Toronto-based synth-pop/jazz artist Tara Kannangara is excited to announce the release of her 2nd album It’s Not Mine Anymore on May 31st, and today marks the official release of her new single ‘I Made This For You’ following its premiere on Aesthetic Magazine yesterday. Tara will be touring in support of the new album in June and throughout the summer. ‘I Made This For You’ is the 2nd single to be released from Tara’s new album It’s Not Mine Anymore. The 1st single, a cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Come Talk To Me’ was released in September 2018. Tara created the video for ‘I Made This For You’ on her iPhone, combining old footage of her as a child, along with Instagram stories and videos of family and friends from the past 3 years. ‘I Made This For You’ is essentially a song about the creative process and learning to let go.
“Artists spend countless hours refining the work, trying to make it perfect, hoping that it will be everything we want it to be, but there’s always a point where you have to let go and let it live in the real world,” says Tara. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that when we make music, it’s not just for ourselves but it’s for people to share, enjoy, criticize, and interpret. And maybe the way people interpret the music will have nothing to do with the way it was conceived, but it doesn’t matter, it’s not for me to decide.”
Categorizing Tara Kannangara’s diverse sound is a difficult proposition, as she blends pop, electronic, synth, jazz, and musical theatre into a singular voice that is uniquely hers. Growing up in Chilliwack, BC, she studied classical piano and voice from an early age. She then serendipitously picked up the trumpet in high school at first focusing on classical before moving into jazz and other genres. Tara studied at the University of Victoria for classical trumpet and vocals, but later moved to Toronto to pursue music at the U of T where she came into her own as a performer and songwriter. Tara’s critically acclaimed debut album Some Version of the Truth was nominated for a 2016 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.
On her new album It’s Not Mine Anymore Tara takes an interesting approach, creating a reimagined look at her life from birth to death. “I wrote the songs from the perspective of a child, teenager, a young woman, a middle-aged woman, and a woman at the end of her life,” says Tara. “And the album is also dedicated to the all of the women in my life, particularly my mother and my young niece.”
“Real Talk” is the brand new release from Emily Chambers. On the track Emily says “Have you ever been in a relationship that never should’ve happened? One of those situations where you’re just having fun with someone on the weekends and all of a sudden they have a key to your apartment and 7 months later you’re like “what just happened?” Too often we stay in bad relationships for too long. “REAL TALK” is about getting into the dirt and confronting the uncomfortable. It’s not easy but it’s necessary”.
(Photo Credit: John Morgan)
Katey Brooks is a clear-eyed rebel in an industry that demands consistency. A devastating songwriting talent that has drawn comparisons with Jeff Buckley (Supajam), Brooks has no shortage of famous admirers and yet she has resisted formula. Over a career spanning four continents, she’s journeyed from intimate living rooms to opulent concert halls, from dive bars to decorated studios with some of music’s biggest names. The wandering troubadour defies easy classification, with a back-catalogue incorporating soul, folk, blues and country. With her new album under construction, the mercurial songstress is more determined than ever to do things her own way. Applauded by the press, this ‘rising singer-songwriter has the crowd eating out of her hands’ (The Independent) and is simply ‘not to be missed’ (Time Out). To watch her sing live is to witness emotional exorcism, but when you know her backstory, it’s hardly a mystery why.
Growing up inside a cult, as a child Brooks found refuge in song. “It was a very chaotic upbringing, full of some pretty colourful and sometimes unsavoury, characters. But when I sang, I felt free and connected. For as long as I can remember, it’s been my way of getting what I need to say out”, she reveals. When she was sixteen, she turned down a spot at the Brit School, the performing arts college where a lot of the UK’s biggest musical exports – Adele, Amy Winehouse, Katie Melua – hail from. “When I was 22 my mum got ill and she died. And then not long after that, my lifelong best friend went missing and she also died. That’s definitely had an effect on the course of my life and my writing. I guess I’m lucky that I have songs that I can write, as a means to deal with things”.
All of these hardships seem to have driven, rather than dragged Brooks under. “Pain just reminds me why I sing,” she says. “And not just for me; for everybody. They say in a funny sort of way musicians are like therapists,” she muses. “Because music is a universal language. Everybody has experienced some kind of heartache, especially in relationships, and music allows us to purge these feelings.” Brooks has certainly had her share of romantic turbulence, not to mention the struggle to come to terms with her sexuality. “In my most recent work I’ve finally been able to sing directly about women instead of using the mysterious ‘you’. I’m a private person in a lot of ways and I never wanted to be a poster girl for anything. But a few years ago I just thought screw it; I want to sing completely honestly. It felt like a weight lifted.”
Leading single ‘All of Me’ narrates calling someone out on their ambivalence. “It was inspired by a personal situation with someone I was prepared to give my world to. They proclaimed deep love, but then proceeded to behave in ways that were completely incongruent with that proclamation”, reveals Brooks. Words can be very powerful and beautiful, but ultimately, when it comes to showing someone you love them, they’re cheap and easy to deliver. Actions tell us everything we need to know about how someone feels about us, and if they respect us – in every kind of relationship. Featuring honest lyricism, organic instrumentation and heart-wrenching melodies, ‘All of Me’ is a soulful ballad that surges with true emotion.
“Where Do We Go From Here” is a hypnotic song about leaving the comfort zone, going new ways and being true to yourself and your dreams – even and especially in hard times. It’s a song about personal growth, believing in yourself and allowing you to fail. Who could be more perfect to tell stories about this subject than people who left their homes, their countries, their friends and families for a better future.
Portraying 30 immigrants from all over the world, TGE show the beautiful variety and mindset foreigners bring to this country and how much they enrich this society.
Malte Hagemeister: “Leaving your home and your comfort zone takes heart and courage. These extraordinary people tell moving stories of change, growth, hard times, having a dream and trying to realize it.”
Kristian Nord: “Growing up in post 2nd world war Germany we learned that it’s the most important thing to tell your opinion as loud as you can when you see basic decency being stomped on by leading politicians, and minorities and foreigners being denunciated. We wanted to show that the very large majority of immigrants coming into this country are amazing courageous people and not rapists or murderers as suggested by this administration.”
TGE is a band of immigrants. Kristian and Malte came to California 15 and 10 years ago and Cambridge-born Hanna Leess moved to Berlin, Germany in 2015. WDWGFH is a strong reminder that the USA strive not despite but because of its cultural variety. It’s a clear statement against fear of the unknown and for communication with people of different roots, nationalities, colors or religions.
“Billions” is the new single from Locals Only Sounds. “Billions” was recorded up north at Curtis’ cottage and produced by the group. On the song the guys say “It actually came from a chop of an old sample Gray had on tape of a conversation between his grandfather and mom. Because of that, the song really hits home, and brings about a certain nostalgic flair. Some inspiration was definitely from Billions, the TV show. The cockiness of the lead character (Bobby Axelrod) connects with the energy and tone of our track’s beat, while also translating with changes that we’ve experienced in life”.
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