The blind loyalty of patriotism is completely fatuous when you are 75 per cent skeptic/cynic/jerk. Patriotism is something usually claimed in defense to a statement or sentiment I find personally offensive. Like when I’m GChatting with my friend Monique, who lives in Jersey, and she’s all, “How do you not have CVS up there?” And I’m like, “At least I don’t have to pay to see a doctor when I panic that I’m on the verge of an aneurysm but it’s actually just a hangover.” Maybe it’s just that patriotism, specifically Canadian patriotism, has always been culturally incongruent with my personal reality. Like, who even knows a hoser? And also, I basically can’t tell anyone from Broken Social Scene apart. And WHY aren’t we more proud of the very precise tang of ketchup chips? You can’t just get those anywhere, you know. Agreeing on cultural knickknacks that double as national emblems is probably impossible, so let’s rally around the fact that some adventurous Canadians are killing the game, musically. It’s been kind of a while since we’ve heard from singer Zaki Ibrahim. Turns out she’s been traveling a lot, recording songs and filming music videos in her native South Africa, and still working with Canadians all the while! “Something In The Water” is the new thing, out this week; a trickling tune overlaid with jazzy, dissonant harmonies and anchored by snatches of growling bass. Something In the Water by Zaki Ibrahim Azari & III‘s self-titled album is getting an international re-release in January, and so the Toronto-foursome has a new video out for, “Reckless With Your Love,” which is basically recalibrates the bar for ‘fierce.’ The weirdo, Tangerine Tango palette recalls The Fifth Element (a great relic of ’90s) and the Weeknd’s recent Mikael Columbo-directed video for “The Knowing.” FUTURISM.
Producer Egyptrixx, an affiliate of extra-cool London dance music label Night Slugs, teamed up with fellow pop rock locals Oh Bijou to flip this song “Old Black” by a drone metal band called Earth. It’s a kind-of weird pairing, I guess, but this song is like a seed of awesome potential that needs to happen more! I’m saying, I think Measha Brueggergosman needs to do a song with Fucked Up. Anupa Mistry writes regularly about music for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @_anupa.
