Milk Jennings Shares Debut Single "Head Talk" (Prod. Sam Cohen) via Telefono & ORG Music

Walking the line between dreamy ambiguity and the harsh complexity of untangling a friendship, Milk Jennings shares his debut single "Head Talk." Milk Jennings, who is one half of Chinese American Bear. Accompanied by a surrealistic music video released via Telefono and ORG Music, the single gives us a taste of his upcoming album to be released this spring.

"Head Talk" was created in collaboration with Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby, Alexandra Savior, Cass McCombs), with the music video produced by Milk Jennings. The mellow tune teeters between love and resentment in a friendship with non-linear, hazy lyrics imitating the complex, often chaotic inner monologue.

The "Head Talk" music video was shot, animated & directed by Milk Jennings. The process consisted of taking 3D photogrammetry scans of himself and importing them into Cinema 4D, where he then manipulated and edited them, adding in lights and cameras. The overall direction takes inspiration from 15th/16th-century renaissance portrait paintings, adapting them to the strange digital world. The literal exploding heads are an ode to the song's lyrics, partly to offset the seriousness of the song's message with a bit of humour. 

Watch the video below

Milk Jennings

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Dutch Indie Quintet The Klittens Tackle Coming of Age on New Track "Herkenbosch"

The Klittens by Megan Bruinen

On their latest offering “Herkenbosch,” Dutch five-piece The Klittens tour a small town just south of Holland. With a population of about 4,200 people, a single church and a skatepark, the modest Herkenbosch is the hometown of guitarist Winne Conradi’s parents, and where she spent her teenage years.

“Herkenbosch” still by Megan Bruinen

Following the release of their single “Canned Air” —premiered on October 15th via So Young Magazine— “Herkenbosch” is the band’s take on a theme as old as time: coming of age. Unlike its lamenting predecessors, such as “Old World” by The Modern Lovers, “Herkenbosch” finds lightness in reminiscing, and outgrowing, a past version of oneself: “You can’t live in a hamster ball/I miss the ruins of my childhood/What else can we do about the modern way of death?” sings The Klittens’ Yaël Dekker.

“Herkenbosch” still by Megan Bruinen

Fittingly, “Herkenbosch” supports The Klittens starting a new chapter as a band. Since the release of their 2020 maxi-single Pigeonhole, the group opened the 2020 Amsterdam Fashion Week in Paradiso, played the Left Of The Dial Festival at Maassilo in Rotterdam, and caught the attention of Beats Per Minute and Matthew Wilkinson of Apple Music’s The Matt Wilkinson Show. 

“Herkenbosch” still by Megan Bruinen

Along with “Canned Air,” “Herkenbosch” is The Klittens’ second hint at what we hope is a full-release to come.

Watch the music video for “Herkenbosch” below! 

The Klittens

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Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Sounds Cool 2021 (Also Cool’s Top Albums)

Illustration by Malaika Astorga

Once again, music has unsurprisingly gotten us through the year. Throughout the whirlwind of 2021, we here at Also Cool were lucky enough to discover a range of compelling releases across a spectrum of genres. What unites these projects is their radiance, their ability to captivate us through trials and triumphs and be a constant when seemingly nothing else was. In no particular order (except alphabetical), we’ve compiled a mix of stand-outs from our 2021 favourites. 

If you haven’t been introduced to these artists via our music section or radio shows on N10.AS and FSR, take a listen to our year in review. There’s something here for everyone, and maybe you’ll see one of your friends here, too – spread the love and send them this article to tell them that they are indeed also cool.  

We’d like to extend our gratitude to all the artists on this list for keeping us company through the last year. Our listening habits have been elevated and comforted by these selections, and we’re looking forward to what’s in store from here and beyond in 2022.

Whether experienced in-person during the brief resurgence of live music, or in solitude weathering out your headphones, here’s to music for filling the void in the best way possible. 

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Sounds Cool 2021 (Also Cool’s Top Albums)

Ada Lea - one hand on the steering wheel, the other sewing a garden (Next Door Records / Saddle Creek)

Interview with Ada Lea by Malaika Astorga (October 21st, 2021) 

“The introspective folk/pop songs walk with you through the process of finding your identity and losing it again to someone who's not worth it, daydreaming about life in other cities, and wondering when to go home again.”

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BACKXWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (Ugly Hag Records)

Interview with Backxwash by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter and Rebecca L. Judd (June 20th, 2021)

“With I Lie Here, BACKXWASH claims her title as contemporary hip-hop’s greatest force to be reckoned with, and we are celebrating her reign.”

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Bnny - Everything (Fire Talk)

Interview with Bnny by Malaika Astorga (August 20th, 2021)

“Written in sessions that span several years by singer Jess Viscius as she processed the death of her partner, the album is a chronicle of love at its most complex and loss at its most persistent.”

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Clairo - Sling (FADER)

“On her second album, reluctant Gen Z ambassador Clairo turns back the clock, embracing classic touchstones of 1970s folk.” — Cat Zhang, Pitchfork

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Das Beat - Identität (Arbutus Records)

Interview with Das Beat by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (June 3rd, 2021) 

“In four flawless tracks outfitted with celestial atmospheres and pulsating undercurrents, Identität offers a dioramic perspective of the couple’s intimate creative dynamics, backdropped with the essence of Berlin’s esoteric nightlife.”

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Dish Pit - DIPSHIT (Self-Released)

“Following the sudden closure of their record label, Montreal-based DISHPIT's long-delayed debut album is finally seeing the light of day as the band begins working on the follow-up. DIPSHIT — recorded with veteran producer Steve Albini — unleashes a devastation of post-punk and lo-fi grunge upon the world.” — Matt Owczarz, Exclaim!

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Dorothea Paas - Anything Can’t Happen (Telephone Explosion)

Interview with Dorothea Pass by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 7th, 2021)

“On her new LP Anything Can’t Happen, Paas illuminates how she came to define success as encountering and reconciling self-discovery through her work, all while establishing growth on her own terms.”

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Ducks Ltd. - Modern Fiction (Royal Mountain)

Interview with Ducks Ltd. by Malaika Astorga (August 17th, 2021) 

“Toronto's Ducks Ltd.'s new single How Lonely Are You? is the perfect soundtrack for your mildly existential end-of-summer playlist.”

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Hildegard - Hildegard (Chivi Chivi / Section1)

Interview with Hildegard by Malaika Astorga (June 8th, 2021)

“Their debut record has been described as the result of merging their identities, coupled with a complete loss of ego. The result is a beautiful and experimental eight-track experience, documenting the creative bond they share.”

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Jane Inc. - Number One (Telephone Explosion)

Interview with Jane Inc. by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter 

“Building off samples, break-beats and Ableton tutorials, Jane Inc.’s debut Number One serves as a reminder that Bezic is no one-trick-pony.”

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Kekko - Dreaming Life (Spirit Goth Records) 
Interview with Kekko by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter

“If not already evident by the band’s namesake —which combines the last names of the husband and wife duo, Tim Kek and Cherie Ko— Kek’s lush atmospherics intertwined with Ko’s ethereal vocals manifest a radiance unique to a soulmate connection.”

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kolenżanka - Place Is (Bar/None)

Interview with kolenżanka by Malaika Astorga (June 16th, 2021)

“To leave an old life behind and begin a new one is an anxiety-inducing and transformative process that Phoenix-born and NYC-based singer kolenżanka has mastered.”

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L’Impératrice - Tako Tsubo (microqlima)

Interview with L’Impératrice by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 22nd, 2021)

“L’Impératrice’s latest venture is a shimmering think-piece on life’s ever-perplexing phenomenon of broken-heart syndrome, which derived from the name Tako Tsubo (meaning “octopus trap” in Japanese).”

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Magi Merlin - Drug Music (Self-Released)

Magi Merlin “Mock Meat” review by Malaika Astorga (February 23rd, 2021) 

“A little spooky, a little bit sultry, Magi Merlin's "Mock Meat" draws you in with textured sounds and silky vocals.”

Magi Merlin Drug Music premiere by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (March 5th, 2021) 

“Throughout Drug Music, Magi Merlin owns her truth between entrancing beats and smokey basslines, while getting hot and heavy with lush vocal harmonies and a playful raspiness.”

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May Rio - Easy Bammer (Dots Per Inch)

Interview with May Rio by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (June 22nd, 2021) 

“Much like its origin story, May Rio’s Easy Bammer documents and celebrates the romantic unexpectedness of everyday life.”

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Motorists - Surrounded (Bobo Integral / We Are Time / Debt Offensive)

Interview with Motorists by Malaika Astorga (September 16th, 2021) 

“Comparable to various eras of punk, jangle rock, and mid-2000s Canadian indie rock, Motorists express their struggles with isolation by pairing a post-punk vocal tone with optimistic and upbeat melodies.”

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New Chance - Real Time (We Are Time) 
Interview with New Chance by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (July 28th, 2021) 

“On her latest offering Real Time, Cheong brings her reflections on nature’s abstract cycles to the forefront, between spellbinding textures and an eclectic sampling of everything from Calypso percussion to a sunrise rooster crow.”

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Ouri - Frame of a Fauna (Born Twice / Lighter Than Air) 
Interview with Ouri by Rebecca L. Judd (October 30th, 2021) 

“Marking the latest notch in Ouri’s belt, Frame of a Fauna carefully wields experimental and classical curiosities to seek deeper truths between the bars.”

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Oxford Drama - What’s The Deal With Time? (Self-Released)

Interview with Oxford Drama by Rebecca L. Judd (July 7th, 2021)

“Inspired by the never-ending mazes of modern technology and society, the duo – consisting of Małgorzata Dryjanska and Marcin Mrówka – transforms crushing emotions and uncertainties into a musical experience that transcends the turmoil.”

Oxford Drama “Too Busy” video premiere by Malaika Astorga (December 9th, 2021)

“Although it may seem like everyone else has their lives together, they're probably just good at keeping a curated online presence. Our Polish pals Oxford Drama encapsulate this chaos energy perfectly in their music video for “Too Busy”, a single off their recent album What's The Deal With Time?”

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PACKS - Take The Cake (Royal Mountain / Fire Talk) 

Interview with PACKS by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 17th, 2021) 

“Toronto’s PACKS are filling an indie-rock void with their sound that is equal parts laid-back and jangly, while also sophisticatedly pensive and bright.”

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PinkPantheress - to hell with it (Parlophone) 

“The 20-year-old UK producer broke out on TikTok with snippet-sized songs that ache with nostalgia for the recent past. Her intimate, lived-in music succeeds where cheaper imitations fail.” — Arielle Gordon, Pitchfork

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Yves Tumor - The Asymptotical World (Warp Records) 

“Even on a brief EP, Yves Tumor’s prismatic world seems to get bigger as it mutates into certain conventions of goth rock, dream pop, and shoegaze.” — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork

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Listen to our year in review below!

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Beatrice Deer Extends Multidimensional Motivation on Sixth Album "SHIFTING"

Beatrice Deer. Photo courtesy of Alexi Hobbs

With this time of year comes the inevitable flow of introspective reflections. Accomplishments, setbacks, and moments in between shape our stories all the same, informing who we are and granting the strength needed for what’s ahead. Determined to encapsulate this process of forward motion, Montreal-based “Inuindie” artist Beatrice Deer has released her sixth studio album SHIFTING, out now.

Deer has garnered acclaim for her innovative approach to indie rock. Her award-winning catalogue has been recognized for its fusion of traditional Inuit tales and throat singing with contemporary folk and pensive originality. SHIFTING continues in that vein, documenting the singer-songwriter’s road towards self-actualization. “Emotionally, spiritually, and physically, the transition towards our authentic selves continues,” says Deer of her latest project. “As I shift into the position where I’m meant to be, I want to keep using what I’ve learned to help others.”

Beatrice Deer. Photo courtesy of Alexi Hobbs

Across the album, Deer orients her unique experience in the universally-binding challenge that is seeking light through the darkness. As she expresses her captivating story across three languages (Inuktitut, English and French) and numerous sub-genres, her latest release maintains a steady focus on illustrating the path towards continual transformation.

Certain tracks off of SHIFTING explicitly allude to the woman-in-progress. On recent single “THE STORM,” Deer wields post-punk sensibilities to heighten the metaphor of a northern snowstorm representing the flurries of life itself. “SUNAUVVA” grounds Deer in a shoegaze-y smog, with her euphoric voice eventually breaking from the percussive and throat-sung fury, determined to heal. “MOTHER” coddles the listener in its sonic warmth, as Deer pays a touching tribute to the woman whose journey has inspired her own.

Beatrice Deer. Photo courtesy of the artist

Elsewhere in the album, Deer turns that meditative gaze outwards. With “UQAUTINNGA,” Deer passionately implores the children of tomorrow to believe in their own futures. “HISTORY” sees Deer’s airy vocals cut deep with poignant lyricism; she shakes the listener by the shoulders over a determined indie beat. “Get out of your history and into your destiny,” she cries – these adamant reflections aim to stoke change in others and, at once, serve as reminders for the self.

Altogether, the sonic and lyrical elements to SHIFTING traverse the same meandering and enlightening road. Its dips and forks tell stories of versatility and resilience, grounded in Beatrice Deer’s distinctive blend of tradition and experimentation.

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SHIFTING

Released December 10th, 2021

1. FREE

2. UQAUTINNGA

3. AANNGIQ

4. ILINNUT - a prayer

5. THE STORM

6. SUNAUVVA

7. CANNIBAL

8. HISTORY

9. MOTHER (version francaise)

10. CHRISTMAS

Vocals, Inuit throat singing, and ukele by Beatrice Deer

Acoustic/electric guitars, keyboards, and bass by Chris McCarron

Drums and keyboards by Mark Wheaton

Drone synthesizer and bass by Michael Felber

Lap steel and acoustic/electric guitars by Jordey Tucker

French horn, piano, and keyboards by Pietro Amato

Harp by Sarah Pagé

Flute and saxophones by Erik Hove

Accordion by Eva Deer

Backing vocals by Elliott Wheaton


All lyrics written by Beatrice Deer except for AANGIQ (traditional)

All songs written by Beatrice Deer and arranged by Mark Wheaton & Chris McCarron

Recorded, engineered and produced by Mark Wheaton & Chris McCarron at BSE Studios and Skybarn in Montreal

Lyrics for MOTHER (version française) adapted by Kathia Rock

Mixed by Jace Lasek {tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11}

Mixed by Pietro Amato {tracks 3, 4, 9}

Mastered by Philip Gosselin

Album cover art by Niap, design & layout by Heath Cairns

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Beatrice Deer

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Rebecca Judd is the features editor of Also Cool Mag.

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Take A Sip of Calm Lake's Sparkling Anti-Jingle "Le Seltzer"

Single art by Jess

With yet another series of doom-and-gloom announcements under our belts, it’s easy to get caught up in the one-two punch otherwise known as the past couple of years. Now more than ever is the time to practice gratitude and reflect on the little things that bring us joy: aimless strolls, loved ones, and — of course — a crisp can of seltzer. Montreal’s Calm Lake has freshly released “Le Seltzer”, a gleaming bedroom-pop track that does just that.

Calm Lake is a project by Filipino-Canadian songwriter Nikki Celis (known as one-half of shoegaze duo cmfrtble.), who is currently based in Montreal. Calm Lake is a collaborative effort featuring friends from around Canada, including Andrew Joshua, Shane Spencer, Alex Lavoie and Jessica Segura. The project finds their inspiration from 90s emo and dream-pop, citing influences like Pedro the Lion, The Radio Dept., and Bilinda May.

Nikki Celis of Calm Lake. Photo courtesy of Nikki Celis

“Le Seltzer” marks the project’s second single, following the angsty “Toothache” released in August of this year. “Le Seltzer” was written as an earnest tribute to the locally-owned seltzer water brand that started during the pandemic. The track is described as an “anti-jingle”, inspired by the fluorescent catchiness of ‘90s product commercials. On the story of “Le Seltzer”, Celis remarks:

"In Montreal, people have been finding ways to express their creativity, whether that's making new musical projects like Calm Lake, making their 'quarantine songs' or even starting new businesses. This is my take on a quarantine song."

From start to finish, “Le Seltzer” paints a sanguine picture with dream-pop production that’s as effervescent as the beverage itself. This track leaves you with no choice but to smile, evoking memories of sunset-tinted park hangs and breezy balconies through its jangly fog. As major fans of this delicious drink, we here at Also Cool are pleased to report that Calm Lake’s latest single is just as satisfying. Kick back with a can of yuzu blossom and pomelo and don’t lose sight of the escapades that await you.

Stream “Le Seltzer” below!

Calm Lake

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Rebecca Judd is the features editor of Also Cool Mag.

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Oxford Drama Tackle the Never-Ending Spiral of Being "Too Busy" in New Music Video

Too busy to see friends regularly, too busy for work-life balance, too busy for the gig tonight, too busy to buy groceries... it's all a little bit too much, all the time. If this sounds like you, you're not alone. It seems that we're all struggling to keep up with life now that the world has (sort of) opened up again. 

Although it may seem like everyone else has their lives together, they're probably just good at keeping a curated online presence. Our Polish pals Oxford Drama encapsulate this chaos energy perfectly in their music video for “Too Busy”, a single off their recent album What's The Deal With Time?

They offer the important reminder with their lyrics, "The world only stops when you tell it to" – something that all of us need to take to heart more often. Setting boundaries, being firm in self-care routines, and prioritizing physical and mental health are all things that can get pushed to the side with the easy excuse of being "too busy."

According to the band, “Too Busy” is an honest confession about an unhealthy start to the day when you compare to everyone and everything around you. It's also a fierce statement about getting your own life back after quitting an addictive spiral of who's got it better. And despite the appeal of all those apps, sometimes you're just too busy for more punches from the modern world. 

Watch “Too Busy” below & read our last interview with Oxford Drama here.

Oxford Drama

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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GG Love Release Montreal-Core Music Video for "Telephone"

GG Love has joined the pantheon of musicians with iconic telephone-themed tunes. Although far from the art-pop sound of Lady Gaga's popular communications-themed track, GG Love's Telephone is a softer, heartfelt melody. 

Despite the track's tenderness, the lyrics are firm in setting boundaries with a person from GG's past, who seems to have lost their number to the void and yet continues to try and reach out. It's one of many love-themed tunes from their latest album, "How Do You Define Love?" Check out our interview for their last release, It Could Still Be A Win here.

Telephone is accompanied by a very Montreal-core music video featuring the infamous train tracks, Jarry Park, and our unofficial workout group Pump Pump. Not only that, but there's also a whole choreographed dance routine featuring some very cool cowboy hats, a samurai, disco ball weights, and a banana phone. What more could you ask for?

Watch Telephone below

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Mue Releases Abstract IDM Track "Andand" (Halocline Trance)

Single artwork for “Andand”. Artwork courtesy of Mue

While I can’t speak to other’s experiences of the genre, this reviewer has gravitated towards instrumental and ambient electronic music for its ability to produce spaces and energies few other genres can accomplish. The ability to blend composition with refined style and improvisation leads to pretty unique and inexplicable headspaces while listening, it seems to make me feel all the more aware of our world continuing and ever changing around myself, that I’m dwarfed by it all. 

So, it’s always intriguing to know of talented Canadian producers continuing this tradition, inventing their own spaces and compositions made impossible to replicate. Montreal's IDM duo Mue have released their next single "Andand" in anticipation of their full-length LP Les vasières.

Catherine Debard and Léon Lo of Mue. Photo courtesy of Vincent Castonguay

Comprised of Léon Lo and Catherine Debard (YlangYlang), Mue’s production blends elements of minimalism, ambient electronica, and, in their own words, the “natural phenomena” of their real-time hardware improvisations to intertwine patterns, textures, and produce a sense of space and scale.

“Andand” continues a precedent from Mue’s previous singles, evoking that cerebral in-between feeling before you’re swept off to sleep. Warped piano chimes and fractured vocal samples cut through echoed clicks and bass kicks like heartbeat arrhythmia. It evokes the feeling of remaining fixed in place within a cycling void. Imagine hearing howls of a grand piano from the innards of a derelict underground tunnel system. 

Lo describes “Andand” as a composition with, “no binaries [and] no simple opposition”. “Either/or is subsumed by infinite relations and dizzying possibilities, by the perpetual crest of and/and.”

“Andand” is accessible for streaming on Bandcamp and Soundcloud as well as all other major streaming platforms. Mue’s full-length LP Les vasières is planned to release by next spring via Toronto label Halocline Trance on digital platforms and vinyl press. 

Stream “Andand” below!

Mue

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Tune in to Debard and Lo’s monthly radio show on N10.AS, Heavy Metal Parking Lot – streaming every 4th Saturday of the month at 5pm EST!

Gabriel Lunn is a writer, multimedia journalist, and pop music enthusiast based out of Victoria BC. When he isn’t trying to decipher the human condition he can usually be found going for long runs or collecting vinyl records he really doesn’t need.

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FHANG Shares Surrealist Video for FLEUR DU MAL (via Hidden Ship)

A white horse dances in place, a shadow crawls across the ceiling, a man on fire emerges from a lake. Welcome back to the world of FHANG, the up-and-coming duo from Montreal. 

Through ritual and visuals straight out of Twin Peaks, FHANG offers us another portal to enter their universe with their latest music video, FLEUR DU MAL. Gentle vocals guide us through surging crescendos, evoking the sensation that maybe we've been in this dream before. 

FLEUR DU MAL acts as a gateway to FHANG's self-titled album, released earlier this year. It forces us to confront how we can refresh our capacity for wonder while the supersaturation of endless change dulls our senses.

We were able to catch the duo live at this year's FME, and we were just as much enchanted by their live performance as their recorded work. You can read our interview with FHANG here.

Watch FLEUR DU MAL

FHANG

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Julia Daigle Shares Glittering New Album "Un singe sur l'épaule" (via Lisbon Lux Records)

Julia Daigle (member of the duo Paupière) has released her album "Un singe sur l'épaule" via Lisbon Lux Records. The album is a collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Dominic Vanchesteing. Drawing on Kate Bush, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and even some krautrock, glittering psychedelic melodies carry Julia's latest body of work. 

The song Nanette was inspired by the biography of Nanette Workman and the energy of New York City. Julia whispers, "Fifth Avenue dans l'infini Sous les néons, les dieux sourient." It's the perfect soundtrack for your weekend adventures and your "I'm The Main Character" playlists. 

The video for Nanette is inspired by The Star, Arcanum XVII of the Tarot de Marseille and the work of Henry Corbin. It's an excursion into a haunted landscape, an emotional labyrinth that has become physical, where a figure retraces, in an infinite ring, the path of her inner wanderings. In this liminal space between night and dawn, she wanders through strange - and unexpectedly familiar - places in search of a sign, a key. Territory without landmarks of the exile of the heart. 

For fans of Melody's Echo Chamber, Wild Nothing, and TOPS, Julia's Daigle's "Un singe sur l'épaule" is for you.

Julia Daigle by David Cannon

Julia Daigle

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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"Carved Into Stone" and The Enchanting Artistry of Isaac Symonds (Crystal Math)

Isaac Symonds and Loryn Taggart. Photo courtesy of Samuel Woywitka

For multi-instrumentalist Isaac Symonds, the past year has brought ample opportunities to redefine his creative vision and create his very own orchestral paradise. “Since my departure from Half Moon Run in early 2020,” he says, “I’ve spent most of my time honing in on songwriting, producing and recording.”

Symonds is not lying; on October 14th, the psychedelic, cinematic music video of “Carved Into Stone” (in collaboration with Loryn Taggart) was released on YouTube. The video features musicians from acts such as Barr Brothers, the Franklin Electric and Teke Teke––among others––doing what they know and love best during a recording session at Montreal’s Mixart Studios. Viewers are immersed in Loryn Taggart’s heartfelt voice as it coats the 50s-inspired instrumentation like warm honey, and Symonds diligently orchestrates a variety of instruments.

I was delighted to catch up with Symonds over Zoom, where he guided me through the world of "Carved Into Stone" and left some breadcrumbs of the magic he’s preparing.

Cover image for “Carved Into Stone” by Isaac Symonds & Loryn Taggart. Photo courtesy of Samuel Woywitka

Symonds explains that after he and Taggart wrote “Carved Into Stone,” they decided that it only felt right to fully fund the orchestral arrangement themselves. “It costs some money hiring all the musicians, but we just felt that we needed to do justice to this song.” 

He elaborates by saying that upon finishing the lyric writing, he and Taggart tried executing a multitude of versions of the song. “It’s kinda like covering yourself,” Symonds explains. “You have this song, and you want to stay true to the lyrics and the song form. In my eyes, it’s the hardest part… and the most important.”

After finally landing on the orchestral version and seeing their project take form, Symonds reflects on the experience, saying that it has renewed his belief in studio magic. “Once I realized that kind of sound was possible, it really opened up my mind for other possibilities in the future… It makes me think to myself, ‘holy shit, I’m capable of doing that!’ It’s crazy.” The fact that this was Symonds’ first musical creation with barely any effects involved, aside from a bit of reverb on a select few instruments, makes the experience all-the-more remarkable to him. “It’s unbelievable how everything glued together so easily,” he says.

When asked about the meaning behind the lyrics in “Carved Into Stone,” Symonds notes how Taggart brought up the word “sondering” in a brainstorming session. “I really liked the sound and the vibe of that word, but I didn’t know what it meant at the time.” After finding out that ‘sondering’ is a term used to describe feeling one has when they realize that the lives of those around them are equally as vivid as their own, Symonds and Taggart agreed that this should serve as the basis of their song. “We wanted to combine a classic love song with this idea of sondering,” Symonds explains. “When we were songwriting we were imagining the idea of being on a metro, or a bus, and catching eyes with a beautiful person and having a slip[ping] moment of connection. It’s about really wanting to say hello, when all of the sudden the doors close, and you’re left wondering about all the things that could have happened.”

As he looks towards the future, the conversation veers in the direction of Symonds’ upcoming project, which he is very excited to talk about. “I’m not sure whether it’s going to be an album or an EP, but I’ve booked all the same musicians [that appear in ‘Carved Into Stone’] and I’ve basically written all the songs and lyrics.” 

The multi-instrumentalist has now booked a chalet Airbnb just an hour north of Montreal, and is looking forward to having no distractions. “I live on Saint-Denis in Montreal, and the ongoing sound of traffic is very unforgiving.” In terms of the process, Symonds aims to bring his musical ensemble to his Airbnb retreat, flesh out the skeleton of his music, and then conjure some more studio magic back in Montreal’s Mixart Studios. This, according to Symonds, will be a process which revolves around trimming and perfecting more than anything else. “I probably have twenty songs right now, but only seven of them will push through… or maybe more, or maybe less. I’ve been writing this for two years, so I need to think to myself, ‘is this gonna live on my hard drive, or is this gonna live on Spotify?’ I’m giving it my best to one day let it live out in the open, but music is like a fruit, and I wouldn’t want to release anything that isn’t ripe.”

Reflecting on his career up until this point, Symonds has two useful pieces of advice to give to musicians who want to take their personal practices further: to experiment with many instruments, and to hold back from publishing music until you’ve perfected it. “Being a multi-instrumentalist is always an asset,” Symonds emphasizes. “If your band can ‘switch roles,’ it’s always interesting, both for the listener and for your own experience as well.”

Speaking to his second point, Symonds urges musicians to “...just focus on the song. Maybe people will say I’m wrong, but I don’t think you should promote stuff on social media unless it’s your best material… Write tunes that you’re proud of and know are good, and then move onto promoting it.” Too often, Symonds says, musical artists try to ‘luck out’ and generate a huge buzz by marketing their personalities online rather than their actual content. But people enjoy listening to good music, Symonds says, and talented artists can always rely on letting the music speak for itself. “If you let the music do the work, everything else will become easier.”

I left my conversation with Symonds feeling inspired and revitalized; even through our respective computer screens, his sense of excitement and creativity was palpable. After creating the beautiful arrangement of “Carved Into Stone,” he seems to think that anything is possible, and quite frankly, I believe him. I’m really looking forward to the new music he and Taggart put out, both together and as solo artists. Regardless of whether their future projects manifest as albums or EPs, these musicians are destined to continue the spark behind this latest magical release.

Stream “Carved Into Stone”, the enchanting instrumental version, and the psychedelic remix “Searching in Sonder” below!

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Isaac Symonds

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Twitter | Spotify | Apple Music

Spencer Nafekh is a tireless reader, writer, editor, and advocate for the written word. With an undergraduate degree in Concordia's English and Creative Writing program imminent, he plans to pursue a Master's specialization in journalism so that he can fully realize his career path. When Spencer is not working away, he is probably listening to experimental music while lost in the world of a science fiction novel.

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Dayton Swim Club’s Debut "Hangman" Invites You to Rage With Them (Perpetual Doom)

Nick Flessa and Dominique Matelson of Dayton Swim Club. Photo courtesy of Mario Luna

A rager takes place in some unspecified, sprawling Southwestern desert. Visualize Wim Wender’s Paris, Texas’ opening scene, except noir. Dayton Swim Club are playing for the party-goers when a mob of zombies overwhelm the space. These zombies look familiar; they are not corporeal revenants, but instead a tyrannized social cult. 

Fresh from American indie label Perpetual Doom, Dayton Swim Club’s debut Hangman offers a soundscape for pensive days. Its seven hypnotic tracks will rouse thoughts about sinister social norms as the sequel of a tormented history. Nick Flessa’s droned lead vocals are reminiscent of a late-70s shoegaze mood; together with Dominique Matelson’s ethereal voice and Mario Luna’s fuzzy, reverb-soaked guitar riffs, Dayton Swim Club’s concoction of space and distorted atmosphere(s) are magnified.

Melodic, lo-fi guitar riffs hint towards 60s psychedelia, setting the stage in “Pillow Talk.” As these riffs darken into an ambient sparseness, a collection of Me Too realities and other familiar authoritative perversions are confronted. Flessa and Matelson spiral between direct address, first, second and third person POV, alluding to the twisted yet very real nature of the track’s themes. “Night Breed” is a “Pillow Talk” season 2 of sorts: here, the sun sets and the mood dampens. Backing vocals evocative of female screams haunt an arid town where street lamps flicker. A rhythmically dark guitar persists, reminding us that here, days are as sunless as the nights.  

An eerie mélange of strings pierces the hovering gloomy clouds in "Landers”. The remote, Californian desert community that the track was named after renders a multifarious conceit for issues related to individualism and destruction. The track’s motif “Be your own man / Be your own hang / Be your own hang, man”  is chanted by Flessa and, paralleled with Matelson’s operatic vocals, induces an artful abstraction of social terrors. Dayton Swim Club have wrapped resentments of the ruinous Manifest Destiny and other deteriorating effects of political ideologies in shoegazed, Western-noir packaging.   

We caught up with Flessa just after the release of “Landers” to chat about the (pandemic-induced) means of recording and mixing the album, tonal and lyrical inspirations, and the bar featured in the “Landers” video.

Dayton Swim Club. Photo courtesy of the band

CJ Sommerfeld for Also Cool Mag: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with Also Cool today, and cheers on the new album!  What forces were responsible for Nick Flessa Band’s conceptual and sonic transition into Dayton Swim Club? 

Nick Flessa for Dayton Swim Club: Thank you! I guess the main force behind the transition is my collaboration with guitarist Mario Luna, who took over composition and production duties. Mario has a strong and focused vision for the project. He’s also responsible for a lot of our visual presentation – flyers, band photos, etc. So far in Dayton Swim Club I’ve mostly been a lyricist and frontman, as well as the de facto manager.  

Nick Flessa Band hit a stride in 2019 with a lineup including Dominique Matelson, Jessica Perelman and Kirsten Bladh. At the beginning we were playing songs from my previous solo releases. Once this band became a regular unit, and we started writing new material together, it began evolving into its current form. Without having released anything, we played three shows as Dayton Swim Club in late 2019/early 2020 shortly before the shutdown. 

Also Cool: Dayton Swim Club is a collaborative ensemble between numerous L.A.-based musicians. Were you acquainted with these artists prior to creating music together, or did you get together for this project? 

Nick Flessa: We mostly knew each other in some capacity. It’s funny because Mario and I went to CalArts at the exact same time but didn’t cross paths until later, through music. Then we kept running into each other at Kaldi Coffee in Atwater Village and became friends. A few years later I also met Dominique at Kaldi, where she was working at the time. Greg Marino, who plays sax on the record, works there too. Mario, Jessica and I have all played in another project called Fragile Gang. Kirsten is an old friend from Cincinnati, where I’m from originally. J.D. Carrera (pedal steel on “Predatory Drift”) and I have collaborated a bunch and were roommates for a long time, and Pauline Lay (strings on DSC) is another art/music friend. 

Most of the players we’ve worked with are people I've been familiar with already – knowing so many excellent musicians is a huge perk of living in Los Angeles. The current iteration of the band includes our friends Daniel and Scarlett (on bass and synth, respectively), whom I met for the first time at a practice a few months ago. Mario brought them in and they’ve been doing great work – our live show feels stronger and more cohesive than ever.  

AC: Hangman was written during the pandemic – what was it about that time that encouraged the creation of this project? 

NF: Like many, I needed a project to hold me together during that time. At first it was a challenge to try to coordinate everything remotely, but Mario and I developed a workflow where he would send me song ideas and I would write lyrics in response, then record vocals and send them to him for mixing – Postal Service style. We found ways for our other collaborators to contribute parts remotely, and developed some pre-pandemic demos into full-fledged songs. 

Working on the record helped create structure to combat the general isolation of that period. The stakes of life itself felt raised, and since I had the freedom to focus solely on writing lyrics, I tried to take the day-to-day as a prompt to explore my thoughts and feelings about the past few years as we collectively bore the bizarre brunt of American history – a nightmare from which I'm still trying to awaken. I took a break from drinking, sharpened the focus of my reading and writing, and went on long walks. Making this record was part of surviving and processing that time and the years that led up to it, fueled by some distant hope that we’d eventually be able to finish, share and perform the project.  

AC: The locations where [the video for your track] “Landers” was filmed —Landers and Palm Springs—reflect the death cult that the United States has become. Can you tell me a little more regarding what it is about these communities that represents both a history and present state of self-destruction? Can you elaborate on the track’s lyrical motif “Be your own man, be your own hang-man"? 

NF: I spent much of 2020 in Palm Springs at my partner Chloe’s dad’s house, right next to a public golf course. It was a huge luxury to be in a relaxed environment with a swimming pool and plenty of space to walk around. It felt like I was hiding out on a permanent vacation during the apocalypse. I walked around the golf course frequently, and thought a lot about how many resources went into maintaining it. 

Those thoughts led to more thoughts about Western expansion, “Manifest destiny”, and the US as a colonial superpower; how the pandemic laid bare so many structural failures, but how control is always prioritized here. American individualism came full circle in 2020, a sort of ouroboros where the self-made head eats the tail of its own self-destruction — the anti-mask movement and nationally sanctioned super-spreader events being examples. “Be your own man, be your own hang-man” refers to this, and also to the isolation of having to be one’s own “hang” during the pandemic.  

Landers is a remote community in the high desert near Joshua Tree. It’s beautiful, isolated, and the site of a lot of extraterrestrial and UFO sightings. We performed there one night in 2019 a few days after the death of the late, great David Berman. It was a heavy and heady trip. Jessica’s drum kit got run over by a drunk driver in the parking lot of the venue. There had just been a rainstorm, which caused our ill-equipped cars to get stuck in the sandy dirt roads on the way in and out. The night had an enchanted and cursed quality to it. This experience was also a tonal and lyrical inspiration for the song. The venue we played at was called Landers Brew, it’s also featured in the video. Just a few weeks after we filmed there, it was bought by a developer and shut down. I learned this via Instagram when I announced the video premiere.

AC: The remainder of the album carries strong socio-political concerns. Much has changed between when you wrote this album to now. In what ways do you think your next album will reflect this social change? 

NF: One concrete change is that we’ve all been able to gather together and perform live shows, now that there’s a vaccine. That’s been very new and exciting, but also a big moment of adaptation.  As a group we are hoping to have the opportunity to record in a studio together. We are gunning to make a very deliberate record that is conceptually thought through with an arc from start to finish. There's a sense in which Hangman is a cut-up record in terms of its structure, and I think that’s a strength, but I also think a more focused follow-up is in order.  

As much as the 2020 election was a pivotal moment, things aren’t great here. There’s a point, politically, where you can never go home again. As much as the attempt at a sanitized return to the Obama era has been a reprieve for some, I think there is much worse to come unless the Left can consolidate in a meaningful way.  

Our music speaks to a popular resentment. It’s valid to feel resentment at the way things work in the US, and that feeling is potent; ideally this is a power that can be harnessed to fight injustice rather than enforce it. While there are plenty of things to be optimistic about, even the most seemingly progressive of our elected politicians are doing more to appease Republicans than represent their own constituents. Corrupt city councilmen abuse the unhoused with impunity. Military budgets continue to inflate. The charade can’t be kept up forever, though. People are savvy. We can all see it happening in real time. Climate change, too, promises big catastrophes soon. This will continue to change the world we live in, and by necessity my writing will reflect that change.  

AC: Thank you again for your time, I’m loving this album and am looking forward to your future projects. What can we expect to see next from Dayton Swim Club? 

NF: Thank you so much! We have a few new things coming up, including a video by our brilliant friend Will Wiesenfeld (Baths) for our track “Predatory Drift”. We’re also doing a TV theme song cover for Perpetual Doom’s Stay Tuned compilation.  

Several DSC members have solo projects with upcoming shows and releases. Mario, Scarlett and Daniel are all playing in Daniel’s project Dearly Departure at Substance Festival in November. Dominique has a solo record she’s been working on concurrently with this one, coming soon. I'm working on a cover of a song by our friend and labelmate Austin Leonard Jones, also coming soon.  

We’re DJing labelmate Grady Strange’s residency at the Echo on November 1st, ahead of a short hiatus before one final 2021 show in December. Once we wrap these, then it’s back to the drawing board. 

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HANGMAN

Released September 17th, 2021 via Perpetual Doom

1. Darker Moves

2. Pillow Talk

3. Night Breed

4. Landers

5. Predatory Drift

6. Rage All Night

7. DSC

Produced and mixed by Mario Luna

Contributors include Jessica Perelman, Kirsten Bladh, Pauline Lay, Greg Marino, and J.D. Carrera

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Dayton Swim Club

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CJ Sommerfeld (she/her) is a Vancouver-based freelance writer with a particular interest in the convergence of language, art and society. When she is not writing, you can find her experimenting with harmonic minor progressions on her keyboard.

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Never Better Releases Mellow Tracks Downtown (Feat. Mitch Davis) and Silver Lining

Album art by Jem Woolidge

There's this feeling I get when I enter a new era of my life when I realize that the last chapter is slowly slipping away but not quite gone yet. I feel the change around me but can't see it yet other than the faintest signs that things won't be how they are for much longer. 

This moment usually comes during mundane moments, walking home from the grocery store, waiting for the light to change at Parc and Fairmount. Never Better's (AKA Rhys Climenhage) latest tracks Downtown (feat. Mitch Davis) and Silver Lining encapsulate this feeling. 

Lowkey vocals and gentle guitar take you by the hand, guiding you through an existential crisis that you're pushing out of your mind, walking you home through the rain. Light drums and the occasional instrumental interlude break up the vocals just long enough to gather your thoughts before you get home. You're left feeling comforted yet aware that you'll have to process these emotions sometime soon.

Rhys Climenhage is a multi-instrumentalist originally from Peterborough, Ontario, currently living in Montreal, Quebec, where he performs as Never Better. Prior to his solo endeavours, Rhys was active playing in bands Stacey Green Jumps, Texas Wayne, Frank Mothman, and Sasha Cay.

He draws inspiration from his father, a painter and career musician who taught him his first few chords on guitar. After a few years of fiddling on all of the instruments available around the house, Rhys picked up more technical training in his high school jazz band. Today, he plays every instrument on his recordings in his apartment studio built over the years while working in kitchens around the city.

Never Better

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Toronto R&B Duo TRP.P To Share New Track at M for Montreal

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TRP.P (pronounced "trippy") is an R&B/hip-hop duo hailing from Toronto, comprised of Truss (producer, singer-songwriter) and Phoenix (singer-songwriter). The pair met in 2015 and have been “collaborating in music and life” ever since, all while enchanting audiences with their soulful, old-school sound. Truss and Phoenix made waves with their 2019 debut 2TRP.P, where they tackled injustice and oppression in their lyrics, while also celebrating queer love and empowering their communities. This effort remains intact with TRP.P’s latest offering “Never Leavin,’” out tomorrow (November 19th, 2021) and to-be-performed at the Hot Tramp Showcase at M for Montreal.

Leading up to their set at L’Esco with Janette King, Maryze and Witch Prophet, we had the chance to connect with the duo on what inspired “Never Leavin’” and how it fosters grounds for growing as collaborators.

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter for Also Cool: To start, can you tell me about the origin story of your new single “Never Leavin’”?  

TRP.P: We originally wrote this song while composing music for a TV show. Although it didn't work out for the show, it worked out perfectly for our album and complimented the new direction we want to take with our music. Once we started to record and perform the song, the message resonated with us more and more. It really is an anthem for communities that have faced displacement, especially during this pandemic. Through that same sense of community, we have met so many amazing people, including the roller-skating community right here in Toronto. You might even see them in the upcoming music video for the song!

Also Cool: Has "Never Leavin'" brought about any realizations for TRP.P? Whether it be learning something new about how you work together, your individual artistry or something you'd like to foster as a group in the future? 

Truss: That's actually a really good question. For me, it made me realize just how broad our spectrum of sound truly is. Although we both grew up influenced by R&B, gospel and hip-hop, there's an underlying influence of pop and house-inspired music in the song.

Phoenix: For me, it made me realize just how impermanent everything is and how fleeting time and existence is. The song is called "Never Leavin,'" but yet by the time the song is released, three new business will close down, one condo will be built, and a million dispensaries will pop up. It’s almost like the most defiant title we could choose in a time like this. In terms of working together, there isn’t a better team than us! We love and dislike everything we do at the same time. Our goals are always two halves of a whole when we are creating. 

Phoenix (left) and Truss (right) of TRP.P, photo courtesy of the artists

 AC: What does the next chapter hold for TRP.P? 

TRP.P: Album number two! It’s a summertime release and we are really looking forward to this one. We didn’t get to tour our first album due to the pandemic. We want to actually go on tour, see the world and play stages in places we could only dream of. Every show we play, we gain new fans and listeners. We are really excited to keep doing that, as safely and as soon as possible.

AC: What can we expect from your performance at the Hot Tramp showcase at M for Montreal? 

TRP.P: We just want to have a good time! We are honoured to be playing with Janette King, Witch Prophet and Maryze. Being only our second show since the easing of live music regulations, it may be a little awkward… But the awkwardness will pass and will be followed by some smooth R&B vibes, with a hint of bars! Everyone will leave saying it was a good show. And we can't wait to prove it to you!

Photo courtesy of the artists

Catch TRP.P at the Hot Tramp Showcase at M for Montreal on November 19th, 2021.

TRP.P

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Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Hannah Lew Shares Inspiration for Cold Beat's Album "War Garden" (via Like LTD)

Driving late at night, blasting your obscurely named Spotify playlist to fit the mood, Cold Beat's new album "War Garden" makes the perfect soundtrack. Hannah Lew's poignant lyrics float about airy synths as she contemplates grief, the afterlife, and rebirth.

The album (released via Like LTD) was made over the pandemic via Zoom calls. "Exploiting the technology for how it could connect us" is how Lew describes Cold Beat's collective embrace of technologies that could potentially alienate otherwise.

We spoke to Hannah about the album, finding closure in dreams, and gardening.

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Can you tell us a bit about who you are and where you're from?

Hannah for Cold Beat: Half of us live in the Bay Area, half in LA. The project started back in 2013 with Kyle & I, but when Sean and Luciano joined a few years back, the band really became what it is today, a more collaborative practice with more varying songwriting and less a glorified solo project.

Also Cool: What was it like growing up there? Was there a creative/DIY scene, or is music something that you were drawn to independently?

Hannah: I grew up in a very different SF than the one that stands today. The cost of living was a lot lower, and it was just more accessible. Because of that, there were a lot of people making art and music. 

We all more or less met through the DIY scene in the Bay Area. We had all played shows together before Cold Beat formed. Sean actually played on the Cold Beat demos back in 2012 before it was even called Cold Beat. We've always been music buds, even though he didn't officially join the band until later. Kyle and I had played a few shows together with our respective bands before I asked him to play with me. Luciano worked at Amoeba SF with my husband, Andrew. I kind of eyeballed him for years before approaching him to play synths in the band. 

Though we definitely all came from a scene here, I don't really feel like the band has ever necessarily been part of a community here. We've always been doing our own thing kind of. 

AC: Now that the regular PR questions are out of the way, we can get a bit weirder. 

One of your lyrics, "In a dream, I don't like you," made me think a lot about how dreams are spaces for closure when it's not possible IRL, especially after this year or so in isolation. What's your experience with processing emotions while dreaming? Can you tell us about a favourite dream you've had?

Hannah: I think that dreams definitely offer a place to work out things that might be unattainable within the confines of the conscious mind. I think songs can serve that same purpose. 

For example, that song Weeds you're referencing was a song that Sean had sent as a demo, and I basically wrote the lyrics immediately upon hearing it. I think I sent vocals back 45 minutes after he sent the music. 

Sometimes you tap into this automatic writing where you're channelling directly from your subconscious. Melodies and sounds have a way of describing emotion in a post-lingual way that is often way more expressive and accurate than anything literal explanations can offer. Language just falls short, whereas a song can completely take you over and make you feel less alone. 

My favourite dream is one where I knew I was dreaming, so I decided to fly. It's only happened for me once or twice, but it felt really amazing.

AC: Throughout your music, there's a theme of both accepting and initiating change. What has your experience been like in this cycle of change and rebirth, and how does it tie into processing grief?

Hannah: Songs have always been a format where I like to work out narratives to help me cope with the inexplicable. We've all gone through many changes and dealt with deaths, births, breakups, all the stuff. Music-making has definitely saved my lifetime and time again by giving me a tool to process these things. 

AC: One thing I've learned from the pandemic is the ability to be highly intentional with who I give my energy to, especially in times of deep loneliness. I'm curious to know how you were able to maintain and nurture your friendships (and this album) over the pandemic and what you've learned from it. 

In other words, what have you learned about friendship over the past year and a half or so?

Hannah: Yeah, I hear that. I think many people have had a reckoning with their work and interpersonal worlds, hopefully reaching higher ground going forward. 

Sometimes, when I'm going through periods of heavier depression, I tend to retreat. Sadly, I think I did a lot of that during the pandemic and lost touch with many people. Thankfully we as a band maintained a songwriting practice that had us Zooming once a week and sending song files pretty constantly. That connection has been so vital for me. It kept me synthesizing my feelings and maintaining a close bond with people I love, regardless of how deep in despair I might have been any given day. 

One of the hardest parts of my isolation was losing access to my people, and thus a part of myself nurtured by those friendships. I was in a bubble with my family and only getting to experience myself within my family dynamic. At the same time, the part of my identity I've been fostering for the past 20 years or so since I started playing music was a bit starved. 

I think I really took stock of how important a collaborative process is to who I am as a person. It's been such a relief to be together again, practicing for our upcoming shows. Lots of PCR tests, but so worth it.

AC: What have you learned from gardening? What have the plants taught you that you practice in other areas of your life?

Hannah: Gardening has been such a humbling experience during this time. Watering dirt day after day and not seeing immediate results, yet still pushing on. It's also a somewhat private endeavour, not tied to any social validation. I'm not a naturally patient person, so it's humbled me quite a bit. 

It took almost a whole year to grow this one cauliflower, and I just harvested it and shared it with the band after practice last week. It was very satisfying.

It's optimistic to focus on plants. They lean toward the light and definitely forced me outside a lot, and kept me grounded.

AC: You've spoken a bit about rituals and the practice of being immediately present. Do you have any rituals or practices that you could share with us? 

Hannah: I think the only time I'm truly happy is when I'm in a flow state. Not thinking about the future or past, not looking at my phone while in company, not fractured in my attention span. 

Music-making, gardening, cooking are all things that keep my hands busy and in that flow state. I've been working with ceramics lately, too. It's similar to gardening in that there's a lot of room for error, humility. It requires your body to be in the moment, totally present. I like doing things I'm 'bad' at for that reason. I like to try new things and maintain a beginner's mind.

Cold Beat

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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M For Montreal Partners with Also Cool for Hot Tramp Record Showcase

Looking to start your week off right? Good news: the 16th edition of M for Montreal is on! This year's hybrid festival features panels, showcases and a brand new festival offering under the M for Marathon banner, presented by SiriusXM. With this latest unveiling, music fans will be treated to a jam-packed pop, rock and hip-hop program. M for Montreal will be held online from November 15th to 26th and IRL from November 17th to 19th.

We’re excited to be co-presenting the Hot Tramp Night showcase on November 19th at 9PM EST at l’Esco, featuring an absolutely stacked lineup, including: Janette King, Maryze, TRP.P, Witch Prophet and Shades Lawrence.

Check out the event page and get your tickets — you won’t want to miss this return to live music hosted by one of our favourite independent labels, Hot Tramp!

More info about the artists below!

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Janette King

Janette King is a producer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ based in Montreal. Janette’s unique sound blends together soulful vocals, upbeat production style, and honest lyrics to create a truly captivating listening experience.

Website | Instagram | Spotify

Maryze

Maryze is a bilingual singer-songwriter based in Montreal, originally from Vancouver. Her haunting alt-pop conjures an intimate universe, blending contagious beats with introspective lyrics on mental health, feminism and sexuality. Balancing angst and euphoria in electronic ballads, she offers a refreshing voice with fiery honesty.

Website | Instagram | Spotify

TRP.P

TRP.P (pronounced "trippy") is an R&B duo hailing from Toronto, Canada. Comprised of Truss (producer, singer/songwriter) and Phoenix Pagliacci (singer-songwriter), the dynamic duo met in 2015 and have been collaborating in music and life ever since. Their 80s/90s R&B inspiration takes a modern twist with powerful lyrics into uncharted topics, celebrating queer love and empowering their communities by brightening a spotlight on injustices and oppression.

Website | Instagram | Spotify

Witch Prophet

Witch Prophet is a queer, Ethiopian/Eritrean, singer-songwriter, and the Co-CEO of Heart Lake Records. She provides her fans with a soundscape of vocal layers, loops, raps, and harmonies on a bed of hip-hop, jazz, and soul-inspired beats. Think Erykah Badu meets Lauryn Hill meets Portishead. She finds depth and connection in creating music as a portal for self-growth and discovery, as she navigates and better understands her cultural and queer identity.

Website | Instagram | Spotify

Shades Lawrence

Shades Lawrence is a Montreal born and based hip hop artist of mixed British, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish descent. A pure lyricist, Shades Lawrence’s style can be described as alternative hip hop.  Her words uplift, while keeping environmental justice at the forefront. To date, her style has been compared to Lauryn Hill, Shad, and Jean Grae.

Website | Instagram | Spotify

Poster by Emmanuelle Wielgus

Hot Tramp

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M for Montreal

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The Zephyr Bones Share Radiant Beach Wave Album "Neon Body" (via La Castanya)

Neon Body album art by Bráulio Amado

The beach-wave Barcelona-based band, The Zephyr Bones, have released their second album, "Neon Body," via La Castanya. Their melodies cascade in with waves glimmering synths and shoegaze-inspired vocals, embodying themes of love, self-affirmation, loss, and hope.

The sound gravitates around spangled psych-rock reminiscent of the radiant, sunkissed environments in Barcelona. Basically, if DIIV were to play a disco beach party in the middle of the night, this is what it would sound like.

Press photo by Marc Cusco

The Zephyr Bones formed when Silva, Tkalcic, López and Ramos met in Barcelona after the former two names arrived from their home country of Chile. In 2015 they released their debut EP, Wishes/Fishes via La Castanya. That first release was followed by the seven-inch "Black Lips b/w Surrounded by Sunflowers" released by La Castanya and the New York label Other Music Recording Co.

Listen to "Neon Body" below

The Zephyr Bones

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Visibly Choked Cut Their Teeth on 13-Minute Self-Titled Debut (Mothland)

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Visibly Choked album artwork by Cassidy Johnson

Montreal experimental punk outfit Visibly Choked left us on the edge of our seats after their set at FME this fall; inciting head-banging amongst a chair-bound basement crowd amid COVID-19 restrictions. Last week, the band cut all anticipation full-stop with the delivery of their self-titled debut via hometown label Mothland. In all its thrashing, pantyhose-splitting glory, the six-track EP is turning heads for all the right reasons. 

Recorded off-the-floor with Steven Gibb at Lite Downs Studio, Visibly Choked immerses the listener in the five-piece’s fever dream—managing to capture the sweltering erraticism of their sorely-missed live sets, without compromising the integrity of their sound and their commandment of a room. 

Seducing us from the gate with gritty twister “Mother Tongue,” Visibly Choked reminisce punk’s legacy practice of pairing a driving beat with existentialism. Along with a Lynchian music video, “Mother Tongue” ponders estrangement from one’s heritage and the scars of cultural assimilation. 

Next, “Too High” shoots an exasperated eye-roll at a bedframe-less hookup. Between surfy guitars and the haze of the night before, Visibly Choked recount the all-too-familiar frustrations of dodging someone you didn’t expect to see at a show. 

The spiralling “Uneven Keel” follows: epitomizing the band’s self-described "five people having a panic attack" sound. Heavy in sentiment and atmosphere, the barely two-minute melter dissents into a paranoid frenzy, anxiously dissecting themes of identity, existence and trust. 

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Visibly Choked courtesy of Mothland

Coming up for air on “A Snake Called Ean,” lead vocalist Gabby Domingue wraps listeners around her finger with each dragging sibilance. Building from the brooding bassline at its core, “A Snake Called Ean” waxes and wanes with Domingue’s repeated bitter lament: “It’s so much harder to love you than to need you.” 

The album’s final two tracks make sure to grab you by the collar on the way out. With “Third Time’s the Charm” and “Shit Lord,” the group return to gnarly hysterics to tie the bow on their first offering. 

In a scrumptious 13 minutes, Visibly Choked manage to indulge listeners without allowing us to get too comfortable. 

Visibly Choked

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Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Rozi Plain Shares Ephemeral New Track "Silent Fan" (via Adult Swim 2021 Singles Programme)

There's this feeling I get every time I start a new era or chapter of my life. I know it's happening again when I begin to realize that I'm settling into routines. I suddenly have a preferred way to walk home again, and the uncertainty of what comes next begins to mesh with the reality that change has come. It washes over every aspect of life, coming in like a gentle tide.

Rozi Plain's latest track, "Silent Fan" (commissioned by Cartoon Network for Adult Swim's 2021 Singles Programme), embodies this sensation. Gentle and unassuming, preparing us for these upcoming winter months, encouraging us to continue evolving despite the cold. Rozi's airy vocals land between free-floating jazz, guiding us along a cold beach towards a warm fire. "Silent Fan" feels like a dream from a long time ago, yet familiar enough to assure us that we're going in the right direction.

"Silent Fan" features contributions from the Rozi Plain band – Jamie Whitby Coles (drums), Neil Smith (guitar), Gerard Black (keys) and Amaury Ranger (bass) with extra help from Kate Stables (This is the Kit), Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming) and Cole Pulice. Rozi says of "Silent Fan": "I think the song is thinking about encouragement and tension - giving it and receiving and where it is. I was particularly thrilled Cole Pulice was up for contributing to this track - their album Gloam got me through the spookiness of last year".

Listen to the track below

Rozi Plain

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Alpen Glow's Latest Single "Boring Potion" Serves Up Disco-Pop Candor

“Boring Potion” single art by Amery Sandford

It’s an ongoing joke here at Also Cool HQ that we are all deathly terrified of being perceived. We are, of course, never alone – no matter your creative discipline, it’s a common predicament to be stuck in the fear, annoyance, or outright disinterest that comes with establishing yourself and your artistic outputs as a Brand ™. Enter Alpen Glow with “Boring Potion”, a sparkling disco number that wraps these grievances in a hyper-saturated sheen.

Alpen Glow is the loner pop project of Montreal-based visual artist and musician Amery Sandford (also of BBQT and Born at Midnite). Her work as Alpen Glow is characterized by an interest in the constructed persona and escapism into digital realities, as reflected on releases like debut EP Amertape 2020. Sandford’s music balances refreshing sincerity with an appreciation for the transcendent qualities of a good pop hook. A winning recipe!

Amery Sandford of Alpen Glow. Photo courtesy of Tess Roby

“Boring Potion” unites listeners with its bright keys and light-hearted rumination. The track’s musings implore us all to explore our varyingly-tormented relationships with press cycles and story shares. On the makings of the track, Sandford explains:

“I made this song last winter when we had curfew at 8 pm every night in Montreal. These depressing circumstances manifested in me a very intense figure skating addiction, and everyday I would go to the park by my house and twirl around to F.R. David's Words album. It totally inspired this disco track that I made to let out some frustrations about feeling obligated to constantly self promote online.”

Complementing the release of “Boring Potion” is a charming visualizer video, also concocted by Sandford. Viewers take a trip inside the unofficial Alpen Glow bar, a 80s-tinged fever dream of dancing chalices and wildlife portraiture. Between this space and the Amerbar depicted in “Saturday Nite”, we propose a bar crawl. Drinks on us.

Watch the “Boring Potion” visualiser below!

Alpen Glow

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Rebecca Judd is the features editor of Also Cool Mag.

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