SAMWOY debuts with the garage disco punk track “Sbwriel”

by Stephan Boissonneault

When he’s not crushing the mic and drumset with FHANG, a newer genre-manipulating electronic duo from Montreal, Sam Woywitka is working as a producer, and now solo artist, under the moniker SAMWOY. His debut single “Sbwriel,” which sounds like a made-up word, is actually Welsh for “rubbish,” and comes with a shiny music video that features Sam parading around the UK like a fiend, donning a bedazzled gem mask. The project is also on Woywitka’s new label, Hidden Ship.

Like FHANG’s sound, SAMWOY’s music feels like you’re on psychedelics—the kind of psychedelics that make you question everything you know and hold dear, but for the better. “Sbwriel” is a song about self-improvement, or rather, giving up on it and accepting who you really are—a gutsy, dirty, vagabond with a flair for a spectacle that no one will ever really understand. And that’s OK.

Musically, this track shifts from a grooving Sisters of Mercy club-era bassline, punctuated by an assortment of sonic experimentation and cryptic lyrics. The payoff is a freaky fuzzed-out guitar solo, which reminds me of Marc Ribot on morphine.

Check out the music video below.

Krautrock

Trees Speak – Zeitgeber

by Louise Jaunet

“DADA always reappears, in one way or another, whenever too much stupidity accumulates,” wrote the artist Kurt Schwitters in 1924 about Dadaism, an international and committed artistic movement born during the conflicts of the First World War. A century later, Trees Speak plays with coincidence and brings back to life the Ghost before breakfast (Vormittagsspuk), a short movie made in 1928 by the German painter, sculptor, and filmmaker Hans Richter and censored by the Nazi regime at the end of the 1930s as “Entartete Kunst”, i.e. degenerate art. Inspired by the avant-garde music of composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, the disturbing, upside-down atmosphere of the title Zeitgeber suggests the idea of an out-of-control internal clock and foresees the frantic rhythm of environmental changes to come, in the face of the absurdity of a world in the process of self-destruction, where strange machines, whose mechanisms we do not fully understand, are damaging bodies and consciousnesses. It is easy to understand that modern man has become an unstable robot by the technological innovations he himself has created, like a broken combination of pieces that fail to work together, as a chimerical creature between the mechanical world and the natural world. In the face of machines of mass destruction, this joyful Dadaist chaos, both strange and mysterious, proves that even everyday objects could well revolt against the control of the established order. Hasn’t Tristan Tzara warned us: “I destroy the drawers of the brain, and those of the social organization – Beware of DADA”?

Experimental Dream Pop

Elizabete Balčus announces a new album and tour with “Narcissism Purgatory”

by Stephan Boissonneault

Elizabete Balčus is a psychedelic/dream pop artist from Riga, Latvia who recently signed into the Montreal Mothland label family. For her second single “Narcissism Purgatory,” Balčus traded out the dream aspect of her wild soundscapes for more of a nightmare. This is also to announce her upcoming album Hotel Universe, out in mid-September.

I can’t tell you exactly what is going on during her new music video directed by Zane Zelmene, but I’ll try. It seems Elizabete Balčus plays a nurse who attempts to skin graft her more sinister side and turn it into an amalgamation of the light and dark with silicone pieces. This goes horribly wrong and chaos ensues, with a backdrop of frenetic bleeps, fluttering flutes, synth wave chords, and weirdly timed drum mixes, the thrall takes hold and begins speaking backward, kind of Twin Peaks Black Lodge style. The video is unhinged, feeling like a deep-cut Cronenberg film, much like the instrumentation itself which will send your head in a daze.

Folks in Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa will get to see Elizabete Balčus’ diverse and slightly deranged musical style up close and personal as she embarks on a small Canadian tour in Sept. This includes a stop at FME festival in Rouyn-Noranda, where she will open for none other than Animal Collective.

Experimental / Contemporary / Free Improvisation / Krautrock / Post-Punk / Psych-Folk

Staraya Derevnya – Tangled Hands (feat. Galya Chikiss)

by Luc Marchessault

The band Staraya Derevnya has been creating psychedelic kraut-folk for over 25 years now. With a dual home base in London and Tel Aviv, the group takes its name from the historic Staraia Derevnia neighborhood in St. Petersburg. The single “Tangled Hands” comes from Boulder Blues, which will be released on Friday, August 5 on Ramble Records. Berlin-based Belarusian pianist and singer Galina Chikiss spices up “Tangled Hands” with her own cries and whispers. The artwork is by Danil Gertman and the animation by Maya Pik.

The Sadies – No One’s Listening

by Patrice Caron

The new video of The Sadies’ newest album Colder Streams, on which hovers over the memory of Dallas Good, who passed on last February.

Electronic / Experimental / Contemporary / Orchestral Pop

Ben Shemie – The Mirror + The Future Indefinite

by Luc Marchessault

Ben Shemie is a movie buff. We noticed that a long time ago. During Suuns’ mini-concert recorded at the Rouen Studio for Pan M 360, in the fall of 2021, Ben had integrated into their gig a sound extract from David Cronenberg’s Videodrome. In this case, the influence of Andrei Tarkovski’s Solaris permeates this long clip that includes two pieces. These songs, entitled “The Mirror” and “Future Indefinite,” are featured on Desiderata, Ben’s fourth solo album which is a collaboration with the Molinari Quartet. We’ll review it here shortly. Brandon Blommaert animated both songs and directed the video.

Contemporary Jazz / Electro-Jazz / Experimental Rock / Free Jazz / Indie Rock / Rock

Sessions 360: Thus Owls

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Director Sylvain Marotte shot a mini studio concert of Montreal band Thus Owls for PAN M 360, dedicated to the new album “Who Would Hold You If The Sky Betrayed Us?”

This mini-concert is also an introduction to possible dialogues between Thus Owls and their audience after their excellent performance at Suoni Per il Popolo festival in Montreal. A short interview with PAN M 360’s founder, Alain Brunet, is at the end of the video.

Drone / Post-Punk / Shoegaze

Meet Bonnie Trash, a new drone-rock sister twins duo, with the sinister single “Teeth”

by Stephan Boissonneault

“Teeth” by Bonnie Trash

After hearing old hometown ghost stories and darkened folklore from their Nonna, Canadian-Italian sisters, Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor, have released a track called “Teeth,” a song that recalls the sonic sounds of Siouxsie and the Banshees, My Bloody Valentine, and Lush. The two sisters make up Bonnie Trash, a new drone rock/shoegaze project signed to Toronto’s indie label, Hand Drawn Dracula.

The track begins with reverb-soaked arpeggios as drummer/lyricist Sarafina commands the atmosphere with her prophetic voice. The guitar work from Emmalia is also superb, especially the looped, harmonic solo that twists and mutates, near the track’s conclusion.

“Teeth” is accompanied by a video directed by Sarafina. The video has both sisters playing out the song in the empty Apollo Cinema in Kitchener, ON as various black and white static images corrupt the screen.

“Teeth” bridges generations of being haunted – we see ourselves watching our work without understanding that we too have conjured the curse. A malocchio [evil eye] follows.”

Bonnie Trash is looking at releasing their debut LP sometime this fall. It’s safe to say we’re on our heels in anticipation.

Alternative Rock / Psych-Folk / Shoegaze

Zoon releases the ethereal “Astum” and announces a new EP

by Stephan Boissonneault

Astum ft. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Zoon released a more experimental moccasin-gaze cover of Beck’s “Round The Bend” last May and with the new single “Astum” he is certainly following that vibe. The track sounds like something off of Beck’s Sea Change, with Daniel Monkman’s airy vocals, light piano, and lush acoustic guitar. His lyricism is also transcendental focusing on vague references to nature, tranquility, and freedom. “Astum” is the first track off the upcoming Big Pharma EP.

“‘Astum’ touches on active addiction and the challenges that it brings to an individual,” says Monkman. “While in active addiction, it’s extremely difficult to function in the known society and it leaves you feeling even more lost. I reflect on how it’s really sad and you watch a lot of good people leave because it’s impossible to keep a firm grasp on reality. You’re longing for a great relationship but know it could never happen because you’re constantly trying to numb out past traumas.”

The Big Pharma EP comes out on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day.

“Big Pharma is about me trying to bring awareness about the pharmaceutical industry and their lies. I talk about how they destroyed my community of Selkirk Manitoba and many more small towns and cities. A whole generation completely changed in just a matter of five years, families torn apart and loved ones lost to addiction and overdoses.”

Electro-Jazz / Free Jazz / Modern Jazz

Fans eagerly await the debut album of young jazz virtuosos DOMi & JD Beck

by Rédaction PAN M 360

SMiLE by DOMi & JD Beck

Written by: Clint Hoekstra

While they’ve only released a handful of songs mostly in short, meme-like format, jazz duo Domi & JD Beck have been coming up fast over the last few years. Their fans have avidly awaited their full-length album since before the pandemic began, and they’ve now finally graced their audience with a taste of what that will include.

The duo signed to Anderson .Paak’s label APESHIT Records only weeks ago, and have spent the past couple of years touring with the likes of Thundercat, .Paak, and quilted jazz bass virtuoso Mononeon.

This first track, “SMiLE,” dropped with a video directed by .Paak and featuring Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, and a variety of other big names. DeMarco portrays a crotchety old pianist who shares a house with Domi and JD. The duo spends the duration of the video trying to cheer up the old man with games and crafts (their SCRABBLE board reads “RICH BITCH SLAMS PUSSY), eventually hosting a dinner party for his birthday.

The whole video is shot in super warm tones, reminiscent of Paak’s other recent material, Silk Sonic, who has shown a clear aim for the ’70s feel in all of their output.

The song itself starts exactly as a Domi and JD Beck fan would expect: a tight Dilla-style hip hop drumbeat snaps in along with a bubbly, simple synth melody. Beck is renowned for his control over the push and pulls of tempo using kick and hi-hat displacement, and the introductory beat couldn’t act as a more perfect illustration.

Hiding under the drums and synth, barely audible in some parts of the mix, is a poppy, staccato bassline that I can almost guarantee is played by Thundercat. His particular finger-plucked style and addition of sub-bass tones doubling each stroke make him recognizable after only a few notes. About halfway through the song, the leading synth tone gets soft and airy, like a Herbie Hancock riff if he’d done the whole thing with only two fingers. This is followed by a brief break where you can really hear the syrupy thick compression oozing over. White noise floods the mix momentarily, leading into a barrage of Beck’s half-swung breakbeats that have captured so much jazz world’s attention in recent years.

Domi’s keys float over the breakbeats like Chick Corea on whippets, existing somewhere between the drunk straight time of the prior section and the swinging snare fills accompanying her. Ending on a soft, unaccompanied major chord, Domi’s Nord synth tone perfectly crafts what feels like an audible smile.

The epilogue of the video features a sample from another of their new songs, and I can personally say I’m now even more stoked for the full-length album to arrive. I have a soft spot for the lazy, relaxed hip-hop beats Beck has been producing as of late, and from the sound of it, Thundercat’s bass will make more appearances throughout the album.

Domi and JD have yet to announce when exactly this LP will finally hit the streaming services, so we may still have to wait a while. However, now that they’re on Apeshit Records, we can expect a steady flow of singles and music videos to come from these two soon.

Neo-Psychedelia / Psych-Folk / Psychedelia

Paul Jacobs debuts new EP with single and visualizer “The Tree Outside My House”

by Stephan Boissonneault

Local psych folkster, Paul Jacobs, might be moving up in the music world—he’s now singed with the Bonsound label—but his vivid DIY approach to music sure hasn’t changed. He’s following up last year’s wonderful Pink Dogs on the Green Grass album with an EP entitled, 185 On The Corner, out July 8, which features more of his neo-folk psychedelia and categorizes a transformational period of his life where we “went through a lot of changes.”

Who knows what those changes are, but the single “The Tree Outside My House,” has a very nostalgic feel to it, with Paul playing every instrument, recording and producing, and making the accompanying visualizer—pulsating zoom camera work over some yellow flowers. It’s safe to say we’re excited about this new page in Paul’s storybook.

Experimental Rock / Post-Rock

Yoo Doo Right release the trippy animated “The Failure of Stiff, Tired Friends”

by Stephan Boissonneault

Local post-rock/experimental fiends, Yoo Doo Right, are back with another music video, this time with a run time of 6:00 minutes and the animation wizardry of one Jared Karnas. “The Failure of Stiff, Tired Friends,” has a circadian rhythm to it, following the story of an unnamed character as he interacts with strange characters under Montreal skies. The video feels like a graphic novel, touching on the mysterious nature of a morning and late-night stroll. Musically, the track follows a trance-like synth line and puts you into a haze, with calming bass, motorik drum beats, and some guitar arpeggios that could be compared to Ennio Morricone if he fronted a psych-rock troupe.

It’s a song of reprieve and needed to counteract the onslaught of heavy distortion on the band’s upcoming and highly anticipated album A Murmur, Boundless To The East, out in June.

“The mood from this piece by Yoo Doo Right brings out a feeling I’m well accustomed to, which comes when we walk alone in the city, either very late at night, or very early in the morning. This moment of twilight that comes with sadness and loneliness, as we head back home after an evening that drew on. Time stops, we encounter people along the way, we hear the birds sing, yet we are lost in our thoughts, detached from our surroundings. It is this moment afloat that I set out to illustrate in this video.”

– Animator Jared Karnas