This past fall, Ontario DIY punk rockers UIC released their first full-length album, FM Hill, since their reformation in 2016. The band refuses to have the COVID-19 pandemic continually halting some of the momentum of their album release. Nevertheless, the band still hopes to perform a live-streamed concert in the middle of January -pending COVID restrictions- to perform their brand new album in its entirety, live from Toronto’s infamous Horseshoe Tavern. I got a chance to ask the band’s drummer Murray Heywood a series of questions about the band’s career, spanning from the beginning to all the way for what is yet to come. UIC has been short for a couple of different things over your career, does it still stand for Up In Canada? I guess that is the beauty of having a name like UIC -it can mean different things at different times and to different people. Originally, it came from the “Unemployment Insurance Commission,” which was the precursor to what people currently know as EI. In 1982, when UIC started, there was a deep recession -and all of us were unemployed and collecting UI. Which by the way, makes more sense than EI. It is insurance against unemployment, not employment, so it just seemed fitting at the time when we needed to pick a name. Picking a band name is really hard. You may have to live with it for a very, very long time as we have. We started telling everyone it meant Up In Canada at some point -I have no idea when, why, or how. We did not realize that UB40 meant the same thing as UIC (Unemployment Benefits) until much later, so no, we did not copy UB40, and I doubt that they heard of UIC at that point, so they didn’t copy us, but I do like that storyline. Up in Canada, in my opinion, was a neat twist. I mean we are pretty much up from everything. So we’ll stay with that one. What are your musical influences? What gets you making the music you do? As a band, our influences vary somewhat. However, there are definitely areas of overlap. I mean it would be hard for us to not site early Detroit (Stooges, MC5, etc.) as this was material we covered early on when UIC formed and music we were exposed to on our nighttime trips out to FM Hill. However, you must also include, Ramones, Damned, Teenage Head, Radio Birdman, Replacements, and lots of other Punkish influences. My personal tastes also include lots of Rootsy and Outlaw Country music. I loved Jason & The Scorchers, The Blasters, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Steve Earl, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and the list goes on and on. The music we write and create is certainly from the heart, we are never trying to be something we are not. It is what it is, what our skill set allows. Our songs just kind of happen, or they do not. If we have to labour too long over a song, it typically gets ditched. The best stuff is almost immediate, it almost writes itself. There will always be a Canadian element, not on purpose, just because we are who we are. Could you walk me through the typical UIC songwriting process? Most UIC songs come from riffs created during jams or just goofing off prior to rehearsal starting. Someone comes up with a riff they have either been working on prior or just spur of the moment. Dave Robinson (singer) is one of the best there is at singing to jams. He can make stuff up on the spot better than most. I am a bit more methodical with my lyrics. I write lyrics typically with a melody in mind and store them away in my brain. I also write them down now -getting older. They will surface when I think I hear a fitting riff or I work out the melody with the guys at the rehearsal studio. Some songs come incomplete with lyrics and music, but that is very rare. We record a lot of our rehearsals, we always have. We use to simply turn on a ghetto blaster and record. Now with Dave Dysart joining the band in 2016, we rehearse at Dave’s studio and he will record the sessions. I also like to take riffs that we record and write lyrics around them. My writing style is more of a storytelling style, while Dave Robinson is excellent at stream of consciousness typewriting. Once we have the riff and lyrics, everyone adds their flavour to the song in a collaborative way, and we have the birth of a song. That is then massaged through rehearsal, and after a month or so, it either becomes a keeper or goes off into the dust bin of history. If given the chance, what musician or whole band would you like to collaborate with? Rather this is past or present. Hmm. That list would be a very long list. If I had the time and you had the space. Speaking personally as a four on the floor garage rock drummer I would love to have played with the Ramones or Stooges when they were switching drummers. Obviously, I never got asked [laughs]. Steve Earle and Paul Westerberg are 2 of my favourite songwriters ever! I am not sure what I would be able to bring to that table from a writing perspective, but it would be fun to collaborate with them and try. You guys released your most recent album, FM Hill, on October 23rd, how has it been received by listeners so far? So far, the feedback has been very good for the new record from those who have had a chance to pick it up. Obviously, releasing a new record after having been away from the scene as UIC for some time, in the throes of a worldwide pandemic, was not in our master plan. We are very proud of the record and hope that all who hear it will enjoy the record. We rely on the live experience and cannot wait to get out and start promoting the record more that way. This is the first time we have used a publicist…Melanie Kaye PR has been excellent getting us to new people who had either never heard of UIC or had not known we survived and were still hanging in there. I think time will tell the story, but I feel very good about the record. Do you have any favourites tracks off FM Hill? There are some special songs about some special people on this record that make them stand out for me. “Richard May” is special for 2 reasons. First, it is a song about a friend (Richard) who passed away too soon, what makes it even more special is the riff was the last riff that Danny “Hack” Preszcator brought in before he got sick and passed away. The minute we heard the riff we all got excited to play it. Then Dave put the lyrics in and that was that. We were working out the arrangement when Danny got sick. That one will forever be special to me. “Fly Danny Fly” was a song I wrote the lyrics for and I think it was Dave Robinson’s guitar riff and Dave Dysart brought in “Thunder from the Left” completed. Both are special because they are tributes to our fallen brother. I really like the song “FM Hill” as well. It was my lyrics about a nostalgic time in my life that I had wanted to write about for a long time. The riff came from a jam session tape and I built the lyrics around the riff. The addition of the horns played by John Jowett (Trombone), Jim Bish (Tenor Sax) Lisa Patterson (Alto Sax) made it even more special. “Superstar” is also a favourite and came from a jam session way back when UIC morphed into The Chickens for a few years and 2 albums. It was crafted towards the end of The Chickens and never got on a Chickens record. I love “Superstar” because it is a tribute to musicians doing what they do, and being superstars for that 1-2 hour set despite the fact that they aren’t really superstars. It doesn’t matter whether there are 10 people or 10,000, they do what they do for love, not money and fame. It also mentions our favourite people from The Horseshoe Tavern like JC & Craig, Willy, and the one and only, Teddy Fury. In my opinion, I like all of the songs, I do not feel like any of them missed the mark. What should fans expect from your upcoming live streaming event? Well…you would not have known that the November 21st date was canceled due to the increase in COVID restrictions. It has been rescheduled for January 23rd. Hopefully, that one happens. It is hard to say with the current upswing in COVID concerns. Fans can expect a UIC show that has some pent up energy and emotion included to knock this COVID coma on its ear. We will be playing everything off the new record and choice songs from past albums, and a choice cover or two. There will be a horn section involved, and that will be fun. Is there any song or songs off FM Hill that you’re looking to perform live during the live stream event? The song “FM Hill” will be special with the horns being there live. That will be awesome. The horn players are a lot of fun and it just adds a really cool new element to the band when they join us on stage. UIC does not write songs that do not translate well in a live setting. After all, UIC is really all about live performance. As we were not playing a lot of live pre-pandemic, playing the new songs for people will be fun and will hopefully help propel the record forward. Is there any significance to why you chose The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto as the venue for this live-streamed concert? The Horseshoe Tavern and all its glory was an easy choice. It has been our club to play in Toronto for a very long time. It is both classic and perfect for a band like UIC. Great tight stage and stage sound, and typically people are right up front and in our face. We like that. Rock & Roll is meant to be played in small sweaty clubs. The Horseshoe is the epitome of that Rock & Roll experience. It really doesn’t get any better than that. It was an easy choice. How has it been releasing a brand new album in the middle of a worldwide pandemic? It has been very difficult. Not being able to play live to promote the record, not being able to get together as a band on a regular basis, has caused some momentum stall. The good news is that we are not a large band that spent millions of other people’s money to make the record. Independent records have long lives and we will resume promoting this record when the COVID fog lifts, and we can get back out there and play. Following the live stream event, do you have any plans for the rest of the unforeseeable future? Hopefully, more live shows, and I really want to do a mini 2-week European tour. We will see what happens. I hope some clubs survive so bands can get back out and play. This has been very tough on the music business and especially live music. I would also like to start to prepare and write for another record. It is still a fun process, no sense stopping now! Be sure to check out more from UIC at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp

Earlier this fall, on October 30th specifically, the French ten-person folk metal/Celtic punk outfit Barbar’O’Rhum released their second full-length album, Journal de B’O’R, via Mannequin Vanity Records. Shortly following the release of their new album, which has an ample amount of history of pirates both musically and lyrically intertwined into it, I was given the pleasure to talk to the band’s mastermind Capitaine Barbedrut about everything from his and the band’s influences/inspirations all the way to how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the band’s ten members this turbulent year. I have to start by asking what the significance of the band’s name Barbar’O’Rhum? Captain Barbedrut: Hello, thank you for your time! Barbar’O’Rhum is a multi-layered pun. In French, it sounds like “barbares au rhum” which can be translated as “barbarians full of rum” in English. “Baba au rhum” is also a dessert in France (“rum baba” in English). And “barbarorum,” which is the genitive plural of the Latin word “barbarus” which means “barbarians” in English. How would you describe your music to anyone who may have never heard your music before? It is a mix between the melodies of Celtic punk, the power of folk metal, and the universe of pirates. We want to immerse listeners in the pirate’s world with a modern touch. What are your musical influences? We are a very eclectic band regarding musical influences so I think we can find all of them in our music. I composed most of the songs and I listen to a lot of different things: Medieval music, pagan folk, bluegrass music, hard rock, punk rock, Irish punk, folk metal, extreme metal… We look for inspiration in every kind of music we love. How about your musical inspirations? What are those like? The first musical inspirations were Dropkick Murphys and Alestorm. Today, I am personally more inspired by Irish punk bands like the Japanese band The Cherry Coke$ or medieval metal German bands like Feuerschwanz or Saltatio Mortis. I love their universes. You draw a lot from sea shanties and traditional folk music, is there any part of the history of pirates that you would love to cover that you may not have touched on already? Yes, there are a lot of things to say about pirates. And it’s important to search for new topics to talk about. We just want to stay in the period from the 1500s to 1800s, we don’t want to talk about the pirates from Antiquity who captured Caesar even though it’s interesting too. For the third album, we want to talk about pirates who weren’t only from the Caribbean. If the chance preceded itself, is there any musician you would like to collaborate with? Rather that is to write a song or be featured on a track with? Good question! We never really thought about that. For now, we would prefer to collaborate with some friends of ours. We are like a family. But if one day we could collaborate with someone, we would love to collaborate with a French metal band Ultra Vomit -which we really love. We’d love to be featured with them! You released your newest album Journal de B’O’R back on October 30th. How has the album’s reception been so far? We have had several good and stellar responses, so we are very happy! We worked a lot on this album and it’s always pleasant to receive good reviews. Thanks to Jake and Dustin from our label and Melanie our PR! We have had a very good amount of media coverage. Writing music with ten members must take a while to get everything right, does anyone accidentally step on anybody’s toes during the writing process of Barbar’O’Rhum music? You’re right, it’s not so easy to write songs for so many people. But on this album, we are only seven musicians -that’s already a huge number. Usually, I compose the base of the songs for every musician. After that, I present the song to the band and if the band enjoys it, we learn it and every musician can adapt his musical part. Three songs on this album were composed by two other people. Jérémy, our bassist and Colin, our keyboard player, sent me their ideas and I have adapted them to uniformize the song with the rest of the album. Having two bass players is pretty unique, who purposed this idea to be incorporated into the band? We have two bass players, but it’s only because our first bass player wants to play the bouzouki [a Greek string instrument]. Though, in the end, it is so good to have multi-musicians. They can switch their instruments. The two bass players can also play electric guitar. I assume with the worldwide pandemic, all of the support plans for Journal de B’O’R were put on hold by COVID-19? Yes, it was a very complicated year for every artist. We only played five concerts this year and had more than thirty shows cancelled due to COVID. We hope we will be able to show our new album live more in 2021. So how have all ten members of Barbar’O’Rhum been keeping busy with all the downtime the past several months? Some members are professional musicians, but others have regular jobs. It was quite difficult for the former. We have been kept busy by the work on Journal de B’O’R and practicing with the new line-up. We had to rework every song because of it. So it was a busy period for us. Thanks for the time. Is there anything else you may want to add? Thank you very much to you! Your interview was very detailed. Our new album Journal de B’O’R is available on the main digital platforms and in the physical version -with a 28 pages-booklet- by contacting us. And the last thing I want to add is that it’s important nowadays to support our local music bands. Continue to listen to the songs on streaming platforms, watch YouTube videos, and before all, buy merch and albums from them. Be sure to check out more from Barbar’O’Rhum at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Vancouver progressive rock/art-rock band Red Herring is back together after going their separate ways in the mid-80s. Now they are revitalized by their connection and their desire to make adventurous music and have just released their EP Neon on all the major streaming platforms as well as physically. I hopped on Zoom to talk to the lead singer and lyricist Enrico Renz last week, which was an absolute delight. Enrico is intelligent, passionate, curious about life and music, and we discussed the history of Red Herring as well as Enrico’s history, and what to expect from Neon. How would you describe Red Herring to people who haven’t heard them? Enrico: I’d want them to think that they’re going to hear an adventure. If you like unusual ideas with a beat, then you’ll probably like Red Herring. What are your musical influences? Enrico: Absolutely everything. Yodeling mountain songs in Switzerland, to the Alpine songs of Italy, to marches, opera, punk, music from Nepal, pygmy singing, and African drumming. That’s quite an eclectic music taste. How did you come across all of those, and what made you want to experience such a wide variety of music? Enrico: It’s this thing called life. How can you avoid it these days? It’s all around us. And it’s so interesting, all these sounds that have been with us from all over the world, over all of time. It’s hard to think of a time or a place that isn’t somehow associated with a specific sound. It’s fun to delve into that. What do you find yourself listening to the most? When you’re in the songwriting mood, do you go with what you’re feeling at the time, or try to draw from a specific influence? Enrico: Following the high silver nerve, I think I got that from a Leonard Cohen song, “following the high silver nerve,” is kind of my approach. Which is very dedicated, very intense, but it’s constantly going from one tantric to the next, so it turns out to be very convoluted, but interesting. It’s like a stream following the path of least resistance. Being able to go with the flow and follow whatever your feeling must be a fun way of working through the process. Enrico: It’s a rollercoaster ride. Every day it’s like taking a mountain bike to the very top of the mountain and you have no idea what the trail is like, but having confidence that you got your basic chops down, so there’s a pretty good chance you’re gonna land on your feet. And you do that day, after day, after day. With music, you can’t break any bones. You guys took a long time off, what made you want to pick up again all these years later, with the same guys and the same band? Enrico: Well, human connections are pretty mysterious, aren’t they? And it’s funny how after decades, you gravitate back to a certain group again, and it feels very comfortable and kinda like family. And I don’t think it was planned. We went our separate ways, never really deciding to go that way, everybody had life creep in in different ways, and we all went in separate directions, and pretty soon we were playing fewer gigs, and then none at all. We’d still get together casually with each other and jam and explore. So never really lost connection. At one point, Steve Lazin, the drummer and I, were playing together in Vancouver, The Prop House. So Steve and I would do free improv, with guitars and piano and the like. That was a lot of fun, and so at one point, Stephen Nikleva came and joined us, and at that point, we thought, “Holy smokes, this is almost Red Herring, we better give Martin a call!” And the Red Herring crowd came out again, and so we played the old Red Herring songs again, and that felt really great. And the thing about Red Herring, we always want to do new stuff. We’re always excited about where have yet to go. It always feels like an adventure, like I said earlier. Red Herring is about going where no being has gone before. And beings have probably gone there many times, but we have the feeling that we’re going there for the first time, which makes it so much fun. What did life have in store for you during the hiatus? Enrico: Well, I started a family, got into teaching. I was an elementary school teacher for 35 years. With teaching that young, you teach absolutely everything. With that job, you become a jack of all trades, which is really cool. You mentioned being inspired by many different cultures and places. Have you done a lot of travelling? Enrico: I’m not a traveller physically. Maybe sometime I’ll get to it. I do have a longing to see some of this music that I’ve been listening to all my life in its birthplace. On the other hand, I’m not a traveller. But it could happen in the future. You guys are releasing your new EP Neon on November 6th. What can we expect from this release? Enrico: An adventure! All six songs are written by us, all original material. I think you’ll be struck by the variety, which we always have that explorer mindset, and studier mindset too. I think all of us in the band are really serious absorbers of stuff, putting in thousands of hours studying jazz and tango and you name it, so it all gets somehow stirred up, but not in a cut-and-paste kinda way, I think in a genuine expression of where we’re at. We study this stuff, but we’re really just trying to go somewhere new. And every song on the EP shows a different facet of our explorations. Could you explain how “Julia” came about? Enrico: So “Brain Song” is the first single on the EP and the second single is “Julia.” And you’ll get a pretty good sense of the contrast and different approaches we do. I don’t know if you heard those songs back to back, it wouldn’t even occur to you that it’s the same band. And we’re hoping that people will get that feeling as they jump from song to song, and everything is a completely different scenario. But in some deeper sense, there’s still a connection from song to song. So think of it like reading a book with very sharp twists and turns at every chapter. Tell me about the songwriting and musical camaraderie in the band. Do you guys write in the room, or do it piece-mail separately? Enrico: Well, it’s a process that has evolved over the years and hopefully will continue to evolve. In the beginning, it was me and Stephen Nikleva. I had written a whole bunch of songs…actually, I was a student at UBC at that time, and one of the courses I was taking was songwriting. It was taught by Keith Mallard, whose a wonderful novelist who always had quite an extensive musical background, the course was a very powerful approach to songs. When I was listening to Keith talk about his thoughts on songs, I really got that songs could be an important form of literature. Remember, he was a novelist, writing really serious novels that got you engaged in what life was all about, and here he was teaching songwriting. He played some of the songs that made him think, and they were from all different times and cultures. Everything can spark an idea from a different angle, so you want to look at everything out there. He really liked what I was doing and he gave Stephen a call and produced the two of us. So to have these guys interested in what I was writing was quite uplifting. And then Stephen and I were connected ever since, and we started charting out songs. He had a lot of experience not just with being a strong guitar player, but also a great arranger, how an entire band should sound. We were trying out different players and doing different gigs with different combinations, and Martin and Steve ended up sticking and becoming the real Red Herring. Then I always wanted to write more from a band, instead of just writing my songs. I was really pushing for that. We did stuff where we wrote some riffs and then I wrote stuff on top of it, and that was really cool. I hope we’re able to get back together and do it that way because it’s a very time-consuming thing. It takes nearly every day to get that to a really good level. But we want to make music that flows organically and so it’s not really clear who the leader of the band is. What’s the next step for the band? Enrico: Well, I think a lot of it depends on what happens with Neon if that makes any waves. It would be energizing if it did, and whenever there’s energy in the room, things get very exciting. I would love to get together with these guys and make Red Herring a priority for all of us for a while and generate some new material. We all have tons of stuff bubbling up inside, and bringing it altogether would be great. What is a question you wished people asked you more often but seldom do? Enrico: Definitely, “What are the words?” I find that not all that many people are interested in the words in the songs. As someone who is primarily a lyricist, that’s always been a tough pill to swallow. But I realize I’m the same way, I can love a song and have no idea what the words are. But still…if someone asks what the words are, and I can calmly just tell them what they are and what the story is and they can appreciate that, that’s always a thrill. What influences your lyrics? Enrico: I’ve always been very interested in words. Poetry, philosophy, literature, novels, really good writing was always exciting to me, wherever it was. I’ve tried various types of writing, but songwriting ended up being the thing for me. It’s not necessarily other lyricists. With lyrics, I hear emotional content more than the words themselves, and I think most people hear songs on that level, that’s an important level. That’s why you can listen to songs in other languages, you can have no idea what they’re saying, but they sound beautiful and right somehow. I think I approach lyrics more as a storyteller, gotta keep your attention at every second, is what I try to do. Is there anything else you wanted to say about Red Herring? Enrico: If you’re interested in interesting music made by guys and gals who are in the pursuit of adventure and new sounds, new ideas, new stories with pretty darn good rhythm, you should check out Red Herring. Check out more from Red Herring: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp

One month ago, the Canadian folk-rock/indie rock sextet Carmanah released their genre-blending second full-length album, Iris. Recently, I spoke to the band’s frontwoman and creative mind, Laura Mitic, about the band’s new album Iris, their downtime they’ve had throughout 2020, the meaning of the band’s name, and more! Is there any significance to the band name, Carmanah? Carmanah is named after the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew on the ancestral and current territory of the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht Peoples. This land is home to a forest that has never been logged, and the ancient trees that grow there include some of the largest Sitka spruces in the world. We first chose the name somewhat naively, hoping to find a namesake that connected us to our west coast home. But over the years, we continue to learn more about the communities that protect the forest and those who spared the old-growth trees from being logged in the late 1980s. The cultural and environmental significance of the forest is irreplaceable and invaluable. What are your musical influences that shape the overall blend of roots, rock, and blues together to your distinct sound? While I’m often discovering new music that inspires me, I consistently draw from a few of my favourites, including but not limited to: Feist, Dusty Springfield, Nancy Sinatra, Roy Orbison, The Chambers Brothers, The Beatles, Bahamas. Could you walk me through the typical Carmanah songwriting process? I usually begin the writing process alone, with my guitar and a cup of coffee (I write best in the mornings). Once I have the framework of a tune, I bring it to the rehearsal space with my five pals/bandmates. Everyone adds their own creative touch and influence, and we compare notes and ideas to make the song as strong as it can be. Every musician in Carmanah brings their own flare to the creative process, which makes writing new music really fun and exciting. If you got the chance, what musician would you like to collaborate with? Rather this is past or present and either to write a song/album with or even tour with? I’d love to collaborate with Leslie Feist on a song or two. I feel like we could sink into something really creative, quirky, and deep together. Maybe if we could also borrow Dusty Springfield from the past, we could start a sweet and badass harmonizing trio. You guys released your most recent album, Iris, on October 2nd. How has it been received by listeners so far? Iris has been received well so far. Normally we’d have embarked on a tour or two by now where we would be able to witness the album’s impact in person. But we are happy with what we have seen online with streaming numbers, music video views, radio play, and playlist adds. We’ve received some really nice feedback, which encourages us to push on, especially since like I mentioned, we can’t tour, and that’s our favourite part of this whole music gig. Do you have a favourite track, or even more than one track off your brand new album, Iris? It tends to change, but my most highlighted favourites are “Demon Host” and “Stand Up.” Both tunes have distinctive musicality and harmonies. I had a lot of fun with the lyrics; in creating something relatable yet mixing in some symbolism and quirkiness so the songs leave something for the imagination and can mean different things to different people. Is there any song off Iris that you are looking to perform live in front of an audience, whenever that chance might be? Hmm... Live streaming and the few small-scale performances we did this past summer aside. I’m most looking forward to performing “Something Else” in a large live setting. This tune is strange, dreamy, and a little haunting. Throw a sweet light show into the mix, a great venue, and a music craving audience fresh out of living in a distanced world for a year. Yeah, we’re going to have an amazing party. How has it been releasing a brand new album in the middle of a worldwide pandemic? Releasing Iris during a pandemic has been an interesting experience. Originally the album was supposed to drop in the late spring, but our team decided to push back the release so that we would have content to share throughout the summer when everything else was coming to a halt. This gave us time to release singles with music videos and additional content to go along with them. We drew out the full release until October 2nd. I’m grateful that we had an album ready to go at the time the pandemic hit so we could develop a strategy that enabled Carmanah to be able to share our creativity intermittently throughout the summer. How have you six been keeping busy with all the downtime? My bandmates are all active and creative people, so there’s been lots of home projects, creative endeavours, and adventures on Vancouver Island. Personally, I did a lot of gardening, paddling, portaging, foraging, and hiking over the summer. Pat, our lead guitarist, and all-around handyman has been making a tour rig out of a 1972 GMC Greyhound bus. It runs on used vegetable oil and will soon be a tiny-home/tour bus for our music adventures… One day. Mikey, our keys player, created a podcast called Carmanah Radio (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean) where we interview interesting people, chat about current topics, and reminisce with the band back to some of our wildest stories from the road. Eventually, the goal is that the podcast will join us on tour to help record stories and interviews from our travels. Collectively we have been using this opportunity at home to create content for Iris (music videos, live streaming, live recordings) and to work on new music and new ideas. Since everything is up in the air, we are staying flexible and taking it all in stride. Finally, what are your plans, if there are any, for the rest of the unforeseeable future? We’ll continue to create, imagine, and plan for the future. With one or two new albums under our belts, a tour bus ready to go, and six stoked musicians, we’ll be ready to go as soon as possible. Thanks for the time. Thanks for the questions! Be sure to check out more from Carmanah at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Shared post with reasonablylate.com. Go give them a follow on Instagram. Brooklyn-based soft-pop artist mxmtoon projects her mind lyrically as though she were confiding in a journal. At just 20 years old she finds herself living the dream after the release of dusk, her new EP. These 7 songs combine elements of acoustic and mellow-electronic sounds. On this EP are songs about strength in aloneness, being under quarantine, and the strength it takes to move on. This is a follow-up to her previously released EP dawn and features Carly Rae Jepsen on the second track, "ok on your own." The name mxmtoon was originally the title of an Instagram account the artist, Maia, used as an 11-year-old up-and-coming cartoonist. “[It’s] my initials, ‘MXMT’ with ‘oon’ added to the end in order for it to be a roundabout way of making a username to represent ‘Maia’s Cartoons’” she explained at the start of the interview. Writing from the age of 13 and publishing since 16, making music professionally has simply been “amazing.” The 7 songs on dusk carry a certain calm and restfulness that has long since been easy to come by. When did it first begin to feel like the dream of being a musician was coming true? mxmtoon: I think after I played my first headline show in January of 2019! It was the first time I was playing my own show, and the whole venue sold out and my family came. I think the collision of my work and personal lives made it feel super surreal but really helped me realize my dreams were coming true. Who were among your first artistic inspirations and who do you look up to today, professionally or otherwise? M: My first would probably be Bon Iver or Sleeping At Last, and nowadays the most consistent one is Rex Orange County! In terms of who I look up to personally, I wouldn’t be half the person I am without Lizzo. How was working with Carly Rae Jepsen? M: It was so cool! She’s such a legend, and also one of the sweetest souls I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to work with someone who cares so much about her craft and was willing to feature on my song. How long did it take to be able to fully open up to writing what you really feel into music? M: I didn’t share with my parents what I was doing until the fall of 2017 after my presence with the press could just no longer be hidden from them. Yet, I didn’t really tell anyone at my school, most of them just slowly figured out what I was up to. Even then it came to a bunch as a surprise when I told my peers I wasn’t going to college! “Show & Tell” struck me more than any other on the EP; are there any songs off the record that mean more to you than the others? If so, would you care to elaborate what the song is written about? M: I love that one as well. I think that one means a lot because it was specifically written about quarantine. “first” is another that I think really stands out as one with extra meaning. That song is about falling out of love for the first time and I think that experience for anyone is a sad one. These songs carry a theme. In a few words, how would you describe the story -and stories- told throughout the record? M: I think dusk is really about finding comfort on your own when you realize that it won’t work out with another person. It’s a sad process to fall in love with someone and subsequently fall out of it eventually, and both dawn and dusk are about both feelings. When was the last time you walked onstage and felt nervous? M: Every time I’m nervous! I used to view it as a bad thing, but I think it’d be stressful if I realized if I wasn’t nervous about something. It’s just as an indicator that I care very deeply about the experience for myself and for others, and that’s a good thing. Given that the site is based out of Winnipeg, have you ever toured Canada? If so, did anything or any place stand out to you? M: I have been a few times! I’ve only played in Toronto and Vancouver and visited a couple times outside of that, but honestly, I would go anywhere. Everyone I’ve met from Canada is so genuine and kind, it’d be a pleasure to go back and sing for them. Thank you for your time and answers. Most of all, thank you for this EP and the melodic kindness woven into the melody of your singing. M: Thank you so much for the questions and kind words! Check out more from mxmtoon: Website | Facebook | Twitter| Instagram | Twitch | TikTok

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Spencer Charnas, the horror enthusiast that leads the horror-themed metalcore/post-hardcore band Ice Nine Kills. We talked about Halloween, all of his favourite horror movies, and The Silver Stream. Yesterday, Ice Nine Kills released their second live album of the year I Heard They KILL Live!! that debuted alongside their Livestream experience The Silver Stream, all in time for Halloween. What made you love horror growing up? What was the thing that made you drawn to the genre? I think for me, I was so scared of it as a kid, I was so scared by Michael and Jason and Freddy and Leatherface and I thought that if I could dress as one of those guys, they wouldn’t be able to get me. So it kinda started out of like necessity as a coping mechanism to deal with being so scared. What would you say is your favourite horror movie? You know, it’s like trying to pick a favourite child, even though I don’t have children. It’s difficult…obviously, I have to pay respects to the stuff that got me into the genre, Michael Myers, Jason, Halloween, and Friday the 13th kinda kicked it all off for me, in terms of loving that franchise slasher thing. But the one that really pushed it over the edge was Scream. That came out in ’96, it was the first horror movie I saw in the theatre because I was so young, only 11 when it came out, I was too young to see those others in the theatre -nobody is gonna bring like, a 1-year-old, although maybe they would, to see Friday the 13th or something like that- so, that experience really was powerful, seeing it on the big scream. And also, I think what moved me about that movie was that it was so self-referential, I’m sitting in the theatre, and the killer is referencing these other movies that I already love! And I had never really heard those movies talked about in the mainstream, certainly not by stars on the movie screen, so to see a major studio movie, and the killer is talking about Michael or Jason, it just solidified my love for the genre. Stephen King is one of my favourite authors and Ice Nine Kills has several references to Stephen King’s works. What is your favourite Stephen King story? That’s a difficult one too, man. I would say instead of talking about just his books because Misery rings a bell, but I think my favourite Stephen King stuff is the stuff he did with George Romero with Creepshow. It just has this sort of tongue-in-cheek vibe that, you know Stephen King has a great sense of humour, and I feel like they really leaned into it in the collaboration with that movie. So that’s probably my favourite of the stuff he’s done, it’s obviously not one of his books, but something with his stamp on it. How do you feel about the recent news that the TV series Dexter is coming back? Is that exciting to you, or are you planning on skipping it? Well, it’s funny. It’s a fair assumption that a lot of people think I would love Dexter, it seems right up my alley. I’ve just never really got into it. I think it’s a cool concept and I would love to dive into it at some point, but I don’t know really know too much about it besides the basic premise. It’s something I just need to devote a few rainy days to at some point. I’ve heard it didn’t go out in the best way, or something. Tell me why we should be hyped for The Silver Stream? It was extremely fun to put together! And I think at the end of the day, it’s something different that I don’t think I’ve seen any bands really do. Just on a cellular level, it’s a really cool presentation of this live show that we played about a year ago at the Worcester Palladium in Massachusetts, a venue that has a pretty unique history with the band; it’s where I decided to form the band, and where the band played its first show, and this is the world broadcast appearance of that performance, and we spared no expense. The production value is really cool, we have eight cameras going, we got the same people who did the Killswitch Palladium DVD that they filmed there years ago. In conjunction with that, we tapped Bill Moseley, whose one of my favourite horror actors, famous from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and all the iconic Rob Zombie films, he plays Otis. He’s just one of those guys that steals the show with every scene he’s in. I don’t want to give away too much because it’s kind of a surprise, but you could say we have a bit of a horror film of our own that goes along with this performance. What was it like getting Bill Moseley involved in this project? It was amazing! I’ve been a fan of his for years, he’s the kind of actor whose dialogue I want to memorize and recite to annoy my friends with. To be working with him and be in the same room as him and work on stuff that came from my brain, to hear him talking about it, it was a little of a dream come true for me, to be honest. He was such a nice, gracious guy and it’s funny that the more sadistic of a person you play in the movies, the nicer the actual person is, I’ve found. Is there a horror movie, book, or concept that you’ve wanted to write a song about in the past, but it’s been put on the backburner or you just haven’t found the right way to tackle it yet? I’ve always wanted to write a song about American Psycho, because that’s one of my favourite movies and I like the book a lot, and I just feel like we could do it justice. So that’s one I always think about paying homage to. I love that movie, Christian Bale is incredible in it. I agree, I think he should have won an Academy Award for it. Honestly, that’s still my favourite one of his films. The fans want to know, do you guys have a theme in mind for the writing of the next album? Have you started writing it yet, or are you just seeing how it goes? We are writing new music now, but I never want to give anything away in terms of what an album may have in store. But you know, a lot of people are talking about a sequel, maybe, and in good horror fashion, there usually is. So we’ll see what happens. What is the favourite Halloween costume you’ve ever done? Well, other than dressing up on stage, it’s kinda funny because I kinda celebrate dressing up for Halloween whenever we take the stage now. So not going with any of those, but a couple of years ago, I wanted to go with something a bit more obscure. It’s not really an obscure movie, but you don’t really see anyone dressing like this person, is the killer from I Know What You Did Last Summer. I made the costume that day from some stuff I got at a thrift store, this big fisherman trench coat, and a hat that I painted black. And I found this hook, and at the time, I was living in Salem. So I was just kinda walking around Salem, scaring the shit out of people with this fish hook. I would follow people and had my friends record it, so that was fun. That was a really famous movie, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t marketed with the iconography of that killer. I don’t know why, I always thought it was a scary costume. It’s very similar to a costume worn by a killer in a slasher movie called Pieces, from I think 1981, that’s extremely brutal. Maybe it was an homage to that? You guys do exceptional music videos, with every single one you can really see the care and attention that goes into them. What music video are you proudest of, or was your favourite to shoot? It’s difficult because I really love most of them. I think for me it’s a toss-up between “Hell in the Hallways,” which was from Every Trick In The Book, based on Carrie. That was fun for a lot of reasons, we filmed it in my home town high school, we had all of our fans there dressed up for a 70s style prom, and it was just a really cool experience and it turned out beautifully. And the other one I would say is “IT is the End,” which was a wild experience, taking over an amusement park in the cold New Hampshire weather. We’re actually putting together The Silver Stream with the guy who edited that video, his name’s Myles, he’s very talented. Assuming that someone, as a horror fan, has seen most of the classic horror films, what would you recommend for them to watch this Halloween season that’s maybe not an A-list horror film? My recommendation would be When A Stranger Calls Back. It’s a 1993 made-for-TV movie that is a follow up to the cult classic When A Stranger Calls, which was released of course in 1979. It’s just really disturbing, I think it’s better than the original. It predates Scream by three years but has sort of a Scream-Esque opening sequence that really sets the tone, and I just think it’s a movie that needs to be reintroduced to horror fans. It’s done incredibly well, the director, Fred Walton, is just a genius. He reminds me of John Carpenter in regards to his sense of dread, suspense, and timing. And I just can’t say enough good things about that one. Check it out, man. It’s really good. It fits in the slasher genre, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a slasher. It’s more of, I don’t want to say a psychological thriller, but it’s a straight stalker movie and it’s just so creepy. Be sure to check out more from Ice Nine Kills at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Zach Bedsaul, the guitarist of the alternative metal/hard rock quartet SAUL, was beyond gracious enough to answer a few questions with me about their forthcoming debut album Rise As Equals, the album’s writing process, the album’s collaborations, and some of the upcoming plans for the band when they have a bit of downtime amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. You guys are planning on releasing your debut album Rise As Equals on October 23rd via Spinefarm Records. How do you guys compare this record to your previous EPs? Was there anything you did differently in the writing or recording process? We collectively found out that putting together a full length is a little more work than we thought it would be. It was a blast and a bit stressful at times, but it went very well. This was the first time we had an opportunity to write in a studio setting instead of writing everything in our rehearsal spot and then tracking. How do songs come together during the writing process for SAUL? It usually starts with a guitar, bass riff, or drum pattern. Our song “King of Misery” actually started with Blake coming to me with the chorus, lyrics, and melody. It just depends on where the inspiration comes from at that moment. What are your musical influences that shape the band’s sound? You got that unapologetic hard rock/alternative metal sound shaped around all of your own traits that make you stand out amongst many in the genre by making songs of positivity out of real-life experiences. But where do the heavy elements and the electronic pieces in your songs get their direct influence from? Blake and myself have been huge Tool fans for many years, so from Maynard’s vocals to Adam’s edgy rhythms and sounds. We took a turn when we discovered the UK guys TesseracT, Monuments, and Architects, and really fell in love with that djenty, 7-string sound. We’ve always loved programming and that goes all the way back to Pink Floyd and more new-age like Bring Me The Horizon. I’m sure it’s quite stressful trying to release an album during these unprecedented times, how has it impacted the process of releasing Rise As Equals? The quarantine in a way kind of helped us with the writing process. We thought we were done, but the label asked us to go do a few more songs, and honestly, these last songs we wrote were some of the strongest. It all worked out in our favor. How was it writing a song with Disturbed’s David Draiman over Zoom versus writing it in person? Definitely a bit more difficult. We had to get the technical issues figured out first. Zoom wanted to compress the audio and it made it very difficult until we finally figured out the settings. After that, it was pretty decent. We found you just don’t get the same vibes over Zoom versus in person. So you released the album’s second single “King of Misery” approximately a month ago now, how has the reception been from the fans? It’s been phenomenal so far! We are currently #25 on Billboard Media Base and couldn’t be happier. The Equals seem to love it and we are getting a lot of support on this. How did the collaboration with Sevendust’s Morgan Rose come about? He appears on just the two tracks, “Looking To Fight” and “Inside,” correct? Morgan was only on “Inside.” We collaborated with him on this writing of this song and it was an absolute blast. He’s a great songwriter and has fantastic rhythm ideas. I’m thankful that he actually drummed on this song for us as well. Is there any song(s) off Rise As Equals that you’re dying to perform live in front of an audience, whenever that chance may be? I think “Sticks and Stones” is going to a fun one for live. It’s a bit heavier and the lyrics are brutal. I honestly feel a lot of people can relate and the driving push of the music just helps deliver it. Finally, what are your guys’ plans for the rest of the unforeseeable future? Any live streams or anything for the album’s release? We are doing a CD release party on Friday, October 23rd to support the record. We’re doing a commentary section before the performance side to talk about songs, influences, lyric content, and who we worked with on it. Then the performance, and directly after that, we will do a Q&A for The Equals. Thanks for the time! With everything still going on in the world right now, I hope you’re all staying safe. Is there anything else you may want to add? Please follow us on social media, pre-order, and pre-save Rise As Equals, and please sign up for our mailer! Thank you and let’s RISE AS EQUALS! Be sure to check out more from SAUL at: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Indie rock band My Kid Brother had the unfortunate luck of releasing their killer self-titled debut EP during a pandemic. Their touring plans -supporting Angels & Airwaves- were put on hold, and they had to pivot into finding a way that was best to engage their audience during the downtime, celebrating the EP they had been working hard on, and introducing themselves and their music to new fans without the traditional support of touring. It was no doubt a challenge, but you’d never guess that when talking to the five cheerful and fun people who form My Kid Brother. I spoke to the whole band over Zoom while they ride out the pandemic at guitarist Dylan Savopoulos’ house in Leesburg, Virginia. It was a great and informative chat with a fantastic new band. My Kid Brother was formed in 2016 by singer/guitarist Christian Neonakis and drummer Sam Athanas, who worked together at a restaurant and started jamming. Over the next two years, the pair recruited Dylan on guitar, along with Richard Smith on bass, and the quintet finally locked into a comfortable place when Piano Whitman joined the band on keyboards and vocals in 2018. In 2019, My Kid Brother was signed to Fearless Records and set out to record their first music with label support. The band draws on many influences that intertwine from each of the five musicians’ backgrounds, and their infectious, upbeat music is hard to pin down entirely. “I’d say we’re indie rock,” muses Neonakis, “But we get our influences from all over the place too. Modest Mouse is a big influence for us…we had someone recently say they could hear the Queens of the Stone Age influence, which was awesome for us.” Neonakis recommends their song “Daydream” as a first sample of the band that can give listeners a decent idea of their sound. When writing music, the band will usually put song parts into a file and have each member open it and contribute to it, tinkering with the sound until it can be the best version of itself. Sometimes, though, an all-day writing session wins out. That’s how an 8-hour all-day writing session resulted in the EP’s closing track, “Native Tongue.” “Yeah, that one really came together fast, it just sort of came out of us,” states Neonakis. The one debate they had regarding the song was the explosive ending. The song, which gives off a groove reminiscent of Cage The Elephant with a catchy, upbeat chorus, finishes with a propulsive shift in tone, dialling up the drums and guitar to end with a bang. “That part was originally the bridge, actually. When we went into the studio, someone suggested we move it to the end, and we really liked that idea.” “Native Tongue” is the band’s favourite to perform live. For now, anyway. “We’ve been writing another song, it’s not done yet. But we’ve played it live a couple of times and we really like the energy of the song and how the audience responds to it, so that one may be another favourite,” he says, teasing future releases. My Kid Brother was supposed to support Tom Delonge’s band Angels & Airwaves on a short January run of the States. But that tour, unfortunately, got postponed when Delonge got a respiratory infection. Then it inevitably got postponed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band is looking forward to the time in which they can open for one of their heroes. Afterwards, barring any unforeseen changes brought on by the pandemic, the band has several other supporting tours ready to book to promote the EP. When discussing a hypothetical dream tour, they pondered quickly before laughing. “I’d definitely want to support Modest Mouse…then have Weird Al close the show,” declares Savopoulos with a grin. The band is immediately drawn into a fun tangent when drummer Sam Athanas sits forward and asks Neonakis pointedly, “If Weird Al agreed to parody one of our songs, what would it be?”. They quickly launched into a breezy discussion about parody ideas before deciding on a parody of “Native Tongue,” tentatively titled “Native Tongs.” That idea is free of charge if you’re reading this, Al. In just this 90 second conversation, the band’s easy chemistry and relaxed sense of humour was on full display. My Kid Brother has a mantra they say to each other regularly- Take care of one another. It started when Dylan started saying it to the other bandmates often because they were all so close. Each member relied on the others while they built up the band together, and so the refrain to take care of each other became their motto as they navigated through the difficult times. It naturally became something they decided to share with their fans as a reminder to everyone to lift one another upon during the hardships. The fan interactions and reception to their songs are an inspiration to the band to keep the music flowing, along with a healthy respect for their musical heroes who have been a beacon of light to them throughout their lives. It was a pleasure talking to My Kid Brother, and if their self-titled EP is any indication, these guys will go on to be very successful. Stream their EP on your favourite platform now, and remember to take care of one another. Check out more from My Kid Brother: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

September 12, 2020 Pyramid Cabaret All photos by Nicole Malcolm Photography.

August 20, 2020 The Park Theatre Photos by Nicole Malcolm Photography.

August 19, 2020 The Park Theatre Photos by Nicole Malcolm Photography.

Recently I spoke to Bruno Lamas, the drummer for the Brazilian alternative rock band SOFIA. We discussed everything from the band’s name, the band’s debut EP Stories for the Sleepless, and the band’s future. Your band name comes from scouring through books of mythology, but could you tell me more about the namesake and how it ties into the band’s lyrics and sound? It’s all connected to storytelling. We just love the concept of diving into a world and wanted to create one for the listeners. How would you describe your music for anybody who may have never heard SOFIA before? Alternative rock! Your debut EP Stories for the Sleepless has been out now for quite a while for the world to hear. How has the reception been so far for the five songs? It’s been very heartwarming to see people connect with our stories and have our music be a part of theirs! The songwriting on your debut effort is inspired by many different subjects including bedtime stories, fairy tales, science fiction, and fantasies. Is there any particular that comes to mind that drew the most influence for any, if not all of Stories for the Sleepless? Reality is often stranger than fiction. Which song(s) on Stories for the Sleepless were the most fun to write, and which off the EP were the most challenging to write? The most challenging might’ve been “Stranger” and “Sad.” It was a subject we wanted to be very careful on touching, and so the lyrics had to be rewritten a few times in order to get the correct message across. “Stranger” probably was also the most fun because it was the first one out of the five that we started writing for the EP! You guys have a long list of influences ranging from Pink Floyd to Metallica to Twenty One Pilots. Even the OST for Lord of the Rings. If you could have sat down and written a song, or two, with anybody from the past or present, who would it be and why? The Beatles! Just to be around their creative process must have been so crazy and inspirational! You guys have released two visuals now accompanying the first two singles, “Coconut” and “Closer,” that were created by Leo and his production company, Salt Karamel. I take it the remainder of the videos are currently on hold until you guys can get back together as a group and also have the green light to film amid the woes of COVID-19? Yes, it’s on hold for now. We create everything together as a band, and right now the three of us all had to shift our focus onto other things in our lives and around the world. When the time is right, we will come together and continue the story. Do you have anything else planned for the remainder of 2020? Yes, much more! We will be announcing some big news very soon. Thanks for the time Bruno! With everything going on in the world these past few months, I hope you and your bandmates are all staying safe at home in Brazil and Los Angeles. Is there anything else you may want to add? Thank you for sharing our story! We just hope everyone is safe out there. Check out more from SOFIA: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Dizzy Mystics August 7, 2020 The Park Theatre Photos by Nicole Malcolm Photography.

July 23, 2020 The Park Theatre All photos by Nicole Malcolm Photography.

Weigh The Anchor, a pop-punk band from Oakville, Ontario, has released their propulsive third EP, Right At Home, on July 10th. I spoke to singer Andrew Zamora just before its release and talked about the group’s origins, the new EP, making relatable music, and why the band is better than ever before. Weigh The Anchor was formed in Oakville in 2016. They released their first EP, True Colours, in 2017, and they followed that up with the EP, Different Ways, in 2019. Now the band has undergone some lineup changes, with former bassist and backing vocalist Andrew Zamora moving to frontman and lead vocals. The current lineup is rounded out by guitarist Brad Gresko and drummer Brendan Lennard. The band was ready to get right into the studio after Andrew assumed vocal duties, and the result is the dynamic Right At Home EP. “We went through a lot of changes, so we wanted to get this out right away and have something new,” Andrew states, “We just wanted to take this seriously, and when you’re surrounded by a group of guys that want the exact same thing as you do, it makes everything so much easier.” Andrew started playing guitar when he was eleven and knew shortly after that he loved writing songs. “I always love writing, I always knew I wanted to play live. I even went to school for recording music, and it just didn’t really engage me, being behind the studio, the desk, and I realized that I wanted to be the one on stage, the one always writing, collaborating with people.” So when looking to start Weigh the Anchor with Brad, he was flexible, willing to do whatever it takes to get the project off its feet. Noticing a void, he picked up the bass and assumed backing vocals for the fledgling band. Now circumstances have thrust him into lead vocals, and Andrew is up to the task, bringing his eclectic musical influences to the forefront in order to bring Weigh The Anchor to the next level. The new music noticeably packs a punch and features heavier styles. “It definitely evolved naturally…I come up from, being younger, really loving hardcore stuff, really heavy music, but as I grew up, I’m glad I became a lover of all genres. A good song is a good song. I definitely draw inspiration from all types of genres. We definitely try not to sound too much like a pop-punk band. We want to sound like ourselves,” says Andrew, also citing Knuckle Puck and The Story So Far as inspirations that really set him down his musical path. The first thing the band did after the reorganization is hit the studio, which they had booked before even settling down to write the songs. This time around, they tried something different -writing in the same room and having each member contribute to each part. “It was really the first time together…coming up with either a riff that caught our eye or that really stood out to us, and really just figuring out what sounds good and recording the audio and building on top of it…so it really is a different experience, but it really feels that everyone is in the same mindset and that we contributed the same amount, and it brought a different kind of energy to the song,” Andrew explains candidly about the new songwriting process. The lyrics on Right At Home deal with themes of growing up, dealing with life changes, and overcoming adversity. Speaking on this, Andrew explains, “Some of the songs that are more upbeat, really kind of capture what we’re going through at this time of our lives, just giving a kind of abstract view of what’s going on with us and some of the hardships that we’ve faced… I was sitting down to come up with ideas for the lyrics, I really wanted to cut through the bullshit and reflect on that point of my life. Having to deal with every day, you never know if you’re making the right decisions for yourself or your future, but everyone has to find a way to push through the hardship.” This lyrical exploration combined with the confidence the trio gained from sharing songwriting duties lent itself naturally to the EP’s title, Right At Home. “It really felt natural and it captured our visions and our emotions in these songs, and so it really felt like it was our home when we were in there. So these songs are about being comfortable and making us feel right at home.” Andrew also tells me about the fascination he has with talented people. He’s currently working through the backlog of great music from the ’80s and ’90s, seeking out the greats of the day. “We owe them so much, and it’s so crazy to hear some of these really raw songs, and it just comes out, especially sometimes it really is just a person singing into a mic with a guitar or a piano; some of the stuff that really inspires me is the stripped-down stuff, someone just singing or playing the guitar and blowing someone’s mind, just seeing the talent that one person can hold,” he gushes enthusiastically. You can tell it inspires him; shortly after he mentions how the act of creating something from nothing is a skill set he holds in great esteem. “So many people have different paths and people will blow your minds with what they’re good at, so what really keeps me going is just hearing something I love, and really drawing people to that in a way with what we’re putting out there too.” Weigh The Anchor is constantly writing new music, and if faced with the opportunity, would head back into the studio to record an album’s worth of songs. “You definitely have to make a decision when you’re doing this about how you can make the biggest impact that you can…I kinda like the idea of pumping out an EP of four or five songs, and having to release new stuff quicker, as our lives are changing, being able to have really short EPs or a couple of songs here and there, that really evolve with us with what we’re going through…especially with Spotify and everything online, the public is in love with the single now, it’s easier to promote song by song. You don’t want any song to go unmissed or unnoticed because every single song we put out, we put everything we have into it,” Andrew tells me passionately. The guys were supposed to be embarking on a west coast tour this summer, but obviously, COVID-19 has put an end to those plans for now. “Everyone says we’ll always find a way to push through, and who knows what might happen, but we’ll get there I’m sure. I think I’ll be at a show every day once we start back up,” Andrew says, laughing. Once touring starts back up, Weigh The Anchor will hitting the road in the US and Canada to support their new music. They’ll be using a touring bass player for their live show. “We have a ton of good friends that are amazing musicians that will jump on stage with us, we have a ton of stuff to play live, there’s some stuff we haven’t played live before, I wanna play in front of a bunch of people that are all there to have a good time, they’re a community, we’re the entertainment.” Right At Home is available on streaming services now, and be sure to check out their previous two EPs as well, so you can be well versed in this visceral pop-punk band when they eventually tour your city! Check out more from Weigh The Anchor: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Recently I had the opportunity to ask the members of the Toronto pop/R&B group The Free Label some questions pertaining to their brand new album, M.I.A, the past, present, and future of the band, and everything in between. What’s the significance of your band name The Free Label? When we were thinking of a name for the group, we looked at the kind of music we were making, and all the different genre influences we have. We didn’t want to be confined to a strict sound; we wanted the fluidity to make music the way we wanted. To be free from titles or rules. Where did the idea of calling yourself a boyband come from? The boyband name was given to us rather than created by us. When we perform, all four of us sing and dance on stage. People would just call us a boyband, and we just went with the title. There aren’t too many boybands anymore, and we want to continue the art and style. You guys originally formed as a funk cover band in 2017, correct? What made you guys move away from covering songs, slightly straying from the genre, and start to write, record, and perform your own material? We started as a funk cover band to fill the gaps in our set between our originals. We always knew that the covers were our way of cutting our teeth and learning to perform on stage together. As we started playing more frequently, we would play shows with two, three, sometimes four sets, and we needed to extend our setlist. You all have jazz/funk backgrounds and certainly, display that on M.I.A. and even on your previous EP, Lift You Up. You blur the lines between pop and R&B, also incorporating some funk, jazz, and hip-hop elements throughout its eight tracks. Are these just genres you’re all fans of that you decided to blend and incorporate into your sound? How did that all come about in the songwriting process, past and present? After playing as a cover band for so long, those genres are practically ingrained in the way we function musically. I don’t think we could make it through a full writing session without breaking into a funk jam. We always use our roots to create our original music. Like in the way old funk/soul music, it was meant to be performed live. That’s something we think about with every song we write. How do we go crazy with this on stage or how it fits in our set. What are your musical influences that shape the group’s sound? For example, I love the vibe on your track, “You Ain’t Got No Reason” that resembles a piece of music from the likes of Justin Timberlake, or even Bruno Mars. Anderson .Paak is a massive influence on us as a group as well. He embodies old-school soul and R&B in the most modern way. That’s where our song “You Ain’t Got No Reason” comes from; It’s our way to pay homage to our roots, and showcase our old school vibe. Which songs on the album were the most fun to write and which were the most challenging to write? M.I.A. was the most fun to write by far. What we sing about on M.I.A. are our personal experiences. In 2019 we spent four months abroad performing on a cruise ship residency, and we lived the life you hear about in the song. We had performances every night, and our job was to throw parties until the bars on the ship closed. Then we’d wake up and do it all over again, travelling the world. The hardest song to write was, “Let Me Find a Way.” We went through three or four different versions of the song before we landed on what you hear on the album. It started as a 60’s soul song, then transformed into a 90’s R&B style track, and finally ended up with an indie-pop vibe. With the previous versions, we felt like we weren’t exploring the range of what we could do. As we started to experiment, all the elements all began to fall into place. How was it collaborating with fellow Toronto indie-pop artist Oleyada on your track, “Up in Flames,” could you tell me more about that? Oleyada is not only a super talented writer and close friend but also our bass player Mathew’s girlfriend; they collaborate all the time. “Up in Flames” came about while Mathew and Oleyada were writing together. After they showed us what they had, we all agreed it was an excellent fit for the record. We all love Ariana Grande’s last album, and it influenced “Up in Flames.” The song was written far before COVID-19, but the release lined up in a super weird way. The apocalyptic themes felt very fitting for this peculiar time. If you could have collaborated with any musician that’s ever existed, past or present on M.I.A. who would it have been and why? We would love to get Anderson .Paak on a version of “You Ain’t Got No Reason.” What are your favourite song(s) off the new album? Our favourite song off the album is “M.I.A.” For so many reasons, the memories and stories that the song is about, plus the music video was so fun to shoot. Since its release in 2018, your single “All Night” has garnered over 550,000 streams on Spotify, a real monumental achievement, sparking the path you guys are now on. How has the reception for your most recent singles, “Up in Flames” and “M.I.A. (Money Isn’t Available)” been since their releases? Releasing “All Night” was crazy. The reception we received for our first ever single is incredible. The fact that people have heard our music around the world and that twenty-two thousand of them have saved the single on Spotify is unreal. “M.I.A” is our evolution from “All Night.” It shows how much our songwriting and style has developed since 2018. As for “Up in Flames,” it was a song that felt like it fit in our boyband image, and is just another branch of what The Free Label is. This past month you guys released a mixtape made entirely from the comfort of your own homes while practicing social distancing in the months of March and April titled, Quarantoonz, Vol. 1, will there be more Quarantoonz mixtapes down the road? As long as quarantine lasts, we will release more volumes of Quarantoonz. We’re making so much music right now; it would be a shame not to release it. Do you have anything else planned for 2020, or are you guys just taking the year day-by-day for the unforeseeable future, before you can solidify touring plans, etc? As for 2020, we will release another summer single, and the second volume of Quarantoonz, maybe two… We will be playing a few online festivals and streaming performances. We performed for Homebody Festival on May 29th, and the City of Vaughan’s Canada Day stream. We are always looking for more opportunities to perform, so it’s best to check our Instagram or website at thefreelabel.ca if you want the most updated info on us. Thanks for the time, guys! With everything going on in the world right now, I hope you’re all staying safe at home in Toronto. Is there anything else you may want to add? Thank you to everyone for showing us so much support and love right now! Stay home, stay safe, and wash ya’ damn hands! Check out more from The Free Label: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Justin Furstenfeld is grateful to be alive and sober. It was quite a journey for the Blue October frontman to get to this point, and now Blue October has released their documentary, Get Back Up, showcasing Justin’s struggles with mental illness and drug addiction and his road to sobriety. The band is also gearing up to release their tenth studio album, This Is What I Live For, on September 18th. Justin and I spoke about both of these topics, as well as the past, present, and future of Blue October, and the creation of Justin’s new record label, Up/Down Records. Get Back Up started from a simple place: Justin needed a way to stay sober after leaving rehab. “I said, you know what? I won’t get high if there’s camera crews around, so let’s make a documentary about what it takes to stay sober in the music business. And then it turned into something so much bigger than that, it was fucking outrageous.” The filming took place over seven years and transformed Justin’s entire life throughout the process. “I stayed sober and life got better in a lot of ways. I started looking better, feeling better, my attitude wasn’t a little bitch anymore, it made me grateful, patient, held me accountable, and made me really love my life and not take anything for granted.” Justin removed himself entirely from the creative process of the documentary. He didn’t want anything to do with it and didn’t see a frame of it until a month before it premiered. He wasn’t allowed to give notes and surrendered complete creative control to director Norry Niven. “It was scary, but afterwards, I was so glad that I did it because it was done so well. I couldn’t be more proud of it, the band, and everyone involved in it, because it’s a crazy amount of support they showed me and what the documentary overcomes.” So far, the reaction to Get Back Up has been extremely positive, and Justin is ecstatic that people are responding to the subject matter. Not only just for supporting Blue October but for themselves as well. “It’s really doing what we wanted it to do, which is to show people that there is a solution outside of this disease of addiction and mental illness, it’s very, very, very important for people to hear these things. I’m just happy I’m able to share that through my experience, strength, and recovery.” One thing that has made the personal struggles easier for Justin has been having his brother Jeremy in the band with him. “It’s such an important thing to be able to be around family, and he’s great…we run this whole thing together.” Justin and Jeremy are both comfortable in their roles in the band and know which of them is suited for a situation. “I’m the nice guy, I’m the guy who if you tell me, ‘I can’t pay you’, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s okay,' and my brother is the guy who is like, ‘Fuck you, pay me,’ Justin says with a laugh. “He’s a very nice guy, just don’t mess with him. He’s very much like my wife that way, she’s the smart one, she’s the pit bull.” It’s undeniable that having the two of them by his side has allowed Justin the support he needs to stay sober. Family is very important to Justin, which is reflected in Get Back Up. “We see babies being born, getting held for the first time, we get to see these stories being told from a certain point of view,” Justin gushes. All of this helped inspire the songwriting behind the new Blue October album, This Is What I Live For. Justin describes it as a sadder and darker album than their last few, but that it also rocks harder than anything in their previous catalogue. “It’s my sad rock album. I love it. It was incredibly hard because it was so sad and so romantic.” Justin played coy about the album’s subject matter, however. “I’ll sound like a fool,” he demurred. “It’s just about the things that go on inside your head and trying to figure it all out. When you hear it, you’ll be like, ‘okay, I get why he didn’t tell me what it’s about.’ It’s just a really beautiful, romantic, rock album. If you like the ‘Hate Me’ stuff and the ‘Into The Ocean’ stuff, you’ll really like it. There’s just so much sadness, I love it.” Justin stops to consider that. “I’m such a happy guy, but I fucking love sad music. It’s kinda like how I like watching murder mysteries because it makes me feel so alive seeing people die.” He muses with a laugh. Sadness is not in short supply on This Is What I Live For. Justin points out that two of his favourites- “Only Lost Is Found” and “Who Do You Run From”- are particularly sad. Another one of his favourites is, “Moving On,” a track that is on schedule to be the next single off the album. We also talked about how Justin runs his new label with partners Paul Nugent and Mike Swinford. “Mike is the godfather, he’s the numbers guy. Paul is the guerrilla warfare guy; he’ll go out and get things done. I’m just the creative guy. It’s amazing. I get to run my own radio scene, my own agency, my own marketing team. I get to work my ass off and make sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted.” He says enthusiastically. He compares it favourably to being on a major label, which allows him to budget everyone and make sure they stay within the budget, instead of hoping that people give you what you need to get yourself heard. “You gotta understand, major labels want to make money, and that’s good because that’s what I wanna do too. I wanna make the money and profit off it, boom. That’s what I want. Anybody tells you differently, that they’re bloodsuckers or something, well then shut up. You’re either in it, or you’re not…I just want to make sure that we treat everyone with the utmost respect and I try to get everything done with my Texas charm and my gentleman quality, instead of having to gouge people.” Justin acknowledges the hard work his partners have put in, and calls them, “two of the smartest people in the industry.” Combined with his work ethic and songwriting, the three are aiming to bring their label to new heights. Looking back over the course of Blue October’s career, Justin feels fulfilled that he has been able to share so much music and help people through their difficult moments. “The fans keep coming, and it keeps getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and it’s amazing. And the catalogue, it just keeps growing. Sometimes I look at it, and I’m like, it’s so special and so beautiful, where the hell did it come from?” He asks cheerfully. “There are people relying on me and there’s too much beauty in this freaking world to not create good art, and to put it out. Art is always timeless, maybe we aren’t able to tour right now, but you know what? We need to be there for the music community right now because they’ve always been there for us,” says Justin, regarding the state of the music industry being affected by COVID-19. Justin never stops creating; while Blue October is gearing up for the new album and celebrating the release of Get Back Up, Justin continues to explore his art. “I never stop writing music…I’m also working on my second book. I just can’t stop doing stuff. My manager says, ‘that I’m no longer Justin the musician, I’m Justin the creator,’ and I love it! I do it because we only have one life to live, and only one shot to be the greatest we can be!” You can check out a sample of what This Is What I Live For has to offer by streaming the album’s first two singles, “Oh My My” and the title track, “This Is What I Live For” now. Blue October’s tenth album will be out on September 18th, and you can purchase Get Back Up now as well. Make sure you follow Justin Furstenfeld and the rest of Blue October as they continue to release powerful music. Check out more from Blue October: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum is gearing up for their twenty-fifth anniversary and the release of their eighth studio album, Thalassic, on July 10th via Metal Blade Records. Frontman Petri Lindroos and I spoke over Skype about the new album and where Ensiferum is at musically in 2020. Ensiferum was formed in 1995 by guitarist/vocalist Markus Toivonen and released their self-titled debut in 2001. In 2004, their singer/guitarist at the time Jari Mäenpää left the band for his side project Wintersun, and the band gave Petri Lindroos (ex-Norther) a call to fill in for their upcoming European tour. Now it’s been sixteen years and Petri’s passion for the band is still evident for all to see. “I cannot wait for the album to be out and have everyone hear it,” he says passionately. “It’s the first theme album of the band’s history and that is certainly bringing a new angle.” Thalassic is Greek, meaning “relating to the sea or ocean”. Bassist and primary wordsmith Sami Hinkka put together an album’s worth of lyrics all tied together by the theme of water. “He’s the man behind the whole thing, but we did a very good job of bringing it to life with the songs, and I think the theme fits,” says Petri. This type of focus was new for the band members and has Petri optimistic about the future songwriting of Ensiferum, noting that further albums could see more work with themes. “This one’s not out yet so we’re not focused that much on the future, so we’ll have to wait and see…the sky is the limit.” Petri notes that the songwriting on Thalassic drove them to be more economic, stating the songs are “more compact and dynamic, more to the point basically…we cut out the unnecessary parts, and shortened the songs a bit,” allowing the music to flow as organically as possible. A theme is not the only change present on Thalassic. Ensiferum also welcomes newcomer Pekka Montin on the keyboards and clean vocals. Petri had a glowing review of his new bandmate’s contribution, calling him a “magnificent boost” to the process. “He did one hell of a job interpreting the songs in his voice…it’s definitely bringing a big change to the songs on the album.” Montin’s debut with the band can be heard on the album’s lead single, “Rum, Women, Victory,” which is available to stream now. “It’s a kickass tune, and it introduces him well…we thought it would fit very good as a first taste.” That’s not all you’ll hear Pekka’s pipes on; the new track, “One with the Sea” is his solo. It’s described as a slow, heavy, beautiful song. “I think we’ll enjoy that one a lot when we play it live…it’ll be nice for him to step into the spotlight,” Petri says. The band reunited with producer Janne Joutsenniemi after previously working with him last on From Afar in 2009. Janne knows how the band writes and plays to their strengths. “It was time to get a fresh start, with a new member in the band…It’s like we didn’t miss a day between, we’re all just eleven years older,” Petri laughs. “He’s still the man on the spot, not giving an inch to anybody to slack, he knows exactly how good we are and how to push that extra mile out of our butts when we need it.” Writing songs for Ensiferum is a lengthy, drawn-out process, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Main songwriter Markus brings all his ideas to the band at their rehearsal space, and they work through each part together, taking their time to flush out every piece and trying anything that occurs to them in the moment. “That’s why the songwriting for this band is pretty slow, but it’s definitely worth it, and it’s fun to actually be involved with everything, not just one guy going, ‘you do this, you do that’ and boom, you hit the studio. We play around with a lot of ideas.” The album is out on July 10th, but any touring plans for Ensiferum will be halted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “It sucks, of course, that we aren’t able to go out and play these songs live right away,” Petri laments, but continues, “people still need new music to hear, especially right now. I think it’s really good that new music is getting published, for that reason. And people have more time on their hands, some people can’t work right now. So I see that as a little bit of a positive that right now, this album can help people get through this.” Speaking on touring, Petri and I discuss the monotonous days that are the touring life, and the remedy for such things. “Every day begins with a super-strong cup of coffee and a cigarette, otherwise it’s gonna suck ass,” he laughs. “Thank god for Netflix, man. It’s a very good entertainment tool. And if I’m in Europe, I bring my Xbox on a portable game briefcase, that’s a lifesaver for a boring day too.” I asked Petri if he had any stories from touring that brought a smile to his face, and he quickly mentioned the first time Ensiferum played the main stage at Wacken Open Air in Germany, which was jaw-dropping for the band. Then he told me a story where a simple mistake could have ended one of their shows much earlier than intended. “It was some small festival, and all the power came from generators run from gasoline. We were on our second song of our set I think, and everything dies- lights, stage, PA system- and we’re like, okay…this is weird. We walk off the stage and it takes us ten minutes to get the info that the generator ran out of gasoline because someone forgot to fill it…and it took maybe another five minutes, and the lights are back, and we think, ‘Okay, what do we do?’, how about we just continue right where we left off? The song was “Into Battle,” second verse. We started right from there. I’ll never forget that.” When I asked if he had a favourite song off Thalassic, Petri couldn’t pick one track in particular. “I would have to pick all of them. It’s kinda difficult to pick one song over another on this one,” he muses. Petri’s enthusiasm for the work that Ensiferum has achieved on this outing is clear and infectious. They have new blood to energize them, the return of a dominant producer, and the skill and craftsmanship they’ve honed over the last two and a half decades in their favour. For Petri, he knows what gets him out of bed in the morning. “I love doing this…to play live. That is the best thing that I can imagine. I truly feel at home when I’m on stage and that keeps me going. When I feel like that’s not my thing, then it would be time to hang up the guitar…but before that happens, I’m gonna rock my butt off.” Grab Thalassic when it comes out on July 10th, and witness what the band has created this time around.

Release Date: May 29, 2020 Genre: Heavy Metal, Doom Metal Label: Metal Blade Records The Swedish epic doom metal band Sorcerer has never let the sub-genre define them and continued to stride past it on their third album, Lamenting of the Innocent, by incorporating many new elements from other sub-genres of metal to their always evolving sound. Lamenting of the Innocent is best described as a semi-concept album. The members of Sorcerer wanted each individual track on the effort to stand out on their own, which they were successful in doing that such feat. However, all the tracks do revolve around the similar themes of witchcraft and the hunting of witches that specifically occurred in the 14th and 15th centuries. The album draws most of its inspiration of these themes from the book, Malleus Maleficarum, which is most commonly translated to Hammer of Witches, originally published in 1487 by German author and inquisitor, Heinrich Kramer, best known by his Latinized name, Henricus Institoris. Sorcerer has integrated a couple of different elements into the songwriting of this record, which include the experimentation of different tempos throughout the album and the integration of growls into their music, which is provided by the band’s newest addition, Justin Hagel (bass). Justin also contributed to some of the songwriting on tracks such as, “Institoris” and “Age of the Damned,” and helped with some of the lyrical writing on Lamenting of the Innocent. Sorcerer’s previous contributor Conny Welén returned to provide to the album’s songwriting as well. Lamenting of the Innocent was again entirely produced by the members of Sorcerer, but mixed and mastered by Swedish musician/music engineer Ronnie Björnström (Bone Gnawer, Paganizer, Revolting). The album’s bonus track, “Hellfire” which is only included on the digipak CD version was mixed by Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth). “We had a lot of experience with and without producers, and these days, you can do so much at home,” says guitarist Kristian Niemann. Following a minute-long, melodic intro track titled, “Persecution,” the album shifts into high gear with the album’s lead single, “The Hammer of Witches.” The track sets the album’s recurring theme in motion with a song about Catholic churches and knights hunting innocent women who have been accused of witchcraft to cleanse villages of Satan’s collaborators. These women would later be put to trial and some even executed by being burned at the stake. It’s stated that the song does not represent the entire effort as a whole. The song is arguably the fastest track on Lamenting of the Innocent and showcases the band’s ever-growing evolution of sound and songwriting abilities. “Tonight determined by glory / A mission so holy / Reveal the disguise / We’re chasing through the shadows in search for a sign / When our fear, we ride / Eradicate the darkness in the search of divine / We will turn the tide / Burn witch, burn.” “Hammer of Witches is not very representative of the album as a whole. It’s the fastest and most direct song on the whole album, it’s maybe a curious choice for a single, but it’s very easy to get into,” continues Niemann. The album’s title track, “Lamenting of the Innocent” is about exactly what the title suggests, mourning the loss of innocent women some five hundred plus years ago who lost their lives after being accused of being witches. The song, “Institoris” is about Henricus Institoris, the main inspiration behind the album’s theme and his journey through Germany to investigate and write about witches, while overlooking many of the trials of the accused women. While as the song, “Condemned” is about a woman who was accused of being a witch, now jailed and waiting for her execution. It touches on the agony she is feeling while she is looking out the cellar window where she’s being kept, watching the town’s folk building the pyre where she will inevitably be executed upon. The album’s second single, “Dance with the Devil” brings back the bands haunting and menacing choir background vocals that were prominent on many of their songs on the band’s two previous albums, In The Shadow of the Inverted Cross and The Crowning of the Fire King. The third single, “Deliverance” features both, Candlemass vocalist, Johan Langquist and renowned Swedish cellist, Svante Henryson. “Deliverance” is the simplest and slowest song on the album and is best described as a heavy metal ballad. The track has no drums whatsoever, it’s all melodic guitars, cello, and a duet vocal performance by Anders and Johan. The final track on Lamenting of the Innocent, “Path to Perdition,” opens with a blistering guitar solo, before the track reveals its true form. Lyrically, “Path of Perdition” brings the whole album and its theme to a perfect close. The track revolves around the anger of the town’s people forcefully taking the town’s priest from the church to his eventual placement onto a pyre in the town square, as he had done to many innocent women before. Halfway through the track, it takes a bit of a turn to describe what the priest is going through himself. The band wanted to contrast the priest's divine delusion of grandeur. How he wouldn’t cross into heaven, but rather transcend to a realm of nightmares tailored to his own depravity. Sorcerer was originally set to have an album release show in Germany, but because of the events currently happening around the world, they had to resort to a live stream event on Facebook last weekend on Saturday, May 23rd instead. Regardless of the events currently having live music on hold, the band is eager to get on the road, rather that is this fall or sometime in 2021, but do have some plans in place to provide content for the fans online until they can get back out on the road. We were supposed to have a release gig in Germany…and then do a couple shows in Germany and Holland, and then Sweden Rock Festival, but of course, all of that is on hold now. In the fall, who knows now, because people are starting to think that maybe 2021 is when touring will continue, so who knows? …If we don’t have any gigs to play we’re probably gonna try to get as much stuff out on Youtube as we can, like playthroughs or stream through the rehearsal room, where we put the camera up and play the songs, we’re gonna do stuff like that,” says Niemann. Check out more from Sorcerer: Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | Instagram

Release Date: May 29, 2020 Genre: Pop, R&B, Hip-Hop Label: Independent Toronto-based, genre-defying and self-described boyband supergroup The Free Label have continued to solidify their musical path with the release of their second EP, M.I.A. The EP’s eight tracks hit you with numerous amounts of positive vibes if it’s from The Free Label’s endless catchy lyrics, or there at times melodic, groovy, experimental, genre-defying, and electrifying sound leaving you with what might be the soundtrack to your summer. The Free Label originally formed in 2017 as a funk cover band, before evolving into what you may know them as now, a multi-instrumental powerhouse comprised of four charismatic Canadian boys: Josh Daniel (vocals), Mathew Fantini (bass, vocals), Malik Mungo (guitar, vocals), and Cole Méndez (keys, vocals), who all sing and rap, in addition to playing their respective instruments. M.I.A was entirely self-produced by The Free Label, however, it was mixed and mastered by Gabe Galluci, who has previously worked on albums from Shawn Mendes and Francesco Yates, to name a few. Two years ago in the Summer of 2018, The Free Label had an extremely successful single, “All Night,” that lead the band to head out on the road on a four-month-long tour throughout South America and Europe, which was followed by the release of their three-track debut EP, Lift You Up. Within the last few weeks, The Free Label released Quarantoonz Vol. 1, a mixtape in a series that was created and recorded throughout the months of March and April, while the band and all of us practiced social distancing in the comfort of their own homes. The band used this as an opportunity to flex their creativity and try something new. M.I.A focuses on the subject of transition, touching on relationships ending, complicated situations changing, and remaining focused on the future. This effort is a reflection of what The Free Label is capable of comprising as artists. The EP opens up with its melodious title track, “M.I.A (Money Isn’t Available),” a track full of a resonating guitar line, a catchy chorus, and mesmerizing beat. “M.I.A (Money Isn’t Available)” sets itself up as a party, feel-good anthem and is just a taste of what’s yet to come on the remaining seven tracks. “We just want to do it for the money / So we can even turn up on a Sunday / Ladies all around us sweet like honey / We don’t need to wake up on a Monday.” The strident tune, “Oreo,” is the EP’s one and only full hip-hop track, while the track, “Up In Flames” also stands out on its own as one of the tracks with the slowest tempo. “Up In Flames” also features the sultry vocal performance from bilingual (English, Spanish) Toronto indie-pop artist, Oleyada. The two tracks, “Let Me Find A Way” and “Without You” are centred around groovy bass lines and will most certainly make you want to get up and move. However the track, “You Ain’t Got No Reason” while also being centred around a massive bassline and hypnotizing synths, takes the band back to their musical roots with a funky, and groovy anthem with elements that are something that resemble the likes of Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars. The Free Label did not want to leave their successful 2018 celebratory anthem and highly catchy single, “All Night” off the effort. The track suits the entire project extremely well and is the perfect culmination for what the previous seven tracks on M.I.A touched on. M.I.A may have the possibility to be the soundtrack of this upcoming summer and “All Night” itself stands out to be the contender to be part of it, if not the entire EP. Since the original release of, “All Night” the song has surpassed the monumental achievement of 550,000 streams on Spotify. “Cause we’re ridin’, we’re drinkin’, we’re smokin’ / And we don’t give a fuck / We elated, sedated, crossfaded / And we be keepin’ it up all night.” Check out more from The Free Label: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter