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Ep. #31: Jesse Stewart and Hamid Drake

Jesse Stewart and Hamid Drake are world-renowned percussionists and no strangers to the Guelph Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary from Sept. 4-8. Stewart is a Juno Award winner who once called Guelph home and now works as a professor in the School for Studies in Art and Culture at Carleton University in Ottawa. Drake is a Chicago-based jazz and world music virtuoso who is truly a wonder to witness play live–a legendary figure in avant improvised music who incorporates all manner of cultures and genres in his spirited approach to percussion. On Sept. 3, the pair joined Dong-Won Kim, well-known for his work with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and master of the Jang-go and other Korean percussion instruments, and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, the man known as “the living legend of the tabla,’ for the Guelph Jazz Festival’s World Percussion Summit at the River Run Centre. Afterwards, they spent as much time as possible discussing the show, their history, and their mutual admiration. Their duo record, Timelines, is due out Friday Sept. 6 on Stewart’s new imprint, Art Stew Records, and you can hear the piece “D.U.O. (Do Unto Others)” after our chat.

Related links: jessestewart.ca guelphjazzfestival.com vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #30: Superhumanoids

Superhumanoids are a trio from Los Angeles who make dreamy, R&B infused, electronic pop songs that are deceptively airy. With their hazy vocals and melodies, the band are definitely working within a mysterious aesthetic but they’ve also got a penchant for unexpected pop hooks and arrangements. Their debut LP, Exhibitionists, was released on August 6 via Innovative Leisure and the band opens for Mayer Hawthorne at Montreal’s La Tulipe on Sept. 5 and Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall on Sept. 6. On a hot summer day, Superhumanoids Max and Sarah discussed sweating, their origin story, Los Angeles, their sound, what the future is like, the inspiration behind their song “Geri,” and more.

Related links: superhumanoids.com innovativeleisure.net vishkhanna.com

superhumanoids

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Ep. #29: Sohrab Habibion of Obits

Sohrab Habibion is a multi-talented musician, graphic artist, recording engineer, and generally great person who currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. For close to a decade, he played in the Washington D.C.-based band Edsel before they broke up in the late nineties. He now sings and plays guitar in Obits, one of America’s best surf-y, garage rock bands, whose gritty, powerful, third album, Bed & Bugs is available everywhere on Sept. 10 via Sub Pop Records. The band, which also features bassist Greg Simpson, drummer Alexis Fleisig, and vocalist/guitarist Rick Froberg, is touring the U.S. and Canada beginning Sept. 21, including stops at Montreal’s Il Motore on Oct. 3, Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern on Oct. 4, and the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver on Nov. 14. Here Habibion provides a full-on LP preview, complete with Vine-sized song excerpts and track-by-track anecdotes.

Related links: obitsurl.com subpop.com vishkhanna.com

Obits Band Photo

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