
Six Hits On Eight Picks Playing CMW(Canadian Music Week)May,6th-12th, 2019
Six Hits On Eight Picks Playing CMW
Indie Rock/Pop’s LITTLE COYOTE, RIME SALMI, MAX PARKER, PTERODACTYL PROBLEMS & KUTCH
Folk/Electro Duo IN THE CITY, Jazz Hero ORI DAGAN & RnB/Soul Supergroup THE COMMOTIONS
LITTLE COYOTE
Toronto-based indie rock / alt. pop artist whose vocals have been called “soul singing,” “elegant,” “impressive,” “stunning” and “satisfying”
New single “Witness” = magnetically melancholic piano-backed ballad inspired by Indigenous singer Teagan Johnston’s heartsick story of surviving domestic abuse
The video “speaks to the faceless feeling I experienced as a survivor of assault,” she shares. “A city I once called home quickly became a place I wanted to hide, and where I didn’t want my face to be seen. I”m taking it back.” Watch it via YouTube here
IndiePulse called it a “memorable fusion of progressive, alternative, and folk strands into a colourful whole” that’s a “natural confluence of chemistry we don’t hear often enough”
Too Much Love Magazine says it’s “one of the more distinctive units I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in some time” and Atwood Magazine says it “resonates through darkly stirring music and an intimate outpouring of aching emotion”
She plays Cameron House on Thursday, May 9th at 12:00am
IN THE CITY
Toronto-based indie folk / alt. pop songwriting duo to be reckoned with: Ashley Jane and Timon Wientzek
They are two of just six chosen for this year’s highly coveted (and competitive) 2018/19 Slaight Music Residency
Nominated for an International Songwriting Competition Award in the ‘Unsigned’ category for smash single, “Best Time” — lyrics of which, in addition to other songs “1985” and their forthcoming album MaryAnn, honour Ashley’s mother, who recently passed away
“Best Time” was Song of the Week on CBC Radio’s Here and Now, and has been described as “the best”, “effervescent”, “piece of art”, “incredible” and more by the likes of Grotesqualizer, HighClouds, Obscure Sound, xKira, Wolf in a Suit, We All Want Someone To Shout For, Tossit, Ear to the Ground, We Love That / Sound, Tongue Tied Magazine, Keep Walking Music, alexarainbirdMusic, Beatforest, Pan od Muzyki, Where the Music Meets, Indie Folk & Radio, Pickymagazine, Two Story Melody, Indie Monster, Songpickr, PopFiltr, At Cost Magazine, Podcart, Various Small Flames, Maisonneuve, Gobsmag, mp3hugger, Cheers to the Vikings, and then some
Their music has been featured on CBC’s Heartland, Kim’s Convenience, Workin’ Moms, CTV’s Saving Hope, and a number of other commercials and award-winning indie movies
In The City play Cameron House on Wednesday, May 8th at 10:00pm
RIME SALMI
Morroccan-born, Montreal-based indie Afropop artist with over 180,000 followers between Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Gold Record holder with more than one million plays on Spotify, and another on YouTube
Forthcoming single “La la la la2 (No)” (May 10th) is the meeting of Canadian producer Eskal’s electro-pop sound, Ghanaian Afrobeat producer Willisbeat’s afropop rhythms and Rime’s North African and Middle Eastern elements all into one
“La la la la2” stands for “No” in Arabic, and the track speaks to trusting your own vision, instincts and dreams… No matter what others say
Speaks — and sings! — in English, French, Spanish and Arabic
Rime Salmi plays Supermarket on Wednesday, May 8th at 11:00 pm and Kensington Sound Studios Friday, May 10th for the AM to FM CMW Showcase
NEW! Out May 10
MAX PARKER
Max is a Toronto-based 17-year-old boy wonder of a indie pop singer/songwriter with over 14,000 followers on Instagram
Finalist in CBC’s 2018 Searchlight songwriting competition, he also deservedly earned a spot on the nation’s Top 12 Standout Artist list
CBC called his breakout single “Out of the Blue” “mature, polished pop,” Keep Walking Music called it “impressive,” Cheers to the Vikings marked him a “creative artist with a charming, soulful voice” and Noble Vybe Music went full-on fan mode with “we love Max Parker!”
Speaking of fans, he inspired many with his video for “Out of the Blue”: watch via YouTube here!
Max Parker plays The New Colussus Music Festival & Conference and CMW Presents at Sneaky Dee’s on Thursday, May 9th at 6:00pm
PTERODACTYL PROBLEMS
This quartet of Toronto-based self-proclaimed “musical lifers” were made for the live stage, and do a mean Adele “Hello” cover — watch via YouTube here
Need to repeat that: this is a live act that can’t be missed. Their live show’s lights and sound is produced by the same guy behind Simple Minds and their stadium concerts
Known for their heady eccentric, eclectic and electric mix of blues to jazz to heavy metal
They released Esoteric Hobbies earlier this year, and sent out copies of their albums on cassette tapes glued to Walkmans. Because, well, cassettes.
And they’re described as “cool, cool, cool” to “love the big rock vibes” to “the energy on this touches instantly”, plus “amazing talent,” “love the influences,” “incredible energy,” “would love to see them live” and “what a total stand-out power track” by the likes of Rock the Pigeon, Podcart, Plastic Mag, Music Injection, Get Some Mag, A Little Bit Louder, Ear to the Ground, When the Horn Blows, Indie Monster, mp3hugger, and more
They play Bovine Sex Club on Monday, May 6th at 11:00pm
KUTCH
Thunder Bay-based quirk pop / alt. electro artist whose birth certificate says Colin Kutchyera
Debut album Notionside garnered support from CBC, Spotify, Mystic Sons, The Spill, SlowCity, Listen Here, Yab Yum, Wolf in a Suit, Gas Mask Mag, Heard it From Nas, Canadian Beats, Strange Music, and many more
Not to mention charting with Stingray and !earshot Canadian Campus Radio Chart — Top 10 and Top 50
Nominated for an Independent Music Award and a Northern Ontario Music and Film Award
Video for “Bottleneck” (here on YouTube) took HUNDREDS of hours of DIY diligence to create, “Cash In” was inspired by Michelle Carter, the 17-year old convicted of coercing her boyfriend into suicide, and “Collectable” is the boppy pop that made him an emerging one to watch
KUTCH plays The Garrison on Tuesday, May 7th at 9:00pm
NEW! MP3 Out April 26
ORI DAGAN
Toronto-based award-winning jazz singer/songwriting Ori Dagan is an industry pioneer, having created the Jazz genre’s first-ever visual album: Nathaniel: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
The most-awarded Canadian artist of 2018…and 2019 with over 120 Awards and accolades around the world for his videos at Film Festivals
Nathaniel debuted at #1 on iTunes
His most recent single “Non Dimenticar (Don’t Forget)” also debuted at #1 on iTunes
The videos for Nathaniel have over 300,000+ views on YouTube alone
Ori Dagan plays 120 Diner on Tuesday, May 7th at 9:00pm
THE COMMOTIONS
Ottawa-based 12-piece jazz / soul supergroup whose infectiously funky, larger-than-life sound fills rooms and moves feet
LA Music Critic called their most recent release, Volume II, “definitely one of the best albums of the year” and said “get this one like your life depends on it. This band can jam and raise the funk.”
Volume II featured Philosopher Kings’ Jarvis Church, MonkeyJunk’s Steve Marriner and JUNO Award-nominated Petr Cancura
The Commotions features Rebecca Noelle of Soulstice and La Voix (Quebec’s version of The Voice) and Jeff Rogers of The Cooper Brothers
Founder and Musical Director Brian Asselin’s original music has been featured on HBO’s Looking and ABC’s The Fosters
The Commotions play 3030 Dundas on Thursday, May 9th at 11:00pm
We would like to thank Eric Alper for the press release and artist profiles.