What better way for a band to get their album on the radio than to slip their CDs directly into program directors’ hands? Local acts will have opportunities to do just that from June 6 to 10 as CKDU hosts this year’s National Campus and Community Radio Conference (NCRC). Halifax welcomes radio practitioners from across […]
Genevieve MacIntyre
Posted inArts + Music
Andrew Hunter and the Gatherers
Andrew Hunter and the Gatherers’ latest EP gives these fellas the right to feel they’re on “On a Cloud,” as the fifth track enforces. The eight tracks on the album, recorded in Halifax at Codapop Recording Studios, definitely hint at Matt Mays’ strong guitar riffs, reflective lyrics of Neil Young and the heavy vocals of […]
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VirgoFest
A night of “dirty hippies and hip-hop” is the way that Joe Landry, one of many musicians making up the second annual VirgoFest, describes this unique event. The eclectic bands featured at this year’s VirgoFest, hosted by Nightowls Records, include: The Missing City Starlight, Mary Grace Koile, Heavy Meadows and The Caravan (vocally lead by […]
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Maddison Avenue
Published August 07, 2008. Maddison Avenue Maddison Avenue (Indie) Halifax-based Maddison Avenue’s self-titled debut EP is a catchy blend of gritty rock and country beats not unlike Van Morrison, Tom Petty and CCR. The addition of professional horn players (including members of local funk-factory The Mellotones) adds a rich jazzy tone to the mix–it bursts […]
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The Tom Fun Orchestra
The Tom Fun OrchestraYou Will Land with a Thud(Company House)The Cape Breton hurricane that is the 10-member Tom Fun Orchestra is causing a storm with You Will Land With a Thud, a 12-track collage of traditional roots, bluegrass, country and gypsy-rock. Electric and acoustic guitars, fiddle, trumpet, drums, mandolin, accordion, bass and piano combine with […]
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Dammien Alexander
Dammien AlexanderWe Are Who We Have Been Waiting For(Live Village Records)Philadelphia-born Halifax resident Dammien Alexander mashes R&B, gospel, hip-hop and funk to support his vocals, which fall between Lenny Kravitz’s and Ben Harper’s. For standout tracks, go to the harmonies and mesmerizing piano of track sixth, “Satellite,” which sounds similar to Coldplay. “Love Jones” tells […]
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Erykah Badu
Erykah BaduNew Amerykah, Part One (4th World War)(Universal/Motown)Erykah Badu’s latest musical escapade isn’t as head-nodding-inspiring as the Badu beats of the past but more horn-heavy-retro, especially on the album’s first track, “Amerykahn Promise,” given the way the song starts off resembling a promo for a ’70s-crime-fighter flick. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the […]
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Shobha
ShobhaWork in Progress(indie)Shobha (pronounced Show-BAH), a Halifax native but Toronto-based singer-songwriter, just released her debut album, Work in Progress. Comparable to Nelly Furtado and Alicia Keys, Shobha’s style mixes urban, pop, jazz and ska sounds. For the first single on the album, “Always on Your Feet,” the artist won a regional (Toronto) award for the […]