Richard Swift was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker. He was the founder, owner, and recording engineer of National Freedom, a recording studio located in Oregon, and worked as producer, collaborator, muse and influencer for acts including the Shins, Damien Jurado, David Bazan, Foxygen, Jessie Baylin, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius, Lonnie Holley, the Mynabirds, Wake Owl, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Gardens & Villa, Cayucas, Fleet Foxes, Mango Safari and Guster. Swift was a former member of Starflyer 59, the Shins, and the Arcs. He was also a part of the Black Keys' live band during their 2014–2015 tour, performing as their touring bassist and backing singer.
The Acorn is the music project of singer-songwriter and musician Rolf-Carlos Klausener formed in Ottawa, Ontario in 2003. Their music spanned numerous genres, from art-folk and indie, to minimal electro and folk-rock, and members played with numerous other bands. Their songs have charted on Canadian campus charts and have been in rotation on CBC Radio 3 and The Verge.
Born Ruffians are a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto. Officially founded in 2004 in the Georgian Bay town of Midland, Ontario, the band is composed of frontman Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, drummer Steve Hamelin, and keyboardist Maddy Wilde. During the 2010s, they were also joined by Andy Lloyd (guitar/keyboards) and Adam Hindle (drums). Born Ruffians released their debut album Red, Yellow & Blue in 2008, and have since released eight albums in total, including the latest albums being Juice and Squeeze, released in 2020; and Pulp released in 2021.
Red, Yellow & Blue is the debut album by the indie-rock band Born Ruffians. It was released on March 4, 2008, in the United States and Canada and May 26 in the UK/Europe. "Hummingbird" was the first single off the album, followed by "Foxes Mate for Life". The band teamed up with Rusty Santos, collaborator for Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, to produce this album. It was recorded at Chemical Sound in Toronto, except the track "Hedonistic Me," which was recorded at Sleepytown Studio (Toronto).
Swim is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Dan Snaith, released under the moniker Caribou on April 20, 2010, by City Slang and Merge. It is his third album credited under Caribou and deviated from the psychedelic pop of his recent work and toward dance music. The album straddles between more cerebral electronic music and more danceable electronic music.
Say It is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Born Ruffians, released on June 1, 2010, by Paper Bag Records in Canada and Warp Records worldwide.
Wildlife are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2005. The band is currently based in Toronto. The band's debut LP Strike Hard, Young Diamond was favourably received by both Exclaim! and Chart.
Lo-Fantasy is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock musician Sam Roberts, and the second released as "Sam Roberts Band". The album debuted at number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 5,800 copies during its first week. The album was nominated for "Rock Album of the Year" at the 2015 Juno Awards.
Birthmarks is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Born Ruffians, released on April 16, 2013, by Paper Bag Records in Canada and Yep Roc Records worldwide. The band released a limited edition deluxe version of the album on March 25, 2014 that included a second disc with outtakes, unreleased tracks and acoustic versions. The third track from the second disc "Oh Cecilia" was released only on CD, YouTube, and SoundCloud due to sample use restrictions. On September 13, 2022, they re-released a censored version of the song through audio streaming services for the first time.
The Chief is the debut studio album by Nigerian-American hip hop recording artist Jidenna, released on February 17, 2017, by Wondaland and Epic Records. It features guest appearances from fellow labelmates Roman GianArthur, Nana Kwabena, Janelle Monáe and St. Beauty. The album's artwork pays homage to Boz Scaggs' 1980 album Middle Man. It garnered positive reviews from critics for its globe-trotting, genre-hopping production and showcasing Jidenna's charismatic delivery and knack for narrative storytelling. The Chief debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four singles: "Long Live the Chief", "Chief Don't Run", "Little Bit More" and "The Let Out".
Pleasure is the fifth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, released on 28 April 2017, through Universal Music Canada. Thematically, the album is said to explore "emotional limits ... loneliness, private ritual, secrets, shame, mounting pressures, disconnect, tenderness, rejection, care and the lack thereof." All of the songs on the album are actually raw takes, as Feist explained on her Twitter: "Our desire was to record that state without guile or go-to's and to pin the songs down with conviction and our straight up human bodies."
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2018 in Canada.
Make Way for Love is the second studio album by New Zealand musician Marlon Williams. It was released 16 February 2018.
Medicine Songs is a studio album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, released November 10, 2017, on True North Records. The album includes both new material and contemporary re-recordings of some of her older songs.
With Animals is the second collaborative studio album by American singer-songwriter Mark Lanegan and English multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood. It was released on August 24, 2018 through Heavenly Recordings.
Can't Say I Ain't Country is the fourth studio album by American country music duo Florida Georgia Line. It was released on February 15, 2019, through the Big Machine Label Group. It includes the singles "Simple" and "Talk You Out of It", as well as the tracks "Colorado" and "Sittin' Pretty". It was supported by a tour of the same name from May 2019.
Wide Open is the second studio album by Canadian band Weaves. It was released on October 6, 2017 through Kanine Records. The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize.
The discography of Sunn O))), an American drone metal band, consists of nine studio albums, three collaborative albums, six EPs, four demos, one remix album, eight official live albums, one box set compilation, two stand-alone singles and three compilation contributions.
Joseph Shabason is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is best known for playing the saxophone. As a band member and session musician, Shabason has contributed to bands such as DIANA, Destroyer and The War on Drugs. Under his own name, Shabason has released experimental ambient jazz albums as a solo project as well as numerous albums with collaborators.
Felt is the fourth studio album by Canadian band Suuns. It was released on March 2, 2018 under Secretly Canadian.
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