August / September 2017

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Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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WEED

DESIGN/PHOTO: PANCHYSHYN. MODELS: ELLA, ZOE ALEXANDER, JOHN WRIGHT (MIB)

NOT

GREED

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217 OSBORNE ST | 204-956-4400

SHOP ONLINE @ WILDPLANETMUSIC.COM

AUG/SEPT 28 NO. 4 2017 VOL

On the Cover

Production Team

STORM ANGECONEB is an emerging visual artist from Lac Suel, FN, who works in various mediums. Storm will be an artist for this year’s Wall-to-Wall Mural & Culture Festival as a part of the En Masse Project on Main Street in September.

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gil Carroll Assistant Editor . . . . . Kaitlyn Emslie Farrell

To see more of Storm’s work, follow her on Instagram @storm_eee. To keep up with Wall-toWall Festival, follow @synonymartconsultation.

Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Campbell Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Storm Angeconeb Advertising Contact . . . . . . . . . Rob Schmidt

manager@ckuw.ca Print by JRS Print Services . . . 204-232-3558

Contributors Max Hamliton Christopher Dyck Chris Bryson Emily F Christie E.H. Stockton Nic Kriellaars Samuel Swanson Eric Ballard Margaret Banka Julia Hardy Colton Siemens Rachel Andrushuk Diana Lee Zaldo

Stylus is published bi–monthly by CKUW 95.9 FM, with a circulation of 2,500. Stylus serves as the program guide to 95.9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond. Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media. Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large. Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors.

Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

Stylus Magazine Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 Phone: 204-786-9785, Fax: 204-783-7080 Writing submissions: editor@stylusmagazine.ca Graphics submissions: design@stylusmagazine.ca www.stylusmagazine.ca Contributions will be accepted in the body of an email. No attachments please. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. Unauthorized reproduction of any portion of Stylus is strongly discouraged without the express written consent of the editors.

Table of Contents Blah, Blah, Blah Events Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 CKUW Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CKUWho Ugonna Chigbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Prarie Punk Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Reviews Beth // Mise en Scene // Crillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CKUW Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Features Synonym Art Consultation: Wall to Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Pallbearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sun K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Folk Fest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Space Jam: Ghost Twin & Mahogany Frog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Slow Leaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Susto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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BLAHBLAHBLAH Summer is in full swing and Winnipeg is bursting with amazing live music***August 4th - Party For A Purpose Presents: This One’s For Chad featuring Waster, Withdrawal, Occvlt Hand, Madeira, and Flash Out at the Handsome Daughter***August 5th, get folked at The Wild Homes Album Release with Prairie Lakes, Sir Luc and The Dukes at the Handsome Daughter***August 10th, Figure Walking release their album at the Good Will or check out Zaum, Flying Fortress, Velodrome, and Ogiima at the Handsome Daughter***August 11th, Colour By Numbers Album Release with Liabilities, and Ozconscious

at the Handsome Daughter or over at the Good Will, Good Form***August 12th, Real Love Winnipeg presents Look Vibrant (MTL), Ivory Waves, and Veneer (First Show!!) or check out Anciients with Dead Quiet at the Handsome Daughter***August 14th at the Good Will, Cheap Thrills***August 15th at the Good Will, Small Talk Tuesday/Student Night* Happy Hour Prices All Night Long***August 16th, The incredible Jenny Berkel performs at the Handsome Daughter***August 17th at the Good Will, Tunic 7” Release w/ Slow Spirit and Conduct***August 18th, The Uglies, Stickaround, Fox Lake, James Renton, and Marty Lafreniere at the Handsome Daughter or check out Groove Theory at

MARGARET GLASPY AT FOLK FEST JULY 9TH www.stylusmagazine.ca

the Good Will***August 19th at the Good Will, celebrate the one year anniversary party of Birthday Tapes***August 20th, local shoegaze duo Basic Nature with Grotoko, and Douse at the Handsome Daughter or head over to the Good Will for Jordan Kelly***August 23rd, Pallbearer with Kayo Dot and Bask at the Good Will***August 24th, Adera, and Ghost Twin at the Handsome Daughter***August 25th, Vancouvers Fuzzy P, and Housepanther*** at the Handsome Daughter***August 26th, Votov, Bears With Technology, Ramskull, and Ogiima at the Handsome Daughter or head over to the Good Will for New Renaissance, Silence Kit and Ex Omerta and at the Cavern, Spacebutt release “All the Deer Speak Portuguese” with M&M

Meats and Pleas u re Dens***August 30th at the Good Will, Indigenous Languages Town Hall w/ Robert FalconOuellette***August 31st at the Good Will, Carpark Records artist Dent May with locals Animal Teeth and A la mode***September 3rd at the Good Will, Ivory Waves release their debut album***September 9th at the Good Will, Living Hour perform new songs***September 10th at the Good Will is Drag Queen Bingo***September 23rd at the Handsome Daughter, Tusk, Ex Omerta, and Mmars***Keep growing our local music scene!***

PHOTO BY KELLY CAMPBELL Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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SYNONYM ART CONSULTATION:

Wall to Wall

BY MAX HAMILTON Synonym started in West Broadway, and since its foundation, the neighbourhood has developed at an incredible rate. It’s an art consultation group, driven by the desire to see employment opportunities for local and international artists, well-known for the many murals it has been a part of creating in our city. Since its beginning, the area that its headquarters are situated in has become more defined visually, and a central part of Winnipeg. There seems to be a relationship between the boom in population and in public art, something which their annual Wall to Wall Mural and Cultural festival will be further developing this year.

Though our city has had a reputation for its murals for some time, the majority of past work was commissioned by the city or business owners, and had more to do with soft-sell advertising or the depiction of historical events than expressing anything human. The walls were colourful, but cold. Wall to Wall aims to give artists from around the world a chance to work without the constraints of a typical contract or commissioned work.

“Essentially we’re trying to make our city art of the same caliber that you would find in a contemporary gallery,” says Andrew Eastman, who co-founded Synonym with Chloe Chafe.

The main event of the festival launches on Nuit Blanche, at the site of two of the city’s best murals, which were installed last year in the North End. The location isn’t one that sees activity of this scale

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ABOVE: MURAL BY BRUNO SMOKY & SHALAK ATTACK, PHOTO BY NIC KRIELLAARS most of the year, and it’s rare that any place draws in communities from around the city and suburbs the way that it has on this night in the past. That’s partly circumstantial, it being Nuit Blanche, and partly by design. While drawing the music and arts communities together, the folks at Siloam Mission were invited to join in the celebration with a community feast. Says Chloe, “There is a spark that comes from activating on so many different levels with so many different people.”

“Activating”, as they term it, has to do with bringing communities into the fold in the construction of their projects. Whether through involvement in the crafting of the mural itself, or in celebration of its completion with the musical events, which don’t merely complement the art like a wine and cheese pairing, but expand its significance beyond the borders of its design into the memories of the many who choose to take part; a moment, tethered by a thousand eyes to this image on this wall, becomes a living monument to the mind of the city. (This is a primal thing.)

And it’s this that distinguishes Wall to Wall from the mural festivals held around the world which seem to be content with painting big, glamorous murals just to paint over them the next year.

“We don’t work with murals for the sake of murals,” says Andrew “we try to tailor all of our projects to the neighbourhood they’re in.” It’s important that their artists be with them on this, and they are

largely chosen for their willingness to contribute to a larger conversation and to engage the community in their work.

When Synonym was brought in to activate the Dufferin industrial district, they consulted with local elders to tailor the content of the murals to speak to that community and the issues surrounding it.

“Those projects were very much based on the struggles of that area, it being the epicenter for missing and murdered indigenous women in our city,” says Chloe.

The result was the Mending mural. The now-iconic image of a five storey tall woman mending a human heart. By laying out the realities of the neighbourhood the artists were working in, they were able to design a project that resonates with, and fits into the elder’s vision for the community.

Wall to Wall and Synonym are founded on the idea of collaboration, and have worked with many organizations over the years, including the Rainbow Trout Bike Jam. This year Synonym is partnering with Studio 393, an after-school hip-hop workshop, to create the Wall to Wall mentorship program, which will be developing the talents of youth in areas of both musical and visual arts with the hopes of developing skills in artists who may one day take part in the festival itself.

BELOW LEFT TO RIGHT : STAR BLANKET MURAL BY KENNTH LAVALLEE, PHOTO BY EMILY F CHRISTIE; MURAL BY PA SYSTEM, PHOTO BY ERIC BALLARD

Pallbearer

BY CHRIS BRYSON The reaches of metal have always been in flux and constantly pushed by those with innovative minds, who dare to defy genre expectations and purist mores. In recent years especially so, it’s been crossover metal that has been increasingly breaching the mainstream, and it’s been the permutations across genres that increasingly bring non-metal fans to metal music, to embrace the might and the magic the burn and the beast.

Pallbearer are a band who’s found captivation through mountainous sound, wisdom through wounds and despair, and redemption in a difficult world. Their sound is a dynamic blend of doomprog metal that melds the slow, heavy, and mournful pacing of doom with the evolving and shimmering circuitry of prog for results that are emotionally vibrant and cathartic.

The band will be playing the Good Will on August 23rd in the midst of an extensive tour that runs from July 29th to November 9th and will take them all over the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Stylus spoke with Joseph D. Rowland, bass player and backing vocalist for the band, about their upcoming tour, their new album Heartless, music’s increasing genre crossover abilities, and a few other things along the way.

Rowland says the band has been to Winnipeg once before in February of 2013 with Enslaved, when the band got snowed in and were forced to stay in the city for three days. “I don’t know that touring through Canada in February was maybe the greatest scheduling,” Rowland says with a laugh, “I guess it was fine for Enslaved because they’re used to that sort of weather.”

With the release of their most recent album, Heartless, the band took a different route with recording this time around. Rowland says the recording was different “in every way you can imagine,” and their results were everything they sought to achieve.

“We decided to record the record in Little Rock this time instead of going somewhere else which we had

PHOTO BY DIANA LEE ZADLO done on our previous two albums,” says Rowland.

“Apart from that in the interim between Foundations of Burden and Heartless I had relocated to New York City, so a lot of the record was written basically sharing stuff over the internet and then I would fly down every month to rehearse over the stuff with everybody leading up to the recording of the album. So I mean just on those two things alone it was markedly different than anything we had done before.”

With making Foundations of Burden the band found that their living conditions made for stressful and less than ideal living conditions. Rowland says that they were “living in the studio where we were recording every day and it got to the point where it was madness inducing. Every day sort of just bled into another and because we weren’t leaving the place we were working it started to seem like we were living in some sort of nightmare.”

Rowland says that the band “knew that (Heartless) was going to be really challenging to record because the songs are significantly more complex than anything (they) had done before.” So in an attempt to reconcile the difficulties that came with their previous album’s living conditions, improve upon certain aspects of their sound, and be able to fully immerse themselves in their music and creative expression, they found a new location to record in.

“We wanted to give ourselves a very low stress environment to record in which made sense to do in the neighborhood. Like basically the studio where we recorded the record was in the same neighborhood where everybody else lived,” explains Rowland. “It was a choice on our part to lessen some of the other stressors that had arisen in the past when we’ve recorded and to be able to focus solely on the album itself and take it easy instead of, you know recording a record but also living kind of in a non-ideal situation in another city while we were recording, being cooped up in the studio or something.”

Pallbearer are a band known for their broad array of

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influences and their fearlessness with incorporating certain sonic elements into a genre that’s not typically associated with those sounds. At least to the degree that Pallbearer have quested to discover.

Stylus asked Rowland his opinions on their success and genre crossover accessibility and likened their music for bringing doom metal to light in a similar way that Deafheaven brought black metal to light, a band that Rowland professedly loves and who Pallbearer have toured with in the past.

“I definitely think that their ability to pull from a lot of different genres to create the music that they make is really excellent. And I mean I feel that musically we’re pretty different from them but yeah I guess I would agree that just on a very basic level we are essentially trying to create music without limits,” Rowland explains. “From all of our vast amounts of music that we feel strongly about or influenced by we’re basically willing to consider anything collectively as a direction that we might be interested in going in as long as we all agree that it’s fitting for what we want to do. I don’t know how that may or may not translate to any sort of crossover success but I think we are willing to consider many, many different kinds of elements that sort of fall outside of the things that a lot of genre purists or true cult metal fans may consider to be sort of false things.

We don’t really give a fuck about sticking to any sort of orthodox idea of what metal or music should be at all.”

Pallbearer will be playing the Good Will with Kayo Dot and Bask on the heels of a series of select shows with GOST, Oni, and Gojira, before heading overseas for select shows with Paradise Lost. Becoming veterans to touring, and with plenty of success on their back, Pallbearer will be crossing Canada with their own mountainous and momentous force.

Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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Sun K

BY SAM SWANSON

If you attended the 2017 Winnipeg Folk Festival with the goal of daytime dancing but missed Sun K’s set at the Bur Oak Stage on July 8, then you most definitely failed your mission. Self-describing their genre as Folk’n’Roll, Sun K were true to their name as folks were feeling o-kay in the sun.

In March 2015, they released their debut album, Northern Lies, produced by Jason McCaslin (better known as ‘Cone’ from Sum 41). June 2017 saw the release of a new single and music video, “Bleeding Hearts”.

The Toronto-based band blends jazz folk with the aughts’ garage rock revival sound, especially that of the catchy 2000’s New York scene.

The New York sound shines through in the Julian Casablancas and Lou Reed vocal influences cited by Sun K guitarist and lead singer, Kristian Montano, who spoke with Stylus after the band’s Folk Fest performance.

Stylus: What did you think of the Winnipeg Folk Festival?

Kristian Montano: It was fantastic, dude. We got hooked up. We got to watch some amazing artists and work with some up-and-coming artists. We got to meet and hang out with some amazing people who were at the festival, and made some connections. It was a fantastic experience.

Stylus: Which acts at the festival stood out to

PHOTO BY SAM SWANSON

you?

KM: Hands down, Big Thief. For me, hands down, absolutely one. A couple of the guys saw Margaret Glaspy and said it was amazing. John K. Samson, rad. I’m really bummed we missed Daniel Lanois and Feist because we had to host a little after-party jam at the Fairmont.

Stylus: Tell us a bit about how Sun K got started.

KM: It’s a long and roundabout story, but basically, we all kind of knew each other in various ways from other parts of our past lives. Stuart Retallack (keys/ horns/vocals) and I had gone to McGill (University) together and had crossed paths. Kevin Butler on guitar and vocals and I had crossed paths at a singer/songwriter café in Oakville about four years prior to starting (Sun K), that would be eight years ago. Our rhythm section, Scott Tiller and Gil Paul knew each other like eight years prior to ever playing in a band together. We all just kind of linked up in these really random but serendipitous ways. Stuart and I started playing this open mic jam every Sunday afternoon at a bar in Toronto, and eventually we ran into Kevin who I knew previously, and it all just kind of started working out, very organically.

Stylus: You’ve mentioned being influenced by New York. Is that to say the aughts’ New York garage rock revival sound, like The Strokes?

KM: That’s a great question. When I first started writing, it was definitely the Greenwich Village

type of underground 60’s New York scene. All the folkies that were there just when rock’n’roll was kind of blossoming. But oddly enough, coincidentally enough, we’re also extremely influenced by that more modern indie rock’n’roll sound, exactly like The Strokes. Julian Casablancas is a big influence of mine, especially vocally and melodically. And for the rhythm section as well, definitely, ‘cause it’s got that up-beat, modern rock’n’roll type of sound. It all has these connections, I find, even from the 60’s to what The Strokes are doing. ‘Cause when The Strokes were coming up, they were looking back at what Lou Reed was doing. It’s that dirty underground, dangerous sound that attracted us, that originated from that Greenwich Village type scene.

Stylus: Your debut album, Northern Lies, opens with a really strong stand-out track, “Teaser pt.

II”, which begs the question, whatever happened to Teaser part one?

KM: (Laughs) Nice. Good call, man. The interesting thing about that song is I did have a song way back in university, like five years prior to the record coming out, called “Teaser,” and it was a totally different type of song. It was almost like indie electro cute pop. What I did though, is I used a lot of the same themes that I had in that song and put them into this song, so naturally in my mind this was just “Teaser pt. II.” Stylus: You also have a new single called “Bleeding Hearts.” Is that leading to an album?

KM: Yeah, it’s actually the title track of our upcoming album, Bleeding Hearts, and that should be out in September. We’re actually really looking forward to that. We’ve been working on that album for about a year now. We’ll be dropping more videos like that soon to keep giving an idea of what we have to offer.

SUN K AT FOLK FEST

06 Stylus Magazine Aug August Apr //May Sept / September 2017 2017 2016

44th annual

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL

BY GIL CARROLL The Winnipeg Folk Festival really brings out the sunshine in people. For the 44th year in a row, the WFF brought together a community of free-spirited, peaceful and enthusiastic folks at the beautiful Birds Hill Provincial Park. Nearly every moment of the WFF, which took place from July 5-9 in sunfilled, beautiful and all-encompassing nature, made you feel good inside.Throughout the four days, festival goers, volunteers, and performers alike continually sang the praises of the unique and artistically diverse nature of the festival. The performances were full of heart and passionate storytelling and the acts came from all over the world, including Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland, Denmark, US and Canada.

While in reality, most folks who are fans of the festival would attend even if they hadn’t heard of any of the artists performing, just to experience the atmosphere of the fest, the lineup was certainly not an afterthought. The expertly curated lineup was diverse and unique, and had something for everyone at all the right moments. The fest didn’t pigeonhole itself into just “folk”, which this writer appreciated. The diversity in what sort of experience one could have at the WFF was extraordinary.

The festival is always run smoothly as a result of many hard working and committed volunteers.

The staff and volunteers of the festival make everyone feel welcome. Even when they were pouring out the cans of PBR a young hippie was trying to sneak into the festival, they were smiling and not making him feel too badly about it.

And the artists, of course, benefit from the great organization. Here’s what local musician Ashley Au, who performed at the festival with John K Sampson and The Winter Wheat as well as with

Carly Dow, had to say about the experience of performing at the fest.

“This year’s festival was the first year I was a performer. For the past seven years I have been a volunteer stage hand on the Main Stage. So it felt a

was struck and everything felt really good. It was definitely a milestone performance for me.”

Continused on page 10.

JOHN K SAMSON AND THE WINTER WHEAT

bit surreal to be on that big stage playing with John (K Sampson and The Winter Wheat), who has been an artist I’ve admired since I was a teenager.

Looking out into the sea of audience members was a rush and, to be honest, a little nerve wracking.

The nerves quickly dissipated once the first chord

BEGOINIA

BY JULIA HARDY

MBONGWANA STAR

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Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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m a J e c a Sp

ghost

BY MARGARET BANKA Given Ghost Twin’s occult aesthetic, I was surprised to be greeted not by a black cat at the door, but rather by a sweet, little canine named Jackie (alright alright, her coat was black). Jackie shares her charming West End home with artistic and real-life partners Jaimz and Karen Asmundson, AKA Ghost Twin, which functions as both their creative and living space. “If we’re getting ready for a show, we actually tear down all of our equipment from our other rooms and we build it right in front of the piano there,” explains Karen, sitting in the living

PHOTOS BY MARGARET BANKA room near the front of the house.

The absence of percussion instruments in Ghost Twin’s sound may remove the need for a jam space that insulates or isolates, but it certainly doesn’t mean that their rehearsals go unnoticed. The rhythmically vivid visuals ( Jaimz is also a filmmaker) that accompany Karen’s haunting vocals are a distinctive element of Ghost Twin’s performance: “When we’re practicing we just project onto the curtains, and people can probably see it from the street [“It’s probably scary,” chimes in Jaimz]. Our neighbours

1. Karen’s studio On left: “I used to have a different synthesizer that I put up for sale, and this kooky, older artist contacted me and said, ‘I will buy this from you for some money, not what you want, plus I’ll give you some of my art.’ I was kind of like, oh no, I’m worried about this, I’m fussier, I’m gonna hate this, but I actually love trees. I’m very happy with it.”

On right: “I made a film about the Polar Express ride at the Red River Ex [the roller coaster that goes backwards and always plays heavy metal music]. I got to cross dress in it and play this guy that was obsessed with the ride.

Jaimz saw this print and thought, holy shit.”

4. Ouijia Board Of course, there had to be a Ouija Board somewhere, and it was in Jaimz’ studio.

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twin

are pretty forgiving – we’re careful to not play too late into the night.”

Having a home that doubles as your shared work space has its convenience, but equally important is the requirement of individual space. Though every song is a collaboration between Karen and Jaimz, they have the opportunity to work on ideas in their own environments: “We bought this house because it had space for us to each have our own studio room.”

2. Harp “I built this [harp] when I was fifteen with my dad. You can order the parts pre-cut and then assemble it. I didn’t cut down a tree or anything.”

5. Living Room “Jaimz’ dad is an artist and we have a lot of his pieces here. This funny little thing in the corner, that’s supposed to be his portrait of me [Karen], that he painted from his imagination.”

3. Jaimz’ studio “There used to be a lot more, a few hundred, then I trimmed them down to just a few that were hard to find.”

Alf voice changer: “Alf was really big in Germany, and one of my German friends brought that. I had it for when people would stay over and when I’d go to wake them up in the morning…[speaks into speaker and gives incoherent Alf voice wake-up call]”

6. Dream Machine Lamp “That lamp there is actually a dream machine. If you turn it on, it’s supposed to replicate the speed of the light and the light bulb is supposed to mimic a REM sleep. So if you look right at it and close your eyes you’re supposed to have some weird hallucinations. It’s fun, but it’s not good for parties. Like if you’re drunk....” (think early onset spins)

g o r f y n a g o h Ma PHOTOS BY RACHEL ANDRUSHUK

BY RACHEL ANDRUSHUK The Frog space is fairly iconic in the Winnipeg music scene. Located in the Exchange District in an undisclosed but familiar location, Mahogany Frog’s space is shared with many others. Current bands include Holy Void, Surprise Party, The Catamounts, Juniper Bush, and T.V. Static. These bands have formed a quasi-“music family” from sharing the space, the instruments, and subsequent show bills.

“We’ve been here for three or four years now,” says

Jesse Warkentin, who plays with Mahogany Frog, Surprise Party and T.V. Static. A friend of a friend bought the building.

“I knew that people lived on the other side of the separation, because it’s actually two buildings put together. I wasn’t sure if people lived on this side, but there was a theatre upstairs and businesses downstairs, so a couple of us were quite certain that we would be kicked out pretty fast. It never hap-

1. The Cord and The Amp Wall “One of the interesting parts of this space, especially in the last couple of years, is the fact that we have walls full of different types of instruments. Different members of different bands originally bought them and technically own them. I mean, these cords were at some point purchased or stolen (by accident) and they become part of the space. No one is really keeping tabs anymore. There’s a pretty organic flow of equipment. We try to respect the more expensive equipment that people own and hope that people respect ours, but this wall is sort of ‘the cord wall’ and this is ‘the amp wall’ and if somebody needs an amp, it doesn’t matter who owns it. You can use it if you take care of it. If you break it, you fix it.”

3. The Pottery Studio/Elevator “We play these shows, using an enormous amount of equipment. We drink heavily, and then the last task that we have to accomplish at the end of the night is to use a variety of different keys to get into a variety of different chambers in order to operate a 120-year-old elevator and open the portcullis into the back.” (It’s a medieval term.) “I mean, to get into the back alley we need to open numerous latches, and then we have to carry all of the equipment through these narrow paths that are lined with delicate oneof-a-kind ceramics. These potters are a sensitive bunch.

We’re on the verge of breaking their hopes and dreams.”

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pened. The people that live here can’t hear us; the people downstairs all close generally by 6 o’clock; and then we just sort of coordinate our schedule with the theatre.”

“Then there is the pottery studio,” he explains. “They love it when we play. It doesn’t matter what band.

They don’t say anything because these potters are afraid of confrontation.”

2. Farfisa VIP 345 “Manufactured in 1967, there were very few of these made. Oddly enough, we have two of them, Royal Canoe has one of them, and the Partridge Family has another. I’m pretty sure I’ve also heard one of them on a Sun Ra record.

This thing has travelled around numerous continents with us for years and years since 2001, when we bought it. It is a very special machine with a unique sound and the ‘syntheslalom’ feature. And it doesn’t break. When it breaks, you can open it up and fix it - like a 1989 Toyota Corolla.”

4. The Merch Pile “It’s our ever-growing pile of merchandise. As a band, you always need to be working towards something.

Otherwise, there’s no real point of doing it.

Sometimes, if you’re not working towards an album or a show then you don’t do anything. There’s no point in practicing. You need to create a bottleneck of pressure for yourself in order to write music and create music.

This is sort of a result of creating nonsensical bottlenecks of pressure for ourselves. Boxes and boxes of unsold tapes, CDS, and vinyl that serve more as a documentation than they do a business model.”

When asked what he thought about the pile of unsold merchandise, Warkentin was nothing but proud.

“To me, that’s the most hopeful thing ever. Once you separate yourself from the business model, then you’re okay to just keep going. It’s the people that try to support themselves with their art that eventually burn out because there is no support, really.

It’s okay to do it for yourself. Once you realize that you’re creating something to just share with people, then you’re going to get more energy to make better stuff. As soon as you go for the grants and try to make it as some sort of career move –what exactly are you going to be sharing with people that hasn’t been heard before?”

One thing is for certain: this jam space has seen (or heard) its fair share of innovation.

Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

09

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL highlights

DakhaBrakha : Friday night – Main Stage An avant-garde Ukrainian folk group who transformed the prairie night into a tropical rainforest, outer space and heaven and hell, all with their voices and a few bangs of a drum. An all-encompassing and captivating performance that had everyone talking the next morning. “That was so cool. “How did they do that?” “Wow!”

PHOTO - PAUL LITTLE

Big Thief : Sunday afternoon – Green Ash Stage A brilliant performance from the New York (by way of Minnesota) band was exactly what Sunday at the WFF needed. Lead singer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker belted with her charmingly emotional and fragile voice and displayed her creative and imaginative minimalist guitar flare. It was easily one of the best performances of the weekend, marked by an understated yet confident sound. The crowd was captivated and swept up in their dynamic vocal harmonies and guitar feedback art.

CHALI 2NA AND THE HOUSE OF VIBE

BRUCE COCKBURN Friday evening - Main stage PHOTO - JULIA HARDY

10 Stylus Magazine Aug / Sept 2017

Saturday night - Big Blue

COREY HARRIS & ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART Friday afternoon - Little Stage

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Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

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SLOWLEAVES

enough about me

BY COLTON SIEMENS

“What’s the word for falling apart?” asks, Slow Leaves’ Grant Davidson on his new album, Enough About Me. While Grant may not be able to summon the words he needs to in this instance, he certainly finds a way to get his message across on his new album. Flirting with multiple genres and influences such as folk, pop, country and indie, Enough About Me, may be Slow Leaves most ambitious album yet.

Davidson’s lyrical prowess shines in these deeply poetic songs about the futility of language, romantic casualties, and how to find joy in difficult times.

In his “How Do I Say?” video, directed by Ft. Langley, we watch as Grant saunters through what some might consider a dystopia, and most would recognize as a not so distant future. Vivid colors and visuals that seem reminiscent of a David Lynch and Wes Anderson collaboration that never was, are coupled with a morose and uneasy looking Davidson’s are perfectly reflective of the song itself. With its hauntingly beautiful vocals, crisp production, and lush instrumentation, the video feels like the perfect pairing for what is one of the best songs of the album. The title track also received the video

12 Stylus Magazine Oct Aug//Nov Sept2016 2017

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER DYCK

treatment with an adorable and endearing moment of fatherhood captured by Davidson’s 7-year-old son. As Grant performs in the prairie green space, his son films and directs. A perfect follow up to the very serious video that preceded it, “Enough About Me” is charming in all of the right ways and forces any viewer to break into a smile. Being the first track on the album, the song itself is an immediate attention grabber. It is the type of song that you can’t quite decide whether or not you want to dance to or sit still and pay attention to what it has to say.

Either way, you do know you want to listen to what will come next.

The first half of the record leans closer to indiefolk roots. Moving from the chugging “Carless and Serene” and poppy earworm, “How Do I Say”, to the swaggering rhythm of “Piece of Advice”, which dwells in growth and the pursuit of happiness.

Opening with a clean sounding guitar and droning organs, “Love and Honesty and Kindness” tells a tale of taking chances on love. The eponymously titled “Slow Leaves” is reminiscent of old school country featuring harmonies that carry over to “Chinatown”,

which is likely Davidson’s most captivating vocal performance on the record. Enough About Me escalates into a country crescendo with the last track, “Long Goodbye”, which is reminiscent of a Sturgill Simpson track and leaves listeners on a high note.

The album moves freely thematically as well as sonically, never falling into repetition or finding itself in a rut. Davidson comes off as wise beyond his years with poetic, yet unpretentious lyrics that feel relatable, even if you haven’t lived them. Enough About Me is surely Slow Leaves most enjoyable project yet.

Be sure to catch the album release on September 28th at The West End Cultural Centre. (slowleaves.com)

S

e

ckuwho?

CKUW Volunteer Coordinator: Ugonna Chigbo

BY MARGARET BANKA In the big, wide world of gender inequality, media is only one more example of a traditionally male-dominated industry. Until recent times the sphere of cinema, television, and radio had limited women to the sole role of performer; they were either singers or actresses. Men, however, were afforded more flexibility and could either perform or produce. Women were the face, men, the voice. One example of this in radio is the great disproportion of male hosts compared to female hosts. From the early days of the radio onward it was no secret that society preferred the deeper voice attributed to men. The female voice was quite literally limited on the airwaves, considered to be too “shrill” or too “nagging” to serve suitably as the voice of a radio host. Of course, in 2017 we know that this is complete rubbish.

As Canadian society now strives towards becoming inclusive of all humans – cis, trans, non-binary, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and minority backgrounds - we must also acknowledge that femaleidentifying individuals are certainly not the only members of society who have experienced limitations in media. We sat down with Ugonna Chigbo, the CKUW volunteer coordinator, to talk about equal representation and the measures that CKUW takes to ensure that female-identifying individuals remain part of the team.

Stylus: Who are you and what is your history at CKUW? Ugonna Chigbo: My name Ugonna Chigbo and I’ve been volunteering at the station since 2013 and I recently became the volunteer coordinator last November. It’s been great, and a good experience.

Stylus: Does CKUW have a volunteer recruitment policy that is geared specifically towards femaleidentifying individuals?

UC: From the volunteering perspective, I wouldn’t say it’s written down or that we have that policy in place, but we encourage a representative environment. We want our station to be representative of the Canadian population, of the Winnipeg population, so we want to create that balance within our volunteer base and within our staff base even. And so that goes into when we are recruiting and encouraging people of different genders to volunteer for our station.

Stylus: The volunteers that you have, are there

different roles they get, besides radio host for example?

UC: Our volunteers go through the same basic training, but of course it depends on what field they want to go into. For instance, the programmers have to go through all the programming workshops.

Then we have some individuals who prefer to work behind the scenes, like in production and catalogu-

ing, and so that’s a whole different program. Everyone has to go through the general orientation and then from there they veer into whatever group they would like to go into.

Stylus: Would you say that there is equal representation amongst the volunteers, from the programming perspective?

UC: I would say that there is a good representation.

I’m not really sure about the shows and what not, but I would say that sometimes it seems to me that

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there are more male hosts, but I’m kind of guessing because I’m not always aware [of all the shows].

Stylus: You’ve sort of answered this I suppose, but you’ve been here for four years, and in that time have you noticed a shift at all in the proportion of female volunteers, or has it always kind of been the same?

UC: In my opinion it’s always been the same. I’ve been training a couple of volunteers so far and I would say that it’s still mostly guys that come through and are interested. I’m not sure why females aren’t really coming into the radio field as much.

Stylus: Of course, an interesting topic. It’s definitely part of an ongoing issue in our society. Do you think it’s important for something like CKUW, which is more grassroots, very local, and made up of a university-aged population, to attract more female volunteers?

UC: Yes, I think it’s very crucial. In many of our workshops, we try and have females lead the workshops to deliver a situation of empowerment. I find it’s very important to do that so that other females see role models in the media and in the department, and then we also create a more representative CKUW and safer working space.

Stylus: I have to say, I haven’t personally done the training, but I have a few friends who have and they’ve been raving. It is more comfortable, I guess, when there are other women training you, and you see that, and it makes you realize that it is easier and less intimidating than you thought it was.

UC: Yes, true.

Have you ever lounged at home on a Tuesday night with your radio tuned into 95.9 FM, surrounded by your philodendrons and record collection, nurturing your fantasy of becoming the next Laurie Brown? CKUW holds volunteer training sessions on a monthly basis! No experience is required, and there is a range of positions available once you’ve completed basic training. Whether your calling is to create your own show, sound edit, or you just want to try something new, contact Ugonna at volunteer@ckuw.ca for more information.

Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

13

PRAIRIE PUNK PERSPECTIVE

BY KAITLYN EMSLIE FARRELL

I don’t want to sound like a sap because it really isn’t me, but I’ve got some appreciation to lay down based on my experiences this summer. Punks don’t dominate the music scenes in Winnipeg, or in any city really, but they sure have a strong presence regardless of their numbers. They’re resilient and consistent and defeat all odds. With very few venues to play in and often not achieving high numbers in show attendance, there’s no lull in the scene’s life and atmosphere. There’s no reason to give up, nobody joined a punk band for a pay cheque and nobody went to a show to gain status through popularity.

Like a disease, it’ll never go away. But although it leaves a stain, it’s more like a tattoo than some gross liquid you don’t want to trace the origins of. An imperfect flaw. We do feed on the chaos, but there’s nothing wrong with finding camaraderie through that chaos.

I want to give a big ol’ pat on the back to the local punk scene for not causing any emergencies at this year’s Canada Day Weekend Music Festival. It was the first of the punk fest and I think I can speak on behalf of the crowd when I say that we hope there’s a second. It was a smaller group of people, like a house show back yard sleepover. Okay, maybe a bit more than that. But it was good. It was easy to hop from campsite to campsite and join in on whatever shenanigans your heart desired. Hell, you could even jam with drums and amps in the grass under a large tarp at Camp Ugly or stroll over for some brews under the Wedding Tent (no weddings

present).

The festival stage was much larger than necessary, but that’s not a complaint as the sound was excellent and the staff let us get close. And on that note most of the staff actually seemed to want to be there.

The biggest shout out of all has to go to Greg of Crazy Maiden for putting the whole thing together.

He ran the Punk Fridays out of King’s Hotel which were catching on pretty quick until the venue pulled out. And he does the bus tours to Selkirk for shows at The Merch as well. The punk scene appreciates Greg and lets him know on a regular basis.

The idea of clubs and collectives has been rebranded therefore labels are out the window, but that’s a good thing. Gangs just sound like commitment, but there’s definitely a crew. A simple word used to describe a routine group of people but it has no qualifications for entry or departure. Ya just can’t suck.

Morals and goals change as the generations differ based on the environment they’re forced to live in, but some values hold true, and I think more than anything that value is loyalty. When a cluster of island misfit toys congregate, it’s hard to be judgemental. We cover it all. We’re all a little weird. But most importantly, we like good music.

Some of these punks travelled to Las Vegas for Punk Rock Bowling with me in May and although we were clearly submerged within streets full of strangers, it was obvious that we all shared one common goal; have fun. Thousands of punks wandering around Fremont Street, in the club shows at

the bars, and of course at the festival. Thousands of punks and I did not witness a single fight. I didn’t even experience a single jerk. I don’t live in a fantasy world, I’m sure it happened, but not frequently enough to guarantee my own witnessing of the event. I saw one security guard pin a guy down for reasons unknown to me. He seemed very upset about it as did those nearby, but he did not fight back and the whole thing fizzled quite quickly.

So with the difficulty of winter coming near, and the less frequent backyard fires and house shows, will this whole sense of community turn into yet another romantic summer story? Hell no, leather jackets are warm. I’ll see you in the pit at that gig that has only twenty in attendance. I recommend to all of those who stay in to give it a shot. It might be tough to leave the house sometimes, but there’s rarely regret when you’re among good friends and good tunes. And if you’re not part of this specific group of people I encourage you to go see the bands anyway, because the specificity is nothing but a stereotype.

through the arena. The lights danced in unison as though they themselves were drowning waves. “It comes in waves” sang frontman Justin Osborne, reminding a select few of every time they ever felt the ‘waves’ come on at the outset of what will surely be a good trip.

Waves is the third track on Susto’s newest album & I’m Fine Today, released in early 2017 by Dine Alone Records. As a whole the album is mind bend-

ingly passionate and profound. The instrumental pieces carry a deceptively cheery tone while the lyrics are unabashedly authentic. Take, for example, the playful piano intro in the song “Hard Drugs” which includes such lines as “I don’t care who’s askin’ I’ll tell ‘em the truth/ I’ve had a long hard struggle with substance abuse...I’m just glad that I found you/ and sorry that I couldn’t keep you around.” The contrast of musical vibes and lyrics, often times teetering into

BY E.H. STOCKTON Standing in the thirtieth row of a partially filled MTS centre, dressed to the nines (or at least the sixes), on a narcotic propelled rocket hurtling my mind through some forgotten corridor of the cosmos is when I was first introduced to Susto. It was as though my experience was tethered to an otherworldly elastic that, at the moment of its choice, pulled me back down to earth and into my mortal self while the chorus of Susto’s Waves roared

14 Stylus Magazine Aug / Sept 2017

Local Spotlight

BETH Self-titled Much like a good music video, it’s hard to separate Beth from the image of the band’s lead singer, Stefan Braun’s sultry dance on stage. Released in May 2017, the album is very moody, sometimes reminding me of a grown-up version of the emo music I used to listen to in high school. My mind was filled with images of séances, darkness, blood, and a broody sadness mixed with confidence; I guess you would call that madness? It’s like you’re mad but you’ve accepted it. You have embraced the madness, and are now dancing with it.

The first song on Beth’s self-titled album, “Code of Thieves” creeps in with a sick drum beat and gets your head nodding as you picture Braun writhing on stage in a dark lit room.

In “Center of the World”, Braun sings “there’s a black snake at the center of

the world”, which will now undoubtedly affect the way I watch Beth perform, comparing the whole thing to a snake charming performance.

My favourite track was this short, fun song called “Little Smoke” that starts off almost with a rap verse. “Immortal Heart” was also really sweet. The bass line reminded me a lot of Limp Bizkit, which is a good thing in my books. The album ends with “Rats”, which has chanting in the background as Braun screams “breathe in, breathe out” over and over again. It’s super creepy but super cool.

The ideal time to listen to this album would be when you’ve stayed out all night and are walking home in the morning amidst the normal humans heading to work. You need to put something on to make you feel okay about it. It’s like you have a secret, and you feel cool and conniving about it.

You’re sort of sneaking, slithering, like a black snake. Or if you’re part of a group of misfits/goths/punks hanging out at a public pool. Either or.

I would suggest this album to anyone who likes post punk artists like Morrissey, Joy Division, or Nick Cave (Braun sounds very similar to Nick Cave). I would also give it a listen if you like to be serenaded by a brooding voice like that of Tom Waits.

(Independent, whoisbeth.bandcamp. com) Rachel Adrushuk

&

the realm of psychedelic, is what creates the sound that can best be described as simply being Susto.

There is no shortage of other phenomenal songs on this album, “Mystery Man,” “Cosmic Cowboy,” “Wasted Mind”, and “Jah Werx” to name a few, but none are as heart wrenching as “Gay In the South.”

As the title undoubtedly implies, the songs tells of the struggles faced by gay individuals living in the southern United States who were close to the

I ’ m

MISE EN SCENE Still Life on Fire Mise en Scene’s sophomore full length album, Still Life on Fire, is chalk full of beautiful songs that are perfect for summer nights with friends and afternoons of retrospection. Every song evokes feelings of hope, wonder, and self-discovery. Just listen to “I’m Ok” and you’ll understand what I mean.

Stefanie Blondal Johnson has such a distinct and powerful voice. I’m a huge fan of female singers, but there’s something so refreshing about how Johnson can sound so forceful yet feminine at the same time. What is “feminine” anyway? Why does it have to be distinguished from forceful? If anything, Johnson embodies someone who rejects that dichotomy altogether.

She so easily weaves between soft, sultry whispers to energetic screams that it’s like listening to someone read you a bedtime story with perfect inflection and expression that the story just

F i n e

songwriter. The first chorus paints a telling picture of the turmoil many are forced to deal with, saying “They promised us/ You were going straight to hell when you die/ I don’t even think it’s a real place.”

The contrast of up-tempo music paired with deep, often times thought provoking lyrics is what will lead Susto to success in the future. Listening to & I’m Fine Today is good for the mind, good for the soul. In a hectic, unpredictable world of unknown

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comes to life. (At least from what I remember. It’s been a long time since someone read me a bedtime story…)

“Waster” has always been a favourite at shows. It’s equally great on the album. You can just picture Blondal yelping away from the microphone as she jams out with bandmates Jodi Dunlop on drums, Cory Hykawy on bass guitar, and Dave Gagnon on second guitar. It’s hard not to sing along to the “Ooh” chorus on “Scout” (as awful as I sound in comparison). “Guts/ Glory” is a captivating track about unsure lovers, with its fair share of pretty “Oohs”, and the title track, “Still Life on Fire” is probably the dreamiest track with its cool bass line and interplay of sounds.

Just as the band surrounds themselves with glitter, this album is an uplifting celebration of all the beautiful yet messy things that happen as we become our true selves. When life gets you down, throw on this record and try not to smile. As Blondal sings on one of the last tracks, “True”, “change is good and I think it’s alright”.

(Light Organ Records,miseensceneband. com) Rachel Andrushuk

T o d ay

horizons, Susto is a sturdy reminder that, in some crevices in the world, there is still good to be found.

If more songs were written with this sort of exemplary honesty and depth, surely the world could be a better place. Until then, Susto will lie in wait for the cosmic surfers who, in spite of increasingly hazy global climate, feel fine today.

Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

15

Under the Needle

ROBERTO LÓPEZ Criollo Electrik “Is this an ad for a summer beverage,” I ask myself before the 25-second mark of the first track, “Maria La Baja”. It’s hard not to crack open a cold one once you get a sense of Roberto López’s seductive blend of South American and Caribbean stylings on this 2017 release.

It feels corny at first, but the vocal introduction at 1:20 hints at enough sonic diversity to keep attention.

Roberto López is a Colombian Montrealer who borrows as much from his Latin roots as jazz pop with Caribbean touches on Criollo Electrik. As the album title suggests, López curates a cultural Créole; Colombian sounds present with Caribbean themes that are fun although not often structurally adventurous.

Guitar, bass, keys, tambora and llamador were recorded by López, with Momo Soro on drums and Vovô Saramanda with additional percussions. Although multiple vocalists are credited, the album is largely instrumental, despite the effective and resonant vocals on several tracks, including “Las Aguas”.

López is at his best when we want to dance, and no song on the album invites to the dance floor more than “Las Aguas”, the fifth and strongest track of the album.

Uses for Criollo Electrik include but are not limited to: waterside bar playlist; soundtrack to a Spanish film you half-watch while scrolling your feed; pretend-it’s-not-winter delusion fodder for the cold months. Sam Swanson

16 Stylus Magazine Aug / Sept 2017

BARENAKED LADIES AT FOLK FEST JULY 9

PHOTO BY JULIA HARDY

95.9 FM CKUW CAMPUS/COMMUNITY RADIO TOP 30 ALBUMS ( May 24 - July 25, 2017) !=LOCAL CONTENT * =CANADIAN CONTENT re=RE-ENTRY TO CHART #

ARTIST

1 ! Black Cloud 2 B Boys 3 * Do Make Say Think 4 * Mac DeMarco 5 ! Bicycle Face 6 * An Ant And An Atom 7 Ondatropica 8 * Rheostatics 9 * Sianspheric 10 Beach Fossils 11 ! Joanne Pollock 12 * Whitehorse 13 ! Dead Ranch 14 * The Radiation Flowers 15 ! Civvie 16 * Weird Candle 17 * Needles // Pins 18 * Crack Cloud 19 * Luke Sellick 20 ! Surprise Party 21 * Amelia Curran 22 * Whitney Rose 23 * Forbidden Dimension 24 ! Chuck Copenace Group 25 ! Begonia 26 * The Sadies 27 * The New Pornographers 28 Trentemoller 29 ! Figure Walking 30 ! The Famous Sandhogs

RECORDING

Void Dada Stubborn Persistent Illusions This Old Dog Bicycle Face Exterior Baile Bucanero Brave New Waves Session

LABEL

Transistor 66 Captured Tracks Constellation Royal Mountain Self-Released ...And An Earth Soundway Artofact Writing The Future In Letters Of Fire Sonic Unyon Somersault Bayonet Stranger Timesig Panther In The Dollhouse Six Shooter Brumation No List Sunmask / Cardinal Fuzz Summer Loop Inheritance Self-Released Alter Ego Self-Released Good Night Tomorrow Mint Anchoring Point Self-Released Alchemist Cellar Live The Last Temptation Of Chris Transistor 66 Watershed Six Shooter South Texas Suite Six Shooter It’s A Morbid, Morbid, Morbid World! Self-Released EP 1 Self-Released Lady In Mind Self-Released Northern Passage Dine Alone Whiteout Conditions Dine Alone Fixion In My Room The Big Other Disintegration Study Of The Tansman Episodes Self-Released

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Aug / Sept 2017 Stylus Magazine

17

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL

UPCOMING EVENTS TICKETS: TICKETMASTER.CA / WINNIPEGFOLKFESTIVAL.CA SEPT

SEPT

19

19

WEST END CULTURAL CENTRE

ROBYN HITCHCOCK

WITH CHRIS CHEVEYO

THE GOOD WILL – SOCIAL CLUB

OCT

7

22

20 THE CAVE SINGERS

THE GOOD WILL – SOCIAL CLUB

OCT

SEPT

SEPT

11

WITH BORN RUFFIANS

BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE

PARK THEATRE

23 CURRENT SWELL

OCT

NOV

20

WEST END CULTURAL CENTRE

18 Stylus Magazine Aug / Sept 2017

BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE

DEC

7

PARK THEATRE

WINNIPEGFOLKFESTIVAL.CA

PARK THEATRE