2016 has been quite the year so far and I figured it was time for an update on what I've been up to!
The year started off with me heading to Duncan, BC(Vancouver Island) to record a full length album with Lion Bear Fox at The Woodshop Recording Studios. We spent ten crazy and long days creating an album we believe people will really connect to. Working with these three talented men was a rewarding experience and I can't wait to do it again. The album was mixed by Howard Redekopp and mastered by Troy Glessner at Spectre Studio.
Check out the lyric for Hold My Love recorded in 2014/2015 at The Farm Studios mixed by Ben Kaplan at Kaplan Krunch and mastered by Brock McFarlane at CPS Mastering
Somewhere in the middle of finishing up the Lion Bear Fox album I was approached by MELT, a young remixer from Norway, to do a collaboration of a remix of Matt Millz' Follow You Home. You can find the official Music Ninja premier here or take a listen below. Mastered by Jeff Dalziel.
In studio with Belvue planing out some new guitar parts! Photo by Joseph Forsyth.
I headed out to The Farm Studios on the sunshine coast with Belvue, based out of Calgary, AB whose members hail from around the globe (Australia, South Africa and Ontario). Over the course of two days we captured some incredible bed tracks for their upcoming EP. Huge shout out to our killer drum tech Tim Proznick
After beds were done we trekked back to Vancouver to record guitars, synths and vocals at my studio now nestled in the old Greenhouse Studio B. The album is currently being mixed by Ben Kaplan at Kaplan Krunch and should be available soon!
In studio with REND
Right after the Belvue EP I headed into Armoury Studios to produce two songs for Edmonton alternative rockers REND We joined forces with engineer Ben Kaplan to capture some killer drums sounds. During the following week we tackled overdubs at my studio.
More guitars with REND. Yes... there is lots of space to stretch out and eat sushi and take a nap. Photo by Sean Peacock.
Tracking guitars with REND. Photo By Sean Peacock
Heartbeat by LYON Released and featured on NBC's Heartbeat
On May 11th NBC's Heartbeat featured a song I co-wrote and produced with the amazing LYON coincidently the song is titled "Heartbeat" and you can find it on iTunes, Spotify or Soundcloud.
The song was also recently featured in a blog post by Wonky Sensitive here
May 2016 - CMW
Every year I make my way back east to Ontario for Canadian Music Week. This year was packed with 4 days or writing, load of shows, business meetings and getting up to no good with some old friends....
Hangin' with Nils and Paul of The Rural Alberta Advantage at their jam space at Cherry Beach!
During my time in Toronto my publishing team at Red Brick Songs was able to team up me with Nils and Paul of The Rural Alberta Advantage to write some new music. We had a blast and hopefully I'll be lucky enough to head back soon to write some more tunes with them. The week also featured collaborations with Jon Jasper-Lawless AKA SwimGood and Ryan Lovelock both of which are talented songwriters and producers who you should definitely keep your eye out for. I also managed to sneak in some time to write with Nate Daniels the lead singer of CAIRO.
As busy as I was I managed to spend some time with producer/songwriter and my great friend Jeff Dalziel (Alyssa Reid, Thornley, Prozzäk, Nelly Furtado, Tupelo Honey). We attended the Slaight Music showcase together which featured performances by my Vancouver friends The Washboard Union, The Ascot Royals, Jessica Mitchell and Kayla Diamond. All in all it was stacked showcase!
Grimskunk at Bovine Sex Club
While it's impossible to see all the shows you want to at CMW I got the chance to catch quite a few:
Will Driving West
Chersea
Ready The Prince
Lost Cousins
Partner
No Sinner
Jon Bryant
Joy District
Bend Sinister
Youngblood
We acknowledge the support of Creative BC, financially supported by Province of British Columbia, and of 102.7 The PEAK, as administered by Music BC.
June - WCMA Nomination, More Writing/Recording and Road Trips!
Since getting back from CMW things have been crazy busy. I officially left my full time position at Nimbus School of Recording and Media after 7 years to pursue music full time. While I enjoyed my time there I felt it was time for me to put all my focus on my music. I wish them all the best.
For the second year in a row I have been nominated for the West Canadian Music Awards for Audio Engineering of the Year for my work with Jon Bryant of his latest release Twenty-Something. Have a listen to tracks 1,2,8 and 10 I produced, engineered and co-wrote these songs with Jon. Funny enough last year at the WCMA awards brunch I was sitting right next to Jon. Big shout out to my fellow nominees Ryan Worsley, Ben Kaplan and Russell Broom.
Last fall I had the pleasure of writing and recording a demo with Vancouver folk duo Hollow Twin. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Factor we were able to finish the song and just got it back from mastering and it's sounding amazing. Keep your ears peeled for this haunting, dark-folk track. We are hoping to hit the studio this fall to complete their EP. I'll keep you posted.
Chillin' in the studio with the lovely Sarah MacDougall.
Recently I have been writing as much as I can, teaming up with the likes of Cassie Dasilva, Dan Mangan, Laurell Barker, Josh Schroeder (The Sleep Millennium) and Sarah MacDougall. I've also been working on some solo stuff...maybe one day they'll see the light of day.
If you ever have any questions about these projects or others or if you're interested in working on music with me don't hesitate to drop me a line here.
I leave you with a little video of my latest studio addition a 1956 Royal Canadian Air Force Microphone Preamp, DI and Guitar Amp all in one!
Cheers,
Nyg