Well, August CDs are in the mail, and here's me hoping they reach you all right. The lady at the post office made a big deal about my desire to send them as letter mail, (even though I've always done it), so hopefully I'm not red-flagged now or something.
I've been absent on this blog not for lack of interest, but because this year has turned out to be one of the busiest of my life. Rest assured, however, that I have listened to each contribution and have been enjoying them.
I decided to go with an all-Canadian theme this year, with a number of these artists actually originating in Calgary. Last year I had a number of Canadian artists in my mix, and I figured this year I'd just go all the way. Being in Canada, it's tough to tell how popular these artists are internationally, as we tend to hear them on the radio here at a disproportionate frequency as dictated by the CRTC's regulations which require all radio stations in the country to play a certain percentage of Canadian content. New stations, for example, are currently being licensed at 40%. Hopefully there are some new-to-you artists within. (My apologies to the other Canadian in this group. I know you've heard of almost everyone on here. Hopefully you enjoy the mix nonetheless.)
There are two particular artists on this mix which I'm fairly certain none of you have ever heard of. I can say this because they're two of my own bands. Playing and recording music is a large part of what has kept me so busy this past year, so I decided I'd send along a couple examples.
The Jamies is a band I play drums in with my wife as the lead singer, and I'm currently recording and producing our first album. On Under the Stars, I'm playing drums, auxiliary percussion, and theremin. This song is one of the most complete on the record, being 100% tracked, around 90% mixed, and only in need of mastering.
No Famous Death is another band I drum in. We've spent the better part of the year in the studio writing and recording our first album. On I Can't Win, I play drums and auxiliary percussion. This track is amongst the most complete on the record, but is still in need of a bass track and a couple other things. I had the engineer do up a quick mix so I could include it here.
I play with both bands, and occasionally other artists, in and around Calgary a few times a month.
Chuck - this is awesome. I'm really looking forward to hearing this collection. I'm a big fan of Sloan, and have heard of Eric's Trip, Feist, the Tragically Hip and the Weakerthans, but am stumped beyond that. It will certainly be a new frontier.
ReplyDeleteThis mix was a lot of fun to put together, and really got me thinking about Canada's musicians and who my favourites are. Due to the limitations of disc space and intended flow, I wound up having to leave a number of artists off, including more Calgary area bands, (and another of my own bands), but I think I accomplished my goal of assembling a nicely balanced collection.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing them arrive at their destinations and not be returned to my house for incorrect postage.
The CD arrived late last week, but my first chance to give it a cursory spin was during yesterday's commute to and from work. My first impression is the wide variety of tempos - from the hushed melancholy of Eric's Trip to the full-tilt rocker of The Dudes. The "Canadiana" title is especially appropriate, as the prevailing style seems to be a rootsy hybrid of alt-country and indie-folk. Not too surprisingly, I immediately gravitated to the indie tracks (e.g. Sloan and Eric's Trip), but I have to tell you how much I admire your wife's voice. This is not the voice of a woman who finally wore her musician husband down enough to record a charity track. I will forever forget those other "Jamies" - the one-hit wonders who recorded the 60s ditty "Summertime Summertime".
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear the discs are reaching their destinations!
ReplyDeleteI did attempt a balance with this collection, of tempos and of male and female vocals, while trying to keep the styles similar enough.
I'll pass along the kind words to Jamie. She does indeed have a nice voice, and is a really great songwriter. It's been a pleasure to be in a band with her. Hopefully we should have a full record out in the next few months.
I know you've posted a few videos of No Famous Death performing live, but it was a nice change of pace to hear the band in the studio. There are vocal and instrumental subtleties in the track that I imagine are very hard to capture on stage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paul! I'm glad you noticed the subtleties. The singer and I are both fans of headphone albums, so both the Jamies and No Famous Death new albums are heading in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThough this No Famous Death album is far from complete, a complete album does exist from before I joined the band. It's called Pregnancy Scare, and is available on iTunes should anyone want to check it out. More lushly layered indie goodness.
This has been a cool eye opener of the Canadian pop scene for me, since I only had ever heard of a few of the bands - I have a Sloan CD and had vaguely heard of The Tragically Hip. I look forward to repeated listens of this mix!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Happy you're enjoying it.
ReplyDelete