Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Daniel Kussy
Four years in the making, having played countless shows that have taken them across the sea and back, Boniface’s release of their self titled debut marks the return of singer-songwriter turned pop savant Micah Visser.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Boniface :: Boniface”
by Ryan Haughey
Hailing from Montreal, Tops is sharper than ever on their fourth full-length album titled I Feel Alive. The record really does come to life — even in its most mellow moments the album is vibrant with colourfully chorused guitars and bewitching vocals. The energy in the band’s performance on each track feels so animated and so close that it’s as if they’re performing right on the other side of my speakers.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Tops :: I Feel Alive”
by Ryan Sorensen
In 2016, the Winnipeg-based Ukrainian folk-punk band released their masterpiece of a third full-length album entitled Legend to rave reviews. Combining a traditional Eastern European folk influence with everything from metal to jazz to Afro-inspired beats, the album was an explosion of creativity made by and for people who love music in all its forms.
Continue reading “Album Review :: ZRADA :: Legend(s)”
by Kaelen Bell
Alex Nicol has described his solo debut as a sort of tribute to — and partnership with — his partner, visual artist Nada Temerinski. In an interview with Cult MTL, Nicol made clear that Temerinski’s position is not that of the traditional muse, but of collaborator and unofficial producer — another creative energy in tandem with his own, influencing and interpreting his work in ways not traditionally recognized in the self-obsessed canon of male singer-songwriters.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Alex Nicol :: All for Nada”
“Just think while I sink into the brain structure” – Erick Sermon
by Nigel Webber
Hip-hop music in Winnipeg is in a moment. Artists representing different sub-genres of rap, from boom-bap to new school to trap, all are finding their place in Winnipeg in 2020. While most of the attention is usually heaped on the rappers and DJs, less attention is given to the producers, those responsible for making the actual music in the song. With the lack of attention comes a lack of understanding of proper titles. An important distinction must be made between a producer and a beatmaker.
Continue reading “Winnipeg State of Mind”
by Mark Teague
Olivia Norquay, founder and host of Bikini Drive-in, takes half an hour every week to get to the bottom of what is really happening in our favorite horror and science fiction movies. She uses the framework of intersectional feminism to unpack the details of these films and provide insight into their impact. By deftly applying elements of screen and media studies, art criticism, and women and gender studies, Olivia brings to light the cinematic and theoretical weight of the horror and sci-fi genres.
Continue reading “CKUWHO :: Bikini Drive-In :: Every Sunday 4:30-5:00”
by Margaret Banka
I’ve had an uncanny streak of running into Amos Nadlersmith, namesake of Amos the Kid, in unexpected places, at unexpected times: karaoke at the Sherb (where the median age is fifty); in the Village streets on a late Monday night; during the cold, early morning hours of Harvest Moon, passing around a bag of Old Dutch chips in a tent crammed with five people; emerging from the inevitable cloud of fog after a Smoky Tiger set at Rainbow Trout (okay, that one might have been a hallucination). Wherever it seems to be, Nadlersmith’s familiar presence and easy-going personality ensure that he is never out of place.
Continue reading “The Kids are (more than) alright :: Amos the Kid :: Mountain View EP”
by Chris Bryson
When Winnipeg punk duo Mobina Galore went into Private Ear Recording to lay down their 2019 release, Don’t Worry, they came out of there with more than an album. Mobina Galore’s Jenna Priestner and Marcia Hanson worked with Marty LaFreniere of Looksmart Video and John Paul Peters of Private Ear Recording to compile 40-50 hours of video, which has since been pared down to turn into band content and a documentary called Sorry, I’m a Mess – The Making of ‘Don’t Worry’.
by Olivier LaRoche
Stylus had the chance to sit down with Nic Dyson, singer-songwriter from rural Manitoba, to ask him some questions about his experience writing music and with the local scene.
Continue reading “Artist Q & A :: Nic Dyson”
by Jacob Letkeman
Healing Through A Sonic Figure opens up with “Hindsight.” This happens to be my (current) favourite track on the album. It comes on all at once, but gently, with plaintive vocal melodies that swoop and dance over top of the guitars, all of it bathed in lush reverb that washes over you, dreamlike and calm, somehow reassuring in it’s mournful feeling.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Juniper Bush :: Healing Through A Sonic Figure”