Canadian Music Blog
Getting the rock and snowball rolling for fans of Canadian recording artists
We are delighted that Valérie Carpentier is doing well. Following a retro debut album in 2010, she won The Voice, coached and mentored by Ariane Moffat and Daniel Bélanger. Her sophomore album, L’été des orages debuted at #4 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, struck gold, and was the 11th best-seller from a Canadian artist domestically through 2014. Valerie has released a music video (embedded below) for the title track which sees her striking some summery poses. She’s a marvellous singer, and her vintage pop style is fresh and fun. iTunes
Céline Dion has finally released a music video for one of the songs off her 2013 blockbuster album, Loved Me Back to Life that achieved quadruple platinum certification for sales in excess of 320,000 units. The MV is for her collaboration with American R&B star Ne Yo, “Incredible,” a Hot 100 charting single. The song was chosen by American television network NBC as the official anthem of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Definitely worth the wait (Céline has had much on her plate the past several months), check out the video below.
An impressive music video done in CGI has been created for “Hunting,” the second track off Toronto’s The Darcys’ JUNO-nominated album Warring. Inspired by Hitchcock’s Rear Window, the MV has a fully bandaged up invalid observing the goings on in various suites of the adjacent apartment building. According to the band, the project began with renderings from artists, and the world was gradually built mixing “projection mapping, matte paintings, live footage, and 3D modelling and lighting.” The video was directed by Grandson & Son.
Newmarket, Ontario’s Bordeen has a trio of siblings – Ryan (lead vocals, guitar), Brianna (keys, vocals), and Daniel (drums). The band released its self-titled, debut album last year. Musically, we hear a fresh, eclectic, sunshine wave mix. The band has launched a music video for “Broken Bones” that includes all the choice requisites: a sound stage the colour to which Great White North residents can most relate, band logo on the bass drum, male/female vocal combo, some on-screen lyrics, revved up synth for extra flair, video footage from a projector, and a furry thing that falls to the floor. iTunes
Hot off a much deserved JUNO win, cutting edge EDM powwow trio A Tribe Called Red has released its first music video for “Sisters” (featuring Northern Voice), the most popular track from album Nation II Nation. What we especially love about this is that its special effects, innovative flashy lights and magical colours combined with beautiful Aboriginal fashions and art makes First Nations culture very, very trendy. It’s an inspiration and gives Canada’s most precious people something to cheer about and hold their heads high. In fact, it’s something that all Canadians can celebrate and be proud of. Well done and bravo to these brilliant DJs! iTunes
Edmonton, the northern metropolis nestled in wild rose country, is beginning to shine brightly with fresh faces making and voicing some fabulous music. When founding father of the city’s music community, Wes Dakus, passed away last year, the city seemed to respond well, honouring his pioneering work by gathering its best talents and bolstering its glory. Bands and soloists on the rise include country singers Livy Jeanne and Brett Kissel, singer/songwriter Chloe Albert, roots band 100 Mile House, EDM specialist Sirch, rockers Rend, and pop singer Bryan Finlay. These artists all won at the recent Edmonton Music Awards. A compilation album of tunes from many of the winners and nominees has been released which you can check out here.
Nominated for two EMAs was 18 year-old wonder Rachel Woznow. You may recall her name if you are an avid watcher of YTV. That’s because in 2011 Rachel won the network’s Virtual Next Star Competition from more than 3,000 competitors from across Canada. In order to do so, she received over 150,000 votes and was flown out to Toronto to appear on the finale of the show. Rachel has attracted the attention of Matthew Tishler who has written for Disney, Tyson Kuteyi, JUNO winning producer for Nelly Furtado, and Universal Music’s Martin Acosta. Last year, she began releasing singles produced by Hands Up! Music (featured in Entertainment Weekly) and engineered by Chris Athens who has done work for Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, and Coldplay! Rachel Woznow’s powerful vocals and catchy pop music have drawn comparisons to Katy Perry and Demi Lovato.
Excitement continues to grow over lofty and precious Canadian sisters Catina and Angela (a.k.a. Cat & Ang) recording under the name HighDiamond. They have released a music video for their single “Broken” which features some splendid dance moves and their stunningly beautiful vocals. We particularly adore the vocal delivery on the line, “It’s the same thing all over again”. The MV has been aired on MuchMusic and internationally on MTV and VH1. From the heart of the Golden Horseshoe, the duo is attracting fans internationally. We love to see this shine and sparkle from these fabulous Ontario youth. MV embedded below. “Broken” on iTunes.
Cat Thomson is from Calgary and was recently signed by Vancouver label 604 Records. She has a strong, soulful voice, and as you can tell from her new music video, is a fabulous pianist. Cat will be releasing her debut album this year, and MV for lead single “Sticks & Stones” (embedded below) gives you a taste of her vibrant and energetic style. The song came out in October, and the video was released just a few hours ago. You can also preview a couple more songs that plan to be included on the album at her Website. And, yes, “Sticks & Stones” is available on iTunes!
At just 12 years old, Desirae auditioned for a Vancouver record label, and left everyone barefoot (she knocked their socks off). A student by day, she longed to be a pop star by night, and we can safely say that she has succeeded. Desirae has already released three singles all of which have an accompanying music video. “Crushin'” (embedded below) gained 80,000 views within a few days of its release. The song was mixed by Grammy Award Winner Orlando Calzada (One Direction, Lady Gaga, Destiny’s Child). The Canadian Music Blog’s Shawn PT showed the MV to his 11 year-old niece to ask for her opinion on it. Her response? “She’s good!” There you go. BTW, Desirae’s followers are called Desirators. We are so proud of our youth. This is just wonderful.
Platinum recording artist Danny Fernandes recently released a visually pleasing music video for “Kryptonite”, a track off his 2013 album, Breathe Again. Danny has received 2 JUNO nominations in the past and scored 9 charting singles on the Canadian Hot 100. Though the brother of Shawn Desman, we find his voice to be closer to his label mate Massari’s. The new MV features a plethora of sparks, sparklers, and oil lamps, and is washed in rich nighttime colours set at a decaying industrial site with old brick walls, steel railings, and pipes with peeling paint. (It’s also nice to see Danny in a toque.) Arranging beautiful music videos for its artists is one of CP Records’ strongest suits.
For an official recording career that is less than five years old, the stats for multiplatinum, 4-time JUNO winner Justin Bieber are very impressive. He has scored 28 Top 40 hits in Canada (not including songs as a featured artist). This places him at 4th place among all Canadian recording artists in history, behind Bryan Adams (#1), The Guess Who (#2), and Celine Dion (#3). He is also the only Canadian artist to have two singles that have been certified triple platinum or higher domestically. Worldwide, he has sold 15 million albums, and this does not include his digital compilation album Journals. Justin’s latest music video for song “Confident”, which appears on the Journals compilation, offers almost a Blade Runner ambiance, combines R&B style vocals with a reggae vibe, washes the environment (and his neck) with gold, flashes some neon signs, and contains some starry-eyed dialogue surrounding a snack called Takis. iTunes
RLMDL (pronounced role model) is the project of Toronto’s Jordan Allen. Dream pop has existed since the 50s when the industry discovered the beauty of reverb. “I Only Have Eyes For You” by the Flamingos is a prime example. The Mamas and the Papas ran with the torch in the 60s. “I’m Not In Love” by 10cc was a standout track from the 70s. Flying the flagship in the 80s was The Cocteau Twins. In the 90s, shoegaze music became popular in the UK with artists like Slowdive. Incidentally, the band announced its reunion just a few days ago. The term shoegaze came from singers of the genre whose stage presence was characterized by their gazing down at their own shoes rather than the audience. Dream pop can incorporate reverb and various sonic textures or whatever techniques succeed in creating a dreamy atmosphere. RLMDL uses melodic and fuzzy guitars, synths, laid back electronic percussion, and sombre singing to achieve the effect. The MV for RLMDL’s “Bilingual” off album Before Then Was Now was released at the end of 2013 with support from MuchFact. iTunes
Born and raised in Toronto, multilingual Henry Lau of Chinese descent, mastered both piano and violin as well as various forms of dance. He sings, writes, composes, produces, and acts. Talk about talent, Henry is one of Canada’s finest. He is set to star in 2014 movie Final Recipe with Bond girl Michelle Yeoh. In 2006, Lau was one of only two people of 3,000 chosen in South Korea’s SM Entertainment global auditions held in Toronto. Relocating to South Korea, he became a member of popular singing group Super Junior-M. In 2013, he released solo album Trap in two editions: a Korean version and a Chinese version. Both albums contained a few English songs. In fact, the title track is available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean. The album peaked at #2 on the South Korean weekly albums chart and its title-track became a Top 20 single on the US Billobard K-Pop charts. The Chinese version was the 10th biggest song of the year in the Republic of China.
