New Music Wednesday

“I Still See You At Parties” from Port Cities, a bubbly jam with earthy acoustic touches that captures the heartache of running into a lover you’re not quite over yet. 

The sleek and soulful pop outfit is made up of Halifax-based songwriters Dylan Guthro and Carleton Stone. 2019 marked the amicable departure of beloved founding member Breagh McKinnon, and 2020 signals the beginning of a new Port Cities—one that will build on the long-running spirit of collaboration Guthro and Stone have fostered over the past few years. The first of many connections to make landfall with the new dynamic is Emma-Lee, the Toronto-based merchant of bright, dreamy pop who lends her vocal stylings

“Can I Love” from Kitsuna about loneliness – one formed from the belief that wisdom is enough to see you through this life. Yet, without love, life is a battle you cannot win. 

Kitsuna’s music runs along borders: familiar and unfamiliar, classic and future. Cold synthesizers, hypnotic rhythms, cinematic arrangements, and through it all pervading themes of aforementioned loneliness and self-reflection. Writing, recording, and producing all his music alone, Kitsuna considers it a challenge against himself to see how far he can stretch into the far corners of his abilities.

Last month, Nate Tepper (guitarist of Los Angeles-based indie pop duo pink roses) woke up to a flood of messages from his friends telling him to go look at Scooter Braun’s Instagram story – the music mogul had shared one of the band’s songs to his Instagram story after discovering it through his private app, Clubhouse. Only certain people in the tech and music world have access to the app – one of them being Dave Fontenot, the lead singer of pink roses and an early stage tech investor on the side.

In their first year together, pink roses have already gained over 1.5M Spotify streams, 1M+ YouTube views, and 10K+ Instagram followers. Their newest single, “another girl,” is an emotional and nostalgic song about Fontenot’s first love.

“Snakehold” from Sebastian Gaskin with the vibe of old dance/funk tunes, inspired by a toxic relationship that went on for years.

Sebastian Gaskin released his debut Contradictions EP in May 2019 on his own independent label imprint LieBoy Concepts, and followed up the album with a cross-Canada tour. He’s had two number one songs on the National Indigenous Countdown and was a recent recipient of Canada’s Indigenous Music Award.