Winnipeg band Bluebloods released their self-produced debut LP, Discount Everything, last month. It features 11 tracks that celebrate the Canadian prairies and American Midwest, Mennonite socials and all.
The band is comprised of Conrad Sweatman (guitar and electronics), Courtney Devon (vocals) and Sam Little (bass). Both Devon and Little studied jazz at the U of M. The trio hail from the centre of North America, a driving force behind the LP and the band’s raison d’être.
“This LP is about being from the prairies, and it’s being from flyover country […] We’re all from the Midwest. Courtney is from small town North Dakota. I’m from Winnipeg and Edmonton. Conrad is from here […] The crux of our identity is founded in this Midwest central zone,” said Little.
Little also explained, while the prairies are known for their country and folk music, Discount Everything leans into electro dance, neo-soul inspired hip-hop and Tin Pan Alley songs to tell stories from the region.
“It’s us wrestling with this dichotomy of where we are geographically and what our sonic interests are,” he commented.
“As somebody who has grown up in a place that is so small that it’s actually kind of hard to describe to people who have never been there, there is this element of whimsy and magic about really small-town places like that, that I didn’t realize and didn’t appreciate until I got a little bit older, Devon said. “You can hear in the music a lot of that whimsy.”
The band loosely described its sound as R&B- and soul-infused dance pop which draws inspiration from Neil Young, Mac DeMarco and BadBadNotGood. However, Discount Everything runs the gamut across genres. Members highlighted “Back in the Day,” a track featuring Cross Lake First Nation rapper CJ the Grey that reminisces life in rural Manitoba.
“CJ grew up in Cross Lake, and some of the stories that he’s told me about backyard parties and stuff, it’s very North Dakota […] Those are some of my very favourite lyrics I’ve ever written,” said Devon.
“Everything sort of fell into place, from start to finish,” said Little as he described the recording process for the track. “Me and the keyboardist, Felix Fox, just sat in a room and recorded it live off the floor over a drum loop […] We were sort of expecting it to be a demo. It ended up being on the record. Courtney’s lyrics came together super fast, and the melody that she does at the end of the tune is one of my favorite things that she’s written.”
This month, Bluebloods is set to perform at Festival du Voyageur and hopes to perform in more shows and festivals, including those outside of Winnipeg.
Discount Everything is available to stream on major platforms such as Bandcamp and Spotify. For more information, follow Bluebloods on Instagram @bluebloodsmusic.
