When it comes to video games in their various forms, we often discuss how they look in terms of the graphics and animations; or we talk about the gameplay. One thing that often gets overlooked is the music that is contained within the game, and just how important it is in helping to create an enjoyable and immersive gaming experience. So just how does music influence gameplay and how important is it for players?

The first thing to consider is the game itself and it's setting. It’s hugely important for the player to be immersed completely in the game, and music helps to do this by creating the atmosphere. Taking a first-person shooter game as an example, there’s no way a player would feel in the slightest involved; if the background music was the type you would find in a Super Mario game.

L.A.-based, Vancouver-born singer-songwriter Tara Beier has released a new single, "Forgiveness," on her own Red Raven Records, a song with a message she hopes will take hold within our current political and social climate. Musically, "Forgiveness" builds on the power pop sound that defined Beier's acclaimed 2017 EP California 1970, which Popmatters described as, "one-of-a-kind Canadian indie rock," and Spill Magazine said, "firmly establishes a powerful new voice." As with California 1970, Beier produced "Forgiveness" at L.A.'s The Village Studios utilizing some of the city's top-notch musicians, including drummer Tripp Beam (Moby) who, Beier explains, played a crucial role in the song's creation. " Tripp joined me last summer when I played Riverfest [in Elora ON] and during that time, he introduced me to a book called The Missing Link by Sydney Banks.

On April 20, Pennywise will release their new album Never Gonna Die. The legendary punk band’s twelfth full-length, Never Gonna Die is the first full album of new songs with singer Jim Lindberg, guitarist Fletcher Dragge, drummer Byron McMackin, and bassist Randy Bradbury in over a decade.

Today, Pennywise have shared Never Gonna Die’s title track: a thrashing and furious look into “the seemingly immortal practice of handing down our ancient biases, prejudice, and religious dogma from each generation to the next,” according to Lindberg.

“The goal of the song is to try and get young people to finally say enough, and that the system isn’t working,” Lindberg adds. “It’s going to take a massive evolutionary shift in consciousness to change it, starting with the youth, because unless we do, we’ll just have more of the same carnage we’ve seen happening all over the world reincarnated with every new generation.”

Kinda rootsy, kinda folk-rocky, Toronto-based band Johnson Crook have released their latest single "Mr. Nobody" to coincide with tour dates in Ontario this March. The song, from Johnson Crook's 2017 full-length debut The Album, released by Coalition Music, features guest vocals from Canadian music legend Tom Cochrane, The quartet—Noel Johnson (rhythm guitars/vocals), brothers Nathan (lead guitar/mandolin/vocals) and Trevor Crook (drums/vocals) and Jared Craig (bass/vocals), have forged their sound out of a love of pure, honest music stemming from their small-town backgrounds. Drawing inspiration from groups like the Eagles and the Avett Brothers, each member of Johnson Crook contributes equally, injecting their unique personalities into an overall sound built on four voices.

Could the third one be the charm? Winnipeg indie rockers Hearing Trees are following up their previous 2 EP releases with a 3rd release and debut full-length album Quiet Dreams on March 2nd. The lyric video for the first single 'Telling Peter' premiering on Exclaim.ca and in support of the new album, Hearing Trees will be embarking on a lengthy Cross-Canada Tour starting March 2nd in Regina.

Hearing Trees existed before frontman Graham Hnatiuk had ever picked up a guitar or penned a single lyric. Even as just an apparition in his mind’s eye, Hnatiuk’s musical vision essentially saved his sanity, maybe even his life. And now, with the release of their debut LP, Quiet Dreams, the creative seeds sown years ago have come to full fruition.

Near lawyer turned pop chanteuse Kayla Diamond has dropped a new video for her uplifting single "What You're Made Of' via PopDust .

Following Kayla from childhood through to adulthood, the video tells the story of her journey from a young girl who dreamed of being a songwriter and performer to a fully realized musician and singer. The video also serves as a loving tribute to her family, whose unwavering support made the realization of her dream a reality.

Fluidly combining hip-hop and ethereal electronic beats, Montreal's Lou Phelps is the biggest rapper in his city. Skating over a candy-colored disco-funk instrumental courtesy of Lou's brother, KAYTRANADA, Lou Phelps turns on his charm on his latest single, Come Inside. This is his first release as a new signee to Last Gang Records worldwide.

Effortlessly stacking syllables, Lou tells a story about meeting a girl and taking her out for a good time: "Met her at the strip club, she was a freelancer/Told me to give me her sign, she was a Cancer/Dancing for the dollars at the damn club/Strippin' for these n*ggas that we wouldn't even dare touch/She knows I ain't trippin' over damn thugs/She was a mama bear--I was her damn cub." Premiered by Complex, the song features a standout verse from fellow Canadian, Jazz Cartier, who has a blast stringing together flashy punchlines over the club-ready sonics.

Felix Cartal teamed up with vocalist REGN for his stunning new track "Runaway" on Physical Presents, and it will resonate deeply with listeners on and off the dancefloor. "Runaway" carries power in REGN's passionate voice and angsty lyrics that are perfectly complemented by Cartal's moody piano melodies and deep, groovy basslines; it delivers a message that is rebellious but also encouraging in its authenticity. The single will appear on his forthcoming full-length album due later this year.

So you thought they were all used up and dumped in the garbage? Well, Grounders are back and gearing up to release sophomore LP Coffee & Jam on February 23 via Nevado Music. Get a taste of the LP with second single "Perfect".

First single, 'Bringin' It In' was released last fall and has since been climbing the CBC R3 charts. The Soporanos-esqe video casts the guys as java maniacs who will stop at NOTHING to get some Griz. Grounders will be playing a string of live dates throughout Ontario with label mates The Wooden Sky.

The 16th Annual Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival, taking place in Toronto February 16-18, 2018, is set to present the best of urban, blues, rock, jazz, country, folk and roots music, and will feature returning favourite artists as well as fresh new talent. It’s an all-ages, mid-winter, weatherproof event that emulates a multi-stage rural summer festival. More than 100 artists will be performing at four venues and five stages over three days of the long Family Day weekend. For more information on the festival, schedule and for updates, please visit www.winterfolk.com.

Winterfolk XVI featured performers include Borealis Records artists MOSE SCARLETT, who’s been on the Canadian music scene for more than 40 years, fiddler ANNE LEDERMAN, highly acclaimed Canadian folk, blues and gospel singer and multi-instrumentalist KEN WHITELEY, and award-winning singer-songwriter JON BROOKS.

February 7, 2018, Mt. Joy announced that NPR Music has selected them as the Slingshot Artist Spotlight for February. Mt. Joy will be featured on NPR partner stations throughout the month. The band has also announced a headlining spring tour, including Canadian dates in Vancouver and Toronto (full dates below). Mt. Joy’s self-titled debut album will be released on March 2nd via Dualtone, an Entertainment One company.

In little more than a year as a band, the LA-via-Philadelphia band has racked up over 15 million streams on Spotify, toured with The Shins, Whitney, The Head And The Heart and The Lone Bellow, and performed at Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, Made In America and Lollapalooza. Mt. Joy just wrapped up a North American tour with Neko Case, and they're set for highly anticipated appearances at SXSW, Shaky Knees, BottleRock, and more come spring.

Regina-based singer/songwriter Ryan Hicks is set to release his 2nd full-length album February 9th, Video for the first single and title track 'Pulsing Colours’ is premiering exclusively on Live in Limbo.

Ryan Hicks makes melodic, cinematic alt-pop music which he describes as "if Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and the Fleet Foxes made music for a David Lynch film". Since the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Prairie Ocean in 2014, Ryan has been hard at work on his sophomore release Pulsing Colours. The album is a concept record of all of the thoughts, moods and emotions that can come to us at night.

Pulsing Colours was inspired and written in tribute to Ryan’s stepmother, who took her own life in December 2014. Her loss made Ryan dig inward and look for meaning and his place in the world.

"Hey Mama" the latest track from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.The song appears on the band’s highly anticipated new album, Tearing at the Seams, out March 9th, 2018 on Stax Records. The record is available for pre-order here.

Recently, the band released their single, You Worry Me, to critical praise—Rolling Stone proclaims, “The first single from his forthcoming LP adds Southern-rock bite and weary longing to make for his most urgent song yet.”

The band has also added dates to their extensive North American tour. Tickets for the shows are on sale now at nathanielrateliff.com. See below for complete details.

Initial writing and recording sessions for Tearing at the Seams took place in Rodeo, New Mexico where Rateliff & The Night Sweats re-established their dynamic off the stage and in the studio. “For the first record I demo’ed everything up and created most of the parts,” says Rateliff. “This time, I felt like we’ve all spent so much time on the road that we should all go off somewhere together. We should all have that experience together.”

Dublin neo folk rockers Cloud Castle Lake have a new video for their rousing single "Twins". Described by Stereogum, who premiered the video, as "heavy-hearted euphoria," "Twins" is perfectly complimented by the atmospheric and beautifully shot video, directed by Irish filmmaker Kenny Leigh in collaboration with the band.

"Nearly all of it was shot outdoors at Russborough House just as a hurricane was approaching, so towards the end of the day the weather got pretty hairy," explains the band's Brendan Jenkinson on the making of the video. "It was very unpleasant at the time but ended up working really well with the arc of the video. We wanted to capture the same mood and feel of dream sequences in 50s/60s European films. We found that, in a kind of counter-intuitive way, it really suited the music and gave a new dimension to the lyrics."

Art of Time Ensemble is proud to present A Singer Must Die, a concert in tribute to the legendary literary and musical icon Leonard Cohen. Running February 22 - 24 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre, this sublime concert features a range of acclaimed singers, authors and musicians in a program that focuses on both Cohen's music and his writings. Readings, anecdotes, and arrangements of his music in the signature Art of Time Ensemble style will make for an evening to remember.

Such celebrated writers as Giller Prize winners Michael Redhill and Madeleine Thien, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Ian Brown, Barbara Gowdy, Christopher Dewdney, Marnie Jackson, David Macfarlane, Karen Solie, and more are some of the literary lions who will rotate throughout the three evenings to give readings of personal favourite passages, or share personal anecdotes of their encounters with Cohen and his writings.

Rosie & the Riveters never planned to get political. But opening a newspaper or watching the news these days made it impossible to see the status of women around the world and stay silent. The result is Ms. Behave - a 12-song collection of gritty, sultry, vintage-inspired folk anthems that paint a portrait of a woman’s voice in a man’s world. The Saskatoon trio is set to release the new album independently on April 6, 2018. The group is ready to engage a conversation with the lead single, "Let ‘em Talk", released on January 26, 2018. “I go high, they go low, Won’t let them run my show” - "Let ‘em Talk" draws its lyrics from years of people pleasing, holding back, and feeling small. The band will kick off their North American tour dates, ahead of the release, on March 24 in Philadelphia. Further info on the album and tour can be found at rosieandtheriveters.com.

Happy New Year y'all. It's been said Lindi Ortega has ‘the pipes of Patsy Cline with the visual flair of Amy Winehouse,’ and she’s planning to kick off 2018 with a headline tour making stops across Canada and the US. With more than 30 dates on the books and additional ones sure to be added, the shows will feature a feisty, rockabilly mix “drenched in passion, heartache and country swagger,” claims Huffington Post. Additionally, fans can expect to hear new music from Ortega’s forthcoming concept LP, which was recently recorded at Battle Tapes studio in East Nashville.

Today, RHYE releases Song for You, the latest track off their highly-anticipated sophomore album, BLOOD, due out February 2, 2018, via Last Gang Records. The song is available to stream and download here. BLOOD follows RHYE’s debut album, Woman, which was released in 2013 to wide critical acclaim. Fans who pre-order the album will receive instant downloads of Song for You, as well as previously released tracks, Count To Five, Taste, and Please.

“’Song for You’ was written for her. Listen to it in a way where it becomes your own,” shared RHYE frontman, Milosh. “It holds a lot of emotion and occupies a special place both in my heart and as the heart of this new album.”

Next month, RHYE will embark on a tour that will kick off on February 1st in Mexico City, and visit cities across North America, with stops in Montreal and Toronto in March, and Europe going into the spring.

If you like your singer/songwriter records to be raw, pure and rich in honest pure emotion then James Leblanc’s new release 'Nature of the Beast' is a must have for your music library. James combines the social conscience and primal messages of Steve Earle, the flair of Townes Van Zandt and the poetry of Guy Clark while still keeping it distinctly James Leblanc.

Even if you haven’t heard the name James Leblanc you’ve heard his songs, having racked up sales of over 25 million records with artists recording his tunes. The best known so far would be “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” by Travis Tritt although with a song on the new Tim McGraw /Faith Hill album that could change. Songs by Jason Aldean, “Relentless” and Gary Allen “Learning How To Bend” add to the list.

Terry Gomes is a University of Ottawa music graduate, having studied classical guitar and composition. He has released six recordings altogether. The last three marked a switch into instrumental music fusing World, Latin and Smooth Jazz genres. His newest and seventh recording, “The Tropical Dream”, is a concept album tracing the stages of a tropical vacation. Written while recovering from a slow-healing back injury, it pays homage to his childhood experiences growing up in a Guyanese culture, and to the memories of traveling with his family to the Caribbean.

Cashbox Canada recently had a chance to ask Terry Gomes some questions about his career and music.

Tell us about the concept/theme of the new album.