Sunday, November 22, 2009

Said The Whale






Said The Whale formed in 2007 as a collaboration between songwriters Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. The pair’s debut EP, Taking Abalonia, featured sunny west coast indie pop, with breezy harmonies, shimmering guitars, and lyrical tributes to their home city of Vancouver. In 2008, the album was rereleased as Howe Sounds/Talking Abalonia, featuring seven additional tracks that stretched the band’s stylistic palate to include bubblegum folk (”The Light Is You”), thundering hard rock (”Last Tree Standing”) and gentle ukulele ballads (”The Real of It”). After several personnel changes, the group settled upon a five-piece lineup that includes bassist Peter Carruthers, drummer Spencer Schoening, and keyboardist Jaycelyn Brown. The quintet embarked upon a rigorous touring schedule, crossing Canada numerous times and landing high profile gigs at V-Fest 2008 in Calgary and the nationally televised Canada Day celebration on Parliament Hill.

The group is now poised to take the next step with the release of its latest single, “Camilo (The Magician).” With its gritty powerchords and sunny powerpop chorus, the single has already been dubbed the “song of the summer” by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3. Produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, Mother Mother) and Tom Dobrzanski (Hey Ocean!, The Zolas), it will appear on the group’s sophomore album, Islands Disappear, due for release on October 13 via Upper Management/EMI. Unlike the west coast focus of previous releases, the new album draws on the experience of driving across Canada, from the van breaking down in Manitoba (”Dear Elkhorn”) to camping in Alberta (”Emerald Lake, AB”). With stylistic forays that include backwoods folk (”False Creek Change”) and danceable ukulele/glockenspiel rave-ups (”Goodnight Moon”), it’s the sound of a band coming into its own, delivering on the promise of its early recordings. - saidthewhale.com

Upcoming Shows ( view all )
25 Nov 2009 17:00
St. James Hall **ALL AGES** w/ Hannah Georgas Vancouver, British Columbia
25 Nov 2009 20:00
St. James Hall **19+** w/ Hannah Georgas Vancouver, British Columbia


Website: www.saidthewhale.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/saidthewhale

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Said-The-Whale/6852572548?ref=mf


Song: Camillo


Song: This City's a Mess


Song: The Light is You


Song: Curse of the Currents



Thursday, November 19, 2009

Dan Mangan






On August 11 of 2009, Dan Mangan released his sophomore album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice in Canada. And it’s about time. After three and a half years of touring his sleeper-hit debut, Postcards and Daydreaming, Dan is ready and eager to unveil a collection of lyrical ruminations that showcase his growth as a songwriter.

The album immediately shot to #1 on the iTunes Canada Singer/Songwriter Album chart, and #7 at ‘Earshot!’ College/Co-Op radio (#1 roots category). Rave reviews came from heavy hitting national music-mags such as Exclaim!, CHARTattack and Metro as well as dozens of blogs and local print media. After two sold out CD Release shows at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Mangan looks forward to bringing his four-piece and new material across Canada in October and throughout Europe in November / December ‘09. To boot, Mangan recently took home “Artist Of The Year” from XM Satellite’s Verge Music Awards, beating out acts like Joel Plaskett and Alexisonfire for the top spot – a high profile award with a $25,000 cash-prize.

Titled in reference to a Kurt Vonnegut poem, Nice, Nice, Very Nice was recorded in Toronto in fall 2008 under the creative eye of producer John Critchley (Elliott Brood, 13 Engines, Leather Uppers). Dropping in to add their talents were such hero Canadian artists as Justin Rutledge, Veda Hille, Mark Berube, Hannah Georgas and members of Elliott Brood, Said The Whale, Mother Mother, The Hidden Cameras, Major Maker and Small Sins.

There is a raw rootsiness to Nice, Nice, Very Nice that touches on aspects of indie-pop. There are a number of toe-tappers amid his trademark lamentations and, though it’s mellow at times, what Mangan has to offer isn’t overly precious or delicate. He simply writes songs that evoke the wonder and the absurdity in what we do.

Mangan has toured Canada, the UK, USA and Australia numerous times. He’s played coffee shops to six people and festival stages to many more. He has showcased at Canadian Music Week, South-By-South-West, North-By-North-East, The Great Escape (UK), MusExpo (LA), Big Sound (AUS), Western Canadian Music Awards, Transmission and COCA. Whether alone or with his Vancouver-based band, Dan continues to work all the time. - DanManganMusic.com

Upcoming Shows:

5 Nov 2009 21:45
Dubai Sound City - Festival City Dubai
7 Nov 2009 6:30
Dubai Sound City - Festival City Dubai
9 Nov 2009 19:00
Free in-store w/ Kae Sun @ Puregroove | 7pm London
10 Nov 2009 20:00
Sanctuary Cafe Brighton - Hove
11 Nov 2009 20:00
Windmill Brixton w/ Kae Sun London
12 Nov 2009 20:00
The Slaughtered Lamb w/ One Little Plane London
13 Nov 2009 20:00
The Lansdown w/ Jack Cheshire, Stanton Delaplane Bristol
14 Nov 2009 20:00
The Bowery Edinburgh
15 Nov 2009 20:00
Brel Glasgow
18 Nov 2009 20:00
The Lexington w/ Hafdis Huld + Sweet Baboo London
19 Nov 2009 20:00
Nov 19th @ Monkey Chews (EarMusic Presents w/The Superfantastics) London
19 Nov 2009 20:00
"In The Courtyard" @ The Fly w/ Hey Rosetta!, The Superfantastics London
20 Nov 2009 20:00
Time Paris Festival - Time*Out | le Reservoir Paris
21 Nov 2009 20:00
Time Paris Festival - Red gorilla Night | Paris Gibus Paris
22 Nov 2009 20:00
Time Paris Festival - Star Music Cafe Paris
25 Nov 2009 20:00
Hasenschaukel Hamburg
26 Nov 2009 20:00
Klub Geyser Copenhagen
27 Nov 2009 20:00
Cafe Nil Stuttgart
28 Nov 2009 20:00
Hafen 2 Offenbach
29 Nov 2009 20:00
Fachwerk Muenster
30 Nov 2009 20:00
Better2Gether Reutlingen
1 Dec 2009 20:00
Café Glocksee Hannover
2 Dec 2009 20:00
Box&Bar @ Deutsches Theater Berlin
3 Dec 2009 20:00
Graf Hugo Feldkirch
4 Dec 2009 20:00
Paris Syndrom Leipzig
5 Dec 2009 20:00
Spatz & Wal Unna
6 Dec 2009 20:00
Effenaar Eindhoven
7 Dec 2009 20:00
Video Gent
8 Dec 2009 20:00
Amsterdam Melkweg
9 Dec 2009 20:00
Tivoli De Helling Utrecht
10 Dec 2009 20:00
Paard van Troje Den Haag


Website: www.danmanganmusic.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/danmangan



Song: The Indie Queens Are Waiting


Song: Robots




Song: Basket


Song: Journal of a Nacroleptic


Song: Tina's Glorious Comeback


Song: So Much For Everyone