“When life gets heavy and the future feel overwhelmingly out of our control, we can learn to turn inwards and build a home inside of ourselves” - Katie Pruitt
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Piqsiq
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Piqsiq, Jill Barber, Local Natives, Oliver Forest & Flara K, Mourning Coffee, Steve Neville,
By Will McGuirk
“We are soothed with messages of exalting an impossible version of womanhood through the Virgin Mary but the real life experience of women in the church is steeped in misogyny.” - Piqsiq
“Social media doesn’t tell the whole story. That a pretty picture doesn’t always reflect the whole truth, and that living a rich and beautiful life is about embracing the messy chaos of it all- the raw, authentic, and real moments, rather than just the highlight reel.” - Jill Barber
“Just Before The Morning came from a burst of creativity after we finally reconnected in the studio. The song explores the cyclical nature of life and the many ways in which we begin again.” - Local Natives
“There is no container big enough for all the different selves we hold.” - Mourning Coffee
Hayden, photo by Christie Greyerbiehl
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Hayden, The Bros. Landreth, Gabrielle Shonk, Ruby Singh and the Future Ancestors, blesse, Local Natives, Hot Chip, and PUP
By Will McGuirk
"I was inspired to write this song after covering a Leonard Cohen song called ‘Avalanche’ for the promotion of the film Death Of A Ladies Man. I switched the finger-picking guitar to a rolling piano part and liked the feel so much, I just kept playing until this chord progression appeared. The words came later after an autumn visit to Newfoundland. To me, the East Coast imagery matched the circular playing perfectly.” - Hayden
“‘Just Before The Morning’ came from a burst of creativity after we finally reconnected in the studio. The song explores the cyclical nature of life and the many ways in which we begin again.” - Local Natives
“PUP live is PUP at our best and also at our worst. Raw, scrappy, and holding on for dear life.” - Stefan Babcock
Hayden's annual Dream Serenade benefit concert takes place on November 12 at Massey Hall. Tickets here.
Robyn Ottolini
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Robyn Ottolini, Katie Tupper, Sarah Hiltz, Simon and the Island, Dan Mangan, half•alive, Local Natives, Lexxicon, Butcher Brown and Carrtoons, Chris Pastore,
By Will McGuirk
I”t feels like vulnerability and bravery in confessing an old love but it really is more of seeking comfort in the familiar and begging those around you to create that for you.” - Katie Tupper
“Hot Tea is a deep longing to be touched by life.” - Josh Taylor, half•alive
Partner, photo by Lesley Marshall
Slowcity.ca Open Mice with PUP, Haviah Mighty, Romana, Mobley, LAL, Local Natives, HEALTH, and Partner
By Will McGuirk
We have been in this now for some months. Closer to the end than the beginning, no idea, closer to the beginning than the end, no idea, but of the now, musicians are present and in this present presenting the new now.
PUP have a new most relevantly titled EP, ‘This Place Sucks Ass’. This PSA will be out on Little Dipper Records Oct 23 2020. The Ep consists of tracks which didn’t make the cut for “Morbid Stuff’, among them “Nothing Changes” and “Floodgates. There is also a cover of Grandaddy’s “A.M. 180”. Lead single is “Rot”. Cheery as a new puppy are PUP.
“Literally any city, whether it was Lethbridge, Alberta, or New York City, we’d be like, ‘This place sucks ass.’ We have so much negativity, and sometimes it becomes so extreme and ridiculous that we start to find it funny. But at this moment in time, it feels so fucking real. Wherever you are, it sucks ass right now. So, wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, this is an EP about the place you’re from, and the place you're at now.” - Stefan Babcock
“As we develop a more keen sense of necessary change in this country, and as COVID 19 simultaneously leaves us in a state of uncertainty, we need a reminder – in hypeman form – to find our new state of normalcy. We have to continue to strive towards our goals, yearning to find success despite these setbacks. Bag Up is the celebration of that yearning” - Haviah Mighty
“Growing up, I was made fun of by family and community for the ‘darkness’ of my skin - my own parents told me not to play in the sun! Shadeism or colourism is a form of anti-Blackness and a massive issue in the South Asian community and other communities of colour. Europeans asserted a colour-based hierarchy in the colonies they invaded centuries ago that to this day play a role in the skin discrimination people of colour face within their own communities. This video is the counterpart to a song that celebrates me finally coming out from hiding in the shade I was thrown and unlearning Eurocentric ideals of beauty.” - Romana
“I want to draw people in with that serotonin hit you get from a catchy, well-crafted song. But once they’re in, I want to implicate them in all of the grim, unsightly realities of what’s going on in our country. As they’re singing along, it’s like ‘What did he say? What am I chanting right now?’” - Mobley
HEALTH have a new album of collaborations with suck folks as Soccer Mommy and JPEGMAFIA. The record drops Oct 16 2020 but the first single “Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. is out now.
“In the past, each HEALTH LP has been accompanied by a corresponding remix record. This time, despite being called DISCO 4 in the interest of continuity, we offer you a collection of original collaborations with artists we admire. Also, FUCK 2020.” - HEALTH
"This song is about a wild night on the town filled with queer desire. It is an important song to us because it expresses a feeling we know is shared by many. There are a lot of songs out there about women’s bodies but this is the only song we know about big gay hands. This song is dedicated to the hotties and to those who love them." - Partner
TÖME
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Sun Harmonic, Sara Gougeon, TÖME, Tyler Childers, Begonia and The Suitcase Junket
Finally reached the summer plateau, time to spend some time listening, recharging, readying to rejuvenate on wind and water, forests and festivals, Mariposa, Hillside, River & Sky and perhaps hopefully some more , get the music outside. . . take the music outside with you, out into the air out of the earbuds. Free these tracks from The Sun Harmonic, Sara Gougeon, TÖME, Tyler Childers, Local Natives, Begonia and The Suitcase Junket.
Slowcity.ca Open Mic - April Showers, May Flowers edition with Local Natives, In The Valley Below, HuDost, Russell Louder, Grizzly Coast Sasami and Black Mountain,
By Will McGuirk
Thinking positively, extreme April showers should bring extreme May flowers, so lets look forward to a season in bloom, record breaking blooms.
We begin with the cheerful sounds of Local Natives. They have contemporary dancer Micaela Taylor. We move into In The Valley Below, a pop duo, we will give you an explicit warning fyi, - the Valley have a short film, ‘The Pink Chateau, which they are touring, and the album is the soundtrack. Performances feature the two playing live to the film.via headphones. Also on are HuDost, Russell Louder, Grizzly Coast, Sasami and the majestic psyche-sonics of Black Mountain.
Shows
Sasami - Thursday, April 25 @ Baby G, Toronto
Black Mountain - Thursday, May 9 @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto
Grizzly Coast, - Saturday, May 11 @ The Paddock, Toronto
Local Natives - Monday, May 27 @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: The day after the night before edition featuring Beoga, Adyn Townes, Black Label Society, Local Natives and Sleepy Tom with Lights,
What a fine and rare weekend was had, mixing pop and politics, St. Patrick’s Day and JUNO awards in London, Ontario, but back to life, back to reality but slowly with some help from these guests here on the open mic; Beoga, Adyn Townes, Black Label Society, Local Natives, and Sleepy Tom .
Black Label Society - May 14, 15 @ Opera House, Toronto
Local Natives - May 27 @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto