RGM presents The Maple Leaf #29
And we’re back! “From whence?” I hear you cry, in your florid way. Back from Canada, of course. We swam all the way, on our backs, our music-loving arms filled with a freshly picked bunch of hot new songs, gifted to us from our creative compadres ‘cross the waves. Imagine that. And we did it all for you.
Our first piece of precious cargo is from Calgary, AB, where JJ Shiplett has been working on new material with producer Jay Stewart. Shiplett’s first two records were both met with CCMA nominations and this is a glimpse of what could be in store for album number three. ‘Already There’ extols the virtues of parking your expectations and enjoying the ride; its freewheeling feel-good vibe makes you want to buckle up and join him.
The Manic Boys and Girls Club are Bela and Fernando Ferreira, a brother and sister duo based in Toronto whose single, ‘We’ll Be Fine’, offers a cool dash of optimism for the future, with Bela’s striking vocal sitting somewhere between Jill Sobule and Cyndi Lauper. The pair are set for a short tour of the United States through June and July and we’re ever-hopeful that they will one day venture even further afield…
When they’re not busy making ice cream, the US-Canadian team of Big Little Lions are readying themselves for the release of their new album, AMPM, on June 9th via Fallen Tree Records. The duo of Helen Austin and Paul Otten craft an uplifting and quite huge sound on their most recent single, ‘Nearly Human’, which has a decidedly afrobeat vibe (not dissimilar to the UK’s own Kawala) and could just be the wake-up song you’ve been waiting for.
https://www.biglittlelions.com/
And for those of you wondering about that ice cream reference…
We turn now to Victoria, BC and Jesse Roper for some old-school summertime soul. Sporting a vocal performance of which Otis Redding would surely be proud, ‘Make It All Work Out’ is the most easy-come-breezy-go breakup song you’re ever likely to hear. It is taken from a bunch of new material produced by Gus van Go (who also worked on Roper’s third album Horizon’s which, we can attest, has a comparable amount of sass and groove) and we look forward to sampling the juicy fruit of their labours.
There’s a lot to be said for keeping things simple and Alex Whorms comes to us next, equipped with nothing more than piano and voice. The singer-songwriter and composer based in Hamilton, ON caught our attention with the arresting single ‘One Day I’ll Be Gone’. It isn’t the morbid musing the title might suggest, rather it’s a carpe diem of sorts: either you can spend a life waiting or spend a life living, even if that means leaving people and places behind. The song has a clarity and purity that is refreshing, especially in this very noisy world we inhabit. A good thing.
We leave you, dear dedicated reader, with Toronto-born Phillip Vonesh and ‘Fly Over State’, a song co-written with Hannah Gazso, taken from an upcoming record produced by the ever-brilliant Aaron Goldstein. A wash of perfect harmonies and Hammond organ tether Vonesh’s fragile vocal and the tune puts me in mind of Bill Deasy and The Gathering Field from way back there in the 1990s. We await news of the new album with keen interest.
We hope that some of this music has resonated with you, and we mustn’t forget to thank you - always - for reading and listening. You are the good ones. Go now and share these half-dozen musical gifts above with your nears and dears. Canada just keeps giving, and us? Well, we really do benefit from the swimming practice…
The Maple Leaf is a Rich Barnard production for Red Guitar Music.
And we’re back! “From whence?” I hear you cry, in your florid way. Back from Canada, of course. We swam all the way, on our backs, our music-loving arms filled with a freshly picked bunch of hot new songs, gifted to us from our creative compadres ‘cross the waves. Imagine that. And we did it all for you.