Our weekly (or however often) roundup of this week’s discoveries and old faves. Usually it’s friends of mine or just music I like. Now including “liner notes” to help guide you through this journey and hopefully introduce you to some new, great music!
This one is a SPECIAL EDITION including people who I have recorded, written, or otherwise collaborated with on our recent releases and videos as well as upcoming tracks. As a result, this is longer than the usual hour as there were so many great artists I worked with! Where possible, I've tried to include links to the artists to help you check out their work.
Also shout out to those that were instrumental in our musical journey but are not themselves recording artists on Spotify: Phil Demetro at Lacquer Channel who masters my work, Reinhard Kypke who sang on the Open Hearts Open Minds (OHOM) release, Kilian Bamberg who played bass on Love is a Glorious Thing from OHOM, and Natalie Williams Calhoun who played cello on This Christmas (Fanfare Edition) on Holiday Classics V1.
THIS MAD DESIRE, JESSICA MAGOCH –O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL
This one includes Jessica Magoch from Pennsylvania on co-lead vocals. She is working on her debut album so keep your eyes peeled. Also on this one is Carleen who does the angelic harmonies and Cheryle Dueck who does the Sister Act-inspired gospel singing on the track! WATCH THE VISUALIZER.
THIS MAD DESIRE –OPEN HEARTS OPEN MINDS
The title track from our most recent original album. Quite a few people on this list including Jessica mentioned above sing background vox on this. I’ll point them out as we go along here. And that’s Dan Konopka from OK Go on the drums. Actually of all the tracks he’s done with me, this one is probably my fave (although they are all great!). I was really surprised at his intro to the song which I think really took it to another level. I don’t direct him too much. He knows what he’s doing! I find that part of the fun of collaborating is I’m often surprised by how others interpret the work. It really adds another dimension.
OK GO –OBSESSION
As mentioned, Dan’s regular gig is in a little band called OK Go. I finally saw them and I felt this one was particularly cool. It’s a bit mysterious and has a killer groove! Check out the video for this song here. http://okgo.net
MARK ZUBEK –PARADOX
Mark Zubek is Mr. Zedd Records, hit producer in Toronto. He produced Operators Are Standing By, the Paris of Love twin singles, and most recently Running Wild Running Free! As you can tell from this track, he’s a killer bass player. Probably he played everything on this track. I believe he started as a drummer and then studied bass at Berklee. Either way, he definitely has great ears and is a great producer… http://zeddrecords.com
THIS MAD DESIRE –RUNNING WILD RUNNING FREE (WATCH RWRF LYRIC VIDEO)
…as evidenced by this track which I co-wrote with Leon Harrison who runs Bandwagon Hub, a music mentorship program and is the lead singer for…
THE LAZYS –HALF MAST BLUES
The Lazys are an Aussie rock band that plays AC/DC-style rock. I like all things nautical as I spent a lot of my childhood on a ship so this song really speaks to me. Leon’s a very funny and talented guy and was a real treat to work with. Maybe we’ll write something else. He was living in Toronto when we wrote Running Wild Running Free but he’s back in the land down under these days. I’m keeping a stool warm for him down at the pub here in Canada though! http://bandwagonhub.com http://thelazysband.com
SAMAKI MKUU, JUS, JABALI AFRIKA, ACHIENG GUYO –DON’T LET THEM SCATTER YOUR ANGELS
Samaki Mkuu, aka Jason Dunford, is a Kenyan Olympic swimmer, media personality, rapper, and entrepreneur. He also runs an African record label in San Francisco. Totally cool to have him on background vocals on the OHOM album. This track is incredible!
ERICA CORBO –THANKSGIVING HYMN
I first met Erica on Instagram. I was talking to someone on an online dating site and was tired of explaining my life history so I told this woman I was from Philadelphia, which she thought was hilarious when I immediately said that it wasn’t true. I then followed a few #philly hashtags like #phillymusic just to lend a little more credibility to this fake back story I was creating in case I decided to use it again and that's how I came across Erica! She was running these interesting concerts called Warp Factor 9 in Philadelphia where they would open a window and people would sit outside on the sidewalk in the pandemic to listen to the artists. And her back story is that she is flying around the cosmos as Captain Corbo. She sings on the OHOM album and participated in the Running Wild Running Free video. Definitely a creative soul! http://ericacorbo.com
AQUANDRIA –WARRIOR
I believe Aquandria, aka LaTia Bryant, lives in North Carolina and is originally from Maryland, I believe. I met her at Indie 101 this year and she participated in the Running Wild Running Free video so I thank her for that and am looking forward to seeing what she releases going forward!
JOYCE ALDRICH, CHRIS BIRKETT –LOOKING OH SO COOL
Joyce is a Toronto-based singer who sang on OHOM. I often hear from her on social media as well. Great lady and she often works with Chris Birkett, who is famous for producing Sinead O’Connor and Buffy Ste. Marie.
KIM THOMPSON –HEY COWBOY
Speaking of Chris Birkett, I believe he produced this track as well from Calgary’s Kim Thompson. They worked together before on a track called This Christmas which I co-wrote. (I included a variation on this song on the Holiday Classics V1 EP.) Kim is a country singer and sang on the OHOM album and Deck The Halls from Holiday Classics V1. We’ve also worked on some other songs. Always a pleasure! http://kimthompson.ca
CRASH WORLD –CROSS ROAD BLUES
Crash World’s guitarist Glen MacLeod sings on OHOM and also sent in a funny contribution for the Running Wild Running Free video. He’s based in Vancouver and plays a mean guitar, which is on full display on this blues number from their debut album. http://crashworldband.com
BRIAN DOUCETTE –HAPPY PLACE
I met Brian through Mark Zubek. He lives in Nova Scotia and has a new album coming in January 2023 and this song is from that upcoming release. He sang on the OHOM album. Cool performer and singer! http://briandoucettemusic.com
FLUENCY GREY –FAR TO FALL (ALTERNATE VERSION)
I met Fluency at Indie 101 or maybe Indie Week in 2021. He sang on OHOM and records melodic but aggressive rock music that sometimes reminds me of NIN and other 90s alt-rock. When I met him, he was based in Ottawa but I think he’s back in the UK these days. http://fluencygrey.com
THE SPIRAL THEORY –DREAMALITY
Singer Sandeep Swaminathan sang on Love Is A Glorious Thing on OHOM. Very cool guy based in Toronto. His band plays 80s-inspired rock music in the vein of REM, U2, and the Police. Apparently they also have a covers show playing songs from those three bands. This song Dreamality though is one I’ve always liked of theirs. http://thespiraltheory.com
QUANTHEM –DIAMOND HEARTS
Paul QuAnthem is a Toronto-based artist I met around the same time as Sandeep at Indie Week. He sang on the title track for OHOM and we chat occasionally on socials. I think of his music as being related to 80s Bowie and Peter Gabriel. Very melodic and super cool! http://quanthem.com
KARI LYN –DAYLIGHT
Kari Lyn is from PEI and lives in Toronto. This is her latest single, which I really like, and she contributed backing vocals for Deck The Halls. She seems very active on TikTok! I hope to work with her again on something. http://karilynmusic.com
TANNIS SLIMMON –FALLING TOGETHER
What can I say about Tannis? This track is from an older album for which I have the CD. (I know, what are those??) I know her from my Royal City (Guelph) days and she’s a dynamite singer and really quite legendary in the Ontario folk community. I felt very fortunate to have her contribute some backing vocals to Deck The Halls! http://tannis.ca
MJOY –PASSION OUT
From the Oakland area in California, Mjoy is an indie folk artist sort of in the same vein as Ani Difranco and she always makes me laugh. She has a great spirit and contributed some fun visuals of herself running for the Running Wild Running Free video.
CARLEEN –SMILE
The lovely Carleen is a pop artist in Los Angeles. We’ve done some writing together for a release next year and she graced us with her glorious, heaven-sent harmonies on O Come All Ye Faithful. She’s been really fun to work with over the past few months. http://carleenmusic.com
SEE SEE BEATS, CHRIS ST. JOHN, STEPHEN WRENCH, MYROSLAV LEVYTSKY –MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU UKRAINE (SEE SEE BEATS MIX)
See See Beats is Cas Weinbren aka Caskeyboardproducer in New York City. I know this track was very important to him as he mentioned it to me several times while we’ve been working together on some other tracks including the one mentioned with Carleen and a couple other things we’ve got in the pipeline. He also did a remix of Victim Appreciation Night from OHOM which you can find on youtube exclusively right now. Cas also had some music on the Disney Zombies 3 musical this year and who knows how many tracks he released. Lol. He collaborates with a lot of people. Very cool guy. The first time I met him was at an online songwriting mixer and he said that Ceelo Green had given him the sunglasses he was wearing. I knew I liked him right then! Lol. http://caskeyboardproducer.com
DARCHAILD –NEVER LET GO
This is my buddy Shareece from San Diego, California, and we also have written a song together with Cas, stemming from the day I met him, and I’m hoping we can finish it in the new year. In our song, we are basically a couple on a vacation in the Caribbean singing about how much fun we’re having. This is Fantasy Island material!
DA FINGAZ –CONFESSIONS OF A CHURCH MUSICIAN
I met Marcus AKA Da Fingaz through MDIIO the way I met Cas and Shareece. (MDIIO is a platform that helps musicians find sync opportunities for TV and film.) He’s based in Washington, DC, and we’ve been working on a really great track for release next year. http://dafingaz.com
BY OCTOPI –FINGERNAILS
This is Kyla Konopka’s band in Toronto and she was part of the joy of recording Running Wild Running Free although she does not appear on it musically. I recorded the vocal in Toronto on the day they lifted the lockdown and she was maybe the first person I’d seen in forever socially since Lord knows when so she definitely added to the momentum of the recording! Plus it’s fun that her last name is Konopka just like Drummer Dan! Also she was instrumental last year in getting our track Stand Up And Dream Again on the great compilation CD raising money to Save Toronto Music Venues. http://savetorontomusicvenues.com
TITANOSAUR –EATER OF DEATH
I met Geoff Saavedra on my friend Tianda’s Discord. He plays heavy metal music usually wearing a dinosaur mask and is based in New York. He cracks me up! Also, he contributed some spectacular footage of someone in full dino costume running in the snow for the Running Wild Running Free video. http://titanosaur.savagevibes.com
STEVE BARIC –DARK IS THE RAVEN’S WING
Also in the “metal” world is Steve Baric. Steve is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever met and also has the distinction of being the person in this list I’ve known the longest as we actually met in high school in the previous century. He played a fantastic solo on Deck The Halls. http://linktr.ee/woodsnstrings
DYNASTY FOUR –ANACHRONISTA
This is my friend Nikkole Couture’s scrappy garage rock band from Toronto and I think this is my fave song of theirs. Her nieces appear in the Running Wild Running Free video. http://dynastyfour.ca
FELINO, DAYA, IIO SOARES –ILHA
I met Brazilian artist felino at Indie Week and he produced a very inspired remix of my most popular song Operators Are Standing By. This is the latest track he has released.
SEAN BEAVER –I HAVE PPL SKILLS
Sean Beaver is a primarily EDM artist in Alberta who I run into mostly around Indie Week-related festivals and events. He has done a fantastic remix of No Surprise from OHOM that will come out in the new year. http://seanbeaver.com
OLENKA AND THE AUTUMN LOVERS –MOOSE JAW
I confess that I’m completely out of touch with Olenka. We met around fifteen years ago when we both were performing in my friend Barzin’s backing band for a gig at the Opera House in Toronto. We were opening for an Iranian band that sang primarily in Farsi and the sold-out crowd sang along with every song. It was so cool! Anyway, we wound up recording a duet of the Velvet Underground’s Pale Blue Eyes which I held onto until the OHOM release. She has a great voice and has written some very good songs, including this one! http://olenkalovers.com
A BAND CALLED DESIRE -BLEED
I didn't actually collaborate with A Band Called Desire although you can imagine the potential! I include them here as Sarah mailed me a copy of a graphic novel Incoherence that accompanies their album Coherence. This is high concept stuff! Go to their website http://abandcalleddesire.com and watch the accompanying video too. It's incredible stuff.
THIS MAD DESIRE, JESSICA MAGOCH –DECK THE HALLS
And because ‘tis the season, we close off with another Holiday Classic!
LESLIE TAYLOR -LOOK BUT DON'T TOUCH
Leslie sings on several of our latest tracks and also works with Mark Zubek.
And with that, this wraps up this week’s playlist. Hope you enjoyed it!!
If you like this playlist, please share it and follow these artists. Music is the fuel that fills our soul.
If you are an artist that would like to be included in the future, reach out anywhere and I’d love to check out your tunes!
Yours in music,
Mac