View the full issue here.

On the cover this month are Dandilion Wind Opaine (aka Dandi Wind) and Marta Jaciubek-McKeever of Vancouver’s own Fan Death. Their names may be a copyeditor’s worst nightmare but their music is a dancefloor’s wet dream. Dandi, with Dandi Wind, and Marta, with Girl Nobody and esl, have been making great music in this city since forever. But some things are too good to be kept secret. With music that is a synth-laden, disco delight, a must-see live show, some extremely stylish and fun music videos, a remix of “Veronica’s Veil” by global tastemaker Erol Alkan and an opening slot on Vampire Weekend’s UK tour, Fan Death are set to explode.

Watch out for their debut EP, A Coin For The Well, coming out on Last Gang Records at the end February and their full-length, Womb of Dreams, which is due this May.

[www.fan-death.com]

Flip through the issue and see a few Fan Death videos after the jump
(more…)

View the full issue here.

On the cover this issue is England’s Band of Skulls. Band of Skulls have finally put the let’s-name-our-album-four-words-that-have-something-slightly-similar- in-common idea to rest, mostly because Baby Darling Dollface Honey cannot be topped (sorry The Dudes and Gwen Stefani). At its best, the album wakes up the listener’s sleeping love for Elephant-era White Stripes, with added panache that only the English can provide. The best moments on the album may be the call and response, lady/man vocals between bassist Emma Richardson and Guitarist Russell Marsden. Add a backbone of Matt Hayward on drums and you’re left with a nearly perfect bar band. Oh, and if by the time this issue comes out, you’re not tired of teenaged vampires (AKA “The New Pirates”) slutting around and viciously emo-ing the shit out of each other, Band of Skulls are featured on the soundtrack for the next Twilight movie, New Moon.

Also in this issue are interviews with Annie, Tim Barber, Brian Donnelly, Sondre Lerche and Monontonix.

Check out some video footage of our cover shoot with Band of Skulls after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here or right click to download.

On the cover this month is Karin Dreijer Andersson. Though her name may not roll off your tongue, you probably more familiar with her as one half of The Knife (the other have is her brother Olof Dreijer) or as a solo artist performing under the moniker Fever Ray. Fever Ray’s debut album came out in March. With its emotive, creepy and haunting electronic soundscapes, it’s easily one of the top albums of the year.

Hailing from Sweden, Karin is yet another exapmle that the Swedes are making some of the best music on the planet. We love her so much, we had to go all the way to Gothenburg to shoot her for our cover. A normally reclusive Karin made time for us before a sold-out show and did not disappoint, arriving for the shoot looking part Japanese Kabuki performer, part Norwegian Black Metal rocker. As insane as she looked, she was somehow able to pull it off effortlessly and it seems totally appropriate.

Fever Ray’s self-titled debut is out now. Check out the ridiculously amazing videos for ‘When I Grow Up’, ‘Seven’ and ‘If I Had a Heart’ after the jump.
(more…)

There are a lot of reasons not to like Lissy Trullie. She’s from New York. She’s an extremely pretty model who oozes cool from every pore of her flawless skin. And, on the surface, it may seem like there’s more hype than substance to her band, given that they only have an EP under their belt and it includes a Hot Chip cover, our Music Editor’s most hated band. To make matters worse, she’s also incredibly funny and friendly (she even had the gall to say “hello” to a random passerby as we sat down for a quick interview).
(more…)

On the cover this month is Patrick Wolf. Hailing from London, Patrick is as charming and friendly as he is talented. This is saying a lot because he can play about 30 instruments and puts on an amazing live show. It’s impossible to pigeonhole Patrick to a single style of music as he plays as many genres as he does instruments. He’s comfortable rockin’ with a ukulele, getting the dancefloor moving with a viola, or crooning a ballad while playing a piano. Think of him as a modern day Prince but not as weird and slightly less flamboyant. Patrick’s fourth studio album, The Bachelor, is a melodramatic and genre hopping experience that shows this lad has a long and eclectic career in music ahead of him. In fact, it’s not hard to imagine that one day he’ll compose a rock opera with puppets like Jason Segel did in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

View the full issue here. or right click to download
(more…)

Alain Macklovitch, aka A-TRAK, bridges the gap between this and that. He is a bridger of gaps. Turntable battlefield champion, Singaporean super-club sweatmaster, Dirty South Dance Party architect, Kanye’s tour DJ, record label executive; no sweat. A-TRAK has been blowing minds and ringing heads for well over a decade, since he became the youngest and first Canadian to win the DMC World DJ Championship in 1997. In recent years his Fool’s Gold label has represented some of the best in dance, featuring releases from the likes of Kid Sister, Kavinsky, and Jokers of the Scene.Mr. A has been known throughout his career for his ability to wow crate heads and shake rumps alike, and his latest mix, Infinity +1delivers on all fronts. Plus, he might just be the only white Canadian DJ to decline a tour gig with Jay-Z. Come to think of it, he might be the only white Canadian DJ to get asked in the first place. Fool’s gold? Nah, this guy is the real thing.

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

A-Trak’s newest mix CD Infinity+1 is out now on Thrive Records.Download it from iTunes here.

Fool’s Gold Records

Flip through this issue after the jump.
(more…)

On the cover this month are Isis and Grahm Zilla, aka Thunderheist. This dance-rap duo from Montreal just released their first full-length on Big Dada, but they’ve been killing it on the blogs and in the clubs for ages with a sound that reminds us of a disco-fied Missy Elliot. We don’t like to throw out hyperboles too often around here but blowin’ the fuck up is all you can really say about them. Their new album is phenomenally danceable in a club, your apartment, the bus, with a mouse, in a house, there or anywhere. They’ve played festivals and shows around the world and one of their most recent stops was in Hollywood, where Isis appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show with MSTRKRFT and rap legend N.O.R.E. Sure they’re a Canadian band, but at the rate things are going for them, they may actually be able to afford Patron and then pop it like Isis commands in their song “Cruise Low.” Until then, they’ll have to settle for Cuervo.

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Thunderheist’s self-titled debut is out now on Big Dada. Download it from iTunes here.

www.thunderheist.com

Check out the full issue here.
(more…)

On our cover this month is Lykke Li. When her debut, Youth Novels, dropped last year, it was met with critical praise, peppered with the predictable comparisons all talented female musicians who are a little bit weird get. Bjork-ish, Feist-y, M.I.A.-esque. However you want to describe her, at the young age of 22, this Swedish singer is a woman who knows herself and knows what she wants. When we met up with Lykke before her sold-out show, this quickly became apparent. We arrived with an amazing wardrobe that would make any girl weep. She then told us that she “usually styles herself.” A compromise was reached and it was time to shoot. Not only did she not require any direction, she was involved in the shoot and was always keeping a watchful eye on the test shots that kept popping up on the nearby laptop. The pretty charm on the end of her necklace is actually a kazoo, or as she refers to it, “her instrument.” Later that night, before a massive gathering of cute girls at The Commodore, she showed that it’s not only fashionable, but a functional crowd pleaser. Then, just when we thought we had Lykke Li figured out, she got down to Lil Wayne and then launched into a mean cover of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?” Quirky indeed.

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Youth Novels is out now on Warner and you can also hear her on Royksopp’s latest album Junior. Check her out in our fashion editorial this month.
www.lykkeli.com

Check out this issue after the jump.
(more…)

On our cover this month is Circlesquare. Currently a resident of Berlin by way of Vancouver, he made time for us while in town shooting a music video for his latest album Songs About Dancing and Drugs. He certainly knows about dancing. Circlesquare produces ethereal electronic soundscapes that are enjoyed on dancefloors around the world and he’s also been known to DJ the occasional ION party. As for drugs? Well he knows about that too. Not only an accomplished musician, Circlesquare lives a dual life as Jeremy Shaw, an extremely successful and subversive artist. One of his more noteworthy stunts involved drugging his friends with DMT, a powerful hallucinogen your brain releases when you’re born and when you die, then recording the results for an 8-monitor installation. This has been shown in major art centres around the world (he offers this tip if you’re wondering where you can purchase DMT from, “Drug dealers.”). 2009 is going to be a busy year for Circlesquare as he’ll be touring the eastcoast, Europe and Japan. On the gallery side of things, he’ll be taking part in a year-long public poster project for the Olympics which resurrects old imagery from Expo 86.

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Songs About Dancing And Drugs is out now and is reviewed on page 44 in this issue or here online.

www.songsaboutdancinganddrugs.com

Check out his latest video “Dancers” after the jump.

(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Flick through this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out the full issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Flip through this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out the full issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Flick through this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Flip through this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out this issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out the full edition after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Check out the full issue after the jump.
(more…)

View the full issue here. or right click to download.

Flick through the full issue after the jump.
(more…)