Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Myles Tiessen
It’s not easy to reflect on the little details that make up our day-to-day life. We’re often rushing through our day, going from one thing to the next in a frantic fashion. We also don’t often like to look back on our past for fear of embarrassment, discomfort, or something else entirely. Rumination can feel like an isolating and arduous activity.
Continue reading “Artist Spotlight :: Anthony OKS”
by Nigel Webber
”Catch a swollen heart from not rollin’ smart” – GZA
Winnipeg has slept on one of our own, only for the rest of the world to wake up first. Queen Desi Ma may be born and raised in Canada but she’s turning a whole lot of heads in the UK and her ancestral homeland of India. Desi Ma has developed a vast and wildly impressive skillset, which includes being able to not only switch between rapping and singing but to do so in three different languages, English, Punjabi, and Hindi, at times in the same song. Talent is a prerequisite for the music industry but it’s the individuals with those intangible factors of drive and passion coupled with hustle and a little bit of luck that mould into an artist as unique as Queen Desi Ma.
Continue reading “Winnipeg State of Mind :: Queen Desi Ma”
by Joel Klaverkamp
When you’re a music journalist, people will literally send you music to write about that they think you will like and the more they get to know your taste, the better the music you get to listen to! It’s the dream really, I highly recommend you start writing music reviews. That’s how I came upon this little gem from Praises called EP4 on the label Hand Drawn Dracula. It is so good! It is definitely my kind of thing.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Praises :: EP4”
by Olivier La Roche
Formed by members stretching across the continent, from here in Winnipeg all the way to Chicago and Austin, Texas, Central Heat Exchange arrives onto the scene with their self-titled debut, out this September. Having all met at shows in previous years, the musicians decided to unite and create a record while locked down in early 2020. Each confined to their own home, they collaborated through texts and DMs, ultimately shaping a broadly-inspired sound.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Central Heat Exchange :: Central Heat Exchange”
by Nigel Webber
“My heart preaches what my mind knows, sense over emotion” – Meyhem Lauren
On the mic and on the dancefloor, Mooki has been carving out a space of his own in Winnipeg’s hip-hop scene for over a dozen years. Adamantly attesting that he’s always loved hip-hop culture as a whole, Mooki elaborates that, “because of breaking, I was able to look at music a little differently.” That unique angle has benefitted Mooki in his relatively short time rapping. With a few assists from the homies along the way, Mooki is now well-established within the local music community and eager to continue pursuing a distinct path in the art form he finds expresses himself the best.
Continue reading “Winnipeg State of Mind :: Mooki”
by Myles Tiessen
When you first look at the cover of Motorists’ debut LP Surrounded, the amalgamation of roads, bridges, and cars is clearly and deliberately messy. It’s a rat’s nest representative of the chaotic and relentless hustle and pressure we put ourselves through. The black and yellow contrast further adds to the anxiety-inducing nature of the art- like a thousand wasps are flying around, ready to strike. It’s eye-catching, powerful, and, most importantly, it’s a visual thesis for the album.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Motorists :: Surrounded”
by M. Adam
Normally, when I review an album, I review it in context with the artist(s) other works. How does it fit? Have they progressed to new territory? Or have they stagnated? Reflecting on this style of review I began to question its fairness. Is it fair to judge an album based on their previous works? I’m sure we have all heard objectively good albums that fell short of our own built-up expectations and were ultimately discarded. In the face of this question, I will be reviewing 2nd grade’s sophomore album: Wish You Were Here Tour Revisited with “no context”.
Continue reading “Album Review :: 2nd grade :: Wish You Were Here Tour Revisited”
by Daniel Kussy
The melancholic piano melody on “dopamine” stands adjacent to a clear starry night, so long as the sun is rising when the instrumentation expands towards the end to include heavy-handed drums.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Ellis :: nothing is sacred anymore”
by Margaret Banka
While the feeling of being left behind is not endemic to the modern age, there is a special brand of modern apprehension about one’s place in the world– perhaps the lovechild, if you will, of the pandemic and social media age. With limited physical interactions it is easy to get mired down by our lives. Suddenly, every trivial issue in our life makes it seem like all the problems in the world belong only to us. The grass has never looked greener, apparently.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Amos the Kid :: No More New Ideas”