The Weeknd is Toronto R&B singer/songwriter Abel Tesfaye. He’s been making waves in the music scene since the release of his FREE digital mixtapes (House Of Balloons & Thursday), his remixes and it also doesn’t hurt that Canadian Rap sensation, Drake, has taken him under his wing. It’s that North North, that up top, that OVO and that XO.
I’m surprised I haven’t blogged about The Weeknd earlier, since I’ve been obsessed with his music for months now and his albums are FREE! You can download his mixtapes on his site (do it! You wont regret it). Also, check out his first official video for the single ‘The Knowing’ directed by Mikael Colombu. Watch it below:
This is an original song by yours truly (aka Chris Then Lee aka Winter Ghosts).
The song was written about a girl in New York and was literally written on a plane ride home (in fact, the cover art is a picture taken from aforementioned plane). It came to life and was recorded early 2011 in my friends apartment in Brantford, Ontario. Big thanks to my friend for adding additional guitar and bass, he definitely made the song what it is.
Feel free to comment, criticize, share and so on. Check it out below:
Supergroup, Mister Heavenly (made up of members of Man Man, Islands/The Unicorns & Modest Mouse) have finally released a video for their single ‘Bronx Sniper’. The band teamed up with ManWolf director Corey Adams. The pairing is a match made in heaven. It truly is a heavenly collaboration.
Check out the video below, and also, they have a new tour through North America and even Europe. Check out the dates here.
It’s Halloween weekend, so I thought it would be fitting to introduce a band that’s (literally) out of this world. Infinite I are an alternative, experimental, rock band from the Cold Dessert on Protus 6 (*cough* Toronto/Hamilton *end cough*).
Their story summed up (to the best of my ability): Miki Traczyk (vocalist. keyboard, guitar) found himself in another dimension, one believed to be the dimension before death. In this dimension he stumbled upon a crash site where he met Mercury (Bass, Vocals). The two decided to travel together where they then came across Scripter (Guitar, Other SFX) who’s job was it to take them to the afterlife. They refused, and for some reason, the three of them became companions. Wandering the desserts of Protus 6 they met The Jackal (Vocals, Guitar) and The Gateway (Percussion) somehow appeared. The crusade now exists within the infinite. Pretty straight forward, right?
Now, they’re giving away their new single ‘The White Snake? The Iguana’ teamed up with their track ‘Third Eye’ for free on the world wide web. The tracks are unique and out of this world. ‘The White Snake? The Iguana’ is experimental and has mellow, light, dream like sounds on top of a chopped up drum beat and ‘Third Eye’ is heavier with a marching bass line and catchy hooks.
In the real world, Infinite I comprise of a total of 38 artists that combine to create music, costumes, stories and artwork from Southern Ontario, Canada. They bring together the theatrical magic of early Bowie, with a rolling sound of modern alternative music acts (I personally get a Tool vibe from them). Download their tracks below and check them out if you’re interested.
Hamilton band, New Hands (formerly The Social Workers), have rebranded themselves and have released their first single under the new name. You can check out the single ‘This I’ve Heard’ and extra track ‘Through The Woodwork’ below or on their bandcamp. With their wide variety of inspiration, they’ve mixed genres to create a unique sound of their own, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Normally I write about local musicians, upcoming artists, album releases, awesome songs, video premiers, bands I’m into and so on. However, for this post I’m going to mix things up a bit, and write about myself! I’m debuting my musical project, Winter Ghosts! (not to be confused with the book The Winter Ghosts)
I’ve been writing songs since High School, however, I’ve never had the confidence to share my music other than to a select hand full of exes and close friends. With age, I’ve gained confidence, and better musical ability. Therefore, I’ve slowly started opening up and sharing my music. If you’re really good, you can find my music on select sites on the interwebz.
I have several songs that I’ve written by myself, or with the help of my close friend (mainly solo though) and I’ve been debating releasing a demo of some of my best tracks. Until then, I’ll slowly release my songs to the internet, see what kind of reaction it gets, and I’ll go from there.
Below is the track entitled “We’re Leaving” ,which was inspired by my recent obsession with The Weeknd. Please feel free to share, like, comment, ridicule and/or tell me what you think. Please be kind, this is my confidence on the line. I don’t want to be writing songs about online bullying and being depressed any time soon! Enjoy!
P.S. If you want a free download, or send hate mail, or collaborate, or whatever, feel free to e-mail me (my e-mail can be found in the ‘About A Boy’ tab)
On Sept 14th, 2011 Kirby released his sophomore album, ‘Into The Dark’. No, not the adorable, menacing pink Nintendo character, Kirby, but rather the Hamilton folk pop singer/songwriter Kirby ( aka John). I wonder how many bloggers and people have brought that “revelation” regarding the name Kirby up? Sorry, I had to join that statistic.
Back to the music! ‘Into The Dark’ is Kirby’s second official release, the EP “wrestles the ideas of hostile despair, anguish of being unable to change, the worthlessness of envy and the desire to be wanted so unconditionally. It’s a glimpse into the psyche of a man whose spent the last two years touring Canada, crossing the country numerous times.”
The album took over a year to record at various studios in Hamilton and Burlington and was mastered by Ben Somer in Toronto. The 7 tracks are filled with emotion driven, melody drenched, folk/pop songs that anyone with a beating heart can relate to.
For a limited time, you can listen and download the album for free on his bandcamp, or below:
The Rest are a experimental pop band from Hamilton, Ontario. Last year I had written a post about their 10 track album, SEESAW, being released at some point in 2011. It’s been 5 months, but after some delays, crashed hard drives, lost songs, and stress, the album is finally set for release for early 2012.
To hold fans over until then, they’ve released a double A-side, Always On My Mind/The Last Day, which is available for free on their Bandcamp. You can also listen to it below.
The first track ‘Always On My Mind’ catches your attention right off the bat with elegant vocals, strong yet dreamy guitars and electronic drum beats. Meanwhile ‘The Last Day’ is filled with Thom Yorke/Sigur Ros-esque falsetto, light guitar and marching drums that takes you into a dream like state.
If you like what you hear, you can pre-order SEESAW on special edition vinyl. Limited to 300 it comes on blue vinyl, with a hand written note about the songs and/or recording and includes a CD with cover painted by the band themselves. Check them out!
Hamilton Rockers, The Arkells, are releasing their sophmore album, Michigan Left, Oct 18th and they’ve already released two singles “Whistleblower” and now “Kiss Cam”.
You can now watch the video of “Kiss Cam” below, which is filled with familiar faces and places. It features footage from EdgeFest 2011, and guest appearances from members of Tokyo Police Club, The Balconies, San Sebastian, The Reason and more. The video was created by Nadia Tan and Maya Bankovic.
Hamilton, Ontario singer/songwriting, and friend of mine, Drew Smith is releasing his sophomore full length, The Secret Languages, in Fall of 2011. Drew Smith released his debut, Fossils, in 2007 and had gained some attention when his songs showed up in the movies The Stepfatherand The Roommate.
To gear up for the new release he’s released his single “LoveTeeth” and a animated video to go along with it. The video was created by South Korean animator Sohee Jeon and can be viewed below. If you like what you hear, you can download the single for free on his site.
