Slowcity.ca with Satellite and the Harpoon, Yves Jarvis, Jeremy Drury, The Elwins, Austra, Hen Ogledd,

Will McGuirk September 2, 2020

By Will McGuirk

Saint Etienne took on the heartache aware no doubt Uncle Neil’s lullaby can spin off into maudlin chaos in the wrong voice however here the Satellite and the Harpoon both get it done.

The track is on the EP ‘Satellite’ available for download on Sept 4.

“. . ..so this is our run at this classic, not planned, definitely not rehearsed, just childhood dreams being chased,”

The latest release by Yves Jarvis, ‘Sundry Rock Song Stock’ will be available on vinyl Nov 13.

“When you better yourself, you better the world. Even if you only interact with one person in your life, the effect of trying to see things for what they are is vast. Change can feel like a fantasy, but I’m not fatalistic about it. I make music because I get results that way. It’s why I promote creativity, whatever that means for anyone.” - Yves Jarvis

But the vinyl here ->

Jeremy Drury of The Strumbellas has released his debut solo album, ‘Company Store’

“Reflecting on world events and global movements over the past few months has been a very enlightening, challenging, and inspirational experience for me. Recognizing the opportunities provided to me through good people being selfless, my benefit from the generosity, charity, support, and encouragement from my communities have shaped who I am as a person. A person who now finds themselves in a unique position, a person interested in helping provide some of the opportunities I've been afforded, to others.

Inspired both by those who came before me and those currently redefining what "business as usual" means, I've decided to donate 100% of proceeds from the first month's sales and streaming revenues from my first album "Company Store", to the following charities:

MusiCounts, Nia Centre for the Arts, The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, and Canadian Music Therapy Fund.

I believe music and the arts have the power to heal. To inspire. To bring us closer together. I believe these organizations represent a broad cross-section of that kind of positivity being fostered in our communities. “ - Jeremy Drury

The Elwins, from Newmarket ON, will release their fourth Long Player, titled IV, out October 23, 2020.

‘the swimming feeling of getting lost thinking about the complexities of life’. - press release

Austra’s new album HiRUDiN is now available as is a remix of “I Am Not Waiting” by Shura.

"Shura has dreamed up a lush, hazy rework of my track, a sonic palette that's so pleasing to listen to, I want to melt away every time I hear it." - Austra

Buy the vinyl here ->

Hen Ogledd will release their new album ‘Free Humans’ on Sept 25 via Weird World.

“‘Crimson Star’ is a gentle, pungent pop song about a retired entertainer looking back on their adventures during the heyday of space tourism.” - Richard Dawson

Buy the vinyl here ->

"Get It Back" is “a song that touches on seeking constant self-validation and the attempt to channel these emotions through fantasy,” - Heaps

Slowcity.ca Open Mice with Evening Hymns, Zaac Pick, Pantayo, Camelphat, Peter Katz, The Elwins, Birds of Bellwoods, Silver Clouds, Ruston Kelly, Robert Counts,

Will McGuirk June 30, 2020

By Will McGuirk

Are we going to replace gatherings with zoom meetings? Are we going to celebrate without touch, in isolation, alone, on social media? Do we need to see, feel, touch as well as hear music, musicians? Do we need to be in their presence for it to really matter.Do you crave the real thing or are you getting used to degrees of separation, of filters, of replicas of replicas of replicas? Do you want facade or fact? Or have you already been doing that for some years already?

“These songs are about learning to be more present to where I'm at, letting go, and taking responsibility, all themes that have taken on new meaning for me the past few months, as nearly everything has been turned upside down by a global pandemic and a much-needed civil rights movement.” - Zaac Pick

“In this karaoke music video, we imagine an uplifting New Earth where there is abundance and liberation. A hopeful world created as a result of dismantling white supremacy, fighting the lies of colonialism, and ending fascism and the oppression of marginalized peoples.” - Pantayo

“This is a story speaking to how everyone has to deal with the weight of the world in one way or another. That kind of brings us together in a sense. just a friendly reminder that everyone has got this shit feeling from time to time, some more than others, but all you can really do is to try and take it easy on yourself.” - Matthew Sweeney, The Elwins

The Drew Marshall Show · Birds of Bellwoods

"Pinebox is an invitation to look yourself in the eyes, let go of who you have been, and move forward. It is a song about self-reflection in a time of stasis, and releasing the weight we carry with us from our early years,” - Birds of Bellwoods

"'It describes a feeling of apathy, paralysis, and a fear of letting go of the known. We feel it's a rather fitting introduction to a band that, until the global pandemic, had remained in a state of self-imposed delay." - Rod Slaughter

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Jordan Klassen, Thao & the Get Down, Ant Saunders, Amtrac, Tops, Blue Stones, and the Elwins

Will McGuirk April 3, 2020

By Will McGuirk

Are you happy where you are? If you had been given fair warning would you have chosen where you are to quarantine, would you have chosen who you are with, would you have chosen the same city? If you answer in the negative what changes would you have made and more importantly what changes will you make when this lifts, where will you move to?

“When writing the EP, I wanted to present it from the perspective of my consciousness growing up. I was always (and still am) a shy and anxious person. Doing what I was most comfortable with and disregarding what everybody would think was what I would aim for, but I restricted myself. It was the type of restriction which, in my mind, felt like being inside a bubble.” - Ant Saunders