ATLAASMelding ‘90’s R&B with lush indie electro soundscapes ATLAAS is an ever-changing compass guiding you through dreams of the future past. Heavenly voices, complex rhythms and an overarching pop sensibility will keep your head in the clouds while your feet are on the ground - and they'll definitely be dancing.
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BA Johnston (Hamilton, ON)BA Johnston is the road-weary spirit animal of the McDonald’s drive-thru. With his collection of comedic anti-folk storytelling accompanied by a beat up acoustic guitar or 8-bit keyboard loops, BA is the embodiment of the slacker hero fighting for your right to live in your mother’s basement at the age of 40.
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The Bros. LandrethThey are alt-country road maps hinting at the fallout of a life as a touring musician, exploring melancholy themes of love gone bad and love gone worse. Never letting their road-proven musicality stand in the way of the songs speaking for themselves. Songs that weave a heart on your sleeve tale of love and heartache.
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Chris BennettFrom freestyling at house parties to the bright lights on the big stage, Chris Bennett pours his heart out with a drug-induced honesty. A member of the burgeoning hip-hop collective The Millennial Cartel, Chris shows the world his vision with a lyrical edge and displays the realities of a young, prestigious deviant.
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Indicator IndicatorIndicator Indicator is synth-streaked indie pop with a beating heart. A textured production touching on topics such as love, mythology, religion and turmoil. Indicator Indicator tears the world a part, crossing genres and influence, spanning from hip hop to gleaming pop, yet everything is held together by the sturdy craftsmanship of a life-long songwriter.
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J.R. Hill & the Magic BearsJ.R. Hill has been making music out of whatever he could get his hands on ever since he was a tiny man. The sound is forever changing but the heart stays the same. J.R. spins infectious pop songs with weirdo orchestration that transport you to bizzaro wonderlands filled with hope, love and terror.
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Kieran West and his Buffalo BandThis ensemble powers through a genre-blending array of finely crafted gems, leaving any participant hungry for more. Uniquely assembled with the finest hometown boys, each a master of his instrument, they bring their energies together to a backyard brawl of controlled country chaos.
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Les JupesStraddling the line between noise and pop, Les Jupes cascades layers of sound upon peculiar songs with peculiar characters. This three-piece is hard working, hard touring and devoted to the driving and deeply emotive music that has roots in British post-punk and American folk. Les Jupes makes modern music for people living in the past.
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METZ (Toronto, ON)METZ play like one brutally heavy instrument with three heads, slashing heavy-gauge strings, bending guitar and bass necks in weird unison, along with what is probably the loudest drumming you’ve ever heard. It’s a return to everything that’s good about loud, ecstatic live music; a frantic nod to Nation of Ulysses, Shellac, The Pixies, The Jesus Lizard, and Public Image Ltd. at their most vicious, while still carving out some heavy new business. They play the instruments, the amps, and the room.
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PotatoesTheir motto: high adrenaline and raw energy, yet "keep it simple, stupid.” This four-piece features an electric mandolin that will put your double-necked, flying-V guitar to shame. Potatoes play aggressive rock ‘n’ roll at its peak, so jump into the fryer with the rest of the spuds and soak in the grease.
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Union StockyardsA pummelling mix of melody and aggression, Union Stockyards takes everything you love about punk and puts it in a blender. Only a few months old, these vets of the Winnipeg scene have been quickly gaining a reputation around the city as one of the bands to watch in 2014. For fans of: Lifetime, Propagandhi, Leatherface.
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Venetian SnaresAaron Funk is an electronic tour de force - and one of Winnipeg's best kept secrets. A longtime favourite of the late John Peel, his work falls on the farthest left-field reaches of the spectrum, blending aggressive syncopated breaks with everything from orchestral samples and reggae to jump-up and gritty industrial tones. Through energetic live performances and a prolific output on labels such as Planet Mu, he's spawned a truly cult-like following among the devoted fringes of electronic music.
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WarsawThis four-piece comprises gentlemen who crushed heads in bands with monikers such as Electro Quarterstaff, Projektor, Meatrack, Burnthe8track and Hide Your Daughters. Melting a combination of melodic, hooky and heavy into a complex stone soup, Warsaw is a powerhouse of energy, rhythm and sound.
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Wizards (Saskatoon, SK)The Wizards invite you to “drop out, get high, destroy yourself, learn to shoot magic from your fingers and be love.” What better instructions could there be? This four-piece surf/psych rock band from Saskatoon is producing some of the most inventive sounds to come out of this prairie town, leading a collection of fans that want to get magical and go to the moon.
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