Schulich Release Radar: April-August 2020

Summer releases from our talented community to add to your playlists.

We're back with a summer’s worth of great music that’s been composed, performed, recorded, and mastered by our talented community.

The brightly coloured album cover of Paradise

Paradise – Nicole Arrage

Released June 7, 2020

Paradise is the latest single by 2020 remote graduate Nicole Arrage and includes the talents of Simon Brosseau (BMus’20) on keyboard, Carl Mayotte (MMus ’19) on bass, Olivier Guertin (BMus’19) on drums, Hugo Leclerc (BMus’19) on saxophone, and Colin Lloyd (BMus’17) on trombone, among others. The single is also recorded by recent Eleanor Stubley Recording Prize winner Omar Miranda (MMus '21) and mastered by Jonathan Kaspy (BMus ‘17). In this song about young summer love, Nicole’s passion for soul/pop music is evident via her catchy melody, luminescent vocals and funky horn lines.

Watch Nicole’s vibrant lyric video below.

 

Members of the Claire Devlin Quartet standing in a snowy Old Montreal

Anyone – Claire Devlin Quartet

Released July 2020

Anyone is the debut album of The Claire Devlin Quartet. The album includes Roman Munoz (BMus’18) on guitar, Mathieu McConnell-Enright (BMus’16, MMus’18) on bass, John Buck (BMus’18) on drums, and Sarah Rossy (BMus’17, MMus’19) on vocals. The album is also mixed by Schulich’s Noëlle Byer (MMus’20) and mastered by Jonathan Kaspy (BMus ‘17). Adventurous yet lyrical, Claire Devlin’s (BMus’16, MMus’20) strong compositional voice unites this group of talented improvisers into a cohesive unit. Each musician plays with a selfless dedication to her weaving melodies and intricate rhythms.

Watch a mini documentary on the Claire Devlin Quartet below.

 

The album cover of Songs You Like A Lot

Songs You Like a Lot – John Hollenbeck (Flexatonic Records)

Released August 14, 2020

Songs You Like a Lot is Prof John Hollenbeck’s third and final album in the Songs trilogy and differs from its predecessors in that the songs were chosen from a long slate of listener-nominated candidates. The album also includes “Kindness,” an original composition that was premiered and workshopped in a small group version by the 2018-2019 “McClaudia” combo with Sarah Rossy (BMus’17, MMus’19), Claire Devlin (BMus’16, MMus’20), Cole Birney-Stewart (BMus’14, MMus’19), and David Ryshpan (BMus’09, MMus’19). In the album Prof. Hollenbeck reunites with longtime collaborators Kate McGarry and Theo Bleckmann, whose sonorous, expressive voices breathe life into every arrangement.

HouseFly's album cover

Linearity - Housefly (Kids From The Underground)

Released June 5, 2020

Linearity, the debut album of Housefly is a collection of songs Cedric de Saint-Rome (BMus ‘22) has composed since late 2019. In the album, Housefly blends his classical and jazz training with his passion for electronic music production, giving the album a very chill playful vibe. The album also features two rappers on two separate tracks, and his older sister singing on the sixth track, “Hawthorne”. Read his recent interview on CanadianBeats.ca.

Click here for a taste of Housefly’s most recent music.

The Great War Sextet promo featuring musician headshots

The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone and Strings

Released June 12, 2020

This summer release features original compositions by Benjamin Sajo (MMus ‘13) and performances by Felix Del Tredici (LMus ‘13), Marianne Di Tomaso (GDip ‘20), and Jake Klinkenborg (MMus ‘17), among others. Funded by the Ontario Arts Council, the album sets WWI poetry to original music, including poems and rare verses by John McCrae, W.W.E. Ross, H. Smalley Sarson, William H. Ogilvie, Bernard Freeman Trotter, and Adelard Audette.

Learn more about the talented artists and source material.

Patrick Kearney with his guitar in front of a black background

noVae - Patrick Kearney (Contrastes)

Released July 1, 2020

noVae is faculty member Patrick Kearney’s 5th recording and is comprised of works by living composers, including Montrealers Harry Stafylakis (BMus ‘10), Patrick Kearney himself, and former McGill Professor Denis Gougeon.

Watch more of his work on his YouTube channel:


That’s all for our April-August Release Radar! And don’t forget – if you’re part of the Schulich community and are looking forward to a September release, let us know to be featured in next month’s Release Radar! Email us at publicity.music [at] mcgill.ca.

Read past Release Radars:

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