Our patience was running thin with the slow crawl out of winter 2022. In the early months of the year, we saw the return of an energized Arts Scene finding its sturdy legs again after the pandemic shook our enthusiasm.
The spring and summer of 2022 were memorable times in Ottawa. We saw a “Double Cohort” of new arts/music fans enter our scene. Having not been able to see or participate in large gatherings in tiny punk rock venues since the Fall of 2019, the attendance of new ears, eyes and faces was momentous.
So we must ask ourselves, “How does Ottawa top 2022?”
Let’s plunge into our scene and get to know a few Artists we are excited to see & hear from in 2023!
With a solid decade of music under their belt, Lazzy Lung started a new chapter in Ottawa in 2022. Putting together a fresh lineup of seasoned Ottawa talent.
We asked singer/songwriter Allan Chaaraoui about the memorable moments of 2022: “ We’ve just been working hard on getting our sound right, rehearsing and composing. So when we got to play live together – it was magic” said Allan Chaaraoui.
Their first show back was Oct 28th at Bowie’s in Smith Falls, ON.
When asked if the pandemic influenced or changed the way Lazzy Lung writes, Allan said: “In some ways, it forced us to be more disciplined in terms of practicing at home. I had to make backing track mixes for everyone, ‘so everyone would like Guitar’oke and Drum’oke at home’” he added, though: “Nothing compares to being all together and presenting an idea and working it out.”
Their last release “Swim Tide” in 2018 holds “an emotional journey of learning to let go, accepting the curse of the currents (struggles with cancer & living in a country on the brink of collapse)” said Chaaraoui.
On new music for 2023, Chaaraoui said “Heavier tunes with a more upbeat message are in the works. Way less ‘oh my god my mom’s dying kind of vibe’ for sure.”
For those who always need a fresh track on their playlist, artist Hip from newagehip lets us into his world of psychedelic Ottawa hip-hop.
Newagehip is one of three personas created by the Ottawa artist known as Hip.
“These ‘alter-egos’ represent the different faces of my character as well as the contrast of the world they all live in,” said Hip.
The personalities include “newagehip” (psychedelic hip-hop), “Awelawen” (Shiregaze / ambient) and “Low Qual” (noise / experimental hip-hop).
When asked about some of the highlights of 2022, Hip said “Seeing my friends winning! But, if I had to choose some for myself I’d have to say the Das & Hip performance at Late Night BBQ. The crowd response was truly amazing cause Das & I have never really gotten love like that from the local scene.”
If you listen and vibe to a newagehip track and want to dig a little deeper into the Ottawa Hip Hop scene, Hip told us where to start: “As far as a place to start I’d say listen to some Dashype or Hug Mosh, pull up to a Yung Heat & WLFKT show or hit up Deathwish. & Kyazze over at BPM Studios.”
What can we expect from Hip in 2023?
“As far as music goes I have a blues rock demo project with my buddy Trench Foot called Rotten Teeth that we’re putting out sometime in January. It’s way different than both of our usual styles but something we’ve always talked about doing together,” said Hip.
He continued, “Outside of my music, I’m curating a full-day fashion and music festival at the saw gallery in May called Mind Altering Festival. I’m throwing a medieval hip-hop festival with Many Place Money Party. We also have a few pretty big co-present events with some local companies that we’re super excited to work with. All in all, I’m gearing up for an insanely busy year!!”
Leeny Jones is a Singer/Songwriter from Hull, QC. You can sometimes find her slinging drinks at Live On Elgin. Dave, Dana & Robert make up “The Boys” who back up Jones to complete that live big band sound.
Jones is a seasoned musician from the Ottawa Valley. Formerly the bassist in Ottawa’s own “Sparklesaurus”; Jones has taken their voice and songs to center stage.
In 2022, Jones played both solo and with a full band. When asked about the process of integrating “The Boys” into their solo stuff, Jones said “It’s nice to collaborate with The Boys. I bring them bare-bones ideas and they help fill them out. I always express my thoughts about the songs, but I’m always intrigued to see what they want to offer to the song. We always try to meet in the Middle”
“Dear Robert” is a song Jones wrote after the death of her Cousin in February 2021.
“It’s not always easy for me to express how much how much my family means to me, but it was a little bit easier to put down what she meant to me in a song, I wrote this for my family so we can all listen and feel our feelings together,” said Jones.
For 2023 Jones expects to release a few new singles. Among them is one called “Rotten Potatoes”.
“I recorded Rotten Potatoes in August 2022 It’s a country’esque song co-written with Felicity Decarle. It turned out a little different than what we originally thought but we brought in the right musicians to round it out perfectly,” Jones said
We spoke with Marianne Keuleman, Singer/Songer of Oddeline, to talk about their music and the upcoming year.
“I love making music! The whole production; writing, playing live and working with other musicians. Keep doing new things and getting better. I love working in different areas of music. Being an Artist is my real ambition.”
Oddeline has a great catalogue of produced music. “Fated to Drown” was self-engineered in their home studio during the pandemic with collaboration from various artists. We asked about track 3 “Eden”.
“That one I felt came from different things. One of them is a song by Kate Bush called ‘Suspended in Gaffa’. In the first verse, Kate is talking about Eden and about Adam and Eve from the perspective of Eve. This inspired me to write a little about that idea. It was also partly to do with a phone call I had with someone I’d known growing up. It was a weird phone call where it felt like we were not close anymore and we didn’t have time for each other.”
With a full band made up of talented musicians, Oddeline is expected to make moves in 2023.
“It’s all coming together now with a few new releases. Not entirely sure when. A single and project I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s coming together and I’m really excited about it.”
Telling their story through an album and the tracks are important. When putting an album together, Oddeline puts some agonizing thought into how it should sound.
“I grew up listening to full albums. I found a bunch of vinyl records in my parent’s basement. I really dove in and really got to know those artists through those albums. I put a lot of thought into mine and I’m okay with people shuffling, but hopefully, they will listen to it in order”
Dart Trees is a self-described “College drunk rock band for good times & bad times”.
We sat down with Nick and Hunter to talk about 2022 and what we can expect from them in 2023.
The members of the band are Nik Skilton, Nick Baker, Hunter Vanderlaan and Sam Rymil.
“Everything started taking off in 2022 – but everything got cancelled with the lockdown and convoy. Over the summer we all hated our jobs. We had nothing really to do other than play shows, or beg people to play shows,” Hunter said.
In the lead-up to the summer of 2022, we started to notice Dart Trees playing alongside other Ottawa bands such as Sorry Snowman and Out By Lucy. They managed to hit the road and toured through Peterborough and Montreal.
“World Tour!” Nick laughed, “Peterborough, Ontario! Peterborough on a Tuesday Night. Sorry Snowman couldn’t get a local opener,” said Nick.
“When we went it looked like the venue had not been cleaned up from Saturday. There were bottles and stuff all over the bar. There was a broken treadmill by the Bathroom,” said Hunter.
In Montreal, they played at the legendary venue Barfly.
“It felt like The Dom meets Avant Garde Bar,” said Hunter.
Most memorable moments of 2022.
‘Definitely Side by side. All of the Side by Side artists were wicked. It was great to get a free ticket. Wine Lips were Crazy!” said Nick.
“The Halloween show at The Rainbow with Heavy Sweater, Sorry Snowman & Guest Room Status,” said Hunter.
Their songs “Music for Dudes Named Ryan” and “Jim Watson you’ve had it too good for too long” came out in 2022. We asked Dart Trees what we can hear from them in 2023.
“We have an EP recorded with FanClubWallet. We will release it once Hannah is done with their magic on it.” Recording is super weird because we’re not good at it, but Hannah is amazing at it” Said Nick.
BANEZEAN is a solo project devised by Zane Bean who “ writes and records everything” himself.
“For live shows, I recruit my good friends, Alex, Seb and Cam to help me build a live experience. Each member comes from another local band that I’ve worked with in the past,” said Zane.
Alex is from Nailbox, Seb is from Ghostblade and Cam is from Organ Eyes.
In 2022, BANEZEAN graced our local venues with their hard-hitting brand of rock and gained many new fans in the Ottawa Music Scene.
“2022 was the first year of performing live shows under Banezean. We have reached a number of 14 shows in 2022. We played almost every show we got offered and were overwhelmed by the turnout of people showing up to support.”
“A highlight from 2022 was the Free DIY House Show / Kegger I threw in July. We packed around 100 bodies into a tiny basement in Nepean and we supplied free (foamy) beer from a 50L keg. In 2016-2019 I spent a lot of time at a house venue called ‘ASK A PUNK’ that no longer exists anymore and this kegger I threw brought back those house show memories I love so much. Just a great time with friends and live music.”
Their October 2022 release “Spill the Beans” is a 3 song EP. We asked Zane about the production on this release.
“Drums were recorded at a home studio in Ottawa by Dean Hadjichistou. Guitar, bass, & vocals were recorded by myself in my bedroom. The song then got sent to Dan Bell in Oshawa, Ontario, who Mixed and Mastered the EP,” said Zane.
So, dust off your Earplugs! BANEZEAN will be hitting a local stage near you. When asked who they would like to open for, Touring bands or Locals, Zane said “A touring band I would love to open for is Alexisonfire. A local band would be Neon Ghosthouse.”