New music: Aqua Alta

Posted on June 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

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Last night, Jenn Grant posted a picture of a strange looking circular object made of smaller pretty blue, green and yellow circles. She also said this:

Very shortly, I will be sharing with you a link to a site that will play you a few songs in a stream like fashion. a new project that I have been a part of all year- and can’t wait to show you! Music coming soon! And it looks something like this.

While she hasn’t actually posted more information yet today, there is a link to Aqua Alta’s new website. It features the artwork Grant shared along with three new songs. The band consists of Grant, Charles Austin and Graeme Campbell. The new songs sound more experimental (think synths and lots or reverb) than Grant’s regular day gig.

Check out the new songs at Aqua Alta’s website.

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Introducing Mixtape Magazine

Posted on June 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Mixtape MNS Newsletter

You may have noticed that the frequency of posts and content on the Broken Speaker has gone down the past few months. A big part of that is because of a new project that I’ve been working on.

I’ve taken on the role of editor-in-chief of Mixtape Magazine, a new  print quarterly Canadian music publication. Today we officially launch our awesome new website and have a freebie for everybody. We’ve put together a Summer Festival Guide that you can read online and download. It’s 16 pages of beautiful photography and all the tips you need for our favourite music festivals across Canada this summer. We chatted with July Talk, our must-see artist on the festival circuit this year. The Darcys let us know what it’s like to be part of the Arts&Crafts scene, a label that celebrates its 10 year anniversary this weekend in Toronto. Jenn Grant spills some festival wisdom. I’m really excited about the guide and I’m confident Broken Speaker readers will like it too.

We have a full-length magazine coming out in September and we have a crowdfunder page that explains how you can help us start up this publication and keep it going. We’ve got some cool prizes to giveaway. And a subscription to a new Canadian music magazine is a pretty sweet thing to have.

If you’re into social media, check out our Facebook page, Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo. The works.

And just incase you were wondering, the Broken Speaker will keep on chugging along. We’ll still let you know about cool shows happening in Halifax, have concert reviews, photos and the like.

Enjoy Mixtape!

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Hayden makes his Halifax return

Posted on June 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

Toronto songwriter touring new album

I’m going to be honest here. I wasn’t even ten years old when Hayden Desser released his first album Everything I Long For in 1995. The following is a recap of a rare East Coast Hayden show. The last time Hayden was through these parts, he was opening for Feist in November of 2008. 

hayden

Saturday definitely felt like the first day of Summer in Halifax. The calendar had just flipped to June and it was a perfectly hot day. It seemed a little too perfect walking into the Marquee while Hayden opened the set with “Almost Everything”, a song that name-drops Halifax.

“I hate to say it, but I forgot, probably because I tour unoftenly – is that a word? – I forget how good East Coast audiences are,” Desser said at the end of the night while performing the encore.

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Long Weekends release new EP

Posted on May 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Tell It To My Heart from Halifax garage rockers long weekends

I guess it’s fitting Long Weekends released a new EP yesterday after the Victoria Day long weekend. According to the Halifax trio’s bandcamp, the songs on Tell It To My Heart were recorded over the Victoria Day Weekend with Gabe Beale (Bloodhouse) at Labour Day Picnic Studios. The band combines the sounds of garage rock with the energy of punk with the catchiness of pop. Noel MacDonald’s vocals and guitar create a distorted mess on “First Responders” as the song’s tempo and energy speeds along like a train headed off the tracks. And yes, the vocals are cranked up a notch on this release. On “No Problems”, it’s easy to picture the strings on Devin Peck’s bass guitar being pulled and plunked. Adam Hartling adds the final layers of drums and clashing cymbals that carries the raw power of the band.

Tell It To My Heart is available for free/pay-what-you want on bandcamp.

 

Long Weekends Bandcamp
Long Weekends Facebook

 

 

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OBEY preview: Ketamines

Posted on May 17, 2013 | Comments Off

ketamines

Even if you’ve never listened to Ketamines, chances are you’ve at least read some things that band member Paul K Lawton has written on his “Slagging Off” tumblr. The blog provides brutally honest, and in the eyes of many, controversial commentary on the Canadian music industry.

That’s just to put a little context about who is in the band. They are a Toronto via Lethbridge, Alberta band who put out releases with trippy cool space-art-barf collages as album covers and a sound that fuses together the rawness of garage rock and the free spirit of psychedelic rock.

The band just kicked off a 7” single series that will see four singles released two months apart on different labels (Pleasence, Leaning Trees, Hosehead and Mammoth Cave). Put the artwork for the four singles together and you get one of those art-barf collages done by Montreal artist Felix Morel.

The first 7” in the single, All of the Colours of Your Heart features the title track and “Turning You On”. The title track is built around a jazzy, bouncy organ riff and fuzzy vocals with lyrics that are just begging to be sung along with. The b-side “Turning You On” is another short ditty built around a classic punk sounding guitar riff and sparse percussion and lyrics including the horribly wonderfully morbid line “I guess it’s just the death of me turning you on”.

Catch Ketamines in Halifax at OBEY Convention on June 6 at the Khyber along with Mac Demarco, Yellow Teeth and Heaven For Real.

Ketamines Bandcamp
Ketamines Facebook

 

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A few words with Mike Campbell

Posted on May 7, 2013 | Comments Off

The Carleton music bar & grill celebrates five years

Aidan Knight

I’m not sure if calling the Carleton Halifax’s best-kept music secret would be accurate considering the great acts they consistently bring in to play. But maybe it still feels like a secret. It has been around for five years as of this month, a big milestone for a music venue in this city, and something it is celebrating with a plethora of big shows this month.

“We’ve been here for five years but I’d almost guarantee that 90 per cent of the city of Halifax have never heard of us, have no idea we’re here or what we do. Getting the word out in this day and age is very difficult,” says Mike Campbell, one of the owners of the Carleton Music Bar & Grill.

Things haven’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows for music venues and bars in downtown Halifax the past few years. Just look at past Halifax Pop Explosion venues from last year and the year before and you’ll see a handful of venues that have since shut down.

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LISTEN: Phédre – Zenith

Posted on May 3, 2013 | Comments Off

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The eccentric Toronto band Phédre have a new album Golden Age coming out sometime soon. While  there is no release date announced, the band has said  the album they recorded this winter in Berlin will be out later this year.

They’re also working on an ongoing record, ETERNA. “Zenith”, the first track from that album,  is available now as a free download.

From the band’s website:

In addition to GOLDEN AGE, Phèdre is making an ongoing record: ETERNA.
We be droppin’ tracks as they come. Here’s the 1st one!

Phédre consists of a couple members of Hooded Fang, who have a new album Gravez coming out May 28.

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A few words with David Myles

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 8 Comments

The unlikely story of MYles and classified

Myles and Classified

David Myles and Classified perform Inner Ninja at the East Coast Music Awards gala. Photo Jonathan Briggins

Unlikely is a word that keeps popping up in conversations about David Myles. He recently won a JUNO for rap recording of the year for “Inner Ninja”, a song he co-wrote with rapper Classified. An unlikely award because if you’ve ever seen David Myles, you know he is a bean-pole, a skinny dude who likes to wear suits and play folk music. His image and sound is something out of 1950s doo-wop. But here is Myles, a JUNO winner for a rap song.

“It’s not exactly how I would have planned it when I started playing music nine year ago…But I’ll take it. I’m pumped,” says the hip-hop loving David Myles over the phone from Toronto.

Myles has always hoped to have a diverse career that touches on different genres and features collaborations. Through this collaboration with Classified and an award-winning song, he has done just that.

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LISTEN: Braids – Amends

Posted on April 30, 2013 | Comments Off

New 12″ provides preview of sophomore album

Braids-1-credit-AustinTufts-TamVu

It’s been a couple years since BRAIDS took the internet and music world by storm with the dreamy art rock music of Native Speaker.

This weekend, the Montreal via Calgary band released the track “Amends”. The track along with “In Kind” are two singles from the bands sophomore album due later this year. Both tracks along with b-sides “Near Enough” and “A Dawn in Me” are on a 12″ single out June 11 via Flemish Eye.

photo: Austin Tutts and Tam Vu

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LISTEN: WTCHS – Mr. Hands

Posted on April 26, 2013 | Comments Off

Loads of energy from Hamilton band

WTCHS

WTCHS are a Hamilton, Ontario band with an appreciation for multiple formats of recordings. They’ve released a digital single, cassette,  split 7″ and a compilation 7″. Each recording has been made with the intent of being played on whatever format it is released in.

Their latest release, the track “Mr. Hands” on the WTCHS/Thoughts On Air split 7″ still works in digital format, but after a listen you can really tell it is truly meant to be blasted through a stereo on vinyl. An instant sonic attack of guitars as soon as the needle hits the first groove. The vocals are buried behind the sounds of clashing cymbals in an unapologetic and battling manner. By the mid-way point of the song, layers of noise are re-arranged to work in a more conventional manner where individual guitar riffs, drums and vocals work together. A noisey experiment that seems unplanned and unorganized but turns out to be a deliberate act.

The 7″ is available on white vinyl via Perdu. Limited to 300 copies.

The song is also streamable and downloadable……for now.

 

 

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