BEGONIA ANNOUNCES NEW EP, SHARES NEW SINGLE, “GET TO YOU”

BEGONIA TO RELEASE OPEN SWIM EP, JULY 17, 2024 VIA BIRTHDAY CAKE RECORDS

LISTEN / SHARE “GET TO YOU” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GET TO YOU” HERE

PRE-SAVE OPEN SWIM EP

“Alexa Dirks has always felt fully formed, but on Powder Blue, she transcends.” - Exclaim!

“[Begonia] conjures charming vintage soul and lays on the richly layered choruses. But she’s also enormously distinct in her crystalline delivery, which pairs perfectly with songs about starting down doubt and anxiety.” - NPR

“Is it too early to call Powder Blue a contender as one of the year’s best albums? We may only be in the early days of 2023, but Begonia, a.k.a. Alexa Dirks, has an undeniable gem on her hands.” - CBC Music

Open Swim EP Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Begonia, aka Alexa Dirks, is not slowing down after celebrating the one year anniversary of her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Powder Blue, which secured a spot on the coveted 2023 Polaris Music Prize Shortlist and earned her a 2024 JUNO Award Nomination. Powder Blue explored self discovery and challenging personal beliefs; in her upcoming EP, Open Swim, she continues that journey by exploring communication with candour and sincerity. Alexa describes the EP as a project that “encompasses the feeling of working through conflict and the elation that can surface when you’re honest with others and ultimately yourself. Sometimes in the process you can feel like you’re swimming for your life through choppy water but on the other side there is the feeling of relief, like floating on your back in the sun.” The Open Swim EP was co-written and produced by Begonia and Marcus Paquin (The National, The Weather Station, Arcade Fire, Julia Jacklin) along with contributions from her frequent collaborators and producer duo, deadmen. Open Swim will be released July 17, 2024 via Birthday Cake Records. 

“Get To You”, the first single from the EP, begins by unspooling a story about longing to connect with someone. As each instrumental component builds, the song fills with emotions underpinned by the Poly 6 and Prophet 8 synthesizers working in tandem with Alexa’s sensitive, breathy vocal delivery. Alexa states “this song is about trying to get through to someone you can't seem to get through to. When you feel like you're constantly showing someone who you are and they can't or don't want to see it.” The single is rooted in R&B grooves and showcases a different side to Begonia’s abilities. While she maintains her signature relatability, charisma, and vocal prowess - which are foundational to her sound, there is a reserved maturity to the composition of “Get to You” that feels distinct. 

LISTEN / SHARE “GET TO YOU” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GET TO YOU” HERE

Begonia heads back to the UK this May to perform in Wrexham for Focus Wales, Brighton for The Great Escape, and London to perform at Strongroom. Her summer is packed with festivals including Toronto Pride, Rochester International Jazz Festival, and Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival among others. Begonia’s past year has included a massive headlining tour in North America, supporting Leith Ross on their UK/EU tour, a breathtaking performance at the Polaris Music Prize Gala, and her standout performance for the In Memoriam portion of the JUNO Awards Gala. While on the road, fan favourites from Powder Blue became clear, one of which turned into The Marigold EP, released in September, 2023, an extended exploration of “Marigold” and included 3 remixes. To celebrate the album, the EP, and her fans, Begonia did a two sold-out nights “Vegas-style residency” at Club Regent Casino in Winnipeg, MB. Powder Blue received worldwide recognition and radioplay in Canada, the United States and Germany, the album also hit #1 on the earshot! charts. 

WATCH BEGONIA’S POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE GALA PERFORMANCE

WATCH BEGONIA PERFORM “BUTTERFLY” AT THE 2024 JUNO AWARDS

MORE ABOUT BEGONIA
Pegged as Canada’s breakout alt-diva, Begonia has built a legion of fans online and at her legendary live shows. Between her debut EP & album, Lady in Mind and Fear respectively, she was named on of NPR’s Artists You Need to Know, had two #1 songs on Canada’s CBC national radio chart, were nominated for a JUNO Award for Alternative Album Of The Year and longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Fear spent 10 straight weeks as the #1 album in Canada on Earshot’s Top 50 chart and had songs synced to numerous Netflix and Oprah Winfrey Network shows.

PRE-SAVE OPEN SWIM EP

Photo Credit: Calvin Lee Joseph // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

OPEN SWIM EP TRACKLIST
01 Get To You
02 Stay Forever
03 Feel It

TOUR DATES
May 9 - Wrexham, UK @ Wrexham University (Focus Wales)
May 10 - Wrexham, UK @ Tŷ Pawb (Focus Wales)
May 11 - Wrexham, UK @ Queen’s Square (Focus Wales)
May 11 - Wrexham, UK @ St Giles Church In Wales (Focus Wales)
May 14 - London, UK @ Strongroom
May 16 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin (The Great Escape)
May 17 - Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store (The Great Escape)
May 18 - Manchester, UK - YES (Pink Room)
May 19 - London, UK - Colours
Jun 2 - Winnipeg, MB @ Pride Winnipeg
Jun 8 - Uxbridge, ON @ Springtide Music Fest 
Jun 15 - Brandon, MB @ Keystone Centre 50th Anniversary
Jun 21 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Jazz Festival
Jun 22 - Beaumont, AB @ Beaumont Music Fest
Jun 28 - Toronto, ON @ Toronto Pride
Jun 29 - Rochester, NY @ Rochester International Jazz Fest
Jul 19 - Yellowknife, YT - Folk On The Rocks
Jul 27 - Salmon Arm, BC - Salmon Arm Roots & Blues
Aug 9 - Ear Falls, ON - Trout Forest Music Festival
Aug 24 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage

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THE DEEP DARK WOODS SHARE VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE TODAY, BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL. III, OUT TOMORROW

THE DEEP DARK WOODS ARE SET TO RELEASE A COLLECTION OF REIMAGINED FOLK STANDARDS, BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL. III, VIA VICTORY POOL RECORDS TOMORROW, MAY 1

BUY / STREAM BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL. III HERE

WATCH / SHARE “BRIDGET O’MALLEY” HERE

Photo Credit : Rima Sater // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Tomorrow, the long celebrated, and JUNO Award nominated group, The Deep Dark Woods,  release their new LP, Broadside Ballads Vol. III, an 8-song record lends a familiar melancholic warmth to a collection of traditional folk songs spanning centuries and continents.

Today they are sharing the new video for the album track “Bridget O’Malley”. Of the track, songwriter Ryan Boldt says, "Bridget O'Malley is another Irish tune that I first heard from the Scottish Group Silly Wizard off of their record So Many Partings produced by the great Scottish traditional singer and songwriter Archie Fisher. The song was collected by the fiddle player and song collector Peter Kennedy in 1953 from the Irish singer Hudai ó Duibheanaigh. I believe the song was translated from Irish to English by Phil and John Cunningham of Silly Wizard. But it’s hard to find out who actually translated it. The Irish name is ‘Brid Óg Ni Mhaille’. I heard a beautiful version done by the English singer June Tabor with two fiddle players, playing almost a Renaissance or baroque-type version, I wanted to do that, so I got my string arranger Marie Grigoryeva to come up with a wonderful arrangement for the violin, viola and cello." 

WATCH / SHARE “BRIDGET O’MALLEY” HERE

BUY / STREAM BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL. III HERE

MORE ABOUT THE DEEP DARK WOODS
Intertwined amongst their albums of original material, Deep Dark Woods has been steadily building up a series of releases called Broadside Ballads, focusing on traditional Irish, English, and Scottish folk songs. It's a fitting tribute to the music that influenced Ryan Boldt’s writing and singing since first forming the band, and like their forebears, Deep Dark Woods aims to take their own experiences of traditional music and create something new and vital. The songs in this collection mine some of the more brutal depths of human experience, touching on broken hearts, love, murder, and the act of leaving. Boldt notes that “there are not too many jolly songs in there”, but the album is not a dour affair, instead benefiting from tasteful, unstated arrangements and an organic, no-frills recording sound. The songs on Vol. III generously display Deep Dark Woods' deep-seated links to the past while still sounding just like themselves.

One might be tempted to think of the Deep Dark Woods as a band steeped in ‘capital-T’ tradition, and that may be true, but now nearly two decades into their life as one of Canada's finest folk-roots ensembles, that tradition is one of their own invention. The voice of founding member Ryan Boldt sits at the forefront of the band, and it doesn't take long to reveal that he is a master of subtlety and shading, working in the lineage of iconic singers like Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, Rick Danko, and Jason Molina. Boldt, a relentless lifelong listener of music, says “It's all I do. When I'm not playing music, I'm listening to it, trying to find songs that make me feel an aching pain in my chest.” Accordingly, his singing is full of highly emotive nuance and an elegant, relaxed precision that makes it seem downright effortless, a perfect vehicle for the band's particular brand of updated folk music. 

WATCH / SHARE “SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE” HERE

WATCH / SHARE “THE BANKS OF THE LOUGH ERNE FEAT. ERIN RAE” HERE

Fellow travellers like keyboard whiz Geoff Hilhorst, veteran drummer Mike Silverman, and Evan Cheadle round out the Deep Dark Woods unit, and they are often assisted by like-minded collaborators such as singer-songwriter Ellen Froese, Erik Nielsen, Leon Power, and the acclaimed duo Kacy & Clayton. This crew creates a powerful combination, and has amassed a pile of celebrated albums, EPs, and host of nominations from music awards outfits from across the country. Together they recall classic units like The Band, mid-period Wilco, and American Beauty-era Grateful Dead, but also legendary late '60s UK groups like Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span. 

BUY / STREAM BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL. III HERE

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BROADSIDE BALLADS VOL III
1 The Banks of the Lough Erne (feat. Erin Rae) 
2 Brigg Fair 
3 My Lagan Love 
4 Spanish is The Loving Tongue 
5 The Cocky at Bungaree 
6 The Boatman 
7 Peggy Gordon 
8 Bridget O'Malley 

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HOVVDY’S SELF-TITLED LP, OUT TODAY, SHARE “BAD NEWS”

HOVVDY’S SELF-TITLED, DOUBLE ALBUM OUT TODAY VIA ARTS & CRAFTS

LISTEN / SHARE “BAD NEWS” HERE

BUY / STREAM HOVVDY HERE

Photo Credit: Taylor Clark // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Texas duo Hovvdy release their anticipated self-titled double album, Hovvdy, via Arts & Crafts. Hovvdy’s fifth album is a statement piece that finds the band at the height of their powers, broadening the scope of their songwriting and adding new wrinkles to their sound, creating something wholly unique and exhilarating, as evidenced by the album’s diverse singles, “Forever,” “Jean,” “Bubba,” “Portrait,” “Meant,” and “Make Ya Proud,” which collectively garnered praise from Pitchfork, Billboard, The FADER, PAPER, Paste, Consequence, Stereogum, Nylon, UPROXX, Under The Radar, and more.

Hovvdy’s exploratory catalog has earned them status as a quiet favorite of rising stars – seen last year as Zach Bryan expressed admiration for Hovvdy’s album True Love, indie supergroup boygenius listed it as an inspiration for their record, and beabadoobee named Hovvdy as one of her favorite artists. 

To mark Hovvdy’s release, the band shares highlight “Bad News,” the first song since their debut, 2016’s Taster, to feature verses from both Charlie Martin and Will Taylor. “‘Bad News’ is a whirlwind song about reckless behavior and the unlikely characters that weave in and out of your life,” says Martin of the song.

LISTEN / SHARE “BAD NEWS” HERE

MORE ABOUT HOVVDY
Hovvdy fits with the comfortable confidence of faded blue jeans. The collection taps familial bonds, tested relationships, and what Will calls “lifelong imprints,” viewed at hindsight’s distance. 

“It’s a full circle, because lots of my songs, in adulthood, deal with looking back and seeing your parents as just individuals struggling through life – and trying to have more empathy or understanding. And now Will is diving in from the opposite side as a new parent, grappling with all that,” says Charlie. 

“On this album, we tried to really step back and look at: How can we convey our songwriting in a new way?” says Will. “It challenged the songs we brought, and it challenged me to be more vulnerable.”

“We’re trying to stretch out and create a tapestry of everything we can do,” says Charlie. 

LISTEN / SHARE “MEANT” HERE

For the expansive double album, the duo went all in with frequent collaborators Andrew Sarlo and Bennett Littlejohn. All four were present for each session in hideaways across the U.S. An unprecedented focus on live takes further peeled the band’s early slowcore layers to show dazzling dynamic range, from the country feel of “Portrait” to the bombastic drums of “Meant.” “We really wanted to encapsulate what it felt like to be in the room when we're playing,” says Will. 

An initial meetup at a log cabin in Black Mountain, North Carolina, revamped Hovvdy’s past lo-fi techniques to playfully catch up with their current craft. Will was surrounded with iPhones and field recorders to capture the southern spin of “Portrait.” Another AirDrop experiment, the vocals of “Angel” find Charlie walking along a babbling creek. A car alarm goes off, just in key, balancing atmospheric clatter and ASMR-level closeness. These intimate moments shift seamlessly into the huge, celebratory statements of character-driven singles like “Jean” and “Forever,” just buzzing in the storytellers’ energy. 

WATCH / SHARE “JEAN” HERE

Deepening the album’s zoom-in on the years since leaving their home state, further sessions landed at family homes near Dallas. With Will now based in Nashville, and Charlie in St. Louis, Texas remains a meeting point. The felted keys of an upright piano borrowed from Charlie’s mom, a piano teacher herself, anchor throughout. Bennett’s Wurlitzer 200A joins the Auto-Tune and electronic flourishes stamped on past Hovvdy co-productions with Sarlo, including True Love (2021) and billboard for my feelings (2022). Skittering programmed drums keep pace on bright spots like “Bubba” and “Every Exchange,” stringing the album’s hell-bent dash towards deeper interpersonal understanding, a timeless pursuit. 

Tempos wander as the duo explores time – earned, lost, and given to others. While the band’s prior LP, True Love, splashed in new marriages and parenthood, the self-titled album looks at long-term ties twisted and strengthened, sometimes amidst grief and addiction. Charlie narrates sibling support in “Bubba,” where a brother promises, “I’ll get a goddamn grip, hold onto it for a while.” The record also recounts a visit to Mississippi, where Charlie stayed with family during the loss of his grandfather. “‘Make Ya Proud,’ I wrote while he was in the hospital, and ‘Song for Pete,’ I wrote that the day he passed,” says Charlie. 

WATCH / SHARE “FOREVER” HERE

A breath, three evenings, or six days’ unemployment – so many spans softly cut the album like pencil marks. Father to a three-year-old, Will holds a special interest in bottling time. He strives to savor moments over the giddy breakbeat of “Every Exchange,” while twangy closer “A Little” measures out regrets over love gone ignored. “That's what makes being a parent so difficult – it immediately exposes all the things you haven't dialed in about yourself,” says Will. “Looking at the record, it’s interesting that we both have these unique perspectives on the challenges that come with family.”

Never staying still too long, Hovvdy’s milestone self-titled album easily folds introspection into their big, fearless choruses so cherished by live audiences. Always guided with a gentle hand, the listener lands right there in the room, to witness the spontaneous synchronicity of Charlie and Will’s shared songcraft. Seeing the duo trade off on vocals for the first time since their 2017 debut Taster, single “Bad News” revels in the years of growth. In the Texas-accented thrum, harnessing Hovvdy’s quintessential chug, Will sings: “You know time is all I have to give up.”

LISTEN / SHARE “MAKE YA PROUD” HERE

TOUR DATES
4/26/2024 - Austin, TX @ Hole in the Wall
4/27/2024 - Austin, TX @ End of an Ear
4/28/2024 - Austin, TX @ Cactus Records
4/30/2024 - Dallas, TX @ Josey Records
5/21/2024 - Glasgow, UK @ King Tut's
5/22/2024 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
5/23/2024 - Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
5/24/2024 - London, UK @ Lafayette
5/25/2024 - Bristol, UK @ Dot to Dot Festival
5/26/2024 - Nottingham, UK @ Dot to Dot Festival
5/28/2024 - Brighton, UK @ Green Door Store
5/29/2024 - Paris, France @ Pop Up du Label
5/30/2024 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Ekko
5/31/2024 - Hamburg, Germany @ Nochtwache
6/01/2024 - Berlin, Germany @ Prachtwerk

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HOVVDY TRACKLIST
1. Intro
2. Bubba
3. Jean
4. Big Blue
5. Shell
6. Forever Piano
7. Forever
8. Heartstring
9. Clean
10. Make Ya Proud
11. Til I Let You Know
12. Meant
13. Song For Pete
14. Every Exchange
15. Give It Up
16. Portrait
17. Angel
18. Bad News
19. A Little

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