KATIE TUPPER UNVEILS DEBUT SINGLE “LIVE INSIDE”

WORLD FIRST PREMIERE ON APPLE MUSIC 1 VIA ZANE LOWE
“Neo-Soul from the Heartland”

BUY / STREAM “LIVE INSIDE” HERE

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Photo Credit : Thomas Van Der Zaag // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES


Beneath the painted hues and infinite prairie skies of Saskatoon -- a city in the heart of Canada -- lies a soulful, creative spirit that proves there’s much more to the so-called ‘fly-over states’ than grassland and grain silos. Katie Tupper, a 23-year old neo-soul musician, embodies that spirit and is determined to show there’s an entire world of boundary-pushing, genre-defying artists at work within the often overlooked region. 

Today, Tupper unveiled her “fantastic” and “beautiful” debut single “Live Inside” with Zane Lowe, Apple Music’s global creative director and host.

“Live Inside” is a romantic, downtempo track she co-produced with Connor Seidel (Charlotte Cardin, Matt Holubowski). On “Live Inside,” Tupper ruminates on notions of identity and what it means to let someone change your appearance, to surrender into your relationship and allow your partner to become a piece of who you look like everyday. The song is a reflection on a real experience where Tupper’s partner allowed her to shave their head on a whim, a concept that informed the playful new music video directed by Mashie Alam.

Now that I live inside, I think I can be your way of life 

Now that I live inside, I think I can have some peace of mind 

BUY / STREAM “LIVE INSIDE” HERE

WATCH / SHARE “LIVE INSIDE” (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

Tupper began honing her music from a young age, turning early piano lessons into a tool for writing lyrics and melodies. Then, at just 14, she toured the U.S. with a marching band, lugging a massive bass drum around in parades. At 18 she became involved in the local Saskatoon music community joining a loose collection of musicians known as the Soulmate Collective. The group went on to release a series of singles and an album for the UK-based jazz and R&B record label DeepMatter.

Tupper’s debut EP, set for release in 2022 on Arts & Crafts, is a bright and moving mix of indie, alternative R&B, and neo-soul that will have no trouble breaking hearts or soundtracking your new love.

 

PONDERCAST EP 166 : CLOUDS

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For Episode 166 of Laurie Brown’s Pondercast, you are heading to the clouds. Let’s ponder a world where we could be living a second life up in the data flow of the cloud. Ready to leap to a complete mind upload? What could go wrong?

LISTEN TO PONDERCAST EP 166 : CLOUDS

Every Monday morning Laurie Brown will post a new 20 minute Guided Meditation. Meant for everyone - no experience necessary. Great way to start meditating, and a great way to find support and encouragement for your practise.

LISTEN TO PONDERCAST GUIDED MEDITATIONS HERE

Pondercast is able to expand their offerings because of the support you have helped build on Patreon. We are really hoping that this new season will move you to become a monthly donor at www.patreon.com/Pondercast or, a one time donor on our website at www.pondercast.ca

For those of you who have already taken the Patreon plunge, thank you - your support has made this happen.

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Recently, Killbeat Music partnered with the team at Pondercast to bring you Ponderbeat, a series of special episodes featuring selections curated by Brown from some of Killbeat’s latest releases. The ninth episode of Ponderbeat is live now, featuring music from Allison Russell, Dana Sipos, Treephones, Aasiva, Charlie Houston, Joseph Shabason, and more.

 LISTEN TO KILLBEAT’S COLLABORATION WITH PONDERCAST - PONDERBEAT EPISODE 09 HERE

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JEAN-MICHEL BLAIS RELEASES NEW SINGLE “murmures”

 
FROM UPCOMING LP, aubades, 

THE POST-CLASSICAL ICON’S FIRST ENSEMBLE RECORD

LISTEN / SHARE "murmures" HERE

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Photo Credit : William Arcand // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

aubades, the new album from post-classical piano icon Jean-Michel Blais, marks the Montreal-based musician’s transition from pianist to composer, as he collaborates with an ensemble for the first time in his recording career. Written during the pandemic and following a breakup, Blais has used his distinctive musical voice to create a defiantly uplifting record with glistening instrumental textures and warm major tonalities. The album’s title refers to the “aubade”, a Middle-Ages morning love song about lovers separating at dawn and will come out via Arts & Crafts.

Today the composer shares the album’s first single, “murmures”. It is described by Blais as a tribute to Philip Glass. A minimal piano is joined by fluttering strings and winds resembling birds in flight. The release date, tracklist, and cover art for the album will be announced later this month. It will be the first studio album from the pianist since 2019's Original Soundtrack for Xavier Dolan’s Matthias et Maxime which received a special jury prize at Cannes Soundtrack Festival and the 2018 Polaris Music Prize Shortlisted LP, Dans ma main.

LISTEN / SHARE "murmures" HERE

BUY / STREAM “murmures” HERE

Jean-Michel Blais has been a celebrated figure in the post-classical piano world since the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album II in 2016. He attended Quebec’s prestigious Trois-Rivières Music Conservatory but left after two years of study, exhausted by the restraints of the traditional music curriculum. Blais then travelled widely before retraining as a special education teacher. Whilst working as a teacher, he returned to music on his own terms, rediscovering his passion through improvising on the piano. These improvisations formed the basis of a recording career that has earned him a shortlist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize, a #1 on the Billboard Classical chart and a Time Magazine top ten album of the year. 

Despite the difficult global and personal backdrop, Blais described the time writing this album as a “fruitful moment of creativity for me. We started having hares in the park, beautiful butterflies flying everywhere. It was a time of lots of blossoming, and also a moment when I blossomed from being a pianist into a composer.” Musical ideas captured in over 600 recorded piano improvisations were transformed by Blais into 11 compositions performed by a 12-person ensemble. During the composition process, Blais collaborated with Alex Weston, former music assistant to Philip Glass. The musicians were recorded with close-up microphones, creating a richly intimate atmosphere that captures the human behind each instrument, from the mechanics of the woodwind keys to the snap of a double bass string. 

Blais also consciously found himself leaning towards major tonalities, which he believes are surprisingly rare in modern classical piano music. “With this album, I was definitely responding to certain trends in modern classical music,” Blais reckons. “For example, the fact that the solo piano tends to sound melancholic. That’s good, but I’ve done that already, I wanted to go beyond that.”

In aubades, every instrument is given moments of expression. Blais was inspired by more democratic musical textures from the Renaissance and Middle Ages, as well as the social democratic artistic ethos of the English 19th century poet, designer and activist William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. “I tried to give a moment to every instrument, like solos or bring outs. For example, I did things like giving the Second Violin some moments on their own too. Usually they are there to support and accompany the First Violin, but when the Second Violin player came to look at the music, she thought there was a mistake. She was the only violin playing. I’d have to tell her ‘It’s not a mistake, it’s your time to shine” , Blais says, “there’s often been this idea in classical music that one instrument is the chief, the king of all the instruments, and the others are in the background merely supporting.” 

Jean-Michel Blais will be taking aubades on the road in 2022. Tour dates can be found HERE. 

“murmures” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES


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