“Goddamn, this record feels good,” says Dartmouth rapper, skateboarder and ECMA nominee Jay Mayne. He’s dropping his 15th mixtape this week, #StillChopTrees, and like all of his mixtapes, it shows his wide range of musical interests and an enviable work ethic. Mixed by T.K. Thorpe, this is his most fun release to date, with a […]
Adria Young
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where I work: The Blackbook Collective
WHO WE ARE “We started the collective last September,” says Michael Burt, co-owner with Joey Cook of The Blackbook Collective. “He was doing a lot of large-scale murals, I was doing commissioned artwork; we linked up through that.” Advocates for legal painting, the duo opened the art supply shop and gallery at 5540 Kaye Street […]
Posted inArts + Music
Corey Wright’s bars
“A lot of my motivation comes from being locked up and thinking about Damon,” says rapper Corey Wright, 32. On an early November morning in 2006, Damon Crooks was downtown when a brawl broke out. Wright, raised in Uniacke Square, got caught in it. Next thing Wright knew, he was being arrested. His hands were […]
Posted inLifestyle
How to pack for a music festival
If you’re like me, you don’t pack for music festivals until 10 minutes to go-time, which means you’ll forget something crucial and end up bartering with a dreadlocked burnout named Rave Dave for a keychain flashlight so you can find your tent. Don’t be like me. There are a few must-have items for festivals, keeping […]
Posted inArts + Music
New Music issue 2015
Twenty-seven new bands to sink your teeth into this summer. From metal, rap, blues, jazz, rock, pop, punk, folk and some new genres that haven’t been invented yet, there’s something for you. Do yourself a favour—support live music and new, local bands. So much better than a Netflix binge. Anteater (Improv jazz) Arsoniste (Dance pop) […]
Posted inArts + Music
MAJE talent
MAJE at Hope Blooms’ Celebration of Hope Fundraiser Thursday, June 25 at 5:30pm Westin Nova Scotian Hotel $100 hopeblooms.ca With a vision like MAJE’s, rap music can change the world. The young Preston artist, also known as Michael Earle, founded rap group Gentlemen Mafia “to promote positivity through hip-hop,” he says. “It’s a way to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Gypsophilia’s scenes from a film
“We started out as a Django Reinhardt tribute band. That was our launching point,” says Adam Fine, Gypsophilia’s double bassist since 2004. “We had a strong Eastern European and Balkan influence, but now we have elements of different kinds of things.” Gypsy jazz sextet Gyposophilia releases its fourth full-length, Night Swimming this week, celebrating with […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Where I work: Saronn Pov
WHO SHE IS Saronn Pov moved Saronn’s Kitchen to Halifax from Toronto a few years ago after experiencing the richness of Nova Scotia’s seasonal produce and the growing local food and vegan movements. Her nutritious, flavourful recipes are inspired by her mother’s traditional Cambodian kitchen: “No appliances, no measurements. She did everything by hand. I […]
Posted inArts + Music
Some holy moments from OBEY Convention VIII
I think I died and lived again during the eighth OBEY Convention in Halifax last weekend. The annual meeting of contemporary music and art is one of the most thoughtfully curated festivals in the country, and it’s never been more inspiring or influential. Programmer Andrew Patterson told an audience that OBEY is designed to offer […]
Posted inArts + Music
Find you in the cypher
Last March, Martez Wiggins, AKA Woozy Blanks, looked around the cozy space of Alteregos on Gottingen Street and realized it was the perfect spot to bring together HRM’s hip-hop communities through freestyle rap events known as cyphers. With DJ and producer Lindell Smith, an engineer at Centreline Studio in Uniacke Square, the duo’s monthly R.A.W. […]
Posted inArts + Music
Ten years of Noyes Records
In 2005, Chad Peck (Kestrels, We Need Secrets) founded Noyes Records, now based just outside of Truro. Since then, Noyes has released music from some of the best indie bands of all genres, from Montreal’s Play Guitar to Austin’s Ringo Deathstarr. Peck celebrates the anniversary with greatest hits tape, Come on Feel the Noyes, and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Brötzmann on fire
In the history of free jazz, a form of jazz from the mid-20th century that reacted to increasingly standardized jazz styles, few musicians are as renowned around the world as Peter Brötzmann. In his career spanning 50 years, Brötzmann has been at the forefront of the European jazz movement to radicalize the concept of prescribed […]
