Our ferocious duo, The Pack a.d. can now add "Juno Nominee" to their long long list of accomplishments. Congratulations Becky and Maya, you've earned this one! We're looking forward to seeing what these two do next as they've been keeping busy, recording a new album and scheming to take over the world.

 

You can check out the full list of nominees here.

We'd like to take a moment to share some good news with you. We've added Toronto's Pick a Piper to the Mint Records roster! The band is made up of Brad Weber, who you may remember as a touring member of Caribou, as well his friends Clint Scrivener, Angus Fraser and Dan Roberts. Pick a Piper’s self-titled April 2nd debut features guest appearances from members of The Ruby Suns, Enon/Braniac, Born Ruffians and Braids. 

You can download the band's first single here: 

Remember that time we got really high off of paint fumes while silkscreening Mint/CiTR Pop Alliance LP covers? Well, this March, we're going to open the windows and do it again. GET READY for VOLUME 3 of the Mint/CiTR Pop Alliance Compilation! It will be out on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013.

To carry on the Pop Alliance tradition, we called upon CiTR’s Duncan McHugh (aka: the host of Duncan’s Donuts) to bring together 14 of Vancouver's finest including Jay Arner, Movieland, Korean Gut (RIP), Peace and more. Many songs are un-released and once again, all proceeds will go back to CiTR 101.9 - the birthplace of Mint Records! 

Only 300 of these waxy gems will be pressed, carefully silkscreened by the station's volunteers and numbered by hand. You can get one by donating to the station during their upcoming funding drive (Feb 28 - Mar 8), pre-ordering the release from us, or waiting for the record to hit record store shelves on Tuesday March 5th, 2013.

And while we're rambling, check out the incredible album artwork from former CiTR DJ, Melanie Coles. Mr. Jay Arner also deserves a golden star for mastering this creation and producing many of the tracks on the record.

To unleash this record in style, we're rounding up as many of the bands on the comp as possible (the lineup is currently TBD) and taking over Chapel Arts (204 Dunlevy) for an evening. This time, we're setting up not one, but two stages. Mark Friday, March 8th on your calendar, it's going to be swell! 

Now, you're probably wondering about the bands: 

MovielandMovieland is Alie, Selina, Adrienne and Davina. They take turns writing their own songs.“1-2-3-4 Get Fucked” comes from their so-to-be released debut on Green Burrito Records. It was mixed and recorded by Mr. Jay Arner.

PeaceAccording to Spin, “Your Hand in Mine” is a moonlit number with a heavy heart and dead eyes. We borrowed this track from their 2012 release called The World is Too Much With Us (Suicide Squeeze).

Jay ArnerJay Arner is the multitalented man-about-town who co-recorded the new Apollo Ghosts record and contributes to bands including Fine MistBleating Hearts and Gal Gracen. He was kind enough to produce several songs on this compilation and mastered the release too. His upcoming TBD solo project is something you should probably look out for!

Gal GracenPatrick Geraghty, of Role Mach (you may remember him from Vol 2 of The Pop Alliance collection), calls his newest band Gal Gracen and his live band features Adrian from Apollo Ghosts as well as Jay Arner.

PUPSPUPS is Caitlin Livingston, Katie Gravestock and Rose Melberg. They are from Vancouver, B.C.

FanshawOlivia Fetherstonhaugh aka Fanshaw is known for taking her time with songwriting. This is the first song that has surfaced since her Dark Eyes debut. After listening to this and her previous release, we’ll be right here, patiently waiting to see what she does next. 

Aaron ReadBorn and recording in Burnaby, BC, Aaron Read makes maunal pop songs with guitars, drums, voices, noises and keyboards. Songs are made out of and always inspired by friends, family, films, experiences and field recordings.  In 2011, he captured our interest with his debut record, Bubble Skulls. Since Aaron is a total mensch, he recorded “Unlimited Sight” especially for us. Thanks again Aaron! 

Korean Gut: Korean Gut is a surf-garage band, but they don't exist anymore. Jarrett wrote this song about something their bass player said at practice, and it morphed into a bitter rant against people who confront you in troubled times just to feel better about themselves. At least it wasn't about comic books for once. You should probably check out theirYour Misery – Our Benefit 7” (Mammoth Cave). It is a thing of true beauty. When we told them about this comp, Korean Gut were kind enough to record this song just for us. 

Needles//PinsThis is powery, poppy, garagey, punkish stuff from Vancouver, BC. “I Heart Drugs” came from their 2012 creation 12:34 (Mammoth Cave).

The CourtneysSun drenched flying nun influenced pop with sweet licks that'll stick with you for days. 

“The Courtneys are one of those bands that you can file under “feel-good.” I mean, the three-piece named their first release Keanu Reeves (yes, after THAT Keanu Reeves), and their songs don’t have a single angry bone of note.” – Vice

The ladies even have a video for "90210" – you can watch it here.

Babysitter"Victoria B.C.’s Babysitter are a savvy bunch of garage gourmets whose love of lo-fi and d.i.y. decor is honest and appealing." – Discorder

We should also mention, “Be Cool” is an outtake from their 2012 full-length debut called Eye (Psychic Handshake). 

BankrobberThis is Jordan Minkoff from Slam Dunk's other band, which pretty much automatically makes them awesome. Bankrobber is and will always be the band most closely associated with it's roots firmly planted in a mix of this meets that and vice versa. Since 2010 it has been Bankrobber that has been making that familiar sound of a dog biting a dog on a doglog.

WeedWeed is a heavy, grungey pop band from Vancouver, BC that features Will Anderson, Kevin Doherty, Hugo Noriega and Bobby Siadat. When not recording they play all-ages shows and publish a free monthly newsletter with Lucky’s Comics called "Dunk". This song is from last year's Gun Control EP. They just finished recording their debut LP in Seattle to be released in mid-2013.

SleuthSleuth are the 2011 CiTR Shindig Winners, have been featured on a Cloudberry Records compilation, played NYC Popfest last year, have one release, Brave Knew Nothing and are currently working on new recordings. Besides tipsy bowling with Mint Records, The Lion in Love, Julian Bowers, Oliver McTavish-Wisden and Leon Easter enjoy long walks on the beach and evenings by the fire.

"If you’ve been reading The FADER for a good couple of years, you’d know that there’s been a long-standing soft spot Studio, a now defunct duo that made beach disco perfect for lazing around. If you caught me in the right moment, I would probably tell you it was the best thing to ever exist. Renny Wilson—who probably spends a lot of time listening to yacht rock and old disco—has created a song that sits comfortably up there with Studio’s woefully small catalog. It’s lush and pretty, and more importantly: soft. Not in a bad way, though. It’s more that it feels blurred at the edges, existing in a constant half-sleep state of near bliss. Renny Wilson’s Sugarglider comes out January 22nd on Mint Records." 

Read more: http://www.thefader.com/2012/11/30/stream-renny-wilson-by-and-by/#ixzz2E2G0pDXH

We at Mint Records are proud to announce our latest signing, Edmonton Alberta's, Renny Wilson. Now, Renny Wilson is not your typical young man. He's a gentleman. He can sport a Canadian tuxedo like no other. And he is a menacing presence both in the studio and on the dance floor. Soon, Renny will win you over with his dizzy, saxified pop indulgences. Look out for his Mint Records debut, Sugarglider in early 2013. 

To give you a little more insight, Renny once described his musical being as "A film starring Hall & Oates set on a cruise ship with Donna Summer playing the woman of interest. Competition for her love nearly tears them apart, but they soon find out she and her accomplice, played by Paul McCartney, are plotting to sink the ship! Also, Al Green is the ship's resident crooner." We're just going to say that Sugarglider is our go-to party record these days and we're pretty sure you'll agree.

"As a rule, I pretty much love blissed-out, hypnotic, sax-filled jams, so I was already going to enjoy “By and By”, the new single from Edmonton’s Renny Wilson, but throw in a sexy jeans & gyration-filled, self-shot video, and you can set the Friday Fun meter to 10+++." - Herohill.com

Well, it's certainly a first for us here at Team Mint H.Q. to have one of our roster nominated for not one, but TWO Grammy Awards. That's right, our dear friend Neko Case appears twice as a nominee for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards! In the category of Best Contemporary Folk Album, Neko's brilliant Anti- Recordings release Middle Cyclone goes head to head with the likes of Tracy Chapman, Elvis Costello and Steve Earle, and for Best Recording Package, she's duking it out with David Byrne and Brian Eno and Spinal Tap, among others!

Keep your fingers crossed and your rabbits' feet close to your hearts on January 31, 2010. Let's see Neko bring home the gold (or whatever a Grammy is made of)!! We're proud of you Neko; we knew you had it in ya, even waaaay back.

...or even waaaaaaay back.

It looks like our Geoff Berner is once again Europe bound. This time, he's traveling with his klezmer trio of Wayne Adams and Diona Davies. 

Beginning in Bremen, Germany on Oct. 28, and finishing in Aalborg, Denmark on Nov. 27, the trio will hit Germany, England, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark, in a circuitous tour that takes them through 5 major festivals and a rash of sweaty club gigs.

 

This is their 2nd European tour of 2011, already having taken the new album to France, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other shows in Germany.  Reviews have been terrific for the new disc, which is available on CD, LP and all digital formats, including iTunes.

 

The trio's live shows are legendary debauches of drunken dancing, and the crowds have been getting ever-larger on each tour. Come on out for the Victory Party!

 

Dates Include:

 

Oct 28 -  Bremen, Germany at Weserterrassen, Klezmerwochen Festival

Oct 29 - Hildesheim, Germany at Folk n Fusion Festival   

Oct 30 - Halle, Germany at Objekt 5   

Nov 02 - Croydon, UK at The Green Dragon 

Nov 03 - London, UK at Jamboree

Nov 04, 2011 Bridlington, UK at MusicPort Festival   

Nov 05 - Bridlington, UK at MusicPort Festival   

Nov 06 - Vienna, Austria at Ostklub (Klezmore Festival)   

Nov 07 - Kronach, Germany at Struwwelpeter

Nov 08 - Fuerth, Germany at Babylon

Nov 09 - Augsburg, Germany at Ballonfabrik

Nov 10 - Fulda, Germany at Kreuz   

Nov 11 - Langenthal, Switzerland at Chramerhuus   

Nov 12 - Fribourg, Switzerland at Elvis et Moi   

Nov 13 - Schaffhausen, Switzerland at Tap Tab   

Nov 14 - Biel, Switzerland at International Lokal   

Nov 15 - Kassel, Germany at Schlachthof   

Nov 16 - Erfurt, Germany at Stadtgarten   

Nov 17 - Hamburg, Germany at Astrastube   

Nov 18 - Flensburg, Germany at Volksbad   

Nov 19 - Odense, Denmark at Studenterhuset

Nov 22 - Goteborg, Sweden at Mitt Andra Hem (with Blue Eyed Blondes)

Nov 23 - Stockholm, Sweden at Mosebacke (with Peter Murphy)

Nov 25 -  Frankfurt on Oder at Trans Vocale Festival

Nov 26 - Copenhagen, Denmark at Huset Magstraede 

Nov 27 - Aalborg, Denmark at 1000fryd   

 

"I'd heard other recordings from Berner, but this was the first time I'd been struck so viscerally and so deeply. The songs here make me want to dance. And sometimes they make me want to fight. Often they make me want to do both at exactly the same time." --Rootsworld Magazine

 

"Like rabbit tracks going through the backyard, Geoff Berner's intellectual path is both mysterious and twinkling. I would call him the perfect Canadian musician in that he spices so much of the soup with history while simultaneously delivering a heck of a tasty bowl." --SEE Magazine Edmonton

 

Hey y'all, just in time for the gift givey season, Mint has teamed up with our pals at eMusic to offer a free seven-song sampler featuring tracks from The Pack A.D., Kellarissa, the Buttless Chaps, the Awkward Stage, Vancougar, Novillero and Hot Panda! All's you need to do is pop on over to this link and claim your sampler! Of course you need to have an eMusic account to access the download, but that's easy enough!

Time's limited so go get it today!