2011 Juno Awards Nominations

Live presenters of the 2011 JUNO Awards nominees press conference pose for a group photo (L-R): Tanya Kim (ETALK), Ed Robinson (CARAS), Susanne Boyce (CTV Inc.), Melanie Berry (CARAS/The JUNO Awards), Johnny Reid, Keshia Chante; Bottom Row, members of Karkwa and Broken Social Scene

The 2011 Juno Awards nominations were released Tuesday morning and include many of earbuds & ticket stubs favourites including Hannah Georgas for best new artist and songwriter of the year; Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene going head to head for group of the year and alternative album of the year; Karkwa and Radio Radio duking it out for Francophone album of the year; Shad is up for rap/hip-hop album of the year, against Drake, and many, many more. Other notable nominees include Basia Bulat, Chromeo, Caribou, Hollerado, Said the Whale, Royal Wood, Luke Doucet, D-Sisive... The entire list of nominees can be found here.

The live broadcast will be happening Sunday, March 27. Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene will perform live, amongst others. Drake hosts.

10 Hottest Canadian Acts of '10

This is a list of the artists that topped my list for 2010, which of course required too much trimming and more than a bit of twitter participation. Compiled for i(heart)music's annual Top 100 list, which should be released within the next week. The list is in descending order.

Who were your top 10 in '10?

10. K’naan - The only reason K’naan is not number 1 on this list is because his album was released in Canada in early 2009, where it’s already had its run. But with “Wavin’ Flag” as the official Coca-Cola anthem of the World Cup, as well as getting major airplay during the 2010 Olympics, it’s hard to deny the influence and massive growth this Somali-Canadian emcee has had on the international market this past year.

9. Hannah Georgas - After being declared best new artist for the CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards in 2009, Georgas has only built on that buzz by releasing an excellent debut full-length This Is Good, touring cross-Canada numerously and representing BC for the latest CBC Radio 2 SongQuest. Not to mention she’s been heralded as the new Feist.

8. Hollerado - I mean, you’ve seen this video, right? These four childhood friends also put on one of my favourite festival shows of this past year.

7. Black Mountain - If you don’t think the Vancouver psych stoner rock outfit deserves to be on this list, you probably haven’t heard their latest Wilderness Heart yet. Amber Webber’s warble deserves to be on this list by itself.

6. Broken Social Scene - A hotly anticipated album, a movie, international tour dates, and a slimmer but no less potent line-up all happened during 2010. Broken Social Scene is an institution in Canadian music and is far from running out of steam.

5. Dan Mangan - Vancouver’s own bearded bard has done a great (dis)service in the eyes of humankind by getting (sold out) audiences across Canada to pre-emptively declare allegiance to our robot overlords.

4. The Wooden Sky - The winner of North by East West’s Shadow Polaris Prize for 2010, Wooden Sky’s latest sleepy and haunting release If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone. truly epitomizes the power of the album format. I’m still kicking myself for having missed their latest cross-Canada tour with Yukon Blonde.

3. Diamond Rings - I’m smitten with John O.’s solo project, who has met raving critical acclaim way before he’s released his debut album Special Affections. This is what I wrote a little while back about Diamond Rings: “his persona, which is captured in its nascent stages in the ‘All Yr Songs’ video, is one of unabashed and colourfully exuberant androgyny. In a culture where androgyny is often portrayed as sex-less and dominated by masculine females, the lanky O'Regan dances confidently with both the guys and gals, looking every bit as comfortable in a basketball jersey or a pair of zebra print tights. The ‘Baby One More Time’-esque dance moves in ‘Show Me Your Stuff’ warrants viewing in contemporary gender studies classes for its unashamed celebration of the kinetic male body.” In a word, wow.

2. Shad - The Vancouver-based rapper hailing originally from London, Ontario drops insightful and spiritual tracks delivered with a sharp tongue and mischievous glint to his eye. Shad has recently been named Canada’s best rapper by the National Post. Whether you agree with that designation or not, Shad has had an undeniably successful year, seeing his third album TSOL short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize and touring with fellow heavyweights K’naan and K-Os.

1. Arcade Fire - 2010 was the year of the Montreal octet. Whenever they went out to the corner store to buy a jug of milk, it became top news on Pitchfork. With the release of their third highly anticipated full-length, The Suburbs, AF has officially secured their title as the biggest indie band in the world, including sold out arena shows across North America and having their show at Madison Square Garden broadcasted live via YouTube.

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Not a part of the list, although they were definitely hot for this past year, is my vote for Unluckiest Canadian Act of 2010 - Library Voices.

Broken Social Scene announces re-issue of K.C. Accidental recordings

Before there was Broken Social Scene, there was K.C. Accidental. The lo-fi bedroom recordings of BSS’s founder/vocalist/guitarist Kevin Drew and multi-instrumentalist/studio mastermind Charles Spearin, K.C. Accidental – a mostly post-rock instrumental project –laid the foundation for the Toronto collective’s sprawling expanse in the form of two self-released albums made at the end of the 90s: Captured Anthems For An Empty Bathtub and Anthems For The Could’ve Bin Pills.

Because they were self-released, traded amongst friends and hidden in the pockets of Toronto’s independent record stores, these two albums have been out of print for five years and have never been available outside of Canada. This fall, Arts & Crafts will be reissuing these seminal recordings in one package on October 26th in 2-LP, 2-CD and digital formats. Fan club members can pre-order the album right now and on Oct 26th you will also receive a bonus unreleased digital track.

Track Listing:
captured anthems for an empty bathtub // anthems for the could've bin pills

1. nancy and the girdle boy
2. something for chicago
3. anorexic he-man
4. save the last breath for me
5. kev's message for charlie
6. tired hands
7. instrumental died in the bathtub and took the daydreams with it
8. residential love song
9. silverfish eyelashes
10. ruined in 84
11. them (pop song #3333)
12. is and of the

NEW VIDEO : Broken Social Scene - "All to All"

Possibly my favourite track from Toronto's Broken Social Scene's latest, Forgiveness Rock Record. Film company Strike Anywhere Films made this video a couple of months back as a spoof, according to Pitchfork, but the band liked it so much they adopted it as the official music video.

Enjoy!

The Big Time Out Festival in Cumberland, BC to feature major star power

Two heavy-weight acts are landing in Cumberland on August 14 and 15. K’naan and Broken Social Scene are this year’s headliners at The Big Time Out.

Toronto's Broken Social Scene are making Cumberland their only Canadian stop this summer before heading on tour in the US.

Like BSS, Somali-Canadian hip hop artist and poet K’naan has earned a pair of Juno awards and drawn glowing reviews for both his music and his message. With his "Waving Flag" as FIFA’s anthem for the South Africa World Cup, he traveled on an 86-country world tour alongside the biggest sporting event of the world.

For a village of only 2000 people mid-way up an out-of-the-way island, Cumberland’s The Big Time Out draws some serious star power. “We’ve worked hard to create a really special place for artists and music lovers,” says Vig Schulman, the show’s producer. “The word has gotten out among artists, agents and the whole music community that Cumberland is a great place to play, even worth making a big detour from a busy world tour.“


K’naan and Broken Social Scene will be joined by Winter Gloves, Hannah Georgas, Ohbjou, The Acorn and more on August 14 and 15 in Cumberland Village Park. Weekend passes can be purchased at thebigtimeout.com.

NEWS BITES : Hey Rosetta! and BSS tour dates, Arcade Fire streams show, and much more!

St. John's six piece Hey Rosetta! have announced tour dates that take them from their hometown, to China, to a cross North American tour. The last time they were in Vancouver, they were opening for Stars, and the audience actually booed when an encore wasn't granted. Needless to say, Tim Baker and crew are a band that you need to catch live.

Tour dates:

8/6 St. John's, NL - Bannerman Park (Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival)
8/11 Shanghai, China - Canada Pavilion (World Expo)
8/12 Shanghai, China - Canada Pavilion (World Expo)
8/13 Shanghai, China - Canada Pavilion (World Expo)
8/17 Los Angeles, CA - Hotel Cafe
8/19 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
8/20 Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones
8/21 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
8/22 Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock Hotel
8/23 Scottsdale, AZ - Martini Ranch
8/24 Tucson, AZ - The Rock
8/26 Dallas, TX - The Loft
8/27 Austin, TX - Emo's
8/31 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
9/1 Nashville, TN - The Mercy Lounge
9/3 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
9/4 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
9/5 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
9/7 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
9/8 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
9/10 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
9/11 Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot
9/12 Columbus, OH - The Basement
9/13 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Club
9/14 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
9/15 Minneapolis, MN - Seventh Street Entry
9/17 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
9/18 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
9/20 Spokane, WA - The Empyrean
9/21 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
9/22 Portland, OR - Someday Lounge
9/24 Vancouver, BC - The Commodore
9/25 Victoria, BC - Rifflandia
9/27 Kelowna, BC - The Habitat
9/29 Calgary, AB - Republik
10/2 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret
10/4 North Bay, ON - The Wall at Nippissing University
10/6 Hamilton, ON - The Studio at Hamilton Place
10/7 London, ON - Norma Jean's
10/10 Ottawa, ON - Capital Music Hall
10/15 Quebec City, QC - Dagobert
10/16 Montreal, QC - The Belmont

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Head over to MuchMusic to watch Tegan and Sara's latest music video for "On Directing." The track is from their latest Polaris short-listed album Sainthood.

[Edit] It's heeere:



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Toronto's Broken Social Scene has announced 3 additional dates on their Canadian tour. Fan club members can purchase the tickets right now, ahead of the crowd.
December 16 - Ottawa - Bronson Centre
December 18 - Montreal - Metropolis
December 19 - Quebec City - Imperial Theatre
For the rest of the dates, visit their website.

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Arcade Fire will be playing New York City's Madison Square Garden on August 5. The show will be streamed via Youtube and will be directed by Terry Gilliam. For more details, check out this article.

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The Vancouver CBC Broadcast Centre has been hosting a series of what they call the Musical Nooners, where they invite musicians to play outside on the CBC plaza for free at noon, every weekday. I've been able to catch The Malahat Revue, We Are the City and just today, Headwater. Below are some upcoming confirmed artists. For the full list, which will be updated constantly, check out the CBC community blog.

July 27 - Ache Brasil
July 28 - Jon and Roy
July 29 - Kuba Oms
July 30 - Los Paperboys

August 3 - Krystle Dos Santos
August 4 - Mani Khaira
August 5 - Greg Sczebel
August 6 - Eric Lenger et C'est extra Vancouver

August 11 - James Lamb
August 12 - Current Swell
August 13 - Marc Fournier and Hiro Takashiba

August 16 - Kim Churchill
August 17 - Bodhi Jones
August 18 - Andrew Allen

August 25 - Joanna Chapman Smith

NEW VIDEO : Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love"

Below is the video for the second single off Toronto's Broken Social Scene's latest album Forgiveness Rock Record. The album is short listed for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.

Short synopsis of video: BSS's sound, larger than life, destroys museum. Thanks to AUXTV for the video.

NEW VIDEO : Broken Social Scene - "Meet Me In The Basement"

Toronto-based Broken Social Scene has released a video highlighting the myriad of global issues and conundrums that are wrapped up in a meeting such as the G20 in Toronto, including objectification of men and women, right to protest and assembly, poverty, weapons proliferation, responsible governance and the culture of oil. With so many questions unanswered and packed up in just under 4 minutes, it's an apt portrayal of the overwhelming barrage of things our generation faces, and the reason why so many disparate groups were present in civil protests in Toronto during the weekend of the G20.

Polaris Prize short list

The Polaris Prize 2010 shortlist:

The Besnard Lakes (The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night)
Broken Social Scene (Forgiveness Rock)
Caribou (Swim)
Karkwa (Les Chemins De Verre)
Dan Mangan (Nice, Nice, Very Nice)
Owen Pallett (Heartland)
Radio Radio (Belmundo Regal)
The Sadies (Darker Circles)
Shad (TSOL)
Tegan & Sara (Sainthood)


I'm FIRMLY in the Shad camp. A big congratulations to all nominees!

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Some Short List facts:
Two artists have won Polaris previously:

Owen Pallet (Final Fantasy) - He Poos Clouds in 2006.
Caribou - Andorra in 2008.
Five artists have made the Short List previously. They are:

The Besnard Lakes (2007)
Broken Social Scene (2006)
Caribou (2008)
Owen Pallett (2006)
Shad (2008)
Five have not. They are:

Karkwa
Dan Mangan
Radio Radio
The Sadies
Tegan And Sara

Two artists, Karkwa and Radio Radio, sing or rap in French.

One, Radio Radio, is Acadian.

A jury of 198 music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers from across Canada submitted their top five picks for best Canadian album released between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010. These picks were narrowed down to a Long List of 40 which was made public June 17, 2010. A Grand Jury of 11 members will be specially selected to convene and determine this year’s winner on location at the Polaris gala.

The gala is Monday, September 20th. It will be exclusively broadcast live to North America on SIRIUS Satellite Radio 86 and to the world on CBC Radio 3. The event will be at at CTV’s Concert Hall studios at Toronto’s Masonic Temple and will feature live performances by this year’s Short List nominees. It will be webcast live on MuchMusic.com and broadcast on MuchMusic, Saturday, Sept. 25th at 9 p.m. and midnight ET.

NEW VIDEO : Shad - "Rose Garden"

The video for "Rose Garden," the second track and second video off of Vancouver-based Shad's latest album. This track features Lisa Lobsinger of Broken Social Scene (total girl crush!).

TSOL is a fantastic album, by the way, and I'm definitely hoping to see it on the Polaris list this year. Make sure you catch him touring with Grand Analog and D-Sisive over the next month.



TSOL tour
6/02 whistler - garfinkel's
6/03 vancouver, bc - biltmore
6/04 victoria, bc - sugar
6/05 kelowna, bc - habitat
6/06 calgary, ab - republik
6/07 edmonton, ab - brixx
6/08 regina, sk - exchange
6/12 toronto, on - opera house
6/15 hamilton, on - casbah
6/16 peterborough, on - red dog
6/17 london, on - call the office
6/18 london, on - call the office

Summer Festivals
6/25 montreal - jazz festival
6/27 st. catharines - s.c.e.n.e.
7/01 ottawa - jazz festival
7/25 guelph - hillside festival
8/07 wolfe island - music fest

TRAILER : This Movie Is Broken

Featuring music and fan clips from Broken Social Scene's 2009 free Harbourfront Centre show in Toronto.
In theatres June 25, 2010. Keep an eye out for the movie's website, which is still in the works.

From the film synopsis:

Unbelievable! Bruno (Greg Calderone) wakes up in bed next to Caroline (Georgina Reilly), his long time crush. But tomorrow she's off for school in France, and maybe she only granted this miracle as a parting gift for her long time friend. So tonight -- tonight is Bruno's last chance. And tonight, as it happens, Broken Social Scene, her favourite band, is throwing a big outdoor bash. Maybe if Bruno, with the help of his best pal Blake (Kerr Hewitt), can score tickets and give Caroline a night to remember, he can keep this miracle alive. Directed by Bruce McDonald and featuring Broken Social Scene.

Polaris Music Prize 2010 - announcements and guesses!

Here are the details on this year's Polaris Music Prize:

The Long List of 40 titles will be announced June 17th. The Short List of 10 nominees will be announced on July 6th.

Both lists will be revealed live at events to be held at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.

The winner will be revealed Monday, September 20th at the Polaris gala and exclusively broadcast live to North America on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 86 and to the world on CBC Radio 3.

The event will be at at CTV’s Concert Hall studios at Toronto’s Masonic Temple and will feature live performances by this year’s short list nominees. It will be broadcast on MuchMusic, Saturday, Sept. 25th at 9 p.m. and midnight ET.

The Long List and Short List are determined by an independent jury of over 200 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury. The grand jury will convene the night of the 20th during the gala to select the 2010 Polaris Music Prize winner.

The Polaris Music Prize awards $20,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. It is judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales. Past winners have been Final Fantasy [now known as Owen Pallett] for He Poos Clouds (2006), Patrick Watson for Close To Paradise (2007), Caribou for Andorra (2008) and Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life last year.

The eligibility period for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010.

And now, here are my picks for this year's long and short lists. After my last year's picks ended up being quite accurate considering the newness of my in-depth music exploration, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring to make predictions again after a year's worth of increased understanding of the Canadian music scene!
[Ed. Disagree? Want to change my mind? You can always email me and make your case. brendahlee [at] gmail.com]

Likely short-listers:

Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat
Collett's latest showcases the story telling quality in his songs, the tight compositions, the near-flawless pop anthems he crafts about love and love lost ("Love Is A Chain," "Love Is A Dirty Word") and his sexy drawl of a voice. Although with a unabashed 70's influence, the album never feels like a derivative of times past but a morphing of the best of those elements to capture a contemporary audience.

Zeus' debut album brings to full light what those of us who had their EP and had seen their live shows have known for months, that these guys are phenomenal. There's not a single weak track on the album, and the talent is evenly distributed between the 4 members, with 3 songwriters and vocalists with distinct styles. The album flows from one track to another, from feel-good sing-alongs to fuzzed out guitar rock, with a unity which you rarely encounter in a debut album. Their cohesion and energy as a live band, as well as their skill in harnessing that bubbling, youthful creativity also swing the vote in their favour.

For all the close ties that the two bands have to one another, with members of Zeus being the backing band of Collett, I loved both of their albums for distinct reasons. However, I realistically don't think BOTH of them will be short-listed, simply because of that connection named above. And I can't imagine either of them winning, because their sounds are too nostalgic for an award that tends to reward innovation.

You Say Party! We Say Die! - XXXX
My favourite album from 2009 that's not already been nominated for a Polaris. I gave it a glowing review upon first listen and it's only grown on me over time. Their sound is polished, the raw animal that they are on stage purrs through the album and occasionally lets out a snarl. Producer Howard Redekopp deserves a lot of credit for being able to capture the energy of the album. And what is that energy? It's not only physical, but emotional and spiritual, as evidenced by a band who had undergone "Dark Days" and redeemed them for something greater. Which makes the recent death of drummer Devon Clifford all the more devastating. All in all, a mature, confident album that snuck up on me and turned me into a rabid fan.

Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record.
I've listened through it countless times since receiving it just under a week ago in my email inbox; it has literally been on repeat, on the stereo in the shower, in my iPod during my commutes, and on iTunes when working on my laptop. Some of the songs are immediately intimate, and some are immediately catchy. Knowing the complexity of BSS' compositions, I can only expect them to unfold further over time. Members new (Lisa Lobsinger) and old (Emily Haines) shone on their respective songs "All to All" and "Sentimental X's." Call it the debut of BSS v.2, the pared down, leaner and meaner Toronto indie machine. Only time will tell if it'll reach the revered status of You Forgot It in People, but I would tentatively say yes. Some people believe that the extreme expectations from being the band that released one of the greatest albums in Canadian indie will hurt the perception of the latest album, but I haven't yet seen that backlash. Probably because the album is incredible.


Likely long-listers:

Rose Cousins - The Send Off
Cousins' latest is haunting yet soothing. An album that grabs you by the heartstrings. Rose Cousins' voice is like a pristine lake. Second half of album falters somewhat in energy and intensity...

Amy Millan - Masters of the Burial
Smoky, dark, lustful... the mood is right. The voice is heavenly. Being part of Stars helps, but there are many artists doing similar things.

Aidan Knight - Versicolour
There's the suggestion of greatness in Knight's debut LP, which is about the length of an EP. Hints of Broken Social Scene can be heard in opening and stand-out track "The Sun," which has the O'Darling on subtle group harmonies in the background. However, Not all tracks are equally strong, and it doesn't take too many weak songs to sink an 8 track album (pretty much just 7 as "Sorrows" is more of an intro).


Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice
I woke up in the middle of the night with a fit of shakes for forgetting the bearded bard of Vancouver. A comment from Kirk also helped. His latest is strong, propelled by the cohesiveness of his band, the earthy growl of his voice and his immense touring and consequent popularity across Canada. However, I can't overlook the relative weakness of his album compared to his live show, which has not harnessed the explosive strength that I mentioned above adequately. But, he has a great chance of making it onto even the short list.


Hannah Georgas - This Is Good
There's a lot of positive buzz surrounding Georgas prior to the release of her debut, with prominent ad placements and heavy touring. Her album is surprising in its variety, easily accessible and relatable, but perhaps too much so to be seriously considered by the jurors.

We Are the City - In A Quiet World
This (very) young prog/rock/pop group's debut (a lot of debut albums on my list...) is very cohesive, flows naturally, shows lyrical depth beyond their years and intelligent composition. Their live show demonstrates the chemistry of the band and how in sync they are with one another's musical tendencies. However, I doubt WATC is well known beyond BC, lessening the chance of them garnering enough votes to get on the long-list, which is a shame.

The Balconies - S/T
Imagine U2's sound in their early days, with the bright sparkling guitar riffs but more polished and skilled. Funny thing is, this trio has the reverse handicap of not being known very well outside central Canada. I doubt that's as devastating as not being known within central Canada, but I suppose we'll see.


Bahamas - Pink Strat
His solo debut apart from supporting artists such as Feist and Jason Collett shows that it's possible to serenade and seduce an audience with solely his guitar prowess. His live shows demonstrate that he's got amazing stagemanship to boot. Is that enough to get him on the long-list?


Thrush Hermit box set
... hey, Leonard Cohen did it ;)


Likely short- and long-listers that I can't vouch for:
These are all albums that either have received great critical reception although I may not have had the opportunity to purchase/review it, or are hotly anticipated releases from previously Polaris nominated artists.

Basia Bulat - Heart of My Own
Caribou - Swim
Owen Pallett - Heartland
New Pornographers - Together
Woodpigeon - Die Stadt Muzikanten
Holy Fuck - Latin (May 11)
Wintersleep - New Inheritors (May 18)
Shad - TSOL (May 25)

Who are YOUR picks for Polaris, short- or long- list? Who did I miss?

For those of us who missed it... Broken Social Scene on Letterman - "Forced to Love"

Broken Social Scene perform "Forced to Love" off of their upcoming album Forgiveness Rock Record, due out May 4, 2010. You can also pre-order it now from Gallery AC.

Broken Social Scene announce companion EP : Lo-Fi for the Dividing Nights

From Broken Social Scene:

Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights was written during the recording of Forgiveness Rock Record in Chicago. During downtime band members would head into Soma's second smaller studio to test out new ideas and overdubs while John McEntire worked in the main room. Here they created lovely little soundscapes, one of which ended up being the closing song on Forgiveness Rock Record, ‘Me & My Hand’, and the rest became the beginnings of Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights.

A digital download of Lo-Fi will be included free for all pre-orders of Forgiveness Rock Record purchased before May 4th. A unique PIN code will be sent to all pre-order customers on May 3rd to download the digital EP one day early.

Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights is exclusively available as a digital download with pre-order of Forgiveness Rock Record at GalleryAC, or with purchase of the CD / vinyl at participating HMV and independent record stores (Canada) and selected CIMS / AIMS independent record stores (USA).

Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights
Tracklisting

1 - New Instructions
2 - Sudden Foot Loss
3 - Shabba Lights
4 - Song For Dee
5 - Eling's Haus
6 - Professor Sambo
7 - Never Felt Alive
8 - Paperweight Room
9 - Turbo Mouse
10- Far Out

"I know that some bands write their songs, rehearse them and then record them. Not Broken Social Scene. In recording Forgiveness Rock Record we did it our usual way: swimming in chaos and making it up as we go along. We started by loosely sketching out 30 songs in my garage, driving to Chicago, recording 20 of those, and then writing 20 more. The point was to never stop working. Whenever we got exhausted or overwhelmed we would take a breath, pick up our instruments and jam purely ‘for spirit purposes’. It was musical-therapy of sorts. Part of what kept the ideas flowing was Soma’s smaller, second studio where we could test out new ideas and experiment with overdubs. While John worked in the main room, this B-Room quickly became our musical kitchen where we cooked up soups of sound without the pressures time and money.

One evening, as a kind of exercise in spontaneity, Kevin, Brendan and I each took turns writing and recording minute-long “songs” with minimal overdubs just to see what would happen. We kept saying to John “we’re making you an EP!” It was a sort of first-thought-best-thought approach to music making. Within a few hours we had six lovely little soundscapes, one of which ended up being the closing song on Forgiveness Rock Record, ‘Me & My Hand’, and the rest became the beginnings of Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights.

As we continued to work on Forgiveness the B-room became more and more important as both a musical and social outlet - there are a lot of us in Broken Social Scene and it’s hard for us to sit on our hands – so naturally Ohad, Sam and Sebastian each recorded a song in the same spontaneous way. ‘Song For Dee’, the only traditional “song” on Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights, Brendan, Kevin and I recorded when we found out that our good friend Wayne’s dog died and we wanted to cheer him up.

All of the songs on Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights were recorded in Soma’s B-Room while Forgiveness Rock Record was being made. What these songs have in common is that they were all written in a spirit of playfulness and fearlessness where we could throw our discrimination to the wind and let the judges and critics take the night off. This tiny B-Room sanctuary fomented a very positive frame of mind, ultimately leading to one of the most enjoyable album-making experiences we’ve ever had. We hope you enjoy listening to these songs as much as we enjoyed recording them."

- Charles Spearin

Listen to the entire album of Forgiveness Rock Record streaming on NPR here. The album is due out May 4, 2010.

Streaming 2 new songs from Broken Social Scene

These are two songs from Toronto's Broken Social Scene's yet-to-be released album Forgiveness Rock Record, due out May 4th. You can now buy the Forced To Love/All To All double A-Side single from iTunes and GalleryAC.

NEW PHOTOS : Broken Social Scene, Feb 20 at Ontario Pavilion

For the complete photo set, visit my Flickr.