Where are you based?
Toronto, Canada.
Where do you work? What do you do?
Arts & Crafts, Senior Label Manager. Boiled Records, Co-Founder
What are you listening to?
Pierre Kwenders’ latest is on repeat lately. Always with LOW, especially their latest invention, HEY WHAT. The Bug’s latest Fire, exclusively on dark country roads. Tons of The Sadies, and daily teachings of the Gord Downie catalogue to my 5-year-old son. Lots of unreleased music preparing for release!
How do you discover new music?
It mostly comes down to friends, musicians, and music industry folks’ recommendations, often filtered through Meta platforms. Otherwise, just trying to be a selective sponge wherever I go.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
Vinyl is vastly preferred because home is where my records are. CDs and satellite radio in the car, specifically Grateful Dead, E Street Radio, and The Hip. Then streaming as much as possible to fill the gaps of silence. Not to mention, rough mixes and private WAVs in the unreleased iTunes Library trove.
“Vinyl is vastly preferred because home is where my records are.”
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I’m pleased with my pandemic-proof Projekt turntable, Kastle towers, Pioneer amp set-up or Audio-Technica headphones at home. Always love listening in the car whenever I’m so lucky to get on the road these days.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
Hum… I actually try to avoid listening to pre-release music and playing the whole single/instant-grat game, especially when it’s from a record I’m waiting for. Invariably, the new release algorithm feeds me those tracks against my will, but I do my best to try to preserve the album experience. That said, I send out a lot of pre-release music for projects I’m working on and spend a lot of time revelling in works-in-progress.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
The main frustration is the inadequate compensation for most artists and rights owners via streaming platforms. Despite the everything-on-demand immediacy of streaming, the algorithm is not smart enough to reliably understand my tastes. I resist compartmentalization
“Despite the everything-on-demand immediacy of streaming, the algorithm is not smart enough to reliably understand my tastes. I resist compartmentalization.”
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
I keep track of tunes I’d otherwise forget in various playlists, usually dedicated to the current year of new releases, and different types of slow music.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
YES. Isn’t the purpose of life to share things that sound good? This is why I do what I do for a living at A&C, and why I started my own label Boiled Records.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Biggups…
Pierre Kwenders, Georgia Harmer, Ombiigizi (current A&C projects).
Flanafi, the phenom of Philadelphia (upcoming on Boiled Records).
Sessa, the burning star of São Paulo (management client, on Mexican Summer).
Cots Disturbing Body & Absolutely Free Aftertouch (latest LPs out on Boiled)
Gord Downie, Coke Machine Glow: Songwriters’ Cabal 20th anniversary 3LP (executive produced, art directed).
