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ASTRAL SWANS' STRANGE PRISON

Matthew Swann is a rarity in the music business in this day and age. Performing under his Astral Swans moniker he crafts thoughtful, introspective songs that contain some pretty powerful themes as well as some pretty powerful hooks. With his newly released sophomore album Strange Prison, Swann has created a set of extremely personal songs that at the same time are instantly relatable to any listener. The album tackles an array of subjects such as mental health issues, trauma, the duality of people and the uniting power of art.

MUSIC PROFILE | JO PASSED

Jo Passed was a band that almost never happened. The project that sprung from the mind of thoughtful Vancouver-based musician Jo Hirabayashi came about after he moved away from his home in Vancouver to the cultured, and much cheaper, climate of Montreal. “I didn’t plan on coming back,” Hirabayashi explains. “I thought I was going to stay out east and create a life for myself.

MUSIC PROFILE | WEAVES

Morgan Waters is just outside of Bloomington, Indiana, driving through the countryside and discussing why, after a solid year of being on the road with his band, Weaves, that they would want to jump right back into more recording and touring. “We accumulated so many great experiences on that last tour but we felt like being creative again,” he explains about the process crafting the new Weaves album Wide Open.

MUSIC PROFILE | THE SEA AND CAKE

General maintenance is on The Sea and Cake frontman/guitarist Sam Prekop's mind when ION reaches him shortly after the Chicago outfit have wrapped a rehearsal. In part, this means the band have been tightening arrangements and locking back into the gentle, jazzy grooves they've been crafting together since the early 90s, and continue to expand upon with Any Day, their first album in six years.

MUSIC PROFILE | PRE NUP

Pre Nup members Josiah and Sara Jean Hughes' online presence is as prolific as it is hilarious. Of the Calgary pop-punk power couple's many highlights, a recent tweet from Sara Jean celebrating Taraji P. Henson's red carpet roasting of Ryan Seacrest was liked a whopping 86 thousand times, including co-signs from Vanity Fair and Roxane Gay.

Why Walking Inanimate Objects On a Leash Is Trending in Tokyo

Of all the imagery I’ve encountered on adventures down the Instagram rabbithole, none has captured my imagination so much as the sight of some guy boarding the Tokyo subway with what appears to be a guinea pig on a leash... wearing a wizard’s pointed hat. My mind reeled with questions about the fuzzy brown creature’s origins and how its owner had managed to leash-train it. Was I to believe that this critter wasn’t at risk of stiletto impalement or being carelessly knocked onto the tracks by frenzied rush hour commuters in the labyrinthine public transit system of Japan’s capital?

MUSIC PROFILE | THE FUNK HUNTERS

Nick Middleton is a man on the go. Leading up to the March 23rd release of his band The Funk Hunter’s debut album Typecast, the in-demand producer is enjoying a moment of respite on Vancouver Island. “I’m just here for a few days before I head over to Vancouver for our record release,” he says. Said record release is a huge milestone for the group. After being a band for the last decade, releasing countless singles, remixes and collaborations with an impressive roster of talent, The Funk Hunters are now finally putting out their debut full length. 

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