Maple Blues Band

In 2023, streaming is abundant. It has its pros: reach, convenience, cost. But what streaming offers in ease it lacks in intimacy. There is no medium more suited for such than vinyl.

 

Of the many musical genres the world over, jazz and blues remain among the most intimate. Quality blues records never lose their mystique, aging like wine through every era. Tapes, CDs, and streaming cut into vinyl’s market, but nothing can put it to bed.

 

That’s part of why Maple Blues Band is so excited about the vinyl version of its latest album, “Let’s Go.” The Toronto outfit’s 10-track project was released in January through Cordova Bay Records. It has since climbed to the No. 1 spot on Roots Music Report’s Canadian Chart while residing on the list for 27-straight weeks. It has earned itself quite the reputation, and lovers of jazz can now enjoy the band’s suave grooves through timeless means; its vinyl unveiling provides listeners with the art in its purest form.

 

“I’m really encouraged by the growing popularity of the vinyl record,” the band’s musical director and bassist Gary Kendall said. “Although digital recordings have improved over the years, you can’t beat the sound of good vinyl on a first-class stereo system. It’s the correct and proper way to listen to music.”

 

It’s been a long time coming for the Maple Blues Band and this release. It took a 24-year collaboration, originating at the Toronto Blues Society programming recap meeting following the 1998 Maple Blues Awards. There, Kendall told the audience that the music that accompanied the award presentations should be better. They retorted: “Let’s see what you can do.” So, Kendall did.

 

“Twenty-four years ago, the ball was in my hands, and I knew I had to make it good, really good,” he explained.

He also knew he needed to find a collection of musical creators capable of contortion.

 

“I wanted a big band that could play all the blues styles: Delta Blues, Southside Chicago Blues, New Orleans Funk, Uptown Blues, Zydeco, Blues Rock, and most of all Canadian Blues,” Kendall recalled.

 

What Kendall made turned into something unique itself. Infusing styles from across the Canadian Blues scene and borrowing pieces from the genre’s many niches, Maple Blues Band has a one-of-a-kind sound born from the beauty of organic collaboration.

 

The Maple Blues Band has been a staple of the Maple Blues Awards ever since, and more than two decades have brought it to this point. Song writing credits on the album include band members past and present. What started as a way to improve a local event has turned into something much more.

 

For Kendall in particular, it’s been an arduous but rewarding path.

 

“Over the years, the musicians that have contributed to making this dream possible all rose to the occasion lending their talent and support,” Kendall said. “The Maple Blues Band made a really great album with ‘Let’s Go.’ Being able to listen to it with that warm, fat vinyl sound has made my artistic journey complete.”

http://www.maplebluesband.com/

Lipstereo

'Little Spaceships’ is the second single from Australian indie rockers, LIPSTEREO’s new EP, 'Modern Mythology'. Renowned Australian, Mark Opitz AM (INXS, AC/DC, The Angels), produced this melodic antidote to their garage rock debut, ’Stop.’

‘Little Spaceships’ is uplifting indie rock with guitars, bass and drums channelling The Beatles, Nirvana and The Ramones. Interesting arrangements and studio sounds such as bells and a 1960s electro-mechanical musical instrument, the Mellotron (used in 'Strawberry Fields Forever’ by The Beatles), fuse Opitz's "sophisto-punk" musical vision to the band's post punk revival sound.

This song hints at the future musical direction of LIPSTEREO as it leads the listener into areas of some great song writing. ‘Little Spaceships’ sees the band proudly wearing on their sleeve the influences of their contemporaries and heroes such as Arctic Monkeys, Weezer and The Strokes.

The song is about “friends moving on and feeling left behind" says lead singer/guitarist, Sam Stranges. The song travels through some great pop rock terrain with a vocal treatment akin to Marc Bolan and T-Rex thanks to the skills of producer Mark Opitz and Thirty Mill Studios sound engineer, Colin Wynne. It is truly thrilling to hear this kind of rock ’n’ roll being made today… in Melbourne; a city with a rich musical history that gave us Nick Cave, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Crowded House, The Teskey Brothers and Jet.

The music video was recently filmed during a live sold-out show in Melbourne at The Catfish. The footage shows the band in fine form and as an exciting, bona fide live act. The audience reactions to their mesmerising live performances have been electric. Do not miss...

 

THE RISE AND RISE OF LIPSTEREO ...

LIPSTEREO’s success can be attributed to its strong two-year creative period where they wrote and demoed some fifty songs in one of the most locked-down cities around the world, Melbourne. Since then, the band has gone from strength to strength with their ground-breaking debut music video for ‘Stop’ being played on national ABC television network in Australia for weeks on end as well as MTV in Canada and the US. In addition to MTV in North America, their second music video, ‘Little Spaceships’ has increased their reach into MTV Latin America, MTV SUR and MTV Mexico. Their total reach through MTV alone being over 150 million homes across North and South America.

Their songs have been serviced to over 14,000 radio stations internationally and have received significant airplay in the US, Canada, The Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, the UK and their home country of Australia. They even had a slot on AXS TV reaching over 44 million homes in the US. They have had Top 10 commercial radio (Modern Rock Specialty) and Top 20 college radio success in the US and Canada for ‘Modern Mythology’ and are currently mastering in their second studio EP, also produced by Mark Opitz.

 

LIPSTEREO has gained international attention with their EP, ‘Modern Mythology’ which was named as “Record Of The Week” in Rolling Stone. Their follow up, “Live At Bakehouse” EP was also named “Record Of The Week” in Rolling Stone…AGAIN! 

They have received massive coverage in NME, EarMilk, Classic Rock Magazine,  and Atwood Magazine. LIPSTEREO pioneered a new TikTok genre where they do a "Blind Cover," of a trending song without actually listening to it – including ‘Anti-Hero’ by Taylor Swift, ‘Made You Look’ by Meghan Trainor and ‘Life Goes On’ by Oliver Tree. The latter video went viral on TikTok, garnering 5 million views, 800k likes and over 6k comments alone.

 

Their music videos have also ben added MTVU (covering over 750 college and university campuses across the U.S.), Loop TV, DEC TV, LA-TV, Video Jam, Video Hits and content providers including Promo Only, Clear TV, Gloss Media, Multiplicity and Woven Media. And LIPSTEREO has sold out every single headline performance in their hometown of Melbourne Australia since 2022. 

https://lipstereo.com/

Nuasia

NuAsia is an all Asian modern Pop Country band from Los Angeles, This is their message about America: 'To us America is an incredible country that is full of love, hope, and opportunities. I believe two lines of lyrics from our song defines this song 'There is hate in all these spaces, but there is love in the town'. Challenges to be overcome, not to define who we are.

https://nuasiacountry.com/

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Justin Kawika Young

"Islands in the Stream" is a beautiful song created and performed by legends BeeGees, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

In respect to the legends, NuAsia's mission was to modernize the song while still maintaining the original melody front and present. They wanted the song to be recognized from the beginning and making it sound like it was produced yesterday at the same time.

https://nuasiacountry.com/

GULF STREAM Riders

 

Gulf Stream Riders, aka Christopher John and Nalle, are former members of a hard rock band that had a record deal with Warner Music in Scandinavia and toured the clubs in LA. After a breakup that lasted many years, with Chris studying back home in NY and Nalle writing and producing for artists around the world, they reunited to pursue the long time dream of making the kind of music closest to their hearts; Country/Folk. Gulf Stream Riders latest, I’ll Be There, is a fun, upbeat Americana tune about trying to find love in the modern age; asking for vulnerability when it's so hard to let one's guard down. https://songwhip.com/gulfstreamriders

In search of

In Search Of is a dynamic band led by extraordinary father-daughter duo Michael Raitzin and Michelle Ray. Their style of music is a fusion of rock, power pop and hard rock.

"Alice and the Wonderland" is a beautiful, powerful and sensory experience for audiences to experience.

The record features Michelle Ray, a gifted vocalist, and songwriter who continues to amaze listeners.
Having showcased her talents on NBC's The Voice, Team Blake, Michelle has amassed over 3.5 million streams on Spotify. Her enchanting melodies have graced national commercials for prestigious brands like Maybelline, Bloomingdales and Mastercard, with her voice finding its way into major feature films such as Garry Marshall's "Mother's Day" and Amazon Prime's "The Expanse". Mark Boals, a celebrated vocalist renowned for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen and Ring Of Fire, adds his powerful touch with additional lead and backing vocal.

https://www.insearchof-music.com/

Nicolás Walle

This single by half-Irish, half-Dutch, multi-instrumental musician and producer Nicolaas Walle features talented singer Sophia Malaika, is the second of a trilogy of singles being released by Nicolaas Walle, which are conceptually linked.

The concept is to fuse elements of explorational and exciting progressive rock bands of the 70s with contemporary stylistic elements and more modern commercial tendencies in order to make a sound which sits comfortably in the modern music context of 2023 whilst still preserving some of the creative ethos of bands such as YES, Camel, Rush and other great bands who have influenced Nicolaas.

"Sun Coming Up on My Life" is about the feeling of having a trajectory of positive change in one's life and being grateful for it.

Nicolaaswalle.com