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Welcome back to The Maple Leaf, RGM’s roundup of the freshest and finest tunage from Canada. By way of atoning for a longer absence than usual, we’re offering you a special double-helping of new music across the genres. Everyone is welcome here at RGM and we like to think we can spot a keeper, however it’s dressed. We hope you enjoy what you hear and that you’re inspired to take a deeper dive into some of this edition’s featured artists.
Read MoreJoni Mitchell, Daniel Lanois, Alanis Morissette… Justin Bieber. Canada’s rich and varied musical heritage clearly has a trickle-down effect, as music of a consistently high calibre pours in abundance from its shores. Here at RGM, we shine a light on the best new Canadian music we can find, not just in the hope we’ll unearth the next Sarah McLachlan but also because we believe there’s something in the water over there that makes the music extra special. We hope you find something here, in the latest Maple Leaf roundup, to love as much as we do.
Read MoreThere are very few positives that can be gleaned from the Covid-19 pandemic but one small ray of light has been how artists have embraced technology and worked together to spread a little positivity. A case in point is The Wild West and their ‘Better Way’ single which is out now via the Blackbird Record Label The Wild West features a host of Los Angeles based singer-songwriters who will be familiar to many via their solo work namely Manda Mosher, Tawny Ellis, Heather Anne Lomax, Amilia K. Spicer, Pi Jacobs and Deb Morrison. A pretty impressive collective I’m sure you’ll agree and needless to say the harmonies are suitably glorious. Please read on to check out the video for ‘Better Way’ and learn much more about how The Wild West came to be:
Read MoreWelcome again to the RGM Inbox, an occasional feature where we shine a light on an eclectic selection of music that turned up in the RGM office by way of that interweb thingy. We’re open to a little bit of everything here at RGM so you’ll never be absolutely sure what might turn up but this time around the cool sounds include a folky singer-songwriter duo branching out on their own, dream-pop from California and a reminder that to be able to travel is amazing.
Read MoreOkay Canada, go easy on me. I somehow find myself in February 2021 trying to pick five chunks of hot new music for this feature, having amassed a ruthlessly edited shortlist of around 35. How did this happen, Canada? I can only account for the disappearance of an entire January by weeping before a hand-drawn graph of an alarming home-learning curve. You’ve made me choose, Canada, and it’s been hard. Nevertheless, here I am again, your most loyal of servants, educating the RGM readership on the subject of your latest and loveliest musical works of wonder.
Read MoreDavid Gray has been a very busy man of late. The singer released the ‘Gold In A Brass Age’ album in 2019 and a 20th-anniversary reissue of his seminal ‘White Ladder album followed in 2020. Now on February 19th 2021, he’ll release his latest album ‘Skellig’ recorded at Edwyn Collins' Helmsdale Studios in Scotland. The album will be available digitally initially with physical CD/LP to follow in May. ‘Skellig’ was Inspired by a small group of islands off the coast of Ireland. The islands were a place of pilgrimage and home to a group of monks in 600AD who were seeking to be closer to God through exile from the world. Whatever your religious leanings the theme of isolation should be familiar to many of us in these difficult times. Please read on for more about David Gray and the videos for latest single ‘Heart and Soul’ and the title track which highlights the vocal interplay between David and his band.
Read MoreWelcome to another year at Red Guitar Music. In so many ways 2020 was a year we’d all like to forget while 2021 has, unfortunately, delivered more of the same thus far, but we remain hopeful for better things later this year. Luckily, there’s always good music to take our minds off the day to day drudgery of living with a pandemic and January has already unearthed a few small gems.
Read MoreAs it’s the season for giving, we’ve put together a special bumper edition of The Maple Leaf Roundup, bringing you not five but ten - yes, ten! - new tracks from our copaines Canadiens. Think of it as an early Christmas gift - a mellifluous mixtape of must-hears you might not have otherwise met.
Read MoreCrazies keep on crazying, Covid keeps on cavorting but, through it all, Canada keeps on calling. We get so much Canadian music in the RGM inbox it sometimes feels as if we’re being stalked by an entire nation. We are blessed with more than we can reasonably manage but, in our relentless quest for gems, we make sure we listen to everything and, in this, the eighteenth instalment of The Maple Leaf roundup, we share five of our finest finds.
Read MoreAnd we’re back! Told you we would be. We currently find ourselves inundated with fine Canadian music on a scale that is - wait for it - unprecedented. I assure you, however, we are fully equipped to manage the current surge. Honestly, we are. So, without further facetiousness, here are five more Things You Must Hear from our cousins across the water.
Read MoreVirtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm has released ‘Deep Sea Fishes’ the second single from his ‘The Faintest Idea’ album due via the Kscope label on October 16th, 2020. The single perfectly showcases the power of Jon’s technique which he uses in a positive and very melodic way to deliver something rather special and more emotional than you might expect. Please read on to learn more about Jon, the interesting back story behind ‘Deep Sea Fishes’, the new album and full details of his upcoming tour in support of ‘The Faintest Idea’ (tour dates are obviously subject to change in these troubling times).
Read MoreCanada has produced a mind-melting amount of must-hear music so far this year and, as we reluctantly tiptoe into the autumn months, she shows no sign of slowing down. The leaves outside may be turning, curling and falling but the RGM Maple Leaf roundup is, as ever, bursting with life and promise. The recent harvest has been so rich and abundant that it won’t be long before we come knocking with more, but let us not get ahead of ourselves. For now, just see if these perfectly ripe beauties can’t banish your September blues.
Read MoreSeptember 1st, 2020 and RGM is six years old today. This year has been without a doubt the toughest yet here at RGM, which I’m sure will come as no surprise to anyone reading this little editorial as its been a tough year for everyone. Undaunted, if more than a little battered and bruised emotionally, we are still here looking to introduce you to more new and interesting music in a range of musical genres. With this in mind, the Inbox returns with tunes from both sides of the Atlantic as newcomer Lauren Moon and a returning Sam Brookes are joined by The Jorgensens reinventing a classic and Jake Allen doing his bit for our mental health through song.
Read MoreThe Red Guitar Music inbox feature returns after a brief hiatus with more excellent and varied sounds. In this edition, we’ve music from both sides of the Atlantic. Ace singer/guitarist JD Simo has a new album in the can while another RGM regular Ferris & Sylvester returns with a new EP ready to go and touring plans for 2021. The newcomers this time out are Dan Friese, a singer/songwriter from the USA, and from nearer home (Brighton to be exact) Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands with an album of melancholy dark pop a decade in the making.
Read MoreCanada is overflowing with music. The best songs, having risen to the top, float over the ocean and bubble through the waterways of the UK where we are poised, net in hand, to scoop them up from the little stream that runs behind RGM HQ. We’ve caught some lovely things for our latest Maple Leaf roundup and now we invite you to sit with us in the sunshine and admire each one before we gently lower them back in again to continue their journey downriver.
Read MoreWelcome to the latest instalment of the RGM inbox feature where we shine a light on a range of artists and recent releases you might have missed. With so much music being released daily it’s tough to keep up and there are many, many artists releasing quality music that could get lost in the shuffle. As usual, the RGM Inbox is an international affair with contributions from the USA, North Wales and an Australian based in the UK.
Read MoreIt’s always a thrill to discover new tunes from our brothers and sisters in Canada and, as the Maple Leaf Roundup turns two years old, I feel particularly warm and fuzzy to think of the sixty or seventy artists we’ve met along the road so far. If you’re only just joining us on the journey, the good news is that the nation’s musical gifts never seem to stop giving, so climb on board and allow us to introduce your newest (and soon to be bestest) Canadian friends.
Read MoreWelcome to the belated May edition of the RGM Inbox. In this latest instalment, we feature two names that I’m sure will be familiar to many readers in Emily Zuzik and David Berkeley. Rounding out this months quartet we’ve David Ramirez, the Texas-based singer-songwriter with a cool-sounding new record in the can and virtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm who revisits his past as he embarks on the next phase of his career with a new record label.
Read MoreMusic Venue Trust has announced #saveourvenues, a new national campaign to save hundreds of grassroots music venues at imminent risk of being closed down – permanently. Registered charity the Music Venue Trust currently has 556 venues up and down the UK at risk of closure. Venues that play an essential role in promoting talent and often as a community hub for many other endeavours. Please read on to find out more about #saveourvenues and how you can get involved:
Read MoreWelcome to the latest, long overdue, delve into the RGM Inbox. As usual, we’ve been inundated with a host of musical pleasures and with many of us following the rules on self-isolation this seems like an ideal time to check out some great new music. So please join us on this latest voyage of musical discovery.
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