Shows

Mike, Loryn, Neel and Phil

Turning emotions into songs with poetry with Loryn Taggart

This week we welcomed Loryn Taggart back to the show, after her first appearance almost five years ago! The fast-rising jazz artist just released her album Irene, but showcased two of her other songs, The Guest and The Wedding Song. We talked about: the recent passing of Little Richard, Dave Greenfield (keyboardist for the Stranglers), …

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Mike, Neel, Frank, and Phil

Songs for Self-Isolation with Frank Horvat

Long-time friend of the show, Frank Horvat talks about his “Songs for Self-Isolation” project. http://youtube.com/frankhorvatofficial http://www.frankhorvat.com/ http://facebook.com/frankhorvatofficial http://frankhorvat.com/composition/music-self-isolation/ Our very own Neel participated in Frank’s project with his first composition for piano:

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Donna Linklater: Songwriting and Composition, What’s The Difference?

This week SongTalk welcomed Donna Linklater to our studio. Soprano and composer/songwriter Donna Linklater studied opera with Sylvia Richardson at Brandon University. Toward the end of her studies, she began to focus on new music and was especially taken with the aleatoric music of John Cage which gave her greater freedom of creative expression. Her …

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Neel, Mike, Blair, Don, and Phil

Keeping It Real with Blair Packham

This week SongTalk welcomed our old friend Blair Packham to our studio. The Toronto-based artist, first gained attention for his work with ’80’s power pop band The Jitters. He is now an acclaimed solo artist and musician. Blair released two strongly-reviewed solo albums before shifting his focus to composing music for TV and films, teaching …

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The Hosts Take on Their First Songwriting Challenge

About three months ago, we asked our listeners to suggest a songwriting challenge or prompt for us to explore. Organizations like the Toronto Songwriting Association often prompt their members with challenges such as “Take a cliche and turn it on its head”, or “Write a song about a home appliance.” Singer-songwriter and former Song Talk …

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Phil, Mike, Ritah, Jaydn, Marco, Neel, and Don

Jadyn Lamb: How to build your musical career one track at a time

Described as “sickly sweet”, singer/songwriter Jadyn Lamb embodies moody electronic pop with a style similar to Lorde and Kate Bush. Jadyn was joined on the show by her producer Marco Palma (Material City). We talked about: FACTOR Canada MusicExpo happening in Mississauga this weekend! Upcoming Song Talk Challenge songwriting challenge: positive lyrics in a minor …

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Neel, Ritah, Mike, Lexi, Jon, Don, and Phil

How Featurette add emotion to Electro-Pop

This week SongTalk welcomed FEATURETTE to our studio. The Toronto-based duo FEATURETTE, formed by singer Lexie Jay and drummer, Jon Fedorsen, makes emotionally-charged, heavy-hitting electro-pop music that has been met with international critical acclaim. After receiving their first full recording grant from FACTOR Canada, the duo released their debut LP CRAVE in October, 2016. The …

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Mike, Neel, Don, Vanessa, and Phil

It’s a Christmas Extravaganza!

  This week SongTalk welcomes… Christmas into our studio. For our Xmas Eve show, we all brought in our favourite Christmas songs and had a good chat about what makes them so great. Featuring some classics and some new songs that you may not have heard before. So pour yourself some Rum and Eggnog or …

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Mike, David, Ritah, Neel, Don, and Phil

David McLachlan: That Nashville sound.

This week SongTalk welcomed David McLachlan to our studio. David McLachlan is a prolific songwriter with 7 albums released, one in the can, for release next Aug 2020. Several years ago David ventured to Nashville to record with some stellar A-list players. He found that experience to be so rewarding it changed the way he …

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Neel, Mike, Steve, Don, and Phil

Heartfelt blues (and no trucks) with Steve Strongman

Juno-award winning recording artist Steve Strongman joined us to talk about his take on the blues.  Steve is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner, 2019 International Blues Challenge Best Guitarist (solo/duo). He’s opened for BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, and toured all over the world. We talked about: What’s the blues anyway? …

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