Aaron Bartel is all about prairie grooves. As a multi-instrumentalist who is probably best known for his saxophone and horn arrangement abilities, Bartel has been honing his skills with big bands that bang out even bigger sound.
Singer-songwriter Dana Lee’s 2017 self-titled release is a welcoming yet reflective set of songs ranging from sweet and syrupy pop threads to heartache and longing. Calling herself “Lippy, Hippy,” Lee isn’t beating around the bush on her first release as her opening track “Let’s Dance” reveals. Her sensual lyrics mixed with stellar, syncopated drumming and upbeat whistling is the epitome of a summer’s day.
Alison releases dark synth compositions under the moniker Mirror Frame, which blends dance beats with ethereal soundscapes. Stylus caught up with Alison to talk about her latest EP, intersectionality in music, and future projects.
Winnipeg’s Cell are a band fully immersed in their sonic world of cosmic black metal. Cell’s vocalist and guitarist, who prefers to go by Hyperion when it comes to the band, has always been a fan of concept albums and their potential for emotional and narrative depth, and his eye for artistic detail and dedication to craft shows in the intricacies of his work.
2019 marks the tenth anniversary of Cluster, a festival that showcases art that falls between forms from young exciting artists from Winnipeg, across Canada, and around the world. Cluster Festival features art that is dynamic, genre-breaking, experimental and one of a kind.
Yes We Mystic’s jam space lives in downtown Winnipeg, and is where the band has been practicing, writing, and recording music going on five years. Upon walking into this space, I was overcome with a feeling of positive energy (1). After coming in from the cold outside, the small and cozy space was flooded with natural light and reflected on the vibrant yellows on the multiple collage artworks (2) from their 5th anniversary show, done by artist Urban Ink, arranged around the room, giving the whole room a warm vibe. Davis Plett, guitarist and lead vocalist of the band showed me around the space to some of the band’s favourite pieces they’ve collected over the years.
On January 4th, The Middle Coast shared a good news/bad news post on social media. The good news was the release of a new EP, titled Encore, which they assure is the “best music we’ve ever made, hands down.” The bad news was that the band was going their separate ways. “The biggest problem is that the three of us are all strong creators,” wrote keyboardist Liam Duncan, explaining that the three musicians were shifting their focus to solo projects.
On February 9th, Winnipeg anti-rock band Trampoline released their latest musical enterprise, Happy Crimes, at the West End Cultural Centre. The album is a full-length rock musical that tells the story of a man who is tired of trying to make himself happy; who wants to be better, but doesn’t know how; who believes there is an imminent apocalypse, internal or otherwise, about to take place. Continue reading “Album Review :: Trampoline :: Happy Crimes”
Homewrecker is a collaborative collection of melancholic songs that tell stories of infidelity. This EP evokes a mix of emotions that altogether imprint the spirit of this music into the mind of the listener.
Forthwith marks its third edition this year, after having quietly appeared in 2017 and immediately marking itself as a mixed media festival with a heavy emphasis on sound art, electronic dance music of various flavours, and a bevy of international artists. Indeed, this year there are as many performers from abroad as from within Canada.