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December 28th, 2009

Letter from the Editor :: Short Break // Moving!

90s DAMAGE Aaron Levin
Takes a Break!
(Until Early January)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::

Hello Everyone!

I’m in the middle of moving Weird Canada HQ and completing the Wyld December concert series. This means I will be without an intraweb or electronic-scanner for a week or two (while I move and setup my Cromdale mansion). So, Weird Canada will be taking a slight break from postings on the mainpage. I promise to return in January with some new features and killer content.

To all the artists who’ve sent me stuff, please be patient, I will get around to penning my enthusiasm early January 2010! Thanks so much for your support.

To all the readers, I encourage you to visit the Weird Canada Message Board // BBS as myself and other great artists have been sharing jokes, information, and photos of 90s childhood damage.

See you next year!

Hearts,

Aaron Levin
Weird Canada / Cantor Records
www.weirdcanada.com / www.cantorrecords.com

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December 23rd, 2009

Review :: Greyscreen – Permastruct

Greyscreen - Permastruct Greyscreen
Permastruct
(Bart Records)
Calgary, AB
::web/sounds::


From the Gameboy™-gripping hands of Jesse Locke:
As far as music made on old school handheld video game systems goes, GreyScreen (a.k.a. Bart Records founder and retro pop culture fanatic Kevin Stebner) is the Michael Jordan of Caddilacs. The Charles Bronson of Chiptune? From the immaculate Value Village bargain bin packaging to the poetic RPG-inspired song titles (and of course the 8-bit chirps, burps and bleeps that make up these 22 songs), everything about GreyScreen’s debut tape reminds of a more innocent time spent agonizing over Alien Olympics 2044 AD in your parents’ basement. Of course, Stebs also uses modern technology like Nanoloop and LSDJ to concoct these micro-epics, but his DIY punk rock ethos is maintained all the same. Need more proof? Check his killer cover of Black Flag’s “Spray Paint” by downloading this comp.
[Levin's Note: The world was so much simpler when everyone had a Gameboy™. All a we had to do was level-up and the monsters went away. How do the kids sleep at night today? Look back to the dot-matrix; listen to the trailing ends of MIDI; and always remember to keep a fairy in the jar. Poppa don't hit me no mo'.]

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Greyscreen – The Sea in Jars

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Greyscreen – Water Drawn from Wells

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Greyscreen – From Heaven Fought Stars

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Categoria!! alberta :: cassette :: New Canadiana | 5 Comments »

December 22nd, 2009

Review :: The Pink Noise – Gilded Flowers

The Pink Noise - Gilded Flowers The Pink Noise
Gilded Flowers
(Campaign for Infinity)
Montreal, QC
::web/sounds::


From the burnt-cadillac remains of Aaron Levin:
Gilded Flowers, The Pink Noise’s first on Montreal’s Campaign for Infinity, is their most realized cabaret of drum-machine bustitude (and probably why the cassette is already on its third printing). Subjecting yourself to every burnt guitar solo and car-wrecked bass-line will give you the succinct impression that The Pink Noise’s front-man slammed a lot of doors, hung out in arcades, and owned a leather jacket at the age of 10. Thus, Gilded Flowers becomes an 80s vision of the future: computer screens as gateways into incomprehensible lo-bit realities, nuclear punk the specter of pop music, alleyways brimming with undiscovered societies, and every kid smoking cigarettes and selling ATM-hacking chips; it’s the slow degeneration of our welfare state into psychedelic-fiction. Freejack punk for a new generation of post-modern wastoids. And it’s all yours for $6.99.

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The Pink Noise – Shy Guy Beach

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The Pink Noise – Toad

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The Pink Noise – Cop Cars

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Categoria!! cassette :: New Canadiana :: quebec | 3 Comments »

December 22nd, 2009

Review :: Cousins – Out on Town

Cousins - Out on Town Cousins
Out on Town
(Youth Club Records)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds::


From the sensitive-thug stylings of Jesse Locke:
Before we get into the sweet and unassuming goodness of Cousins’ slacker rock sing-a-longs, let me tell you a little bit about their ride. Rolling in style from their native Nova Scotia, the Haligonians hit the highway this fall in a magic school bus equipped with bunk beds and fueled by vegetable oil. A radical alternative to be sure, but as it turned out their max road speeds were barely enough to bring them up hills, resulting in several late arrivals at out-of-town tour stops. That’s a fitting analogy for the songwriting style of Cousin’s Aaron Mangle as well, tangling up twangy Bill Callahan-inspired rambles with a classic Doug Martsch-style falsetto, while drifting through it all with an unhurried pace. In his review of York Redoubt’s s/t LP, Aaron “canonical” Levin wrote about Halifax’s “advanced level of pop wizardry,” and there’s a similar charm to these 10 tunes.
[Levin's Note: Cousins are definitely a Level ∞ Pop-Wizard.]

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Cousins – Anxious

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Cousins – Write Me A Song

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Categoria!! compact disc :: New Canadiana :: nova scotia | 4 Comments »

December 18th, 2009

Review :: Brazilian Money – Friendly Neighbor EP

Brazilian Money - Friendly Neighbor EP Brazilian Money
Friendly Neighbor EP
(Self Released)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::


From the flat-broke pockets of Aaron Levin:
The immense planning that entailed Wyrd Fest resulted in a deep, sexual relationship between myself and Wicked Awesomes! guitar-player Tyler. During one of our many Magic-ticket-making missives, he looked in my eyes and whispered: “Aaron, have you heard our bass player’s solo project?” That was my first foray into the wildly contagious world of Brazilian Money. Fast-forward a month and I finally have some “official” recordings. It was sudden impact: vocalist-and-everything-else-as-well Garret’s grizzled nasal, his omnifarious pop-filtrations, and the swampy sensations ensnaring every ear-movement. I was knocked-out, surprised and excited by the EP’s stranglehold. Thankfully, with every listen came newly rewarding energies. A recommended soundtrack for the shower (replacing my current shower favorite: Mobb Deep’s Tha Infamous). Sing along and get clean, mayne.

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Brazilian Money – We Could Just Stay (In The Dead Of Night)

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Brazilian Money – Ghetto Lungs, GET ALONG NOW

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Brazilian Money – Why Am I Still Standing Here

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Categoria!! alberta :: compact disc :: New Canadiana | 9 Comments »

December 15th, 2009

Review :: Bernardino Femminielli – Las Enamoradas

Bernardino Femminielli - Las Enamoradas Bernardino Femminielli
Las Enamoradas
(Self Released)
Montreal, QC
::web/sounds::


From the floating naked body of Aaron Levin:
Real mysteries, when they happen, are as surprising as a naked woman bathed in foreign moonlight, floating atop the red desert. Which is why I welcomed Las Enamoradas, Bernardino Femminielli’s debut, with open and inquisitive arms. Let his mysterious sound waves, polluted with synthetic granularity and ambient tones, wash your uncertainties away until you find yourself floating atop your own desert, naked and confused. Which is precisely when you’ll realize the deep, meditative state Bernardino has put you in; a true mage of the mind, able to manipulate your consciousness from great distances without the expense of mana. It’s a marvelous document of the experimental scene, totally unafraid to pass through the stargate, embrace all influences and step into the void of unchartered creativity. The result? An electronic voyage across psychedelic landscapes lacking any pretense or temporal vignettes. Keep an eye out for Bernardino’s 7″ on Fixture Records coming soon!

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Bernardino – El viaje interior

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Bernardino – Las enamoradas dopadas

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Bernardino – Santuario de Las Appariciones

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Categoria!! compact disc :: New Canadiana :: quebec | 2 Comments »

December 14th, 2009

Review :: Phil Dickau – This City, And You

Phil Dickau - This City, And You Phil Dickau
This City, And You
(Self Released)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::


From the sub-zero-not-just-plain-zero Aaron Levin:
Never has there been a more appropriate time to dive into Phil Dickau’s ambient journey through the derelict channels of Edmonton, Alberta. Step outside right now and you’ll enter Edmonton’s absurd tundra-vortex; it’s -46°C outside and I’ll cry if I want to. Using a mix of concréte and synthesizer work-outs, This City, And You acts as a euphoric reminder to mellow out; it’s a harsh world out there, and it doesn’t matter how cold it is: Phil Dickau is here, standing on the edge of your mental cliff, with a synthesizer in his hands, telling you Edmonton’s story (this actually happened). This City, And You is a montage of audible simplicity; standing waves of municipal saturation and industrial escapism. Phil shreds and his record is the opposite of shred, which is why it also shreds. Shred mellow on, brother!

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Phil Dickau – A Candle

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Phil Dickau – An Empty House

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Categoria!! alberta :: compact disc :: New Canadiana | 4 Comments »

December 12th, 2009

Announcement :: MESSAGE BOARD!

Hey Everyone,

I have been on the internet since the mid-90s. As such, the BBS‘ of olde thymes played an important role in my search for social networking before those two words were ever placed adjacent to each other. They’re a very easy way to stay in touch with groups of people you have some vague common connection to. Unlike Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, et al, message boards are incredibly simple and can be engaging and enriching.

Whatever. The point is that I made a message board for Weird Canada (or, rather, my friend Ed did – he designed the waxidermy message board for which this was modeled after). I hope it fosters some sense of community with all the players of Canada’s fringe music scene. We all just want to have fun so why don’t we have fun together?

Features of the message board:

- Announcements / New Releases forum to tell everyone about your new releases and keep me updated with what’s going on (for potential exposure on the main-page).
- Two support forums for artists needing assistance with touring and setting up shows.
- A main forum for general discussion and music (read: place for clowning).
- A sales forum where you can hock your goods.

Sign up and give it a chance. There are already a few celebrities posting. See if you can spot them. My username is canonical.

http://weirdcanada.com/bbs/

PS – And remember, a message board is only as good as the users posting. So, get posting!

Hearts,

Aaron Levin
Weird Canada / Cantor Records
www.weirdcanada.com / www.cantorrecords.com

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Categoria!! Promotions | 1 Comment »

December 11th, 2009

Review :: Mess Folk – This is Mess Folk

Mess Folk - This is Mess Folk Mess Folk
This is Mess Folk
(Self Released)
Sydney, NS
::web/sounds::


From the vaguely fluorescent Aaron Levin:
File-under: cassettes blaring from Master Blaster‘s tape-deck while executing a ’64 impala drive-by. So get your leather chaps, crawl on the hood of your mom’s minivan and run drive. Mess Folk has grown into a fierce teenager fighting against Canada’s industrial wasteland (read: Sydney) and unleashing their terrifying Salmagundi of adjective-garbage in the process. It’s scary, chaotic, brutal, and extremely poppy. Every song an anthem for derelict dogs, chimney sweepers, knitting factory women, P.O.Ws, Trotskyists, and any victim of industrial pillaging. This is Mess Folk is the ugly side of capitalism; the underbelly of mutant-punk; the smegmatic 9mm pocket-protecting vomit gun. It’s nine songs of unfuckwittable pain and anguish; an anthemic veneration for the depressed and lonely; the product of a forgotten city, time, and existence. On the East coast everything is missing. But we have this tape. Twelve songs. Every one of them a winner. I told my friend Jazzowita the other day: “the new Mess Folk cassette is good.” He agreed.

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Mess Folk- You’re Too Pretty (I Wanna Kill You)

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Mess Folk- I Shit Blood

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Mess Folk- Modern Man

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Categoria!! cassette :: New Canadiana :: nova scotia | 3 Comments »

December 8th, 2009

Review :: Holzkopf – Sober Materials #1

Holzkopf - Sober Materials #1 Holzkopf
Sober Materials #1
(Self Released)
Vancouver, BC
::web/sounds::


From the closeted-bourgeoise life-stylings of Aaron Levin:
I once thought it would be incredibly ingenious to put Holzkopf in a box and carry him around with me. His adorable ponytails popping out of my JanSport backpack as I dithered about my daily duties (pretentious white-man stuff like buying whole-wheat bagels and reading Trotsky). And then, when things go awry in my white-picket-world, out pops Holzkopf with his busted drum machine, hand-manipulated Walkman, karaoke microphone, and array of pedals, ready to pulverize whatever gentrified fear stands before me. But! Now that Holzkopf has compiled his improvised dungeon dancery onto a CDR, I can get down to his body-destroying beats without leaving my suburb. Holzkopf’s sound and performance are unparalleled in North America (please to find me another pedal-mashing drum-machine hooligan), so we at Weird Canada are happy to celebrate any record documenting Holzkopf’s strange travels. Tracks on this disc were compiled from Holzkopf’s European tour and a few vinyl and cdr releases (on the labels: Little Fury Things, Wintage, and Panospria). Let the shredding begin!

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Holzkopf – draw blood

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Holzkopf – pissing next to me and preaching

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Holzkopf – state trooper

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Categoria!! british columbia :: compact disc :: New Canadiana | 4 Comments »

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