TEN KILLS THE PACK SHARE NEW SINGLE, “GIRL OF MY DREAMS”

SEAN SROKA, THE INDIE OUTFIT KNOWN AS TEN KILLS THE PACK, SHARES NEW SINGLE “GIRL OF MY DREAMS”

LISTEN / SHARE “GIRL OF MY DREAMS” HERE
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Photo Credit : Vanessa Heins // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Sean Sroka, known as indie outfit Ten Kills the Pack, has become known for his confessional-style lyricism that explores the rough edges of the human condition. Stemming from his DIY days cutting his teeth in the music scene of Toronto, pausing his musical path for poetry, or playing in his slop punk band around the city, Sroka pens his experiences in a way that blends an ethos of punk with the kindness of folk. 

“girl of my dreams” is Ten Kills the Pack’s first independent single since parting ways with his record label in early 2024 and is leaning further back into a very familiar yet still disorientating independent musical landscape. To this, Sroka mentions “It does feel like I’ve never left this part of my musical lifestyle. And it’s beautiful to be able to create and release as you please. If the song feels like autumn, let’s have it out then.”

Reminiscent of an alt folk soundtrack to a movie of the 90’s, “girl of my dreams” is a leading example of Ten Kills the Packs guided artistic precision and spanning collaborators; working with artist Jay Som aka Melina Duterte (Boy Genius, Fenne Lily) mixing the track, and previous collaborator and drummer Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes. The new self produced release casts a light on the personal exercise and growth of becoming less precious and following your momentary artistic intuitions. “I sent what is now the chorus of this song as a little self deleting voice message jingle to my partner who was touring overseas at the time; trying to help count down the days we had away. From there it just kept turning in my head, so I turned off the tv and wrote it that night".

LISTEN / SHARE “GIRL OF MY DREAMS” HERE
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MORE ABOUT TEN KILLS THE PACK
With critical looks across an EP and two Albums, Sroka also moonlights as a songwriter with Nashville publishers and beloved Canadian acts like Aysanabee, with a song that earned Sroka’s first JUNO Award win in 2024 under the songwriting category. The nuances of Ten Kills the Pack’s efforts can also be explored in the production of Hannah Georgas’s critically acclaimed 2023 album I’d Be Lying if I Said I Didn’t Care.  

Through a self released album, an EP produced with Dave Cerminara (Father John Misty), Ten Kills the Pack’s latest release Thank You for Trying, co-produced with Marcus Paquin (Weather Station, The National), acquired the descriptions of  "...poetic observations... poignant songcraft” from notable music leaders Under the Radar, and notes on how the projects “...poetic song writing ties the transportive tale that's simultaneously intimate and expansive” from EarMilk. With this, we now enter a new era where Sroka has established himself as a nuanced and free flowing artist that pushes the boundaries of what a singer songwriter is or can be. 

PRAISE FOR TEN KILLS THE PACK

..poetic observations... poignant songcraft" - Under the Radar

"...poetic song writing ties the transportive tale that's simultaneously intimate and expansive." - Earmilk

"Sroka has established Ten Kills the Pack as a leading voice in modern folk music." - Exclaim.

"... Sean gives Dallas Green of City and Colour a run for his money when it comes to writing songs about loneliness, futility, and failure. ... This was my most interesting listen of the week." - Alan Cross, Corus Radio

“…poignant, heartfelt, nostalgic, and relatable to all as the artist puts sparse, but vivid words to a familiar struggle for satisfaction, happiness, and contentment…” - Atwood Magazine

“Sroka has established Ten Kills the Pack as a leading voice in modern folk music.” - Exclaim!

“…exquisite… beautifully crafted…” - Indie88

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OLD MAN LUEDECKE SHARES NEW SINGLE, ON TOUR THIS WEEK

LISTEN / SHARE “DRINKING DOWN THE GOLD” HERE
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ON TOUR THROUGHOUT CANADA BEGINNING THIS WEEK - FULL DATES BELOW

OLD MAN LUEDECKE’S NEW LP, SHE TOLD ME WHERE TO GO, PRODUCED BY AFIE JURVANEN, OUT NOW VIA OUTSIDE MUSIC

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Today, two time JUNO Award winner Old Man Luedecke is sharing the new single “Drinking Down The Gold” to kick off the beginning of his fall tour dates throughout Canada and Europe. Full tour dates can be found below. The track is the first of a few upcoming Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) produced singles that were recorded during the She Told Me Where to Go sessions in 2022. 

“Drinking Down the Gold” is a beautiful ode to the ancient fellowship of drinking with friends. Drinking and talking and laughing in spite of it all. Drinking songs have long been an enthusiasm for Old Man Luedecke (“Little Stream of Whisky”, “I am Fine”) and this may be his last, since like many a good fellow before him he has lately succumbed to an alcohol-free lifestyle. 

A beautiful tune with a lyric that name checks Valhalla, charts the progress of an evening and the morning after and like a fine drop of whisky warms the heart’s best places. This is a song to carry you into the darker months of the year with a holy sense of doing what you want with the sacrament of friendly carrying on.

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TOUR DATES
Oct 10 - Revelstoke, BC - Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre
Oct 11 - Vancouver, BC - The Rogue Folk Club
Oct 14 - Paris, FR - La Boule Noire
Oct 16 - Fredericia, DK - Tøjhuset
Oct 17 - København K, DK - Hotel Cecil
Oct 20 - Duffle, BE - Cinema Plaza Duffel
Oct 22 - Stuttgart, DE - Theaterhaus Stuttgart
Oct 23 - Lucerne, CH - Konzerthaus Schüür
Oct 29 - London, ON - Aeolian Hall
Oct 30 - Toronto, ON - Hugh’s Room
Oct 31 - Ottawa, ON - Fourth Stage
Nov 1 - Aurora, ON - Aurora Cultural Centre
Nov 21 - Halifax, NS - Light House Arts Centre
Dec 13 - Truro, NS - Marigold Cultural Centre

MORE ABOUT OLD MAN LUEDECKE’S SHE TOLD ME WHERE TO GO
How did Old Man Luedecke go from touring the world with his banjo to suddenly giving it all up to work as a deckhand on a scallop boat, and abandoning his signature instrument?

“I was just going over to my scallop farming neighbour’s house to get some scallops to have for dinner”, says Chris. “Knowing that the live music world had slowed down, he asked me if I wanted a job on his boat” And so, Luedecke accepted and began going out to sea in the North Atlantic, not far from his family home in rural Nova Scotia. He was giving up the game of music. 

 WATCH / SHARE “SHE TOLD ME WHERE TO GO” HERE

Throughout that time working on the water, song ideas would pop in his head, and Chris would stash them away in his sea salt-stained notebook and battered iphone, not sure if anything would ever come of them. During downtimes, Chris and his family would host all-day sap boils and wiener roasts over an open fire on their property where they tapped their maple trees and boiled the sap to make syrup in the late days of several winters. A frequent visitor to these fires was Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, who brought his family over for the BBQ and syrup and to chat music and play around on their guitars. 

WATCH / SHARE “DREADFUL WIND AND RAIN” HERE

“What about not playing the banjo on your next record?” suggested Jurvanen. Initially, Chris thought those may have been fighting words, and prepared to throw down with his fellow JUNO Award winner. Luckily, it didn’t come to blows and Chris understood that Afie’s question was rooted in how much of a fan he was of Chris’s song writing, and that maybe perceptions of the banjo distracted from that. This was the moment that “She Told Me Where to Go'' was conceived.

LISTEN / SHARE “MY STATUS IS THE BADDEST” FT. BAHAMAS HERE

“I was a musician, a banjo player, known for my old-time Appalachian-based sound, and Afie thought that we should let go of the chains and expectations that come with writing songs around an instrument, and that I should just write the songs without the instrument in mind. He convinced me to abandon my signature sound, and I had this newfound sense of freedom in my song writing.”

She Told Me Where to Go is a journey through the darkness and light of mid-life. The songs wrestle, long form, with the value of an artist in a time when music is ingested in fifteen second increments. There’s hopefulness in “Guy Fieri” but “Holy Rain” and “Misfits in Old Clothes” capture the ongoing struggle. 

LISTEN / SHARE “THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE” HERE

The album took time. With Jurvanen producing, they worked on the songs for almost two years and then spaced out the tracking and the vocals over 10 months. This is the longest gestation period ever for an Old Man Luedecke record. “I took a note from the world of theatre, rehearsing and tweaking the songs endlessly before they were ready for the stage, or in this case, the studio.”

It might have been easier to just quit the game, and stick to scallops, but being able to let go of the instrument that made him, brought new life to his songs and the album-making process. 

And fans need not worry, the banjo is always close at hand. There’s a treasure trove of songs that have soundtracked the lives of many, that feature that signature sound. The absence of the banjo is not forever, just for now. 

BUY / STREAM SHE TOLD ME WHERE TO GO HERE

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BUSTY AND THE BASS RELEASE DELUXE VERSION OF FOREVER NEVER CARES

BUSTY AND THE BASS RELEASE DELUXE VERSION OF FOREVER NEVER CARES,
OUT TODAY VIA ARTS & CRAFTS

LISTEN / SHARE “ALL THE THINGS I COULDN’T SAY TO YOU (ACOUSTIC)” HERE

BUY / STREAM FOREVER NEVER CARES DELUXE HERE

Photo Credit : Jean-Phillipe Sansfaçon // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Busty and the Bass release the Deluxe Version of Forever Never Cares, indulging further into Busty and the Bass' expansive creative journey and genre exploration. With alternate versions, demos, and unreleased tracks, the deluxe album showcases their evolving sound. 

“Forever Never Cares was forged in a deep desire to grow as a band and to have our music represent our values and influences on a deeper level than ever before,” says Chris Vincent.

Alistair Blu adds that the Deluxe Version “ touches on all the various musical paths, genres, and styles we were experimenting with during the three years after Eddie. It showcases some of the missing musical pieces that originally inspired the construction of Forever Never Cares. During the pandemic, we opened up many doorways into creative places that we’d never really touched on before as a group. From the epic jazz odyssey (and title track of the deluxe album) “Forever Never Cares”, to the bouncy, club-style joint “Dance Spot (Demo)”, the beautifully messy collection of tracks lets us give a taste of all of the different sounds we were working with at this time. 

“We also included a couple demos and original songwriting voice memos to get a sneak peek into the inception of some of these songs. Chris’s original demo for “All The Things I Couldn’t Say To You” and my songwriting sessions for “Smoke and the Pine” lets our fans hear how some of these tracks first began and eventually developed over time.

“The unreleased tracks and excerpts, such as “Money and Me” and “Window Pane”, were songs that we liked collectively but didn’t really know how to fit them on the original album. The Deluxe Version gives space for the larger collection of music that we created as a collective over these past few years and breathes light into some of the farthest avenues of our creative output.”

LISTEN / SHARE “ALL THE THINGS I COULDN’T SAY TO YOU (ACOUSTIC)” HERE

BUY / STREAM FOREVER NEVER CARES DELUXE HERE

MORE ABOUT BUSTY AND THE BASS
For the Canadian-American soul-jazz collective Busty and the Bass, collaboration has always been at the forefront of their music. Formed at McGill University in Montreal over a decade ago, the group is now scattered across four North American cities from coast to coast. Yet, with a collaborative spirit at the heart of their third studio album, Forever Never Cares, the members have never been more connected.

Over the years, the group has collaborated with legendary artists George Clinton, Macy Gray, Earth Wind & Fire, Slum Village, and exciting new voices like Polaris Music Prize winners Cadence Weapon and Pierre Kwenders. Most recently, the group dropped a mini-album with Philadelphia poet and rapper STS. Despite such a strong history of partnerships, Forever Never Cares reshaped the band’s creative formula and redefined how they worked together a decade into their career.

After a founding member and primary songwriter left the band in 2022, the collective used the opportunity to re-approach their creative process for the first time in years. Songs would be brought to the group from individual members or smaller formations of two or three members writing together. Interestingly, more voices involved in the songwriting resulted in the group’s most refined output to date. 

Two previous studio albums, Uncommon Good (2017) and Eddie (2020), saw the band experiment with genres effortlessly changing styles song to song, from soul to funk to pop. 

Forever Never Cares finds the collective both broadening and distilling their influences into a unified sound that is entirely their own. This is due in large part to founding member Christopher Vincent who engineered and mixed the album. Vincent found a sonic language that would compliment all of the ​​disparate genres being stacked atop one another.

With soul and R&B as the album’s cornerstone, the record is sprinkled with cross-genre explorations. From the indie rock-inflected uptempo singles “All The Things I Couldn’t Say To You” and “Wandering Lies,” to slow-burn ballads like “Give Me A Smile” and “Never Get Enough,” to the celebratory pop-funk of “Starstruck” and “No Angels,” a touch of 70s singer-songwriter on “Smoke and the Pine” and “Holiday Drive,” and the psychedelic jazz explorations of “Far From Here” and “No Self Control” featuring saxophonist Terrace Martin, a frequent collaborator of Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper.

BUY / STREAM FOREVER NEVER CARES DELUXE HERE

TOUR DATES
Nov 19 - Burlington, VT - Foam 
Nov 20 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair 
Nov 22 - Philadelphia, PA - MilkBoy 
Nov 23 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere Hall 
Nov 24 - Washington, DC - Pearls 
Dec 7 - Quebec City, QC

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FOREVER NEVER CARES DELUXE LP
1. All The Things I Couldn't Say To You
2. Starstruck
3. Never get enough
4. Smoke and the Pine
5. Wandering Lies
6. Holiday Drive
7. Far From Here
8. No Angels
9. Give me a Smile
10. No Self Control
11. All The Things I Couldn't Say To You (Acoustic)
12. Money and Me (Unreleased)
13. Starstruck (The Breakglass Version)
14. Smoke and the Pine (The Breakglass Version)
15. No Self Control (The Breakglass Version)
16. Alan Prater Jam (Demo)
17. Window Pane (Excerpt)
18. All The Things I Couldn't Say To You (Ron’s Demo)
19. Dance Spot (Demo)
20. Smoke and the Pine (Blu’s Songwriting Session)
21. Holiday Drive (Sped Up Tape Version)
22. No Angels (Instrumental)
23. Give Me A Smile (Instrumental)
24. Wandering Lies (A Capella)
25. Forever Never Cares

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