GHOSTLY KISSES NEW LP, DARKROOM, OUT TODAY

SOPHOMORE ALBUM DARKROOM OUT TODAY VIA AKIRA RECORDS

BUY / STREAM DARKROOM HERE

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR KICKS OFF NEXT WEEK

“a resounding success” EXCLAIM!

"Magnetic" - PITCHFORK

“a dreamy interplay of glassy melody and dance rhythms..vital and energetic.”
- UNDER THE RADAR

“haunting yet colorful” - PASTE MAGAZINE

“Truly captivating... awe invoking” - WONDERLAND

“Her music has a weightless quality, something that transcends the ephemeral to grapple with key facets of our lives” - CLASH

Photo Credit: Fred Gervais // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Ghostly Kisses release their sophomore album Darkroom, via Akira Records. Comprised of French-Canadians Margaux Sauvé and Louis-Étienne Santais, the duo became an international sensation with the release of their debut album Heaven, Wait, garnering a cult following overseas, and sharing the stage with Ry X, Men I Trust, Lord Huron, Pomme and more. For their new record, the band launched what they’ve dubbed the "Box Of Secrets" initiative, allowing fans to anonymously reveal their deepest intimacies.

What they discovered was a global, post-pandemic, postmodern era of pain - an intense and strange loneliness felt around the world. Sauvé and her partner Santais synthesized those missives into the mesmeric Darkroom, a record that wills our inner monologue into view, an empowering ode to our collective battles.

On the release, Sauvé shares “Last year, we opened an anonymous safe space for fans to share personal stories about their lives, called The Box Of Secrets. We feel very privileged that fans chose to entrust us with their deepest secrets. We read every message, and it's become the main source of inspiration for this album. So many people at our shows would tell us that they listened to our music through heartbreak, grief, pain, questions they asked themselves, so I thought we should give others a safe space to do the same. For this project, I wanted to live in those themes, those experiences, to make it a multidimensional conversation. For example, we heard from a lot of fans from countries where they couldn’t openly love the person they were in love with, for political or social reasons. I felt that pain, identified with it in my own way, and knew many others would too.”

WATCH / SHARE “CRIMSON” HERE
BUY / STREAM “CRIMSON” HERE

Traditionally, Sauvé and Santais would each set up in a different room, sharing snippets via email and only meeting up to finalize ideas. “Writing separately ensures we’re not influenced by anything else, and we can bring more depth to our process,” Sauvé says. This time, the messages from the “Box of Secrets” provided an unusual baseline for that influence rather than just their own individual experiences, and the result refracts and shimmers kaleidoscopically. After compiling demos, Ghostly Kisses brought in new collaborators to further bolster their new electronic palette: co-producers George FitzGerald (London Grammar, as well as solo work) and Oli Bayston (Boxed In, Yune Pinku). Longtime engineer (and Santais’ cousin) Alex Ouzilleau further helped shape the work in the studio, and Gabriel Desjardins’ string arrangements add depth and drama to the proceedings. To test their boundaries even further, Ghostly Kisses tested their recordings while on tour, a new step in their process and a portal into connecting more with their music and their fans. 

“We heard from a lot of fans from countries where they couldn’t openly love the person they were in love with for political or social reasons,” Sauvé says. “I felt that pain, identified with it in my own way, and knew many others would too.” 

WATCH / SHARE “ON & OFF” (LYRIC VIDEO) HERE
BUY / STREAM “ON & OFF” HERE

Each track of Darkroom’s magnetic run comprises its own world, with Sauvé’s vocals as the radiant arc connecting their orbits, the moments and themes shared by fans finding resonances—the whole Ghostly Kisses universe together even when expressing its loneliness. In moments, Ghostly Kisses offer an awe-inspiring hope for connection, for love, even when it seems impossible. By opening up their music to be the conduit for other people’s stories, they landed up finding their own. And by doing so through the stories of their fans and in new, more kinetic tones, Darkroom should prompt that same hope in many around the world who may otherwise have felt the darkness creeping too far in.

Ghostly Kisses have just completed a packed tour of Europe, and will embark on their North American tour next week. 

BUY / STREAM “KEEP IT REAL” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “KEEP IT REAL” LYRIC VIDEO HERE

TOUR DATES
May 23 - Montreal, QC @ Church of the Gesu
May 24 - Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW
May 25 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Bell
May 29 - Boston, MA @ Cafe 939
May 30 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
May 31 - Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
June 01 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
June 04 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
June 05 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
June 07 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
June 08 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
June 11 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza
June 12 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
June 14 - San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar
June 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

Darkroom Album Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

DARKROOM TRACKLIST
01 There’s No More Space
02 Keep It Real
03 Golden Eyes
04 Lonesome Hero
05 Ocean
06 Calm Down
07 On & Off
08 Silver Screen
09 Crimson
10 Within
11 Beneath The Clouds
12 Carousel

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KAÏA KATER’S STRANGE MEDICINE LP OUT FRIDAY, SHARES NEW VIDEOS

WATCH / SHARE “MAKER TAKER” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” (LIVE WESTERN AF VIDEO)

KAÏA KATER’S NEW ALBUM, STRANGE MEDICINE, OUT FRIDAY

PRE-SAVE STRANGE MEDICINE HERE

‘‘Strange Medicine suggests that hers is a talent built to endure. ...dizzyingly fresh and satisfyingly rich"  9/10 UNCUT | Americana Album of the Month

Strange Medicine feels like the grand soundtrack for an as-yet unwritten film of epic historical proportions.” Exclaim!

“With Strange Medicine, listeners are welcomed into a world where heartbreak, rumination, and a quest for catharsis are gates through which one passes into history.” No Depression | May 2024 Spotlight Artist

“The contrast between the airy melody and the dark lyrics creates tension, making listeners feel the weight of the societies that have railed against these strong women and tried to eradicate them." CBC Music on "The Witch" Feat. Aoife O’Donovan

"Over the plucky sounds of banjo and strings, the two capture the city's unique spirit in a romantic character study." Billboard on "In Montreal" Feat. Allison Russell

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR BEGINS MAY 17 

Photo Credit: Janice Reid // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Tomorrow, Grenadian-Canadian musician Kaïa Kater’s new LP, Strange Medicine, will be available everywhere. Today, the celebrated songwriter is sharing the video for album track “Maker Taker”, a song Kater says she couldn’t write “without picturing the myriad of ways the words would be perceived by others – friends, managers, agents, labels. I decided instead to journal my thoughts without the expectation of presenting them to anyone. These are the messy feelings that came out: the duality of loneliness and the addictive adrenaline of the stage, the desire to de-condition my femme upbringing of centering others over self, and finally, the goal to please myself first in my songs and performance—something I had previously only ever understood to be fundamentally selfish and vain.”

WATCH / SHARE “MAKER TAKER” HERE

Today also marks the release of the Western AF video for “In Montreal”. “I’ve admired Western AF’s videos for a long time,” says Kater. “When we decided to collaborate on a shoot together, I knew that I wanted to sing something that had the feeling of being hopeful despite hard times. 'In Montreal' was the perfect song, and the light coming through the stained glass windows of St Ann’s church (Brooklyn, NY) felt like the embodiment of recovering parts of yourself even when you feel like your world is coming apart at the seams.”

WATCH / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” (LIVE WESTERN AF VIDEO)

MORE ABOUT STRANGE MEDICINE
Produced by Kater and Joe Grass (Elisapie, The Barr Brothers), Strange Medicine is Kater’s first new album in six years (following 2018’s Grenades) and her most personal record to date. Created during a period of deep self-reflection and reinvention, the new music finds Kater expanding her creative scope as she celebrates the power of women and oppressed people throughout history, while also sharing meditations on her own life. In addition to “Fédon”, Strange Medicine also features previously released single, “The Internet”, as well as collaborations with Aoife O’Donovan (“The Witch”) and Allison Russell (“In Montreal”).  

Reflecting on the project, Kater shares, “The through line for me is just stories. It was the story of my dad on Grenades, and on Strange Medicine it’s the story of people in history who might not have had their proper shrift. It’s also my chance to finally write about the times in my life when I didn’t feel like I had a voice, in order to give myself one now.” 

WATCH / SHARE “FÉDON” FEAT. TAJ MAHAL
BUY / STREAM “FÉDON” FEAT. TAJ MAHAL

LISTEN / SHARE “THE INTERNET” HERE
BUY / STREAM “THE INTERNET” HERE

Since her debut, Kater has released three full-length albums including 2018’s Grenades, which was nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at that year’s JUNO Awards and long listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Released to widespread critical attention, NPR Music praised, “vivid, sensory images and poetic language…We’re lucky that Kater’s shared her fully formed vision with us,” while Rolling Stone declared, “plaintive, mesmerizing…[Kater] writes and performs with the skill of a folk-circuit veteran” and No Depression proclaimed, “You want some authenticity in your folk music or bluegrass – I give you Kaïa Kater.” Additionally, Kater has been featured as part of NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concert” series and toured extensively across North America, Europe and the U.K. 

LISTEN / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” FT. ALLISON RUSSELL
BUY / STREAM “IN MONTREAL” FT. ALLISON RUSSELL

WATCH KAÏA KATER’S NPR TINY DESK CONCERT

Based in Canada with a foothold in Brooklyn, Kater’s music is influenced by the sounds of Canada, the Caribbean and Appalachia, reflecting her diverse background. In addition to own her work as a singer and musician, Kater took part in the Slaight Music Residency at the Canadian Film Center and wrote original music for BET’s series, The Porter, for which she won Best Original Song in a Drama Series at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. She also wrote music for the new film, My Dead Friend Zoe, which premiered  at SXSW.  

BUY / STREAM “THE WITCH” FT. AOIFE O’DONOVAN
WATCH / SHARE “THE WITCH” (LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO)

PRE-SAVE STRANGE MEDICINE HERE

TOUR DATES
May 17 Groton, MA Groton Hill Music Center
May 18 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
May 21 Hamilton, ON Mills Hardware
May 22 Toronto, ON TD Music Hall
May 23 Montreal, QC La Sotterenea
May 24 Kingston, ON The Broom Factory
May 26 Ottawa, ON Red Bird Live | SOLD OUT
June 1 Brevard, NC NC Guitar Celebration
June 5 Evanston, Il Evanston Space
June 6 Ann Arbor MI The Ark
June 7 Paw Paw, MI The Lucky Wolf
June 9 Frankfort, KY Josephine Sculpture Park
June 12 Brooklyn, NY Union Pool
June 13 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live Upstairs
June 14 Baltimore, MD Creative Alliance At The Patterson
June 15 Floyd Country Store, Floyd, VA
June 16 Pearl Street Warehouse, Washington, DC
June 20 St Peters, PE Festival Small Halls
June 21 Charlottetown, PE Festival Small Halls
July 11-14 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg Folk Festival *
Aug 4-5 Canmore, AB Canmore Folk Music Festival*

* Performing with New Dangerfield & as Kaïa Kater

MORE DATES TO BE ADDED SOON

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STRANGE MEDICINE TRACKLIST
1. The Witch (feat. Aoife O’Donovan)
2. Maker Taker
3. Mechanics of the Mind
4. In Montreal (feat. Allison Russell)
5. The Internet
6. Fédon (feat. Taj Mahal)
7. Floodlights
8. Often as the Autumn
9. History in Motion
10. Tigers

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THE SECRET BEACH SHARES NEW SINGLE FROM UPCOMING LP

THE SECRET BEACH SHARES “ALL THIS LIVING” FROM UPCOMING LP

WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?, THE NEW LP FROM THE SECRET BEACH, OUT AUGUST 23, 2024 VIA VICTORY POOL RECORDS

WATCH / SHARE “ALL THIS LIVING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “ALL THIS LIVING” HERE

Photo Credit : Colin Medley // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

The Secret Beach is an ever-shifting group of musicians and co-conspirators orbiting around the songs and voice of Prairie-based songwriter Micah Erenberg. The band moniker – in the same vein as classic groups Guided By Voices, The Byrds, and Tame Impala – helpfully points out that a songwriter is not an island (or indeed, a beach) unto themselves, and the contributions from the involved parties go a long way in making this project what it is. 

Today, he shares "All This Living”, a song about “not giving up on your dreams,” says Erenberg. “Even if you wish you could have gotten certain things done earlier, it’s never too late to get them done now. That goes for anything, be it in your career, personal life, health, spirituality or otherwise. Don’t let yourself be defined by the person you were. Embrace the person you can be.”

WATCH / SHARE “ALL THIS LIVING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “ALL THIS LIVING” HERE

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MORE ABOUT WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
The new LP, We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse?, is unquestionably a musical delight (more on that later), but it's also a subtle nod to the oft-overlooked Canadian province of Manitoba, lazily known to many as either a landlocked frozen tundra or the butt of a joke on The Simpsons (season 16, episode 6), where a welcome to Winnipeg sign reads 'NOW ENTERING WINNIPEG. WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?'" 

Musically, one of Erenberg's primary inspirations for this record was the classic Bob Dylan & The Band album Planet Waves. The casual, homespun vibe of that LP had long held a special appeal for the songwriter, and after deep-diving on some of the album's finer details, Erenberg discovered that Planet Waves' producer, Rob Fraboni (also known for his work with the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and Tim Hardin, to name but a few) was still active and, as it turned out, still open to working with new projects. After a few phone calls, it was decided that Erenberg would travel to the veteran producer's studio of choice in Connecticut where the two spent five days marinating in the songs. Fraboni offered his enthusiastic perspective on the tunes, shared some of his well-honed musical philosophies, and a friendship was quickly cultivated. The songwriter stuck this experience in his back pocket and used it as fuel to write a few more songs and complete the final mix of the album.

WATCH / SHARE “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE
BUY / STREAM “BUYING YOU A GARNET AMP” HERE

 BUY / STREAM “WHERE DID IT GO?” HERE
BUY / STREAM “BLAME MANNY” HERE

We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse? is an album teeming with warmth; its 17 tracks casually unfurl spools of intimate texture, hushed melodies, and a wholly inviting atmosphere that puts the listener virtually in the same room as these timeless tracks. The songs – many of them barely cracking the two-minute mark – fly effortlessly by, nodding to many major players in the pop music canon. The spectre of Elliott Smith hovers over many corners of the record, including opener “Beautiful Everything” as well as the achingly tender one-two punch of “Long Distance Gossip” and “Natural Metaphor”. And indeed, whiffs of Dylan and The Band appear throughout, with the latter uniquely evoked in the album's organic, live-band feel, and the former's lyrical mastery mirrored throughout. More contemporary touchstones like Brooklyn indie-folk auteurs Woods and M. Ward (“Where Did It Go?”) are also apparent, and early '00s heroes Grandaddy are called to mind on “LA Haircut”, a cleverly sardonic critique of misplaced ambition.

WATCH / SHARE “22” HERE
BUY / STREAM “22” HERE

While Erenberg played a whole pile of instruments on the album himself, The Secret Beach wouldn't be what it is without the help of the carefully selected crew of fellow travellers tastefully deployed throughout the album. We're talking about the sort of players whose first priority is to shine a light on this collection of songs, seeming almost invisible in the apt-ness of their contributions; but repeat listens will have the listener revelling in the finer details, which include vocals and pedal steel from acclaimed country duo Kacy & Clayton, keys and guitar courtesy of Liam Duncan (aka Boy Golden), and duel backing vocals from Duncan and frequent bandmate Fontine. Erenberg captured the album on a variety of classic vintage tape machines, burnishing the album with a sepia-toned analog patina that makes it sound as if it could have been made any time in the last five decades. And while the spirit of Planet Waves looms large, one would be forgiven for hearing hues of early McCartney solo albums, Big Star's Third, and fellow Canadian DIY legend Chad VanGaalen.

WE WERE BORN HERE, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?
01 Beautiful Everything
02 Sunspill
03 Buying You A Garnet Amp
04 22
05 All This Living
06 Have You Seen The News?
07 If You Don't Love Me, Let Me Go
08 Blame Manny
09 Sucked Into It
10 L.A. Haircut
11 Long Distance Gossip
12 Not So Bad
13 Natural Metaphor
14 Where Did It Go?
15 Hat's Way of Walking

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