Blog uncovers underground Canadian music
SASKATOON (CUP) — To come clean, popular Canadian indie music has started boring me. Lately, CBC Radio 3 and Exclaim! magazine are championing a bunch of bands that — for the most part — I find dull and homogenous.
Over the years, I have come across many amazing Canadian bands that do not receive the attention they deserve — The City Streets, Peace, Linus Hemmingway (now Friend's Electric), No Birds and Eamon McGrath, to name a few. I have often wondered why certain bands remained unknown, while other, more banal bands, were heralded by the press.
Still, I keep faith in underground music. Most of my favourite bands spent a long time playing as near unknowns before receiving acclaim and distribution by major labels.
Recently, I discovered Aaron Levin's blog Weird Canada, a site with reviews and streamed sample tracks. Not only were his selections interesting and unconventional but I was also introduced to many phenomenal Canadian bands I had never heard before.
“Radio and newspapers are not concerned with a focused documentation and still rely on artists submitting their content. Thus, Weird Canada became a solution to this problem,” Levin says.
“Over the years I've become less interested in ‘music' and more interested in ‘discovery.' It's uncomfortable for me to say this because, well, I obviously love music. But I'm really mostly concerned with discovering new bands, or re-discovering old sounds that no one knows about — and I've had my fair share of psychedelic discoveries from Canada's past.”
Based out of Edmonton, Levin has covered a number of bands from Western Canada and Saskatoon, many of which I knew nothing about before listening on Weird Canada.
Prone to flattery, Levin writes on his blog, “Saskatoon is Canada's secret cultural hotspot.” Though I wouldn't necessarily go that far, Levin picks some excellent local artists to highlight: Polar Bear, Caves/Stephen Cooley and Feral Children are all reviewed and praised on Weird Canada.
“The source of all Saskatoon music for me starts with Feral Children. Ryan Davidson [of Feral Children], who is a host on [community radio station] CFCR and one of the nicest people I know, has introduced me to phenomenal music in Saskatoon,” Levin says.
“Not to mention that Feral Children is one of the best and most interesting musical machines in Canada. After a while you start discovering that everyone who makes music in their basement has a friend who also makes music in their basement.”
Though experimental music seems to be the focus of the blog, Levin includes all genres of music as long as they push the envelope to create something unique.
“Weird Canada is concerned with the emerging underground fringe-musical scene in Canada. I review Canadian music of any genre or format that is made independently and pushes as many boundaries as possible. It's not always noise music, some of it is straight ahead pop, but it all has some edge to it, something to distinguish it from the rest.”
Levin's choice to review exclusively Canadian music is anything but arbitrary. He claims there is significance in the struggle posed by harsh climates and the fractured, expansive culture of Canada. And though he does not consider himself a patriot or nationalist, he celebrates a creative uniqueness in the Canadian experimental musician.
“Canada has a regional uniqueness,” Levin says. “It's northerly, cold and difficult to live in. It has a rich history that is underlooked, a history that has affected our musical sequencing since the '60s. Canadians are always fighting for a voice; it lends well to a creative aesthetic built around fervent expression.”
Weird Canada can be found at weirdcanada.com.
Over the years, I have come across many amazing Canadian bands that do not receive the attention they deserve — The City Streets, Peace, Linus Hemmingway (now Friend's Electric), No Birds and Eamon McGrath, to name a few. I have often wondered why certain bands remained unknown, while other, more banal bands, were heralded by the press.
Still, I keep faith in underground music. Most of my favourite bands spent a long time playing as near unknowns before receiving acclaim and distribution by major labels.
Recently, I discovered Aaron Levin's blog Weird Canada, a site with reviews and streamed sample tracks. Not only were his selections interesting and unconventional but I was also introduced to many phenomenal Canadian bands I had never heard before.
“Radio and newspapers are not concerned with a focused documentation and still rely on artists submitting their content. Thus, Weird Canada became a solution to this problem,” Levin says.
“Over the years I've become less interested in ‘music' and more interested in ‘discovery.' It's uncomfortable for me to say this because, well, I obviously love music. But I'm really mostly concerned with discovering new bands, or re-discovering old sounds that no one knows about — and I've had my fair share of psychedelic discoveries from Canada's past.”
Based out of Edmonton, Levin has covered a number of bands from Western Canada and Saskatoon, many of which I knew nothing about before listening on Weird Canada.
Prone to flattery, Levin writes on his blog, “Saskatoon is Canada's secret cultural hotspot.” Though I wouldn't necessarily go that far, Levin picks some excellent local artists to highlight: Polar Bear, Caves/Stephen Cooley and Feral Children are all reviewed and praised on Weird Canada.
“The source of all Saskatoon music for me starts with Feral Children. Ryan Davidson [of Feral Children], who is a host on [community radio station] CFCR and one of the nicest people I know, has introduced me to phenomenal music in Saskatoon,” Levin says.
“Not to mention that Feral Children is one of the best and most interesting musical machines in Canada. After a while you start discovering that everyone who makes music in their basement has a friend who also makes music in their basement.”
Though experimental music seems to be the focus of the blog, Levin includes all genres of music as long as they push the envelope to create something unique.
“Weird Canada is concerned with the emerging underground fringe-musical scene in Canada. I review Canadian music of any genre or format that is made independently and pushes as many boundaries as possible. It's not always noise music, some of it is straight ahead pop, but it all has some edge to it, something to distinguish it from the rest.”
Levin's choice to review exclusively Canadian music is anything but arbitrary. He claims there is significance in the struggle posed by harsh climates and the fractured, expansive culture of Canada. And though he does not consider himself a patriot or nationalist, he celebrates a creative uniqueness in the Canadian experimental musician.
“Canada has a regional uniqueness,” Levin says. “It's northerly, cold and difficult to live in. It has a rich history that is underlooked, a history that has affected our musical sequencing since the '60s. Canadians are always fighting for a voice; it lends well to a creative aesthetic built around fervent expression.”
Weird Canada can be found at weirdcanada.com.
