The guest speaker for last week’s Council meeting was Professor Heather Munroe-Blum, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill. After giving a short introductory speech, she granted most of her allotted 40 minutes to a question and answer period.
When asked how she felt about the new incoming principal, Dr. Suzanne Fortier, Blum responded that she was “thrilled.”
“She has a clear sense of what our mission is,” Munroe-Blum said. “I don’t think there’s anybody better to come in as [principal] at this time.”
SSMU Clubs and Services Representative Zachery Rosentzveig asked Munroe-Blum about the importance of clubs at McGill, emphasizing the recent budget cuts. Munroe-Blum responded by saying that club funding was a business transaction with the university, and said she thought it was unfair “in context of student development and learning to talk about business transactions.”
Munroe-Blum was asked what she thought was her biggest success as Principal. She said that she couldn’t tell for herself, and that “only history could be the judge.” However, Munroe-Blum mentioned that she believed sustainability was a theme that would resonate with her legacy.
Motion Regarding TaCEQ secretary General Position
ed in the approval of an additional Vice-Secretary General position to the Table de concertation étudiante du Québec (TaCEQ).
TaCEQ is a lobbying organization comprised of student groups from universities across Quebec, including the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). The organization has an annual budget of about $40,000, including salaries for the two current positions—Secretary General and Vice-Secretary General.
The motion, which was moved by SSMU Vice-President External Robin Reid-Fraser, proposed that the position of Vice-Secretary General be divided into two positions—Vice-Secretary General of Communications and Internal Relations, and Vice-Secretary General of Finances and Administration.
By creating an additional position, increased funding would have to be used to pay for another salary, to which SSMU would contribute approximately $3,200.
Councillors were divided on the creation of an additional position, with several claiming that TaCEQ lacks organization. Some pointed out that the association has no mandate nor mission statement, that assembly minutes and reports have not been properly administered, and that the organization’s website and all its documents are only available in French.
Furthermore, councillors argued that there was no clear definition of what the position would entail.
“The role of Vice-Secretary lacks a proper definition, and we’re creating a new one? Why should we pay for another one?” Brian Farnan, vice-president external of the Arts Undergraduate Society and incoming SSMU vice-president internal, said.
Reid-Fraser fought hard for the approval of the motion.
“We can get so much more out of TaCEQ if we put a bit more of a dollar amount into it,” she said.
The motion eventually passed, with 13 for, five against, and three abstentions.
Motion regarding creation of ad-bloc campaigns committee
Council approved the creation of an Ad-hoc Campaigns Committee. According to the notice, the committee will “be responsible for helping to carry out campaigns related to SSMU mandates, including, but not limited to, issues of post-secondary education policy, environmental issues, and social justice issues.“
The idea for the committee was developed by Reid-Fraser in response to the Divest McGill campaign, which has required large amounts of resources and manpower.
The notice says that the Committee would be comprised of SSMU Vice-President External, the SSMU Political Attaché, and the SSMU Political Campaigns Coordinator. The Committee would only come together when needed, in order to lead and consolidate on large SSMU mandated campaigns, such as Divest McGill, according to Reid-Fraser.
Last Wednesday, the Government of Canada informed the UN of its withdrawal from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)—an initiative that builds resilience to land degradation and drought in developing countries while increasing security of essential resources.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird suggested the withdrawal, which was ordered by the federal cabinet last week.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said only 18 per cent of Canada’s contribution to the UNCCD goes to programming, while the remainder is spent on bureaucratic measures.
“It’s not an effective way to spend taxpayers’ money,” Harper said during question period in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Following the announcement of the withdrawal, the UNCCD thanked Canada for annually contributing just over three per cent of the Convention’s budget, which amounted to $350,000 last year.
The Convention is the only one of its kind that addresses desertification and drought. Canada is the only country of 193 member states to withdraw from the Convention.
Drug bust on the high seas
A Canadian Armed Forces ship seized approximately 500 kilograms of heroin, valued at $100 million, from a boat in the Indian Ocean on Friday. The heroin, which was seized without incident, will be destroyed.
A boarding team from Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto found the drugs while performing an inspection of the transport boat. HMCS Toronto tracked the transport boat for some time before boarding it.
“We ascertained [their crew] were not being truthful about their mission, their voyage, so we continued on with a full search of the vessel and discovered the drugs,” Commander David Patchell told CBC News.
In a release from the Department of National Defence, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said this is among the largest heroin confiscations to occur in a marine setting.
HMCS Toronto currently patrols the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as part of a Canadian Forces naval task force with a counter-terrorism mission.
Ralph Klein, 12th Premier of Alberta, dies
Ralph Klein, who led Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party for 14 years, died on Friday at the age of 70 in a long-term care facility.
Before becoming premier, Klein was mayor of Calgary, his hometown, for nine years. He is remembered for bringing the 1988 Winter Olympics to Calgary, as well as striving to balance the provincial budget.
Klein was Premier of Alberta in four consecutive majority governments, during which time he instituted the “Alberta Advantage”—a low-tax, low-regulation stance that paved the way for Alberta to become the only debt-free province in 2005. Klein stepped down as Premier in 2006 due to a decline in his approval ratings, and was subsequently replaced by Ed Stelmach.
Klein was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012. He leaves behind a wife, five children, and grandchildren.
Conservative backbenchers stand up against Harper
Four Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) took a stand against Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the House of Commons last Thursday, and denounced his control over House proceedings.
This backlash comes after Harper denied B.C. MP Mark Warawa permission to read a statement in the House last week, according to The Globe and Mail. The Tory backbenchers expressed frustration with Harper’s ability to control who speaks in the House, and asked Speaker Andrew Scheer to grant MPs more autonomy in this regard.
“The very existence of parliamentary questions and the opportunities that they provide for the representatives of the people to question the government of the day are of constitutional importance,” New Brunswick Southwest MP John Williamson told the House.
According to The Globe, Tory MPs are often assigned the statements they must deliver in the House, and their questions reserved for Question Period are also written by the government, which prevents them from voicing their constituents’ concerns. Williamson has also asked Scheer to change the rules.
PQ abandons L’Hôtel-Dieu renovations for new hospital
Last Wednesday, the Quebec government announced that it has cancelled the former Liberal government’s plans to renovate the L’Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Quebec City. Instead, the government will pursue construction of a modern hospital, which will be built outside the city.
Founded in 1637, L’Hôtel-Dieu is one of three teaching hospitals which form the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ). L’Hôtel-Dieu was the first medical institution of its kind in North America.
According to The Globe and Mail, the Hôtel-Dieu renovations were projected to cost the provincial government over $800 million, which was double the original estimate. However, the new hospital’s price tag currently reads upwards of a billion dollars. A more concrete estimate will not be available until June.
Premier Pauline Marois noted that the Parti Québécois will not be receiving financial assistance from the federal government for the new medical centre. Ottawa has also refused to fund several other key infrastructure projects in Quebec, according to The Globe and Mail.
The start to my phone interview with Leroy Velasquez, a press representative for SeekingArrangement.com, was startling at best.
I am investigating a recent trend of university students using sugar daddy dating websites, like SeekingArrangement.com, to help them pay for their schooling. When asked what exactly SeekingArrangement.com is, Velasquez simply responded: “SeekingArrangement.com is the world’s largest sugar daddy dating website. [It] essentially pairs generous benefactors with attractive members, and they engage in what we call “mutually beneficial relationships.” Whether it be friendship, companionship, or something more romantic, the benefactor takes care of that person, offers them a monthly allowance, and pays for all of their expenses.”
Velasquez explains that there are various terms for the different kinds of people using the site: sugar daddies, sugar mommies, and sugar babies. He describes a sugar daddy as “an older, wealthy man, who is on average 35 years old,” and can make anywhere from half a million to over a million dollars a year. On the other hand, a sugar baby is typically a younger woman— 18-26 years old—whose income is less relevant, but ostensibly much lower. It’s also worth noting that the ratio of sugar daddies to sugar babies on the site is one to 12.
“We don’t discriminate against certain demographics,” Velasquez assures me. “For example, we do have a sugar mommy population that takes care of sugar baby males, and we also cater to the LGBT community. We have gay sugar daddy males [and] gay sugar baby females. We have a wide range of relationships on our website.”
While the service is free for sugar babies to use, sugar daddies and mommies must pay a monthly fee for their membership. There’s no minimum income requirement for sugar daddies, but on average, they make around six figures.
“As long as you have the expendable income to spend on a sugar baby’s monthly allowance, we allow you to use our website,” Velasquez explains.
The website even offers a promotion encouraging sugar babies to register with their university email account, which has enabled them to gather data on which universities boast the most sugar babies. McGill lands at number four on the list of Canada’s fastest growing sugar baby schools. With 148 new accounts created in 2012 alone, it falls behind Ryerson (183 new accounts), University of Ottawa (179 new accounts), and University of Toronto (156 new accounts), which hold the top three spots respectively. L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) also made the list at number 13, with 58 new accounts. According to SeekingArrangement.com CEO and founder, Brandon Wade, 38 per cent of all female accounts in Canada belong to university students.
“We actually found a huge trend in college students at the beginning of this year,” Velasquez says, “and I can definitely attribute that to factors involving money. A lot of students can’t afford the tuition, especially with school costs increasing [and] the cost of living, as well as student loans increasing. A sugar daddy just seems like the most ideal and sensible choice when engaging in relationships. The average college sugar baby earns $3000 a month, as well as money to cover tuition.”
It sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? Aside from the obvious questions it raises, I wondered if it was too good to be true. Unable to find any experienced sugar babies to speak with, I decided to do the next best thing: see for myself. I created a SeekingArrangement.com account; one fake name, a short blurb about myself, and a couple of Facebook photos later, I was ready to see what all the fuss was about. Most of the messages I got were from men living in places outside of Montreal, looking to travel downtown to meet up. Mostly, they were from towns in Quebec and Ontario, but a few were from the states, even as far away as Texas.
As Velasquez explains it, “You have to put in perspective that the traditional sugar daddy is someone who leads a very active business life. He’s successful, he’s wealthy, he’s generous, but he may not have the same schedule as someone who works a nine-to-five. He may be travelling all the time, he may be constantly working so he has to engage in relationships where maybe he’s visiting the area where you live or he could take vacations or time off with you. When [sugar daddies] first engage with these sugar babies, they message them and tell them specifically what they’re looking for, whether it be friendship or companionship. And then, there are times where sugar daddies are looking for someone to seriously date. We’ve actually had numerous members send us wedding invitations over the past year, for those who actually had the chemistry and actually ended up getting engaged and married. There’s a wide range of relationships on SeekingArrangement.com.”
He’s right about the straightforward nature of the website. I received messages proposing shopping trips, dinners, and hotel meet-ups right off the bat, but others simply requesting I message them back to see if there was a connection. It was easy to tell who was looking for what, but almost every message came with a phone number or private email, suggesting we correspond outside of the website.
“When members first sign up and register on our website, they have to agree to a terms of use,” Velasquez tells me, “so our administrative team looks for members who message others and solicit them, and we ban them, no questions asked, on the first offence. At the end of the day, we are a dating website, and members have the ability to flag others if they ever feel uncomfortable, violated, solicited, etc., so we do employ a number of measures to maintain the integrity of our dating website.”
Critics of the website accuse it of being similar to an escort service, but legally speaking, as long as a sugar daddy is paying for a service other than sex, say friendship or companionship, the transaction is perfectly legal. According to the website, any physical relationship that may occur, is beyond the scope of that arrangement.
Whatever sugar daddies are looking for, it seems they use the website to make an initial connection, but would rather their messages not be read by the Seeking Arrangement administrative team. For a service that stresses how honest and straight forward these relationships are, a lot of the profiles I saw mentioned discretion, especially those of married individuals.
Each sugar daddy is required to list their income, net-worth, age, occupation, location, and budget, among other things. Sugar babies must list much of the same, excluding income and net-worth. They also list what they’re expecting in terms of compensation from a sugar daddy. The whole venture comes across as exceedingly mercenary, yet supporters say it’s the safest, easiest way to put yourself through school. Critics argue that it’s like a job, but not quite, and it’s also like dating, but not quite—it’s too much of a grey area. The lines can get blurry enough for the whole thing to feel anything but simple. Success with the website seems to depend on whether or not you have the stomach for it.
According to Velasquez, “It’s what you look for, honestly. Using our website, you’ll see that members look for something different, and they match with someone who has a similar mindset. I’ve spoken with sugar babies who are in a completely platonic relationship with their sugar daddy, and they get the same benefits as someone who’s in a more romantic relationship. So, if you’re looking for friendship, it’s there. If you’re looking for a more romantic relationship, it’s there.”
U1 international student Chelsea* says she considered a Seeking Arrangement account, but ultimately decided she didn’t want to open that can of worms.
“I mean, I pay around $15,000 and it’s mostly in loans—my parents don’t help me. It’s hard [because] a lot of students who don’t have loans can go travel [after graduation], but I can’t, because I have to pay back my loans right after school. Everybody needs money, and it’s an easy way to get money, but it’s weird. You lose something. If someone’s paying you money to be around them, it’s not real. You lose a bit of autonomy,” she said. “I work at Dairy Queen, and I’m much happier making minimum wage than having someone pay me to spend time with them.”
Although McGill students are split on the issue, SeekingArrangement.com is clearly growing in popularity. Despite the financial difficulty faced by many McGill students, one question remains to be answered: can we put a price on ourselves?
*Name has been changed.
*This feature is not part of our joke section.
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For a movie featuring Selena Gomez as a church girl named Faith, and directed by a guy named Harmony, Spring Breakers sure contains a lot of godless chaos.
Writer/director and cinema enfant terrible Harmony Korine returns with another movie about rebellious youth, with characters who seek the same variety of forbidden fun as the stars in Korine’s screenplay of Kids in 1995. Much like how Kids was intended to be a contemporary mirror of teenage society, depicting bored, young New Yorker hedonists during the mid-’90s HIV epidemic, Spring Breakers is set in a modern Florida, and features 2013 Disney pop starlets, Gucci Mane, and a score by mainstream dubstep producer Skrillex. All of these are great commercial selling points for a bubblegum-pop action flick. Korine, however, takes these qualities further, by exploiting Gomez and co-stars Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson’s teen television backgrounds to comment on the culture that idolizes them.
As a concept, Spring Breakers has enormous satirical potential, and the idea of a biting farce lurks beneath the movie’s shiny surface. But the film doesn’t have such a sharp focus. Instead of using the flashy dream-world hyperbole as a lens into something meaningful, Korine hides the lack of substance in his movie behind substances themselves; drugs are depicted on screen with the same degree of abandon as that of the girls who are using them. This is quite convenient for him—instead of making something constructively provocative, he uses the movie’s existential premise as an excuse to not bother. The film is literally missing content, with flashbacks and montages of the same scenes, coupled with voiceovers of the same eerie refrains of “money” and “spring break forever” taking up more screen time than the original sequences where they first appear. The resulting non-sequential, non-sequitur narrative is not artistically surreal, but rather monotonous. If the film was positioned as purely campy, nihilistic pop entertainment, it might have worked, but a film that uses teenage tedium as a catalyst for its narrative—the girls want to visit Florida because they are “tired of seeing the same things every day”—shouldn’t be boring itself.
Two characters have the potential to redeem Spring Breakers from the dead-end sum of its montages of beach bacchanalia and slow motion shootouts. The scene in which Alien, played by James Franco, tries to manipulate Faith into staying in Florida is genuinely disturbing, and one of the film’s best. Unfortunately, Faith, scared to tears, exits the film early, which leaves it without its most developed female character.
That leaves us with Alien and his girls, whom, for the moment, appear human. Franco adopts the role, obviously modeled after Houston rapper Jody Christian (aka RiFF RAFF), extremely well, and Alien’s motives are surprisingly unpredictable—much to Franco’s credit. Alien walks a line between gangster jester—his ridiculous persona a source of comic relief—and idiot savant, whose brassy musings on the life of a hustler are profound in their own way. “People tell me I should change … I’m about stacking change,” he tells the girls. This line almost directly quotes RiFF RAFF himself, and it feels awkward, highlighting that maybe Christian would better suit the role. While Franco, a method actor, apparently stayed in character while on set, Christian is so committed to his eccentric rapper lifestyle that many still speculate as to whether the act is genuine or not—and this undermines the efficacy of his imitator. Acknowledging his influence, RiFF RAFF has even communicated his eagerness to star in a Spring Breakers 2, but including him in this film might give it the kick of absurdity that would push it over the edge.
Spring Breakers is a concept with potential, and a film that could have been more. Korine should either have toned down its style in favour of more substance, or recklessly pushed its explicit content to its nihilist limit, eschewing any hint at message or meaning. But in trying to balance both, Spring Breakers’ ability to provoke is broken.
It seems as though the notoriously slow Montreal hip-hop world is being jostled awake by up-and-coming powerhouse female rap duo Heart Streets. With their smooth voices, and bold but unassuming presence, they are beginning to create some serious waves on the scene. Heart Streets took to the stage last Friday night at Cabaret du Mile End for the release of their second EP Beats, Blunts, & Broads in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
The group consists of Montrealers Gabrielle Godon and Emma Beko, who founded Heart Streets two years ago. In combining Godon’s soulful, sultry voice with Beko’s swift and raspy rapping, the close friends discovered a unique dynamic that has since captured international attention. With the help of the smooth production of Andre Milton, the girls have developed a style that fills a serious void in the genre.
Godon and Beko say they are often asked what it’s like to be two white girls in the hip-hop industry—and they insist their profiles don’t change much. However, they do see that it has a certain power in attracting people to their music.
“It brings curiosity,” explains Godon. “People are like, ‘Who is this girl rapping and this girl singing with a soulful voice?’ [We’re] white, and [we’re] young; they are curious to see what we have to offer.”
This fresh, unapologetic attitude certainly parallels the nature of their music. Their lyrics are edgy and real; in fact, they seem to encapsulate the nature of Montreal. The laid-back music video to their single, “Nonchalant,” takes viewers on a street tour of the city, and features the girls’ friends and favourite local hang-outs. The feel is certainly quite old-school, but they also find inspiration from newer artists such as Azealia Banks and Kendrick Lamar.
Heart Streets has been featured on major music blogs such as Pitchfork, The Fader, and The Mirror Noisemakers Issue. They have gained increasing attention, especially following their collaboration with LOL Boys on the groovy single Changes. Heart Streets’ growing success has brought them to the stages of Pop Montreal and M for Montreal in the last year. They’ve opened for big names like Radio Radio and Bran Van 3000 at L’Olympia, and they continue to fill venues throughout the city.
Five years from now, Heart Streets hopes to be touring around the world.
“[We want] to be living out of the music,” says the duo.
There is no doubt that with their spunky outlook and expansive talent they will go on to redefine Montreal’s hip-hop story and pave the way for future female artists.
With the pervasive yet varied theme of the human body, Art Mûr’s latest exhibitions push the social boundaries of comfort and originality. A striking feature of this free contemporary art gallery and studio is its intimate layout, which immediately takes hold of visitors ,and forces them into a new mindset upon entering.
After the first step into the gallery, one is within arm’s reach of an overwhelming piece from Sonny Assu’s #NEVERIDLE exposition. Half of the pieces use drums as a medium, while the other half use unique geometric forms; all, however, are made from real caribou skin. The canvas’ uncommon shapes amplify the abstract patterns’ ambiguity, causing the piece in entirety to reflect personal projections, which may include immense sadness, jocularity, or harmony depending on the viewer. Although well-made and interesting, this exhibit seems like an art class’ textbook definition of abstract art; it does not have anything to distinguish itself from countless past works in the same genre.
The exhibition’s narrow hallway opens up into a room containing Bevan Ramsay’s unsettling (to put it mildly) Soft Tissue. This white room contains four paintings and five sculptures, devoted to displaying meat in ways people would not usually like to think of it. The red paintings portray slabs of meat at different distances—from large, thick, whole pieces, to the meat’s structure at cellular level. These pieces complement the exhibition well, but are not nearly as attention-grabbing nor emotive as Soft Tissue’s sculptures.
Thankfully not made of real meat, the sculptures combine various parts of humans and animals into deformed monstrosities. The first piece features a human with bloody pig hooves for hands, kneeling down, appearing to worship the rest of the exhibit. Directly in front of this creature is what appears to be a massive chicken wing with a graphic, gory gash in its side. The wing stands on a beautifully accurate hand. At about eye level, the wing has an open human mouth, reminding the viewer of what one typically does with chicken wings. Whether a statement about vegetarianism, the similarities of man and beast, or simply an attempt to make viewers as uncomfortable as possible, this exhibit’s careful attention to detail—no matter how nauseating—evokes a strong emotional response.
The final room of the first floor contains Renato Garza Cervera’s Springbreaker Tsantsas—a basic display of nine shrunken heads with a video of a child holding several others on string. Each head within a glass jar on a podium, this sterile exhibit does not possess any of the previous room’s impact. One would think that shrunken heads would be more spine-tingling, but, perhaps because only their hair is actually human, they did not elicit any emotional impact. The heads are surprisingly small, about the size of a fist, and look metallic with a few cracks spread across the face. Perhaps somebody with a greater pre-existing affinity for shrunken heads would experience an enhanced appreciation for these pieces, but it certainly did not create one for this critic.
This series aims to create an emotional response, and in some sense, it does succeed. But simply being visceral or ambiguous isn’t enough to be inspiring.
Art Mûr’s current exhibitions are on display until Apr. 27 (5826 rue St-Hubert). Admission is free.
A title like The Chase begs the question: chasing what? The album is purposefully coy in providing an answer, but one can rule out ‘talent’ as a possibility—Groenland already has that in abundance.
The Montreal six-piece’s release is staggeringly accomplished for a first effort. The Chase occupies a nebulous arena between indie-pop and folk—though such labels seem pathetic when applied to tracks that brim with such originality. Melodic mastery and expert songcraft characterize the album, which maintains an undercurrent of unceasing fun—a ‘shout from the mountaintop’ joie de vivre. Inventive and memorable melodies twist, turn, and soar, taking on a life of their own in lead singer Sabrina Halde’s vocals. Iridescent at certain times, smoky and snarly at others, Halde’s voice is always remarkable for its realness, an uncanny relatability and likeability that won this critic over in record time.
There isn’t a single song on this album that is melodically uninspired or poorly arranged, and this collective virtuosity makes it all the more difficult to pick standouts. “Criminals” is one example where all elements work in perfect unison: the light, carefully counterpointed piano chords, alongside the cello and violin as they slide out sly riffs and punchy accents. “Our Hearts Like Gold” begins as a gentle ballad modestly adorned with an impossibly infectious melody, but soon blossoms into a hopeful, upbeat eulogy to conclude the album.
For a debut release, The Chase is incredibly polished and well thought-out. Whatever Groenland is chasing, they’re sure to find it. With artistry such as this, there’s nothing that can stand in the group’s way.
It’s baffling that there hasn’t been a band named Peace already, but four Brits have taken the moniker and are running with it. Their debut album, In Love, is chock-full of summery guitars and catchy hooks. Song titles such as “Higher Than The Sun,” “Float Forever,” and “California Daze” are accurate indicators of the album’s laidback, sun-streaked atmosphere.
While the album begins with punchy rock, the first major deviation can be found in the fourth track, “Float Forever.” It starts with sparse guitar and bass, while lead singer Harrison Koisser and his brother, bassist Samuel, sing in harmony. Even after the drums enter, the song’s slow tempo works, proving the band’s versatility.
The rest of the album is a rollicking affair, filled with guitar blasts, catchy choruses, and a harkening to ’60s rock. Album closer “California Daze” employs Beatles-esque harmonies and drums alongside lyrics such as “she tastes like sunlight,” to exemplify their blissed-out ambiance.
The songwriting occasionally slips into clichéd territory, especially on third track, “Lovesick.” The song is one of the album’s poppier tracks, repeating the phrases “I wanna get lovesick with you” and “I don’t wanna make no sense, I don’t wanna pay the rent” amidst surf-rock riffs.
The album is a decent debut, and establishes Peace as a group to watch as they continue to spread their psych-tinged rock and throwback vibes in the years to come.
Few modern artists use the accordion in their songs, and even fewer can use it with the grace and flair of Ingrid Gatin. Her second full-length release, 1000 Lives, is dramatic and old school, relying heavily on piano, and the aforementioned accordion. Winnipegger Gatin has a dynamic, strong voice, and has created atmospheric tracks on the album with the help of Arcade Fire producer, Howard Bilerman.
Despite containing some songs that sound somewhat similar, Gatin’s creation is a compelling and refreshing album.
Standout tracks include down tempo “Cherry Blossom,” which has a haunting, mournful mood, “Take These Walls,” progressing almost like an old-timey waltz—and a rather sexy one at that; and “My Ship, My Crown,” which exhibits Gatin’s vocal chops.
Love is the overarching theme of 1000 Lives, but more of a mature, jaded kind. Don’t expect any Taylor Swift-esque declarations of undying affection here. It seems like the relationship behind Gatin’s album didn’t end too well, and although not quite a break-up record, 1000 Lives is definitely recommended for someone trying to move on from a failed relationship.
The album’s titular track features atmospheric, screechy strings. Gatin plays piano dramatically behind the strings, building up to a climax near the middle of the song.
But, worry not—the record can be rather upbeat at times, notably on second last song, “Broken Tambourine.” Still, it retains a dose of bitterness. 1000 Lives is worth a listen for its creativity, and for someone who’s tired of manufactured, cookie-cutter female vocalists.
In March 2009, Caribou drummer Brad Weber released his first tangible evidence of embarking on a project of his own: a self-titled EP named Pick A Piper. Over the last few years, Weber has found time to pursue and channel his own personal songwriting abilities, while flexing his production skills.
“Caribou has been touring a lot, so whenever I have free time—often in the back of the tour bus—I find myself working solo on drum loops and bass lines,” explains Weber.
He has also delved into a DJ career, as yet another side project.
“Deejaying is something I like to do once a month to avoid mental blocks when I’m actually busy writing music for Pick A Piper,” says Weber. His multiple creative outlets extend and enhance his artistic freedom Caribou originally provides, as all have matured into something of notable substance.
Specifically, Pick A Piper erupted out of a desire to “take any interesting sound and incorporate it into a more electronic palette.” Juxtaposing acoustic with synthetic qualities came as a transition for the band.
“Our goal now is to create a sound that’s musical starting point is unidentifiable,” says Weber. The sound of their initial 2009 release ignored this goal, as it intensely focused solely on the raw acoustic aspects. The vocals were unresponsive and their songs musically limited, which led Weber to seek out new inspiration. Listening to more contemporary electronic music such as Bonobo, Four Tet, and Shlohmo, Pick A Piper’s aesthetic became increasingly sparse, achieving the analog vs. electronic sound they had in mind. Today, the band led by Weber are set to release their debut self-titled LP, stressing a perfect balance between prominent harmony, noticeable vocals, and interesting percussive sections.
To further enhance this approach, Pick A Piper worked with talented vocalists on this LP, including Ryan McPhun of Ruby Suns, and John Schmersal of Enon. Weber stated that a highlight track, titled “Lucid in Fjords,” gave him the most hassle, but the final product was worth the effort.
“I almost threw the track away!” says Weber. “The original instrumental was super basic in comparison to what it has evolved into now, and it seemed to not be going anywhere meaningful.” Once McPhun implemented his interpretation on the lyrics and melody, Weber was more than satisfied. There was that balance they so desperately needed.
The Pick A Piper LP, according to Weber, “combines dance-music structures, polyrhythmic percussion, and atmospheric sound design,” incorporating any and all sounds they find energizing. Toying around with anything from Moog patches to the use of a glockenspiel, Weber has surrounded himself with not only experimental band members, but great friends as well.
“I would describe the process as ‘sampling’ my friends. I ask them to record their own interpretations based on a song idea, and I piece everything together by manipulating each and every sound,” says Weber.
Released on Mint Records, the Pick A Piper LP has also been transformed into a live show, touring across the country in the next few months. Pick A Piper plans to wow the crowd with “spacious vocals and prominent percussion,” proving to reflect their musical style altogether: something simultaneously blissful and energetic.
Pick A Piper performs on Apr. 5 at Quai des Brumes (4481 St. Denis). Tickets $8.
