The Sound Affect

Canada's legendary hip hop star Shad joins us for the second time to discuss his new record "Start Anew" and the influence of English singer-songwriter Cleo Sol. A mixture of Neo-soul, R&B, with strong influences from jazz, reggae, and Motown, her second full-length studio album "Mother", explores themes of motherhood, gratitude, and complicated family dynamics.

On the dawn of his latest album,  Last Dance at the E Room , Toronto troubadour John Borra joins the Sound Affect to talk about Toronto, post punk, and The Waterboy's seminal classic "This is the Sea". Released in  September 1985,  This Is the Sea  is the third studio album by the  Waterboys .  It’s widely considered their breakthrough record and the pinnacle of their long and distin...

Montreal's Mooch pick the stoner-rock/Desert Rock classic "Welcome to Sky Valley" by Kyuss! Despite breaking up in 1995 Kyuss impacted the 1990s musical landscape in so many ways. " Welcome to Sky Valley" , Kyuss’ third studio album demonstrates a much more psychedelic and mature sound that has influenced a slew of bands including Black Thorne Productions recording artist M...

CLEM LEEK is a British born musician and composer, hailing from Kent, England. He studied performing arts and composition. For the last 10 years, he has produced music professionally for general release, film, TV and is a seasoned performer. His modern classical and ambient soundscapes take inspiration from his surroundings and the experiences that have shaped his life. However, they also take ins...

Gavin McLeod is a 22-year-singer-songwriter from Milton Ontario. Gavin’s raw guitar-based sound is rooted in classic rock and blues as well as the modern sounds of Sam Fender and James Bay, but is - obviously - also influenced by the sounds of Neil Young. He joined the Sound Affect to talk about the impact of Neil's 1974 On the Beach , his fifth studio album and the second in his so-called &qu...

Toronto's legendary Change of Heart are back baby! After 27 years, the members of the post-Smile line-up of the band have a new album,  In the Wreckage,  and are hosting two shows at the end of the month in Toronto! To celebrate this, bassist/lyricist Rob Taylor and Guitarist/Singer Ian Blurton joined us to discuss one of their early influences, The Days of Wine and Roses by California's The Dream...

Kitchener's I, the Mountain, pick an album by their kindred souls, Toronto's The Strumbellas. Formed in 2009, they soon picked up residencies at legendary Toronto clubs like The Cameron House and The Horseshoe Tavern before releasing their debut album My Father and the Hunter . They then  signed with Six Shooter records and brought on The Lumineers’ producer Ryan Hadlock to make their soph...

25 years ago, the Toronto and Canadian music landscape was turned on its ear with the release of The Russian Futurists’ internationally acclaimed debut, The Method of Modern Love. The album is an unabashed confession of romance built on a bedrock of thrift-store toy keyboards and cheap guitars recorded on a porta studio. The Method of Modern Love won fans in R.E.M's Peter Buck, former Blur guitari...

We at the Sound Affect hope you had a wonderful 2024 and we wish you a great 2025! This episode lists some of of our faves of the year!

In the early days of the new millenium Toronto was alive with new innovative music. This new indie music revolution was spearheaded by one band in particular: Broken Social Scene. And, now, almost 25 years after it began, they are the subject of a documentary. Stephen Chung's IT'S ALL GONNA BREAK unearths the intimate behind-the-scenes footage that shows the creation of Canada's indie-darlings of...

NRTHRN is the solo project of composer and producer Felipe Elioenay. He started playing hardcore in 2002 in his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His ever-evolving music style explores the Cinematic powers of the Guitar. His love of Post-Rock music stems from his first listen to San Marcos, Texas band This Will Destroy You and their debut album Young Mountain.

Hello! We have been on a summer hiatus but are returning with an amazing episode featuring Kingston, Ontario's The Meringues' picking The Hives' Tyronnosaurus Hives. The Meringues have a new album out on September 16th and their live show is something to behold! So, listen to the podcast. Then listen to The Meringues and The Hives. Then go see them and support indie music!

The Flaming Lips have established themselves as one of the most important alternative acts of the 21st Century! So, why did it take us until season 4 to finally discuss them and their album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots ? Mindblowing! Alas, here we are... Ottawa's Lives Like Skyscrapers have a lush sound that is full of layering and powerful musicianship. Their debuted album At Dawn We Said...

Toronto's The Anti-Queens have just released their latest album, Disenchanted on Stomp Records! Their heavy punk is a perfect blend of pop mastery and gritty aggression! And, as you will learn in this episode, they come by it naturally! Lead vocalist and guitarist Emily Bones and lead guitarist Valerie Knox join us to talk about Brody Dalle and the Distillers and the impact of her on their sou...

Who's up for the summer festivals...oh my back.

2024 marks the 20th and 30th anniversary of many iconic Canadian records. Today we are going to look back at one such record: Thrush Hermit’s debut EP Smart Bomb. As the Halifax music scene was beginning to surge 4 very young men came onto the scene with a penchant for pop and classic rock. Smart Bomb i nstantly made young music fans pay attention, and over the next five years, Thrush Hermit would...

Sometimes we cut things out of the podcast that should really be heard. Here's what Jaguar Sun had to say about his excellent version of For What It's Worth.

Well, now for something completely different. The charming country sounds of Spencer Burton obviously have some country and folk influences, but on the making of his latest record, North Wind, Spencer found his biggest inspiration was nature. Secluded in northern Ontario, Burton tapped into the world around him and created a stunning album of elegant wonder.

Because you know you've been waiting.

Seattle, Chicago, and Vancouver combined to create Autogramm. A pure power-pop masterclass, their new album "Music That Humans Can Play" brings their love of everything 80's to an epic crescendo! In this episode, Autogramm's Lars Von Seattle joins us to chat about hometown Seattle heros The Heats and their debut album "Have an Idea".

Kitchener's Rachel Hickey kicks Dave and Tom out of their comfort zone and sends them flying all the way back to 1997's where they will revisit the absolutely massive hit album Come on Over by the pride of Timmin's Shania Twain. Don't know Rachel HIckey? Check her out wherever you get your music. Or, better yet, catch her live on Saturday, November 18th at Quinn's in Ottawa, or...

Toronto's electro-pop-rock band Rise Carmine have a slew of influences, but for lead singer and guitarist Liam Colbert one stands above the rest: Radiohead's The Bends.

This summer, we have seen the passing of several legendary musicians. We want to take a few minutes in this pop-up episode to look on the music of two of these legends: Sinead O'Connor and Robbie Robertson. Take some time and wander with us down this "crazy river" as we look back on "the last days of our acquaintance" with Sinead and Robbie.

 Matt Rhode is the bassist for Vancouver’s progressive-indie band Bend Sinister. Their latest single Price You Pay and Hot City, was released on July 14th, 2023 and they are currently working on their next album release in early 2024. And, when we asked Matt what album he wanted to chat about he answered Styx's Paradise Theatre . Yup. Styx baby! So, hop about the Sound Affect time machine to t...

WOW, it's our 50th episode! Kilometre Club’s Daniel Field describes himself as someone “who has entirely too much time on his hands”. However, this abundance of time has allowed him to create some of the most interesting ambient and electronic music coming out of Canada. Fields joins us to discuss his love for Hayden's 1998 album The Closer You Get .