Possessing a unique talent for approaching sensitive and relevant issues within the Black community, multi-GRAMMY Award-winning hip hop, rap and soul group Arrested Development channel their trailblazing and history-making talents into the poignant hymn for Black girl magic that is “Never Had Your Back” – check it out on YouTube here:

Fresh from their newest album, For The FKN Love, and featuring lyrics from Speech and background vocals from Ke’Andra, legendary British Boom-Bap producer Configa wraps everything up in a well-executed production.

“Never Had Your Back” features a compelling overall concern for the way that Black women are portrayed in modern media and music. Noticing how depictions were demeaning, the group says they went to work crafting a production that would empower “Melanated Black Queens” and raise social awareness.

Life can be punishing, and the world can be a cruel place, and sometimes we just want someone to lay it all out how it really is, without varnish or artifice. Canadian indie folk-rocker Edison Rupert does just that in his rollicking ballad of hard luck, “Ticket To A Place” – check it out on YouTube here:

“Ticket To A Place” starts out with marching, percussive electric guitar as Rupert tells the sad tale with plain-voiced candor in the vein of Johnny Cash. The story begins in the first person, as Rupert narrates the empty, anonymous existence of a cipher:
I’ve got a ticket to a place that nobody knows
I’ve got some years on my back with nothing to show
If you come looking for me, I’m hiding in the shadows
I’ve got my own dirt pile pillow, It feels like home

Alt-pop new wave rockers Evil Tongues are delivering a synth-infused message in a banger bottle with the release of their new single, “Fine”.  Check it out on YouTube here:

The debut drop from the Canadian duo was born of the global pandemic that pushed the pair to the top of their songwriting prowess. “Fine”’s lyrics evoke a somber, devastated Jennifer Di coping with isolation, depression, anxiety; and the cinematic inspired soundscape is delivered by engineer Mike Allain. “Mike wrote the foundation for the song,” explains Di, “I asked him to make something that sounded like it would be in the movie Tron.”

Canadian alt-folk rockers Village Manor are encouraging the act of “Gunsaway” with the release of their new single — check it out on YouTube here:

The imploring plea arrives as their debut release, and was inspired by how “tired everyone is waking up every morning to the news of gun violence on a consistent basis,” co-front John Weinberg says.

“It’s every single day!”

“How many times can we wake up, how many times can we hear,” asks the lyrics. “It’s only time - and a time for winning, time for losing, time for loving, and a time to stop saying goodbye.”

The new single  from Hamilton band Long Black Cadillacs is “True Love,”  sung by Chris Jackson, and led by Earl Johnson, former lead guitarist for hard-rock band Moxy.

Check out “True Love” on YouTube here:

In its heyday Moxy toured North America, sharing the stage with such iconic Rock acts as AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Styx. Most recently, however, Johnson, with his new band, have written and recorded songs more in an R&B style, and “True Love” is a terrific “rock ballad,” written for his common-law wife Debbie Sutton, who sadly passed away in 2019. There's still plenty of Johnson's trademark guitar, but the new song and the new band have a more sophisticated sound than Moxy, more like Carlos Santana.

Raised in a small city in Northern Ontario, Chris Corey now splits his time between Ontario and Western Canada where he’s currently working on releasing his debut album. “This record is really a mixed bag of everything.” He said when asked about the direction of the material. “I really tried to pull from a variety of influences on the newer tunes, I didn’t want to hold back thinking something wasn’t possible.” Drawing influences from a variety of genres including rock, pop, blues, country, folk and new wave, his new album promises to be a treat for listeners with wide musical palettes.

Check out “Storms We Face” YouTube here: https://bit.ly/3GGai0r

Toronto’s Chris Caulfield is a multi-talented singer/songwriter with eccentric harmonies and punchy composition and continues to defy genre conventions with a cerebral trip to the hottest neon nightclub of your dreams in his latest single, “Stockholm Syndrome” – check it out here:

He’s also an artist who has come a long way to get where he is.

The profoundly personal lyrics and concept come from an artist who has grappled with their own demons in life. Having spent most of his life dealing with chronic pain, and the cumulative toll it can have on one’s mental health, the COVID pandemic challenged both the world, as well as Caulfield as he dealt with his own personal anguish.

Los Angeles-based producer, vocalist, and songwriter Natalie Nicole Gilbert puts a magnetically modern spin on Anggun’s 90s classic hit “Snow on the Sahara” with the release of her new single

The song lands on the heels of her recently released full-length album, Recovery 2021 — a 12-track full-throated tome to the winding experience of healing.

Check out “Snow on the Sahara” on YouTube here:
music.youtube.com/watch?v=o56sFfQQp7Y&list=RDAMVMo56sFfQQp7Y

Produced in collaboration with GRAMMY Award- and Latin GRAMMY Award-nominee Robert Eibach, the two started reimagining “Snow on the Sahara” with speeding it up by six beats per minute. “It’s wild how that small pace change shifts the feel of the song, despite us keeping the key, and a lot of other main elements intact,” Gilbert shares. “Harmonies were a big part of what always stood out to me when I first fell in love with this song, so we made sure to really keep those front and center in this version, as well.”

When it comes to feel good pop-music lighting up the Canadian music scene, there are few who hold a candle to the production value and energy that multi-talented artist Bryan Bravo brings to his new single, “Feel Lucky” and album, Be Mine.

Check out “Feel Lucky” on YouTube here:

“‘Be Mine’ captivates and embraces a euphoric state of mind,” the Toronto-based artist shares. “Infatuated with the idea of love, and how deep it will go… Finding oneself at a standstill, unable to lose themselves completely, evoking the thought ‘why you gotta be inside my mind?’”

Finding a personal stake in the lyrics and their coupling with the production led the songwriter to a sentimental place during the creative process.

Robb Nash is declaring war on mental illness.

Named an ‘Extraordinary Canadian,’ the award-winning Canadian rocker and Governor General of Canada Meritorious Service Medal recipient’s story is one for the ages. But one peek up the sleeve at the hundreds of names tattooed on his arm — plus his newly released single, “This Is War” — reveals so much more.

“The names are from over 900 suicide notes I’ve received from kids,” Nash explains. “Some of them have my lyrics as tattoos, too; it’s a mutual relationship of ‘go forth and conquer.’”

Alongside The Robb Nash Project’s new song, “This Is War,” and the forthcoming album of the same name, the skin-inked gesture is part of Nash’s long-held commitment to combat mental illness — a high-stakes conflict he personally endured.

Watch and experience the moving “This Is War” on YouTube here:

Toronto band Isabel & The Uncommons are releasing a new single “DISTANCE,” written and sung by bandleader Isabel Fryszberg, who also provided the artwork for the accompanying video. The song, a languid tango about yearning for connection in a time of separation, was produced by Mitch Giěrio and features guitarist Steve Briggs, Rebecca Hennessy on trumpet, Gary Craig on drums and percussion, and Rebecca Campbell on background.

Check out “Distance” here:

Horns up for the six-piece Mad Symphony, raucously rumbling from the coast of British Columbia, armed with their eponymous debut EP and earth-shaking lead anthem, “Do It All Over Again”. Check it out on YouTube here:

Orchestrated from a variety of professional rock artists from all walks of life and career, Mad Symphony plucks together Kevin Wright (lead vox, percussion), Dave Groves (lead guitar, background vox), Ted Tosoff (rhythm guitar, background vox), Mike Russell (keys, background vox), Amrit Prasad (bass), and Wes Hallam (drums). Together, this band of rock and roll brothers have created a modern soundscape born out of the metric set by the classic rockers who influenced them all to become musicians.

HOROJO Trio (pronunciation: HO-RO-JO, as in HO - Think Santa Claus; RO - "Row Your Boat"; and JO - "Joe") - already an award-winning soul-rocking rhythm and blues group before releasing any music, are now ready to Set The Record with the release of their debut album — available April 1st, 2022 via Stony Plain Records.

The 11-track release also includes the new single & video, “Hard As I Can”.

With each member individually accomplished musicians, HOROJO Trio are drummer Jamie Holmes, singer/keyboardist Jeff Rogers, and guitarist JW Jones who has as a solo artist reached Top 10 on the Billboard Blues Charts, received multiple JUNO and Maple Blues Award nominations.

Australian producer DJ Views emerges from the lab harnessing the technical wizardry of rappers Speech and Dell-P as they deliver ‘90s inspired hip-hop track, “Global Moves.

With the undeniable rap chemistry heard in sonic detail, DJ Views channels the hip-hop classics on the 1s and 2s. The beat is an ode to the iconic boom-bap style with heavy acoustic drums and hazy piano synths brimming with musical embellishments.

“Global Moves” is the latest example of DJ Views’ sophisticated and stylized approach to his craft. The artistic method of respecting the legends while having a firm grasp of what’s hot makes “Global Moves” a song with a timeless quality.

Check out “Global Moves” on YouTube here:

The journey from childhood to adulthood is rife with external influences that shape us and leave lasting impressions; the adults in every child’s life leave indelible imprints as kids grow up. Exploring this shared human experience, inventive country rock band Hot Mondy turns the spotlight on self-worth with their soul searching, yet jubilant new single, “Tell Me I’m Good”.

Check out “Tell Me I’m Good” on YouTube here:

“‘Tell Me I’m Good’ is a self-examination of how our upbringing impacts how we see ourselves as adults,” explains the band. “The idea that how we see ourselves reflects the messaging we receive from parents, teachers, coaches as adolescents, for better or worse.”

If you told me I’m good
Maybe I would
Find a way to feel ease in my own skin

Kelowna singer/songwriter Bree Whitworth bears her soul and beautifully articulates true romance with her emotionally charged new single, “Real Thing”.
Check it out on YouTube here:

No stranger to the music scene, and deeply inspired by strong, 90s alternative bands, Montreal-based pop-rocker Jano Alek channels passionate symbolism with emotional overtones in his newest single, “Mountain Man”. Check it out on YouTube here:

Infused with unique Armenian-Syrian riffs and melodies, Jano Alek creates a solid foundation for the megalith that is “Mountain Man.” Funneling lyrics through the heartfelt struggle of Alek’s journey, Jano Alek crafts positive yet simplistic lines that soar through this electrifying pop-rock psalm.

Inspired by his journey through life, and the plight of surviving the exodus of his culture, the character that is intricately woven into “Mountain Man” reflects the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s inspiration.

Watching a loved one self-destruct through addiction sucks, plain and simple. It’s a powerless, helpless feeling, and one that Vancouver-based pop artist Alexis Lynn captures in all its complexity in her searing new single “House On Fire” — watch and listen here:

“House On Fire” is a pop powerhouse, packed with infectious beats, cascading vocals, and gorgeous well-timed harmonies, while its lyrics deal with the cold, dank darkness of watching a loved one’s addiction progress.

You gon’ always do what you want to
No matter what anybody tells you
Chasing temporary fixes, you won’t call it quits
Just living to exist, yeah shit

And then, the metaphorical house starts burning as the narrator is forced to stand by helplessly — “I’ll just stand here 10 feet away/Watchin you, trapped in your house on fire.”

Landing alongside his raucous new release, Surrender, Canadian powerhouse rocker jsin unleashes his inner-dialogue meets high-voltage sound with new single, “You Can’t Stop Me” – check it out here:

Coming from a place of self-reflection, and accepting life at face-value after years of ponderance and questioning, the song reveals a journey jsin hopes will inspire his listeners to participate in as well.

“We all have insecurities,” he shares. “We all have struggles. We all question things. But we can't let those things drive what we do. The things that hold us back. This song speaks to the process of surrendering to what is, instead of trying to control things. Every song is me expressing that I have to let myself be, let myself exist — not just let my thought processes or my ego drive my actions.”

When it comes to feel good pop-music lighting up the Canadian music scene, there are few who hold a candle to the production value and energy that multi-talented artist Bryan Bravo brings to his new single, “Feel Lucky” and album, Be Mine.

Check out “Feel Lucky” on YouTube here:

“‘Be Mine’ captivates and embraces a euphoric state of mind,” the Toronto-based artist shares. “Infatuated with the idea of love, and how deep it will go… Finding oneself at a standstill, unable to lose themselves completely, evoking the thought ‘why you gotta be inside my mind?’”

Finding a personal stake in the lyrics and their coupling with the production led the songwriter to a sentimental place during the creative process.