Although Osheaga officially begins today, I'm only heading out on Sunday morning. 2 days left to go! Also, can I also mention how jealous I am of everyone heading to Osheaga today? The line-up today is pretty fantastic (Florence + the Machine, the Weeknd, MGMT) so to all my friends who will be there: HAVE AN AWESOME TIME!
In anticipation of Sunday, today I'm listening to Santigold.
Although I know her best as Santogold, the singer/songwriter/producer changed her stage name to Santigold back in 2009. Santogold make her way to the music scene back in 2007 with her single "L.E.S. Artistes" off her self-titled first album.
Her new album "Master of My Make-Believe" dropped in April of this year. Here's a song off the new album that I'm currently obsessed with:
From what I've heard from her new ablum so far, it is pretty stellar. I need to get my hands on it ASAP! I
am beyond excited for this show. I have a feeling that I'm going to
dance like there's no tomorrow.
Also, here's a song from the first album that I absolutely adore. It's so catchy! Enjoy!
In 3 short days, I will be heading to Montreal for Osheaga. Yesterday, I was listening to Passion Pit. Today, I am rocking out to Bloc Party.
When I originally saw the line-up for Osheaga, I was blown away. Having never gone to Osheaga before, I decided that I would go this year, for at least one of the three days of the festival.
If you've seen the amazing acts that are playing, you can imagine how hard it was to choose the ONE day of this amazing festival that I would attend. Although it was challenging, I decided to go Sunday because there were a lot of great bands that were playing. However, the major selling point for me on Sunday was definitely Bloc Party.
See, Bloc Party is a group that I really enjoy even though I don't tend to listen to their music on a regular basis. I feel like I need to be in a specific type of mood to listen to their music. Although I do not own all their albums, I do love the handful of albums that are neatly stored in my iPod (especially the remix versions of Intimacy and Silent Alarm).
I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity to ever see these guys live, especially when lead singer Kele started his solo project. However, the group is back to it, and they have a new album dropping on August 20th. It'll be fun to check out their new material prior to their album release. I am really looking forward to this show.
The countdown to Osheaga continues! Today I'm listening to electro group, Austra.
I'm lucky enough to have a great friend who feeds me really good music on occassion. My friend said something along the lines of: "This is Austra. You will like it." Indeed, I did. My friend was right. By the time I started really getting into the group, they had just played a show in Ottawa, which I missed sadly.
SIDENOTE: This particular scenario always happens to me. I usually get really excited about an artists or a band months/years after everyone else has jumped on the bandwagon. I'm OK with that. I need to become a fan on my own time... It's fine. However, in most cases, I start obsessing over certain artists/bands, then say: "Hey, wouldn't it be great to see this/these gal/guy(s) live?!?!" That's usually about the time where my partner or friend would say "Julie, they were in Ottawa # of weeks/months ago..." Then I get really sad... Story of my life.
In many cases, the band or artist whose show I missed tends to return to the general area for another show later on and I manage to catch that show. This is the case for Austra.
The Canadian trio have only released one album so far but it's definitely making waves. "Feel it Break" was nominated for a Polaris Music Prize in 2011.
I really enjoy Austra's music and I'm really excited for their set at Osheaga.
Here's the video for the song "Lose it", one of my favourites off the album. Enjoy!
This year, I will be attending Osheaga for the first time ever. Safe to say, I am beyond excited to go to this music festival. Although I decided to only attend one day of the three-day festival this year, I will be seeing a lot of bands that I love.
As I count down the days to Osheaga, I will be posting stuff about the bands that I am really excited about seeing this year. Today, let me talk about the Shins.
Back in 2004, I fell in love with "Garden State" and the music in the film. The Shins had two amazing songs on the soundtrack ("New Slang" and "Caring is Creepy"). I was completely obsessed with the soundtrack for years... the music from the film just really spoke to me. For a while, the Shins fell off my radar but I rediscovered their music last year, after I got my hands on their album "Wincing the Night Away". This past March, "Port of Morrow" was released and I grabbed it right away. Safe to say, the Shins' music still have the same effect on me, years later.
Below is the video for "It's Only Life" - my absolute favourite song from the Shins' latest album "Port of Morrow". I fell in love with this song instantly. It makes me smile every time I hear it. The album is worth checking out and this video is absolutely adorable! Enjoy!
Back in 2010, I discovered Passion Pit when they played at Bluesfest. A close friend of mine took me to the show, and I fell head over heels in love with their music. They put on a fantastic show, one that I will never forget. Since then, I have been a very big fan of Passion Pit.
Tuesday, I picked up "Gossamer", Passion Pit's sophomore album. Being a huge fan of their first album "Manners" (2009), I knew that it would be really hard to beat... However, "Gossamer" managed to reach the same level of quality. This album feels more mature than the previous, although the distinct Passion Pit sound is still present (which is a great thing).
Most of the songs on the album are upbeat and fun but all of them are filled with emotion and feel quite raw. The music can make you smile and dance, but still manages to creep under your skin and shake you to your core. Lead singer Michael Angelakos' vocal range is very impressive, and this album really showcases it (a lot more than "Manners" does, in my opinion). In addition, he wrote of all the songs on the album, all of which are phenomenal. There is not one song on the album that I do not like.
Angelakos has recently come forward and admitted to dealing with some mental health issues. This apparently made the process of recording "Gossamer" quite challenging. This makes listening to this album so much more meaningful, knowing the story behind it. Kudos to him for coming forward with his struggles, especially when there is such a stigma attached to mental health and mental illness. Also, kudos to his bandmates for supporting him through this tough time. If you have a few minutes, this article is definitely worth a read.
Overall, "Gossamer" is a great album and definitely worth checking out. To me, listening to Passion Pit always feels like a magical experience. So have a listen and let yourself be taken away.
Favourite track: "It's not my fault, I'm happy"
I cannot wait to see Passion Pit at Osheaga next week. The show is going to be epic!
