Scotia
11 Sep 2008 20:00 The Boat Toronto, Ontario
