Last show of 2010! Dec. 29th show rundown

Many thanks to the awesome Jon Cohen of The Jon Cohen Experimental for phoning in for a chat on today’s show — we should hopefully get the audio from that soon and post ‘er here. Don’t forget, you can check him out when he comes to Ottawa early in the new year — he’s hitting up the Avant Garde Bar on Thursday, January 6th, only $6 cover. Check out his site for more info. Update: Jon also tells me the first 20 people in the door will also get a free copy of their sophomore album, Behold. Definitely another awesome reason to go check out the show.

But yes, today’s show was also dedicated to some of my own favourite + top tracks of 2010 — but with a twist. My list focuses more on Canadian artists who may have been neglected from other best-of-2010 lists, and also spotlights some fantastic local acts who released some killer full-length albums and EPs this year. You can’t deny it: 2010 has been the best year yet for Ottawa’s music scene.

Here’s what we spun on the show:

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – Odessa
Meligrove Band – Really Want It
Little City – Lincoln Learning French
Tokyo Police Club – Favourite Colour
The Acorn – Misplaced
Diamond Rings – Something Else
The Jon Cohen Experimental – Hold the Fire
Broken Social Scene – All to All
Great Bloomers – Small Town Love
The Love Machine – Love is On Your Side
Old Crowns – Shaky Hands
Sound of Lions – Passive Attack
Gramercy Riffs – Dreaming

And man. Here’s my “had I more time, I would have also played” list:
Land of Talk – Quarry Hymns
Loon Choir – New Forewarnings
Basia Bulat – Heart of My Own
Promise Land – Hooded Fang
Rah Rah – Breaking Hearts
Kathryn Calder – If You Only Knew

Alas. An hour can be so restrictive.

And while I didn’t get a chance to mention it on-air, we’ll be extending the EP giveaway! Still the same set-up: tell me what your favourite Canadian album of 2010 is and you could win a copy of The Details’ The Original Mark EP. Comment below or shoot me an email at emma [at] nowplayingradio.com.

‘Til… the new year!

Dec. 22 show playlist – and The Details EP giveaway!

Hey folks – thanks for tuning in this week, our SECOND LAST show of 2010, when we featured some fab holiday tracks and more:

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Stamp
Sarah Hallman – Electricity
Evening Hymns – Just Like Christmas
Olenka and the Autumn Lovers – Sparrow
The Details – Strings and Ribbons
Laurent Bourque – What We Talk About
Glasser – Home [WEEKLY IMPORT]
Great Lake Swimmers – Gonna Make It Through The Year
Basia Bulat – You Are A Gift
Kalle Mattson – Thick As Thieves
Rebekah Higgs – Miserably Together
Leif Vollebekk – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
The White Wires – I Remember How
Andrew Vincent – Keep It That Way
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Little Drummer Boy

And of course, we finally got around to launching our latest giveaway — Winnipeg’s The Details graciously sent us a couple of copies of their Original Mark EP, and I’d like to give ’em to some of you guys. Send me an email (emma [at] nowplayingradio [dot] com) or comment below with your favourite Canadian album of 2010. I’ll be doing a live “Best of 2010” show next Wednesday the 29th and I want you guys to tell me what I should be spinning! Contest closes at Tuesday the 28th at midnight and I’ll happily announce the winners on our next show.

Put those thinking caps on and tell me what record you loved most from this past year! ‘Til next week!

Kalle Mattson interview + tracks from live set [updated!]

Many thanks again to Kalle, Rory, and Thean from Sault Ste. Marie/Ottawa folk-rock quartet Kalle Mattson for dropping by the CHUO studios last weekend to chat and play some songs for us. Be sure to check ’em out at the super incredible show that will be at Ritual this Saturday (seriously, the lineup is killer: The Rural Alberta Advantage, Rebekah Higgs, Laurent Bourque, and Kalle Mattson. Might as well call it the We-Love-All-These-Acts-Here-On-Now-Playing Show).

Kalle Mattson – Singing Knives

Kalle Mattson – Shattered Minds

Interview with Kalle, Rory, and Thean

Don’t forget, stay tuned to hear about our Details EP giveaway… ’til next time!

December 15th show rundown [Kalle Mattson set/interview to come!]

I should first note that I mentioned multiple times — including at the beginning of the show — that I would provide deets on The Details’ EP giveaway… and then promptly failed to do so. Oh, the restrictions of a mere hour of radio. Tell you what, readers/listeners — I’ll post a whole blog entry dedicated to the giveaway before the end of the week, have no fear.

We’ll post the Kalle Mattson live tracks and interview a little later today, but for now, here’s what we spun on the show:

Imaginary Cities – Hummingbird
Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk – Lady in the Yellow Dress
Phono D’Enfant – I Was Stung
The Acorn – No Ghost (Diamond Rings remix)
Rebekah Higgs – Drunk Love
Modern Field Recordings – Make a Life
Kalle Mattson – Shattered Minds (Live at CHUO)
Kalle Mattson – Singing Knives (Live at CHUO)
The Jon Cohen Experimental – Behold
Ketch Harbour Wolves – Photograph
Lovers – Figure 8 [WEEKLY IMPORT]

Stay tuned for the Kalle Mattson live tracks — and our Details EP giveaway! ‘Til then.

Why you should be looking forward to this week’s show

#1 – Because Kalle, Rory, and Thean from Sault Ste. Marie/Ottawa folk-rock quartet Kalle Mattson dropped by the CHUO studios today to record an awesome live set and interview, which’ll air on this Wednesday’s show.

#2 – Because Winnipeg indie-rock four-piece The Details were super awesome and sent me some copies of their latest EP, The Original Mark to give away — and I’ll let you know how you can snag a copy on this Wednesday’s show.

#3 – Because you know Now Playing spins some of the best music you’ll hear on Ottawa’s airwaves. And you just want to make your hump day afternoon that much better.

Do it, folks: tune in this Wednesday, Dec. 15th at 1pm on CHUO 89.1 FM (online at chuo.fm) to catch some great live local tunes. ‘Til then!

“I just love Ontario, I truly enjoy this province.” – The Mountains & The Trees LIVE at CHUO + Dec. 8th show rundown

On his last day of touring, the afternoon before his last show of the year at the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield, Jon Janes — aka The Mountains & The Trees — hung out with some of us at the CHUO studios, chatted, performed a couple songs, chatted some more… he even played an impromptu cover of Bahamas’ “Already Yours” (also posted below, thanks to Lenny for the recording). Point is, Janes is a great guy and we were thrilled to host him in the studio for a few hours. (And many thanks to Ming, too, for snapping some photos.)

Check out the interview, plus some of the live songs below:

The Mountains & The Trees – interview

The Mountains & The Trees – More & More & More

The Mountains & The Trees – Goodbye Little Town

BONUS – The Mountains & The Trees – Already Yours (Bahamas cover. Yes, that’s me gushing a few seconds in — thanks again to Lenny for recording it in the hallway outside the CHUO studios!)

If you want to purchase the latest full-length release from The Mountains and the Trees, “I Made This For You” — named one of Exclaim’s top 10 folk albums of 2010 — check out the digital release on Bandcamp, where Jon is selling the album on a pay-what-you-can basis and will be donating all proceeds to the Children’s Wish Foundation. Awesome stuff.

And, of course, can’t forget all the tracks we played:

Modern Superstitions – Go-Between
Mathias Mental – Heart Attack
Winter Gloves – Invisible
Azure Ray – Make Your Heart [WEEKLY IMPORT]
The Record Holder – Perfect Drunk
Extra Happy Ghost!!! – Sympathy for the Moron
The Mountains and the Trees – Goodbye Little Town (Live at CHUO)
The Mountains and the Trees – More & More & More (Live at CHUO)
Little City – Hard to See
Jane Vain and the Dark Matter – That Night
The Golden Dogs – Underwater Goldmine
Flora Poste – In the Open
Jenocide – 2 Hot 2 Hold

Thanks again to Jon, Ming and Lenny, and especially Tom and the team at CHUO for helping to make this all happen. Stay tuned for some more awesomeness coming up next week!

December 1st show playlist

It’s all about the Toronto indie rock today. And the new Iron & Wine. God, I can’t get over it.

Falklands – It’s Good To See You
The Love Machine – Lioness
Mother Mother – Body of Years
The Russian Futurists – Golden Years
Born Ruffians – I Need a Life
Bankrobber – The End
Iron & Wine – Walking Far From Home [WEEKLY IMPORT]
Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans – Wild Folk
Shapes & Sizes – Time Has Practically Stopped
Meligrove Band – Really Want It
The Salteens – Last Train From London
The Stormalongs – Pain Coaster
Ruth Moody – The Garden

And don’t forget — don’t miss next week’s show when Jon Janes from The Mountains & The Trees stops by the studio for a chat & performance! Should be one hell of a show, kids.