Chad VanGaalen | |
|---|---|
 VanGaalen at the Primavera Sound festival in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Black Mold |
| Born | 1977 (age 46–47) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Indie rock, folk, electronica, Psychedelic rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, drums, keyboards, harmonica |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Flemish Eye Sub Pop |
| Website | chadvangaalen |
Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician and artist from Calgary, Alberta. [1] [2]
Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released Infiniheart (2004) on Canadian independent label Flemish Eye. Infiniheart, a collection of songs selected from recordings made in his bedroom/makeshift studio, was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. [3] In late 2005, the album was re-released with a bonus six-song EP entitled Green Beans.
On 22 August 2006, VanGaalen's second album, Skelliconnection , was released in the U.S. on Sub Pop and in Canada on Flemish Eye. The album is composed of new songs as well as tracks previously released on his earlier independent recordings and features exclusive artwork [4] and videos made by VanGaalen.
ChartAttack reported on 17 January 2007 that Skelliconnection was #31 and had been on the chart for 19 weeks. [5]
Skelliconnection was named to shortlist on 10 July 2007 for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. The winner was announced at a gala ceremony on 24 September 2007, with the prize going to the band Patrick Watson. [6] [7] [8]
VanGaalen's third studio album, Soft Airplane , was released 9 September 2008. [9] Soft Airplane marked a significant change for Vangaalen's songwriting as, unlike previous Vangaalen releases (where songs were collected from a vast catalogue of previous home recordings), Soft Airplane was written within the two-year time span since Skelliconnection.
Soft Airplane garnered many favourable reviews internationally. It was both nominated for a Canadian Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize. Furthermore, the album maintained a #2 placement in Exclaim! 's Top Albums of 2008 and, upon release, spent 22 weeks on !earshot 's Top 50.
Vangaalen toured Soft Airplane extensively; performing live dates throughout North America, Europe, and the UK throughout 2008 and 2009. Vangaalen opted to tour with Flemish Eye label mates Women for many of his performances allowing him to utilize certain bandmembers as his backing band.
In September 2009, to celebrate the success of Soft Airplane, Vangaalen released an accessory EP for free download.
VanGaalen's song "Rabid Bits of Time", off of Soft Airplane, was featured in the trailer for the 2011 indie film Norman . His song "Bare Feet on Wet Griptape" was featured on the skateboarding video game Skate 3 .
On 11 August 2009, VanGaalen released a full-length album Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz under the alias Black Mold.
VanGaalen is sometimes assisted live by Matt Flegel and Scott "Monty" Munro, both of the post-punk band Preoccupations, and drummer Eric Hamelin from No More Shapes.
In 2008 VanGaalen recorded the debut album of Women as well as their second album.
VanGaalen is also an illustrator and animator, [10] and has made his own album artwork and animated music videos to accompany several of his songs, including "Clinically Dead", "Flower Gardens", "Red Hot Drops", and "Molten Light", as well as the Love as Laughter song "Dirty Lives" and Timber Timbre's song "Beat the Drum Slowly". He won the Prism Prize in 2015 for "Beat the Drum Slowly", [11] alongside a second nomination for the video for his own single "Monster".
He has also designed album covers for other artists, including Shout Out Out Out Out's Not Saying/Just Saying . [12]
In 2015, VanGaalen collaborated with Seth Smith of the indie rock band Dog Day on the album Seed of Dorzon. [13]
Chad VanGaalen's Light Information, his sixth record on Sub Pop, was released on 8 September 2017.
In 2023, he performed a new original live score to the 1923 silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame at a 100th anniversary screening of the film as part of the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival. [14]
Studio albums
EPs
Collaboration albums
Black Mold
Julie Elaine Doiron is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beginning with 1996's Broken Girl, and is also the lead singer for the band Julie and the Wrong Guys.
Flemish Eye is a record label started in 2003 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Ian Russell. The first release was Infiniheart by Chad VanGaalen, which was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. From the success of Infiniheart, the label has earnestly developed a mandate of assisting Calgary-based musicians and artists. Through the release of Women's self-titled album, the label has also developed a working relationship with Bloomington, Indiana-based independent label Jagjaguwar. The label was referred to by CMJ New Music Monthly as a "micro-indie."
Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto.
Daniel Mangan is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature film, as well as television for Netflix and AMC. He is also a co-founder of Side Door, a marketplace platform connecting artists with alternative venue spaces for in-person & online shows.
Skelliconnection is the second album by Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released on August 22, 2006 on Flemish Eye and Sub Pop. In addition to writing and recording the album, VanGaalen performed almost all of the instruments and drew the album artwork. Like VanGaalen's debut album, Infiniheart (2004), Skelliconnection comprises material from hundreds of homemade recordings.
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.
Five Roses is the first album by Miracle Fortress, released on May 22, 2007. On July 10, 2007, the shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize was revealed. Five Roses was announced as a finalist, alongside such other acts as Arcade Fire, Julie Doiron, and Chad VanGaalen. The winner was announced at a gala ceremony on September 24, 2007, with the award going to Patrick Watson.
The 2007 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 24, 2007, at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto.
Women was a Canadian indie rock band formed in Calgary in 2008. The group consisted of Patrick Flegel, Christopher Reimer, Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace. Their debut album Women was released on Chad VanGaalen's label Flemish Eye on July 8, 2008 in Canada and on Jagjaguwar in the United States on October 7, 2008. It was rumoured that the band broke up on October 29, 2010, after a fight on stage at a show at Lucky Bar in Victoria, although their management stated that they had merely cancelled the rest of their tour.
Soft Airplane is the third album by Chad VanGaalen, released in 2008 on Flemish Eye and Sub Pop. It was VanGaalen's first album to consist entirely of songs newly recorded for the album; his prior releases compiled tracks from a library of home recordings he had made over a number of years.
The 2009 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto at the Masonic Temple and broadcast live online for the first time in its short history. The award's eligibility period for 2009 covered albums released between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.
Women is the debut studio album by Calgary band Women, recorded by fellow Calgary-native Chad VanGaalen. It was released in 2008 on VanGaalen's Flemish Eye record label in Canada, and on Jagjaguwar in the US. The song "Sag Harbor Bridge" is a direct reference to the suicide of the artist Ray Johnson, like "Locust Valley" and "Venice Lockjaw" on Women's second album of 2010, Public Strain.
Ghostkeeper is a Canadian experimental pop/rock band led by Shane Ghostkeeper, who writes most of the songs, and includes members Sarah Houle, drummer Eric Hamelin and bassist Ryan Bourne. Their songs combine elements of '60s girl-group melodies, country music, ‘90s indie rock, African pop, and traditional Aboriginal pow wow music.
Public Strain is the second and final studio album by Canadian rock band Women. It was released on August 23, 2010, via Flemish Eye in Canada and Jagjaguwar in the United States. The album was produced by Chad VanGaalen and recorded during a period of isolation for the band with limited equipment and experimental techniques involved in the 10-month recording process. It has been noted for the key and vocal delivery, unique sound and krautrock style, influence from the Velvet Underground, and numerous genres including post-punk.
Shrink Dust is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released by Flemish Eye in Canada and Sub Pop in the United States on April 29, 2014. The album was featured on the Toronto Star's website as part of their musical "reasons to live" sections.
Alvvays is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin, Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut studio album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, Antisocialites, was released on September 8, 2017. Their third studio album, Blue Rev, was released on October 7, 2022.
Yves Jarvis is the stage name of Jean-Sébastien Yves Audet, a Canadian experimental musician, singer and producer who also previously released music under the stage names Un Blonde and Faux Fur.
Corridor is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of vocalist and bassist Dominic Berthiaume, guitarist Julian Perreault, guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Robert and drummer Julien Bakvis, with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux in live performances. The first francophone band ever signed to the influential indie label Sub Pop, they are most noted for their 2019 album Junior, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Aquakultre is a Canadian soul and R&B musical project from Halifax, Nova Scotia, whose core member is singer and rapper Lance Sampson. They are most noted for their album Legacy, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
World's Most Stressed Out Gardener is the ninth studio album by Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Sub Pop worldwide and Flemish Eye in Canada.
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