After 10 years, 6 albums and countless tours, The Buttless Chaps have decided to part ways. No hard feelings exist amongst band members, just a feeling that it is time to move on to new musical projects and that the band has creatively run its course. The most recent incarnation of the band featured Dave Gowans on vocals, guitar and banjo, Morgan McDonald on keyboards, Lasse Lutick on guitar and synthesizer, Dan Gaucher on drums, and Ida Nilsen on vocals, accordion, synthesizer and euphonium. Mint Records released their final album in 2008 titled Cartography. Original drummer Torben Wilson left the band a few years prior to these last recording sessions. The Chaps have been known for their vibrant, eclectic live shows and a fearlessness with experimenting in the studio, always exploring many different muscial genres within their compositions. Over the years the band had several notable highlights, touring with acts such as The Rheostatics & The Handsome Family, and having several concerts and sessions recorded by CBC Radio. One session titled CBC Radio 3 Sessions was released digitally last year and featured contributions from Jesse Zubot (violin) and Peggy Lee (cello).

Some members will continue with their other projects; Great Aunt Ida, Fond of Tigers & Bad Human all have recording plans in the works and lead singer Gowans will be finishing a record this spring with new act Cloudsplitter. The band also features Nilsen and Zubot, and will likely perform select concerts.

The Buttlesss Chaps will perfom one last confirmed show at the Dawson City Music Festival in July and are considering a farewell concert in Vancouver B.C. around the same time. Mint Records is proud to have released four recordings by the Chaps, 2003's Love This Time, 2005's Where Night Holds Light and last year's Cartography, and CBC Radio 3 Sessions.

Some press for Cartography:

"It's an album that makes you close your eyes and listen, which is always a good sign." - Edmonton Sun

Gowans ability to pen a sci-fi ballads and rural anthems (and tracks like Coal Grey Sky will satisfy any classic Chaps fan), but with beautiful harmonies, static electro currents and terrific percussion the Chaps are able to replicate lonely nights in dark cities (the energy that crackles throughout the desolate title track is incredible). - HeroHill

Blending folk-country with a bit of atmospheric new wave sentimentality, Cartography takes you on a soft, dream-like journey that you won't want to wake up from. - Discorder

Sombre country rock underpins world-weary vocals, and while the guitars may twang, the effect is closer to a musical meditation than a whiskey-soaked hoedown. This basic foundation allows for some interesting side trips -- such as the vocoder-filled gravitas of The Opera, which wouldn't sound out of place on an Air album-- while still providing an ideal soundtrack for a late-autumn solitary trek through fallen leaves. Suitable for a cool, Canadian October. - The National Post

From the dead-souls darkwave of "Broken Transit, Broken Soil" to the campfire twang of "Water by the Wayside", the group's latest album, Cartography, maps out terrain where others would fear to tread. It's a good indication that, 10 years into their career, the Chaps are just getting started. - Georgia Straight

Cartography is an ideal name for an album that reveals itself as an expedition across unknown landscapes, matching in name the record's sense of discovery, of twists and turns, of behemoth rocks rising suddenly out of the ground where just moments ago there was plains and rolling hills. - Vue Weekly

Cartography is a mesmerizing, virtual magnum opus from Vancouver's The Buttless Chaps. While previous Chaps albums have always tested the boundaries between organic folk and synthetic electronica, Cartography is an even more aggressive exploration of this binary, resulting in a beautifully wrought, complex and cohesive outing. - Chart Magazine

What with GPS gizmos and Internet pathfinders, the art of cartography is probably now archaic. And yet, with its latest release, British Columbia's the Buttless Chaps sounds nothing like dated. Cartography is panoramic and often futuristic, expansive in its arrangements and lyrical imagery. The band and leader Dave Gowans specialize in juxtaposing old sounds with new wave. The title track updates Doorsian psychedelia with a spacier direction, and a funny thing happens on the way to The Opera, a sublime track with a classic piano motif and a robotic vocoder. Water by the Wayside forebodes gently; Coal Grey Sky has a folk-rock strum. If it sounds like the Chaps are all over the map, that just isn't the case. Rather, its course is absolutely chosen. - The Globe and Mail

it combines strummy folk songs with vaguely futuristic synths and effects-laden guitars into a serene chamber-pop hybrid. - Ubyssey

"one hell of a new album... The gorgeous artwork accentuates the excellent album to a T. Both are exploratory things of beauty, well worth the investment of your time." - Monday Magazine

"...this is a band at its peak and Cartography is a work of art." - Discorder Magazine

Recorded by John Collins and David Carswell of JC/DC Studios (the New Pornographers, Destroyer, Tegan and Sara), the sophomore album from Edmonton's Hot Panda was captured mostly live off the floor, with few takes and overdubs. Officially titled How Come I'm Dead?, expect to discover a fresh dose of dreamy noise, circus freak dance numbers, heartbreaking country ballads with screeching metal guitar solos, lovely pop harmonies, psychedelic drones, and straight up pop/rock numbers when this album hits the streets on October 12, 2010. And yes, that is lead singer Chris Connelly's mother riding the camel on the cover.

Longtime Mint recording artists, The Ramblin' Ambassadors are ready to unleash their third full length album, Ramble On. Only 500 copies will be pressed on shiny 180g vinyl and available on March 6th, 2012. If your turntable is still broken, not to worry, it will also be available digitally. 

fun fact: Guitar wizard, Brent Cooper, of The Ramblin' Ambassadors made his first Mint Records appearance back in 1995 on a Huevos Rancheros 7" called Dig In. That means he's been putting out records on Mint for over 15 years!

"The Ramblin' Ambassadors have all the shimmery, vintage sounds (the songs are laced in tremolo), but they still have the dusty textures and feedback you'd expect to come from heavy bearded, plaid shirt wearing, tattooed hombres." - Herohill.com

TRACK LISTING:

SIDE A:
Standoff at Calf Robe Bridge
Clambake!
Back Seat Action
The Savage
Tyger Beat

SIDE B:
Pine Beetle Express
Meat Sweats
Super Bee
Dallas B. Goode
Super Lungbucket

Album release party: Friday, March 23rd @ Dicken's, Calgary, AB.

 

 

We’ve stocked up on confetti and are counting down - only seven days until the release day of Hot Panda’s debut, Volcano… Bloody Volcano on February 10th (pre-order your copy now at Maple Music!). The Pandas shall be celebrating at Edmonton's Pawn Shop with Rah Rah and The Whitsundays on Feb 14th. And after that, they’ll be departing on yet another Canadian crawl.

Now, here are the dates:

Sat Feb 14, Edmonton AB, The Pawn Shop - CD Release Party!
Fri March 13, Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON (Canadian Music Week)
Thu March 19, Headhunters, Austin TX (SXSW Mint Records Hootenany)
Sat March 21, Habanna Calle 6, Austin TX (SXSW Mint Records Showcase)
Mon March 23, Atomic Cantina, Albuquerque, NM
Thu March 26, Silverlake Lounge, Los Angeles CA
Tue March 31, Le Voyeur, Olympia, WA
Wed April 1, Commet Tavern, Seattle, WA
Fri Apr 3, Logan's, Victoria, BC
Sat Apr 4, Media Club, Vancouver
Wed Apr 8, The Exchange, Regina
Fri Apr 10, Lo Pub, Winnipeg
Sun Apr 12, Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, Iowa
Tue Apr 14, Bottom Lounge, Chicago
Wed Apr 15, Dark Room Bar, Chicago
Sun Apr 19, Velvet Lounge, Washington
Mon Apr 20, Black Betty, Brooklyn
Tue Apr 21, Piano's, New York
Wed Apr 22, Manhattan Room, Philladelphia
Fri Apr 24, Gus's Pub, Halifax
Tue Apr 28, Le Divan Orange, Montreal
Wed Apr 29, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ottawa

Check here for more tour updates, and check the band's site here!

Yes, you read right. Not only is your illustrious Canadian indie label throwing a kick-ass pinata party, but it's free to the public! Bring your sombreros and implements of destruction (or at least your ears) to Broken City at noon on July 1st. We're supplying the nachos, papier-mache effigies stuffed with goodies & prizes, and some of the freshest Mint bands today.

The super cute Pocky has agreed to sponsor the day, so there will be chocolate (and maybe strawberry) covered cookie sticks for everyone!

The day is looking like this:

1:00 pm - Hot Panda will be playing songs from their upcoming sophomore album, How Come I'm Dead? (out October 12).
2:00 pm - The Pack a.d. After playing over 150 shows in the last year, this gritty garage rock duo is not to be missed.
3:00pm - The Ramblin' Ambassadors. This band is made up of guitarist Brent Cooper (Huevos Rancheros) and some of the finest instrumental surf-rock the landlocked Calgary has ever known.

For more information please contact shena@mintrecs.com.

Once again, we're packing our sunglasses, dusting off the sunscreen and heading to Austin for SXSW. We're planning a party too. And you should probably be there. This is the plan:

Mint Records, Olio Festival and Light Organ Records present:
A FREE SXSW DAY PARTY!!!
Thursday, March 15th at Headhunters (720 Red River St)

FEATURING:

2:00 - DJ MY!GAY!HUSBAND
2:15 - SUN WIZARD (Light Organ)
2:50 - KELLARISSA (Mint)
3:25 - MODE MODERNE (Light Organ)
4:00 - NARDWUAR & THE EVAPORATORS with ANDREW W.K. (Mint)
5:00 - SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT

ALSO FEATURING:

FREE TACOS (come early!)

Photos by THE COBRASNAKE and A GYPSY MARKET SIDEWALK SALE (that's right, there will be vintage clothing galore!).

THANK YOU: Exclaim! Magazine, CBC Radio 3, The Georgia Straight, Color Magazine, The Cobrasnake
 
Need more up to the minute party news? There's a Facebook event here. You can also follow us on Twitter

We're feeling good about our annual migration south of the Canadian border to SXSW. In March, we will be ditching the woolly mittens, packing our sunglasses, slathering on the sunscreen and getting in some quality time with new (and old) friends.

We've got two parties planned this year. The Evaporators, Hot Panda, Immaculate Machine, The Pack A.D., the Handsome Family and our friend Jill Barber will be playing our evening showcase on Saturday, March 21st at Habanna Calle 6.

And, for our annual afternoon Hootenanny on Thursday, March 19th at Headhunters, come build your own tacos, bask in the sunshine and enjoy some music courtesy of  Hot Panda, Immaculate Machine, The Pack AD, Thee Goblins (aka: Nardwuar), Gentleman Reg, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, The Handsome Family and win great prizes courtesy of Mint, Daisy Rock Guitars and Six Cent Press.

Now, here are the dirty details:

Mint Records Label Showcase
Saturday, March 21st
Habana Calle 6
(709 E 6th St)

Sponsored by: CBC Radio 3, This Great White North, Beatroute, Six Cent Press featuring:
Jill Barber (Outside Music) (8pm)
Hot Panda (9pm)
Immaculate Machine (10pm)
The Pack A.D. (11pm)
The Handsome Family (12am)
The Evaporators (1am)
 

Mint Records Afternoon Hootenanny (FREE!!)
Thursday, March 19th (2-6 pm)
Headhunter's back patio

(720 Red River, side door)

Sponsored by: Venus Zine, CBC Radio 3, This Great White North, Beatroute, Six Cent Press featuring:
Gentleman Reg (2pm)
Immaculate Machine (2:30pm)
Thee Goblins (3pm)
The Pack A.D. (3:30pm)
The Handsome Family (4pm)
Hot Panda (4:30pm)
The Phenomenal Handclap Band (5pm)'

Plus Also Too...

Hot Panda
Wed March 18 @ 3pm: Breakthru Radio Party at the Beauty Bar (617 E 7th St)
Thu March 19 @ 1:30pm: Pirate Promotions Party at Room 710 (710 Red River)
Thu March 19 @ 4:30pm: Mint Hootenanny at Headhunters back patio (720 Red River, side door)
Fri March 20 @ 5pm: Party at 604 E 6th St.
Sat March 21 @ 9pm: Mint Label Showcase, Habana Calle 6 (709 E 6th St)

Immaculate Machine
Wed March 18 @ 1:20pm: XM The Verge session (*private - but you can listen online)
Thu March 19 @ 2:30pm: Mint Hootenanny at Headhunters back patio (720 Red River, side door)
Fri March 20 @ 8:15pm: NXNE Party at Caswell House (1404 West Avenue)
Sat March 21@ 3:40pm: Bump into Canada party at El Sol (Canada House) (600 E 6th St)
Sat March 21 @ 10pm: Mint Label Showcase, Habana Calle 6 (709 E 6th St)

Nardwuar / The Evaporators / Thee Goblins
Thu March 19 @ 3pm: Mint Hootenanny at Headhunters back patio (720 Red River, side door) - Thee Goblins only!
Fri March 20 @ 3;30pm: Nardwuar's Video Vault, Austin Convention Center, room 16B
Fri March 20 @ 6pm: HMS Hazard House Party (West Campus). Email lewskerdu [at] gmail.com for directions
Sat March 21 @ 3pm: Todd P Party, Ms Beas (1104 E 6th St)
Sat March 21 @ 1am: Mint Label Showcase, Habana Calle 6 (709 E 6th St)

The Pack A.D.
Thu March 19 @ 3:30pm: Mint Hootenanny at Headhunters back patio (720 Red River, side door)
Thu March 19 @ 6pm: Roadhouse Rags (1600 Fortview Rd)
Fri March 20 @ 6pm: HMS Hazard House Party (West Campus). Email lewskerdu [at] gmail.com for directions
Sat March 21 @ 11pm: Mint Label Showcase, Habana Calle 6 (709 E 6th St)

We're just a few short days from the release of Hot Panda's sophomore album, How Come I'm Dead?. To celebrate, the band is inviting fans, friends, and other bands to try their hand at remixing the album's first single, "Mindlessnesslessness". To sweeten the deal, we're offering to show off the best remix creation on our next Mint sampler compilation and a Mint prize pack. We'll post the runners up on mintrecs.com too.

Now, what are you waiting for? Grab the song stems for the remix here and start working on your masterpiece. Send completed remixes to info@mintrecs by November 12th.  Oh boy!

Continuing their legacy of eclectic lo-fi indie pop albums for Mint, Hot Panda's Go Outside will be out on July 17th. Once again recorded by the famed JC/DC team of David Carswell and John Collins (The New Pornographers, Tegan and Sara), the album is just as vibrant as their first two albums, yet significantly more developed.

You can listen to "Future Markets" here. 

"This song has that sort of restrained, through the teeth aggression that is felt mere moments before the brick goes through the window or the bowl of noodles hits the wall behind your girlfriend's head." - Vice

Track Listing:

1. One In The Head, One In The Chest

2. Language

3. Future Markets

4. Littered Coins

5. Maybe Now?

6. Holidays

7. Winter Song

8. Go Outside

9. See You All Around

10. Boats

Tour Dates: 

April 13 - Seattle - Comet Tavern

April 19 - Portland - Doug Fir

April 30 - Swamp - Freiburg, Germany

May 1 - Viadukt, Zürich, Switzerland

May 2 - Viadukt, Zürich, Switzerland

May 4 - La Parenthese, Nylon, Switzerland

May 5 - Kranhalle, Munchen, Germany

May 7 - Cafe Video, Gent, Belgium

May 8 - L'International, Paris, France

May 10 - The Great Escape, Brighton, UK

 

NEWSFLASH!

Some exciting news for Hot Panda! After a brief encounter at SXSW and a frenzy of emails, our Hot Panda are joining the Von Bondies on their upcoming European tour. And they leave soon – on April 16th.

The band is thrilled about the adventure. However, to go, they had to postpone the last part of their North American tour. So, if you are in New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Halifax, Fredericton, Quebec City, Montreal, or Ottawa, the Pandas will be rescheduling those dates soon. We promise!

Sun April 19, Hamburg, Molotow w/ Von Bondies

Mon April 20, Berlin, Magnet w/ Von Bondies

Thu April 23, London, Kings College w/ Von Bondies

Fri April 24, London, The Windmill Brixton

Sat April 25, Birmingham, Bar Academy w/ Von Bondies

Sun April 26, Glasgow, King Tuts  w/ Von Bondies

Mon April 27, Manchester, Ruby Lounge  w/ Von Bondies

Wed April 29, Koln, Gebaude w/ Von Bondies

Thu April 30, Vienna, Flex w/ Von Bondies

Mon May 4, Amsterdam, Melkweg Old Room w/ Von Bondies

Tue May 5, Paris, Nouveau Casino w/ Von Bondies

END OF NEWSFLASH!