Inside The Artist's Studio

On this episode of Inside the Artist’s Studio, Sean talks to Cassia Hardy, bandleader and songwriter for Wares. The band is coming off a big year, which included the release of their second album, Survival , and the absolutely glowing reception it has received nationwide, including a place on the Polaris Prize long-list. Sean and Cassia talk about her journey from starting out playing opens stages...

On this episode of “Inside the Artist’s Studio”, Sean talks to Edmonton singer-songwriter Marlaena Moore, whose latest record “Pay Attention, Be Amazed!” came out just as the world was being indefinitely put on ice near the end of March. Marlaena joins the show over the phone from Calgary, where she’s been busy demoing new songs, spending lots of time outside, and learning to drive stick. After ac...

Welcome back to our very first, post-hiatus, episode of Inside the Artists studio, where Sean Newton talks with, none other than, Cups N Cakes Network founder, Jeff MacCallum. As of this episode, Sean is taking over this show from Jeff, and so you’ll notice all kinds of changes to the format as we start posting episodes with Edmonton music scene luminaries, from Bad Buddy to Wares to Aladean Khero...

The world is a very different place from when this interview took place. Today we are releasing a conversation Jeff had back in June 2019 with Saskatoon duo, The FAPS. The interview was conducted during Sled Island of that year and was held all this time to be a promo tool for the 2020 edition of the festival. Sadly we know that the Sled has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic but we ar...

Partner is a two-piece band comprised of Josée Caron and Lucy Niles who are known for their straight ahead rock anthems peppered with hilarious stories. They exploded onto the Canadian music scene in 2015 with a track called “The Ellen Page”, the music video featured footage of Ellen Page dancing and went viral after being shared by miss Page herself. After that they continued to amaze when their...

Today, we’re happy to share the very last interview from the Winterruption Festival that took place in Edmonton at the end of January. Graham Wright, known for his work as the keyboard player in Tokyo Police Club, was bringing his new project Girlfriend Material through town on their first tour to celebrate the release of their album Cool Car in 2019. Girlfriend Material features members of Tokyo...

On this episode of Inside the Artists Studio, Sean talks to Steve from Nature Of about the band’s brand new LP “The Mean”. The record was recorded right here in Edmonton at MacEwan University’s new recording studios at Allard Hall, and the interview took place in a classroom just a few doors down from where they laid down most of the bed tracks for the album. They cover the process of making the r...

This past January, Sean caught up with Jennifer Castle in the basement of Edmonton’s Freemason Hall before her performance at the inaugural Winterruption music festival. They discussed her 2018 album, “Angels Of Death”, her home in Ontario, and her unique process of semi-improvisational song writing. Sean put her through the rapid fire and we learn about her love of potatoes chips and how much you...

Sean spoke to Hannah Epperson the afternoon before her performance at Winterruption this past January. Hannah’s live show is an ethereal experience, assembled piece by piece with her fiddle, a loop pedal, and her own voice. These live experiences are reflected in her two records, in which one half of the songs are constructed true to her live show, while the other half are the same songs, but reim...

During the most frigid week imaginable in Edmonton, Daniel Romano rolled into town on tour with Ancient Shapes. The mercury dropped to -40C and the wind chill brought the temperature down to -50C but inside the Rec Room it was nice and warm as Jeff sat down to chat with one of Canada’s most respected artists. From Attack In Black, to his solo work, to Ancient Shapes, they discussed his many projec...

Near the end of 2019, Sean Newton sat down to talk with Clayton Linthicum of Kacy & Clayton on their stop in Edmonton during a particularly heavy snowfall. Kacy Anderson was recovering from a neck injury sustained in Calgary the evening before, so Sean and Clayton sat down in a cramped office at the Starlite Room to talk about the great province of Saskatchewan, accordion jams, and curling. Re...

Sean got the chance to talk to Will, Matt, and Chris from Saskatoon indie-trio Close Talker before their show in Edmonton at the end of November. They met up at The Aviary, and chatted over coffees in the green room about their extraordinary silent, 3D, binaural headphone tour that happened in support of their latest record How Do We Stay Here?. They’re back to just a regular tour now, and the b...

Dany Laj has been championing rock n roll for years with incredible power-pop that gets an audience moving. Alongside his band, The Looks, Laj has toured relentlessly across North America and Europe. This rigorous dedicated to the road has given the band opportunities to meet some amazing people which can sometimes lead to future projects. One such occasion led to their latest album being produced...

Chastity’s sophomore album came out this past September, just in time for the Canadian federal election, as the band’s frontman Brandon Williams notes in this interview. It’s a deeply political record and host, Sean Newton gets Williams talking about growing up in the suburbs in Whitby, Ontario, and how that has informed his politics and his songwriting. The rapidfire isn’t so rapid this time arou...

Sean got the chance to sit down with Cups N Cakes favourites Shirley & the Pyramids in Calgary at this year’s Sled Island Festival. Their last album “Pure Pain” was a Pick Of The Week when it came out in June 2018, and we’re excited to debut a new song called “Neverdie” from their forthcoming EP at the end of this episode. The new EP is the first the band has recorded with their live lineup in...

Natural Sympathies is the solo project from Regina’s Amber Goodwyn. Under this name, Goodwyn has been picking up steam across the prairies with her ultra-fun live show that incorporates dancers and projections alongside electro-pop perfection. This past June, Jeff was joined by Goodwyn to discuss Natural Sympathies debut album “Porous”, an accompanying film version of the record, and the music sce...

Motherhood is a self-described “trio of deep thinking rippers” from Fredericton, New Brunswick and in March they released one of 2019’s best albums entitled, “Dear Bongo”. Sean Newton met up with them at Sled Island 2019 to discuss its loose conceptual structure and the ingenious way they recycle and reuse hooks and narrative threads throughout the record. After talking about the release, Sean alm...

Jeff sits down to talk with Edmonton’s Jim Cuming who makes music under the name Jom Comyn. Cuming talks about his brand new album “Crawl”, which was produced by Chris Dadge. The two also discuss the studio dynamic Cuming had with Chris Dadge while making the album, the slew of guests on the album, and what it’s like to tour Japan. After all that good stuff, Cuming takes on the rapid-fire and we l...

Vancouver’s Dumb have been pumping out albums at a break neck speed for the past 4 years. Their latest release, Club Nites , came out on Mint Records this past June, and is an exploration into the ups and downs of the late-night party life. At Sled Island 2019, Jeff met up with the whole band at their hotel to discuss their new record, their relationship with Mint, and their future plans before di...

Jeff tracked down Montreal band LAPS for a conversation at Sled Island 2019. The band consists of Heather, Tate, and Scott who join Jeff to discuss their incredible debut album, “Soon Not Often In It” (a former Pick Of The Week), and how Sled Island actually inspired the bands formation. They also paint a picture of the music scene in Fredericton (which is the city where the band formed), before r...

Bridal Party’s new album Too Much is one of Sean’s favourite records of 2019 (and it hasn’t even come out yet!); he got the chance to listen to the record before doing this interview at Sled Island 2019. It’s a record where every song is supernaturally likeable; they all twist and turn in a way that’s danceable, unexpected, and completely inevitable. The interview was conducted in a barely furnish...

Astral Swans is a solo project from Calgarian, Matthew Swann whose previous endeavours include Hot Little Rocket, Extra Happy Ghost!! and GOLD. The music he plays as Astral Swans, combines folk leanings with experimental tendencies and swirls them into an indie style that is utterly unique to this project. Alongside the music’s distinct sound is a lyrical depth that has gotten him noticed around t...

Jeff sits down with Contra and Eboshi from Cartel Madras to discuss an immense amount of things kicking off for this hip-hop duo. The two discuss the evolution of their sound, the story behind their signing to SubPop Records (thanks to a show at Sled Island 2018), their plans to break into the Indian music market and the mystery behind the music video for “Eric Andre”. They also discuss their love...

Jeff sits down with Snake River’s principal songwriter Christopher Sleightholm at the 2019 Sled Island Music Festival. His Regina based band makes psychedelic garage rock a cut above their peers. They’ve been at it for over seven years and have released five full length albums and one EP. The narrative for most the records revolves around Reginald McKruski and his wife Jeanie McFeven-McKruski in t...

Joe Vickers came up in the Edmonton music scene busking around town in the early 2000’s before forming one of the cities most beloved bands called Audio Rocketry. Audio Rocketry fused punk and folk together into songs that became instant classics, their music is as equally great for foot stompin’ as it is for moshing. Although they are still an active band, members live in different cities, includ...