Friday is finally here. We have made it to the end of our week devoted to many new and recent single releases from artists across Canada. And with this final Snappy Singles installment for the month (we’ve tripled our regular volume to clear out that inbox), we have for you a great selection of tunes to kick-start your weekend. So, go ahead, take a well-deserved fifteen minutes, and enjoy yet another hand-picked selection of new music.
Mike Edel, “Building A Mystery”
Yes, yes, so we’re kind of back in Alberta again, but it’s truly hard to ignore new music from Linden native (and now Seattle, WA resident) Mike Edel, whose latest release marks his second track from a series of four cover versions gradually being shared. Fresh off the heels of his recent cover of Coldplay’s “Don’t Panic,” Mike switches gear completely to bring us his interpretation of “Building A Mystery,” a track written originally by popular Canadian artist Sarah McLachlan. “Although I wasn’t a die-hard Sarah McLachlan fan, whenever I heard the ethereal and emotional qualities of Building A Mystery, it always intrigued me,” he offers. “For me it’s usually the emotional and sonic qualities of a song that catch me first and the rest of it later.” “You live in a church / Where you sleep with voodoo dolls / And you won’t give up the search / For the ghosts in the halls / You wear sandals in the snow / And a smile that won’t wash away / Can you look out the window / Without your shadow getting in the way?” “After getting deep into the lyrics I enjoy that it’s calling out the fake and the shallow,” Mike adds. “I like doing that in my songs, so that one goes out to all the influencers.”
Jocelyne Baribeau, “Bottes de cowboy”
What about music from Manitoba, I hear you ask? Where’s the country music, you add? Better yet, how about a toe-tapping, barn-burning country tune from Winnipeg, and preferably in French? Check, check, and definitely check on all of these requests. Winnipeg Francophone artist Jocelyne Baribeau, the 2015 French-Speaking Artist of the Year award winner at the Western Canadian Music Awards, recently dropped her latest EP, “Portraits, Vol. 1,” with “Bottes de cowboy” (cowboy boots) a lively, harmonica-laced country number guaranteed to get dancers quickly onto the floor. “J’suis b’en dans mes bottes de cowboy / One step two step three step four / J’suis b’en dans mes bottes de cowboy / Surtout quand les tiennes sont ‘toe-to-toe’ / J’suis b’en dans mes bottes de cowboy / Joue-moi du boogie-woogie jusqa’au ‘last call’.” Written by Justin Lacroix, and with THAT harmonica added courtesy of Gérald Laroche, Baribeau brings this ode to Boulet Boots to life – Boulet being the earliest brand of western footwear produced in Canada (Quebec, 1933) – with her fun-filled, yet powerful vocals, and accompanied by some top-notch musicianship from her supporting cast.
Amos The Kid, “You Make It So Easy”
Once you’ve made a stop in Winnipeg, it’s hard to leave – given the quality of the independent music scene in the city. Alt-indie artist Amos The Kid is the performing moniker of Amos Nadlersmith, who shares this latest laid-back, feel-good single to welcome the arrival of the sunshine back into our lives. Produced, engineered and mixed by Adam Fuhr (Yes We Mystic) at House of Wonders Studio in Winnipeg, and mastered by Cam Leoppky (The Weakerthans), “You Make It So Easy” definitely qualifies as a feel-good song – something we all need to hear right now – and is a tune that looks at the personal life-moments Amos found comfort in amidst a very different summer. “Something that kept me going was daily walks, trying to find the sun,” he recalls. “This particular song takes place at a little park near my home. Myself and the person I love would walk there and lay in the grass and talk it out, laughing and drinking cheap wine.” The single is the first teaser of new music from Amos the Kid, whose upcoming sophomore EP, “No More New Ideas” shall be released later this spring.
Peter Katz, “Calm Within The Storm”
We head back east to wind up our week of new singles, landing in the city of Montreal, QC to share this latest release from popular bilingual performing artist, Peter Katz. Produced by Robbie Grunwald (who adds piano, with strings from Drew Jurecka), Katz wrote this single as a result of a surprising connection made to a new book: “There’s a calm within the storm / That we’ve been living in / There’s a lot we’re gonna learn / Through every hard thing.” “Through a shared connection, I had the huge honour of receiving an advanced copy of renowned resilience researcher Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe’s new book, which is a deeply powerful [read] about finding our path to everyday resiliency,” Peter shares. “To my great shock, right in the pages of the book, she talks about writing part of the book to my music. When she reached out with this pretty unique idea of having a theme song for her book launch, I jumped at the chance. The themes of the book provided a rich emotional canvas to work from.” “There’s a bond within our bones / That’s always been / My mother tried in so many ways / Telling it to me every day / Until I learned on my own to say / I am ok.”
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
