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FYI

Christina Martin: Always Reminding

The acclaimed Nova Scotian singer/songwriter has just released a new album. This single is a shiny modern pop gem, featuring pure vocals, sharp production, and reflective lyrics. The colourful video is the icing on the cake.

Christina Martin: Always Reminding

By Kerry Doole

Christina Martin: “Always Reminding” (Come Undone Records/Acronym): This award-winning Nova Scotian singer/songwriter released her latest album, Impossible To Hold, on Friday, and this new single is now gaining traction.


Martin's musical persona has always been impossible to pigeonhole, as it has drawn upon rock and Americana elements. "Always Reminding" further expands her horizon, as it is a sleek modern pop tune. Her pure signature vocals are placed atop an insistent beat and a meshing of guitar and keyboard sounds, while the lyrics dig deep.

Her chief musical collaborator, Dale Murray (ex Cuff The Duke), handles the production duties with finesse, while the eye-catching video is directed by Toronto filmmaker Ryan Thompson (Fast Romantics, Sun K).

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Of the album, Martin says in a press release “There was little concern for following any style or trend in writing and recording these new songs.  My commitment was to honour the direction the songs were leading me in. There were dark moments in the process, but I showed up each day to work, and hoped it would all come together.”

Another cut from the album, “Lungs Are Burning” (a co-write with Murray), was released last summer in response to the growing Fentanyl drug crisis in Canada. As further confirmation of Martin's strong social conscience, her just-announced Canadian tour dates will be in support of CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). 

Martin is currently playing shows in Germany and will tour extensively in the Maritimes, April 20 to June 10, as well as playing Canadian Music Week in Toronto in early May. Itinerary here. Read an earlier FYI Five Questions feature here

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Bill Gilliland

Bill Gilliland

FYI

Obituaries: Toronto Record Label Pioneer Bill Gilliland, Global Music Trailblazer Dan Storper of Putumayo

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Sugar Hill Records owner Barry Poss, and top U.S. booking agent Dave Shapiro and former drummer Daniel Williams, who both died in a tragic plane crash.

Bill (William) Gilliland, a Toronto record label head, producer and music entrepreneur, died on May 17, at age 88.

An official death notice called him "a visionary force in Canadian music. A true architect of the country’s music landscape, Bill’s career spanned more than four decades, shaping the sounds of generations and launching the careers of many iconic artists."

Gilliland first made a mark with Arc Records, a subsidiary of Arc Sound Company Ltd. that was established in Toronto in 1958 by Philip G. Anderson. Gilliland and Anderson co-founded Arc Records in 1959 and purchased the Precision Pressing Co. in 1961. Under the direction of Anderson, its president, and vice president Gilliland, Arc Records entered into a contract with US Hit Records and released a series of pop singles albums under the name Hit Parade (1963–64) that specialized in regional artists and tribute albums.

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