| Borealis Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Genre | Folk Roots |
| Country of origin |  |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Official website | borealisrecords.com |
Borealis Records is a Canadian record label, founded in 1996 by four Canadian musicians. It is notable as being focused exclusively on the recording and development of Canadian folk and roots music artists.
In 1996, Canadian musicians Grit Laskin, Bill Garrett, Paul Mills and Ken Whiteley established Borealis Records. The mandate of the company is (a) to record only Canadian artists, (b) to seek out artists from all of Canada's regions, (c) to enter into "ethical artist agreements that are fair and typically more generous than what is the industry standard" and (d) to present all the diverse styles of music under the Folk and Roots umbrella. [1]
Artists recording for Borealis Records include Aengus Finnan, Linda McRae, Eve Goldberg, Ron Hynes, Penny Lang, Nathan Rogers, Mose Scarlett, Oliver Schroer, Bob Snider, Terry Tufts, Jackie Washington, Penny Lang and Sneezy Waters. [2]
The label is associated with True North Records and Linus Entertainment. [3] In addition to individual artist releases, Borealis Records released Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (2003), in which Borealis artists and others interpreted the songs of Gordon Lightfoot.
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He is often referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and is known internationally as a folk-rock legend.
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.
MapleMusic is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight, Michael Burke and Universal Music. In 2016, MapleMusic changed its name to Cadence Music Group.
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a Canadian folk rock–alternative country band with blues and country influences. The band was formed in 1996, in Hamilton, Ontario, by Tom Wilson, Stephen Fearing, and Colin Linden.
Jackie Washington was a Canadian blues musician.
David Wiffen is an English-Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Two of his songs, "Driving Wheel" and "More Often Than Not", have become cover standards.
Garnet Rogers is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Nova Scotia. He began his professional career working with his brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, and arranging Stan's music.
Eve Goldberg is a Canadian folk musician, singer and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Musically, she draws from a number of different traditions and influences such as blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, swing, and contemporary and traditional folk music.
Colleen Susan Peterson was a Canadian country and folk singer, who performed both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Quartette.
Aengus Finnan is a Canadian folk musician and arts organiser. Finnan was born in Dublin, Ireland, and grew up in Ontario, Canada. In 2003, he was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal for his humanitarian and cultural work in Canada He is currently the Executive Director of Folk Alliance International.
Amos Garrett is an American-Canadian blues and blues-rock musician, guitarist, singer, composer, and musical arranger. He has written instructional books about music and guitar. Garrett holds dual citizenship and was raised in Toronto and Montreal. He is best known for his guitar solo on Maria Muldaur's recording "Midnight at the Oasis". He has written books about music, such as "Amos Garrett—Stringbending: A Master Class".
Nathan Rogers is a Canadian folk musician/songwriter. He is the son of Stan and Ariel Rogers. His father, a folk musician and songwriter, died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on June 2, 1983.
Jacob Moon is a solo Canadian folk singer/songwriter and guitarist based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He has an extensive repertoire of songs, with nine albums to his credit. He has won many accolades and has been invited to perform for and with some of his heroes, including Rush, Marillion, Ron Sexsmith and Gordon Lightfoot. Moon's famous YouTube cover of Rush's Subdivisions went viral in 2009 and has earned him many fans around the world.
Cordova Bay Records is an independent record label in Victoria, British Columbia. The label operates in conjunction with Cordova Bay Music Publishing under the parent company Cordova Bay Entertainment Group. The company was founded by Michael Burke in 1999 and touts itself as an artist-oriented label.
David Myles is a Canadian songwriter and musician born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Myles lives in Fredericton New Brunswick, as of September 2020, moving from Halifax, Nova Scotia. His music has often been labeled folk jazz, although he prefers simply to call it "roots" music. An independent artist who self-releases his albums, Myles has been able to gain an increasingly large audience, in part because of his active touring schedule and in part because of his cross-genre musical collaborations, which include a single made with the rapper Classified that became the biggest-selling rap single in the history of Canadian music.
Eileen McGann is an Irish-Canadian folk singer, songwriter and traditional Celtic musician. Her album, Beyond The Storm, was Juno Award-nominated in 2002. She has released seven solo CDs and has established an almost 30-year career touring across North America and Great Britain.
Canadian folk music has a long history, dating from the 16th and 17th century, mostly derived from the music of early settlers; much earlier for the music of indigenous people. Folk music thus differentiates between traditional and contemporary. Many of Canada's most influential folk artists emerged in the contemporary folk music era, notably Bruce Cockburn, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ferron, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Murray McLauchlan, Stan Rogers, Valdy, Penny Lang, The Rankin Family and Wade Hemsworth. In the 1970s, chansonniers grew steadily less popular with the encroachment of popular rock bands and other artists, and many of the folk clubs, such as the Montreal Folk Workshop, and groups such as The Raftsmen, the Mountain City Four and, eventually, The Travellers, that had served to foster the mid-20th century revival closed down. Some new performers did emerge, however, including Jacques Michel, Claude Dubois, and Robert Charlebois. The Canadian Folk Music Awards are presented annually to musicians carrying on in the tradition.
Sound of Pop is an independent record label, music publishing and licensing company based in Nova Scotia, Canada. Sound of Pop represents many musical artists. In 2015 it has two divisions, the label Sound of Pop Records and a publishing and representation agency Sound of Pop Publishing. In 2015 Sound of Pop is owned and operated by Glenn McMullen, and acts as the worldwide administrator for the SOP music publishing catalogue with offices in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles.
Penny Lang was a Canadian folk music icon who earned a loyal following, influencing many artists. She performed at major folk festivals and clubs across North America.
Terra Lightfoot is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who has released four albums with the independent music label Sonic Unyon Recording Company and is distributed by Universal Music Group in Canada and The Orchard outside of Canada. She performs in a folk and roots rock style known for bold vocals and electric guitar riffs.
