REGAL is a new collaborative music experiment by some of Vancouver's finest musicians, with members from Dominique Fricot, The Matinee, and The Devin Townsend Project.
They recently released their first EP which you can download now for FREE! The main single is called "Don't Stop" and you can hear it below. Two thumbs up from me!
It's the last year of the Peak Performance Project in BC, and tonight is the first of four final showcases.
After seven years, a WHOLE LOT of money handed out, and hundreds of musicians, this chapter in the Vancouver/BC Music scene will come to a close.
Instead of being sad, we're going to party for the next four Thursday nights at Fortune Sound Club with this year's Top 12 - most of which you can hear in this week's playlist, by clicking the image above.
So take one final peak at the bands - the showcase lineups are as follows (click the links to get your tickets!):
Showcase #1: Joy District, Bed Of Stars, Mindil Beach
Showcase #2: Find The Others, Jesse Roper, Little India
Showcase #3: Mike Edel, Chersea, Little India
Showcase #4: Windmills, Van Damsel, JP Maurice
"Guys! New Bear Mountain! New Bear Mountain!", this was literally my out-loud reaction when I saw the new release from Bear Mountain called "Hopeful".
Needless to say, I've been patiently waiting (aka asking them every time I saw them) for a new release, and the day has finally come. There will be a video for the track soon to follow, and the sophomore release will be in early 2016.
The band says of the song: "We made it thinking about the future, and being hopeful for what's to come despite the past."
I'm thinking there will be a killer album in our future. Listen below:
This week has been full of new music from BC bands and today is no exception with a new song from Victoria artist Dougal Bain McLean called "Drift Dreamer".
The video that accompanies it is about as Tokyo Drift as Victoria gets, with high-fives (instead of punches), donuts in a parking lot, and cameos from the Vic music scene.
Take a look at the video below and get the song HERE.
Exciting times today, we get a new single from The Zolas, whose new EP comes out on October 2nd, and a show announcement for November 5th at the Imperial here in Vancouver.
The opening line of "Fell In Love With New York" sets the tone of the song - "You're always surrounded, you're always alone" - illustrating the big city.
It makes me picture leaning my head out of a cab window watching the city lights go by or sitting in a cafe people watching.
Wino Oracle comes out in just over a week via Light Organ Records, and you can catch The Zolas on tour this fall, including the date at the Imperial. (For a full list of shows click here.) Take a listen to "Fell In Love With New York" below and download it for free!
photo by Sara Hembre
It's been a few years since we last heard from Steph Macpherson (2012's Bells & Whistles to be exact) but she has been keeping busy. Last year she ran a successful IndieGoGo campaign to travel down to Nashville, TN to record her latest album with eight-time JUNO award winning Colin Linden, who actually hand-picked Steph to record with!
(Full disclosure, I helped out with the fund, and got a nice hand-written postcard from Nashville.)
Jump-cut to now, and Steph is ready to release the new album, Stones, with a powerful video for the song "You Got Mean".
Photo by Kirsten Huculiak
I've got two fun things to share with you today, involving We Are The City.
The first is their brand new song "Keep On Dancing" that, well, kind of lives up to the name. Past the booming drums is a bit more of an upbeat song that their last album, the moody Violent. And while there's no details quite yet on the new album, we do know it was self-produced in the back of a bike shop in East Van.
The second thing is Whether You Care or Not, a documentary about We Are The City. The half hour doc follows them on a European tour and shows the "challenges of being a Canadian band on a global market".
And also learning stick shift.
Today I bring you not just a song of the day, not just song(s) of the day, but an album of the day! And I bring this to you not only because I love Chad VanGaalen, but also because Christine was too creeped out to write about it. (Actual quote: "I don't even know where to start with whatever the hell is going on with this")
Whatever the hell is going on with this is a trans-Canada collaboration of Calragy's Chad VanGaalen and Seth Smith (of Dog Day) from Halifax. They duo indulged their experimental side for an album called Seed of Dorzon which you can listen to in full below.
The album is only two songs, but half an hour long, and definitely leans heavy on the "experimental". The sprawling tracks feature haunting tones that suddenly shift to jarring beats, and eerie electronic bloops. It is as weird as it is interesting.
If you want slightly more normal Chad VanGaalen (or, as normal as he gets) I would recommend heading to Imperial tonight, where he is opening for Hayden. Or hop in your Tardis and see them last night at Rifflandia.
