“Love at Christmastime,” a new jazz composition by Mississauga’s award-winning vocalist Heather Christine, flawlessly mixes the joy of the holiday season with the romance and sexiness of jazz. Heather Christine is accompanied by some of Canada's top jazz musicians: Mark Kelso on percussion, Pat Collins on bass, Anthony Panacci on piano, Brian O'Kane on trumpet, and Donovan Locke on guest vocals.

“Deep in my heart I know you’re the one for me
This holiday I know it’s meant to be
For once in my life I find a love at Christmastime
For once in my life I know love’s here to stay”

“Love at Christmastime” is written by Heather Christine and Eddy Ruyter, produced by Anthony Panacci, mastered by Reuben Ghose, and vocal arrangement by Justin Bacchus.

Inspired by Winnipeg’s empty streets and the nation’s collective concern for COVID-19, Canadian modern rock outfit D2UR channeled their straight-to-the-point songwriting into this, their newest single “Slippin’ Away”.

Check out “Slippin’ Away” on YouTube here:

Co-fronts Diane Isbister and Mike Isbister — plus Dave Sikorski-Thorn, John Colburn, and Stephen Broadhurst — continue to bring their signature rhythms to the forefront in the riff-filled rock piece and serve “Slippin’ Away” as the latest in their library of recently released tracks.

“Upon returning from a well-deserved break in Palm Springs in March, COVID-19 hit Canada hard and restrictions were put in place,” Diane recalls. “Self-isolation for two busy people was going to be a challenge if we didn’t find ways to entertain ourselves!”

The Martin & Murray Virtual Holiday Party
Sunday, December 13th @ 3:00pm AT / 2:00pm EST
$10 via Crowdcast

Ahead of her virtual holiday party this December 13th, ECMA Award winning singer-songwriter Christina Martin has released her newest holiday single, “Kisses for Christmas” — available now!

Check out “Kisses for Christmas” on YouTube here:

Following her 2018 hit holiday tune, “This Christmas” — which has 750,000 streams on Spotify alone, and includes features from Dale Murray and Jordi Comstock, as well as a video by Seela Misra — “Kisses for Christmas” speaks to the simple joys of the season: spending time with the people we love.

“Who remembers all the presents they got growing up?” Martin asks. “Maybe it was that Playmobil mansion, or a first electric guitar, or a prized stuffed animal or G.I. Joe...

With a voice CBC calls “incredibly earnest” with an “honest purity,” award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter Alex Whorms delivers a stunning and timely rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” in time for an unprecedented season.

“The idea for this project came about last year,” Whorms recalls. “I was on tour to promote my EP, Burgundy, and I met producer Micah Doern at a radio interview at Ryerson University’s CJRU. We became friends after that, and decided to try recording together.”

Whorms’ rendition of the holiday classic first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 was recorded and mixed by Doern, and mastered by JUNO Award-winning and GRAMMY Award-nominee Dan Brodbeck.

Enjoy “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” here:

Discover the new videoclip for "Cassandra", the debut single from Belgian hypnotic indie pop project "Vis À Vis”. 3 minutes of magic from this enchanting new artist.

Watch, listen and experience “Cassandra” by VIS À VIS here:

With 2.5+ Million plays across platforms, Canadian modern pop / hip hop artist and producer TonyTone is definitely “Not Alone” when it comes to his newest single — available now!

“I imagined 'Not Alone' as a feel good, easy listening, summer-style track," he explains. "I wanted to create a song that had a relaxed mood and memorable vibe that everyone would feel good while listening to.

Give a watch and listen to “Not Alone” here:

With inclusion on upwards of 800+ of Spotify’s most coveted tastemaker playlists, the latest from TonyTone — aka Anthony Marzanek — continues to fall seamlessly inline for his brand of lounge beats and an ambient moods that nod to both hip hop and indie influences, while staying pop-centric at its core.

 “It felt like time to give folks the torchy ‘bar stool’ ballad,” Toronto-based jazz virtuoso Micah Barnes says of his sad yet sensual new single, “The End of a Love Affair” — available now.

It’s the latest to land from Barnes’ most recent and #1 iTunes Jazz Album charting and 500,000+ streamed album, Vegas Breeze, and follows the hard swinging version of “That’s Life,” his playful and wink-worthy take on “When In Rome,” and the celebratory sizzle that accompanied the release’s title track, “Vegas Breeze.”

“So yes, it was time,” he continues. Every Vegas entertainer seems to have that moment where they sit on a stool, in the middle of the spotlight, and sing about the heartbreak of a love affair gone wrong. It’s the flip side of the Vegas high life, when the glitter and neon have faded & our high rolling hero admits to being a loser in love.. 

“In some ways, ‘The End of a Love Affair’ is the perfect saloon song,” Barnes adds, offering its astute lyricism and gorgeous melody as indisputable evidence. “The listener never drowns in the emotion, but stays buoyed up in its mood of sophistication and intelligence.

They say good things come to those who wait. 30 years ago, Montreal artist Erick Beau decided to put his music career on hold to pursue a career in law. Today, he has reunited with his first love--music. He releases his new single, “Waiting for You”, a love song he wrote after experiencing the highs and lows of a long distance relationship. Popwrapped, who premiered the single, says Beau's lyrics "tell stories, express emotions and help paint vivid images in a person’s mind." "Waiting for You" is Beau's second single from his debut album, What it Takes, slated for a May 2021 release.

Check out the video for Coming Home here:

Brimming with romantic emotion and biting observations about the state of the union, Bruce Sudano’s EP Spirals Vol. 2: Time and the Space In Between -- set for digital and streaming release via Onerpm on Oct. 23 -- marks the Los Angeles singer-songwriter’s second release of 2020 on his Purple Heart Recording Co. label.

Check out Bruce Sudano “Keep Doin' What You're Doin'” here:

The seven-song collection succeeds Spirals Vol. 1: Not a Straight Line to Be Found by just six months. The new collection was produced by Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Jeff Buckley) at Shelter Island Sound in New York, Randy Ray Mitchell (Billy Bob Thornton) at Akadak Studio in Los Angeles, and Mike Montali (lead vocalist of Hollis Brown) at the Creamery Studios in Brooklyn.

International indie rocker Alan Zreczny and his band bluefront confront the often harrowing reverberations of emotional, new single “Aftershocks”.

Watch the video “Aftershocks” here:

The title track from bluefront’s 2019 sophomore album release, the song “was written after I watched a news report about an earthquake and its aftershocks,” Zreczny lays plainly. “It started a process of thinking about the correlation to emotional aftershocks, like the flash of a memory where the whole thing would sort-of hit again.

“The song is my small way to address my own aftershocks and being ‘ready’ to handle them when they come,” he continues. “I realized that the aftershocks could actually feel worse than the shock or the event itself. In essence, I had already made it past the initial blow but now, on top of reliving that, I’m upset with myself because I’m thinking about it again, and it's affecting me in the same way.

International award-winning multimedia artist, culture producer, and social entrepreneur Zahed Sultan has reimagined a 70s disco classic with a personal connection in this, his new release — “Layl”.

Watch the video of “Layl” here:

Originally "Do You Love Me,” a famous Lebanese song from the 70s by the Bendaly Family, the track has been reframed as a cinematic piece and placed in a more melancholic and somber space.

Featuring spirally vocals, deep synths, and rich textures from the violin, Sultan’s spin lends the gem greater meaning through its haunting music video. “I expanded on its themes of love and loss,” he shares. “It felt particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut, and the crippling of its creative community.”

Canadian folk and roots duo Tomato/Tomato are all about the groove when it comes to their newest track, “Better at Leaving”.

The track is the next to land from their forthcoming album, It’ll Come Around, set for release this November 20th, and features funky drums, bass, and stereo guitars. Motown-inspired strings for good measure keep the song delivering good vibes beginning to end.

Check out “Better at Leaving” on YouTube here:

“When we began writing for the album, we weren’t quite sure what direction we would be heading,” John McLaggan shares. “We were, though, feeling strong pulls back to our roots.”

One of Canada’s most prolific guitarists Steve Hill is taking audiences along on his Desert Trip with the release of his latest album, and single “Rain”. 

A multi-talented instrumentalist with a JUNO, eight Maple Blues Awards and well over 2,500 live concerts notched on his axe, it was a previous solo sojourn into the dusty, dusky wide open that would inspire and transpire into most of this year’s release.

“In the fall of 2016, I went to California with some friends to attend the Desert Trip Festival in Coachella,” Hill recalls. “I had an amazing time while I was there and decided to hang around LA a little longer.

“After a couple of days in the city, I felt an urge to move and a need to explore,” he continues. “I rented a camper van and criss-crossed the state for about three weeks.

“I bought a guitar, too, and wrote some tunes at night while camping in Death Valley, Big Sur, Yosemite, San Rafael, and many other wild places.

Topping more than 2+ Million plays across platforms, award-winning Toronto’s electro chill-pop artist Mauve delivers a rush of synth-pop grooves in her newest single, “Right”.

“I wanted this song to bring out the feeling like you’re under the glimmering lights at a party,” she muses. “Even if it’s a self-isolation party…”

Watch and enjoy “Right” here:

“There’s a lot of uncertainty going on in the world this year, but the message from this song is all about that person who is a much-needed balm to those stresses,” she continues. “‘Right’ reflects the freedom and fun of not having to go about the serious stuff alone because this person is by your side, and gleeful intoxication in connecting with that special someone as they help you see the better things in life.”

lt country-rock artist Matthew Burkhart is basking in the warmth of Slow Burn, the Canadian artist’s debut album is available now.

“I’m the only one in my family with a musical bone,” Burkhart offers. “I had to be making noise at all times. Music has always helped me channel my streams of consciousness and tell stories.”

Having taken his turn playing in bands and performing live, the choice to embark on a solo offering was both a creative necessity and fitting step for the multi-talented singer/songwriter. It came together quickly, too — the seeds and sparks of each song aligning just right.

“I wrote Slow Burn during my two-week quarantine in mid-March,” Burkhart recalls of the album’s initial process. “I had taken a trip with my family down to Scottsdale, Arizona over March Break which was right as the pandemic really started raging; it was strange seeing that happen in real-time in a foreign country.

“The day after we arrived back in Toronto, the borders closed,” he continues. “I received word about having to quarantine and, all of a sudden, had two weeks of solitude to write about everything.”

Canadian alt-rock Americana artists Bryce Clifford & Brother Superior have set a deadline in “Tomorrow We Break Up With Ourselves” — the latest single off their forthcoming album, Rebounder.

The video features freshly digitized VHS clips of Clifford skateboarding with his brother and friends in the 90’s. Watch it here:

With added influences of post-punk, blues and old-school soul woven in, the band’s newly minted third album sews in a bow the frontman’s storied 10-year sojourn to Austin, Texas and back.

“The journey of creating Rebounder starts in Austin, Texas,” Clifford recalls. “There, I’d been in a new relationship I was excited about when, out of the blue, it disintegrated in one night. Literally.

Every university campus worth its salt has long-fabled legends of yore and, for the alum of University of British Columbia that indisputable status goes to Bent Roads Tavern.

This year, the storied Canadian collective mined their previously unreleased archives to remaster, reimagine and reissue their previous works. The result is The Legend of Bent Roads Tavern, Volumes 1 - 5 — with Volume 5 and stand-out single “Rainstorm” freshly released now!

Check out “Rainstorm” on YouTube here:

First formed in November 2001, Bent Roads Tavern packed local venues like The Gallery, The Pit Pub, Koerner’s Pub, and more to sell-out crowds. They were fixtures on the scene and a fitting representation to an entire class’ — and their own — most formative and explorative years.

Canadian pop dynamo Andrew Cassara ushers and envelops listeners deep into his dazzling world with the release of his newest album, Freak On Repeat (Deluxe Version), concert video, and single “Gimme More Bass”.

Watch and experience  Andrew Cassara - Freak on Repeat (The Full Live-Stream Concert here:

“Gimme More Bass is one of those songs that kind of surprised me,” Cassara shares. “It happened so quickly; at the beginning it was just a melody that was really catchy and it felt like in the blink of an eye it came to life.

Listen to “Gimme More Bass” here:

Saint John, New Brunswick folk and roots duo Tomato/Tomato have been “Chasing Rainbows” when it comes to their new single.

The track is the first to land from their forthcoming album, It’ll Come Around, set for release this November 20th, and was penned on a picture-perfect morning with their daughter Lucy. “It was a sunny Saturday, and we were reflecting on some vivid childhood memories,” John and Lisa McLaggan share of the song’s creation process.

Check out “Chasing Rainbows” here:

“When we began writing for the album, we weren’t quite sure what direction we would be heading,” John continues. “We were, though, feeling strong pulls back to our roots.”

With more than 100,000+ streams on Spotify combined, multi-award winning Toronto-based artists Heather Christine and Matt Zaddy have connected their life partnership into a formal musical one to release the debut single, “This Too Shall Pass” as folk duo River North.

“This song began as a poem written by my parents, who are both writers,” Heather shares. “They wrote it to express their emotions during the start of the lockdown when an entire generation was essentially isolated for fear of what the virus could do to older adults.”

Watch and experience “This Too Shall Pass” here:

“Their words inspired us to express what we’ve been thinking and feeling during these strange times,” Matt adds. “We wrote ‘This Too Shall Pass’ as a beacon of hope, and to remind us that many things have come before us — and passed. That we will make it through this together,” they agree.