Author: Victor Vigas

Children with special needs must not be neglected by our education system

Now almost a year into a pandemic, educators are giving their best to the students that need it most

While many students of all ages are struggling to adjust, students with learning and language disabilities are struggling even more.

With varying measures set into place regarding the introduction of elementary students back into schools across the country, there are discrepancies. Every school board is left to set things up their own way. Though many school boards have made it a priority to allow students with special needs to return to the classroom, other boards across the country have not even mentioned this aspect of schooling.

In the Ottawa Carleton District School board (OCDSB) for example, educators are giving their best efforts for these students, offering parents either in-class learning for specialized program classes, or a virtual version of the classes through Ottawa Carleton Virtual (OCV). Nick Jiminez, a speech language pathologist, has been working with the OCDSB for nearly three years.

“I don’t think anything special is happening for the kids with learning disabilities who are at home.”

Conversely, there are a variety of different situations that show these students to need to work from home, but as Connie Allen, Ottawa-based speech language pathologist, puts it, “Think about the child that’s four [years old], would you have them watch a PowerPoint?”

To that extent, for the children who do learn from home, “Ideally there is a parent at home or a caregiver in a daycare facility who is able to monitor one or more children while they receive remote learning,” said Jiminez.

While the ideal situation for these students is to have an adult with them to facilitate at-home learning, the reality is that this is not always possible. What works for one family may not apply to another.

Families are being forced to try and make choices between safety and education, and these are not always easy choices to make.

I think it’s okay for families to do what they can to make it work. We will do our best to make it successful, balancing that engagement with family stress,” said Allen. “We don’t want to cause our families stress.”

For many of these kids, the developmental assistance they get from these specialized program classes and systems are invaluable. These programs can range from learning literacy, to independence, to getting dressed, and even more. In many cases, it can be difficult to learn and interact with a laptop for these adapted curriculums.

“They are dealing with fatigue from looking at a screen all day,” said Jiminez.

What has become the norm for learning at home, having students spread across different households, may work for the average student. However, children with attention disorders or sensory needs are more susceptible to distraction while at home.

“The demands for self-control are greater when there are lots of distractions close by,” said Jiminez

In the past year, the debate on school closures has been tossed around for all students, yet there are some students for whom it is not feasible to learn at home. For students on the autism spectrum, nonverbal kids and those with cognitive disabilities, they benefit most from in-person learning where they are able to receive the attention they require.

Allowing these kids to learn in person ensures they are given the best attention, but safety concerns surrounding in-person learning have remained imminent throughout the pandemic. For many of these children, wearing a mask is not always possible, for reasons such as sensory difficulties , varying levels of cognitive development and the inability to comprehend why they need to wear it.

With the situation imperfect as it may be, educators and staff have all been learning on the fly, and trying to adapt as best as possible.

“[School] staff [are] doing absolutely everything they can both at school and online to make it successful. It’s a team effort,” said Allen. With the end of the 2021 school year on the horizon, hope can be held that safe and calculated returns can be made for these students, and the general population as well.

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
Music

Revisiting The 1975’s sophomore record

Now’s a better time than ever to listen to I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it.

What now feels like eons ago has only been about five years. The 1975’s 2016 album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, came three years after their self-titled debut, The 1975. The 17-track sophomore release has come to be a springboard for the music that the band would produce in the years following.

The interim period between their debut and their catapult to fame was defined by a social media blackout that fueled rumors of a potential split of the band. Following this, neon signs began appearing in a variety of different locations, each one displaying a song title from the album. Their placement was meant to reflect the meaning of the songs. Signs popped up in a variety of places such as New York, London and Los Angeles. Whether it was outside a grocery store, an emergency room or even in a church, all of the places were reflected and referenced within the respective tracks. With the help of photographer David Drake, photos of these signs came to be promotional icons for the aesthetic of the album.

It has now become tradition for The 1975 to open all of their albums with a version of the eponymous track, “The 1975.” With the second installment of this now-tradition for the band’s albums, I like it when you sleep’s version is more dependent on choir vocals and heavy synth. Nonetheless, its meaning as a track still remained a masqueraded tale of oral sex, “Go down / Soft sound / Step into your skin? / I’d rather jump in your bones / Taking up your mouth, so you breathe through your nose.”

It is just like any band to question the direction that they hope to take musically and lyrically as their careers are being forged. From their first LP to this one, there is a remarkable change in the sound of their music. At first, The 1975 was mostly a guitar-heavy, Brit-pop, emo band. This esoteric style of music is still appreciated by avid fans, but casual listeners only began to flock once their sound did a 180 and morphed into the synth-pop, production-heavy, I like it when you sleep. Even with a great change in style, band members and friends George Daniel, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann and Matty Healy have stayed the course.

The first half of the tracklist opens with staples, “Love Me,” “A Change Of Heart” and “She’s American.” In an interview with Pitchfork, band frontman Matty Healy summarizes I like it when you sleep as “ego, fear and light.” These three tracks are exemplary for this description by Healy. “Love Me” comes off as a very musically striking track with heady guitar riffs and solos, when lyrically it is a tirade about the way fame has brought temptations into his life and fluffed up his ego following the band’s successes. In its own right, the song is self-referential, with its lyrics about fans loving the band and him trying to “Be the man that gets them up on their feet.”

“A Change Of Heart” follows the story of a falling out between two lovers. While this kind of song is cheap in music, Healy used this particular track to criticize people on the internet with, “And then you took a picture of your salad / And put it on the Internet.” The project’s fifth track, “She’s American” sees a musical output almost reminiscent of ‘80s pop songs with its prominent drumming pattern in the mix and upbeat production effects.

Lyrically, Healy is digressing on his status as a British man living in the United States, as the band lived in California when recording the album. His juxtaposition with the cultural differences between American and British women sees a variety of lyrics highlighting these differences such as “If she says I’ve got to fix my teeth / Then she’s so American.”

I like it when you sleep’s shining moment comes in the form of the project’s 10th track, “Somebody Else.” Like every other band, there needs to be a song that catches you and reels you in to check out their other songs, and “Somebody Else” is exactly that. “Somebody Else” is not just a bedroom pop jam for heartbroken teenage girls, it is a staple for the music that The 1975 makes.

Throughout the middle ground of the album, there are a handful of tracks that attempt to engage listeners that are frankly a bit long and experimental in contrast to the album’s more popular songs. While tracks like “Please Be Naked,” “Lostmyhead,” and the title track can appeal to devoted fans, a casual listener may find little to enjoy with minimal or no audible words across these tracks.

While not for everyone, fans of production and mixing could certainly appreciate the mastery possessed by band drummer and often producer, George Daniel. Nonetheless, as Healy mentioned in Spotify’s storyline feature, ambient music is his favourite art form and he likes to “think of ambient music as the engine of The 1975.”

As the album draws to its end the tracklist ends on the melancholic trio of “Paris,” “Nana” and “She Lays Down.” The first of the trio is one of the album’s more critical songs, where Healy describes a foul girl whom he meets who is coked up to the nines (“She’s a pain in the nose”). While the lyrics are a bit sporadic in this song, Healy is again able to point the finger back at himself as opposed to solely criticising someone else. Healy, who once was addicted to heroin and other opiates, does a variety of self reference in this song with lyrics like “As the crowd cheered for an overdose,” and “She said I’ve been romanticizing heroin.”

The penultimate track, “Nana,” is a wearily somber acoustic track that sees Healy retelling the tale of his grandmother’s death and how he is reeling from it. His poignant lyricism builds on earlier themes of religion, while diving headfirst into mourning. “And I know that God doesn’t exist / And all the palaver surrounding it / But I like to think you hear me sometimes.”

As the lengthy I like it when you sleep draws to a close, Healy caps off the album with a fingerpicking acoustic guitar track, “She Lays Down.” While this track is bereft of any heavy production or woozy synth notes, the lyrics make up for the song’s overall simplicity by being a very personal memo referencing Healy’s relationship to his mother and her postnatal depression “—And in the end, she chose cocaine / But it couldn’t fix her brain.”

In hindsight, everything always looks clear. I like it when you sleep was a standalone masterpiece at the time, but looking back on it to this day, there is a linear progression throughout The 1975’s albums. As Healy mentioned on Spotify’s album storyline feature, this album was the springboard upon which he dove into the band’s next two albums, saying, “I often see ILIWYS as the creche for the ideas that came next.”

All of this to say, I like it when you sleep will likely be to The 1975 what The Dark Side of the Moon is to Pink Floyd, an album that will be remembered for decades down the road. Though vastly different, both of these albums possess similar qualities that see them lyrically covering a variety of topics, backed by memorable musical displays. With this album being their breakout, the band later ensued with what is arguably their opus, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. With the sound having gone through an evolution, there is a traceable pattern of growth in sound, lyricism and delivery with the progression of music from The 1975.

Categories
News

Quebec Restaurants are struggling to stay afloat

With the introduction of a commission-free delivery app, restaurants are given a lifeline

It is no secret that the restaurant and food industry is suffering from some effects of the pandemic.

The average restaurant in normal times could attribute most of their business to dine-in service, with take-out and delivery sales making up a smaller portion of revenues. Nowadays with in-house dining not being an option, all of Quebec restaurants’ revenues are from the takeout and delivery avenues.

While provinces like Ontario and British Columbia have set caps on the commission fees that delivery services like SkipTheDishes and UberEats can charge to restaurants, the Quebec government has all but done the same.

Though some of these services have offset the initial costs to set up their use for restaurants, the large commission fees are weighing down the open restaurants, and have brought others to close their doors.

Sherif Hafez, owner of Essence restaurant in downtown Montreal, has closed his restaurant after trying to operate with delivery services like SkipTheDishes for six months, saying, “You’re basically working for them and there’s nothing left for yourself.”

When the costs of operation such as labour, hydro and rent are put into the equation, and on top of that delivery services skim 30 to 35 per cent, “It wasn’t worth it at all to operate,” said Hafez.

Quebec restaurants that have thrived off the merit and business of the customer that dines in, are sinking. According to business owners like Hafez, the government is turning its back on them.

“I think it’s along the lines of the lack of support to the industry. The provincial government has not been supportive of the industry at all,” he said.

In light of these needs for restaurants, a new commission-free delivery service has arisen: CHK PLZ. To date, the app has received an average of a 4.7/5 user rating between the iOS and Google Play app stores.

The app does not take such high percentages off the top of restaurants’ orders, but rather a fixed rate per transaction. Instead of having its own fleet of drivers, the company partners with rideshare services, such as Montreal-based company, Eva.

When asked if he would consider trying out a commission free delivery service, Hafez said he would be open to trying the idea out.

Annie Clavette, owner of Le Gras Dur and Maamm Bolduc in Montreal, has enjoyed her experience with the service thus far.

“We like [CHK PLZ] very much but the sad part is not enough customers use it; UberEats is the more expensive and the most popular one — go figure,” she said.

While Le Gras Dur is available for order on a variety of delivery platforms, Clavette’s approach has seen her relocate the setup as a ghost kitchen at Maamm Bolduc. The ghost kitchen model sees restaurants geared towards takeout and delivery specifically — it is essentially just an operating kitchen, without having the added space of a dining room and a bar. By doing so, restaurants are able to save on many operational costs, much like a food truck.

Though Clavette has worked hard to receive support from the Association Restauration Québec, no new regulations or support systems have trickled down the grapevine as of yet.

For business owners like Clavette and Hafez, having to fight for support from the government to keep your profits can be demoralizing.

As Clavette put it, “It is very frustrating, you feel you are begging for your money.”

 

Photograph by Christine Beaudoin

Categories
Music

Julianna Joy wants to comfort people with her music

The 19-year-old Chicago-born artist discusses her music and feeling like a veteran in the music industry.

If you’re good at what you do, age is just a number. Such is the case with 19-year-old Julianna Joy; the Chicago artist is now making her name known. “I’ve been in this industry since I was 15, but I feel like I’ve been in it forever,” she said.

My first impression of Julianna Joy came from one of those nights where you skip everything on Spotify, and through countless new artists I landed on Joy’s track, “Poseidon.” Something about the poignant lyricism with a voice like Alessia Cara’s screamed at me even though the song is so beautifully gentle.

In a bid to commit to a life of making music, Joy made the move to Los Angeles the same week her debut EP, Cherries, was released.

“I followed the advice that I got my freshman year, which was: ‘If you want to do music, you gotta be in L.A. It thrives there.” Now nearly a year removed from the departure, Joy is not in school — she is now working full-time to support her musical aspirations.

While the move has been one of those bets on yourself, her humility remains unmoved.

“I would say my goals have stayed the same, being in L.A. just made them more achievable.”

Having released Cherries on Valentine’s Day 2020, she currently sits at nearly 70,000 Spotify monthly listeners in addition to having well over a million total plays in just under a year of debuting on the platform.

“I’m hoping to be an important person in the music industry. I want to be touring and recording tons of music,” said Joy.

Joy’s instrumental ability spans across a variety of skill sets, including guitar, piano, ukulele, bass and even a bit of banjo. Paired with a desire to keep creating, Joy has been able to bring about something that is gaining traction online. While I have found similarities between Joy and Alessia Cara, she describes her sound as if “Lorde had a lovechild with Taylor Swift, and that child got really really really into classic rock and ‘80s pop music when they turned 16.” She furthers her point on an appreciation for older music with her dream collaborations, dead or alive. “My dream collaboration alive would have to be Jack Antonoff. Dead would have been Freddie Mercury.”

Muses come and go, but Joy says “Most of the time I write music for myself or for the person I’m trying to talk to, and for the people who find comfort in my weirdly personal stories that I choose to publicize.” Seemingly all of Joy’s tracks have a self contained narrative, but the must-listen from the young artist comes in the shape of “Cherry Bomb,” an upbeat concoction of guitar and strong percussion that could form the soundtrack in a coming of age movie.

Most recently in the blossoming career that is Julianna Joy’s, came the Spotify release of her song “Seventeen.” Its appearance on Spotify comes as a rerelease of sorts, seeing as the song previously existed solely as a YouTube video. With the song’s lyrical themes of young love, it becomes easy to remember her youth. “My age never comes into question when talking about my career. It doesn’t go unnoticed, don’t get me wrong,” she said. But when it comes to business, Joy is respected in her artists’ seat.

 “It never changed the dynamic from what I can tell,” she added. Though expectations are sometimes high for promising young stars, Joy is not feeling any rush or schedule to drop an album anytime soon.

“Maybe the next three years or so.”

Even with things still being cloudy and shrouded in terms of when live performances can be held again safely, things still look good for Julianna Joy. For the fan of indie music and soothing vocals, Julianna Joy is not someone to overlook.

Categories
Music

Penelope Isles are the psych rock revivalists 2020 needs

We spoke with Penelope Isles’ Jack Wolter to discuss the band’s latest work and surviving lockdown in the U.K.

Penelope Isles have put in some serious work. The U.K.-based band is spearheaded by sibling duo Jack and Lily Wolter. Originally from the Isle of Man, Jack and Lily initially had separate solo projects, Cubzoa and Kookie Lou, that have released EPs respectively. Lily then moved to Brighton where she met Becky Redford and Jack Sowton, who would later become a four-piece band once Jack Wolter joined them in 2015.

Following their new formation, the band released a 7-track project, Comfortably Swell, in the fall of 2015. This release came to jumpstart their extensive history of touring. They hit the ground running; the band performed in pubs, stores, festivals and venues as they set out to make a name for themselves in the English music scene.

In January 2019, Penelope Isles signed to British record label Bella Union. Once partnered with the label, they released their full-length debut album to Spotify, Until The Tide Creeps In. It has garnered 1.95 million streams to date. The release covers a variety of bases both sonically and lyrically — there are many intimate lyrics as well as many aspects of psychedelic rock, fused with a lush sound and warm vocals.

Last year alone, the band performed well over 100 shows that also saw them opening 16 shows for the Wallows’ Nothing Happens tour, prior to COVID shutdowns. Although the band was not scheduled to open for Wallows on what would have been the European leg of the tour, Jack was still excited to have them, saying, “We had their London show in our diary.”

With the effects of shutdowns in the U.K., they took it upon themselves to write, record and produce their latest album. As Jack says, “It was perfect timing to make a record as we had no choice but to be in lockdown.”

Most recently, the group made some personnel changes, seeing members Becky Redford and Jack Sowton leaving the group earlier this year. With new members Hannah Feenstra and Henry Nikelson now on the team, they are looking to release their newest record shortly.

While the future still looks uncertain, a certainty is that Penelope Isles continue to be dedicated to their craft, and striving to be a great live band. With their next record already finished, Jack says that he and Lily are both working on new material for their solo ventures.

The Concordian spoke to Jack Wolter about making music in a pandemic, and the band’s upcoming album.

TC: As a band formed in Brighton, there’s definitely a lot of lore and a history of great music coming out of there. What kind of legacy do you want to etch as Penelope Isles continues to get bigger?

JW: I guess to leave an impact and for people to have enjoyed the experience of seeing us play live. I don’t think we are a particularly important band in the way of changing how people think. Most of our songs are abstract thoughts and feelings. But we do love playing live and that connection with the room. I would be stoked if anyone thinks of us as a great live band.

TC: COVID-19 drew your tour with Wallows to a premature close. Even though it was cut short, how was the tour and how did you and Wallows come together?

JW: We have the same booking agent so they hooked us up. The boys from Wallows dug our sound so invited us along. It was nuts! It was an amazing few weeks and ones we’ll never forget. Sold out show after another. Our music is a little different to Wallows so we were a bit nervous as to what the American/Canadian kids would think, but it went down so well. We loved playing for all you guys.

TC: What advice would you give yourself back when you first started with everything you’ve learned up to this point?

JW: Take time away from it all sometimes. As obsessed you might be. I still have to remind myself of this.

TC: Up-and-coming bands sometimes burn bright and die fast when they change their style to fit certain niches. Right now, you guys have a familiar sound and vibe with your music, where is the balance between experimentation and continuity for Penelope Isles?

JW: Good question. I think it’s important to feel comfortable in the environment in which you are making music. That applies to both writing and producing. On this next record we have pushed ourselves a little more in terms of how the songs sound sonically. It’s more experimental and dramatic in moments but doesn’t drift too far away from the songwriting on our first album. Our new songs feel more emotional. Maybe because we have lived, loved and lost a little more. I think if you are personally making art to please someone else then it is in danger of losing something special.

TC: In other interviews you have cited Radiohead as an inspiration, do the comparisons of your first album to Radiohead’s In Rainbows put any pressure on you for future releases?

JW: I mean that is such a compliment! It’s one of our favourite records. Not really as I know that it’s nothing as good as In Rainbows. Our new record is sounding cool and we’re ready to share it when we can! I’m excited to see what people think and can’t wait to play live.

TC: With production for all of your work done in-house by you, should we expect the same for the upcoming album?

JW: Yes! When we got back from America we rented a cottage in the southwest of the U.K. and moved all our gear down for a month. We made a lot of it there as well as back here in Brighton. It was perfect timing to make a record as we had no choice but to be in lockdown.

TC: You have no shortage of touring and performing experience in a variety of different places, how eager are you to get back on the road and start doing shows again?

JW: Very much so. And even more so after such a long period without touring. The process of travelling around, leaving town, returning home is something that I really have missed dearly. It’s something I need in my life like many others who travel a lot. It feels pretty claustrophobic staying in one spot. But everyone can relate to that right now. We are very excited about coming back to America and Canada one day soon!

Photo by Laura Caldwell

Categories
Music

Evan H. Clarke is a musical jack-of-all-trades

Evan H. Clarke is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Calgary native has been playing music for over half of his life. His story as a musician dates back to his time in the eighth grade where he delved into the world of Led Zeppelin and took inspiration from John Bonham to begin playing the drums.

As the years went on, Clarke took it upon himself to learn to play a plethora of other instruments including bass, electric and acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica and piano. Having paired this ability to play with the knowledge of mixing and mastering at a young age. In Clarke’s own words, he is “music-obsessed.”

Clarke’s most recent release was his debut to Spotify, a 10-track album, Maverick, released in April of this year. As per usual, Clarke was at the helm of production for his latest project, citing Pro Tools and Logic as his go-tos for putting together his tracks.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clarke was in the process of rehearsing for shows to perform his Maverick album for the first time. It would have been his first time singing while playing the drums, seeing Clarke taking a new direction in his array of musical abilities, as he “should be coming close to my 10,000 hours.”

Now at 29, Clarke is in his final year of study at Concordia as a double major in Communications and Irish Studies. Through his twenties and his time as a Concordia student, Clarke hasn’t slowed down at all, releasing projects at a consistent pace and keeping the flame burning in his passion for music. Even with a variety of different EPs and two full-length albums under his belt, it is only the beginning for the artist. With big plans for the near future, Clarke continues to record for new projects and even aims to release electronic music someday as well.

We spoke to Clarke about his world of music.

The Concordian: Your album, Maverick, has a certain flow from the opening track all throughout the album. How did you pick your album’s tracklist arrangement and song titles?

EC: I usually write a batch of songs around the same time, so I tend to pick keys and chord progressions — which are similar — so they sound cohesive. My writing techniques vary — sometimes I will come up with the song title first, which was the case with the song “Hibernia,” and then write the song after, and sometimes I’ll pick a line from the song which holds the most meaning and use that as the title. It varies from release to release.

TC: It seems to be an open secret that you’ve got a variety of scattered works all over the internet, will we ever see any of those hit Spotify?

EC: Possibly! I’m quite proud of some of those releases, perhaps I should put them up on the big streaming platforms. My previous full-length Afterlight was released under a different name, maybe I’ll do a re-release!

TC: As a one-man show who puts up lyrics, music composition, mixing, producing and mastering, how much time are you dedicating to your craft?

EC: I try to dedicate as much time as possible to it, which can be difficult, particularly when you are a student. I usually write when the inspiration hits, which could be anytime, and then dedicate a few months to tracking and mixing when I’m happy with the batch of songs. I should be coming close to my 10,000 hours!

TC: The lone single for your first album came out the day after COVID-19 shutdowns began in Canada. Has the pandemic affected your artistic process and methods?

EC: Haha yes it did, great timing on my part. It definitely has, I had a large album release show planned with merch and everything, but I called it off. I have had more time to work on my music than ever, so I have another album nearly finished, and a couple electronic projects on the go. The shutdown has afforded me some time to experiment on finding a different sound for my future releases.

TC: For someone that plays so many different instruments, when you approach the musical part of a song how do you know where to begin?

EC: Great question! I usually write on my acoustic guitar or piano, that gives me a sense of what the song could be and which instruments to use. I start by tracking drums (this is always difficult because I don’t have a set, so when I go into the studio it’s my first time playing the song), this gives me an idea of what the bass track should be because it should correspond with the drums. From there, I’ll lay down some guitar or piano. It is usually a process of trial and error.

TC: What should the world expect from Evan H. Clarke moving forward?

EC: More music! I’ve got another album 75 per cent done, and some electronic music in the works. I am moving to Vienna next year, so I am sure that will have some effect on the music I make in the future!

 

Feature photo by Sabine Schoerkhuber

Categories
Music

The Madcap Laughs: a glimpse of Syd Barrett’s potential

Syd Barrett’s post-Pink Floyd career is too wild to be ignored.

Syd Barrett’s legacy is often spoken about as the tragedy of a man who lost his mind, and later serving as the muse of various works by Pink Floyd years after he had left. Rarely is he remembered for bringing together the initial members of Pink Floyd or even giving them their band name. In his brief time with Pink Floyd, he wrote eight of out 11 tracks on Pink Floyd’s debut studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and a handful of other songs before his infamous departure from the band in 1968 as a result of deterioration due to psychedelic abuse.

As a solo artist having been outcast from Floyd, Barrett began recording his debut solo album, The Madcap Laughs. Recording began in 1968 but was postponed due to a brief psychiatric stint. A year later in 1969, Barrett returned to finish recording of the project at Abbey Road Studios with production of the album handled mostly by Malcolm Jones. Additional production help and instrumental assistance came from Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and David Gilmour.

The 1970 album itself is a self-contained thirteen track composition. Opening track “Terrapin” sets the tone for the album with simple acoustic guitar chord progressions while Barrett narrates what seems to be a love story: “‘Cause we’re the fishes and all we do / The move about is all we do.” Coincidentally, on Pink Floyd’s 1975 eponymous album, Gilmour sings “We’re just two lost souls / Swimming in a fish bowl,” on “Wish You Were Here.” While it is known that “Wish You Were Here” was recorded as a tribute to Barrett, this lyric in particular sees a 29-year-old David Gilmour appearing to wink at Barrett’s solo work.

As the album progresses, tracks “Love You” and “Here I Go” solidify the album with a variety of stream-of-consciousness lyrics and simple drum beats. There is a child-like musical quality provided by a combination of acoustic and electric guitars with a subtle level of distortion. Though this album has less of a distinctive sound compared to Barrett’s other works, it still finds a way to build and morph into a simpler outlet of psychedelic pop fused with folk-like guitar lines. “Octopus” is the album’s most telling song of Barrett’s self narrated descent into insanity, with the song telling a tale of an LSD trip and becoming stuck in a state of madness, “Trip, trip to a dream dragon / Hide your wings in a ghost tower / Sails cackling at every plate we break.”

While the lyrics are sometimes disorganized, hard to fathom and sometimes pose a puzzle for listeners, that’s part of his greatness as a lyricist. As seen on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a lot of Barrett’s lyrics seemed to be pulled out of unlikely sources of inspiration. This makes a lot of his songs head-scratchers when taken literally, but his breaking of rhyme schemes and playing with simple and complex words tossed around with irregular syntax create a unique blend of spoken word poetry and happily upbeat songs. In an interview with Rolling Stone, when talking about Barrett’s solo work Gilmour said “Some of [Barrett’s lyrics], quite often it felt like he was making them up as he went along … they all definitely mean something to him, but there’s a sort of barrier between him and me and anyone else that prevents us from being able to hear it.”

Barrett further shows his mental depth on the release by quoting two 19th century poets throughout the album’s tracklist. The first being “Golden Hair,” which sees Barrett reciting a poem titled “Lean Out Of The Window” by James Joyce over an acoustic guitar. The latter is part of the first verse in “Octopus,” where he uses part of a poem by Sir Henry Newbolt’s “Rilloby-Rill.”

If Syd Barrett’s musical potential were a house, The Madcap Laughs is only a room. While the album is not a top-tier polished work of art that has stood the test of time such as other albums by his Pink Floyd counterparts, it does have a variety of moments that are telling of Barrett’s promise as a musician. As the album draws to a close with its funhouse lyrics and punchy sounds, Barrett answers questions about his potential, yet leaves new ones for listeners who wondered “What if? about the late musician. 

Categories
Music

Flara K: Montreal’s couple-turned-pop-powerhouse

Montreal duo Flara K spoke to us about their latest EP and touring in a pandemic

Sam Martel and Collin Steinz’s love story began over a decade ago when they met in a coffee shop. While Sam was working, Collin spilled his coffee order all over the floor and, as they put it, “The rest is history.”

Sam and Collin make up two musically-inclined halves of Flara K. Both of them born and raised in Montreal’s South Shore, their history in making music dates back to when they were just 18-years-old and going on tours with their respective projects at the time.

Now having been married for four years, and together for over 10, they have created Flara K, a duo that brings a variety of cards to the table. The name of their band draws on a variety of inspirations such as Kurt Vonnegut and the place where they got engaged. Between the two of them and their stories, music has always been in the fold. Collin’s swagger on bass sets the tone for Sam’s commanding vocals as they produce soulful music that has funk at heart.

Having debuted as Flara K over the past two years by releasing a handful of singles including “Me and You” and “Offline,” they recently released their debut EP: Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable. 

The EP comes in at a quick 15-minute runtime and includes features from artists Mike Clay and Milo Gore on the tracks “Devotion” and “Pink & Blue,” respectively. Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable builds from their initial releases both lyrically and sonically as Sam and Collin continue to refine their sound of R&B-infused music.

Most recently, Flara K just wrapped up their Cruiser Conversations tour. At the end of this past September, Sam and Collin embarked on a month-long tour across Canada in Sam’s parents’ RV. The tour was done to raise funds and awareness for the Unison Benevolent Fund, a non-profit that provides emergency relief and mental health services to the Canadian music community, one of many communities that has been negatively affected by the pandemic.

With COVID-19 restrictions varying across the country, the shows were performed in a COVID-safe fashion with the performances and collabs being broadcasted live on the band’s Instagram page.  The tour included stops in a variety of Canadian cities including Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. With their variety of stops on tour, Flara K was able to collaborate with music communities such as Manitoba Music and BreakOut West.

As 2020 is drawing to a close, the duo is looking forward to what the new year has in store for them and continuing to make music that they love.

We spoke to Sam and Collin about their band and their future plans.

VV: Tell me about Kurt Vonnegut’s Bluebeard, what’s behind your band name?

Collin: We wanted a name for this project that would speak to us, and also be entirely unique so that we could feel comfortable growing and evolving with it. We got Flara from the Florian Gate in Krakow, Poland, where Sam and I got engaged, and the K is in reference to our favourite authors. Franz Kafta used K as the main character for many of his works, and Kurt Vonnegut is probably our favourite author. We settled on the idea of using “K” in the name after re-reading Bluebeard. I don’t want to spoil the book, but near the end the main character reveals this very powerful painting of his experience at the end of World War II and when asked what it was called he replied, “now it’s the women’s turn.”

VV: Your new EP Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable came out last month, what’s one song you think captures your sound the best for new listeners and why?

Sam: Ouu, that’s a tough question. I feel like all of them definitely represent our sound in different ways. I think that it depends on the listener’s mood really. If they’re looking for something upbeat and dancey, I’d probably recommend “If I Can’t Have You” or “Devotion,” but if they’re looking for something more moody I’d say “Pink And Blue.”

VV: As two French-speaking Montrealers would you ever put out music that is lyrically French?

Sam: That’s something we’ve actually done in previous projects we had, and it was definitely interesting to explore. I wouldn’t say we have anything planned at the moment, but if it comes together naturally we’re definitely open to exploring it further.

VV: The Cruiser Conversation Tour raised money for the Unison Benevolent fund, what does that mean to you?

Sam: I think for us it was important that we gave back to our community in some way. We were privileged enough to be able to do this tour because my parents had their RV just sitting in their driveway not being used, and that’s something we will never take for granted. The music industry is already such a difficult place to make consistent money as a musician and now with COVID it kinda feels like it just imploded and everything is a big mess, so this was our way of giving back what we could to help our community in these crazy times.

VV: From idea to finished song, what does your artistic process look like?

Collin: It really depends on the song, but most times I’ll have an idea for a beat or a bass line and then we’ll sit down and put together the basics of the track and then the melodies and lyrics follow.

VV: Will we ever hear Collin leading on the vocals someday?

Collin: Maybe not leading, but I might try some harmonies one day, who knows. It’s just that with vocals like Sam’s, I’d really have to bring my A-game to make it worthwhile.

VV: Now that your Cruiser Conversation Tour has ended, what does the future hold for Flara K?

Sam: This tour really got us inspired so I can say that there will definitely be a lot of new music coming in the new year, and until then we have some really fun stuff coming to kind of wrap up the EP so we’re very excited about that!

Collin: Yeah, after being on the road for almost a month it was like our minds hit a hard reset and we’re excited to continue writing and exploring collabs with the people we met (virtually) on the road. We’re also going to keep the conversation going every Wednesday on Instagram live. It was so fun to connect and chat with other artists and we really want to continue with it.

Feature photos by Philippe Thibault

Categories
Music

Revisiting Mac Miller’s Faces – a mixtape ahead of its time

Mac Miller’s 2014 opus isn’t available to stream, but it sure is worth the download on DatPiff.

Six years after its release, Faces is still Mac Miller’s pièce de résistance. The 2014 mixtape came out during an interim period between Miller’s tenure with Rostrum Records and his subsequent signing with Warner Records. Following his sophomore album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, Miller was making music at lightspeed. His projects, You, Delusional Thomas and Faces are a fraction of the projects that Mac released after 2012’s Macadelic. Miller was not shy about his work ethic as he proclaimed on his track, “Malibu,” “I’m recordin’ like I’ll die tomorrow.”

Having ditched Rostrum Records, Miller showcased his freedom by fleshing out his Larry Fisherman alter ego, producing 14 out of 24 tracks on the project himself. As mentioned by Miller over the course of his career, most of the songs on this tape segue from one into the next in an attempt to leave the project as a start-to-finish listening experience. Using production play and sample cuts from movies, classic jazz and famous writers alike, the tape draws from a variety of sources of inspiration. Faces features a variety of guest appearances, most notably Thundercat, Earl Sweatshirt, and Vince Staples.

Faces has no shortage of dark, funny, and borderline terrifying lyrics. On some tracks Mac is singing his own praises, other tracks see him joking around with his friends, on “What Do You Do” he’s alluding to his own demise (“A drug habit like Philip Hoffman will probably put me in a coffin.”). This tape has no shortage of drug references, whether it’s PCP, LSD, or referring to cocaine as “the same shit that got Whitney,” Faces is an unadulterated view into Miller’s drug infested lifestyle at the time. His bars don’t sugar coat any of it, making this tape some of Mac’s most candid and soul-bearing work.

At the midway point in the album, Mac presents a trio of songs named after celebrations, “Happy Birthday,” “Wedding” and “Funeral.” Each one segueing into the next, the trio tells three separate tales of introspection going from an upbeat yet depressing birthday party, to a failed love story, ending with “Funeral,” where Miller admits, “Doin’ drugs is just a war with boredom but they sure to get me.”

The closing track, “Grande Finale” serves as the conclusion to the tape’s winding road of cocaine-induced delirium and wide range of sonic experimentation. The closing track sheds some closure as Miller admits his habits could kill him, as they eventually did. In an interview with Billboard, Miller admitted that “‘Grand Finale’ was supposed to be the last song I made on earth.”

From top to bottom, Faces is a complete body of work that takes listeners on a journey narrated by Miller. Coming in at a lengthy 86 minutes, this project isn’t necessarily the type of album you’d sit down and listen to start-to-finish, but the road that Miller navigates with Faces has something for everyone to appreciate. Whether it’s the snappy back and forth with Vince Staples on “Rain” or the psychedelic trip that is “Colors and Shapes,” this tape covers a variety of bases and still finds a way to be some of Mac’s best work lyrically and production-wise.

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Wallows – Remote

With their second EP, Wallows plays into the hands of finding a new sound.

Nearly two years after their debut album, Nothing Happens, Remote is an example of the choice faced by most new bands: stick with the same sound or branch out before the fans box you in? With their entire first album having been produced by Grammy-winner John Congleton, the band opted to explore new production styles by a new team of producers including Sachi DiSerafino, John DeBold and Ariel Rechtshaid.

The project’s opening track “Virtual Aerobics” boasts a strong performance from drummer Cole Preston. As the EP progresses, he puts on more of a display in tracks “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” and “Talk Like That.” Though Preston’s drumming ability is often drowned out behind overbearing production gimmicks and his bandmates’ instruments and vocals, his touch on the percussion end still finds a way to be a spotlight in this EP. 

Aside from a few stragglers, most of the lyrics on these tracks are juvenile and frankly, underwhelming. In spite of this project featuring a handful of punchy lines about the COVID-19 pandemic, there is really no one song that stands out as a lyrical crown jewel. The aforementioned “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” is full of corny and overplayed clichés that listeners have heard a million times before. We’ve seen this with other boy bands and Wallows hasn’t fallen far from that tree.

With the vocals split between Dylan Minnette and Braeden Lemasters, there are a few moments that give their impotent lyrics some heart and soul when performed. On “Dig What You Dug” Lemasters takes the bull by its horns and delivers a pleasing performance with harmonies and supporting vocals from Minnette. The EP’s fourth track “Coastlines” sees Minnette pushing himself a little harder and gives the track a memorable vocal strain even though the song itself is lyrically simple.

While this EP doesn’t measure up to the standards set by Nothing Happens, it still has some shining moments. Though it doesn’t appeal to the Wallows sound that fans are used to, there are still a few tracks that have the potential to be fan favourites moving forward. When listened to from start to finish, each song in the EP segues seamlessly from one to the next, which is not something traditionally expected from an EP, giving it the merit of The Strokes’ The New Abnormal or SZA’s Ctrl; projects that are best experienced when listened to in the tracklist order.

At a brief 16-minute runtime, Remote is safe and sound. What it missed in terms of providing strong lyrics, it makes up for by playing around with production effects, making it an easy listen for Wallows stans and casual listeners alike.

Rating: 6.5/10

Trial track: Virtual Aerobics

Categories
Music

Erin Marcellina is not going to wait for you much longer

{"key":"a4"}

After wowing her school and peers for years, Erin Marcellina is ready for the big leagues

At 18 years old, Erin Marcellina’s first memories of music go far beyond the lessons she’s accrued over the years. She still remembers very vividly being a toddler listening to her older sisters play the piano and trying to annoy them while they played. Then, at just four years old, Marcellina began working on her piano fingers, one key at a time.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Marcellina has held music near and dear all her life. Raised by her mother, a music teacher and performer, the family talent was bound to rub off at some point. At six years old she began taking music lessons from private instructors and later enrolled in a formal music academy where she learned classical piano and composition, remaining enrolled until age 17.

In June of 2019, Marcellina began uploading recordings of her playing to YouTube. Between a mixture of covers and original songs, she started gaining local acclaim at her school and amongst peers. 

Having performed at a plethora of recitals, bar gigs and continuing to post online, she eventually gained the confidence and momentum to begin working on her first project, a self-released EP.

After two months of planning, writing, recording and mastering, on July 11 Marcellina released her first cohesive project, Wait for You. Though she was only 17 years old when she released it, Erin is not resting on her laurels and continues writing new music as she gears up for a debut album.

Now enrolled in Concordia University’s music program, Marcellina is working on her coursework remotely from the comfort of her home in Ottawa, though she maintains that Montreal is where her heart is and always will be.

Most recently, Marcellina released a second EP on Sept. 24 titled Blue Skies & At Peace. The two tracks build on her first release and serve as a snippet of what the artist is capable of.

We spoke to Marcellina to discuss music and her goals with it. 

TC: When did you first realize music was what you wanted to do with your life? 

EM: It wasn’t until last year that I decided to pursue music as a career. Before then, I had always wanted to study science and go to medical school. The first time I released music on YouTube I was so surprised and overwhelmed with the responses from listeners. Everyone loved what I had created and many people asked for more. It was at that moment that I realized that music would no longer just be a hobby.

TC: Tell me about the YouTube songs. Where did you draw from to put all of those out before? 

EM: All of the songs that I have released on YouTube were songs that I wrote at 3 a.m. Each song holds a very special place in my heart. I would write each song in 20 minutes while just sitting with my guitar or at my piano. Each piece has a deeper meaning behind the lyrics and when I go back and listen to these songs that I wrote over a year ago, I feel nostalgic and remember how I was feeling at the time. I started to release music on YouTube after performing at a recital at my old music school. I remember someone approaching me and asking where they can listen to my music online.

TC: Who are your top three influences in the music world? 

EM: My top three influences are Clairo, Jacob Collier and Edwin Raphael. Clairo’s style and individuality in her music is something I strive for as a musician. Jacob Collier is a genius and his interpretation and love for music is a huge inspiration. The fact that he won a Grammy after writing, recording and producing his own album in his room is incredible to me. Edwin Raphael is an indie singer/songwriter from Montreal who I’ve been listening to since 2017. I’ve watched him grow as an artist and his dedication is amazing. After my first EP release, I was able to get in contact with him and show him my work.

TC: As a young artist what are your biggest challenges with creating new music? 

EM: My biggest challenge is being young and not knowing my “sound.” My music has changed drastically since my first upload to YouTube as well as from my first EP, Wait for You to my recent EP, Blue Skies & At Peace. I am constantly surrounded by new ideas and inspirations for music, as well as suggestions from other people. I don’t see an issue with me releasing music of different genres or sounds but I am still trying to find my true style that feels and sounds the most like me.

TC: Your debut EP, Wait for You came out this past July, what’s the story behind it? 

EM: I worked very hard on the concept of Wait for You and many people don’t realize that this EP is a concept album. I started working on this EP when I first released the song “Wait for You” on YouTube (April 2020). The original idea for this EP was to be about my journey to finding both self love and love for another person. This all changed when I fell in love with a boy in May (a month after I started planning my EP). The concept then immediately changed to the feeling of falling in love to the feeling of losing myself in love. The first three songs of the EP are all about looking for love and feeling that I will never find it. The last three songs can be seen as autobiographies and how it feels to take a step back from your past and surround yourself with love moving forward. The song right in the middle of this EP, “Needle and Thread,” is about the boy that I fell in love with and how with the right person, you can let go of your past and find your true self.

TC: What’s your artistic process like? How do you go from an idea to a polished track?

EM: Before releasing Wait for You, I would simply sit at my piano and improvise until I played something that I liked. I would then record myself and sing a melody on top of this chord progression or ballad. It would usually have taken me about 20 minutes to write a song. I go about writing very differently now. I plan my songs in advance with chords, harmonies and the overall instruments that I have in mind. From there I will lay down my chords and start the layering process. I will always complete my instrumental before attacking vocals and harmonies. Planning harmonies alone takes me about two days to complete. Unlike before, it will take me at least two weeks of recording, editing and producing to have a polished song ready for release.

TC: Do you see yourself collaborating with other artists on your next project? Or do you want to build your own name first? 

EM: I have collaborated with musicians in the past and I truly find it beautiful to share ideas and create a project together. These times make it more difficult to collaborate but I am planning on working with other musicians for my next release. Building my name is important for pursuing music but to be a true musician and be prepared for the industry, I must work with other artists in order to grow as a musician myself.

TC: Last month you released a second EP, Blue Skies & At Peace. When should we expect a full length project? 

EM: Blue Skies & At Peace is a taste of a future full-length album that will be released at the end of 2020. I have been planning and working on this album since I started releasing music on YouTube, as it has always been a dream of mine to release a full-length project of my work. It will include new versions of my older YouTube songs, as well as songs similar to “Blue Skies” and “At Peace” and new genres such as R&B and jazz. The album is still in the planning process and I’m hoping to start recording early November and have the full project done before the new year.

Feature photo by Vincent Baluyot

Categories
Music

RAVE’IN transcends music

This weekend’s virtual techno event is also a fundraiser for local non-profit, Le Chaînon.

This Saturday’s RAVE’IN event is about more than just music. With an all-women lineup, the event aims to draw awareness to femicide and raise donations for Le Chaînon, a Montreal-based non-profit organization that helps women in difficult situations, such as domestic violence, addiction and poverty.

Event organizer Léopoldine, was an exchange student from Paris at Concordia University during the 2019 winter semester. She had originally planned for the event to be a French culture night to share the musical culture of Île-de-France. She then partnered with OCTOV, a Montreal techno music collective that was established in 2014, in order to bring this event to fruition.

As an exchange student in Montreal, Léopoldine wanted the event to be a way to share her love of the Île-de-France region.

“At first I didn’t really go out of the city that much, but it’s my passion for music that pushed me to outside the city because there were more interesting and innovative and cheaper music venues in the outskirts of Paris,” said Léopoldine.

This event was originally intended to be held at Reggie’s, Concordia’s on-campus student-run bar, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.

“This is a feminist event for charity. Truth is that this wasn’t what I originally had planned for my event,” she added. “At first, it was supposed to be a French night for students, by students for the IDF (Île-de-France) French music, but coronavirus made me rethink my approach to this event, I realized I could still do it with a live stream.”

However, one impact of the pandemic had a profound influence on Léopoldine and changed the goal of the event.

“I was really touched when I heard about the rise of domestic violence with the lockdown. That’s when I thought of making it for charity so I looked up associations that were doing work in this field and that’s when I found Le Chaînon.”

Léopoldine eventually sought out further ways to involve women in her ideal event.

“My project was taking form, I knew it was going to be a live stream, for charity for women. So logically I wanted to get other women involved. To make it empowering and uplifting. That was the vibe I was going for,” said Léopoldine. “BitterCaress was the first DJ I reached out to for this event. She encouraged me in this direction.”

Camille Bernard, better known as BitterCaress, is a Montreal-based DJ who was born in Paris. She sees techno music as a gateway to change.

“By starting to mix, I wanted to be able to express my opinion on various current issues that affect us from near and far. I sincerely believe that through art and specifically music, we can aspire to build a better world, make our audience think about certain important social issues and thus, help raise awareness and change attitudes,” said Bernard.

Bernard’s SoundCloud podcast, Mixing For a Cause, features a variety of episodes addressing topics such as violence against women, homophobia and arguments for pro-choice.

As of April 2020, Bernard rejoined OCTOV as a resident DJ following two years of sporadic collaboration with them.

“The techno world has anti-oppression values at heart, advocates open-mindedness, respect for others and for difference … However, despite the growing number of DJs, the integration of women is not always easy in this predominantly male environment … It’s not easy being a woman in this environment.”

Bernard added that “There is still a delay to catch up to achieve parity. In our community, curiosity must be nurtured every day, it is important to follow the development of emerging female DJs. We are all the actors and leaders of change in our local scene.”

When it comes to encouraging female artists, Bernard is not shy.

“With [the RAVE’IN event], I hope that we can show women who want to get involved within the techno scene that it is possible to become an agent of change and do something on their own scale.”

Bernard also added that this event will serve as an example, “To continue uplifting women’s voices in music, we should help women to express themselves without being afraid of being ‘too loud’ and continue making women more visible.”

When asked about what the future holds for events she plans to organize, Léopoldine said, “We’re in talks for making more live streams in the same line as this one. We have people reaching out saying they like what we’re doing and we have other artists wanting to play. I think it has a lot of potential. OCTOV and I would obviously love to go back to having events in public but we’ll keep to livestreams for now.”

With the event coming up soon, Léopoldine is looking forward to hearing the music by the two DJs, BitterCarres, and FAAST, accompanied by two visual artists, Rozetta and QUINT.“You can be sure that Saturday I’ll be in my living room with my speakers as high as my neighbours will tolerate it. I’ll be enjoying myself.”

The event can be accessed here.

Continue reading “RAVE’IN transcends music”
Exit mobile version