04.29.2009 ·Brian Borcherdt's new video for 'Scout Leader' is done! Director Scott Cudmore made a great and spooky video that suits Brian's song-writing perfectly. Speaking of great directors, Sean Wainsteim added an East Coast Music Award for 'Video of the Year' to his Much Music Video Award for Wintersleep's 'Weighty Ghost'!
02.25.2009 · Contrived performed 'Not A Goodbye' on Toro Magazine's Garage Band just before heading over to the sold out Hand Drawn Dracula showcase at the Whipper Snapper gallery. In Wintersleep news... 'Welcome to the Night Sky" was released in Europe this week on 147 Records with our Hand Drawn Dracula artwork!
02.12.2009 · Contrived performed a set which included an epic version of 'South Dakota' for Live @ THE VERGE. The session can be heard on XM Radio Wednesday February 25th - 6amET and Sunday March 1st - 9am/9pmET.
02.06.2009 · A successful Hand Drawn Dracula showcase in Toronto! It was a capacity crowd with waiting line-ups, Bravo filmed Brian's set for an upcoming segment and Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) & Dave LeMerde DJ'd! Watch clips from the event on our youtube.com/HDD page and we'll be posting photos soon.
02.04.2009 · Contrived played MTV|Live at the Masonic Temple in Toronto. Watch the video stream of 'Not a Goodbye', 'Angels Rioting Against the Nothing' and 'The War to Settle the Score' on MTV.ca.
Contrived's 'Blank Blank Blank' just reviewed in the February issue of Canada's music magazine authority: exclaim!
"The label's logo is a child-like sketch of a fanged creature's head, but Mejia's artwork, printed on "130-lb, double-thick, antique-stock" paper with hand-crafted packaging, is clinically precise and - crucial for branding purposes - undoubtedly recognizable. Borcherdt aspires to making HDD worthy of "a section in somebody's CD shelf that's not alphabetized like anything else: It sits alone because it's aesthetically pleasing and has a certain feel, like something they're excited to have." - National Post
01.03.2009 · HDD hit the ground running releasing three albums in the last three months of 2008... that have already made best of 2008 year end lists! Including:
Some of our favorite music of 2008 was released by Hand Drawn Dracula related artists and friends... Black Moth Super Rainbow's Tobacco, Shugo Tokumaru, Wolf Parade, Chad VanGaalen, Land of Talk, Quest for Fire, Teenanger, Songs From a Room and a lot more put out great records!
Members of Contrived and Wintersleep listed some of their favorite 2008 moments and music at exclaim.com and venuszine.com. I've also noted some of my favorite albums and tracks below and on the HDD facebook page. - James.
BEST of 2008 List:
Albums Kurt Vile: Constant Hitmaker
Zombie Zombie: A Land For Renegades
Eine Kleine Nacht Musik: self-titled
Grouper: Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
The Muslims (The Soft Pack): self-titled
Experimental Aircraft: 3rd Transmission
Harvey Milk: Life... Best Game In Town
Magic Lantern: High Beams
Loop: Fade Out (reissue)
Sun Araw: Beach Head
Singles Cold Cave: Trees Grew Emotions & Died
Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Kurt Cobain's Cardigan
Byetone: Plastic Star
South Central: Aeon
Lau Nau: Painovoima, Valoa
Jacuzzi Boys: Island Avenue
Ty Segall: The Drag
Valet: Kehaar
Underground Railroad: One More Hit
12.19.2008 · Contrived's 'Not a Goodbye (vice edit)' and Brian Borcherdt's 'While I Was Asleep' are both featured on the new Vice Magazine CD Sampler alongside Deerhunter, MF Doom, Of Montreal... Contrived have also been brought to the attention of MySpace who granted them the featured-artist status Dec 09 - 17th.
12.10.2008 · CAMERA MUSIC : A ROAD MOVIE WITH BRIAN BORCHERDT.
Scott Cudmore directed this beautifully shot document for AUX TV. Air times & channels listed on www.aux.tv.
11.29.2008 · FREE Contrived download for a limited time! iTunes has chosen the track 'Keepsake' as 'Single of the Week' starting Nov.25th 2008. Check it out by going to the store section of your iTunes player or go directly HERE.
In more iTunes news, 'Blank, Blank, Blank' charted at #26 today on iTunes Top 100 Alternative Albums amongst some impressive company. Check out the chart HERE.
Contrived have also been receiving a lot of play and love on Radio Canada's BandeÀPart. You can visit the station's website www.bandeapart.fm for the video podcast, or alternatively, this link will download the video directly to your iTunes: rss.radio-canada.ca/bandeapart
On the road with Brian Borcherdt and Holy Fuck! Brian keeps an Exclaim! Magazine Tour Blog as he travels across Canada supporting Martha Wainwright and immediately follows it with a Holy Fuck Australia/New Zealand tour. Keep up to date with Brian HERE.
Listen to CBC Radio 3 Podcast feature "The Appreciation of Brian Borcherdt" - an in-depth look at the career highs and lows of the highly influential Holy Fuck founder and watch Brian Borcherdt's MTV|LIVE performance on-line HERE: 01. Motel 02. While I was Asleep 03. Means of Escape.
10.28.2008 · Download CBC Q podcast featuring Brian Borcherdt from the Halifax Pop Explosion HERE. Or see Brian on MTV (6pm/11pm) or live (5pm) on Tuesday Novemer 4th. For free tickets call 1.888.491.6888 or email liveaudience@mtv.ca.
Rave reviews for Brian Borcherdt's new album COYOTES! "Treasure of a record" (eye Magazine), "probably my #1 album this year" (slowcoustic), "as if Elliott Smith regained his voice via Neil Young's Dead Man" (exclaim!). Read more ... 09.16.2008 · Brian Borcherdt's COYOTES release date: Oct.07.08 / tour dates:
Oct.01.2008 Phoenix · Toronto w/ Wintersleep
Oct.03.2008 POP Montreal· Hand Drawn Dracula Showcase!!! Oct.25.2008 Halifax POP w/ Basia Bulat
Nov.28.2008 The Commodore · Vancouver w/ Martha Wainwright
Nov.30.2008 Grand Theatre · Calgary w/ Martha Wainwright
Dec.01.2008 Myer Horowitz Theatre · Edmonton w/ Martha Wainwright
Dec.02.2008 Broadway Theatre · Saskatoon w/ Martha Wainwright
Dec.03.2008 Pyramid Cabaret · Winnipeg w/ Martha Wainwright
Dec.05.2008 Gig Theatre · Kitchener w/ Martha Wainwright
Dec.06.2008 Danforth Music Hall · Toronto w/ Martha Wainwright
08.19.2008 · Off The International Radar will be opening for A Place To Bury Strangers and Sian Alice Group on Friday Sept. 19 at Lee's Palace (Toronto ON) & will be performing at LOLA Festival w/ Holy Fuck, Plants & Animals... on Saturday Sept.20th (London ON)! The new EP will be released October 2008 and includes 3 new songs recorded in New York this past year, and a remix of E Bowl of Iris by Holy Fuck!
07.14.2008 · Wintersleep's Welcome to the Night Sky vinyl pre-sales start soon! The vinyl features new artwork (Melissa Kearney, Paul Murphy, James Mejia), lyrics, and a PIN code allowing you to download the album digitally. *** Limited edition clear vinyl available on-line only!
07.07.2008 · Holy Fuck nominated for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize!
The guys have been on a roll playing festivals from Roskilde and Glastonbury to Lollapalooza while garnering praise from the likes of Radiohead, Lou Reed and most recently Michael Stipe!
Check out Holy Fuck's appearance at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, on the morning of May 31st 2008 5:30 a.m. They are joined on stage by A place to Bury Strangers, Les Savy Fav and the audience! The stage invasion starts around 2 minutes into the video. Great Young Turks photo blog here.
06.15.2008 · Wintersleep win a 2008 Much Music Video Award for Weighty Ghost (Director: Sean Wainsteim) and a 2008 JUNO Award for Best New Group!
