Bays, who gained prominence as the front man of Hot Hot Heat, has kept relatively quiet of late, opting to produce other bands in his East Vancouver studio and take his time writing. “It’s easy to forget the purpose that music serves, you know, as entertainment. It’s really easy to get into that I’m an artist mode,” Bays says. So what inspired him to embark upon another musical venture? “I just got really stoked on music that you could DJ with,” he shrugs,  “I was so bored with the rock musician as a selling point. When I hear a song, I don’t need them to be a rock star. It was really trendy in the 2000s to present yourself that way, and that was exciting… but because I was way too immersed in it, it bummed me out. I like the idea of being a bit of a martyr for the music and giving up all your spare time, your love life, your identity, and just concentrating on the music.”

As Bays and Bossley’s eyes widen in unison as the string players play through Fur Trade’s composition, it’s obvious the band was born out of a mutual love for making great records. “Every song stems from excitement. I’ll get stoked on a beat or something and then feed off of Parker’s enthusiasm. A lot of the decisions are intentionally arbitrary.”

But will the pair take their record on the road? “We’re struggling with that, because we don’t want to do a laptop band.” “But I think it’s okay for a band to sound different live,” chimes Bossley. “Every band we know is like Do we use laptops? How much is that a part of our sound? An organic band would be way more fun.” Bossley nods at this, “Then we could fuck with the sound.”

Rather than reaching for anything in particular, Fur Trade are, refreshingly, a group acting purely on what they’re excited about. Bays’ musical mantra is clear: “I just wanna keep putting out songs, basically. We could do it live, but I wanna keep making music a priority, and playing live second.”
Watch the video for the Voyager adaptation below.

Fur Trade’s debut album, Don’t Get Heavy, is out July 23rd; the first single, “Voyager,” is out Monday, July 1st.

The post New Musical Voyage: In the Studio with Fur Trade appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Striking a harmony between simple and memorable riffs, Mother Mother write pop songs that evoke both playfulness and compassion. They are at once flippant and driven by a desire to unite the audience. They are serious about having fun.

During the slightly more drawn-out, slower songs, participatory vocal sections keep up the momentum. A surprisingly straight-up cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” goes down particularly well despite only being made their own with Guldemond’s pleasingly disjointed guitar solo.

Mother Mother prove themselves a fun pop band capable of genuine modesty, too: “This is your house, your party; we are but your humble guests.”

The post Park Pop Vibes: Mother Mother live in Vancouver appeared first on Quip Magazine.

“My first record was such a whirlwind,” says Nash. “I was like whoa, slow down.”

Although there’s been no sign of the British singer slowing down since her 2007 debut Made of Bricks, she has made a significant pivot with the release of her new record Girl Talk (Dine Alone Records). The album is an attitude-ridden garage rock record that lends itself to being played loud, live, and raw. Nash has ditched the piano in favor of the bass guitar, something she says she needed to do “to feel powerful and loud” because she “was going through such a shitty time.”

Watching Nash at the Electric Owl, as she writhes and dances on stage, there is no doubt she is really enjoying touring her new material. Backed by her all-girl band in matching polka dot dresses, Nash is the antidote to faux female independence. She is the real deal and it shows, not least when she sings ‘Free my Pussy,’ her protest song written in support of Pussy Riot and against suppression in general.

“I have so many young girl fans that will come and open up to me about shit. I always want girls to be able to stand up for themselves and make the choices they want to make.”

As the crowd invades the stage to dance with the band, Nash seems to be winning the battle over sexism and apathy.

“So anyway, this song is about not giving a fuck,” she says, then through gritted teeth, “but also about really giving a fuck.”

The post The Beyoncé Antidote: Kate Nash live in Vancouver appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Given Lustman’s concept-rich new material, it seems fitting he has joined British electronica wonder-kid James Blake on a North American tour. Last week, in Vancouver, Lustman creeped out onto the stage of the packed Commodore Ballroom in an unassuming, almost gawky fashion. He sat at a small wooden desk under a single spotlight, lowered his head into his laptop, and then proceeded to let rip on a five-minute psytrance opener, a polyrhythmic hash of hi hat, jungle drums and glassy pads. Sonically, at least, it’s a full-on entrance.

There are ethereal moments of ambient electronica tonight, but these mostly give way to house beats and pleasing elements of trip. Besides conjuring vocal loops into unrecognisable sounds, this is largely an instrumental set, very much built on the strength of morphing individual sounds.

There is always something a little uncomfortable about DJ sets at band gigs – the audience stares expectantly, waiting for a performance, some interaction – but nevertheless, there is genuine appreciation for Lustman’s no-nonsense, head-down producing chops, and the crowd’s dancing belies the fact that he is static, transfixed on his MacBook. Tonight, Lustman proves that it’s beats – not bravado – that really matter.

The post FaltyDL makes a “Hardcourage” stop in Vancouver appeared first on Quip Magazine.