Music

20 Canadian independent labels we love

by Mark Teo

Though the way we consume music has changed immeasurably over the last decade, the value of a good record label hasn’t. We rely on labels for their ability to document, curate, and distribute—in short, in an era where we often have too much choice in music, labels help us make sense of it all. They act as windows into regional scenes, arbiters of taste, and sometimes, for better or for worse, stepping stones. (See: When Yamantaka // Sonic Titan left Psychic Handshake for Paper Bag.) So, while it’s impossible to create an absolutely definitive list of Canada’s emergent labels, we’ve compiled a list of 20 we love—and that we think you will, too.

 

Modern Math

As a relatively new label—we count three records to their name—we absolutely adore what Modern Math is doing. Their current flagship is Evangelos Typist / Dan Solo’s electronic project, Sanctums, who outgrew their ambient roots and are now churning out some seriously sophisticated deep house / techno. We can’t wait to hear what comes next.

Latest output: The taut, nervy garage-tinged fare of Vancouver’s Michael Red, who cut an EP with the B.C. / Alberta label last year. Up next: A four-track slab of bass from Victoria, B.C.’s Monolithium.

 

Fixture

 

Montreal-based Fixture Records have been quietly releasing some of the best music in the city—in the past, they cut records by Suicide-worshipping Berliner Dirty Beaches, mustachioed psych king Femminielli, and noise experimentalists Omon Ra. We gave love to their Mavo 7-inch on our

shoegaze list, and for good reason: even Fixture’s slept-on releases are worth a listen.

Latest output: Freelove Fenner’s angular, much-loved debut, Do Not Affect a Breezy Manner. In the coming months, expect new LPs from Mac Demarco’s other band, Homeshake, and Sheer Agony’s much-anticipated Unruly Sisters, set for a March release.

 

Kingfisher Bluez

Tim “The Mute” Clapp’s scrappy Kingfisher Bluez label has earned props on nearly

every list we’ve put together thus far—no surprise, considering that, along with an ongoing 7-inch series, he’s cut releases by Village, Xiu Xiu, Korean Gut, Love Cuts, and more.

Latest output: According to the label’s Facebook, they also just dropped a Needles // Pins 7-inch, and if you’re not familiar with the band’s pitch-perfect, garage-tinged pop-punk, we highly recommend it; Mesa Luna’s swirling, scatterbrained Shutting Down dropped in January, too.

 

Mammoth Cave

If you’re not up on Mammoth Cave, you should be—they’ve expanded beyond their weird garage roots to include a host of reissues (see: Shadowy Men From a Shadowy Planet,

Simply Saucer, and more). Paul Lawton and Evan Van Reekum’s beloved imprint have earned the daps they receive constantly—they’re consistent, consistent, consistent.

Latest output: The Simply Saucer 7-inch. Coming down the line: The much-anticipated debut LP from Calgary’s Teledrome, and spaced-out synth pop LP that can best be described a futuro-Spits.

 

Bad Actors

Let’s talk

Ben Cook without talking Fucked Up, shall we? Aside from releasing the beyond-explosive No Warning Resurrection of the Wolf 7-inch, he’s also been busy with his recording—namely, he’s been working with Toronto post-pop outfit Ice Cream. His label’s been relatively quiet, though: he lists Ell V Gore and Actual Water on Bad Actors’ page, and we’d love to hear something new from both projects.

Latest output: No Warning’s Ressurection of the Wolf, which sells for like a zillion dollars on eBay. Though we’re also looking forward to something from Bizzarh, a tweaked-up R&B that we loved so much, we named them one of 2013’s bands to listen to. (They finally released a new song a few weeks back, and it’s effin’ incredible) Also, the Ben Cook/Matt Delong soft pop project Yacht Club also dropped a new song on Valentine’s Day—ICYMI, here it is.

 

Debt Offensive

This small, but rock-solid, Calgary label doesn’t trade in volume, but the quality of their curation is undeniable: They’ve cut 7-inches by Edmonton hardcore mainstays No Problem, underrated Calgary melodic punks Sabertooth, and cerebral New Damage signees Slates.

Latest output: A split 7-inch between Grown-Ups (who, full disclosure, is AUX writer Josiah Hughes’s band) and Vancouver’s Woolworm, who stand as one of Canada’s best emo / shoegaze / college rock bands.

Pre-order it now.

 

Shake!

Though this Victoria-based label seemed to have started with the intention of releasing Durban Poison releases, they’ve since expanded their roster: They’ve cut nearly 40 CDs, tapes, and 7-inches, mainly focusing on the West Coast’s deep psych and garage scene. We’d personally love to own their entire discography—they’ve cut releases by dapper mod revivalists Tranzmitors, Hamilton weird punx TV Freaks, and of course, Victoria’s own Babysitter.

Latest output: The absolutely stellar cassette by Edmonton’s Betrayers, Let the Good Times Die. Its dense, super-slick approach to garage has been spinning on repeat for weeks. The label also promises a live split between psych-gaze act Backhomes and Modern Aquatics and a demo tape by Victoria punk trio Line Traps.

 

Arbutus

 

This Montreal powerhouse was arguably the biggest name to emerge from the Mile End loft scene, with Grimes, Majical Cloudz, and Braids all cutting releases with Arbutus. They had a solid 2013—though it was less explosive than years past—especially thanks to the chopped, nuanced electro of Blue Hawaii’s underrated Untogether and Doldrums’ dense, experimental Lesser Evil.

Latest output: Bermuda Waterfall, the latest album by bizarro philosopher-ditty composer Sean Nicholas Savage. In Canada, it drops in May.

 

Killer Haze

 

We recently

gave props to Sackville-based Astral Gunk and Kappa Chow, and now, we’re paying respect to the label that cuts their music. Beyond those two, the New Brunswick label has also cut releases by alt-rock informed punk act Yellowteeth and the wonderful Mouthbreathers, whose incredibly titled Appetite For Deconstruction introduced us to the band’s scrappy, Superchunk-indebted pop.

Latest output: The Teenage Mutant LP by Zakary Slax, whose sound oscillates between slacker fare, taut punk and sprawling classic rock. And that’s only the two songs we’ve heard on Bandcamp.

 

Reel Cod

Reel Cod are a relative Toronto veteran—they’ve been around since the mid-2000s. But we can’t help but be impressed by their current roster: As of late, they’ve put out impressive releases by kraut-leaning act Fresh Snow, sweet-as-pie vintage pop act The Pinecones, and electronic ‘gazers Mimico. Reel Cod doesn’t have aesthetic boundaries, and by our estimates, that’s a good thing.

Latest output: The Pinecones’ recently released OOH! LP, which is jam-packed with earworms. We’re also loving the soothing, new age-leaning Mystic Triangle EP, which you can hear below.

 

Telephone Explosion

 

This Toronto label turned five in 2013, and to celebrate, they cut one of my favourite 7-inches of the year—Soupcans’ scuzzy, paranoid, and hateful masterpiece, Parasite Brain. I could spill hundreds of adjectives—mostly, describing repulsive things in a positive light—about Soupcans, but there are also tons of other wonderful acts on Telephone Explosion: Crosss (whose Obsidian Spectre was one of last year’s best), Young Mother, Superstitions, and even Ty Segall are part of their discography.

Latest output: The Parasite Brain EP. Which is some of the vilest grossout punk that we—OK, we could go on, but we won’t.

 

Hand Drawn Dracula

 

This veteran Toronto label continues to produce excellent, diverse records. They’re probably best known for releases by Holy Fuck, but don’t ignore some of their up-and-comers: We love Josh Korody’s shoegaze projects,

Beliefs and Breeze, and digging back into their archives, we also loved Mausoleum’s gothy 2011 EP.

Latest output: Y’all, you heard Doomsquad’s Kalaboogie LP yet? It’s a wonderful piece of headphones-on, electronic psychedelia, at turns smoked-out and tribalistic. Highly, highly, recommended—listen to it below, and check out our live Scion Sessions video with them here.

 

Craft Singles

Crosss founder Andy March appears multiple times in this list, so it’s only fitting that we mention his label. Craft Singles deals with strictly cassingles, most bearing the label’s signature crosshatched and silkscreened aesthetic. The label’s largely cut singles from the Maritimes—see: releases by Quaker Parents, Old and Weird, and Bad Vibrations—but recently, they’ve also released a You Are Minez tape, courtesy of Alberta whizkid Jean-Sebastien Audet.

Latest output: A Halifax series featuring some of the city’s best: Dreamy riff-rockers Monomyth, psych-y classic rock heads Quivers, the outsider folk of Chief Thundercloud, and

Heaven For Real, who, for our money, is one of the best live acts in Canada.

 

Close to Modern

Calgary-based Close to Modern is only a few years old, but they’ve already racked up an impressive list of techno, ambient, and electro-tinged R&B releases—they may be the only label of their sort in Canada. Along with dropping Sanctums’ debut EP (who, if you’ll recall, also put out recent work with Modern Math), the label, they’ve cut digital releases by R&B duo Chief Navaho, grooved-out electro by Pg. 99, and celestial beats via the

AUX-approved Boogie Howser. With every release, CTM chips away at Alberta’s largely rock-based rep.

Latest output: An EP by Beach Season, one of Calgary’s most talented producers (and one half of future rap outfit Obey the Crooks). Internet Evening was a sensual slab of post-chillwave—and one of the label’s strongest releases to date.

 

Bruised Tongue

Ottawa is deservedly known for its stellar garage punk scene, and that’s largely based on the efforts of Bruised Tongue. Of course, the five-year old label isn’t only garage—while loboto punk bands like Tropical Drippps, New Swears, and Cold Warps fill out their roster, they’ve also released stuff by post-punk bands like Blue Cross, weirdo fare by Un Blonde (who split a release with Crosss), even delved into kraut territories with the Moon / Old and Weird split. We’ll just go ahead and say it—Bruised Tongue are one of the most important labels in Canada.

Latest output: They’ve been busy in 2014. We particularly love the death rock of Ottawa’s Death’s Release, but there’s also the crazy-eyed garage of The Abandos and the deranged, howling punk of Heavy Chains.

 

Buzz Records

 

Buzz strives to document the noisier corners of Toronto’s music scene. And dang, they deliver: their roster includes the pedal stompers Odonis Odonis, the fuzzed-out Mexican Slang, the in-your-face sludge of HSY, and the gloss-rock of Weaves. Also, check this interview they ran with Greys, where singer Shehzaad Jiwani

drops some real talk about the Toronto music community.

Latest output: We seriously, seriously fucks with the Beverleys latest EP, released in February. It’s three tracks of cranked-to-11 punk—and we love it.

 

Pleasence

Toronto-based Pleasence Records is quietly becoming a force in Canadian music. They cut plenty of wonderful releases last year—like, for example, Gay’s über-peppy Dance Mix 95—and they’re off to a similarly hot start in 2013. More on that in a second, but if you haven’t checked out their releases, we highly recommend it: They’ve put out releases by Tropics, Huckleberry Friends, Soupcans and more, meaning they’re an indispensable window into Toronto’s ever-changing music scene.

Latest output: A split between Halifax doom pop act Cross and Astral Gunk. And we highly, highly advise checking out Black Walls’ Communion, released in February, for a slice of Mark Kozelek-indebted ambient folk. It’s one of the finest things (and quietly unsettling) we’ve heard all year.

 

Hosehead

In its existence, Hosehead has managed to capture Canada’s thriving garage and power pop scene: They’re the label who first introduced us to

First Base, and they’ve cut releases by Sudbury’s Strange Attractor, Ottawa faves the Steve Adamyk Band, and Montreal’s Sonic Avenues. Much of their discography is now out-of-print—they keep their releases down to small batches—but they’re worth keeping an eye on. They’ve released nary a dud.

Latest output: Steve Adamyk’s Monterrey 7-inch, the Ketamines’ So Hot! (part of a multi-label 45 collection that spanned between Mint, Pleasence, and more), and Average Times’ rock-solid debut LP.

 

New Kanada

I’ll admit that I’m a complete neophyte to Adam Marshall’s wonderful electronic label, New Kanada. But I’m working my way through their back releases, and they’re nothing short of wonderful—in particular, the wonderful deep house of Basic Soul Unit and the Detroit-influenced techno has caught our ears. Oh yes, and there’s Marshall’s own project, Graze, which we’ve

lauded in the past.

Latest output: Graze’s brushed-steel techno—especially their ice-cold LP, Edges, released last December—is a standout. And good news: Marshall is already planning a new single, MWeapon / Scrap, in March.

 

1080p

This upstart Vancouver-Brooklyn label popped up on our radars

last year, and since then, they’ve been nothing short of prolific. As a label, they’re torn between future sounds and scraps of the past: Young Braised‘s Japanese Tendencies experimented with Myst-era CD-ROM sounds and cloud rap; AT/NU’s Shift was obsessed with rave cultures of the early aughts; Mind Dynamics’ Precision Instruments lo-fi techno, in their words, “digs deep into decay and dissolution of status and image obsessed lifestyle economy.” In their short existence, 1080p’s emerged as one of the nation’s most exciting electronic labels.

Latest output: We’re still wrapping our heads around AT/NU’s Shift, but they’re already preparing Luke Wyatt’s minimalist, droned-out work on Inifinti’s M30 tape and an 80-minute tape by house whiz Kitkkola (a.k.a. Coyote Clean Up).