Bio

England

Moulettes straddle too many genres to accurately pigeonhole; imagine a Venn diagram with rotating circles that create countlessly interacting intersections. Their compositions land somewhere between archaic and futuristic, spare and bombastic, complex and simply groovy. They play their many instruments with both mathematical precision and wild abandon, a whirlwind, while layers of harmonies weave a luminous and uplifting parachute that steers you towards some exciting, unfamiliar unknown. The arrangements are thoughtful, bold and innovative, each song becomes a shape-shifting and time-bending instrument unto itself. Now into its second decade, Moulettes continue to test creative boundaries with songwriting that is clever and fun, inspired by muses that include animals, minerals, plants, mythical beings, blood and thunder. The band is solid, but Moulettes are also a fluid, evolving entity – musicians may come and go, depending on the city, scheme or time. Their latest work of art, Xenolalia, is actually five different releases: 11 songs performed five ways by five different ensembles (55 songs!): a cappella, electric, string, electronic and brass. As cellist, songwriter and art director Hannah Miller says, Xenolalia “…is all about communication.” Indeed, Moulettes have mastered conveying, with all their talents, experience and imagination, the mysterious magic of music.

– Chantal Vitalis

Bio

Alberta/BC

It often takes decades for an artist to really get the feel for the blues as a distinct style of music that sounds better when it’s a little loose, and Alberta’s Blue Moon Marquee has put in the hard miles required to get that feel just right.

With four full-length records and thousands of miles of highway in their rearview, Blue Moon Marquee returns to Alberta with multiple accolades from throughout the Canadian blues community to their credit, and their fresh full-length, New Orleans Sessions, a record that has the sound and feel of another era, some kind of chitlin barrelhouse freestyle on the road to a new life in Chicago. Blue Moon Marquee gets it just right, the sauntering, steamy heel drag of the smoky, dimly lit barroom, and the jump and swing of the big bandstand, swaying and shuffling while the moon hangs low over the riverside.

 Theatrical and energetic, the road-honed sound of Blue Moon Marquee represents a vintage era of the blues—before histrionics took away from the feel—when all it took was a jumpy groove, some sultry charm, and a bourbon-coated voice to shake up the floorboards.

 -MD

Bio

Winnipeg, MB

Begonia is the original Midwest princess. Hers is a carefully crafted aesthetic combining a kind of deconstructed glamour and handsome hedonism. Though not quite as demure as the flowery name might suggest, Begonia retains a sincerity in her lyricism and persona-breaking adorability in her presence that betrays the maximalism of the pop presentation. With lyrics about holding hands at the hot dog stand, or having a wedding presided over by Elvis, Begonia has that ‘Drag Queen Next Door’ quality.

Hailing from Winnipeg, the same scene that birthed the alt-pop weirdolotry of her frequent collaborators Royal Canoe, Begonia was born from singing in church choirs and worship bands. You may have even seen her as one part of touring francopop outfit Chic Gamine. Though a relatively fresh project, Begonia has been growing on stages since youth, a seasoned singer and primed performer.

Powder Blue is the latest in a series of lavish, bass-guitar and synth-driven tracks. Though it’s definitely pop with a capital P, these are lovingly analog soundscapes on which Begonia hangs her shimmering moo-moos. She has received two Juno nominations, two Polaris prize nominations, and was named one of NPR’s Artists You Need to Know. Begonia’s off-kilter pop compositions are syrupy enough to feel like guilty pleasures but matriculated enough to sometimes struggle to count along to. Begonia is the thinking woman’s pop princess.

-Liam Prost