Bodies rolled in sleeping bags…darkness on the dance floor. 6am and the band is serving breakfast. These are self-promoted all-ages all-night shows in unlikely places…art galleries, community halls and circus spaces. Earlier…swirling lights, pylons and projected images hover above a dancing crowd. Assemblies of acts take turns on stage as people and band members mingle and munch grilled cheese sandwiches. Some may stop to buy a Spiral Beach t-shirt carefully burned with a hot iron…. an evening collectible baring no band logo. At the entrance kids wander in from the winter snow and throw coats onto a towering pile. Their hats and scarves, furry sweats and headbands follow them to the dance floor. The show begins…and never seems to end.
“Everything the band does is very visual – we always think about the whole experience, so audiences feel like they’re a part of what it going on. We try to make each show feel like full-on sensory overload – there’s a LOT of energy coming off the stage, and every show is a chance to get an audience worked into a total frenzy… we’ve run a lot of our own shows that will go all night or into the next day, so there’s also an element of delirium involved,” says Drummer Daniel Woodhead about the performances. “Some of our biggest parties in Toronto have been at the Centre of Gravity, which is an old vaudeville/circus theatre, so we’ve taken that as our inspiration – we like to create an atmosphere that suits the music, so playing all-ages events in community centres and lofts where we can use the space to make something fun and interactive is the best.”
With the Canadian release of “Ball” in the fall of 2007 the buzz on the band became deafening. They had already graced the cover of Toronto street rag “NOW” and ruffled feathers when they unexpectedly invited fans in crazy costumes up on stage to join the broadcast of their performance on Canada’s MTV-LIVE… The band toured extensively throughout Canada and was invited to tour with both Sloan and the Hidden Cameras in the U.S. as well as opening up for like-minded acts such as the Go! Team and Tokyo Police Club. By the time all the members of the band turned 20, they had already been twice across the continent!
In the spring of 2008 dazzling reviews of their album “Ball” from bloggers and mainstream press started to appear. A live performance on XM’s ‘The Verge’ was rated as the show’s Top Performance of the Year and the band was nominated for “Best New Indie Band” at the Casby Awards. Canada’s most important media outlets like Much Music and Toronto’s The Edge radio station began to champion the band. They spent the summer performing at festivals across Canada, including Toronto’s Virgin Festival, and took their incomparable live show to the UK and US, where Tommy Boy/ADA released the album.
The band are taking it all to the next level this September with their new album “The Only Really Thing.” The album perfectly captures the jubilant frenzy of the band, filling out the kaleidoscopic pop sound they had already developed with intricate arrangements and unconventional instrumentation, including metal chains and a cell phone! Daniel says, “We had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted to achieve; to make a Bollywood-influenced multi-layered color collage kind of modern pop album, with songs that were good enough to stand on their own but put into this whirlwind of different sounds and textures. Once you’re there, you just kind of jump in!”
“The Only Really Thing” will be released on September 22 by Sparks/Tommy Boy.
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More information on Spiral Beach:
http://www.myspace.com/spiralbeach
Award winning Canadian hip hop artist and producer, Saukrates is known to have an ear for music (classically trained in the violin and cello) and a head for the music industry. Native to Toronto, Saukrates whose real name is Karl Amani Wailoo, started his career from the independent circuit on up to national prominence, becoming a highly respected MC and highly sought after producer.
In 2001, Saukrates produced the track “Uh-Huh” for Redman’s Malpractice album, and appeared on a track called “Enjoy Da Ride”. He also did a track called “Fine Line” for the soundtrack to Method Man and Redman’s How High movie. In 2002, Saukrates teamed up with fellow Canadian producer Agile from BrassMunk to produce the track “Heaven”, for Nas‘ album God’s Son, and it featured Jully Black. On November 19, 2006, he performed “Promiscuous” with Nelly Furtado at halftime show of the 94th Grey Cup (the CFL championship game). Two days later, Saukrates beat-boxed during her performance of “Say It Right” at the 2006 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Off the road, Saukrates produced on Canadian songstress, Divine Brown’s self-titled album. On February 23, 2007, he appeared on the daytime drama One Life to Live with Furtado, performing “Promiscuous”. Saukrates also toured with Nelly Furtado on her Get Loose Tour.
Saukrates will release his much delayed second studio album, “Season One” in late 2009. Singles include “Fades Away”, “Ms. Yesterday” and “On The Run” with K-os and Nelly Furtado, which is also featured on the new K-os album, Yes!, as the alternatively titled “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”. Also working with another Toronto based artist, Andreena Mill, who won 2009 DJ Stylus Award Winner for Canadian R&B Single of the Year – U, Me, And Tomorrow ft Saukrates. He collaborated with Method Man and Redman in their top 2009 single “A Yo”.
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More information on Saukrates:
http://www.myspace.com/saukrates
Hawksley Workman is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who paves his own path. Brilliantly original and always spontaneous, his creative talent is boundless, often switching from the role of songwriter, to studio musician, to producer. His songwriting style is as varied as his resume, creating pop tunes, country jangles, anthemic rockers, hip-hop dance beats and gut-wrenching ballads, such as “Safe and Sound”, which was recently featured in a US Volvo TV spot that spawned a collection of youtube covers from fans all over the world.
Hawksley has toured with the The Cure and David Bowie, collaborated with Marion Cotillard, written for Cartier and produced tracks for Serena Ryder, Tegan & Sara, and Hey Rosetta!. In 2008, he released not one but two albums and toured them extensively throughout Canada and Europe. The first of the two albums, Between the Beautifuls, garnered Hawksley a 2009 JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, while Los Manlicious, sprouted a half a dozen music videos from director Sean Turrell while touring Europe.
Hawksley is currently at work in studios from NYC to Stockholm to Northern Ontario recording enough material to release three new albums. At least one of the records will be released in 2010.
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PRESS QUOTES
“…sly, seductive and slightly dangerous” – Daily Disc, National Post
“A worked-up Workman gets down to bedroom business with crunchy, stuttering guitar rock” – Essential Tracks, Globe & Mail
“when his fighter side comes out he’s simply smokin’” – Vue
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More information on Hawksley Workman:
http://www.hawksleyworkman.com/
