RICH AUCOIN RETURNS TO THE ROAD WITH ‘UNITED STATES TOUR’ THIS WEEK, SHARES NEW REMIX

RICH AUCOIN IS BACK ON THE ROAD SUPPORTING 4TH ALBUM UNITED STATES WITH STOPS THROUGHOUT CANADA // TICKETS HERE

LISTEN / SHARE “DOPAMINE” HIDEBEHIND REMIX

BUY / STREAM UNITED STATES HERE

“On United States, beauty and sadness, hope and pain are shown not to be mutually exclusive — the album demonstrates a jolting acknowledgement of reality combined with an electrifying hope of what could be” - Exclaim! 

“peppered with Beach Boy harmonies, ’70s soul grooves and dance beats that move the body while his lyrical pleas move the mind. ...powerful, motivational” - The Halifax Chronicle Herald

Photo Credit : Corbin Smith // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

It’s been three years since Rich Aucoin was last out on the road with The Death Tour in support of his album Release. Now, the celebrated songwriter is finally ready to hit the road again in support of his latest LP, United States, which was released during the height of the pandemic. Full tour dates, including stops throughout Canada, can be found below and tickets can be purchased at http://www.richaucoin.ca.

Today, Aucoin is also sharing “Dopamine” remixed by Hidebehind, which is the final installment in a series of remixes which also included Steve Bays, DJ Double A, Saint Drogo, and AA Wallace. 

“The remixes have been a great bridge from the album's release in September of 2020 to the album's tour starting next week in Toronto, as the tour pushed back a few times over the pandemic, yet with many of these songs never performed live,” says Aucoin. “The remixes have also been great to open up the sound of this record and will be a good bridge towards the more ‘very electronic’ music to come from me next."

LISTEN / SHARE “DOPAMINE” HIDEBEHIND REMIX
THE UNITED STATES TOUR TICKETS HERE

THE UNITED STATES TOUR 2022
03.10 - Austin @ The Parish*
03.11 - San Antonio @ Paper Tiger*
03.12 - Dallas @ Deep Ellum*
03.17 - Toronto @ Velvet Underground
03.18 - Ottawa @ Club SAW
03.25 - Montreal @ Ursa
04.08 - Calgary @ Broken City
04.09 - Edmonton @ Starlite
04.15 - Winnipeg @ Good Will
04.16 - Saskatoon @ Amigos
04.18 - Tucson @ 191 Toole*
04.19 - San Diego @ The Casbah*
04.20 - Costa Mesa @ The Wayfarer*
04.21 - LA @ Teragram Ballroom*
04.22 - Sacramento @ Harlow’s*
04.24 - San Francisco @ Rickshaw Stop*
04.26 - Portland @ Doug Fir* 
04.27 - Seattle @ Neumos*
04.29 - Bellingham @ The Shakedown*
04.30 - Victoria @ Lucky Bar
05.01 - Vancouver @ Fortune Sound
05.14 - St. John’s @ Rock House
*in support of TWRP

MORE ABOUT UNITED STATES

United States, released during lockdown in September 2020 via Haven Sounds, was written while Rich Aucoin cycled across America in 2018 for both Mental Health America as well as The Canadian Mental Health Association. He wrote the album while on his bicycle and edited the melodies and beats in the motel rooms alone each night. The end result was a flushed out vocally heavy record writing both about the country he was crossing as well as more universal themes of connected consciousness. Vocal heavyweights: Kyla Charter, James Baley, Maylee Todd, Simone Denny, Carleigh Aikins, Tarik Henry all helped flush out the album which won the ECMA for Best Electronic Album last year in 2021. 

WATCH AND SHARE “WALLS” HERE

While taking this Robert Frank approach, Aucoin composed a song for each of the 12 states he pedaled through. The record is as much about the current socio-political climate of America as it is about states of consciousness; as much fuelled by the burgeoning American protest movement or Hedges’ social commentary as it is fuelled by the McKenna/Pollan world of psychedelics and meditation apps.

Rich Aucoin has never been short on ambitions or concepts. From his first EP, Personal Publication—on which he played over two dozen instruments and wrote it to sync to How the Grinch Stole Christmas—to We’re All Dying to Live’s 500 performers, to his death meditation Release, the pop anthemist has always dug deep and gone big.

WATCH AND SHARE “RESET” HERE

But this is the first time he’s written a record from the grounds of a crumbling empire.

In the spring of 2018, Aucoin set off from Los Angeles on one of his customarily challenging (and eco-friendly) tours. Final stop: New York City. Vehicle: Bicycle.

He traveled the perimeter of the United States, down the west coast, across the south, and up the eastern seaboard. He saw a country, two years into a dictatorship, divided and hurting. A pair of wheels and his own two feet took him through landscapes varied in their construction and grandeur, from the boarded-up storefronts of Route 66 to the fountain formation of Red Rocks. Tiny towns and major cities. Thriving and fading. 

At night, after cycling dozens of kilometres in a day, he would write about and demo the things he saw. Two years later, with its namesake country on the precipice of ruin, he turned that travelogue into United States, a journey through the states of consciousness that unite us all.

He began with an idea in each state, and fleshed those out lyrically while staying connected to something in that state, creating a living historical document.

WATCH AND SHARE “HOW IT BREAKS” HERE

In addition to the physical territory Aucoin traversed, he’s traveling new artistic ground as well: This is the quickest he’s ever made an album, recording it in a handful of studios across Canada. It’s got just 16 collaborators. It doesn’t sync up with an existing film. It’s a deliberately minimal work from a joyously maximal artist. True, he had to power himself across an entire country, but he came out on the other side with his most focused, deeply realized, catchiest album yet. 

As the United States reckons with its narcissistic leader, its splintering systems, and a fed-up populace determined to have its voice heard, United States offers a soundtrack for these unwieldy, unpredictable days. It doesn’t pull any punches or sugarcoat any truths, but it’s got faith, and hope, and heart.

Aucoin has been long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize twice. His music video for “Brian Wilson is A.L.I.V.E.” won the Prism Prize. Aucoin has built a reputation as one of the best live shows in Canada according to CBC Radio3. His albums all sync to old movies like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon with The Wizard of Oz. He has performed dozens of festivals including Osheaga, The Great Escape, Les Eurockéennes, Berlin Music Festival, Art Basel Miami, Luminato Art Festival, Iceland Airwaves, SXSW, and Pop Montreal.

PRAISE FOR RICH AUCOIN

“A bold talent, his grasp of sonics is interlinked with a desire to express something, to challenge both himself and those around him.” - Clash Magazine

"’The Middle’ is an extremely earnest, charming-as-hell reflection on the self at the midpoint of life and death." - Noisey

"This is an anthemic collection of head nodding and foot tapping electro-pop" - PopMatters 

"Easily one of the most mesmerizing tracks we've heard so far this year." - CBC Music

“Aucoin, a characteristically ambitious artist” - Paste Mag 

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CASSIDY MANN UNVEILS NEW TRACK FROM UPCOMING EP

CASSIDY MANN’S NEW EP, IF IT’S NOT FOREVER, OUT APRIL 1 VIA DONOVAN WOODS AND MICHELLE SZETO’S NEW LABEL, END TIMES MUSIC

WATCH / SHARE “SINCE I MET YOU” VISUALIZER HERE
BUY / STREAM “SINCE I MET YOU” HERE

PRE-SAVE IF IT’S NOT FOREVER EP HERE

TOUR DATES SUPPORTING DONOVAN WOODS BEGIN APRIL 20 // TICKETS HERE

Photo Credit : Adam Kelly // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Cassidy Mann is unveiling another track off her upcoming EP, If It’s Not Forever, set for release on April 1, 2022 set for release on the new label, End Times Music, created by Donovan Woods and Michelle Szeto. 

As a lyricist, Mann often reshapes a small moment into a powerful and poetic song that feels both personal and relatable. What makes these recordings stand out, though, is the way the sonic approach enhances the storyline, allowing her to share her most intimate memories in a singular way. On “Since I Met You”, Mann writes about that moment when a relationship changes.

“I’m a sucker for a ‘friends first’ kind of love and I like the idea of telling someone who’s been in your life for a long time that you’re falling for them,” says Mann. “There are all these subtle, intimate moments you can have with a close friend that is magnified when you also have a crush on them. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’re the only one feeling those big feelings. You just have to take that leap, tell them how you feel and hope for the best. This song is that leap.”

WATCH / SHARE “SINCE I MET YOU” VISUALIZER HERE
BUY / STREAM “SINCE I MET YOU” HERE

“Since I Met You” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT IF IT’S NOT FOREVER
By entwining her acoustic roots with gentle electronic textures Mann finds her true voice on the upcoming debut EP, If It’s Not Forever. Co-producing with her friend Roman Clarke, Mann wanted to find a cinematic yet wistful sound to complement these emotionally driven pop songs. They achieved that effect through reverb and delay on the guitars, along with crafting lyrics about specific moments in past relationships. 

“My favourite thing is to write about tiny things that make the bigger picture more important somehow,” she says. “I was wondering a lot about how two people can be in the same situation and have different memories attached to those times. It’s interesting to me how memories are interpretable that way.” 

The songs on If It’s Not Forever also serve as a catalogue of how Mann’s early relationships ended and why – and she hopes that other people will feel seen and comforted by her stories. While processing one particular breakup, she remembers sitting on her bed and eating the same sour candy she once shared with the person she missed. When she discovered the metaphor – “this thing that seems sweet, but also physically hurts you if you have too much,” as she describes it – the song “Tropical Sour Candy” emerged. 

She wrote “Election Night", tweaking the melodies with Clarke, to capture the intense awakening and transformation that many people experienced over the four years of the prior presidency. The lyrics focus on a couple that moved beyond just friends that night but ultimately ended as strangers. Her skill as a writer is especially clear on “Fine” as that simple word takes on multiple meanings in the context of a heartbreak.

WATCH / SHARE “FINE” VISUALIZER HERE
BUY / STREAM “FINE” HERE

Certain moments in a relationship are almost always at the core of her songs, whether it’s the potential start of something special (“Since I Met You”) or the inevitable end (“Stop A Heart”). There’s also an acknowledgement that listeners can carry those important parts of the past through the rest of their lives (“If It’s Not Forever”). 

“A lot of the time, whenever I’m remembering something, I find myself connected to these subtle moments that made me feel alive in some way. Those are the things that I replay in my mind a lot.” 

LISTEN AND SHARE “STOP A HEART” HERE
BUY / STREAM “STOP A HEART” HERE

Growing up in the Prairies of Winnipeg, Mann has been singing since she could talk. Her parents bought her a guitar as a birthday present when she was 9. By 14, she started taking songwriting more seriously and her emerging talent led to a nomination for Aboriginal Recording of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Still, she felt uncertain about the next step.

“In my early teens I wasn’t sure what music was going to be to me,” she says. “I was writing and playing shows a lot but after high school I studied film for a while and worked in restaurants. I definitely meandered a bit before really deciding that this is what I was going to do.” 

Her family’s Indigenous community of Sagkeeng First Nation offered encouragement and support throughout her journey-- and she notes how Indigenous tradition influences her. 

“When it comes to my Indigenous heritage and cultures, it is based around oral storytelling – songs and spoken stories,” Mann observes. “That is so fascinating to me and it ties into my music a lot because that’s how memories and experiences have been captured in my culture forever. Storytelling is something I feel compelled to do. I think it probably has a lot to do with the fact that that’s what my ancestors did.”

WATCH / SHARE “ELECTION NIGHT” VISUALIZER HERE
BUY / STREAM “ELECTION NIGHT” HERE

Still, in her formative years, Mann struggled to blend her introspective writing style with her love of the enticing pop influences of her generation. Plus, she often found it difficult to communicate her creative concepts to the older men she worked with in the studio. Knowing she needed to be more involved in the process, she opted to learn as many production techniques as possible on her own by watching online videos, taking courses in audio engineering, listening to older music as a study in song structure, and doing a deep dive into her favourite artists and their influences for inspiration. 

“I felt like I was given permission to do whatever I wanted to do,” she says. “Becoming really involved in production is what helped me come to a place where I feel fully represented in the music that I make.” 

Relocating to Toronto after a difficult breakup, Mann made a bunch of demos on her own while relentlessly searching for that certain sound. She brought the demos to Roman Clarke and they experimented on the new songs together, ultimately transcending genre and tapping into the evocative feelings that permeate If It’s Not Forever. 

“When I listen to these songs now, I feel a sense of peace because I have captured the story I wanted to tell, and I’ve also captured a lot of the nuance surrounding it,” she says. “I’m telling a story of my evolution and the relationships that I’ve gone through, but this is only my version of the experience and the way I remember it. It took me a while to figure out how to express that lyrically and sonically but I feel really proud of the fact that I do think that’s pretty clear in the music.”

PRE-SAVE IF IT’S NOT FOREVER EP HERE

2022 TOUR DATES // TICKETS HERE
Mar 24 - Winnipeg, MB - Times Change(d)
Apr 20 - Sarnia, ON - The Imperial Theatre *
Apr 21 - Sarnia, ON - The Imperial Theatre *
Apr 22 - Meaford, ON - Meaford Hall Arts & Cultural Centre *
Apr 23 - Huntsville, ON - Algonquin Theatre *
May 4 - Vancouver, BC - Hollywood Theatre *
May 5 - Vancouver, BC - Hollywood Theatre *
May 8 - Edmonton, AB - Winspear Centre *
May 9 - Calgary, AB - Jack Singer Concert Hall *
May 10 - Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre *
May 11 - Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre *
May 12 - Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre *

* supporting Donovan Woods

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

IF IT’S NOT FOREVER TRACKLIST
01 Tropical Sour Candy
02 Election Night
03 Fine
04 Stop A Heart 
05 Since I Met You
06 If It’s Not Forever

CASSIDY MANN ONLINE
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MORE ABOUT END TIMES MUSIC
The core of End Times’ mission is transparency and adaptability. In the world of streaming, the data is available. Artists should understand their expenses and their earnings as well as anyone they work with. It allows us to interpret and react to how, why, and where songs are being discovered. 

There are many pathways to success, and success looks different to everyone. Every artist and every project is unique and artists should be confident that the team built around them is being created thoughtfully and purposefully in service of their individuality. 

We’ll focus on songwriters, regardless of genre, and work together to make their music valuable by getting it to people who will use it and love it.

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BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE TO PERFORM AT MASSEY HALL THIS APRIL WITH OMBIIGIZI AND GEORGIA HARMER

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS AS A BAND, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE WILL MAKE THEIR MASSEY HALL HEADLINING DEBUT ON APRIL 20 AND 21, 2022

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
APRIL 20 (WITH OMBIIGIZI) // APRIL 21 WITH (GEORGIA HARMER)

Credit: Richmond Lam // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Next month, Broken Social Scene will make their headlining debut at the legendary Massey Hall after 20 years of making music together. For each show, Broken Social Scene will be supported by Arts & Crafts labelmates OMBIIGIZI (April 20) and Georgia Harmer (April 21). Tickets for both shows are available to purchase today.

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
APRIL 20 (WITH OMBIIGIZI) // APRIL 21 WITH (GEORGIA HARMER)

Recently, Broken Social Scene revisited two decades worth of releases to compile Old Dead Young: B-Sides & Rarities, a career-spanning collection of B-sides, rarities, and outtakes pulled from 20 years of 7-inches, compilations, soundtracks, and hard-to-find releases. 

BUY / STREAM OLD DEAD YOUNG : B-SIDES & RARITIES

Once a two-person basement recording project, Broken Social Scene came to life onstage as a shadowy improvisational entity with a revolving-door roster, each concert a wholly unique experience dependent on the room, the weather, what they ate for dinner that night, and who was dropping in to play. Where the band’s 2001 debut album, Feel Good Lost, presented BSS as an anonymous ambient project that reflected its humble, homespun origins, their electrifying live performances from that era rallied an extended family of performers with roots in post-rock (Justin Peroff; Do Make Say Think’s Charles Spearin), Latin jazz (Andrew Whiteman), art-folk (Feist), synth-pop (Amy Millan and Evan Cranley, also of Stars), dance-punk (Metric’s Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw), and country rock (Jason Collett).

But by pursuing improvisational freedom over commercial considerations, Broken Social Scene set a new gold standard for indie rock in the 21st century with 2002’s You Forgot It In People, an album that pushed the genre far beyond its noisy ’90s slacker roots toward a more sonically expansive, emotionally expressive vision. And with follow up releases like the blissfully chaotic Broken Social Scene (2005), the rapturous Forgiveness Rock Record (2010), and the intricate, insidiously melodic Hug of Thunder (2017), Broken Social Scene have amassed a thrillingly amorphous, unpredictable body of work. Old Dead Young: B-Sides & Rarities is everything that happened in between.

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MORE ABOUT OMBIIGIZI
The debut release from OMBIIGIZI – a collaboration between Zoon (Daniel Monkman) and Status/Non Status (Adam Sturgeon) – Sewn Back Together is a rumination on family, a celebration and holistic cleansing, with a strong sense of brotherhood and loving support. An amalgam of their indigenous heritages and their personal musical architectures, Daniel and Adam imbue the lyrics with their families' storytelling, revealing truths and finding common ground amidst their differences.

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MORE ABOUT GEORGIA HARMER
With a wisdom and poise that belies her youthful age, Harmer has penned an emotionally resonant collection of songs that articulate the ways in which even the most fleeting experiences can forge bonds between strangers, create families out of friends, and one by one form the joys and sorrows that make up a life. Debut LP, Stay In Touch, out April 22 via Arts & Crafts. 

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