Now that summer is nearing its end, the pace of new music releases is ramping back up. Here are a few noteworthy examples that have hit our inbox recently.
Lydia Persaud, “Honey Child”
We were fortunate to hear this spectacular song live at the Sawdust City Music Festival a few weeks ago, and we’re pleased to share it here. The song is a wonderful ode to self-care and self-esteem, and it’s also terrific to hear the evolution in Lydia’s songwriting skills.
“When I was struggling with loving the person that I saw in the mirror I wrote this tune to myself, and now it’s for you;” shares the Toronto songstress. Teaming up with her debut EP “Low Light” producer, Robbie Grunwald (Good Lovelies, Jill Barber), Lydia’s vocals shine while her band comprised of Robbie (bass/keys), Champagne James Robertson (guitar), Joshua Van Tassel (drums/percussion), Anh Phung (flute), and Joanna Mohammed-Gonzalez + Claire Doyle (vocals) deliver the perfect musical vibes to carry us through the end of summer.
Visit Lydia Persaud’s website.
[spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/2IOuRXL4b0uATIQbiYgJ2b ]
Kalle Mattson, “Once”
Kalle Mattson is sharing the opening cut off his upcoming album, “Youth,” due out September 7. From the double tracked acoustic guitars and vocals, to referencing his heroes and the innocence lost in your mid-20s, “Once” “encapsulates a lot of the sounds and themes of the album,” says Mattson. “I tracked most of it at my family’s cottage in St. Joseph Island just outside of Sault Ste. Marie in the middle of winter. As hilarious and cliched as it sounds, you can literally hear the fireplace burning on a bunch of the tracks. I’m proud of this one, hope you dig it.”
Visit Kalle Mattson’s website.
Major Love, “Toughen Up”
Major Love, the band of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Colleen Brown and members of Scenic Route To Alaska, Jesse And The Dandelions, Elijah Abrams, and Aaron Goldstein, are sharing the new video for “Toughen Up.”
Filmed in Toronto and Kingston with director/videographer Laura-Lynn Petrick, who also directed the video for “So Good,” the video has “a texture and visibility to those internal monologues that narrate our existence and motivate some of our crazier moments,” says Brown.
Kaia Kater, “New Colossus”
Known for her prowess as a songwriter and tradition bearer who performs with “the skill of a folk-circuit veteran” (Rolling Stone), Grenadian-Canadian artist Kaia Kater took a decidedly different direction for her new album, “Grenades,” out October 26 in partnership with acronym Records in Canada and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings world wide. What started out as a search to discover the roots of her identity became a physical and emotional exploration of history, in particular her paternal ancestry, and has led to bold new heights of imagination and creative expression.
Photo credits: Colin Medley (Kalle Mattson), Raez Argulla (Kaia Kater)
