hand drawn dracula

Open Flames

photo by Norman Wong

Bruce Peninsula are set to return with their sophomore full-length album, Open Flames October 4th (via Hand Drawn Dracula).  The multi-musician “alt-gospel” ensemble will give us “10 new, sprawling songs, drawn from the skin of a drum and sung from deep down in the gut”.

Prepare to be teased.

Bruce Peninsula – In Your Light (Snapshot) from Bruce Peninsula on Vimeo.

Bruce Peninsula – Open Flame (Snapshot) from Bruce Peninsula on Vimeo.

The band spent a lot of last year hard at work writing new music, with a focus on writing quickly without second-guessing, while pushing musical boundaries beyond their signature, progressive-gospel sound. By the end of the year, the band had a slew of new material which they planned to release in the Spring of 2010.  But, in December, the band were suddenly sideswiped when lead shouter Neil Haverty was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.  Haverty got treatment and is officially in remission, ready to join the band again.

Great news for a great band.  I’m really excited to hear this new record.

Lets get right to it

–Violens have a new winter mixtape. ‘The mix introduces four songs from Violens forthcoming album alongside some wildly unique mash-ups which blend their own performances with music and lyrics of My Bloody Valentine, The Byrds, and Wire among others. Also, there are remixes of tracks from their debut EP, Violens own remixes of White Lies Unfinished Business, a new collaboration with Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, and a gorgeous acoustic cover of Saint Etiennes Avenue.’ Its free.

–RCRD LBL has the new song by Beach House called ‘Norway‘. Very lush and beautiful, what we now expect from this duo.

-If you can’t get enough Hand Drawn Dracula (from the podcast and mixtape), I’ve got more for you. Brian Borcherdt‘s free EP ‘Torches’ is available here.

–Sloan has a new record out called ‘Hit & Run’. Its available on their website with a free single of ‘Take It Upon Yourself‘.

-Listening to Tales Of Sarah Jane, The Golden Horse by Montreal’s Intensive Care. They are performing at Rancho tonight in Toronto, more details here.

-And finally, loving Daytrotter’s iPhone/iTouch app. Saturday afternoon now has a ‘go-to’ soundtrack.

Indie Music Filter presents Hand Drawn Dracula (mixtape)

Everyone loves a good mixtape right? Well, I’ve recently put one together with all the songs coming from one Toronto record label. Hand Drawn Dracula. The label was formed by Brian Borcherdt (Holy Fuck) and visual aritst/designer James Mejia from almost 10 years of working the Dependent Music collective. With the same principles of friendship, art and music that saw Dependent artists achieve worldwide success, the label’s mandate is to help each other achieve artistic goals and to produce quality projects that they are proud to present. The label roster includes Bishop Morocco, Brian Borcherdt, By Divine Right, Contrived, Julie Fader, Off the International Radar and Wintersleep, as well as putting out collaborative projects with Black Moth Super Rainbow, Holy Fuck and Shugo Tokumaru.

I’ve loved just about everything I’ve heard from the label. The mix I’ve put together is a good cross section of sounds. A great intro to your next favorite indie label. Head here to stream the songs, read about the artists and download the mixtape.

Below is the tracklist:

1) I Love A Girl by By Divine Right

2) While I Was Asleep by Brian Borcherdt

3) Disco Guitars (unmastered) by Bishop Morocco

4) Goodbye Before Hello by Julie Fader

5) Holy Radar (Off The International Radar vs Holy Fuck) by Off The International Radar

6) Not A Goodbye by Contrived

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