Ben Rayner is a music critic and writer for the Toronto Star since 1998. [1] [2] His commentary on artists is extensively cited across the industry. Indie88 considers him "of the most respected industry professionals around." [3]
In 2012, he served on the jury for the Polaris Music Prize. [4]
Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist-management company, and music publisher founded in 2002 and based in Toronto.
Joyful Rebellion is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os. It was released 13 August 2004 in Canada by EMI and 21 September 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records. It debuted at number 7 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and went platinum in Canada, selling over 100,000 units.
Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, better known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Pemberton released his first album, Breaking Kayfabe, in 2005 with positive reviews. He subsequently signed with the American record label ANTI-, releasing the albums Afterparty Babies in 2008 and Hope in Dirt City in 2012. In 2009, Cadence Weapon was named Edmonton's Poet Laureate. His first book Magnetic Days was published by Metatron in 2014. Cadence Weapon released a self-titled album in 2018.
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
Patrick Watson is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter from Montreal, Quebec. It also refers to the eponymous band formed by Watson, whose blend of cabaret pop and classical music influences with indie rock has been compared to Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Pink Floyd for its experimental musicianship. Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise was awarded the Polaris Music Prize in 2007.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist since the prize's creation in 2006. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
One Hundred Dollars, sometimes seen as $100, is a Canadian alternative country band. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band currently consists of Simone Schmidt on vocals, Ian Russell on acoustic guitar, Stew Crookes on pedal steel, Paul Mortimer on electric guitar, Kyle Porter on bass, Dave Clarke on drums, and occasionally Jonathan Adjemian on organ and keyboards.
Austra is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto, founded in 2009 by composer, singer-songwriter, and producer Katie Stelmanis. Stelmanis is the only permanent member of the project, with a rotating live band that has included Maya Postepski (drums), Dorian Wolf, and Ryan Wonsiak (keyboards). It previously also featured the twin backing singers Sari and Romy Lightman of Tasseomancy. The band has released four studio albums—Feel It Break (2011), Olympia (2013), Future Politics (2017), and Hirudin (2020).
Voyageur is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards, released on January 17, 2012. The album was produced by Edwards and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Voyageur reached the 39th position on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming Edwards' first top 100 and top 40 album in the US, and her first top ten album in Canada, peaking at number two.
Lisa LeBlanc, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and banjoist, known for her enthusiastic "trash folk" performances. She has been noted for her "distinct" blend of folk, rock, and disco with both English and French language lyrics combined with chiac and her Acadian accent. Her accolades include two Félix Awards and an East Coast Music Award. She has also been nominated for three Juno Awards, the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize twice.
Hope in Dirt City is the third album by Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon. It was released on May 29, 2012, on Upper Class Recordings.
CIND-FM, branded as Indie88, is an FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting at 88.1 MHz. The station, which broadcasts an adult album alternative format, had its "soft launch" on July 31, 2013, and had its official launch on September 3, 2013.
Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band The Besnard Lakes, released in April 2013 on Jagjaguwar.
Louis Kevin Celestin, known professionally as Kaytranada, is a Haitian-Canadian music producer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, and original music projects beginning in 2010 under the alias Kaytradamus. By 2013, and under the moniker Kaytranada, he began gaining wider recognition and, the following year, signed a deal with XL Recordings, with whom he would release his critically acclaimed debut studio album 99.9% in 2016. In 2019, he released its follow-up, Bubba, for which he won two Grammy Awards including Best Dance/Electronic Album. Celestin is one half of the hip hop duo The Celestics, along with his brother Lou Phelps.
Cousins is a Canadian garage rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have released three albums and toured in Canada and the United States.
Bahamas Is Afie is the third album from Canadian musician Bahamas, released August 19, 2014 on Brushfire Records.
Raina Douris is a Canadian radio broadcaster, currently working in the United States as the host of NPR's syndicated music program World Cafe.
Partner is a Canadian rock band, originally formed in Sackville, New Brunswick, and later based in Windsor, Ontario. The band is most noted for winning the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2018 for their song "Play the Field".
Ariel Engle is a Canadian indie pop singer and songwriter who records and performs as a solo artist and with Broken Social Scene.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".