Music Biz Headlines, May 6, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Inuit performers decry cultural appropriation in upcoming Indigenous Music Awards

With the Arctic vocal art of throat singing's new popularity comes proprietorial issues. Recently, a non-Inuit throat singer (Connie LeGrande, a Canadian Cree who performs under the name Cikwes) earned an IMA nomination, sparking a boycott. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Hip-hop is built for a voice like Haviah Mighty

With her hard-hitting new album 13th Floor, the Brampton MC challenges notions that she’s too dark or too female to succeed in the rap game. – Radheyan Simonpillai, NOW

Alter ego adds ambition for arty B.C. rocker Art d’Ecco

What a difference a wig can make. Not that long ago, the enigmatic West Coast rocker and fashion plate known as Art d’Ecco had resigned himself to the death of his professional music career. The thought of dipping his feet in the music business again was the farthest thing from his mind. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

On Our Radar: Dumb proves anything but as it celebrates a grimy evening of fun in "Club Nites" video

Vancouver's Dumb seem to know something about clubs and the culture that surrounds them. In the video for "Club Nites", off the just-released album of the same name, the quartet covers all the bases. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

Meet the N.S. teenager who sang Blackbird by The Beatles entirely in Mi'kmaq

'Our language is such a beautiful thing and not a lot of people hear it,' says Emma Stevens of Eskasoni. –CBC Radio

Interview: John Southworth returns to his dream world

On his new album Miracle In The Night, the veteran Toronto singer/songwriter reunites with his band the South Seas, which includes the late Justin Haynes. – Michael Rancic, NOW

 Review: What’s old is new again with the SSO

Programming allowed the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra to do something quite rare – they made the Eroica seem fresh to an experienced concert-goer. – Eric Burge, Star-Phoenix

Dizzy singer Katie Munshaw embraces her sensitivity

Growing up in Oshawa, Ontario, she was all-in on sports as a kid, playing rep hockey and excelling at lacrosse and swimming. Today, she’s the frontwoman of the winningly atmospheric, decidedly downtempo quartet Dizzy. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

Jazz crooner Kish, baritone Louwerse win London Music Awards

The late tenor Garnet Brookes is in the Forest City London Music Hall of Fame, and several singers, groups and individual musicians recently gained their awards. – Joe Belanger, London Free Press

Indie Roundup | 11 new tracks to complete your day

Unearthed ‘Getz At The Gate’ augments legacy of jazz great Stan Getz

The show was professionally recorded with a view to possible commercial release but, after those plans were forgotten, the tape sat in the vaults for 58 years. – udiscovermusic

The Cure's 'Disintegration' at 30: Amanda Palmer, Davey Havok, Randy Blythe and more on its impact

There is no other band in pop or rock who is able to master the balance between gloom and radiance quite like The Cure. And when it was released on May 2, 1989, no other album in their canon reflected both the darkness and light of their sound like Disintegration.  – Ron Hart, Billboard

Tribeca film review: ‘Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice’

A portrait of Linda Ronstadt salutes one of the most enthralling pop stars of the 1970s, whose voice soared above the hurly-burly around her. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Edwyn Collins: ‘Everything changed when my stroke happened’

The singer, 59, on bad reviews, the joy of being alive, his new record and birdwatching all day. – James McMahon, The Guardian

 American jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco reunited with rare 'blonde' instrument in Australia after 15 years

When the Grammy-nominated jazz star sold his blonde-coloured Hammond B3 organ over eBay to an Australian bidder in 2003, he had one condition. That it be made available when the Philadelphia-based musician played in Australia. That just happened.  – Bec Whetham, ABC SA

How to succeed on Spotify: A playlisting professional's guide

In theory, streaming should provide all artists with a fair chance of organically building an audience, provided they can game the system. As with any game, however, success depends largely on the skill of the player, and raising your music's profile on a streaming services requires a carefully implemented strategy. –.  James Shotwell, Hypebot

Africa's perfect storm for the music business is coming

Africa – the second-largest continent in the world, made up of 54 separate countries – is not receiving much focus. Yet all the building blocks are being put in place, both in terms of local developments and investment by international music players, to suggest that it will be topping the global music industry’s agenda in the coming years. –  Eamonn Forde, Synchtank