There are seemingly endless possibilities to self-expression, and Vancouver-based comedian and trained opera singer Toddy is out there breaking new ground. With a winning combination of drag, standup comedy, opera, classical and pop music, Toddy (she/they) is redefining the very idea of pop stardom. Before they found national recognition by winning Season 1 of OutTV’s Call Me Mother, Toddy had been performing professionally since they were nine: singing in the Children’s Chorus and operas in Calgary; studying opera at McGill University in Montreal, and eventually segueing into the worlds of comedy and drag.

Debut single, “Wounded,” produced by Louise Burns and Kevvy Maher (Fake Shark), is very strategically written to be for several different types of relationships whether it be family, romantic or friendship. Inspired by abusive relationships Toddy has been in, they wanted a wide variety of victims to be able to put themselves into this song. 

Cabin Fever Orchestra is Graeme Cornies’ passion project where the lifelong television composer is reversing the usual process; instead of writing music for picture, he is creating visual art posted to Instagram, Twitter and YouTube depicting the feelings and mental states of his music.

“Worn” is the first in a series of collaborations between Cornies and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) to be released this year. “For me, this piece is about feeling worn, but not worn out,” Cornies explains. “It’s about feeling the wear and tear of age and experience, but also the feeling that you have so much left to contribute because of it.” Written and performed by Graeme Cornies (piano) at the end of last summer, CNSO performed their parts in Prague on Halloween of 2023.

Basement Revolver has always centered around the friendship of bassist/keyboardist Nim Agalawatte (they/them) and guitarist/vocalist Chrisy Hurn (they/them). Lead guitarist Jonathan Malström (he/him) and drummer Levi Kertesz (he/him) round out the band’s larger-than-life sound. Since 2020, Basement Revolver found time to wrestle with questions about identity, faith, mental illness, and sexuality. 

The inspiration for their new song, “Red Light,” came from a discussion at a band practice Chrisy shared that they had received a red light ticket which was extremely frustrating because it was for a greater amount than their recent paycheck. As a band who has received their fair share of parking and speeding tickets while playing shows and touring, they are no strangers to financial setbacks when it comes to working towards their dreams. The band members realized that it was a relatable topic so they wrote a song about it.

Formed in the depths of Montreal’s lingering winters, Caméra – comprised of guitarist, composer and producer Francois Jalbert; violinist, arranger and composer Mélanie Bélair; and composer, arranger and performer Aurélien Tomasi – find sounds, explore bizarre ideas and always seek beauty. Traveling between a murmuration of birds at sunset, a daydream in the Japanese rainforest in 1986, or listening to a sexy saxophone melody played by a dude in a leopard speedo inside a midcentury cottage while drinking a white Russian, the trio somehow makes sense.

The main vocals and guitars on their newest single, “Dimanche,” were recorded during a burst of inspiration on a lazy Sunday. An accurate picture of the vibe that day, this song is a great example of what can happen when you give a musician some space and time.

Carmel Mikol is a singer-songwriter from two worlds: she was raised half in the Canadian backwoods and half in the suburbs of Chicago. Solitude and rootlessness are equally present in her songwriting as a result. Her songs feel like they’re written on the interstates somewhere between these two places. 

A full-time indie recording and touring artist for almost a decade, Mikol has performed across North America and in Europe, from intimate stages to legendary festivals like Canada’s Mariposa Folk Festival and the 30A Songwriters Festival in the US. Her previous albums earned three East Coast Music Award nominations and several songwriting honours.

As part of continued emotional growth for Mikol after being the victim of past abuse, “Trying Not to Hurt You,” comes from a place of accepting the full realm of life’s emotion. As she states: This song, and the whole album it’s part of, is about facing up to the painful “ands” of life: I love you AND we aren’t healthy together; I’m trying to stay with you AND I need to leave. Sometimes we just need to break our own hearts a little bit to make the hard decision.

The musical project of Dark Mean refuses to slip away for good. The collective has been quietly chipping away in their Hamilton, Ontario studio. Once again they have focused their spontaneous fits of inspiration, typically captured on basic phone apps and wired between Ottawa and Hamilton, into something concrete.

Years of extended hiatuses are nothing new to the trio of Billy Holmes, Sandy Johnston and Mark Dean. That’s how they operate. Incessant file sharing and e-mails, late night Zoom calls, relentless attention to detail, unabashed honesty, and the odd show amidst chaotic life schedules, are just a few ways the band has not only hung together, but continues to release new music.

Dealing with the hurdles of such a spread out band and the march of time, they had this to speak about on their return to music as Dark Mean: In terms of what inspired the song, or the lyrics… umm probably desperation. Feeling so desperate for something to happen while full-well knowing time is not on your side and there is nothing you can do but wait. So the opening of the track begins with this sort of cathartic release “Working hard, killing time. I woke up wrong, just to feel right”.  Doing nothing is often harder than doing something, right? 

Human terminology might define M’Grasker as a “band,” however they would be more accurately described as Biological Property of M’Graskorp Unlimited Enterprises and Subsidiaries of the GlanGlan Group. Much of M’Grasker’s DNA was salvaged from the backstage areas and bathrooms of seedy Toronto music venues and transferred via Scienetic Quantum Hurtlage to the M’Graskorp Labs, located just beyond Space and Time (and slightly to the left). The band is legally obligated to be happy to announce their third offering: M’Grasker by M’Grasker, an album scientifically guaranteed to blow domes later this year. 

It’s the night of the big game and you’re hunched o’er vials, flasks, and doo-dads in yonder lab, beholding apparitions in the shimmering concoctions before you. A faint melody tickles your ears from the near-distance of the future–the rustling of M’Grasker. At this locus of the endless cycle, the loveable lads are no more than nearly-human goo, yet to take on the familiar bodies donned in the glistening white suits you’ve fashioned for them in your mind palace.

You stare at the roiling decanter in front of you, fixated on something in the swirling mists. A reflection of the room behind you darts through your awareness. You spin in your gyroseat. There is nothing behind you but the mad scribblings you left there 4 days and 20 hours prior. The lab lights flicker, “I’ve traversed the very fabric of scienetic planes, yet nary have I been quite so addled.” You think to yourself. These hauntings…

Built around his soulful, worn-in voice and wrapped in tender harmonies, Alex Coley & Afterlove explore the elemental tension between joy and pain; heartache and healing; what was and what will be. Debut album, The Arc, arrives at the end of this locked-down, fearful era when gazing backward was all we had, serving as a beautiful reminder of the transformative power of introspection. The songs that emerge are both melancholic and hopeful, capturing themes of nostalgia, resilience, heartbreak and unexpected clarity. Alex Coley & Afterlove’s music reminds us that the darkest, windiest days are often the days we feel deeper and love harder.

Alex wrote the album’s focus track, “Hold it All,” at a time when he was feeling like he was holding all of the blame. Despite his best efforts to be friends with his ex, they hadn’t spoken for a while and he was starting to become angry about it. So, in a moment of anger and frustration, holding all of the responsibility, Alex had this cathartic release where he refused to keep blaming himself for everything and started sharing some of the blame, and that’s when he wrote “Hold it All.”

The Bankes Brothers are about to light up Canada’s indie-rock scene and ignite audiences everywhere. Since the release of their debut single “In Waves” in February 2023, the band has garnered acclaim and recognition across Canada and beyond – regularly showing in the Top 5 on Canadian commercial radio’s alternative charts and seeing constant support on Sirius XM’s The Verge for the past year. 

Now with the highly anticipated unveiling of full EP In Waves, alongside the final track “Walkin’” – all eyes return to The Bankes Brothers for what promises to be another banner year for one of Canada’s rising stars in contemporary rock and roll, set to embark on a whirlwind tour of the UK alongside Red Rum Club.

Newcastle based Indie Pop artist Chelsea Reed has just released her long awaited new single and music video called ‘The Apple’, which premiered exclusive via AAA Backstage. 

“I had been talking to a good friend who was trying desperately to exorcise her feelings for a man she knew she shouldn’t have any feelings toward. I thought about that final time you go and see someone who you know you shouldn’t and suddenly, the feelings are gone. Maybe they got a bad haircut. Maybe they said something so out of line, or they trashed your favourite movie. Or maybe you realised there was never really anything there to begin with. The obsession is finally over, and you can walk away knowing that.”

Chelsea Reed released her self-titled debut album back in 2017. She has since moved country twice, fallen in love, gotten married and toured Australia in an Indie-Pop band called The Tryouts.

The multitalented artist burst back onto the scene last year with the release of her single ‘Dominic’, which was recorded with producer Dave Jenkins Jr (Vera Blue, Daniel Johns). Written in the aftermath of a frustrating conversation with a friend; Reed channelled the incisive songwriting of popular 90’s artists such as
Ben Folds and Aimee Mann.

After recently heading back into the studio, Chelsea Reed is now ready to unleash her latest single to the world.

New single ‘The Apple’ is available on all major online stores and streaming services.