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FYI

Prism Prize Eligible Video:  Pleasure Craft - Work It Out (Ft. Mingjia)

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that were eligible for the Prize, including this one from Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Sam Lewis.

Prism Prize Eligible Video:  Pleasure Craft - Work It Out (Ft. Mingjia)

By External Source

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that were eligible for the Prize, including this one from Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Sam Lewis.


Pleasure Craft - Work It Out (Ft. Mingjia)

Pleasure Craft was created in 2017 from the mind of Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Sam Lewis, after moving to the big city from British Columbia to study as a trumpet major at Humber College. 

Lewis takes the opportunity of Pleasure Craft to move between 80s yacht rock, new wave, and unusual synth-pop. His music speaks to issues like addiction and how masculinity is perceived in today’s society, drawing on inspiration from his own struggles with mental illness. 

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His video for Work it Out (the single off his latest release, EP2 ) was directed by Shawn Kosmo and features Mingjia speaking to the same issues that stay true to him. There are two prominent colours displayed in the video; beige and red. The colours are interchangeable to the lyrics being sung in the background. Switching between calming and electric movements, they aren’t just randomly selected, but are meant to symbolize the "strained, aggressive presentation of self" and the "suppressed inner conflict trying to escape."

Video directed by Shawn Kosmo 

Lighting by Lewis Caunter

Music by Sam Lewis and Mingjia Chen

Mixed by Alan Han

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Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​
FYI

Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​

The man behind one of Canada's most successful indie labels talks about the late-blooming success of French-language streaming record-holder Patrick Watson, why he builds long-term relationships with artists, and why it's important for the indie sector to work together.

Justin West is a leader and advocate in Canada’s independent music scene, but he didn’t plan it out that way. When he started his record label Secret City Records in Montreal in the mid-2000s, it was out of necessity. He had met an artist he loved and wanted to build a career with, and the label was a means to do it. That artist was Patrick Watson, and 20 years later he — and Secret City — are more successful than ever.

West — a multiple time Billboard Canada Power Player – leads one of the biggest indie labels in Canada while also advocating for the sector on multiple boards both locally and internationally. When we speak to him for this Executive of the Week interview, he’s just returned from Banff for the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, and is a central figure in discussions around the Online Streaming Act and collective negotiations with online streaming platforms.

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