Daft Punk Human Touch"We feel like scientists, sometimes, doing research in a lab," muses Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter. "The first time you do your research, it comes to the first record, and you share your experimentations, your findings, with the world. The second time is your second album, but the third time......Read More
Born Ruffians Are Reborn"I think that if the Flaming Lips actually sat down and said, 'Let's write songs like One Direction and do just that, but we'll sing them and perform them ourselves,' it would probably be one of the best records ever. Their take on that would be so weird, and the lyrics would be so odd in the right...Read More
KEN Mode Lightning Rod"It builds character, right?" There is a grin in drummer Shane Matthewson's voice as he teases his brother Jesse, guitarist and vocalist for KEN Mode, the metallic hardcore and noise rock band the pair founded together. Jesse, who's been complaining about the arduous, if glorious, recording...Read More
A$AP Rocky Baptized in the Gutter2 Chainz is miffed. Backstage at Drake's OVO Fest, Canada's biggest annual hip-hop concert, Atlanta's "it" rapper has just discovered he will have to share a modest dressing room with another opening act, A$AP Rocky, who has yet to arrive. It's early August, and neither budding star has yet to...Read More
Kendrick Lamar Inside the Year's Best AlbumKendrick Lamar celebrated his 24th birthday performing a concert in Toronto. At the end of the show on a summer night in 2011 at the Sound Academy, the Compton, CA MC sported an ear-to-ear grin as he blew out the candles on a birthday cake brought to him on stage while Stevie Wonder's "Happy...Read More
Tame Impala Psych Out"Regardless of what score they give the album, the only thing I care about is that they understand what I'm doing. If critics say that it's more than just making trippy psych rock then I guess it's a compliment." Kevin Parker probably appreciates that his new album, Lonerism, received...Read More
The Quiet Revolution of Flying Lotus"First time I met him, it was like Jay meets Silent Bob," exclaims bass warrior Thundercat about his musical partner in crime and fellow spiritual traveller, Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus. Spend ten seconds with this Cat and it's clear who fulfills which role. Lotus isn't so...Read More
Dirty Projectors New Beginnings"Before, a lot of Dirty Projectors albums were organized around a central idea," Dave Longstreth explains. "[Then] I just got kind of unhealthily obsessed with Bob Dylan and Lil Wayne, and I got obsessed with the concept of the song itself. I wanted to do things that were self-contained, that were...Read More
Metric Balancing ActMetric guitarist Jimmy Shaw sits sipping some mineral water, a fedora perched on his head; vocalist and synth player Emily Haines folds herself neatly into a nearby chair. They are a lovely pair, in an angular way, sharp corners and velvety shadow. They have been giving interviews for days and look...Read More
PS I Love You Sonic Warriors"There isn't a movie called Death Dreams, is there?" Paul Saulnier asks over french fries and pints, hours before PS I Love You play their Canadian Music Week gig. The bearded 'n' bespectacled singer/guitarist for the Kingston, ON band is about to learn that the title he's given his new...Read More
Cancer Bats Live Through ThisInside a laser light-filled bar just off of Austin's manic Sixth Street, Cancer Bats are ripping through the final set of the night, a 1 a.m. SXSW showcase for their British management. The evening's lone heavy band, their monstrous wall of amps and haggard hesher vibe work in stark contrast with...Read More
Grimes The Accidental Pop StarNo matter how tech-savvy she appears when producing music, conducting live performances or directing music videos, Claire Boucher refuses to join the 21st century and own a cell phone. "If I had a phone I would literally be answering the phone and text messages all the time," she explains from her...Read More
Lamb of God New Year's Resolution"I've done a lot of shit in my life; a lot of crazy shit, a lot of cool shit, a lot of stuff that I'm not so proud of and I wouldn't change any of it," says Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe. Several years ago, Blythe found some notoriety after he got into a gnarly, drunken fist fight with his own...Read More
Waiting on The Weeknd"Can't believe I made it, but I made it that's for sure." "The Party & The After Party" (House of Balloons) On an unseasonably warm Sunday evening in November, local Toronto radio station Flow 93.5 FM has scored somewhat of a coup ― an exclusive live in-studio with Toronto's own...Read More
Tom Waits The Bad And The Beautiful"The amount of time that you spend on anything should not, and will never, directly correspond to how important or interesting it is," Tom Waits says. "A moment of inspiration will far surpass spending six years on something." Most fans of Waits would surely concur, and in large part prefer it...Read More
Feist New Beginnings"I didn't want to play music anymore. I needed to think maybe I was gonna open a bookstore or learn how to surf and never come back." It was 2008 and Leslie Feist, Canada's indie pop darling (and occasional Broken Social Scenester) was ready to quit being Feist. For seven years the road was...Read More
Beirut Independence DayEven as Zach Condon was releasing his 2009 double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland, the founder, singer and songwriter for Beirut already knew what his new record, The Rip Tide, was going to sound like. "I knew the moment I finished those EPs that this was what I was going to do...Read More
Odd Future Teeth of the StormNo one in the last 18 months has garnered as much attention, controversy, buzz and hype as the Odd Future collective. At the same time, few acts in music history have been as challenging to get a grip on. Odd Future is not its biggest voice, Tyler, the Creator. The presence of out lesbian Syd Tha...Read More
Bon Iver Imaginary PlacesI just don't give a shit if I make a record that everyone hates if I love it." Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, is a few weeks from launching his highly-anticipated second album, the eponymous Bon Iver, Bon Iver. It's been four years since he self-released For Emma, Forever Ago, a...Read More
Black Lips Raw Meat and Human Skulls"We're getting pulled over right now by the French police. I think it might be a drug bust, but no worries, we're clean. We cool." Having an interview with Black Lips derailed by a random police interrogation in a foreign land isn't really a surprise. In fact, it only confirms the legend. When...Read More
"We feel like scientists, sometimes, doing research in a lab," muses Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter. "The first time you do your research, it comes to the first record, and you share your experimentations, your findings, with the world. The second time is your second album, but the third time......Read More
"I think that if the Flaming Lips actually sat down and said, 'Let's write songs like One Direction and do just that, but we'll sing them and perform them ourselves,' it would probably be one of the best records ever. Their take on that would be so weird, and the lyrics would be so odd in the right...Read More
"It builds character, right?" There is a grin in drummer Shane Matthewson's voice as he teases his brother Jesse, guitarist and vocalist for KEN Mode, the metallic hardcore and noise rock band the pair founded together. Jesse, who's been complaining about the arduous, if glorious, recording...Read More
2 Chainz is miffed. Backstage at Drake's OVO Fest, Canada's biggest annual hip-hop concert, Atlanta's "it" rapper has just discovered he will have to share a modest dressing room with another opening act, A$AP Rocky, who has yet to arrive. It's early August, and neither budding star has yet to...Read More
Kendrick Lamar celebrated his 24th birthday performing a concert in Toronto. At the end of the show on a summer night in 2011 at the Sound Academy, the Compton, CA MC sported an ear-to-ear grin as he blew out the candles on a birthday cake brought to him on stage while Stevie Wonder's "Happy...Read More
"Regardless of what score they give the album, the only thing I care about is that they understand what I'm doing. If critics say that it's more than just making trippy psych rock then I guess it's a compliment." Kevin Parker probably appreciates that his new album, Lonerism, received...Read More
"First time I met him, it was like Jay meets Silent Bob," exclaims bass warrior Thundercat about his musical partner in crime and fellow spiritual traveller, Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus. Spend ten seconds with this Cat and it's clear who fulfills which role. Lotus isn't so...Read More
"Before, a lot of Dirty Projectors albums were organized around a central idea," Dave Longstreth explains. "[Then] I just got kind of unhealthily obsessed with Bob Dylan and Lil Wayne, and I got obsessed with the concept of the song itself. I wanted to do things that were self-contained, that were...Read More
Metric guitarist Jimmy Shaw sits sipping some mineral water, a fedora perched on his head; vocalist and synth player Emily Haines folds herself neatly into a nearby chair. They are a lovely pair, in an angular way, sharp corners and velvety shadow. They have been giving interviews for days and look...Read More
"There isn't a movie called Death Dreams, is there?" Paul Saulnier asks over french fries and pints, hours before PS I Love You play their Canadian Music Week gig. The bearded 'n' bespectacled singer/guitarist for the Kingston, ON band is about to learn that the title he's given his new...Read More
Inside a laser light-filled bar just off of Austin's manic Sixth Street, Cancer Bats are ripping through the final set of the night, a 1 a.m. SXSW showcase for their British management. The evening's lone heavy band, their monstrous wall of amps and haggard hesher vibe work in stark contrast with...Read More
No matter how tech-savvy she appears when producing music, conducting live performances or directing music videos, Claire Boucher refuses to join the 21st century and own a cell phone. "If I had a phone I would literally be answering the phone and text messages all the time," she explains from her...Read More
"I've done a lot of shit in my life; a lot of crazy shit, a lot of cool shit, a lot of stuff that I'm not so proud of and I wouldn't change any of it," says Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe. Several years ago, Blythe found some notoriety after he got into a gnarly, drunken fist fight with his own...Read More
"Can't believe I made it, but I made it that's for sure." "The Party & The After Party" (House of Balloons) On an unseasonably warm Sunday evening in November, local Toronto radio station Flow 93.5 FM has scored somewhat of a coup ― an exclusive live in-studio with Toronto's own...Read More
"The amount of time that you spend on anything should not, and will never, directly correspond to how important or interesting it is," Tom Waits says. "A moment of inspiration will far surpass spending six years on something." Most fans of Waits would surely concur, and in large part prefer it...Read More
"I didn't want to play music anymore. I needed to think maybe I was gonna open a bookstore or learn how to surf and never come back." It was 2008 and Leslie Feist, Canada's indie pop darling (and occasional Broken Social Scenester) was ready to quit being Feist. For seven years the road was...Read More
Even as Zach Condon was releasing his 2009 double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland, the founder, singer and songwriter for Beirut already knew what his new record, The Rip Tide, was going to sound like. "I knew the moment I finished those EPs that this was what I was going to do...Read More
No one in the last 18 months has garnered as much attention, controversy, buzz and hype as the Odd Future collective. At the same time, few acts in music history have been as challenging to get a grip on. Odd Future is not its biggest voice, Tyler, the Creator. The presence of out lesbian Syd Tha...Read More
I just don't give a shit if I make a record that everyone hates if I love it." Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, is a few weeks from launching his highly-anticipated second album, the eponymous Bon Iver, Bon Iver. It's been four years since he self-released For Emma, Forever Ago, a...Read More
"We're getting pulled over right now by the French police. I think it might be a drug bust, but no worries, we're clean. We cool." Having an interview with Black Lips derailed by a random police interrogation in a foreign land isn't really a surprise. In fact, it only confirms the legend. When...Read More
