Genre: Trip Hop/Electronic/Breakbeat
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2006-06-06
Label: Suspicious

Saltillo is the new project of Menton J. Matthews, better known to the world as Sunday Munich. This new CD, five years in the making, is the sound of loss, the struggle for solace, and illimitable beauty. An impressive multi-instrumentalist and soundtrack composer, on Ganglion Matthews play violin, cello, viola, paino, guitar, bass, banjo, and electronics. The end result is an immense sadness distilled into sound; echoing trip hop beats rolling over the sumptuous acoustic strings, downtuned piano notes punctuating the sparser arrangements. Surpassing the scope of Sunday Munich both in terms of technical production and pure cathartic emotion, Ganglion has refined Matthew's songwriting and the final product is immensely personal and essential. This is necessary music for fans of achingly honest and visceral trip hop.

(Parts are reminiscent of Requiem For A Dream strings by Khronos Quartet mixed with some phatty beats and ephemeral background vocals)

Genre: French Hip Hop
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008-02-22
Label: Decca International

Here it is! Hocus Pocus’s second album « Place 54 » is available. After the success of their first album « 73 Touches », fans couldn’t wait any longer to discover their new tracks. We couldn’t either. And it is with apprehension that we started listening to the 16 new tracks of Hocus Pocus’s « Place 54 », an essential group on the French speaking music world. Would they be up to their first album or would the pressure be too strong? You decide.

Genre: Indie/Folk/Trip Hop
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2007-07-16
Label: Universal Import

Drawing as much on modern Dance music as their Jewish cultural heritage, theirs is a contemporary sound. No other group is out there mixing things up as boldly and as brilliantly as Oi Va Voi. You underestimate the breadth and power of this band's sound at your peril. They are forging a new, true identity, which both draws on their roots and celebrates the cultural pluralism that surrounds us all. Oi Va Voi's music speaks of the 'here and now' but knows of the 'way back when'.

Genre: Electronic/Hip Hop/Lounge
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-03-16
Label: New Deal

Doctor Flake is a french DJ/producer/composer who evolves in a kind of abstract Hip Hop / Trip Hop style, like a surgeon of music : a “chirurSicien” (a play on the french words “Chirurgien” : surgeon / “Musicien” : musician). Composing with samples he found thanks to years of researches, seeking for treasures hidden in the groove of old vinyls, Doctor Flake creates a dark and stylish sound, where melancholy and blind rage are mingled to offer a “picture to hear”.

Genre: Electronic/Funk
Website: Myspace
Release Date: 2008
Label: Timberyard

Breakbot is an awesome Frenchie who makes electronic, mainly breakbeat-orientated music that doesn’t bang to please. It floats along collecting bass, synths and other awesome noises to make you gleefully wag your head from side to side. Perfect music for walking, dancing sensually and chatting it up with friends! Toast the good times with Breakbot.

Genre: Folk
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-07-06
Label: Dead Oceans

Upper Air is the sophomore effort from North Carolina's folk duo of Phil Moore and Beth Tacular. The popularity of their first record effected a lot of change for the group: they've signed to Dead Oceans, and with the label's support have toured with the likes of Bon Iver, Phosphorescent, and John Vanderslice. The inspiration for these songs comes from their near-constant touring, and as such, they stray from the backwoods, nature-inspired sounds and imagery of their debut and show signs of an evolution toward a fuller array of instrumentation and a more confessional lyrical basis.

Genre: Pop/Folk/Singer Songwriter
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-06-09
Label: Verve Forecast

"Taller Children, the debutalbum from the Brooklyn based band featuring Elizabeth Abby Lynn Ziman, Dan Molad, and Pete Lalish is a unique blend of pop playfulness and grown-up introspection. Elizabeth & The Catapult formed in NYC in 2004 and quickly gained a loyal downtown following with their captivating tunes and energetic live shows. The bulk of Taller Children was recorded with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Rilo Kiley) while several of the album's performances were drawn from the homespun demos recorded in drummer Molad's home studio. All songs were written by Ziman except "Taller Children," which she co-wrote with Matt Wigton and Dan Molad, and "Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen."

Genre: Pop/Rock/Folk
Website: Myspace | Buy!
Release Date: 2009-06-25
Label: Nonesuch

Here it is, Wilco (the album). Either the band's seven or tenth studio album (depending on whether you consider Mermaid Ave 1 & 2). This time out production is by Wilco and Jim Scott and features eleven new songs recorded at Roundhouse Studios in Auckland, New Zealand and at The Loft in Chicago. Engineered and mixed by Mr. Scott and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway.

Genre: Folk/Acoustic
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008-09-30
Label: Paper Bag

Studio albums are nice and all, but there's something to be said for the, dare I say, "magic" of live recordings. Or what about the oft-repeated, but never duplicated spontaneous recording of nascent song ideas. With this in mind, Paper Bag released The Acorn's - Heron Act, a collection of hard-to-find live recordings, blog/radio session recordings and demos spanning their last Canadian and US tours.

Genre: Indie/Rock
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-03-24
Label: Paper Bag

Montreal’s Winter Gloves gets maximum mileage out of minimalist arrangements on "About a Girl,” precisely because vocalist/keyboardist Charles F writes strong melodies that don’t require high-tech baubles to make them sing. Powered by analog keyboards, ancient beat boxes, organic drums, sparse guitar and liberal use of glockenspiels, "About a Girl” achieves a certain majesty without going overboard. This wall of sound is more like a mesh, allowing plenty of air to circulate. Much like Wolf Parade, Winter Gloves’ raw mix provides a kind of rough exoskeleton for songs that, in more candy-coated production environments, would be chart-ready pop music.

Genre: Folk/Acoustic/Singer Songwriter
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2007
Label: Pop Culture

Amos the Transparent surged onto the Canadian music scene with one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2007. Critics and music lovers praised the lush arrangements and seductive melodies found on Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget, leading to a string of festival performances and opening slots on Polaris Prize winner Patrick Watson’s tour.

Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget distills the creative core of Amos the Transparent. Every song is unique in feel and delivery, resulting in an album both musically and lyrically dense. Although rooted in folk, there is also an element of experimentation that draws comparisons to the likes of Wilco and Broken Social Scene.

Genre: Indie/Folk
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-02-24
Label: Arts & Crafts

Gentleman Reg has been performing in Canada since the turn of the millennium, garnering attention for his two acclaimed full-lengths, 2002's Make Me Pretty and 2004's Darby & Joan. With a voice from the heavens and an unforgettable look, Gentleman Reg is set to make his U.S. debut in 2009 with the release ofJet Black.

Gentleman Reg has made fans of some of Canada's best talent, performing and touring with such acts as Tegan and Sara, Broken Social Scene, Stars and The Hidden Cameras. In the U.S., Reg is best known for being featured in the 2006 John Cameron Mitchell movie, Short Bus, in which he made a brief cameo and contributed to the film's soundtrack.

Genre: Pop/Rock/Indie
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008-06-10
Label: Yep Roc

"Having taken their Beatles fixations to a logical extreme, they find a parallel play in Belle & Sebastian's The Life Pursuit, co-opting glammier beats to service their fussy, handcrafted pop-rock without succumbing to a loosey goosey sexuality that would be a poor fit. Even those accustomed to Sloan's effortlessness will find the first half of Parallel Play almost flawless. There's still little in the way of artifice or innovation, but it's still easy to admire the architecture-- while the hammering shuffle of "Believe in Me" builds to an ecstatic, positive chorus, it careens right into "Cheap Champagne", which reverses course by downplaying the clever minor progression in hooks in favor of the "ba ba's" that start it off. But beyond those two, Sloan never feel the need to come on too strong, as "All I Am Is All You're Not" gets its hands muddy before striking oil on the hook and "Witch's Wand" disguises its subtly dark lyrics about female mind control (or possibly heroin, but I doubt it) behind the head-bopping melodies."

Genre: Alternative/Hip Hop
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-05-12
Label: Surfdog

Ain’t No Love in the Club” is the lead single off their upcoming album Abuse Thys Substance, which finds Wylde Bunch at the top of their game. This joint is already bringing heat to the dance floor as an instant club anthem with a slick new video ready for airplay. Produced by hit-making team The Pharmacy (Crazy Town, Plain White T’s), this song rides a heavy beat with clever hooks, beautiful bridges, and humorous lyrics. DJ AM has been heavily rinsing the track in his club sets and says, “This is a true banger…just peep the production.”

Genre: Folk/Indie/Hip Hop/Alternative
Website: Myspace | Buy!
Release Date: 2009
Label: n/a

The Record Of The Week Club is a weekly recording session featuring musicians from diverse musical backgrounds. Never knowing who their co-creators will be — an incognito and disparate group of musicians meet at MCM Studios in Winnipeg, Canada every Wednesday evening. Over the course of one evening they are charged with the task of getting to know each other, arranging, rehearsing and recording a piece under the guidance of Mike Petkau. The song is immediately mixed and uploaded and made available for download that same night.

Jazz drummers are being paired with punk guitarists and opera singers; classical violinists are being paired with taiko drummers and DJ's, folksingers are being paired with sound collage artists and trombonists. The combinations are endless. And to top it off, we've invited local filmmakers to document the process.

The point is simple, and twofold:

As musicians, we often find ourselves working with similar-minded artists. Rarely are we forced to work outside our comfort zone with musicians whose creative experience can be fundamentally different than our own. The opportunities presented by this creative challenge are exciting!

As music fans, we are in an increasingly unstable time for the music industry. Never has there been more separation between artist and audience, or more upheaval in the way we access music. The Record Of The Week Club aims to put listeners closer to the moment of creation than ever before.

The Record of the Week Club will run from late May to mid September. Check back every Thursday for a brand new track. We greatly appreciate the generous support of the Manitoba Arts Council in making this project a reality.

The first $100 in sales from each track will be donated to the West End Cultural Centre to support their efforts to rebuild the greatest music venue in Winnipeg.

Genre: Electro
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2009-06-15
Label: Gun Ho!

The Japanese Popstars are well on their way to becoming Britain's
hottest live dance outfit. The Northern Irish trio are confirmed to
play Glastonbury, Glade, Rockness, Oxegen, Fuji Rock, Planet Love
(supporting The Prodigy), and numerous other summer festivals.

They exploded onto the scene in 2008, with a debut album that received
heavy praise from The Guardian, Word, Artrocker, NME, Clash,
Popjustice, Mixmag, DJ, Radio 1, XFM, and many more, with critics
hailing them as the rightful heirs to Underworld, the Chemical
Brothers, and Orbital. Remixes for Beyonce, Grand National, Ting Tings,
Shinichi Osawa, The Music, Groove Armada, and Tong & Spoon - came thick
and fast.

'We Just Are (Finalizer)' was an outright critical favourite from their
album. The track is melodic, blissed out electro, but with the bands
trademark sound. Currently writing their second album, Decky, Gary, and
Gareth, have just finished one of their biggest remixes to date,
details of which will be announced very soon.

Genre: Electronic/Pop/Indie
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008-05-30
Label: Smashing World

Where Grunge, drum and bass, and 2-step converge. A singer-songwriter guitar player and a turntablist meet up to deliver this masterpiece.

Genre: Electro
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008
Label: Plant Music

Tear it up. In your house, on the road, in public, doesn't matter.

Genre: Jam Band
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2007-03-06
Label: Treeleaf Music

If you don't know Pgroove here is your chance. If you do, this is self-explanatory.

Genre: Soul/Blues/Singer-Songwriter
Website: Myspace |
Release Date: 2008-06-10
Label: Hear Music

Some good soul blues. Ear the smooth groove above and head to myspace for some heavier ones.

Super awesome free EP from Mobius Band. Jump on it and enjoy some great covers.