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By: Gemma Mastroianni Cadence Weapon (Roland Pemberton) is an Edmonton born and Toronto based rapper. He recently won the 2021 CBC Polaris Music Prize for his groundbreaking album “Parallel World” which captures many of the hardships and struggles we have gone through as a society over the past few years in an artistic and impactful light. Intrigued by this powerful album, I was honoured to have a chat with him and feature him as our artist of the month. Tell me a bit about yourself. I’m a rapper and producer. I like to think of myself as making my own Canadian grime music. I make underground rap with an electronic edge. That’s a great description. When did you start making music? In junior high when I was thirteen. What or who inspired you to start making music? Well, my Dad was a hip hop DJ and he had a radio show called ‘The Black Experience in Sound’ on CJSR in Edmonton, which is where I’m originally from. I grew up with rap around the house all the time, you know, so I was just always listening to it. It was something that I kind of picked up. I also had a friend in math class and he started writing some raps to me and I sort of ran back and passed notes, and that’s really how I started rapping. Fantastic. Back in those days, who were some of your early artist inspirations? Paroahe Monch, Aphex Twin, and even some others artists who weren’t rappers really influenced me back then. In terms of ‘Parallel World’ I absolutely love the record. How long did it take you to make and where did you spend most of your time writing it? It actually came to me quite quickly. I really have been going through the whole pandemic, and I started writing it in July of last year, and completed it around December and January. I wrote it here in Toronto and I recorded at a Greenhouse Studios and it came together quite quickly. When you were recording, how long were your sessions typically? Usually I would do a night session and record only in three hour blocks, usually between eight and 11 p.m., sometimes later. I usually will write up the songs at home and then I’ll come to the studio and be prepared and ready to record with my engineer. And then we’ll just be going back and forth until we have something that’s really solid. The record obviously tackles a variety of different social issues. Can you further describe the concept of this album and what sparked your interest in creating this project? Well, I was really inspired by the George Floyd protests, I think that was one of the things that really set me off working on this record. But it was really just the stuff that was resulting from the murder of George Floyd. When you’re seeing all these different institutions talking about systemic racism for the first time, all these businesses being like, ‘We stand with Black Lives Matter,’ I mean thing to really like, deconstruct why these businesses are doing that and seeing how some of these decisions are taken can take huge businesses weren’t able to handle, you know? The pressure of the pandemic is everything. They need to think about deconstructing our society in general, which is what this record really is about. It’s these thoughts and ideas I’ve had for a long time, especially as a black person just thinking about Institutional racism and micro-aggressions, but which they explain that, you know, they’ve always been on my mind. Seeing this perspective being shown back to me by the media really made me want to go harder on this subject. I have so much respect for that and I absolutely love the title as well. I think it’s a really good description of where we’re at as a society and as a world. Did you decide the title before or after writing the record? I came up with it afterwards and was thinking about the album. I didn’t have a title for it but the more I realized, basically, you have seen people walking down the street and living in the same city and having some of the same circumstances, but they might live their lives completely different, depending on their race. They can live in totally parallel worlds, right? That was like really the big idea that was the primary meaning around it. It was also the idea of being stuck in my house for so long, with lockdowns and everything and just thinking about how music has been this great escape for me and the idea of creating a parallel world for people to be in, you know, when we were all stuck in that place. Absolutely. In terms of creating the album, what are some key pieces of gear that you use to make the album? I used the microphone U87 Vintage (not AI.) In terms of the album art, the colour palette is gorgeous. Who shot and edited it? And where did the concept come from? So the cover is designed by Scott Pilgrim and yes, that was real name. He was the creative director for the album, and he is an old friend of mine. We originally were just doing a photoshoot and we were like, ‘Let’s create some press photos with experimental beers.’ So we were doing a lot of photos that were using screens that you could take photographing for a screen or we were using like mirrors in my work gear and stuff and photographing the mirror with me, reflecting it. So we were doing a lot of messing with perception and that was just one where it’s a motion thing rather than moving really quickly. And it was kind of just a happy accident. When I looked at it I was like, “That’s the cover.” I knew it would be the cover, you know, so that’s the thing. And it’s not treated at all, it’s just the regular photograph. It really was poignant because it is how I feel when I’m on my phone. It’s a visual representation of being on Twitter; this kind of overwhelming feeling of ‘Wow, I’m getting so much information, I can’t handle it,’ That’s what I felt like. What a cool story. Just looking at it right now, you wouldn’t think it’s just a photograph. It looks like it could also be a painting. The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) actually wrote about the album cover and you know, it felt great. I thought that was very rad, that they did that. That’s really, really cool. You obviously have a ton of different collaborations on the album. Could you tell me what your approach is to collaboration? And do you have any tips you can share on making that process as seamless as possible? Yeah, I mean, it was definitely challenging because it was all done remotely. I mean, with the pandemic, that was our only option at the time. But over the last few years, I got more into collaboration. I used to just make all of my music totally by myself. I would produce it alI by myself and it was very insular from probably my first three albums but, over the last two albums and particularly this one, I really got more into working with the outside producers and, you know, sharing ideas, whereas like they seem to be and then like I do with them over it, and then we change elements of the beat based on how I recorded or new ideas. When it comes to working with other artists and other vocalists it is definitely a lot of sending ideas back and forth. I know you just got back from touring. Being an artist from Toronto, what is your favorite venue to perform at in this city and why? I think my favorite place to play is The Garrison, and that’s where I played a couple of shows. They were all socially distanced and really seeded shows. I played two shows right before my tour and at the end of September. And there’s just something about that room where I feel really comfortable there. I feel like I have had so many good nights there, and there’s just something about it that feels like a classic venue, you know? That is probably my favourite place to play, but a place I really want to play in the future is Massey Hall. If my big dream right now is that I want to play, and be all like Neil Young or something and maybe record it, you know? That venue is stunning. It’s for sure one of my favourites in the city, and I’m so excited it’s reopening. Congratulations on winning the Polaris Music Prize! What does this mean for you in terms of what’s next? Well, I feel like it is very life changing for me. It definitely puts me in really great company. You know, all these artists like Arcade Fire and Kaytranada. And, you know, we don’t have the answer. Like Belkacem releases all these amazing artists, and now I’m like alongside them. So it feels really good. I feel like it’s really just going to help me translate my ideas for my next record in the next project that I want to have. I feel like this is going to make things a little bit easier because now I can come in there and be like, ‘Hey, let’s collab.’ I just want to play as grace, you know, playing it like I have a new calling card or something. Follow Cadence Weapon on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, or Apple Music. https://cadenceweapon.net/

By: John Mendoza Lawrence played the Danforth Music Hall on November 17th featuring support from Erez Zobary. Check out our photo gallery below featuring both bands. All photos taken by John Mendoza. Erez Zobary Lawrence

By: Gemma Mastroianni The Wavy podcast is back after a brief hiatus to wrap up season 2. With concerts finally back in action, I’ve got all the back to concert tips for you! In part one of the episode I discuss everything you need to know to have your best concert experience yet. In the second half of the episode I chat with Keys N Krates about their brand new album ‘Original Classic’ , being a pet owner during COVID, how to genre bend tastefully, and so much more. Listen to the podcast below or listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Anchor. You can stream ‘Original Classic’ here. Follow Keys N Krates.

By: Gemma Mastroianni It’s Spotify Wrapped season! Every December Spotify gives their users a reflective in-app experience that summarizes each listeners listening habits over the year showing their top music, artists, listening habits, and more recently podcasts, which had a much bigger emphasis last year as the platform evolves. It’s also a visually exciting experience making it a “shareable” one that tends to be a hot topic on socials. You either view it in one of two ways: one being the time of year where you can reflect on your most listened to songs and get excited to check out your friends libraries. Or, you dread seeing it on your timeline and probably re-share some sort of sarcastic meme about it on your channels. Where do I stand in all of this? I’m excited. If you’re not stoked and you’re reading this article, I’m here to tell you why you SHOULD be hyped about Spotify Wrapped and am hoping that maybe you can change your perspective. If you already love Spotify Wrapped, read along and get excited! A REPRESENTATION OF GROWTH Music is such a personal experience for all of us. Our taste in sound often changes with the seasons and our personal growth. Spotify Wrapped creates an introspective way of listening back at your year and seeing how music has been part of supporting all of your experiences. How have certain songs helped you through life’s challenges, or supplemented the most beautiful moments? Was there a particular artist or album who you had on repeat that touched you in some way and perhaps influenced your actions? Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your growth and see how far you have come over the past twelve months. REVISIT YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC Have you ever accidentally come across a song that you totally forgot existed, but then you actually remember every single word and then think back to yourself, “Wow, I’m so happy I rediscovered this!” Every year for Spotify Wrapped they include a ‘Your Top Songs’ playlist which has your top played songs throughout the year in one playlist. Just press play and let all of your favourite songs come back to you. REFLECT ON MEMORIES It’s amazing how music can tap into our associative memories and be tied to events, people, and some of the hardest and best times in our life. It’s been another chaotic year filled with ups and downs (especially in Ontario) but I know I’ve definitely still had some unforgettable positive experiences with friends. I’m looking forward to revisiting all of the songs that acted as the soundtrack to these fun times, and reminiscing away. CHECK OUT WHAT YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO I can’t be the only one who regularly creeps the Friend Activity bar on Spotify desktop, right? In all seriousness as someone who does love hearing what my friends are listening to, I truly love checking out what my friends top artists and songs were because of all the reasons listed above! Music represents something bigger in all of our lives whether we realize it or not, and Spotify Wrapped is a beautiful experience seeing everyones summaries and acts as an opportunity to discover new songs that I haven’t heard yet this year, or bond with those who had similar stats to mine. This year I’ve expanded my music taste and have been into a few different genres than I typically would be, and have also been listening to a couple of new podcasts. I think it’s going to be super eclectic for me and I’m getting pretty curious to see what the turn out will be! We will have the answers soon in the coming weeks. Until then, you can actually look back in your library and check out your top sounds from 2020 playlist. Check out mine here, and a preview below: If you’re a Spotify Wrapped grump, I hope this changed your perspective. If you get excited for this every year, I hope this post got you stoked!

By: Gemma Mastroianni I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ve been feeling an itch for change after mercury retrograde (if that is even real?) When you change up your lifestyle, it brings new challenges and excitement. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been feeling the need to shake up my schedule a bit and incorporate some new practices. Personally, I’ve decided to commit myself to start cooking a new recipe every week, and also learn how to DJ. I’ve been enjoying the adventure this has brought to me which inspired me to make a list of things you too can try to bring some refresh your life. Check out seven new things you can do to change up your lifestyle below: Try a new workout Try a new form of physical activity you have never done before but perhaps have always been curious about! Some ideas include yoga, basketball, HIIT, spin, Tai Chi, etc. If you don’t want to try these things out at a gym or fitness facility, head to Youtube and look it up – there will be videos you can follow! If you’re local to the GTA, check out Sweat and Tonic. This is my favourite gym that I’ve checked out so far in the city! The classes are both challenging and fun, and their facilities are sleek, modern, and bright. I highly recommend all of their classes but my favourite is definitely spin. The studio looks like a club- a music lovers dream. Learn how to play an instrument If you’re reading this blog, you’re likely a music fan or musician. Try out a new instrument! Head to your local music store and take out a rental, then follow Youtube tutorials. I was recently gifted a Pioneer DDJ-SB3 for my birthday as I’ve been wanting to learn how to DJ for about a year or so. It’s been the perfect fit for me as a music lover and I’ve really enjoyed learning the process thus far. If you are also interested in learning, this is a great turntable to start out with. Meditate every morning and/or night Meditation can change the entire course of how your day is going to go, or your perception on how it went. It’s a wonderful way to reset your mind, body, and spirit and something that I try to do as frequently as I can. If everyone meditated, I truly think the world would be a better place! Check out some meditations tips here. Thrift an outfit outside of your comfort zone We all love retail therapy but with that said, there is something so thrilling about trying clothes outside of your comfort zone. Head to your local thrift store with a budget and try to thrift a new outfit that you wouldn’t typically wear. Read a book I’d say this one is pretty self explanatory- we all know reading is good for us, but not enough of us do it. Find a book that you’ve always wanted to read, or perhaps one of a different topic you wouldn’t typically grab off of the shelf. Make a commitment to yourself to read for a bit every day and enjoy the new adventure. Brew kombucha Kombucha has a ton of benefits including antioxidants, settling the stomach, probiotics, and so much more. If you’ve never tried Kombucha my favourite brands are RISE, and Remedy Kombucha. Both have a great variety of flavours so start there and check them out, then if you love how it makes you feel you can brew your own. If you’ve been like me and drinking bottled for years, it’s probably time that we brew our own for once. Check out tutorials like these. Go to bed earlier Throughout this year I’ve been making it more of a habit to go to bed and wake up earlier. I love sleeping in but I have to say, wow- there is such a difference when changing this up. Getting up and ending the day earlier can really shift your schedule around and also allow you to have more time to yourself, and other tasks. Try moving your schedule around to allow this if you can!

By: Gemma Mastroianni Happy Vinyl Feature Friday! I love picking up indie vinyls because they feel like hidden gems to me. There is something just a little bit more special and intimate about them knowing you are supporting smaller, and having a physical piece of that. Additionally, they are great to whip out when having company over, and also even cooler to have if the artist blows up! Today I’m featuring Blue Material’s self titled debut mini album. The lo-fi alternative dance record released in April of 2019 is filled with eight vibey tracks that will take you on a vintage feel trip. The first track I discovered from Blue Material was “Cosmic Thunder” which is the sixth track on the record. I loved the lo-fi feel of it, vocal range, and consistent keys throughout it which all gave it a hint of funk to the overall dance feel. I fell so in love with the track which led me to the album, and exploring more of his work overall. Thom Gillies (Blue Material) is from Montreal and received attention on this record after forming his four piece band and releasing the record: Thom Gillies – piano, bass, guitars, vocals Pat Gregoire – electric guitar Liam O’Neil – drums Mike Bjella – saxaphone Recorded and produced with Pat Gregoire Following this success, he received attention which lead him to partner with indie label “Nice Guys” on a couple of new single releases which are available on all streaming platforms.

By: Tressa Mastroianni and Gemma Mastroianni We are officially a few weeks into fall – the coziest and spookiest season of the year. The air is crisp, the cider is flowing, the pumpkin spice lattes are everywhere, and the leaves are beginning to fall which means we all need a brand new playlist with songs to accompany this special time of year. Inspired by fall walks and stepping on crunchy leaves, my sister and I have put together a moody new playlist for you all featuring a variety of alt-rock/pop and shoe-gaze tracks that will get you into the mood. Check it out by clicking here, or take a sneak peek below: We hope you can enjoy this on a crisp fall walk, or perhaps sinking into your couch in cozy blanket sipping on your favourite local cider. Here are a few of my favourites all available at the LCBO: Pommies Thornbury Craft x The Tragically Hip – Road Apples Cider Brickworks Ciderhouse Premium Dry Craft Cider Spy Cider House Niagara Cider Company Did we miss a cider that should be on this list, or a track that should be on this playlist? Feel free to DM us on Instagram or email [email protected] Happy Fall!

By: Gemma Mastroianni All photos by Megan Moore Michelle Treacy is a psych-pop/rock artist located in Toronto,ON. Her newest EP, High Heels in the Moshpit, out now on Position Music dropped just a couple of weeks ago. Recorded in her closet, it’s the first she has truly felt herself with a new sound: Tame Impala meets Austin Powers. It’s a groovy record with some flawless production. With over 3M Spotify streams to date, her rise to stardom began with an impromptu duet with Lady Gaga during her ArtRave tour. A major label deal soon followed with a 16 week hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in Canada. Treacy then won the second season of CTV’s series The Launch, and released singles like “Armageddon” and “Emotional”. We are beyond stoked to have her as our September artist of the month. Check out my interview below: I’ve interviewed you a few times now and I’ve asked you, ‘when have you started playing music?’, and you always say right out of the womb, but obviously you didn’t. So, when did you really start singing and playing music? You think I’m lying, but I’m not. For real, out of the womb. The earliest video of me singing I was three and I was singing “Oops, I did it again” in my hallway. When I say I’ve been doing it my entire life, I meant it. Was I singing before that? Probably… I did every single talent show from grade one to grade 12, except for maybe one. All the coffee houses, any time I could perform, I was performing every singing competition, which I never won. It made me learn how to perform with a band and how to be on stage, so that’s why my favourite part of this all is being on stage because I just feel at home because it’s everything I know. My family used to help me make my costumes and glue stuff together for me, and my brother used to help me with my choreography, which is really funny when you think about it. I just literally played everything I possibly could. Professionally speaking, it was pretty much after Gaga. I got signed to a management agency when I was 16, and then I was just about to turn 18 in 16 days, and that’s when I sung with Gaga. I put out a song and then had some others with some labels in Canada, and then it took off from there. So the Gaga thing was definitely my biggest starting point. Then you were saying when you were younger, you did a lot of competitions but didn’t win, did you ever feel defeated from that? Oh my God, yes. I was sad every single time I was like, ‘What is wrong with me? Why Can’t I Win?” It’s really funny because now I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh, those little competitions didn’t mean anything!’ The people who were judging the competitions weren’t even qualified. It’s like some random person off the street that they hired to be there and judge these kids. It’s crazy. What encouraged you to keep going? Was it the support from your family and friends? It pissed me off, and I was like, let me show these people what they’re missing, ’cause clearly they’re not getting it and one day they’re gonna go, ‘Oops, I should have got it back then.’ I was always the outcast, I was a loser, I was bullied so badly in school, and I just wanted to prove everybody who didn’t believe in me wrong, and I wanted to be the last person laughing. That lit a fire in my ass because I thought I deserved better. I went and I worked my ass off and got what I wanted. You obviously have a lot of experience with labels from a young age. What is one piece of advice you could give to artists who might be in conversations with labels? Know who you are. Have your music and persona together already and go to a label only if you need to because sometimes you don’t need. Some people think that labels are gonna make them famous, but it’s not that at all. The good part about labels is that they can help you financially, and they have good connections to radio and such. But if you’re trying to get with a label because you want to be famous, it’s not going to work out for you like that. I know a lot of people who are like, ‘I just wanna be famous and get signed.’ It’s like, it’s a whole other ball game. Once you’re signed, the real work starts and you have to work ten times harder than you’re already working, and you also have to work on being seen in the label and being taken seriously because they could forget about your project and move on to the next great thing that’s happening that day. Obviously, your persona has changed a lot from when you first started. Tell me about that. When I first started out I was an angsty teen, so the darkness was where I lived. After lots of soul searching, removing bad people from my life and finding myself again, I just wanted to be this pretty lady thing, and it was ‘Time off from a Letdown’ which lead into this hippie era in a gentle way, I felt gentle and feminine. Now the EP is very happy. I think this is always who I was meant to be, and I feel like I am both part male and female in my brain, and a lot of my clothing choices stand out and are different and showcase both of those sides. I feel free, I don’t have anyone telling me what to wear, what to do, I’m just doing what I feel I am. And I feel like there’s a lot of room for that because of social media, and I see people that wear clothes like I do, and I feel good that there’s a community of this art, kind of fashionable art fashion. I think it’s so cool. What is cool about all of your personas though, is that they’re both rebellious in their own way. Visually, very different, but they’re still kind of both the same at heart because they are rebellious. What tips would you have for an artist trying to define their persona or to make their look pop? Make a Pinterest board. Figure out, what do you wanna look like? What do you wanna wear? What are your colours? What would you say? I wanted to be a hippie six years ago and it wasn’t cool, but I was still doing it, it was so hard to find bell bottoms, now you can find them everywhere. Everybody’s into the 70s! I would say just, if you have it in your heart that you want be this person or that person, just go with your gut. That’s the thing that people usually don’t do, nobody trusts their gut anymore, and I don’t understand why. My gut has never steered me wrong. So for this EP, tell me a bit about what it means to you. This is the first EP I’ve ever written where I have no agenda and no one to tell me what to do. I literally recorded it from my closet, and it’s the first time that I felt certain about who I am and where I’m going. It’s about feeling free and not caring what other people think, but I also wanted to inspire other artists to step out of their comfort zone and write some weird stuff. Is there a song on there that sticks out to you the most? “Love Every Minute”, it actually almost didn’t make the record. I remember a couple of weeks before we were wrapping it, I was trying to fight for the song. I got to say how I wanted the chorus to be produced which was really fun, and the whole writing process for every song was super different and super fun, and some songs were rewritten five times. ‘Hustler Baby’ was first titled ‘Sunshine baby.’ Lenny produced everything in LA, but then he sent it to Philly for these guys to re-record all the instrumentation to tracks. So it’s very authentic, 60s, 70s. I love it, I’m happy and I’m excited to do more in this space because I feel like no one’s really doing it like this right now, not that it matters, but I just feel like it’s where I belong. Who are a few artists you are drawing inspiration from right now? Instrumentally and visually? Semi-Precious Weapons, Austin Powers for visuals, Tame Impala, Janice Joplin and more. You often express a lot of excitement and gratitude about your experience recording from home. What are some tips you can give for recording music from your closet? Make sure you insulate it properly you can buy those foam pads for the walls for $20 on Amazon. Those are important. It gets really hot in there, so I get naked. Also when I first started recording from home, I literally could have just pulled everything out of the wall and thrown it out the window. I was so upset, it was so daunting and difficult and I just could not figure it out. I didn’t even know how to make sound come through Logic. A year and a half later now, everything is so easy. When you get fed up and you want to throw everything out, remember that I thought that too, and then I put a whole record out and it sounds great. So you just gotta keep going. Amazing, and do you have any final words about the EP or what you want people to take from it? I hope that everybody gets naked and listens to the EP on repeat. Follow Michelle on Instagram.

By: Dakota Arsenault with contributions from Gemma Mastroianni, John Mendoza, Stephanie Prior, and Amanda McMillan It’s that time of year again, the annual Polaris Music Prize is about to be bestowed to the best Canadian album of the year. Not familiar with the process? Allow us to explain: the award gets handed out to an album deemed best of the past twelve months regardless of genre or sales. Last year the in-person ceremony was cancelled and instead of the usual ceremony (featuring performances from nominees) a series of short films were filmed and screened for the at home audience. Typically at the end of the show, the grand jury reveals who they voted for. This year they are returning back to the live show (albeit with limited capacity) and it marks the first time in six years that I will not be attending (not counting last year obviously) as I have moved from Toronto to Vancouver. Getting to see the room shattering performance of Tanya Tagaq in 2014, the outpouring of love to the icon Buffy Sainte-Marie in 2015, the unbridled excitement of Kaytranda winning in 2016, the pissed off victory speech from Lido Pimienta in 2017 and others are currently a thing of the past for me now. Once again, I am running my own jury pool through The Soundtrack. I have assembled a small jury of my peers to listen to all ten of the nominated albums and then rank them all from how they would vote if they were actual Polaris jury members. I want to thank Gemma Mastroianni, Stephanie Prior, Amanda McMillan and John Mendoza for joining me. Without further ado, here is how our voting turned out after every jury member was asked to rank the albums 1-10. Check out our playlist featuring the top songs from all nominated artists HERE. 10. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Theory of Ice Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is much more than just a Polaris nominated singer. She is Mississauga Nishnaabeg and a member of Alderville First Nation and she is a writer and educator who focuses on anti-colonialism and protection of Indigenous homelands. Her music reflects the themes she studies, writes and teaches about too. Theory of Ice is her fourth album. This is Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s first nomination. “Leanne Betasamosake Simpson invites you to listen closely, very closely. She has a story to tell and won’t raise her voice or paint it in big red letters. But her power is in the intimacy she possesses. For those that dare to pay attention will be blown away by a powerful record of epic proportions and calling out all people who dare to hold back the rightful heirs of this land.” – Dakota Arsenault Top tracks: I Pity The Country, Break Up Total Points: 17 Number of times ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 6th Lowest Ranking:10th 9. The Weather Station – Ignorance The Weather Station is a project of singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, a Toronto born artist. Her roots and folk music have a quiet intensity with strong emphasis on her lyrical writing. Over the course of her career she has released five albums since 2009. The Weather Station was long listed in 2018 for The Weather Station and in 2015 for Loyalty. “Stunning vocals, intricate storytelling, and folklike instrumentals is a concise but accurate description of what you can expect from “Ignorance.” Singer Tamara Lindeman covers the intimacy and reality of what heartbreak truly feels like through soft and detailed instrumentation accompanied by her very personal lyricism.” – Gemma Mastroianni Top tracks: Parking Lot, Robber Total Points: 17 Number of times ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 4th Lowest Ranking: 10th 8. Cadence Weapon – Parallel World Cadence Weapon aka Roland Pemberton is no stranger to the Polaris game as he has been around since the beginning of the Prize’s history back in 2009, where he was a nominee for the inaugural award making him the elder statesman of the show. The rapper is deft with his ability to weave in social consciousness with the ability to make you laugh as well. Cadence Weapon was short listed in 2006 for Breaking Kayfabe and 2012 for Hope in Dirt City along with being long listed in 2009 for Afterparty Babies and in 2018 for Cadence Weapon. “An experimental and engaging LP with elements of hip-hop and electronica, influenced by the upside down world we are currently residing in. It features a variety of collaborations which adds a ton of flavour to this already exciting collection of tracks, including last year’s Polaris winner Backxwash.” – Gemma Mastroianni Top tracks: SENNA, ON ME Total Points: 20 Number of time ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 2nd Lowest Ranking:10th 7. Klô Pelgag – Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs Klô Pelgag is the stage name of Chloé Pelletier-Gagnon and despite the beautiful sounding music journey she takes us on, her lyrics are quite dark. Between reeling from the death of her father and coping with loneliness this French-language album has a lot of pain to it. This is Klô Pelgag’s first nomination. “In her third studio album, Klô Pelgag takes us through an atmospheric journey of whimsy, mystery and melancholy. “La maison jaune” is a stand out track, spinning a cinematic tale of wistful intensity.” – John Mendoza Top tracks: Mélamine, Umami Total Points: 22 Number of time ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 5th Lowest Ranking: 9th 6. TOBi – ELEMENTS Vol. 1 The Lagos, Nigerian born artist Oluwatobi Feyisara Ajibolade performs under the name TOBi, with his silky smooth voice and commanding presence. He has been featured on tracks by Ralph, Big Gigantic and The Game in his short career so far. TOBi seamlessly is able to sing about being a lover, his family and social issues facing the black community from one song to the next without ever losing steam. TOBi was longlisted in 2019 for STILL. “TOBi mixes jazz, r&b, soul and hip hop into his second album Elements Vol. 1, creating a smooth, easy listen. Packed full of smart, cheeky lyrics and flowing beats, Elements Vol. 1 brings to life the topics it tackles, from mental health, relationships and the power of music. There are also some great collabs that really round out the album making it a diverse listen that flows from track to track.” – Stephanie Prior Top tracks: Made Me Everything, Family Matters Total Points: 31 Number of time ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 2nd Lowest Ranking: 8th 5. Zoon – Bleached Wavves Zoon is the project of core member Daniel Monkman who is Anishinaabe hailing from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. He was born in Selkirk, Manitoba, but he moved around frequently before eventually landing in Hamilton, Ontario. Monkman struggled with drug and alcohol addiction before utilizing traditional Anishinaabe teachings to help him overcome his problems. Originally his project was called Zoongide’ewin, which means bravery and courage. This is Zoon’s first nomination. Shoegaze has typically been, like many genres, dominated by a sea of same (ie mostly white artists). With Bleached Waves, Hamilton-based Anishinaabe musician Zoon makes way for new voices, new creative inspiration, and a new name for the sound: “moccasin-gaze.” – Amanda McMillan Top tracks: Vibrant Colours, Bleached Waves Total Points: 31 Number of time ranked first: 1 (Gemma) Highest Ranking: 1st Lowest Ranking: 9th 4. Mustafa – When Smoke Rises Toronto’s Mustafa Ahmed may only be 25, but he is already far more accomplished than most people his age. Ahmed is a poet by trade and his writings have gotten him global attention. His writing often focuses on poverty and hardships experienced both in Africa and in Canada. Despite being someone who grew up in a rough neighbourhood with gang activity, Mustafa has risen above it all to spread his word. This is Mustafa’s first nomination. “Mustafa embraces his grief and vulnerability in this debut solo album. Deftly weaving gentle R&B verses with intimate folk music, this Regent Park born singer mourns the loss of his friends with this stunning project.” – John Mendoza Top tracks: Capo (feat. Sampha), What About Heaven Total Points: 32 Number of time ranked first: 0 Highest Ranking: 2nd Lowest Ranking: 6th 3. Dominique Fils-Aimé – Three Little Words Montreal’s Dominique Fils-Aimé is one the preeminent jazz vocalists of this generation. Her light touch and ability to make you lean in to get a closer listen make her special. The fact that she has one of the most gorgeous voices regardless of genre in music is just the icing on the cake. Dominique Fils-Aimé was nominated in 2019 for Stay Tuned!. “Three Little Words is a warm, lush, soulful album overflowing with emotion. Fils-Aimé’s vocals are pure and beautiful, taking centre stage amongst some great acapella work and grounding drums. This album manages to balance between old nostalgic genres without being too warm and fuzzy, by bringing in modern arrangements and contemporary lyrics. It’s a heartfelt listen that’ll leave you wanting more.” – Stephanie Prior Top tracks: While We Wait, Three Little Words Total Points: 32 Number of time ranked first: 1 (John) Highest Ranking: 1st Lowest Ranking: 10th 2. The OBGMs – The Ends Toronto’s OBGMs, which in case you were wondering stands for The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores, are making a lot of noise and it isn’t just on their album. They are daring to stand out in any way you could categorize them and by the time you have thought of one inspiration or genre, they have already moved on. This is The OBGMs first nomination. “The OBGMs bring a fresh approach to the rock and Afro-punk genre. Their in your face attitude and don’t give a fuck what you think mentality is all over this album. Densil McFarlane raps and screams across the tight ten track, twenty-three minute record while Cola Humphrey never lets you forget about his drumming prowess and Joe Brosnan blissfully straddles the line between crunchy fuzzed out riffs and soaring melodic moments.” – Dakota Arsenault Top tracks: All My Friends, Triggered Total Points: 36 Number of time ranked first: 2 (Dakota, Amanda) Highest Ranking: 1st Lowest Ranking: 8th 1. DijahSB – Head Above the Waters DijahSB is making huge waves in the Toronto rap scene. They are quick witted and no matter how heady their lyrics get, the beat remains steady with your head bobbing along. Dijah has been busy releasing three projects in the span of just under two years. They look like this is just the beginning of a very promising career. This is DijahSB’s first nomination. “Head Above The Waters is the perfect blend of smooth bouncing beats, witty wordplay and honesty. Covering topics like depression and burning out, this album is as relatable as it is soulful. Not to mention just what everyone needs right now. Dijah reminds us that no matter how hard life gets, keep your head above the waters, stay true to yourself and groove it out!” – Stephanie Prior Top tracks: Throw That Back, New Harrison Total Points: 37 Number of time ranked first: 1 (Stephanie) Highest Ranking: 1st Lowest Ranking: 8th Who do you think will win this year’s Polaris Music Prize? With so many great options, you can’t go wrong! Let us know what you think of our picks.

By: Amanda McMillan A lot has happened in the last 18 months. Many bands have been unable to weather the storm, isolated from each other as well as the creative magic that happens when you’re writing and playing music together. For some, it meant moving on. But for quietype, it’s provided a springboard for digging deeper, honing production skills, and finding new ways to express themselves. While the Toronto band has kept themselves busy releasing a downtempo cover of the 90s classic “What is Love,” and producing a theme song for critically acclaimed podcast Do You Know Mordecai?, they’ve also had to consider what was next as a band. Isolation is tough, a double edged sword that can both push you to your breaking point, and open up the opportunity for stronger intimacy. As they were navigating these things both on an individual and collective level, it became clear that making new music was a grounding force for them. Their newest single “Sideways,” encapsulates the complexity of this time, both brooding and celebratory. It’s an ode to the kind of closeness and intimacy that can only appear after spending countless hours together. Recording and produced over a weekend in Chatham-Kent, where lead singer Jon Plytas work as a firefighter, “Sideways” showcases and evolution in the band’s sound – refined, sophisticated and seamlessly weaving through different genres. A little bit Miguel, a little bit Maggie Rogers, “Sideways” is smooth and initicing while still maintaining the tension of longing. Mastered by Juno award winning producer Dajaun Martineau, “Sideways” is proof that quietype has what it takes to still make magic even in hard times. You can stream “Sideways” wherever you get your music, now.

This is the season finale of Crate Digging, we have on Wes Marskell from the Canadian synth pop duo The Darcys. We talk about how Wes probably was too young to be listening to Steely Dan, how he tripped and spilled his coffee all over the floor at Rotate This, selling test pressings of the band’s albums and working with artists such as Leah Fay, Ralph and Tafari Anthony. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Anchor, or below: Follow The Darcys on Twitter and Instagram. Listen to The Darcys podcast The Glory Days. Crate Digging is a Soundtrack production, produced by Dakota Arsenault and Gemma Mastroianni. Original music by Jared Burke and graphic design by Stephanie Prior. Visit The Soundtrack for more great content! Follow The Soundtrack on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

By: Amanda McMillan It’s been a busy year for pop-punk- a strange sentence perhaps for the year 2021. Earlier this month, TikTok sensation Oliva Rodrigo settled a copyright lawsuit with pop-punk royalty Paramore over her song “Good 4 U”, which fans quickly noticed sounded nearly identical to the latter’s breakout 2009 hit single “Misery Business.” In July of this year, Willow (as in, Willow Smith, Will Smith’s daughter) released “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” featuring legendary Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. Newcomers Meet Me @ The Altar also just dropped an EP on the record label Fuelled By Ramen, which sports iconic alumni like Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, and Jimmy Eat World just to name a few. Whether you like it or not, pop-punk is having a revival! Gen Z has been coming in hot with 2000s nostalgia, so it was only a matter of time before this happened. As we start to hear this familiar sound waft into the mainstream airwaves, it feels necessary to consider the cultural context in which it’s happening and the familiar thread that weaves through it. On the surface, the world in which teenagers exist today is vastly different from that of the 2000s (i.e technology, beauty standards, social media.) However, the world as we knew it between 1999-2009 set the stage for what today’s teenagers would feel and experience. The shattering of innocence for millennials never really healed for the next generation, who have only known the world in a climate crisis, war, and conflict. Between social media and the 24-hour news cycle, Gen Z never had much of a chance at blissful childhood naivety. It only makes sense that they would search for some sense of understanding, uncovering sounds from just before their time that would feel strangely nostalgic in a way that sounds from the 90s felt for Millennials. Through their eyes, looking back at a time that seemed simpler, quieter, and focus must be, to some extent, soothing; prove that it wasn’t always like this. It’s easy to wax poetic about everything the early-to-mid aughts was: a time just before social media when texting costed money, and not everyone had high-speed internet; when you had phone numbers memorized, and BlackBerry was a cutting edge technology. We still listened to the radio, and MuchMusic was still on TV (shout out to The Wedge!). We burned CDs! We had MySpace! The Internet serving as a source of endless information had only just begun to penetrate the mainstream consciousness. This is the era that “Google” became a verb. This was a period of significant cultural shift, and it was an era of an incredible amount of angst. For millennials, we went from mourning the break-up of the Spice Girls to watching the Twin Towers fall on live TV. There was plenty to be afraid of, a lot to be confused about, and an abundance of information to try to understand simultaneously. All while navigating what it is to be a teenager – a lot of longing, irritability, and, for many of us, sighing. We were being inundated with catchy hooks from pop stars and hip-hop lyrics about being rich, but so many of us felt empty and alone. We were searching for something true to what we felt, something that wasn’t distracting, but confrontational. This set the stage for pop punk to explode as a genre. Pop-punk is noisy, double kick drums, power chords, whiny vocals, and lyrics about whatever heartbreak is when you’re 18 years old. It travels a spectrum from white-hot rage to the smell of your crush’s sweatshirt as you sit next to them on the bus. Pop-punk is more than the sum of its parts; it’s the way it felt to come of age during a very specific decade span. It is the sound of feeling things that you don’t yet have words for, the sound of trying to understand complexity…it’s the sound of outgrowing your childhood. As the saying goes, if you know you know. If you don’t or maybe you don’t remember, I encourage you to stop reading this right now and listen to the chorus of 2002’s “I Feel So” by Box Car Racer (side note: Box Car Racer was a side project of Blink 182 feat. Tom Delonge and Travis Barker, which feels important to mention). Sure, it’s pretty f****** on the nose, but that’s exactly the point. At the time, top 40 music was constantly dancing around what it was trying to say, through innuendo and clever attempts at outsmarting the FCC. Pop-punk, much like punk and old school hip-hop before it, was about making music that expressed exactly how you felt, without mincing words or making it fluffy and sellable. Ironically, because so many kids wanted this sound it, in turn, became extremely popular and, thus, sellable. But, that’s a digression. Pop-punk was bigger than any single, album, or band. It was one of the few ways an entire generation knew how to express itself; one of the few ways we felt seen both as individuals and the collective. Plus, our parents hated it. However, it wasn’t without its flaws. The pop-punk landscape was, like most music, focussed on the experience of white dudes. Of course, there were exceptions, but for the most part, every pop-punk band looked the same: white, male, late teens or early twenties, small t-shirts, baggy jeans, skate shoes, some chains, plugs in both ears, tattoos, and genre-defining hair. We cannot overlook the hair. As it turns out, this is very much part of the appeal of these bands, because (with the intention of sounding cis-heteronormative to prove the point) guys wanted to be them and girls wanted them to be with them. But, more than that, regardless of gender or sexuality, hoards of teenagers knew there were other people out there who felt like they did. It wasn’t that we were looking to be disciples of the new rock gods – we kind of rejected the idea of the stadium rock star at the time – it was that these bands, and this music, made us feel less alone. If there was anything aspirational about it, it was being able to express ourselves as clearly and plainly as we could. Here we were, another generation of latchkey kids, thrust into the 24-hr news cycle of an unwinnable war, sucked into the intoxicating allure of the Internet that culminated in a growing sense of unease about the future. All of that, then, was exacerbated by Columbine and SARS and Weapons of Mass Destruction. So yes, we were angry, we were scared, and we wanted something that felt tangibly ours. That doesn’t mean we weren’t looking to have a good time; the human experience is full of contradictions. We still wanted to party, and laugh, and have crushes. After all, how can we forget the joy that was MTV Reality TV featuring hits like The Osbournes, Jackass, and Punk’d. We were receiving our cultural cues from f****** Ashton Kutcher, and Bam Margera and Steve-O. Ultimately, what it meant to be a teenager in the aughts was about consuming super toxic sludge 24/7. Women had to be dangerously thin, and white, and naked. Men had to either be smouldering hotties on the cover of Seventeen magazine or they had to get physically injured for a living. As a result, there was a huge group of kids who felt like outsiders, all the time. Kids who felt they were too nerdy, or too weird, or too fat, or too smart, or too emotional, or too ugly, or too awkward. Enter this entire genre and subsequent sub-genres of music that was for us, the way that grunge was for the outsiders in the 90s, punk & hip hop for the outsiders in the 80s, glam rock for the outsiders in the 70s and so forth. When we look at it in this way, it’s clear that pop punk was the defining genre of counterculture in the aughts. So, what brings this sound back to life? First off, the new bands are certainly breaking the mould. The Gen Z mindset of openness and diversity means that we’re hearing voices of women, queer folks, BIPOC folks, and a new point of view on what it means to be a teenager / young adult right now. This desire to challenge the status quo is present in nearly every new generation, but there’s something about the way Gen Z is doing it that is simply different. This is a generation that has an intrinsically critical approach to just about everything, not unlike Millennials in the early aughts. However, Gen Z criticism is innovative at its best and jaded at its worst. While the latter is where both generations collide, Millennials are jaded as a result of an unfulfilled hopefulness, and Gen Z seems to find it a raison d’être. In both cases, this deep-seated angst fuels the fire of creativity, and the desperate desire to be heard and understood. Somehow, we both gravitated to a sound that simultaneously acts as a salve and a scab to pick at. Pop-punk lives in between that moment of savouring the tension, and needing to release it. It’s all gut-chest-throat and the paradoxical pleasure of collision. It begs you to scream when you sing because everyone and everything else is telling you to keep in it. Pop-punk will forever sound like what it is to be a teenager – a cocktail of high-intensity emotions, growing pains, and a simultaneous desire to both grow up and stay young forever. Millennials continue to gravitate toward it as a means of resisting the incessant friction that is adulthood, while Gen Z is only just beginning to scratch at the itch that is growing up. So we find ourselves here, now, meeting somewhere in the middle, still hoping that everything will be just fine and that everything, everything will be alright. If you’re ready to explore all that the Pop Punk revival has to offer, check out this playlist!