Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw went straight from the Sasquatch stage where they were playing in front of thousands to the Columbia River where they did an acoustic performance of “Synthetica,” the title track off their new record.
The bare setting is perfect for the mood of the song and sounds completely different without the electric guitar. The sweeping sunset and natural setting is perfect when she sings: “Hey, I’m not synthetica.”
The duo filmed the song with NPR.
Watch it here:
“Reunion (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. remix)” — M83
From Detroit indie-pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. comes this remix of M83’s “Reunion,” off their recent album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. The remix is a great, toned down version of M83’s heavily 80s-inspired track. Dale Earndhart Jr. Jr. keeps the essence of the track with M83’s signature atmospheric vocals, but adds their own twist with some synth, and a driving beat. Reunion will be officially released later this month and serious fans who buy the disc will be treated to six remixes of the single, including this Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. version.
“Blood Brothers” — Ingrid Michaelson Read more…
Metric – Youth Without Youth
I’ve been a Metric fan since I was 14 so I’ve been waiting anxiously these past three years for some new Metric music and FINALLY “Youth Without Youth” is here to cure my Metric withdrawal! The first single off their upcoming album Synthetica is a great guitar driven track. It’s faster and louder than most of Metric’s other music and it’s nice to hear lead singer Emily Haines using her voice to its full potential. I could see this being a serious song to jam out to during one of their upcoming concerts. You can pick up Synthetica on June 12.
Santigold – Proud Mary
I had the good fortune of seeing Santigold at Coachella and this woman has some serious talent. In her cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s famous “Proud Mary,” Santi White adds her own flavour to the jam. Instead of a straight up cover of the song, she adds some synth, African beats, and belts the song in her own robotic style. I’m loving this new take on a classic track.
Foster the People – Houdini Read more…
Last year the TD Canada Trust Music Experience Pump It Up concert series rocked the University of Victoria, Queen’s and St. Francis Xavier with Girl Talk, K-OS, and The Stills. This fall, Canadian post-secondary students once again have the chance to score a free concert for their school.
The Pump It Up concerts this year will feature Metric, OK Go, and Keys N Krates and if you’re a post-secondary student, you have the opportunity to bring them to your school.
The way it works is simple, Canada has been broken up into three regions (West, Central, and East) and the school in each region that gets the most votes wins the concert. University and college students from across Canada will get bragging rights and enjoy a great concert all at the same time.
Although it’s only the second year for Pump It Up, a rep for the concert series says that there’s no better way “to get involved, promote school spirit and vote to win a free concert featuring some of the latest and hottest artists on the music scene.”
Rep for Pump It Up, Amy Chan says, “This program has been great as it encourages students to come together during the first few weeks of school through the enjoyment of music,” continuing, “What better way to do it than giving students the chance to get involved, promote school spirit and vote to win a free concert featuring some of the latest and hottest artists on the music scene?”
At the end of the voting period, the school from each region with the highest percentage of votes (in proportion to the student population) will be seeing Metric, OK Go, and Keys N Krates.
If you want to bring these amazing acts to your school, visit www.tdpumpitup.com and vote.
The people at Zynga have been ruling Facebook with their ridiculously addictive Farmville and Mafia Wars games. Last night, they ruled SXSW by throwing a private party featuring exclusive performances by Atlanta’s The Constellations and indie-kid fave Metric.
By the time that Emily Haines and company took the stage a bit past 930pm, the invite-only crowd seemed to have gone through a centrifuge… separating out the Metric fanatics towards the front while those there mainly for the free Southern Comfort hung around the back. Neither group of patrons were disappointed in the slightest.
Metric were absolutely outstanding. Playing a long set full of both recent songs and fan favorites, the band has finally gelled into a collective force. Emily captivated all in attendance with her intense stage presence and spot-on vocals. It was such a pleasure to watch a group at the top-of-their game show up and give it their all.
The Canada for Haiti telethon and its French counterpart, Ensemble Pour Haiti, both held Friday, raised $16 million for earthquake relief efforts in the country, reports CBC.
Canada for Haiti was held in Toronto and created by CBC, CTV and Global. The funds will go to a group of Canadian charities working in Haiti.
Governor General Michaelle Jean, who was born in Haiti, made an appearance in Montreal for Ensemble Pour Haiti.
“It’s very important to take this time to put our hearts together and put our heads together and see what we can do to support Haiti in this ordeal,” she said. “We are in an era where civil society is big and international and what Haiti has experienced has touched everyone on this planet. Breaking down solitudes is my motto and that is what I hope to do here.”
Canadians: Want a quick 20 grand? Make an amazing album.
The Polaris Prize awards $20,000 to the Canadian artist or group that creates the best album of the year, based solely on artistic merit. Sales don’t count, marketing doesn’t count. The ten nominees – Elliot Brood, Fucked Up, Great Lake Swimmers, Hey Rosetta!, K’Naan, Metric, Joel Plaskett, Malajube, Patrick Watson, and Chad Vangaalen – all attended and performed at the Polaris Prize Gala, so I made sure to snag a few interviews before the award was given out.
The winner of the $20,000 prize? Well, check out the video and I’ll tell you.
Move aside indie-rock. This year’s Polaris Music Prize winners are a little different from the average Canadian alternative style. Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up took this year’s $20,000 award for the best Canadian album of the year on Monday, according to The Globe and Mail.
The band’s album, “The Chemistry of Common Life,” beat out nine other finalists including Metric, K’Naan, Joel Plaskett, and Great Lake Swimmers.
The Polaris Prize is an award decided by a jury made up of Canadian journalists, bloggers, broadcasters and programmers. The jury is determined by the Polaris Board of Directors and is made up of 185 members from both the local and national media.
How many people does it take to shut down a New York City block and cause a riot? Two, provided they are armed with a synthesizer, drum machine and a discography under the guise of Mstrkrft.
It’s true, Toronto’s electro-house darlings were slated to play a club in NYC two weeks ago and oversold the venue so much that more than 2,000 hipsters were stuck in line outside. But the hype surrounding the DJ duo drove the mob into frenzy, inciting a riot that was eventually quelled by the NYPD itself.
“It was a pretty proud moment that we double-sold the club and had a street in New York City closed down, even if just for a few hours,” Jesse Keeler, one half of Mstrkrft, tells andPOP. “The fact that that’s happening … that takes a long time to build.”
Mstrkrft was born in Toronto in 2005, storming clubs and parties with their take on the burgeoning electro-house trend. After dominating the GTA scene, the duo made up of Keeler and Alex Puodziukas (otherwise known as Al-P) stepped up their game.
First came the singles “Easy Love” and “Work on You” before an official LP, “The Looks,” debuted in July 2006. Then came the tours: Canada, North America, the world.
They are Canadian rock veterans who have been playing and touring for 10 years and they have put in their dues. Their recent album Fantasies is climbing the charts and has been getting rave reviews. andPOP intern Jeremy Singer sat down with Emily and James from Metric to get all the details about their rise to the top.
Metric have announced plans to swing through western Canada later this month for a series of private acoustic shows – but fans won’t be able to buy tickets to see them.
Instead, there are three other ways for you to gain entry to the shows in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria, where the band will support their newly released album, “Fantasies.”
Several of Canada’s top indie acts are joining forces this holiday season for a six-city tour of the country.
Metric, Tokyo Police Club, Sebastien Granger & The Mountains, The Dears and San Francisco’s DJ Mike Relm will hit the road in mid-December for the Jingle Bell Rock Tour.
Each show venue will feature an indoor retail village to create the feeling of an outdoor festival.
True to the holiday spirit, the tour has a charitable purpose: to raise awareness about disadvantaged youth and to benefit organizations that help get young people off the streets, including Covenant House and MacDonald Youth Services.
Tickets for the tour go on sale this Saturday (Nov. 1) through Ticketmaster.
Here are the dates for the Jingle Bell Rock Tour:
Dec. 13 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
Dec. 15 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Dec. 16 – Saskatoon, SK @ Prairieland Park
Dec. 17 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Centre
Dec. 19 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
Dec. 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
Metric and N.E.R.D. are among the new additions to this year’s Osheaga Music and Arts Festival.
Other acts joining the lineup for the annual Montreal event are Luke Doucet and the White Falcon, Sebastian Grainger & the Mountains, Payz Play, Shawn Hewitt and the National Strike, Robertson and Chris Velan.
Previously announced Osheaga performers include The Killers, Iggy & The Stooges, Jack Johnson (who is making his Montreal debut) and Broken Social Scene.
The festival, now in its third year, takes place Aug. 3 and 4 at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène.
It will mark Metric’s return to the festival after their set there in 2006, as well as the latest in a string of North American and European festival appearances for N.E.R.D., who are touring in support of their new album “Seeing Sounds.”
The New Pornographers and Metric are among the Canadians who will be taking the stage at this summer’s All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey.
Chromeo and K’Naan will be the other artists representing the red-and-white during the three-day event (Aug. 8 to 10) at Liberty State Park.
The new All Points West festival is staged by the same people responsible for the famed Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.
Radiohead and Jack Johnson will headline, with the Brit veterans closing the show on Friday and Saturday nights and the singer-songwriter playing on Sunday.
The full schedule has yet to be released, but here is the list of performers who will play on the festival’s three stages:
• Radiohead
• Jack Johnson
• Underworld
• Kings Of Leon
• Rodrigo Y Gabriela
• Cat Power
• The Roots
• The New Pornographers
• Youssou N’Dour
• Animal Collective
• Andrew Bird
• Michael Franti & Spearhead
• Metric
• CSS
• Girl Talk
• Chromeo
• The Go! Team
• Amadou & Mariam
• The Black Angels
• Sia
• The Felice Brothers
• K’Naan
• Jason Isbell
• Grace Potter And The Nocturnals
• Alberta Cross
• The Virgins
• Black Kids
• Mates Of State
• Duffy
• Forro In The Dark
• Nicole Atkins
• Juana Molina
• Little Brother
• Rogue Wave
• Neil Halstead
• Your Vegas
Metric is ready to go larger-than-life — literally.
Starting next week, you can catch the Toronto-based band on the big screen as their “Live At Metropolis” DVD is shown at select movie theatres across the country.
The DVD was recorded during the band’s show at the Metropolis club in Montreal in support of their 2005 album “Live It Out.”
A three-track audio EP was released on iTunes in December that features live performances from the DVD as well as the DVD trailer.
The DVD itself hits stores on Feb. 12.
“Live at Metropolis” will play at the following venues:
- Jan. 17 Calgary, AB @ Plaza Theatre @ 9:30 p.m.
- Jan. 17-18 Toronto, ON @ Royal Cinema @ 9 p.m.
- Jan. 24 Montreal, QC @ Cinema Du Parc @ 9 p.m.
- Jan. 31 Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Cinematheque @ 7:30 and 9 p.m.
- Feb. 4 Edmonton, AB @ Metro Cinema @ 9 p.m.
- Feb. 4-7 Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Cinemateque @ 9:45 p.m.
