andPOP » Music

New Music: Jason Derulo – In My Head

Michael Levine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:32:19 +0000

Jason Derulo has a brand new single out called ‘In My Head’. We’ve got the brand new track for you below. Don’t forget to check out our Jason Derulo Interview!

Spiral Beach on Side B – I Guess They’re ‘Ghoul Punk’

Dan Busheikin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:59:09 +0000

The best way I can describe Spiral Beach’s music is “ghoul punk”. Yes, that’s ridiculous, but I stand by my claim. Considering how young the members of this band are, they have an impressively well-developed sound and style. Spiral Beach puts on one of the craziest live shows in Toronto, and their recent album “The Only Really Thing” is a great listen. Check out our interview and hop on the bandwagon.

Emily Osment Hates VHS and Vinyl

Jordan Bortolotti — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:29:47 +0000

For those of you under 20 years of age, there used to be these crazy things called VHS and Vinyl. VHS were these tapes that played movies and all sorts of video, in machines hooked up to your TV. Vinyl were these big discs which contained music that you played on something called a record machine. Sadly as Emily told Jordan, her newest projects, Hannah Montana The Movie will not be available on VHS and her newest album will not be available on Vinyl. Ah well.

Dragonette’s Martina Sorbara, As Unique As They Get

Jeremy Singer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:26:09 +0000

Martina Sorbara’s music career has been like one one-night-stand after the next.

The lead singer of Electro-Pop group Dragonette has been involved in many projects – both as a solo singer and in group settings – but she has yet to be part of a follow up album – until now.

Dragonette’s second album Fixin to Thrill, was released last month, and Sorbara’s feeling of the album’s completion is sublime.

“It’s a huge deal for me,” Sorbara, 31, tells andPOP. “Just putting out a second album is kinda like a milestone. I just think that every time we finished a song, that was a big high point for myself.”

Following the solid reception the band received in Canada and the UK for their 2007 debut album Galore, which earned them a Juno Award nomination for Best New Group, the four-person group -comprising of Sorbara on vocals, Bassist Dan Hurtz, Guitarist Chris Hugget and Drummer Joel Stouffer- approached their sophomore album like any other.

“We were pretty focused on moving on where we left off,” says Sorbara, “and trying to make a cool follow-up.”

With a musical style resembling the syth-folky textures of MGMT, Dragonette was formed in 2005 by -now married couple- Sorbara and Hurtz. Martina laughs at the aspect of working with a spouse, and admits that her greatest gift can also sometimes be a curse.

“It’s challenging,” says Sorbara, “because we wrote most of the album in our basement studio in London, ON, so you’re locked inside with your husband 24/7. There’s moments where it gets intense, because there’s no feeling of ‘Ok, I’m just going to go home now to my family,’ because it’s always there.”

“But believe me,” adds the artist chuckling, “It’s been way more fun than I thought it would be. The album is a lot more serene than the battles that went along with it. But the hysterical battles brought us to where we needed to be.”

The Canadian-native describes the finished product as “a mouthful,” mentioning that it’s also “aggressive, yet emotional at the same time- still holding the story-telling aspect.”

And as a songwriter, storytelling is one of Sorbara’s favorite pieces of the album’s puzzle- it gives her the chance to take what inspired her and inspire everyone else.

“I guess I like taking a topic that means something to me,” says Sorbara, “and be able to say an interesting take on it that’s never been done before. It would be a story that’s familiar to people, but I can go and put it in a unique language. A unique angle, that’s what gets me to write.”

Only, there’s one small obstacle in the way.

“I have almost zero discipline as an artist,” she says laughing.

“So if I’m not having fun, then I’ll just go and ride my bike or something.”

But Sorbara’s figured out a sure-fire way to keep herself content when boredom strikes. No doubt riding on the bus for the next two months with all the guys during their Fixin to Thrill tour across Canada, the US, Europe and Australia – can get a bit overwhelming.

Her fix?

“I love to knit,” she says. “I love to create, that’s how I shut out the world.”

A sweater or scarf was the first assumption. But that was quickly corrected.

“Dude, I’m so much more advanced than that,” she raves. “I’ve knitted dolls, a lion, a sheep, a poodle…and they all have names. And another thing I did was a full double sided queen size blanket; took me two years.”

Continues the singer, “this year, I’m gonna knit a pig. It’s the only way. I need something to show after sitting on my ass doing nothing. The boys watch movies, and I knit.”

“Though there’s one rule above the rest,” she says that her husband made.

“There’s no knitting in bed.”

Dragonette’s 2009 Canadian Tour Dates:

Waterloo, Ontario- October 7, 2009- 8:00 pm

Toronto, Ontario- October 8, 2009- 8:00 pm

Winnipeg, Manitoba- October 12, 2009- 8:00 pm

Calgary, Alberta- October 14, 2009- 8:00 pm

Edmonton, Alberta- October 15, 2009- 8:00 pm

Vancouver, British Columbia- October 17, 2009- 8:00 pm

Victoria, British Columbia- October 18, 2009- 8:00 pm

Smashing Pumpkins Announce New, Free Music Come October

Emma Renda — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:15:53 +0000

Free music is sweet. Forty-four free brand new Smashing Pumpkins songs is even better. Frontman Billy Corgan revealed news on his website last week that the band will be releasing their new, enormous album via free downloads in a series of releases starting this October.

Though the songs are part of an album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, they will not be released in a bundle. Instead, the song will begin popping up on the website around Halloween and 11 four-song “mini-boxset” EPs will be released to the public. Once all 44 songs are up, a full box-set will be assembled. These boxsets will be available for sale, in some cases with exclusive demos attached.

Corgan has always been something of a maverick in the way of online music, beating Radiohead to the punch when he released Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music for free back in 2000, Pitchfork reports.

The issue of freedom is just one of Corgan’s many new-age beliefs, along with a spiritual website he released a few weeks ago called Everything from Here to There.

“Free will mean free, which means you won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish.”

As for the music, Corgan says the plan is to return to “the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.”

Recording started earlier this month, with their new 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne joining them in the studio for the first time.

After the Pumpkins’ last effort, the much-anticipated flop Zeitgeist, this album could be the make or break for the band, who have strung on their fans in a series of bizarre career moves.

If Kaleidyscope doesn’t pan out, Smashing Pumpkins diehards can always turn to the latest side project from ex-Pumpkin James Iha. It’s called Tinted Windows and it features Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger. They even have a self-titled album in stores and did a brief summer tour.

Now I’ll leave you to mull over all this unbelievable information and fact check for yourself, because I swear I’m not lying about any of it.

Cuff the Duke on Side B – Good Ol’ Canadian Boys

Dan Busheikin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:44:57 +0000

If ‘alt.country’ (as the kids call it) is ‘your jam’ (as the kids call it), then look no further than Cuff the Duke. I’ve been a fan of these boys for years, and I’m really impressed by their latest LP, Way Down Here. The footage in this video is from their in-store performance at Criminal Records in Toronto. Check out www.myspace.com/cufftheduke to hear more of these good Canadian kids.

Cascada The European Dance Princess Talks to andPOP

Jordan Bortolotti — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:21:48 +0000

We remember meeting Cascada a couple of years ago when she was not quite as big, but we do remember her being hot and very friendly. The same remains except she now rules the dance charts with her latest release “Evacuate The Dancefloor”. What did we learn from this interview? The key to being on the road according to Cascada is Red Bull.

Young Galaxy On Side B – They Don’t Care What You Think

Dan Busheikin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:26:47 +0000

Well perhaps saying they don’t care what you think is a little bit of an exaggeration. However Young Galaxy has been doing this so long that they are making music that makes them happy and proud. If you like it, great. If you don’t that’s completely cool with them also. I sat down with them to talk about the past, the future, and their newest release “Invisible Republic”.

Amos The Transparent Work For More Than Lemons

Emma Renda — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:56:18 +0000

Note: See the bottom of this article for a free download from Amos The Transparent, plus their new video!

Most bands don’t go from recording their debut in a bona fide studio to tracking the next release in their drummer’s mother’s basement. Or at least not of their own will. But that’s exactly the unlikely order of things Amos the Transparent have chosen, and it’s turning out to lead them along a favourable path.

After hefty studio bills the first time around and struggling under time restraints, the band decided to go easy on themselves for the next record. They split time between lead singer and mastermind Jonathan Chandler’s home and the basement of Chris Wilson’s mother while she was away in Florida, and rather than setting a deadline, they got together sporadically over what ended up being a nine-month period.

And so was born their sophomore EP, My, What Big Teeth You Have.

Chandler credits the laissez-faire approach to a better product, an album worthy to come on the heels of their acclaimed debut, Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget. And one that has qualified the band for a Verge Artist of the Year nomination against nearly every heavyweight Canadian act out there. (Think: Feist, Tegan and Sara, The Tragically Hip, etc.)

“Honestly, I don’t expect to rank that well. All of our peers are in that list too,” Chandler said. “It’s an honour to be nominated and considered in the same category but we’re not really going to hope for too much. That’s kind of the people we are. It’s a cool nomination but we’re not gonna spend the money before we have it.”

When Chandler says “the people we are”, he means a laid-back group of musicians with full-time jobs and families and lives on the side. Though he insists they treat Amos with as much responsibility as their other jobs, its clear the band is sort of a side project to life.

Based in Ottawa, Amos was born of Chandler’s solo writings outside of his former band, The Architects, and their fan base is a smattering of followers of each member’s prior projects. Chandler credits Wilson for urging him to pursue the solo endeavour, but the music Chandler had in mind necessitated a full band. Hence he recruited Mark Hyne (guitar, synth) and James Nicol (bass), as well as Dan Hay (guitar) and Kate Cooke (percussion, vocals) for this album.

For 2007’s Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget, Chandler and Wilson helmed the captain’s seat alongside studio engineer Jason Fee (”pretty much the unseen seventh member of the band”, according to Chandler). The album is a lush blend of post-punk angst and folk undertones, and immediately earned praise as a hidden Canadian gem. Having Amy Millan of Stars sing a duet, “After All That, It’s Come to This” probably didn’t hurt either.

“I think it was at Bluesfest two years ago . . . whenever we go to shows, we always try to get backstage I guess,” explains Mark Hyne of their run-in with Millan. “Somehow we were all hammered and Chris wanders off back stage, and then he’s able to get the rest of the band backstage. We drank a bunch of Malajube’s beer, one thing led to another and we got John singing directly to Amy Millan asking her if she wanted to record on the record and it worked out.”

Chandler took a different, more sober approach to piecing together Teeth. Aside from the fluctuating attendance and intermittent recording sessions coming after work, before dinner and on weekends, Chandler said the entire band was more involved in the songwriting aspect.

“The writing process now is becoming a lot more of a six-person collaborative,” said Chandler. “It’s less of me arranging entire songs, like “”I hear this, I want you to play this.”" I have an idea of what I want to hear, but I won’t demo or voice it. I’ll wait and see what the rest of the band wants to offer.”

Having a broader input from all the members led to the selection of “Lemons (aka BigPondLittleFish)” for the first single. It’s a soft, twangy number that allows Chandler’s husky voice to float atop the music carrying his simple poetry to the forefront.

Chandler let another brain in on the action for “Lemons”, production company Digital Henchman who approached the band to put together the music video for the single which premiered on andPOP this week.

“The video was pretty awesome . . . we hadn’t even seen it until the night before the [release] show,” said Hyne. “We were all pretty awestruck. It’s all cartoony, it’s neat to see the animators’ renditions of the band in cartoon form. Dan looks like a character from He-Man. I look pretty much exactly the same . . .”

Teeth won’t be released in full online until Oct. 13, but the band have already been selling hard copies of the album at shows for months. They even put their guitar tabs on their website so fans can learn to play Amos like Amos, and it was also a thrifty way of getting their music out there without giving away downloads.

“It’s really cool to get fans’ perspectives, whether they are good or not, it’s really cool someone would take time to sit there and learn our songs,” said Chandler. “It’s probably one of the biggest compliments you could ever get. I remember growing up learning guitar . . . I would never be like, “Hey, Joe Perry from Aerosmith, I learned how to play your solo.” We want to make it really accesible. Don’t try to learn it, don’t waste your time.”

Hyne laughed that sometimes even the band has to refer to the tabs to get through rehearsal. Because when it comes to balancing a family and a full-time job alongside the formative years of a music career, even the most dextrous musicians need a hand sometimes.

“When I have to take off for a week and a half from work [to go on tour], I get scared. Am I going to have a job when I get back? Am I going to be able to pay my mortgage?” said Hyne. “Pretty much as soon as you get in the van driving down the 401, you forget about everything else.”

CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON FOR A FREE TRACK FROM AMOS THE TRANSPARENT

The Dodos On Side B – Ready to Drop New Album

Dan Busheikin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:29:50 +0000

The Dodos! This was an interview that I was extremely excited for. The two-piece (now a three-piece) is releasing their highly anticipated album, “Time To Die,” this fall. Last year’s album “Visiter” garnered a great deal o…f praise for its aggressive – albeit beautiful – tunes. It was great to chat with the band and hear all about their upcoming album, and I’ve also included some video of their set. Check out myspace.com/thedodos if you like what you hear.