Posts Tagged ‘canada’

things well done | benjamin steiger levine ::

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

:: Benjamin Steiger Levine is a wickedly talented filmmaker and music video director from Montreal, Canada.

This video for Socalled’s “You Are Never Alone” is an example of his charming, quirky, wonderfully cinematic style. Given his surrealist aesthetic and love of special effects driven storytelling, it’s not surprising that Steiger Levine has been drawing Michel Gondry comparisons of late.

[The video above loads quickly in China, but for a higher quality version, click here.]

Steiger Levine joined Toronto-based Spy Films in December 2008. On the company’s blog, there’s a short Q&A with him — about a recent video for Beast’s Mr. Hurricane. See more of his reel here.

For those in Shanghai, Socalled is performing tonight (Saturday, May 2) at Yuyintang (along with ) as part of the series presented by Spli-t Works and transmitCHINA. Other visiting bands from the Great White North include (yesterday), and and Hollerado (tomorrow). Local support from and Crazy Mushroom. All the bands will also be playing in Zhenjiang this weekend for the MIDI Festival. Support those crazy Canucks, eh? Bravo, well done.  // PL

[Panthea Lee is a guest contributor on 56minus1.]

Posted in cool hunting, events, music, shanghai, things well done, video | Tags: , , , , , music videos, , socalled, ,  | No Comments »

things well done | the happiness project ::

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

:: Arts&Crafts (smokin’ Canadian indie label boasting the likes of Bell Ochestre, The Most Serene Republic, and Feist) recently released a beautiful concept album called The Happiness Project by Charles Spearin (smokin’ Canadian musician best known as a founding member of Broken Social Scene). The eight-track wonder grew out of casual conversations between Spearin and his neighbors in downtown Toronto on the topic of happiness, portions of which he then extracted and worked into song. His motivation: to draw attention to the musicality of everyday discourse. Spearin explains on the album’s website:

“Normally, we don’t pay any attention to the movement of our lips and tongue, and the rising and falling of our voices as we toss our thoughts back and forth to each other. We just talk and listen. The only time we pay attention to these qualities is in song. [...] Meaning seems to be our hunger but we should still try to taste our food. I wanted to see if I could blur the line between speaking and singing – life and art? – and write music based on these accidental melodies.”

Spearin’s soundscapes of speech – arranged by him and realized, on the album, by a motley crew of musicians, including daughters, neighbors and bandmates – document the prosaic, and push it towards something sublime.

Christopher Mills (smokin’ Canadian video artist – do we see a pattern here? – who’s done work for Modest Mouse, Interpol, and The Secret Machines) created a short film to introduce the Project. Narrated by Spearin and populated by a cast of animated characters, it’s a simple concept well executed, and a gem in its own right.

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Those in Toronto, Montreal or New York, will be able to catch the The Happiness Project live, with Spearin and a seven-piece band, over a few dates in mid-March (details here) For those of us in China, there’s been murmurings of the Canadian government throwing more money behind Canuck talent parading in the PRC – anyone hit Buck 65 last year? – so keep your fingers crossed. There are good things a-brewing… For more information on The Happiness Project, visit the website. Bravo, well done. //

[Panthea Lee is a guest contributor on 56minus1.]

Posted in cool hunting, culture, music, things well done, video | Tags: , arts&crafts, , , , , , the happiness project,  | No Comments »