“I believe this album really displays our diversity as a group. In addition, I hope to show a new charm and side of Omega X our fans have yet to see, particularly through our self-composed B-side tracks. I’m grateful we have the opportunity to showcase these songs.”  – JAEHAN

January 5th, 2021 (New York, NY): OMEGA X have released their mini-album, LOVE ME LIKE. This new release includes the track “12.24” which the group previously shared during their first fan meeting in late 2021, along with 4 brand new tracks and a music video for the title track.

“I pour my sincerity and heart into each and every song I write, and ‘LIAR’ is no different. It’s an affectionate track for me, and I’m so happy and proud it’s been included in this album. I hope FOR X finds our LOVE ME LIKE album relatable, and the album also brings us closer to our fans.” 

– YECHAN

This is just one of many releases to come from OMEGA X in 2022. Their concentrated activities in 2021 led to Rookie of the Year nominations for The Golden Disk Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Hanteo Music Awards. OMEGA X teased their music composition skills with their debut mini-album VAMOS by contributing to the lyrics for their track “Younger”, a track dedicated to their fans. In LOVE ME LIKE, the members show off how they have grown by contributing to the composition as well as the lyrics for their tracks “LIAR” and “전화해요(PLEASE)” [CALL ME (Please)]”. 

“I’m ecstatic to see our fans again so soon with a fast comeback. In this album, I’ve participated in the making of two tracks, ‘LIAR’ and ‘PLEASE’. Please look forward to them! I’ll continue to work hard and create the best songs for our FOR X to enjoy!!!” – HANGYEOM

Photo credit: Fadi Atiyeh

Calgary artist Jennie Harluk kicks off 2022 with a new chest-squeezing anthem “Be Your Friend,” out Friday, January 14th. Layered with lush piano chords, the track navigates through the gut-wrenching nostalgia and longing of wanting to be intimate with someone again. “Be Your Friend” applies to any ex whom you can’t friendzone due to all the history and leftover emotions that linger in the aftermath of a breakup. The slow-burning production paired with Harluk’s silvery croons leave its listeners in an emotional suspense before the cathartic choruses skyrocket us. “We both know it’s dangerous pouring liquor on an old flame / Cause it burns just like a wildfire in summer” chants Harluk. There is an undeniable sense of impending doom that seeps out of the melancholic and wistful lyrics that makes “Be Your Friend” a soothingly, heart-burning track that takes you down the memory lane.

LISTEN TO “BE YOUR FRIEND” HERE

Speaking of the new track, Harluk shares: “‘Be Your Friend’ is a simple, beautifully melancholy track about the inner struggle of seeing a person you’ve parted from but still love, and realizing you don’t want to be friends with them; you don’t want to pretend there’s no history, you don’t want to be civil – you want them back. Even if it hurts, or isn’t right, you can’t help but feel that pull to familiarity, comfort, and nostalgia of an old love.”

With seductive vocals, dreamy atmospheres, and explosive energy, Anna Sun explores the world through a haze of mystery and romance. Originally the bedroom project of songwriter Samantha Aneson, Anna Sun has since grown into a collaborative trio including drummer Nikola Balac and bassist Andrew “Shwogs” Shewaga, marrying classic pop aesthetics to adventurous modern production. With their self-titled debut EP, the group is announcing the arrival of a vital new voice in indie-pop.

The core of Anna Sun’s appeal lies in the diary-like songwriting of Aneson (pronounced just like the band name). Across its six tracks, the Anna Sun EP manages to capture the triumphs and anxieties of being alive in such a strange time. Sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes heartbreaking, these songs always seem to find an underlying sense of optimism, a reflection of their writer’s personality. LISTEN HERE.

Several of the songs on Anna Sun rip the band-aid off Aneson’s trauma of losing her mother to dementia.

“I’ve grown to love the dichotomy of pain and lightness in art. How one can make the other so much more pronounced,” she muses.

“I was in a place (am forever in a place) of begrudgingly agreeing to this reality that’s been forced upon me. Having to move forward without railing against existence for doing something that once seemed so unimaginable. Having to find light in my nightmare.”

“One Room Away” is the song that Aneson says is the most painful to play. “This song is such a perfect expression of the aching loneliness that comes with losing my mother. She is less and less my mother every time I see her. It is the most painful grief I think I will ever have in my life,” she says. “What A Shame,” pulls no punches, with the repeated line, “All I can say is that it’s a f*ing shame.” “It’s the sentiment I always muster up, when someone tells me they’re sorry for my situation or my pain,” Aneson continues. “Yep. I know. It sucks. I wish it wasn’t happening too. There’s no hope, no optimism. Just acceptance and having to somehow laugh it off or find the normalcy in it. I think it’s a pretty universal experience though, having to ultimately shrug off experiences and parts of life that really f*ing suck.” LISTEN TO “WHAT A SHAME.”

Credit: Ruggero Lupo Mengoni

Executed with a mesh-like precision, it’s a clash of stuttering electronics, coruscating beats and razored riffs and serves as an adrenaline-pulsing first peek into their forthcoming second LP.

Spasming with a feverish unpredictability and shadowed with an overarching sense of solitude, “Fog” was written during an extended period of isolation last year and makes for an engrossing document of an artist reaching for freedom.

Written, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered in just 10 days by Hate Moss’ Tina (vox, electronics) and Ian (vox, drums), the track also sees the duo working in collaboration with celebrated producer and sound engineer Pour Atom Oil. 

“Fog” is also coupled with a video originally recorded at their rehearsal room in London, and post-produced by visual artists Polarys Collective. Watch the video here.

Hate Moss is an Italo-Brazilian duo formed by Tina and Ian in 2018. Formed in London and currently living a nomadic existence, the duo have performed on numerous stages across South America, Europe and the Middle East, while drawing crowds at international festivals like the Venice Biennale (IT), Locomotiva Festival (BR) and Goiania Noise (BR), earning a cult following in the process.

Immersed in the spheres of electronica and post-punk, industrial to electroclash, their music is the result of their multicultural heritage and definitively dark sonic palette. Taking inspiration from the music scenes of the multitude of countries that have welcomed them, the band’s lyrics blend artful observations with fluent shifts in languages and an idiosyncratic sound coloured by instruments they have adopted on their trails.
 
Hate Moss released their first LP ‘LIVE TWOTHOUSANDHATEIN’ through their label Stock-a production in collaboration with the South American label Discos Rebeldes. It was recorded in one take at Relaxo Studio in Florence, Italy and mixed/mastered at Fine Arts Studios in London, UK.

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED PROJECT CONSISTING OF NOTABLE FREESTYLES FROM HIP HOP’S NEXT WILL BE RELEASED ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS FOR THE FIRST TIME 

Over the past 15 years Graeme has been lucky enough to work on more than 40 television shows, and has contributed to more than 1000 episodes of television. His work covers the gamut too. He has scored documentary features on BBC and National Geographic, contributed to Triple AAA games and, along with his writing partners, has become one of the worlds most heard composers – most well-known for their work on hit TV shows like Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and the Total Drama franchise.

The last five years have brought multiple awards from both SOCAN and BMI – recognizing their musical reach both domestically and internationally. Many of Voodoo Highway’s shows have received Emmys, and in 2020, Graeme and his writing partners took home their second Canadian screen award.

Kodiak Arcade is a passion project where a lifelong television composer is reversing the usual process. Instead of writing music for picture, he is creating visual art posted to Instagram, Twitter and YouTube depicting the feelings and mental states of his music. Visually, this project is a means of exploring the forefront of AI / Human collaboration with generative art. Musically, it has been a means of exploring new musical palette ideas, expanding on orchestration ideas Graeme found while working on other visual media, and has served to expand his network of talented instrumental collaborators.

Described as “lush and somewhat mischievous, yet shimmering with melancholy” (Dave O Rama, BC Musician Magazine), Gentle Party is a chamber pop trio that pioneers an expansive sound distinct to their West Coast roots. The distinct voices of each member triangulates to create a sound that is dream-like, pandemonious, playful, and evocative.

Harpist Elisa Thorn (The Giving Shapes, HUE) and JUNO-Award winning violinist Meredith Bates (Pugs and Crows) weave a lush bed of strings with acoustic virtuosity and electronic processing for the hauntingly evocative voice of Jessicka (Hunting, Jessicka) to rest on.

Their debut album, Jouska (2017), was long-listed for the Polaris Prize and enjoys radio play on CBC. Their sophomore album, God Complex, will be released in January 2022. With the generous assistance of Canada Council, in spring 2022 they will also be launching a project called Re:mix, a participatory music creation process that will culminate in the digital release of a compilation album of completed remixes by various artists.

neillfrazer@hotmail.com