Canadian Music Week – May 2-8, 2016 – Toronto, Canada –
http://cmw.net
FEMMUSIC is previewing CMW. This year notable artists including Lights, Lapsley, Sunflower Bean, Tori Kelly, White Lung & Willa will be performing. In addition there is a special tribute to Nelly Furtado. Beyond the big names FEMMUSIC has the following recommendations:
Art Diktator – Turkey – Art Diktator is an electronic synth duo from Istanbul. www.facebook.com/artdiktatorfanpage
Charlotte Cardin – Canada – Dark singer-songwriter this Montreal artist has been making waves with her release Disponable Maintenant. www.facebook.com/charlottecardinofficial
Darkbird – USA – This Austin based band is led by Kelly Barnes. Their EP is I Remember Feeling My Fingers Slip. www.darkbirdband.com
Dilly Dally – Canada – This Toronto 4 piece has a more rock than punk feel & puts on a great live show. They released Sore last year to rave reviews. www.dillydallyband.com
Elle Exxe – United Kingdom – This pop rock artist has already been gaining traction with singles like “Home With You” & “Synthesizing.” www.elleexxe.com
Ella Fence – Australia – This artist has generated a cinematic feel to her music with the release of her EP Wanderlust. www.facebook.com/ellafencemusic
Gosti – Australia – Larissa Agosti is a singer-songwriter who has been playing some other festivals this year. She will be releasing a new EP this year. www.ilovegosti.com
Grown Up Avenger Stuff – USA – This band just released Eclectica. They are a heavy edged rock band. http://grownupavengerstuff.com
Kloe – Scotland – This young popstar has been generating attention. We heard of her late last year and are glad to see her get international live play. Her EP Teenage Craze was just released. www.facebook.com/mynameiskloe
L-I-A-R – France – Lost in an Artificial Reality (LIAR) is the alternative artist Eloine Liar. She has released a a full length album called Fall. http://l-i-a-r.com/
Little Coyote – Canada – Teagan Johnson started drawing attention when she was younger. Now she is releasing her album The Trouble With Teeth. She combines piano and synth to make a low fi sound. www.littlecoyotemusic.com
Menage – Canada –This is a family band with 2 brothers and a sister who grew up with family in Canada & Portugal. They have a high energy set. Their album is The Great American Lie. www.menagetheband.com
Motel Raphael – Canada – This indie pop act is made of Emily Skahan, Clara Legault & Maya Malkin. They released Cable TV in 2015. http://www.facebook.com/MotelRaphael
Pale Lips – Canada – Pale Lips is a pop punk band. They released their EP Got a Sweet Tooth last year. http://www.facebook.com/palelips
Rococode – Canada – Rococode is the indie pop duo of Laura Smith & Andrew Braun. Don’t Worry It Will Be Dark Soon is their latest release. http://rococode.com
Rozes – USA – This Philadelphia singer-songwriter came to prominence in 2014. This year she releases her Burn Wild EP. http://www.rozessounds.com/
Tegan and Sara – Canada – Sisters Tegan and Sara Quin are one of the top acts to watch for CMW. They are releasing their new album Love You To Death. Everyone has been waiting for it. http://teganandsara.com
The Phantom Sound – United Kingdom – The Phantom Sound is an indie rock new wave band led by Marisa Schlussel. They are working on a sophomore full length album with Brian of the Dresden Dolls. http://thephantomsound.com/
West Nile – Canada – Kit Bath & L-DC make up this electro duo. They just released a new cassette S/T. www.facebook.com/WestNile.is.BestNile
Woodes – Australia – Elle Graham is the singer-songwriter & producer Woodes. www.woodesmusic.com
Posted in Special Features Tagged with: Canadian Music Week
After our recent SXSW preview, we decided to look at other festivals. We didn’t need to look long to find Canadian Music Week. This festival shares similarities to SXSW in that it is a music & education festival, a film festival and a media festival. Artists from all over the world come to Toronto for it. www.cmw.net
18th Annual Canadian Radio Music Awards
Kiesza – Fresh off her Sound of a Woman tour, Kiesza is dance rock artist. In some ways her music calls back to Madonna mixing rap and strong music. Her show is dance. Sound of a Woman made it to #14 in the Canadian charts. She is an artist to watch coming up. www.kiesza.com
Dear Rouge – Drew & Danielle McTaggart are the alt rock group. Their latest album is Black to Gold. They’ve opened for Phantogram, and many others. www.dearrouge.com
Andee – Andee is a singer-songwriter from Quebec who began as a finalist is a TV competition. Her debut full length album comes out this year. In the meantime singles are being released. www.andeeofficial.com
Jessica Moskaluke – She is the winner of 2014’s Canadian County Music Association’s Female Artist of the Year with her album, Light Up the Night and is known for “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes.http://jessmoskaluke.com
Profiles
Alana Yorke– This Halifax artist is known for big sound and thoughtful arrangements using piano. Her debut album Dream Magic came out in January. www.alanayorke.com
Alvvays – Last year this Toronto band went to the top of the US college charts. Led by the Molly Rankin’s captivating vocals, they have made an impact worldwide. Their self-titled album was released last year. http://alvvays.com
Animalia – Jill Krasnicki leads this dark and melodic electronic band. Mouth Full of Teeth is their debut album. www.animalia-music.com
Belladonna – This Italian band is led by Luana Caraffa whose whispering vocals draw the listener in. Shooting Dice with God is their latest full length album from 2013. www.belladonna.tv
Betty & Oswald – This Australian duo is on their King of Bohemia tour. They play pop rock that is too catchy. www.bettyandoswald.com
Chersea – Vancouver based Chelsea Laing is Chersea an indie synth pop artist. Her new EP Grey Matter just came out. www.cherseamusic.com
Daniella Watters – Watters is a Norah Jones of Canada doing R&B, soul, pop with a jazz flavor. She has toured the US & Canada and is working on her first full length release. www.daniellawatters.com
Featurette – Toronto duo is Lexi Jay & Jon Fedorsen. Their music is dream pop with synth. Their EP Smoke is out in 2015. www.featurettemusic.com
For Esme – Toronto based alt pop band is led by the vocals of Martha Meredith. They have a style that recalls 80’s pop. Their full length album Singer is coming out this year. www.foresmemusic.com
Ginger Ale and the Monowhales – Sugary pop with a touch of surf describes this band and their EP Ha! www.themonowhales.com
Go For the Eyes – Calgary independent band leans towards rock blues in their album Fifteen Through Twenty. They are led by the vocals of Jeff Turner and Elise Roller. http://gofortheeyes.com
Isobel Trigger – Nocturnal is this indie band’s EP. They are led by Felicia Harding on vocals and synth. Her vocals have a Tori Amos feel. www.isobeltrigger.com
Jully Black – The Queen of R&B has awards and appearances across the board in music and TV. Her latest album is Made in Canada. http://jullyblack.com
Kiki Rowe – Rowe caught our attention last year. She is actually Keandra Shan Lal from Mississauga, Canada. She released a self titled album and we’re hoping for more soon. She should be a highlight of CMW. www.kikirowe.com
Laura & Greg – This NY duo is Laura O’Neill & Greg Yagolnitzer. They are an acoustic duo with wonderful harmonies in their song “Muscle Memory.” www.facebook.com/lauragregmusic
Lights – This Toronto pop artist is known for wildly addictive songs in all of her releases. Her latest is Little Machines. http://music.iamlights.com
Like A Motorcycle – Michelle Skelding, Kim Carson, Jillian Cameau & KT Lamond make up this punk rock band. They have a vocal style and edge that recalls The Donnas. Their release is due this Fall. www.likeamotorcycle.com
Milk & Bone – This Montreal duo of Camille Poliquin & Laurence Lafond-Beaulne hit the ground running and never stopped. Pay attention to their song “Pressure” in their release Little Mourning. www.milkandbone.mu
Mobina Galore – This alt punk duo is Jenna Priestner and Marcia Hanson. Their 2014 release is Cities Away and they have a fierceness that makes no comparisons. www.mobinagalore.com
Paperwhite – NYC family band of brother & sister Katie & Ben Marshall who mix synth with drums into a sugary dream texture. They have an EP called Magic. www.paperwhitemusic.com
Plaitwrights – This Toronto artistic duo of Xylk Lorena & Angela Abrenica make compelling alt rock as well as fashion. Their 2013 EP cmyk sold out. www.plaitwrights.com
Reenie – Reenie Perkovic leads this indie pop band filled with strings and horns. Their material is easily comfortable in their 2014 release Parallel Place. www.listentoreenie.com
Savvie – Savannah Leigh Wellman leads this superb rock group in its debut album Night Eyes. It is impossible not to be drawn in from the first note. www.savviemusic.com
The Standstills – Johnny Fox and Renee Couture make this heavy alt rock band from Ontario. www.facebook.com/thestandstills
Skye Wallace – This Vancouver artist brings orchestral arrangements to her album Living Parts. www.skyewallace.com
Tear Away Tusa – TAT for short is a 6 piece from Ontario that seems to bridge gospel and ska with their EP Music in The Digital Age. They can draw a slight comparison to Phox but both bands are richer in many different ways. www.tearawaytusa.com
The Deadset – This pop punk duo from Vancouver has the energy and drive found in Vans Warped Tour Band. JT Criminal & Steven Appleyard are the group. Their EP Take Everything is due soon. www.facebook.com/thedeadsetband
The Jessica Stuart Few – Indie Rock Jazz and a Japanese koto don’t go far enough to describe this trio. Their 2013 release Two Sides To Every Story is merely the first step to taking over the music world. www.jessicastuartmusic.com
Posted in Special Features Tagged with: Canadian Music Week
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