Kreative Kontrol

Steve Sladkowski plays guitar and sings in a Toronto punk-infused pop band called PUP. Originally called Topanga, PUP changed their name ahead of releasing their first, self-titled debut album, which is out now via Royal Mountain Records. PUP plays Guelph’s Hillside Festival on Saturday July 25. Here, Steve and I discuss staining fences in Toronto, […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/...

Charles Austin lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is one of the best musicians, producers, and people that I know. Austin has played in bands and projects like Neuseiland, the Lodge, Lost Wax Guild, Aqua Alta, and Psychic Fair and has also collaborated with Buck 65 and Al Tuck among others. He first gained prominence […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acas...

Matt Andersen has earned a reputation for being one of the most powerful live soul and rock performers of his generation. The New Brunswick native has released seven albums and toured the world over, quietly gaining an army of loyal fans who gravitate to his rumbling voice, accomplished guitar playing, and vivid lyricism. Though he’s […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontro...

Jeremy Gara and Samir Khan are accomplished musicians who once played together in an Ottawa-based band called Kepler. For a good chunk of their time together, they were associated with a kind of slow-building atmospheric music that made them a nice fit to open for Godspeed You! Black Emperor for example. Their final album felt […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hos...

Nat Baldwin is a talented double-bassist, singer, and songwriter who originally hails from the state of New Hampshire but lives in Maine. Baldwin is a skilled musician who studied with jazz and improvised music giant Anthony Braxton and, for the past decade, he has been a member of the Brooklyn, NY band, Dirty Projectors. In […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hoste...

Julie Doiron is a talented and prolific singer, musician, and songwriter based in Sackville, New Brunswick. She first gained attention in the world-renowned band Eric’s Trip before going solo for a successful and busy trajectory of her own. Over the years she’s worked with many people and contributed to records by Daniel Romano, Mt. Eerie, […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-...

Britt Walford is a world-renowned drummer who lives in Louisville, Kentucky. In the 1980s he played in notable bands like Squirrel Bait, Maurice, and, for a spell, in the Breeders. Walford is best-known though as a founding member of Slint who initially had a short lifespan but whose second LP, 1991’s “Spiderland,” is easily one […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . H...

Hamilton Leithauser is a very talented singer and songwriter who is best known for fronting the acclaimed New York City band, the Walkmen. Last year, the Walkmen announced they’d be taking an extended hiatus after releasing a string of wonderful albums. Before long, members of the band began releasing solo material, including Leithauser. His new […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kre...

Monomyth is a really cool band from Halifax that make a hazy, gritty kind of pop music. Their washed out, psych-rock-tinged new album is called Saturnalia Regalia! and it’s out July 22 via Mint Records. They’re touring through Ontario and Quebec now, with NXNE shows in Toronto on June 18 at the Drake and Handlebar, […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast...

Jello Biafra was the lead singer of the influential punk band Dead Kennedys and has since gone on to do significant work as an actor, spoken word artist, and vocalist, as well as being the head honcho at the still busy and prolific record label, Alternative Tentacles. His first band since he left Dead Kennedys […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast. See...

Born Ruffians are a terrifically sharp indie-rock band whose latest album is called Birthmarks. Released in 2013 via Paper Bag Records, it’s the band’s third record and found them exploring more polished pop production. On Sunday July 27, Born Ruffians are playing the penultimate Main Stage set at the 2014 Hillside Festival so I tracked […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kon...

Friendly Rich is a strange but great man who originally hails from Brampton just outside of Toronto, Ontario. He is a singer, songwriter, educator, impresario, and instigator who has released 10 albums to date, including his latest, Bountiful, which is out on June 24 via the Pumpkin Pie Corporation. Friendly Rich and his band will […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol ....

Brad McInerney is a founding member of the Kazoo! concert series in Guelph. which is celebrating its eighth anniversary with two shows in town this week. On Thursday June 5, the Salt Lick Kids are reuniting to play the Jimmy Jazz with Sackville’s Kappa Chow, while on Friday June 6, Esther Grey, my Shadowy Men […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast. See...

Zaki Ibrahim is a very creative singer and songwriter who splits her time between Toronto and Johannesburg. Over the past decade, she has established herself as one of the most daring and fascinating R&B/electro-pop artists in North America and her heady, sci-fi-infused debut album, Every Opposite, was shortlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize. This […] Support this show http://supporter.acast....

Fucked Up are a really awesome and prolific band from Toronto who make great, smart rock records and do remarkable, community-minded things for people less fortunate than themselves. On June 3, Matador Records is releasing the band’s fourth proper album outside of the thousands of singles and EPs they’ve released over the past 13 years. […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kon...

Culture Reject is the moniker of Michael O’Connell, a talented singer, songwriter, and musician who calls Toronto home. After years in the Guelph band Black Cabbage, O’Connell eventually went solo and has released two full-length albums as Culture Reject, including last year’s Forces. He and his band are playing the Hillside Festival in Guelph this […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/...

Alison Wearing is an author, musician, and theatrical actress based in Stratford Ontario whose first book was the internationally acclaimed travel memoir Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey. Her latest book is another compelling memoir called Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter – Growing Up with a Gay Dad, which she has adapted into an award-winning […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.c...

Steven Lambke is a very talented songwriter, singer, and guitar player who often performs under the name Baby Eagle. A founding member of Constantines, Lambke was raised in Cambridge, Ontario and currently lives in Toronto where he manages the You’ve Changed Records label, which has released music by the likes of Baby Eagle, Attack in […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontr...

Andrew Nathan Hood is a published author who lives in Guelph. He wanted to interview me because he’s working on a book about Jim Guthrie for Invisible Publishing’s Bibliophonic series and so I said “sure.” For this 100th episode of the show, I present Andrew prying into my life by asking me about why we’re doing […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast. S...

Brian McMahan is a singer and guitarist from Louisville, Kentucky who has played with Squirrel Bait, Palace Brothers, the For Carnation, and perhaps most notably in Slint. This past April, Touch and Go Records reissued Slint’s second album, the masterful 1991 release, “Spiderland.” The new limited edition is a massive box set and includes: a […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreativ...

Owen Pallett is a tremendously gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer who currently lives in Montreal. Pallett was initially acclaimed for his string arrangements for artists like Jim Guthrie, Arcade Fire, Fucked Up, and many others and, particularly when he lived there, he was viewed as a true leader and champion of Toronto’s underground arts community. […] Support this show http://su...

Braids is an excellent, art-y rock band from Montreal featuring Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts, and Taylor Smith. Originally from Calgary, Braids is a close-knit group whose first album, Native Speaker, was excellent and short-listed for Canada’s Polaris Music Prize (previous winners include Karkwa). Their latest album is 2013’s Flourish // Perish, which is obtainable via […] Support thi...

Nathan Lawr is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who lives in Guelph. Over the past 20 years, Lawr has been a go-to drummer for people like Jim Guthrie, King Cobb Steelie, Royal City, FemBots, Bry Webb, and more. When he emerged as a folk-pop songwriter in his own right about 10 years ago, Lawr’s love […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast...

São Paulo Underground is a cultural and stylistic collision between electronica, tropicalia, avant garde jazz, and punk, featuring Chicago Underground Duo’s Rob Mazurek on cornet, harmonium and various effects, and São Paulo’s Guilherme Granado on keyboards, synths, sampler and vocals, and Mauricio Takara on percussion, cavaquinho and electronics. All three men were in town last […] Support this s...

David Heti is a very funny comedian who once lived in Toronto and New York City and has just released his very first stand-up special, the intellectually stimulating and wickedly dark, It was ok, which is available now via davidheti.com. Last week David and I met for a chat at Sushi on Bloor in Toronto where […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol . Hosted on Acast. See a...