By Will McGuirk
“Reminding myself that surely everything is alright, even when I’ve tricked myself into believing otherwise.” - Sunnsetter
Hayden, photo by Robert Georgeff
Slowcity.ca Open Mic - A Tribe Called Red, Whoop-Szo, Dan Edmonds, Dan Mangan, Bear's Den, Donovan Woods, Jacques Greene, Elephant Stone, Sam Weber, Pup, Katie Bulley,
By Will McGuirk
We are slowcity.ca, we are slow for a reason, we pause, we wait, we give voice when we give voice and if what is said is worth saying it will always be worth saying no matter when it is said and if what is heard is worth hearing it will be worth hearing no matter when it is heard.
“This song is for the people who are working hard to make the world a better place than the one they were left with. This is for the fighters and the defenders. Part of being strong is also taking the time to stop, let go and release. Our DNA is of earth and sky.” - Bear Witness, ATCR
"It imagines someone looking back on their own life and walking into their old house, reliving some pivotal moments of their life and re-engaging with who they are as a person and where they're at now. I read Winter, the novel by Ali Smith, and it really inspired me to want to write songs specifically about Winter. I think it's an incredibly inspiring time of year and it was a really fun and collaborative process for Kev and I to work on these songs, flesh them out, and bring them to life: embracing piano ideas and more acoustic elements whilst still exploring electronic textures behind the more reflective lyrics and sparse arrangements. - Andrew Davie.
“If social media has taught us anything, it’s that there are a lot of unhappy people out there who are trying to find a way out. They are looking for meaning and something to believe in… or nothing to believe in… We all want the same thing, but are trying to achieve it in different ways.” - Elephant Stone
“I’m trying to say that good things and bad things will happen, but not because they’re good or bad, but because they’re true, and the truth always comes out in the end. No matter how tragic or joyous.” - Sam Weber
Little Scream, photo by Zach Hertzman
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Jacques Greene, Luke Lalonde, Sandy Alex G, Lynne Hanson, Erin Costelo, LIA, Ada Lea, Little Scream, Badge Époque Ensemble, Lower Dens and Enterprise Earth
By Will McGuirk
I was watching an ad for No Frills, a video by Scott Cudmore and I started thinking about art, because that ad is art and how art is reinterpretation of life, art is a question of what is and who we are and who we are as art and there is a further story about how who we think we are can be reinterpreted as pixels for one or paint daubs for another. Who will you trust to reinterpret you? Who will you trust to re-constitute you? Would you even let go of your ego? But while I ponder here are tonight’s guests.
“This song is about the perils of falling for a poet, and just how rare it is to find true love.” - Lynee Hanson
“Directed by Amelia Curran and shot during the recording of my latest album, Sweet Marie, the video for "Hands on Fire" is a celebration of collaboration and the song itself embodies the struggles and joys of creating something.” - Erin Costelo
“This song is a celebration of me finding my way to womanhood and because of that, opening my arms to love.” - LIA
"During that period of 180 days, I often wondered what it would be like if I ever reached the other side; a seemingly unattainable goal. This song is an homage to that dream-like period." - Ada Lea
Badge Époque Ensemble, photo by Colin Medley
nêhiyawak, photo by Levi Manchak
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with nêhiyawak, Holy Fuck, Jacques Greene, Loving, Sweet Alibi, The Crowleys, Craig Stickland, Tamino and Robert Glasper
By Will McGuirk
Been watching ‘Abstract’ on the Netflix - art is the answer, we are getting closer to the medium marrying the message, art is where the message and the medium become one. On Abstract S2 Ep 2 the message is we could perhaps build not as assembly, not as a factory with parts on an assembly line; we could build like nature, instead of assembling we could grow. Plant the seed, add time. We can grow not assemble.
“Why is nêhiyawak more than a band? Because our families, our nêhiyaw communities, and our ways of knowing and being inform our work. For me, our album nipiy represents an ongoing process of connecting, learning and growing with each other.” - Marek Tyler
“the robots are smarter than ever, and the algorithm knows more and more what we like as individuals, but we have to remind ourselves that there is music in the margins that can go missing and that that music is more important than ever.” - Holy Fuck
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Hayden Thorpe, Jacques Green, Richard Dawson and Evangeline Gentle
By Will McGuirk
The night symphony in full voice in the garden which earlier played host to monarchs idling their way south, holding on to another hour dancing in the sun, like me holding on to another hour outside, reluctant to leave this still night and the companionship of the Harvest moon.