Funnelling explosive blues-rock riffs into heady alt-hip hop rhythms and immersive electronic arrangements comes award-winning Ottawa, ON duo DRAE’s timely and culturally prescient new single “Take Cover”.

“The revolution won’t be televised”

Watch the video on YouTube here:

“This song was written as a hypothetical view of a world where a government and its systems — particularly law enforcement — have turned on its own citizens,” says frontman and producer Andre Thibault. “Unfortunately we are seeing this become a reality, both with our neighbours south of the border, as well as our own federal police force with minority groups and Indigenous peoples.”

Calgary, AB’s jazz artist Aimee-Jo Benoit continues to celebrate this year’s release of BORJONER, her stunning new 10-track LP with Trio Velocity exploring songs from her personal journey — available now.

“BORJONER was born in a coffee shop,” Benoit recalls of the album’s earliest days. “I was thinking about the process of growth as an artist, a person, and a mother. The idea of burgeoning soil was all I could think about as I was trying to piece together a project that had been 15 years in the making.

“As a Canadian artist with a French background, I searched for a term that represented the idea of growth and BORJONER was found,” she continues. “It’s an old French term for burgeoning, and it couldn’t be more accurate for how I really do feel. It is as though I am clawing through the soil upwards and downwards, and it’s been a symbol for the entire process of how the album came to be, the recording and subsequent re-recording of it, its release during COVID-19, and its life as its rooted its way into the music community.”

Driven by bluesman Niz and Baby Kiz — aka 54-40’s Neil Osborne and his daughter, singer/songwriter Kandle — modern day blues duo A Family Curse are out with their new self-titled album.

Check out the entertaining video of “LA Blues”on YouTube here:

Decidedly different from their respective artistic pursuits, Niz and Kiz’ approach to A Family Curse seizes firm hold of whatever emotional range, found sounds, or random instruments are within reach.

The electro-rock swagger of Irish duo Ramshackle Rodeo is back with some classic, heavyweight riffs and howling harmonics courtesy of this, their sophomore EP, Mad Dog 2020

A driving follow-up to 2019’s breakthrough debut, Back from the East, the alt-indie electro-rock duo that is Stephen Cassidy and producer Nial O’Doherty once again showcase their inimitable sonic soundscape within Mad Dog 2020’s stellar tracks.

Where to start, but for the top with the smoldering, groove-laden album opener that is “City Strut.”

“Here we revel in classic sounds with a contemporary ear,” O’Doherty says of the track that wields scorched riffs and blistered drums.

Title track “Mad Dog 2020” uses flaming harmonics to fill the jet streams left by over-driven guitar, while “Lockdown Jam” showcases the Ireland-based duo’s loose and dangerously cool electro-rock prowess.

Check out “Mad Dog 2020”  YouTube here:

Canadian / British alt-rock popsters Dead Romantic serve up their hook-heavy slab of modern sonic goodness with the release of their newly minted single, “All Talk”.

Check out the video on YouTube of “All Talk” here:

Nothing short of well-seasoned with the same powerful riffs, crushing grooves, and anthemic vocals the breakthrough crew are quickly growing known for, the single just entered rotation on Kerrang! Radio, and lands ahead of Dead Romantic’s debut album release City of Thieves — set for release early 2021.

The trio consists of Toronto-born/raised producer and lead guitarist Mike Krompass — formerly of or have worked with Nelly Furtado, Natasha Beddingfield , Steven Tyler, Theory of a Deadman, and co-wrote and produced the recent Honeymoon Suite record — plus Benjamin Owen on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Westervelt on keyboards, and features drummer Eddy Thrower (Lower Than Atlantis).

Canadian jazz-pop R&B artist Sammy Jackson sets her sights on the “Past Tense” with the release of her new single.

Watch and listen to “Past Tense” here:

The song lands ahead of her forthcoming sophomore album, With You, a five-track EP fully encapsulating Jackson’s uniquely distinct, genre-fusing sound with thoughtful lyricism that’s honest and relatable. “With You explores themes of vulnerability, broken relationships, and love,” the St. Catharines, Ontario-based singer/songwriter shares. “‘Past Tense’ is about the journey from feeling insecure about your significant other’s past relationships to seeing those doubts disappear as your love grows.”

As heard and seen on JAZZ FM, One-Stop Jazz Safari, The Rex Hotel Jazz and Blues Bar, Luminato, TIFF Bell Lightbox, and more, Sammy Jackson has also shared the stage with the likes of Barbra Lica, Robi Botos, Rich Brown, and Larnell Lewis, to name a few.

Canadian country folk-rock artist David McLachlan is checking into the Heartache Motel with the release of his new album.

“I had the title floating around in my head for a long time,” McLachlan says of Heartache Motel and its origins. “When I wrote the song, it became the album title, too. From there, it was easy to fill in which songs I wanted on the album.”

Check out the album on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4K1CdvePuoQBdsuZnLf9X1?si=xKmdHpLaT7eDgdYQv-2DuA

The album features the likes of Julian Taylor, who was in Nashville at the time to perform at Americana Fest, as well as 13-time CCMA-nominated vocalist Lisa Brokop, and fourth place contestant on The Voice, Adam Cunningham.

Of track “What The Heart Wouldn’t Let Go” — co-written with Harpin Norm Lucien — Steeldrivers fiddler Tammy King cements its must-hear status, saying, “wow, this has a Jimmy Webb feel to it.”

Canadian folk rock project The All Canadian Soundclash is out with its newest single and video, “Raise Me High” and self-titled EP.

“Raise Me High” lives up to the suggestion and follows suit with the Ottawa-based band’s now-signature sound; its uplifting beat and melodic lyrics serve as both an infectiously rollicking track and prime example for The All Canadian Soundclash as a whole.

Check out “Raise Me High” on YouTube:

“They say the music you first discover and fall in love with is the music that stays with you for the rest of your life,” frontman and composer Andrew Michelin considers. “That’s true in my case… I come from the early 90's era of alternative grunge rock and, like any other 40-something, I can still remember the exact moment I first heard Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ or Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive.’”

Toronto, ON’s influential record label We Are Busy Bodies announces the release of Saxophonist Winston 'Mankunku' Ngozi’s 1968 masterpiece ‘Yakhal'Inkomo’ as a Canadian exclusive limited to 300 copies and remastered under Senior Mastering Engineer and owner of Lacquer Channel Mastering, Noah Mintz.

‘Yakhal' Inkomo”’ stands in the front rank of global jazz recordings. A certified jazz classic in South Africa, it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has never been out of print. But like so many other crucial South African jazz LPs, it was never released outside the country, and went unheard at the time by the wider world. This reissue is the first time that this truly essential jazz recording has been properly available outside South Africa.

Pre-Sale Through Label Store Here
Pre-Sale Through Bandcamp Here

Award-nominated Canadian alt-pop / contemporary rocker and producer PaulStar explores long-held and unexpressed grief “One Last Time” in this, his new single — available now.

“This is the very first song I worked on in the Fall last year, and I finished it that winter,” he recalls of “One Last Time.” “It’s about losing a loved one.

Watch and Listen to “One Last Time” Here:

“It took me a few years to grieve for my grandfather. I had no words to express that grief in a song until that Fall. From there, I included the others I’ve lost as well.”

Breathe in, revel, and let go; it’s with this mantra GRAMMY Award-winning singer/songwriter and producer Rich Jacques leans into his newest body of work, “Joy Follows Like a Shadow That Never Leaves” — the title track from his forthcoming album.

The journey from your head to your heart…
From fear to love;
in the end a complete release and surrender.

Check it out on YouTube here:

With a sonic style that is powerful, yet simple and direct, Jacques makes clear within the album’s 10 tracks that the joy we all seek is found within the very peaks and valleys of our own journey.

Australian ‘oldSkool rock’ and ‘nuSkool rollers’ skinsNbones rarely place one issue or storyline to their songs, and their newest single “Forever On” is no different.

Watch and listen to “Forever On” here:

“Our songs are definitely not about ‘boy meets girl’ or ‘boy loses girl,’” the band assures. “Each of our songs highlight a different social issue that we try to make the listener more aware of and to question.”

Case in point: “Forever On” is first and foremost an ode to mental difference, as they suggest calling it, and the band’s effort to help change perceptions around it. “We feel strongly about reducing stigma associated with mental dis-ease, or ‘mental difference,’” the band says. “We ask: ‘what would the world be like without mental difference?’

Canadian artist ROGOV and former frontman of 80s-era rockers ARKITEX questions life and celebrates its flow as he unveils his stunning, take-pause new single, “Mistakes Are Beautiful”.

Watch and listen to “‘Mistakes are Beautiful’ here:

“Looking back at 36 years of living in California, where the ceaseless sun blurs the seasons and melts the years into long view, a question of mistakes swept over me,” ROGOV — nee Vladymir Rogov — considers. “I mused on the things that had become of me and wondered: what if my entire life is made out of mistakes?”

Collaborating with former Bowie lead guitarist, plus long-time friend and collaborator, Gold- and Platinum-selling, award-winning Canadian producer Stacy Heydon (Teenage Head, Sheriff, Long John Baldry), the song lands ahead of his forthcoming EP, Tourist.

Canadian singer/songwriter Nancy Ruth has set forth her fourth single of the year into the world, a sultry ballad straight from her renowned repertoire of jazz, latin, and flamenco influences: “Turn the Lights Back Down”.

Watch and listen to “Turn the Lights Back Down” here:

Rock/blues band Arsenal Mills — featuring Brad Milligan, Griffen Arsenault, Josh MacNeil, and André Uyterlinde — have arrived on the Canadian scene with the release of their groove-laden debut single, “Lovesick & Broke” — available now.

“This song is a true story about a close friend of mine,” Milligan shares of the song’s origins. “He ended up losing someone special to him, which then caused a downward spiral of depression and drinking.

“We approached this song with the idea of making it as relatable as possible — the most important aspect of any song in any genre — but ’Lovesick & Broke’ was written with the hopes it would be sort of therapeutic for him.”

Watch and listen to ’Lovesick & Broke’ here:

“If you keep telling yourself you’ll be okay, you will… Right?” Arsenault adds.

Award-winning Canadian jazz contrabassist, singer and composer Brandi Disterheft and her Trio ride the wave of exploring bossa nova in a contemporary light with the release of her new single and video “Surfboard”.

Watch and listen to “Surfboard” here:

The title track from her forthcoming album, Surfboard — set for release October 2020 via Justin Time Records — the single and its surrounding body of work are touted among Disterheft’s most accomplished yet. Joined by two octogenarian masters — virtuoso tenor saxophonist George Coleman and the definitive Brazilian drummer Portinho — and world-class pianist Klaus Mueller, Disterheft authoritatively and organically guides the flow on a varied program that reflects her capacious interests.

Lagos, Nigeria-born now based in Toronto, ON duo 148 — Suertudo and McQueen — continue to uplift and inspire while refusing to be painted into any corners with the release of their new single “Double Trouble” and sophomore EP, Blue Moon.

“‘Double Trouble’ was created in a studio bedroom with our longtime friends and producer, Jms,” Suertudo recalls of the song’s earliest start. “It was made on pure vibes, in anticipation of the 2020 summer.

Watch and listen to ‘Double Trouble’ here:

“This was before the world as we knew it fell apart!” McQueen adds. “But, in the midst of the pandemic, finishing this song kept us in good spirits.”

Those good spirits and the decidedly unique circumstances around them propelled 148 to create a body of work around the song; the result is their second EP release, Blue Moon.

Multi-Gold selling and multi-JUNO Award nominated Canadian blues rockers Wide Mouth Mason announce the forthcoming 20th Anniversary reissue of Stew this November 27th, 2020. Set to be released as a limited edition LP by the band and their management, We Are Busy Bodies, the original album was released by Warner Music Canada and licensed to the band for the anniversary release.

To pre-order go to:
we-are-busy-bodies.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-wide-mouth-mason-stew

“Stew was intentionally Wide Mouth Mason’s funkiest offspring,” original band member Shaun Verreault, along with Safwan Javed, recalls. “It showcased a specific subset of our musical influences, and was a mashup of musical styles passed through the filter of Wide Mouth Mason.”

Prolific and eclectic musical duo Q&A have got One More JAZZ Thing for you; their newest EP!

From big band to ballad — and including newly released single “That Place, That Face, That Moon” — One More JAZZ Thing leaves little behind across five tracks exploring the genre.

Listen to  “That Place, That Face, That Moon” here:

Comprised of JUNO Award-winning Tony Quarrington and Zoey Adams — an accomplished jazz guitarist, composer, and songwriter with hundreds of multi-genre credits to his name, and an artist long-lauded for her work in theatre, movies, radio, and corporate entertainment, respectively — the duo are now co-writing original tunes to the beat of their Q&A drum.

At over 11,000+ views and debuting at #1 on Amazon Music’s “Country du moment” playlist, Canadian pop-country band The Record Breakers continue to soar beyond sonic norms with the release of their latest double-single, and first bilingual release, “In My Car / Dans mon char” — available now.

Watch and listen to The Record Breakers here: “In My Car / Dans mon char” here:

See, on the surface you have your standard checklist for the makings of a stellar contemporary band: two main vocalists, guitarists, and songwriters, Hayden Nolan and Bella Galasso, accompanied by knockout keys, bass, and drums from Michael Vallinakis, Devan Meisner, and Julian Galasso, respectively.

Check, check, and check.

But dig a little deeper, and you discover The Record Breakers are so much more.