Thoughts on the Polaris Music Prize Short List 2011

Of all the ways in which I engage with music, being a juror for the Polaris Music Prize is one of the most fulfilling.

I've always maintained that the value of this prize is mainly in the discussion between music professionals across the country struggling to compare apples to oranges to attempt to appreciate very different forms of music. I believe in the simply stated process: to pick the best album in Canada regardless of genre. Even if a good record doesn't make the Long of Short List, it may end up on the radar of critics across the country when that artist is touring, leading to more coverage and hopefully more popularity.

Other than Elizabeth Shepherd last year, there had never been a jazz record represented in Polaris in any way. I wouldn't say Colin Stetson plays jazz, but this is without a doubt the most experimental record ever to make the short list (Final Fantasy was pretty out there too, but at least it had a more conventional vocal presence). His music, which I got to experience live last week at the Music Gallery, is cathartic - physically so for him, emotionally so for listeners. The way he has developed a compositional system for circular breathing techniques on the bass sax is unique in the world. For my money, the closest comparison is Britain's John Butcher, but the bass sax adds a different dimension to Stetson's art. Plus, there's a punk edge that comes out live. I can't wait to hear him fill the Masonic Temple with the brute force of that bass sax ringing off the rafters. People will 'get it' then even if he doesn't win the prize. And to see that on CTV/Much? Awesome!! As the editor of Exclaim's Destination Out section, and having seen the rapid ascent of Weird Canada this year, I couldn't be happier.

I'm also very pleased for The Weeknd. It's the first mixtape to make the top 10, building on the success of South Rakkas Crew last year and D-Sisive (also Long Listed this year). The reason that mixtapes are eligible in the first place is thanks to the ever-simmering discussion about what constitutes an album for an album prize. In terms of beat-oriented music, some of the best music comes out in formats other than albums, and it's been argued that certain genres of music were likely to be at a disadvantage due to their audiences demanding more fluid output from EPs to videos to mixtapes. The Weeknd are the first R&B (it's more than that, but rooted there) act to get any kind of sniff at Polaris. Given how the Canadian music industry has micromanaged and let down just about every promising soul/R&B singer that's ever come up, to see a stealthily produced mixtape explode into public consciousness is refreshing to say the least. It didn't need to confront the impossibility of radio play for R&B in Canada, it didn't have to water down its scabrous narrative and most of all it didn't have to fix the sometimes dumb, juvenile lyrics that nonetheless add spontaneity and edge to the project. You know the Abstract Index loves Lee Scratch Perry, a guy who would turn out rough and rugged dub mixes from the Black Ark one after the next with little regard for perfection. It's still classic or at least vital material. Plus, Drake should feel like he's getting a veiled co-sign on this project which he helped take to the mainstream.

As for other selections, of course I wrote my first cover story in Exclaim about Timber Timbre and voted for them, so I'm happy about that. Austra is a good thing: Katie Stelmanis has covered a lot of ground in the Toronto indie music scene over the years and this is a well composed record. Arcade Fire, sure, why not? Colin Stetson goes three for 10 on the Short List with his contribution to the Suburbs, Timber Timbre and his own disc. I've played Braids on this show before, thumbs up there. I didn't seriously consider voting for the Galaxie album but it's fun. I no longer hate the Destroyer record. Hey Rosetta are definitely not my thing, nor is Ron Sexsmith but that's one guy you can't hate on after plugging away for 12 albums.

The rules and the composition of the jury have been tweaked subtly over the years, and I feel there's more participation in the process from a wider range of people. To see tangible success beyond in-virtual-camera big-ups for artists like Colin Stetson and the Weeknd is a big step. This prize is really living up to its potential.

UPDATE: My Short List picks

1. Colin Stetson - Judges
2. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972
3. D-Sisive - Jonestown 2
4. Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On
5. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons

Must Have Been The Right Place

A slightly belated congratulations to Karkwa, the first World Music act to win the Polaris Music Prize. They don't sing in English, so it's gotta be World Music, right? Am I going to belabor the point? Hell no, except to say that, depending on the situation, any music of any genre or geographical origin has a chance of winning this prize if the right arguments are made for it. Hopefully this will be the case someday - soon - with hip hop....

Karkwa are also the most decorated yet to win (in your face, Ottawa Citizen's "Give Bieber A Chance") : these guys have won more awards than Biebs and Drake put together. I wish I could find some data proving they've sold more than Caribou (2008 winner), but I'm guessing they may be the biggest selling act yet to win Polaris as well.

A few weeks ago, when I was majorly enjoying myself at the Festival of Emerging Music in Abitibi-Temiscamingue I had the good fortune to sit down and talk with frontman Louis-Jean Cormier about the band's sudden ramp-up in momentum. It was hard not to notice that Karkwa was the buzz of the festival. My fellow journalists were eager to try to explain their appeal in Quebec; to a person, they cited their "poesie" - poetry in the lyrics, which was fundamentally different than the majority of first person confessional Anglo singer-songwriter approaches. As you may have noticed, I'm not the most lyrics-oriented guy, but my French (as it turned out) was passable enough for me to understand how people got into it on that level. What really stood out for me were their deft & ingenious melodies - earworms that turned my brain to compost over several weeks. That quality goes a long way to characterizing their appeal outside of Quebec.

However, the visceral reaction of the crowd at FMEAT was ample evidence of their devoted audience. Karkwa's performance at the Polaris Gala was great, but it inevitably missed that sense of connection they achieved with their fans in Northern Quebec. I was lucky to have witnessed them on their home turf.

With this Volume Du Vent in their sails (sales?) in Quebec, I wasn't too surprised to see them ride that wave to the prize, even though such waves tend to hit the breakwall of the Rest Of Canada. But Polaris is wacky like that, and that's a good thing. They weren't my top choice, but I'm glad they won.

Here's my conversation with Louis-Jean Cormier at Exclaim.

If You Don't Know Me By Now

The Polaris Music Prize has been running profiles of its jury members. Given the reaction to the Short List this year, it ought to help the general public realize that this prize is not the product of a shadowy cabal representing the hidden interests of dark forces in Canadian music. To prove the point, I'm in the cross hairs today, and I'm not part of the dark side (am I?)

I don't fancy setting myself apart from the crowd. I don't like what I like just to be different or more hip, which has traditionally been a motivation for music critics. It's a post-adolescent point of view that becomes less and less relevant as I get older. Anyone who follows this blog or the radio show - or has read many of the articles I've written - knows that I like to focus on community within music. Sometimes an artist is very popular, but the community in which they are best known doesn't have much traction in mainstream and 'alternative' media (like Samini, for instance). Other times, an artist is fairly obscure or grassroots, but happens to have gotten the funding together to put out a disc which gives them a little shine for as long as the money and novelty can drive the promotional effort.

My analysis of music isn't about getting hot and bothered about the next big thing, but looking at the culture, community and economics behind music I'm interested. Hence my characterization of Canadian music in five words: "Myriad entrepreneurs battle industry inertia".

When it comes to music, there is so much to write and talk about, and even more to play with when it comes to radio (which remains my favourite form of musical expression). CIUT has infected me with its values for life. If nothing else I hope this little profile turns people on to some different ish and underlines that contemporary musical analysis can be more than just breathless hype and blogospheric circle-jerkery.

Polaris Music Prize 2009 First Ballot

It was more difficult than ever to come up with an initial ballot for the two-stage voting process that makes up the Polaris Music Prize. I listened to more music than ever before from beyond the already-heaping pile of promo that usually graces my desk. I'd like to thank my fellow jurors for recommending so much great music. I'd go so far as to say that this year has been one of great personal growth in terms of my outlook on music in Canada, and in general.

But even so, I found my picks surprised me. There have certainly been some hints in blog entries past, but my first five look like this:

Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows

Blogged about it here. A tremendously interesting listen, sonically rich, fully realized concepts & never a dull moment. I never thought that these close associates of Arcade Fire would be my #1 pick but I still marvel at this disc.

Galerie Stratique - Faux World

My colleague Eric Hill at Exclaim wrote a great review of Charles-Emile Beullac's electronically reanimated visions of South East Asia. It's like the Up! of world music... fanciful, stylish, exotic yet personal, and emotionally affecting.

Justin Haynes & Jean Martin - Freedman

Wrote about it here. Ukulele & suitcase duet makes for a unique experience in intimacy. Myk Freedman is a buddy, and his beautiful songs are more than given their due in this minimal setting.

Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

Of all the art projects in this top 5 - and every single one of my picks qualifies - this one is the only disc with vocals. But what he does with the vocals is incredible. Spearin teases out musical arrangements from speech patterns, and the sunny vibe of the album guarantees the listener's engagement. It's many things at once - "free music" in that it doesn't follow time signatures but is linked to easily relatable rhythms, and "world music" because what could be more global in its scope than interviewing one's neighbours in multicultural Toronto?

Last Step - 1961

One of 8000 discs released this past year by Aaron Funk aka Venetian Snares. I listened to all of them - cause it's worth it (at least until they slip the straightjacket on me) - before deciding that this was my favourite. Typically, it's miles ahead of most electronic ingenuity. Most importantly takes the piss out of super-serious bedroom boffins.

Near misses/other interesting records, in no particular order:

Jayme Stone & Mansa Sissoko - Africa to Appalachia
Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
Masia One - Pulau
Slakah The Beatchild - The Soul Movement Vol 1
Timbre Timbre - S/T
AIMToronto Orchestra & Anthony Braxton - Creative Orchestra (Guelph) 2007
Women - S/T
DDMMYYY - Black Square
Lubo Alexandrov & Kaba Horo - Contrabanda
Daniel Nebiat - Hakimey
K-Os - Yes
Mantrakid - Palmflower Black