Bonsound

The Polaris Music Prize has unveiled the 40 albums that make up this year's Long List. Congrats to Les Louanges, Elisapie and Marie Davidson (from the Make It Rain Records roster) whose albums have been nominated!

Let's keep our fingers crossed as the Short List nominees will be announced on July 16th. In the meantime, you can listen to La nuit est une panthère, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl and Working Class Woman.

Today Elisapie unveils a video for the song Ton vieux nom, off The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, released in September 2018. In addition to taking her all over North America and Europe, this intimate album - on which the Inuk singer explores her northern roots and aspects of her femininity - has amassed great reviews. Rolling Stone France called the music a delicately violent album that seduces as much as it questions, while NPR said Elisapie synthesizes stories from her eventful life with hypnotic arrangements that channel ‘70s rock, indigenous folk music and the low, moody rumble of barnstormers like Tom Waits.

On the album's only French track Ton vieux nom, co-written with Chloé Lacasse and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, Elisapie uses her skillful poetry to urge her people to reaffirm their pride. Behind its hushed ballad mood, the lyrics address issues that still affect the Inuit population today. The video is made up of archival images that offer a window into the reality of Inuit living in the Great North. Coupled with the lyrics, the song is an important reflection on the past. Above all, Ton vieux nom is a song of determination and compassion.

This summer, Elisapie will embark on a Canadian tour, during which she will take part in a dozen festivals, including the Montreal Jazz Fest, RBC Bluesfest in Ottawa and the Festival de la Chanson de Tadoussac. She will then fly to Europe where she will perform in several French cities as well as in Czech Republic, by way of the Paleo Festival in Switzerland and the Francofolies de Spa in Belgium. Visit elisapie.com for more information about her summer tour or see dates below.

Safia Nolin, who is currently touring with her latest album Dans le noir, will headline an outdoor concert at this year’s Francos de Montréal on Sunday, June 16th. She will be accompanied by special guests Patrick Watson, KROY and Pomme (to name a few), and Philippe Cyr (J’aime Hydro) will produce the show. Written in her self-described super depressive style (the style that won her the Prix Félix-Leclerc de la Chanson, the SOCAN Breakthrough Award, the Félix for Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2016, and the Félix for Female Artist of the Year in 2017), Dans le noir is described by ICI Musique as tough, filled with painful tenderness and, most of all, so beautiful it’ll bring you to tears.

Since launching her album in October, Safia has released Mélancolie, a duet with Patrick Watson, and a music video for Dagues starring the drag queen Verona Verushka, as well as performed over 40 concerts in Canada and France. Now, Safia returns with a new track, Claire, written with her friend Philémon Cimon, an artist she greatly admires. Recorded on tape with her long-time much-respected collaborators Joseph Marchand and Philippe Brault, Claire is an intimate break-up song. Emotional and deeply moving, the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter exposes another piece of her heart in this latest dark, stripped-down folk song. Claire’s artwork and video were created by Safia herself.

While it was already obvious that Les Louanges is having a crazy year, it was announced today that he has been named Révélation Radio-Canada 2019-2020 in the 'Chanson' category. Yay! Congrats Vincent!

Watch him perform La nuit est une panthère, in an exclusive video captured by ICI Musique.

Congrats to all the artists nominated at this year's INDIES! The ceremony will be held May 11th, in Toronto.

Elisapie - Indigenous Artist of the Year
Jesuslesfilles - Francophone Artist of the Year
Milk & Bone - Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year
Safia Nolin - Francophone Artist of the Year

Let your voices be heard and vote for your favorite artists!
Voting will close on May 5th : http://indies.ca/voting

Best of luck to our nominees!

After launching her second album Reverie last February, composer Flying Hórses unveils a music video for the song Comfort via Northern Transmissions.

The video tells the story of a young woman waking up in a forest, not really certain how and why she’s there. The green paths lead her to a mystical lake, where she is faced with the decision to keep searching for her way back or to let go completely and become one with her surroundings.

Watch and share Comfort via YouTube.

Flying Hórses also announced her first concerts since the release of Reverie. On May 31st, she is set to perform at St. Luke's Church in Ottawa, and a few weeks later she will perform at l’Astral, as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Expect some creepy mechanical music boxes and a non-traditional, surprising piano concert!

Visit Flying Hórses’ website for more details.

Last month, Milk & Bone announced a new EP called DIVE and shared Ride or Die as a first glimpse of the new project. Today, the duo is back with the second single Peaches and presents a new video directed by Soleil Denault. Peaches blends the analog synths of producer Alex Lustig and Milk & Bone’s dreamy vocals and gives a thumping retrowave track with a smooth pop finish. The song is all about teenage nostalgia, and takes us back to that innocent time in our lives when we couldn’t wait to grow up. It’s about young love and feeling misunderstood, and wanting to feel it all at once.

Watch and share the video for Peaches via YouTube.
The song is available now on all music services.

DIVE is coming out May 24th, via Bonsound and Milk & Bone will be touring this spring and all through summer. Tour dates are listed below and on milknbone.com.

Following last fall’s unveiling of the song But You, Everybody Is, Antony Carle returns with Save Face, the second single off The Moment, his debut EP due out May 17th via Bonsound. It’s an empowering song about survival, determination and unity. CRi’s slick production and the gripping vocal arrangements illustrate an urgent need to exist and matter while showcasing Antony Carle’s impressive vocal range. The title gets repeated multiple times at the end of the song, almost like a mantra, so the listeners know that, regardless of the challenges they face, better days are coming, explains the artist. According to The 405, _ Save Face makes a compelling case for Carle as one of 2019's breakout stars_.

From classical church singer to songwriter and queer pop artist, Antony Carle is a talent who leaves nobody indifferent. On The Moment, he delivers seven tracks inspired by nightclubs, faded love affairs, social injustice, and personal (and universal) experiences. The EP reflects the artist’s path towards success, as well as the boldness and pride that comes with being a young, queer individual in the city. It screams authenticity, individuality, identity, recognition, and an inherent desire to “make it”. Brilliant producers Ouri, CRi and Victor Bongiovanni all assisted with this project. Antony Carle is an exciting new talent who puts on a show from whom nobody can walk away.

Don’t miss the Montreal launch show at Diving Bell on Thursday, May 23rd.

Singer-songwriter Dave Chose unveils a music video for the song Chilling, off his self-titled debut album released last year.

With its brutal images shot in a post-snowstorm Lac-Saint-Jean, the video directed by Jean-Martin Gagnon depicts the harsh and often ignored reality of many young folks living in rural areas. While some may be shocked and others may recognize themselves in its characters, Chilling is a song about boredom and the extreme situations into which people will put themselves in order to avoid it.

Watch the video now!

Elisapie recently unveiled a three-part music video for the song Una off her album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, via NPR.

Watch and share the video for Una via YouTube.
The Ballad of the Runaway Girl is available on all music services.

With this song, the Inuk singer draws her inspiration from one of the most significant moments of her life. Una - which means "I give you" in Inuktitut-, is an open letter written by Elisapie to her birth mother, asking her how she felt giving her daughter up for adoption days after her birth. After Elisapie gave birth to her second child, she was struck by the profound question: how could her birth mother leave her in the arms of another mother?

Elisapie is embarking on a 10-date European tour. She will also perform at several festivals in Quebec, Canada and Europe this summer. Visit elisapie.com for more information about her upcoming concerts.