“It sounds like if in 2000 years, somebody found some weird jukebox at the bottom of the ocean,” says Charles Austin of Dreamsphere, the debut full-length from Halifax super-group Aqua Alta. With Jenn Grant and Graeme Campbell, Aqua Alta is a collaborative project that weaves Campbell and Austin’s hip-hop and electronic production with Grant’s hypnotic […]
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Sloan come home
With a 20-plus year career, Canadian indie rock heroes Sloan return for a hometown show at The Marquee March 7 to celebrate, Commonwealth, the band’s 11th studio album. “We’ve been around for so long we could have easily made another Sloan record where everyone contributes another one or two songs,” says Jay Ferguson. “We talked […]
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Playing Video Games
For three evenings, Symphony Nova Scotia will forgo Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky in favour of Mario, Sonic and Zelda. Video Games Live features music from video games played by the Symphony and a choir, combined with lights, video screens, a stage show and interactive elements like a costume contest and Guitar Hero battle. Tommy Tallarico, […]
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Where I work: Shevy Price
WHO SHE IS “Recently I let my wall down and joined TMG Entertainment. My decision is solid, a lot of people don’t like it but they have no choice but to respect it. I feel my music will continue to mature and develop as I speak about my ongoing struggles with life, love and relationships—which […]
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Christina Martin’s alright, alright, alright
“I’d known for awhile I’d wanted to make a change,” says Christina Martin. “I felt stuck. I guess I was just bored.” With four records of sharp, heartfelt folk behind her, Martin is aiming for a different vibe on It’ll Be Alright—literally, a vibe, a keys-and-licks classic rock groove permeating the 10 tracks produced at […]
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Mardeen’s winning Silver
“I’ve always loved winter, but this one sucks,” says Matt Ellis, bassist of Cape Breton pop band Mardeen. The long-time four-piece is hitting icy roads to tour new EP, Silver Fan, a three-song atmospheric adventure that was recorded in Halifax after a creepy cabin experience in Quebec. “We rented a place north of Montreal to […]
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So long, Shag Harbour
Friday’s your last chance to stock up on Shag Harbour’s good vibes for awhile. The group comes to a temporary hiatus with a goodbye show and an upcoming tape at the end of the month. After a year of synth-driven punk, the group takes a break as Cooper Lindsay moves to Montreal. But it’s only […]
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Mangan’s got the Meds
Arts and Crafts have assembled a tour of Canada’s finest bearded musicians. Vancouver’s Dan Mangan and Blacksmith, Calgary’s Astral Swans, and Toronto’s Hayden are scruffily heading across the country to perform at the Rebecca Cohn February 18. Multiple Juno Award winner and twice listed Polaris Music Prize listed nominee Mangan has transformed his solo moniker […]
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Neon icons
In this world, anything can happen. Just ask Neon Dreams, Halifax’s EDM four-piece that recently signed to Atlanta trap god Waka Flocka Flame’s new label, 36Brickhouse. The band’s engineer Corey LeRue hit it off with the rapper at his Halifax show last January. Since then, Neon Dreams has released remixes of Waka’s “50K” and “Hard […]
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Best in the City
Red City is the sophomore album from City Natives, an ECMA-winning hip-hop crew composed of four Mi’kmaq and Maliseet MCs hailing from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The album dropped at the end of September. Red City features tracks with strong beats, earworm hooks, regional shoutouts and sincere lyrics about getting paid for doing what […]
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Reeny Smith’s pop-soul
Singer Reeny Smith will be performing at the upcoming Feel the Love benefit concert for Dartmouth’s Akoma Family Centre, a short-term care facility for children in the foster care system, and an organization that Smith has been involved with for “a few months on a few different occasions, I go in and play music, get […]
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Where I work: Quake Matthews
WHO HE IS After his rise as a battle rapper, Quake Matthews has been grinding since his 2010 debut, The Myth, laying down tracks with everyone from Laura Roy to Dylan Guthro to Neon Dreams, working with Freeway, appearing in The Source and putting out The Book of Matthew and Corrado. On Friday, the King […]