JESSE NORTHEY ANNOUNCES NEW LP, SHARES VIDEO “BOTH EYES CLOSED”

JESSE NORTHEY’S NEW LP, ONION KNIGHT, OUT VIA VICTORY POOL RECORDS ON AUGUST 10, 2022

WATCH / SHARE “BOTH EYES CLOSED” HERE

BUY / STREAM “BOTH EYES CLOSED” HERE

PRE-SAVE ONION KNIGHT HERE

Photo Credit : Heather Saitz // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

If one was to analyze the DNA of Jesse Northey music, its double helix might look an awful lot like a sharp insider's take on the world of capital “P” pop songcraft. A decade and change into his career, Northey has long established his own voice as a songwriter, but the music palpably pulses with inspiration from the decades' worth of tune-smiths that have come before him. In tandem with lyrics that explore the myriad ways in which we need to dismantle the artifice of masculinity, societal norms, and creativity-sapping careerist ambitions, this is music firmly rooted in the classics, but cut with a clear-eyed contemporary viewpoint.

On his new album Onion Knight, Northey presents a widescreen distillation of these influences, brought to life with exceptional warmth and attention to detail by ace producer Thomas D’Arcy (The Sheepdogs, NOBRO, Yukon Blonde) at Taurus Studios in Toronto. “Onions are associated with crying,” Northey says. “I wanted to conjure an imagery that confronts the stoic heroism associated with masculinity and take a jab at it.” And he's done just that: the feel of Onion Knight is classic but also urgent, tackling modern anxieties and buffered by a warm, rich psychedelia that is inviting as it is pristine.

The drums are lush and up front, the bass melodic and McCartney-esque, and the songs are driven by piano, vintage keyboards, and shimmering synths. All of these elements readily bring to mind titans of song such as Elliott Smith, Harry Nilsson, Aimee Mann, and Spoon, as well as contemporaries such as Chris Cohen and Andy Shauf.

Today, Northey is sharing album cut “Both Eyes Closed”, a track about “not being present enough in the moment and missing an opportunity to connect,” he says. “It's close but not quite. Wind with no air, a fire with no spark, a star with no shine.”

The video for “Both Eyes Closed” was produced / directed by Cayley Thomas and Bob L’Heureux. “The song is about things not panning out,” says Thomas, “so we figured a friendless birthday party might be the perfect place to showcase the feeling that we all know too well. It’s a simple visual to accompany the song that leaves a lot of room for wondering what the hell happened.”

WATCH / SHARE “BOTH EYES CLOSED” HERE

BUY / STREAM “BOTH EYES CLOSED” HERE

“Both Eyes Closed” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT JESSE NORTHEY
Northey has maintained a parallel career behind the curtains of the music world. His work as an engineer and producer has afforded him plenty of time to hone his studio skills, and his place on the High Priestess Publishing roster has led to songs appearing in far flung places such as the Amazon's documentary on Pete Buttigieig, former Indiana Mayor turned presidential candidate. As the leader of Jesse & The Dandelions, he has shared stages with Hollerado, Said the Whale, and July Talk, and toured extensively in Japan. And since 2020, he's been the man behind Victory Pool Records, a record label and management company, helping to shepherd an impressive variety of acts such as Witch Prophet, The Deep Dark Woods, Marlaena Moore, Ghost Woman and OMBIIGIZI.

WATCH / SHARE “SOUL SEEKER” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SOUL SEEKER” HERE

PRE-SAVE ONION KNIGHT HERE

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ONION KNIGHT TRACKLIST
01 Soul Seeker
02 Picking The Numbers
03 Both Eyes Closed
04 Do You Like Me Now
05 Is This Real Love
06 Hold On
07 I Am An Island

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JEAN-MICHEL BLAIS RELEASES SOLO PIANO VERSION OF “AMOUR”

FROM THE POST-CLASSICAL ICON’S FIRST ENSEMBLE ALBUM AND 2022 POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE NOMINATED LP AUBADES

LISTEN / SHARE / BUY / STREAM “AMOUR” - PIANO” HERE

2022 TOUR DATES CONTINUES WITH STOPS AT MONTREAL JAZZ FEST THIS WEEK, NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE, AND KOERNER HALL - TICKETS HERE

WATCH / SHARE ‘MAKING OF AUBADES’ DOCUMENTARY HERE

BUY / STREAM AUBADES HERE

“From its opening notes, it whisks listeners away. On the new album from the esteemed post-classical pianist, Blais is in perpetual bloom, moved by life's beauty and nature's song.” - Exclaim!

“...aubades finds Blais conducting a 12-person ensemble, filling in his beautiful piano melodies with lush instrumentation that brings his music to new heights.” - CBC MUSIC 

Photo Credit : William Arcand // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Since Jean-Michel Blais released aubades earlier this year, the post-classical piano icon has found his first ensemble LP as the 10th highest selling album in Canada in 2022, alongside global superstars like Adele, Taylor Swift, and the Weeknd. 

aubades marked the Montreal-born musician’s transition from pianist to composer, writing for an ensemble for the first time in his career. Written during the pandemic and following a breakup, Blais used his distinctive musical voice to create a defiantly uplifting record with glistening instrumental textures and warm major tonalities. The Polaris Music Prize nominated album’s title refers to the “aubade”, a Middle Ages morning love song about lovers separating at daybreak, a dawn serenade. 

Now Blais is releasing a solo piano version of aubades’ album track “amour”. He explains:

“At the antipodes of the exploded, orchestral and luminous album that aubades represents exists its antagonism: sérénades. inspired by Liszt's solo piano reductions, these serenades allow refined, nocturnal, stripped and felted versions of already existing pieces, like a soothing solitude is welcomed after a mundane celebration. but the gap is so great that, like a sleeping pill, it is even impossible for me to stay awake while listening to these soft and docile serenades.

amour begins with the loneliness of a piano longing for other instruments which will only come later while the already-known melodies are evoked, one by one, before getting carried away in a dreamlike whirlwind, resulting in the lull of minimalist repetitions ... the departed amour of a lonely waltz.”

“amour - piano” Single Art

AUBADES AVAILABLE NOW ON DOLBY ATMOS ON APPLE MUSIC HERE

WATCH / SHARE “PASSEPIED” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE

This Summer and Fall, Jean-Michel Blais will continue supporting aubades with performances throughout Quebec and Ontario. It will include a stop at Montreal Jazz Fest on July 9 with an orchestra of 12 musicians for what promises to be a very special show as well as performances at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre and Koerner Hall in Toronto. Full tour dates can be found below and tickets are available here.

MORE ABOUT AUBADES
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 two Polaris Music Prize nominations, 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 500 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,” 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 to an extent that took the players by surprise. Blais says, “there’s often been this dominant 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.” He 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. 

Jean-Michel Blais will be taking aubades on the road in 2022. Full tour dates can be found below.

BUY / STREAM AUBADES HERE

JEAN-MICHEL BLAIS TOUR DATES
09/07/22 Montréal, QC - Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal)
01/09/22 Victoriaville, QC - Le Carré 150 - Salle Les Frères-Lemaire
02/09/22 L’assomption, QC - Théâtre Hector-Charland
03/09/22 Laval, QC - Salle André-Mathieu
08/09/22 Gaspé, QC - Salle de spectacles de Gaspé
09/09/22 Carleton-sur-Mer, QC - Studio Hydro-Québec du Quai des arts
10/09/22 Rimouski, QC - Salle Desjardins-Telus
12/09/22 Sept-Îles, QC - Salle Jean-Marc Dion
13/09/22 Baie-Comeau, QC - Centre des arts de Baie-Comeau
15/09/22 Saguenay, QC - Théâtre Banque Nationale
16/09/22 Dolbeau-Mistassini, QC - Salle Desjardins Maria-Chapdelaine
17/09/22 Alma, QC - Salle Michel-Côté
22/09/22 Rivière-du-Loup, QC - Centre culturel Berger - Salle Alphonse Desjardins
24/09/22 Terrebonne, QC - Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne
26/09/22 Amos, QC - Théâtre des Eskers
27/09/22 La Sarre, QC - Salle de spectacles Desjardins
28/09/22 Rouyn-Noranda, QC - Théâtre du Cuivre
30/09/22 Val-d’Or, QC - Théâtre Télébec
02/10/22 Shawinigan, QC - Centre des arts de Shawinigan - Salle Philippe-Filion
04/10/22 Brossard, QC - L’Étoile Banque Nationale
05/10/22 Longueuil, QC - Théâtre de la Ville - Salle Pratt & Whitney
07/10/22 Beloeil, QC - Centre culturel de Beloeil
08/10/22 Baie-du-Febvre, QC - Théâtre Belcourt
13/10/22 Saint-Irénée, QC - Domaine forget de Charlevoix
14/10/22 St-Eustache, QC - Le Zénith Promutuel Assurance
18/10/22 Brooklyn, NY - National Sawdust
20/10/22 Ottawa, ON - National Arts Centre
20/01/23 Toronto, ON - Koerner Hall

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GHOST WOMAN’S NEW SELF-TITLE LP, OUT NOW

NEW SELF-TITLED LP OUT NOW VIA VICTORY POOL

BUY / STREAM GHOST WOMAN HERE

WATCH / SHARE “ALONG” HERE

BUY / STREAM “ALONG” HERE

“Ghost Woman's eponymous full-length feels compulsive, almost dangerous in a way that evokes the early works of the Brian Jonestown Massacre or when Ty Segall and White Fence first came together.” - Exclaim!

Photo Credit : Self-Portrait // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Ghost Woman shares their new self-titled LP, courtesy of Victory Pool in Canada and via Full Time Hobby everywhere else. The album brims with self-produced and self-performed Anatolian sounds and lo-fi hooks. Subscribing to the school of authenticity songwriter Evan John Uschenko seemingly shares with rebellious new-psych classmates Kurt Vile or The Black Angels, Ghost Woman takes its inspiration largely from groups like Can, Beak, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, and The Firesign Theatre. 

Given Ghost Woman’s inspiration, it’s no wonder the album’s sometimes krautrock groove is often thwarted by the unapologetic exploration of heartbreak and misplaced expectations; But heartbreak ain’t the only unsuccessful temptress at the band’s doorstep.

BUY / STREAM GHOST WOMAN HERE

“Not only did we have a rehearsal space catch fire and ruin some of our gear but this last year my van got broken into and ripped off some of my favourite guitars and amps. I try not to let that bug me too much, and luckily they were cheap-o Sears-Roebuck / Stencil amps / Japanese knock-offs,” he rambles with a morning coffee and cigarette in hand. “A few road bumps can’t stop us. It's only gonna make us come back stronger.”

Ghost Woman’s blissfully hypnotic world is the creation of melodic maniac, Evan John Uschenko. Beating the odds of life as a busy touring musician, salvaging and replacing his instruments from burned down rehearsal spaces, van break-ins and far too many relocations to list, Uschenko has transformed his lifelong habit of homespun sonic exploration into a sensory ‘mix and match’ experience destined for the main stage.

WATCH / SHARE “BEHIND YOUR EYES” HERE

 “When I record songs I tend not to approach them with any preconceived idea,” He says, staring at the ceiling. “I take a seat, tune the guitar and enjoy myself. It’s always been like that for me. If it don’t turn you on, what’s the point?”

 Evan’s sonic and literal adventures as a touring multi-instrumentalist with songwriter / producer / guitarist Michael Rault saw him share international stages with the likes of Jacco Gardner, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and The Mild High Club who unwittingly paved the way for Ghost Woman’s inevitable incarnation.

WATCH / SHARE “ALONG” HERE

“Having the opportunity to witness those groups perform was inspiring to say the least. Especially Gizz and Jacco. The attention to detail, professionalism as a touring act and the extra effort put into creating a killer live show doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s a calibre I’m just not used to where I’m from,” Uschenko laughs. “When the tours were wrapped, I got home and immediately started writing music. And music with a live show in mind”

WATCH / SHARE “CLOCKWORK” HERE

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GHOST WOMAN TRACKLIST
01 All The Time
02 Do You
03 Dead & Gone
04 Along
05 Clockwork
06 Behind Your Eyes
07 All Your Love
08 Jreaming
09 Good
10 Comes On 

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