CHEMICAL CLUB UNVEIL “HELL IN A HEATWAVE”

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OTTAWA DUO CHEMICAL CLUB (MEMBERS OF FANCLUBWALLET) SIGN TO ARTS & CRAFTS

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Arts & Crafts newest signee, Ottawa duo Chemical Club, are sharing another new single, “Hell In A Heatwave”, following singles “Spring” and “Every Morning Is A Chance”. The new track is an “honest look at who you are and how you can improve upon that,” the band says. “Actively seeking self improvement and pursuing positive changes over neutrality and repetition. Leaving unhealthy habits behind and holding yourself accountable for your own actions and behaviors. Staying comfortable and rejecting positive change is usually the easier option in the short term, but to actively pursue growth is necessary for long term fulfillment.” The song arrives with a music video directed by Hannah Judge aka fanclubwallett.

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Chemical Club is the project of Eric Graham (he/him) and Michael Watson (they/them). The duo performs tight, catchy indie rock songs, perfect for road trips or coming of age soundtracks that deftly weave naturalistic lyrics with reflections on love, death, insecurity, and growth. Having grown up around the corner from each other, the pair didn’t truly connect until their teen years when they began playing together in garage bands. In 2019, they formed Chemical Club and have since released a series of homespun, self-released singles and EPs that’ve earned them a passionate following over the course of the pandemic. In addition to Chemical Club, both members perform in ascendant indie rock project fanclubwallet, with Watson serving as fanclubwallet's co-writer and producer.

LISTEN / SHARE “EVERY MORNING IS A CHANCE” HERE
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WATCH / SHARE “SPRING” HERE
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COLYN CAMERON NEW ALBUM OUT THIS FRIDAY, SHARES NEW SINGLE

LISTEN / SHARE “SWEET RELIEF” HERE
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JUNO AWARD NOMINATED SONGWRITER COLYN CAMERON RETURNS WITH FREEHAND, DUE OUT AUGUST 5, 2022

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This Friday, JUNO Award nominated songwriter Colyn Cameron will release his latest album, Freehand which arrives almost four years after Sad & Easy. While Cameron was living in Vancouver, the materials for Freehand emerged within the paradoxical spaces of experimenting with dispersed and concentrated rhythms. He used the material to explore themes of technology, adventure, self-worth, and love with mild nods to worldly trepidation. 

Today, he shares another single from the album, “Sweet Relief”, a song written right in the middle of the pandemic. “It feels sort of like an internal banter about love in conjunction with some apocalyptic survey,” says Cameron. “There’s a line in the song, ‘so maybe we can scavenge for some sweet relief’. This line feels like how much of the last few years felt like. But also, maybe beyond that, in general. I like the idea that it's not easy to find, or may be in odd or mysterious places. Relief that is sweet. Really it’s taking a point of view of jesting with its own behaviour and trial.”

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MORE ABOUT FREEHAND
The first Merriam-Webster definition of ‘freehand’ is “done without mechanical aids or devices.” “Obviously we are indebted to the invaluable nature of how advanced our civilization is, but at times it can be worrisome as to the limitless ways this advancement almost precedes us and answers to nothing really.” There are plenty of moments on this record referencing the wide scoped and overbearing nature of the current times in relation to technology, philosophical concern, and almost apocalyptic anxiety. But, without sounding outright pessimistic and bleak, there are also cues to simple things like good friendships, love, adventure, substance abuse, and cheap talk. “I wanted to make something romantic and nostalgic, but freely allowing the calamitous to have its place. I love gadgets and sophistication, being connected, and knowledge but I also find it curious how much is dictated by the obsession with technology, ‘progress’, and prosperity.” 

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It has now been ten years since the release of Wake Owl’s first album. In the years since, Colyn has also composed original music for 2 feature films, numerous different independent projects, and formed new musical and broader artististic collaborations. Colyn has also spent much of these ten years learning to carve out ways to continue being creative and writing music, or more simply put, to change pace and make time. But it's not always easy. “I have at times, without a doubt, been a pure cog in the machine. Only hustling. A slave to minimum wage and other vices. But in short spurts it never lasts before I crave dissolution again in something authentic and meaningful, whether that is an experience of a single night, or lifestyle change.” 

WATCH / SHARE “FAULT LINES” HERE
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In a bittersweet move, Colyn relocated from LA to Vancouver a few months before the pandemic began. The songs of Freehand started to trickle in no later. Shrouded with time and a quietish room, he began recording demos and further, final versions of both instrumentals and songs. Once written and having laid a scratch track down, Josh Contant, a long time collaborator, would come track ‘one take’ drums. The rest of each song's parts would be delicately performed atop this foundation, including additional instrumentation by another former Wake Owl member and current collaborator, Aiden Ayers. The process was at times independent and at other times quite collaborative. He wanted the band to sound close and exposed, and in particular Colyn wanted to try performing the vocals in a way that was more upfront and intimate than ever. “I wanted the listener to really be able to hear my voice, the words, the pronunciations, the rhythm, etc.”. In general the vibe is less ‘effected’ and loose than earlier releases. The instrumentation is sometimes raw, sparse, and gentle, but often compact and concise. “Perhaps because the songs sometimes feel lyrically dense, I also decided to add a few short instrumentals that appeared in playful moments between recordings. These are brief guitar motifs that I used to create a pause and vibe.”

“In one way,” Colyn reflects, “Sad & Easy and now Freehand both have felt to be similar artistic processes. Musically they were kept quite intimate, and in the process of bringing the visual elements (Videos, Artwork) to life, I went on good forays with inspiring collaborators. The video experiments connected to the record do feel like an extension of the music in a complimentary and organic way.”

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FREEHAND TRACKLIST
01 Deepfakes
02 Sweet Relief
03 Rille
04 Fault Lines
05 Wedding Rings
06 Stream
07 Dead Ends
08 Locarno Beach
09 Pick Me Up
10 Gila Bend

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ARIEL POSEN NEW EP OUT TOMORROW, SHARES NEW LIVE VIDEO

WATCH / SHARE “BETTER’S ON THE WAY” TODAY HERE

DOWNTOWN EP SET FOR RELEASE TOMORROW

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“One of my favourite guitarists has a new album out. Great songs with great changes and great playing” John Mayer

"He cannot be stopped. ...showing off not only his guitar playing but his songwriting" - Talia Schlanger (On CBC q)

“smooth, soulful... The expertly self-produced sound is a nice mixture of slide guitar, bass, and that popping percussion, with Ariel’s creamy vocals on top.” - Great Dark Wonder

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Tomorrow, Ariel Posen’s new EP, Downtown, is available everywhere. The album is a collection of five songs that “I absolutely love, but didn't quite hear them on albums outside of one that could just keep them together in one,” says Posen.

Today, Posen is sharing the live performance video for “Better’s On The Way”, a song he says is “a reminder to keep a positive outlook on life.” “Perspective is everything,” he continues, “you have to stay the course and don't let yourself be distracted by the negativity. Even though this was written in the height of the pandemic, the idea of 'better's on the way' wasn't a reference to it, but more so past relationships and self growth. It's easy to sit in the moment and dwell in it, but having the constant reminder to keep looking ahead is what this song is all about.”

WATCH / SHARE “BETTER’S ON THE WAY” TODAY HERE

MORE ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN EP
Musically, Downtown explores some new territories which Posen felt “like there were some extremely exciting musical things happening. Therefore, it felt right to make the Downtown EP. I love each of these songs, and they really have a cohesiveness.”

WATCH / SHARE “BE ENOUGH” TODAY HERE

The album was recorded in the Summer and Fall of 2021 in Montreal, Winnipeg, and Norwich, UK, and then mixed in Los Angeles. “Although we were all afar when we recorded this project, I feel like we could not have been more in tune with each other and understood the assignment in serving these songs to bring a musical and lyrical theme to fruition,” says Posen.

WATCH / SHARE “DOWNTOWN” LYRIC VIDEO TODAY HERE

MORE ABOUT ARIEL POSEN
Ariel Posen's music occupies the space between genres. It's a rootsy sound that nods to his influences — heartland rock & roll, electrified Americana, blue-eyed soul, R&B, Beatles-inspired pop — while still moving forward, pushing Posen into territory that's uniquely his own.

Posen began recording his last album, Headway, in December 2019, one week after wrapping up an international tour in support of his acclaimed debut, How Long. He'd been on the road for a year and a half, playing shows across the U.K., Europe, America, and his native Canada. Along the way, Posen had received standing ovations not only from his audiences, but also from outlets like Rolling Stone, who dubbed him "a modern-day guitar hero," Music Radar listing him as a fan voted top 10 rock guitarist of the year and the Western Canadian Music Awards who nominated him for Breakout Artist of the Year." 

WATCH / SHARE “ALWAYS SAW COMING” HERE

Coming back home to Winnipeg, he began sifting through the new songs he'd written between tour dates. Many of them had already been tested on the road, their arrangements whittled into shape by a group of road warriors at the top of their game. Practically all of them were about the process of evolution — of making progress in life, love, and all points in between. Those themes were reflected in the music itself, which presented a crisper, clearer picture of Posen as a songwriter.

DOWNTOWN EP TRACKLIST
01 Be Enough
02 Say It Again
03 Always Saw Coming
04 Downtown
05 Betters On The Way

TOUR DATES
July 28 - Boulder, CO - Dairy Arts Center
July 29 - Los Alamos, NM - Ashley Pond
July 30 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Aug 5 - Haapsalu, ES - Augustibluus Festival
Aug 18 - Westport, CT - Levitt Pavilion
Aug 19 - Waterbury Center, VT - Zenbarn
Aug 21 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl
Aug 22 - Utica, NY - Levitt AMP
Aug 26 - Ontonogan, MI - Porcupine Mountain Festival
Aug 27 - Chicago, IL - Navy Pier
Aug 28 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
Aug 30 - Rockford, IL - Andersen Japanese Gardens
Sept 27 - Glasgow, UK - Broadcast 
Sept 28 - Ashington, UK - Whitehouse 
Sept 29 - Derby, UK - The Flowerpot 
Sept 30 - London, UK - Islington Academy 
Oct 1 - Birmingham, UK - Institute 3 
Oct 3 - Bristol, UK - Thekla 
Oct 4 - Guildford, UK - Boileroom 
Oct 5 - Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje 
Oct 6 - Eindhoven, NL - Effenaar
Oct 7 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotown 
Oct 8 - Utrecht, NL - Tivoli Vrendenburg
Oct 9 - Groningen, NL - Oosterpoort 
Oct 11 - Cologne, DE - Jaki
Oct 12 - Copenhagen, DK - Amager Bio Beta 
Oct 13 - Odense, DK - Dexter 
Oct 14 - Hamburg, DE - Notchwache
Oct 15 - Berlin, DE - Privat Club  

Photo Credit : Nate Forest // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

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