Music Biz Headlines, Oct. 29, 2018
Vancouver indie rockers Peach Pit (pictured) are breaking stateside, Renee Fleming voices Julianne Moore, and Scott Storch imparts hip-hop wisdom. Also in the headlines are Jane Bunnett, Michael Buble, Foo Fighters, Matador Ballroom, Sofia Nolin, Marker Starling, Sinead O'Connor, Queen, Spotify, Paul Allen, Robert Plant, Coil, Stax, David Crosby, Kate Bush, Leonard Cohen, Boy George, Barbra Streisand, and Debussy.
By Kerry Doole
Renée Fleming makes Julianne Moore sing like a soprano in Bel Canto
It is fitting that American opera diva Fleming was asked to be the singing voice for Julianne Moore in the new movie Bel Canto. Although novelist Ann Patchett based the character of Roxane Coss on an opera-singing friend, she would play Fleming’s recordings of opera while she was writing. – John Terauds, Toronto Star
Indie breakout kings Peach Pit show many sides while setting sights far beyond the confines of Vancouver
Packed rooms in the US are something the Vancouver quartet has gotten used to since blowing up on the Internet in the spring of 2017. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Five things you missed at Scott Storch's conversation at the Red Bull Music Festival
The infamous hip-hop and pop producer shared some couch wisdom in an in-depth discussion with Cadence Weapon. – Claudia McNeilly, NOW
Fiery energy and spirit
Fate has a habit of steering acclaimed flute and saxophone player Jane Bunnett in unexpected directions. If tendinitis hadn’t forced a break from her intense piano practice regime, for instance, she might not have gone to San Francisco and met Charles Mingus’s pianist, Don Pullen, who would become her mentor, friend and musical collaborator. – Ken Bolton, What's Up Yukon
Michael Bublé tells James Corden he's 'not OK' after his son's cancer battle
Michael Bublé was brought to tears while struggling to discuss his son's cancer battle with James Corden. The "Haven't Met You Yet" singer appears in a special Stand Up to Cancer edition of "Carpool Karaoke," during which he's asked about his son Noah's cancer diagnosis. – eonline
A visit to a new Canadian vinyl record pressing plant
Tucked in an industrial area of Etobicoke, Viryl is not only in the business of pressing records, but they’re also producing new pressing equipment for export worldwide. Viryl is one of just two companies in the world designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art record pressing machines. – Alan Cross, Global News
Foo Fighters show worth the wait
Good rock comes to those who wait …Following the Foo Fighters early September Calgary postponement due to Dave Grohl losing his voice, and subsequently being ordered to vocal rest, the night of nights and one of the year’s most hotly anticipated gigs finally converged upon a rabid crowd at a near-capacity Scotiabank Saddledome. – Gerry Krochak, Calgary Herald
Eleventh-hour plan launched to save Toronto’s historic Matador Ballroom
A group of supporters of the Matador Ballroom believe the historic nightclub can be saved yet and has proposed a community-driven bond purchasing scheme which has helped similar spaces live on in the city. – Rahul Gupta, toronto.com
Sweet recognition for local music biz types
Resident and graphic designer Roberta Landreth received the excellence in visual design award at the Western Canadian Music Awards this year. For Landreth — who also won a Juno in 2015 for her work with musician Steve Bell — the WCMA win is evidence that she’s working in the right industry. – Eva Wasney, Winnipeg Free Press
Safia Nolin talks breakups, style police and fear of the CAQ victory
Her new album, Dans le noir, tackles all kinds of breakups, from romantic to familial to philosophical. – Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette
Hip-hop artists reaching out to youth with winter giveaway and concert
The Allday Music Family gave winter gear bundles of scarves, mittens and toques to the kids at their event at Lions Skate Park on Saturday. – Matt Olson, Star-Phoenix
It's taken 20 years for Marker Starling to be ready to record this song
Fly Away, first written in 1998 for a stage musical, has new resonance after the death of its co-writer, Dennis Frey. Watch the premiere of its new video here. – Richard Trapunski, NOW
International
Spotify doing a Netflix': Is the platform already too big for the labels to stop it?
Investors are betting on a Netflix-like disruptor for the music industry, rather than a junior distribution partner for the labels. And this is where things gets messy. – Mark Mulligan, MBW
Rest In Peace Paul Allen: Friend of music and much more
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen recently passed away, and is remembered as a tech billionaire and noted philanthropist. The Seattle music industry was among the beneficiaries of his generosity, with Allen helping to foster the creative sector. – Chris Castle, Hypebot
Talent and touring
Sinead O’Connor converts to Islam and changes name
The Irish singer, who last year changed her name to Magda Davitt, has renounced Catholicism and converted to Islam. The “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer also noted that she had changed her name to Shuhada’ Davitt. (Shuhada’ means “martyr” or “witness” in Arabic.) – Nardine Saad, LA Times
Singer Jason Isbell explains backing Dems in 2018
Four-time Grammy-winning roots-rocker Isbell is telling his fans that Jesus wouldn't support Donald Trump and is throwing his support behind Democrat Phil Bredesen in Tennessee. – MSNBC
Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” sung in 42 different styles, including Tool, Nirvana, Prince, Kendrick Lamar and more: Watch
Other styles include System of a Down, David Bowie, The Clash, Ghost and more. – CoS
Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters review – rock god reconnects with Celtic roots
The Led Zeppelin frontman tells stories of his time living in Wales but draws sounds from all over the map: Middle Eastern guitars, American blues and techno moods. – Jude Rogers, The Guardian
Magick & Music: Coil’s Drew McDowall explains ritual and the creative process
For the industrial music veteran, the exercise of music making is an extension of his everyday spiritual practice, a routine in which he deconstructs the fibres of everyday life into their most fundamental structures and shapes. – Chloé Lula. Electronic Beats
Secrets of that late-'60s Stax drum sound
Al Jackson Jr. gets much of the credit, and not just for the Stax drum sound but for the overall sound of Stax. It’s been said there would be no Stax without him. As the drummer with Booker T. & The MGs, which was Stax’s house band in the early days, Jackson played with some of the label’s biggest stars. – Phil Hood, Drum
David Crosby still trying to get back to the garden
For people of a certain age, the highlight of David Crosby’s latest album Here If You Listen is a new rendition of “Woodstock.” – Jeremy Gaunt, No Depression
Barbra Streisand: ‘Trump is corrupt and indecent and is assaulting our institutions’
The 76-year-old’s new album is a rebuke to the president – and a startling return to form. Years of misogyny, however, have prepared her for the backlash. – Emma Brockes, The Guardian
Boy George and Culture Club make long-delayed return
The whole band appears in good health, and this 11-track baby has Boy George’s deeper-but-wiser voice while no DNA tests are needed to recognize the contributions of Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Joe Moss. – Pablo Gorondi, AP
Leonard Cohen’s amazing island life, and the New Zealander who documented it
The little-known New Zealand-born novelist Redmond Frankton “Bim” Wallis was on the Greek island of Hydra with the young Canadian. A thinly veiled autobiographical fiction offers an intriguing first-hand account of Cohen on the brink of the international renown that would make him one of the most significant literary and musical figures of the coming decades. – Tanya Dalziell and Paul Genoni, The Spinoff
15 albums to stream now: Robyn, Thom Yorke and more Rolling Stone editors’ picks
We pick the best new albums to stream this week, including Daughters, Say Lou Lou, and Joji. – Rolling Stone
Kate Bush to publish book of lyrics, introduced by David Mitchell
She is famous for incorporating the work of Emily Brontë, James Joyce and Grimm’s fairy tales into her work: now, in December, Kate Bush will publish her first book, a collection of lyrics from across her 40-year career. – Laura Snapes, The Guardian
The Velvet Revolution of Claude Debussy
Debussy’s music was startling but not shocking. He led a velvet revolution, overturning the extant order without upheaval. Bound only lightly to the past, his music floats in time. – Alex Ross, New Yorker
