My introduction to White Lies came from watching the 2014 indie film, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, where, in one of my personal favorite scenes, the two main characters come to a prolonged—but artfully poignant—slow embrace to the sound of “Death” playing on vinyl. The music works perfectly in this key moment of the film, and plays into its themes as though it were written for that very purpose. It is a transfixing bit of cinematography, and truly beautiful.
When I walked into Vancouver’s Rickshaw back in February, I wasn’t sure what to expect. You are never sure what you are going to get with the Black Lips, but one thing I knew for sure was that I was about to see for the third time one of the best rock shows out there. In previous experiences, I have watched the Black Lips exhibit behavior that you could only expect from bands like the Sex Pistols: lighting things on fire, making out on stage, and stripping naked for example.
Multimedia artist Paul Miller, or DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, has come a long way from his initial involvement with the Soundlab Collective in New York City in the mid-90's to his later multimedia projects Rebirth Of A Nation, and his current collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery on its latest exhibition Mashup: The Birth Of Modern Culture.
Shigeto’s latest EP, Intermission, came to me at the right time. It was just around the time I founded my electronic music show, PulsarSounds (Saturdays from 7-8:30pm), and I just knew his music was right up my alley: ambient instrumentals with significant experimental and jazz influences. Impressed with the well-produced and fascinatingly crafted EP, I took the chance to review his show at the Imperial on East Hastings.
CJSF 90.1 FM and The Jazz Spectrum are pleased to announce that Tara Kannangara is this year's winner of the 2016 Julian Award of Excellence for Emerging Canadian Jazz Artists for her album "Some Version of Truth".
Runnerup is Gray Matter for their album "Footsteps". Congratulations to Tara, Gray Matter and all the nominees!
To hear the best in Canadian jazz tune in to The Jazz Spectrum Wednesdays from 5:30-7 PM and hear the first hour Sundays at 8 PM.
CJSF 90.1’s The Jazz Spectrum are pleased to announce the nominees for the 5th annual Julian Award of Excellence for Emerging Canadian Jazz Artists, known simply as The Julian Award.
I was excited to hear that Australian alternative dance trio Rüfüs du Sol (known simply as Rüfüs back in their home country) was coming to Vancouver while still in the process of writing their follow-up album to their fantastic debut album Atlas. It was at the Venue Nightclub; while I’m not usually one to frequent nightclubs, especially on a weeknight, I still love to dance myself away to some quality live electronic music shows.
It sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn't it? A Kraut-Chinaman and a Canadian ginger walk into a nightclub to catch a concert… except that me and Trevor didn't walk into a nightclub, we walked into Alexander Gastown, and performing that night was Thundercat. And though he smiled like a tomcat with a toothache, there was nothing remotely funny about his prodigy.
I walk into The Biltmore, I sit down, and I drink my beer. I am here to see Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld. I strike up a conversation with a fellow that has seen them in Boston on this tour. From the Polaris Prize nomination of this new album out on Constellation, Never Were The Way She Was, there is a certain excitement to this show. He tells me that the Boston show was not attended en masse by the Boston public. It also helps that Sarah Neufeld is the violinist for Arcade Fire too.
I fell in love with Madeon’s music the moment I first heard the emerging 21-year-old French electronic producer’s debut album Adventure. Everything sounded fresh and immediately danceable. The moment I saw him performing in a YouTube video from the early stages of his career, laying together 39 (!) little song samples into an amazing house-influenced dance-pop mashup track “Pop Culture”, I knew when he came to Vancouver I had to see him perform live.
