Michou

The members of Michou have been playing together for less than a year but the material that’s coming out of this Windsor-based act would leave you to believe this is the work of a well-seasoned, road-tested band several records into a career.

The calibre of the songwriting, the beauty of the arrangements, and the level of musicianship within the band all suggest this is a band with legs.

Lead singer/guitarist Michael Hargreaves and bandmates Ryan Ard (guitar/banjo/cajon/xylophone/slide whistle/vocals) Ryan Frith (bass/vocals/harmonica) Sasha Appler (keys/ trumpet/vocals), and Lucas Semple (cajon/drums/xylophone/tambourine/accordion) have crafted a sound that draws heavily from the folk tradition of simple-but-often-beautiful melodies and everything-you-need-but-no-more orchestrations, but is unquestionably a pop record with pop sensibilities.

Imagine, if you can, a musical partnership between an acoustic Ben Folds, NRBQ, and Barenaked Ladies and you might get some sense of what Michou has to offer.

Hargreaves has one of those voices that’s very easy on the head and so sweet at times that it’s almost tranquillizing. He and his cohorts are capable of producing some great vocal harmonies when the moment calls for them.

The band is currently gearing up for a major tour in support of its latest record, Myshkin, which will take it across much of Ontario and into the Maritimes.

If the opportunity arises to see them live, take it, you won’t be disappointed.

Listen to Michou’s Control

DNA6

Music, like life, is in a constant state of evolution. New people bring new influences, new ideas, new concepts to the table. Vancouver’s DNA6 is a case in point.

Bandmembers Alex Maher (vocals, sax, guitar, percussion, beatbox), MC Dosia (vocals) and M. Prime (vocals and guitar) describe themselves as essentially a hip-hop/rap act and while there’s no question that that’s where their centre of musical gravity lies, they have also infused their music with elements of classic pop music, jazz, funk, and blues.

They cite The Beatles, A Tribe Called Quest, Sade, Miles Davis, D’Angelo, Talib Kweli, and Elliott Smith among their influences, and if you listen closely, you can hear almost all of them at play at some point.

Having read who they were influenced by, I expected their music to be interesting. Just how interesting I didn’t realize until I heard material like “Megalodon,” “Why Can’t I Sleep,” “All The Things You Do,” and “All Up To Me.”

The music comes across as intelligent, imaginative, and highly inventive with sweet grooves, well-conceived melody lines, great rhymes, most of which are positive and upbeat in their orientation, and solid production values.

The three core members of DNA6 have been together just four years, but two members of the band, Alex and Mario, have been playing together more than 10 years,  first in high school jazz bands, later in the band Flannel Jimmy. They met bandmate MC Dosia at a freestyle show in 2003 and formed this band the next year.

If you go out to see DNA6 live expect a full stage. For live shows it tops up the roster with bass player David Spidel, drummer/keyboard player Chad Taylor, and either Ryan Stewart, Tim Proznic, or Brendan McLean on drums.

At this point, DNA6’s fan base is primarily in western Canada, but expect that to change as more people get a taste of what it has to offer.

And that’s happening.

Some of the larger shows to date have included  the World Freestyle Ski Championship, New Music West, Crankworx in Whistler, and the Vancouver Folk Fest. DNA6 songs have also been licensed for several film projects including a mountain biking video Seasons and the feature film That One Night.

Listen to DNA 6’s Signs

Cara Matthew 

Cara Matthew has the potential to become Canada’s next international jazz star.The Toronto-based singer has a great voice, an innate sense of what works for her and what doesn’t, and a talent for taking songs which aren’t generally regarded as jazz songs in the traditional sense and putting a whole new spin on them.She displays all those talents and more on her recently-released debut album Make You Feel My Love.A very polished effort, the album was recorded in Toronto with Juno Award-winning producer Greg Kavanagh and a go-big-or-stay-home roster of session players that included bass player George Koller, keyboard player Robi Botos, drummer Davide DiRenzo, and trumpet player Guido Basso.

.Matthew’s first record is full of surprises, not the least of which is her choice of material, which includes songs from artists like Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Billy Preston, Elton John, and Aerosmith, all of which were favourites of hers growing up – and all of which have been given a new jazz/blues arrangement.

She takes some of these pop gems in directions I expect their creators never anticipated – like Preston’s “Nothin’ From Nothin,” but the treatments are goody and the material fares well.

Matthew, who was born on the west coast but now calls Toronto home, is a gifted musical interpreter and I suspect she could be a good songwriter. She says she mulled that possibility over when planning this record, but opted instead to stick with material she knows and loves.

After listening to the album, I can’t say I blame her for going down the road she chose – she does some very interesting things with some of these tracks.

Matthew  is already enjoying some success internationally with the record, netting radio play in Australia, the Netherlands, and the Virgin Islands.

This is an artist to watch.

Listen to Cara Matthew’s Make You Feel My Love