Chastity, ‘Suffer Summer’ — 4.5/5 stars
Suffer Summer is an album largely about happiness, but one that looks from the outside of happiness, wondering why it’s just out of reach.
Arts & Culture
An innovative new space for community theatre
On the corner of Ellice Avenue and Sherbrook Street stands a building with a long history in entertainment, from which a new theatre company called the Gargoyle Theatre is emerging. Its inaugural play Sonja and Richard, written by Steven Ratzlaff and directed by Bill Kerr, will be presented next month.
A feathery mental health exercise for weary times
Birding, also colloquially known as birdwatching, is a fun activity that can easily be taken on by the most novice of enthusiasts. In fact, it can be done from the comfort of a dorm room, so long as there is a window and a bit of greenery to look at.
The courage it takes to change worlds
Music has been always been a part of Raine Hamilton’s life. They began violin at a young age and were inspired by an early appearance by Yo-Yo Ma on Sesame Street to make music their lifelong pursuit.
Ruby Singh, ‘Vox.Infold’ — 4/5 stars
Ruby Singh’s new album, Vox.Infold, is a truly immersive, exciting experience. With lofty ideas, wildly experimental composition, intricate mixing and unexpected digital processing, Singh has crafted something fresh and vital.
Mother of all ‘Tongues’
Art is, of itself, an intersection. Lyrics of poetry come from songs past, evoking powerful imaginings of stories told. One of the current artists who understands this deep connection intersecting art, life, myth and tradition is award-winning Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq. An emotional powerhouse of womanhood, motherhood, community, reclamation and embracing your roots, Tongues may be Tagaq’s best album to date.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland, ‘Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined’ — 4/5 stars
Since being dug up from the crates, Keyboard Fantasies has been endlessly namechecked and lauded by contemporary tastemakers. This late-in-the-game rediscovery of Copeland’s spectral, spiritual music has now produced a full album of covers and remixes, Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined.
Laurie Fischer — ‘Musings on a Life Well Lived’
Since the release of his first collection, Fischer’s continued writing practice is now another way he hopes to give back to others while processing his own experiences simultaneously. He hopes that Musings on a Life Well Lived will “inspire, encourage, uplift and motivate” his readers.
Prolific local historian on Winnipeg’s musical past
Winnipegger John Einarson has had an illustrious career documenting the careers of rock and folk legends like Neil Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Beyond chronicling these legends, his work has maintained a focus on Winnipeg’s unique music scene — one that he was a part of in the ’60s and ’70s, performing with giants like Randy Bachman and Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention. Einarson’s book Shakin’ All Over: The Winnipeg Sixties Rock Scene saw some success in detailing the scene that produced breakout stars like the Guess Who and Neil Young.
One man’s quest for clean oceans
The equivalent of one truckload of garbage is dumped into the ocean every minute. Currently, plastic can be found in 80 per cent of seabirds and it is estimated by the year 2050 plastic will be found in 99 per cent of them. With statistics this staggering, the award-winning documentary Hell or Clean Water is a much-needed alarm bell for the future of the planet’s health.