Have you ever experienced frustration due to repetitive music playing at your favorite coffee shop? You’re not alone! A recent CBC article reported on how Starbucks workers took to Reddit to complain about how they had to listen to the same music all day. Not only does repetitive music create an undesirable work environment, but it is also said to be a “serious workers’ rights issue” for many individuals who have been working in restaurants and bars for years.

Chaque vendredi, les employés de notre Quartier général à Montréal se rejoignent au Café Stingray autour d’un verre pour célébrer les bons coups de la semaine et fraterniser entre collègues.

From viral sensations to promising up-and-comers, 2019 is producing an incredible crop of new artists that remind us why we listen to music at all. Here are some of our favorites so far. 

Depuis plus de vingt-cinq ans, Ma première Place des Arts soutient le talent émergent de la chanson francophone actuelle. Cette année, la finale du concours avait lieu à la Cinquième Salle de la Place des Arts et était animé avec brio par Olivier Robillard-Laveaux, sous la direction musicale de Jean-Francois Beaudet. Ma première Place des Arts a été le tremplin de plusieurs artistes qui bénéficient aujourd’hui de carrières actives et exaltantes tant à l’échelle locale qu’internationale. Certains anciens participants et anciens gagnants ont d’ailleurs été appelé à agir à titre de mentors auprès des finalistes du cru 2019.

In classical music, everybody admires the greatest conductors, the most well-known orchestra and the most renowned soloists. These stars of classical music get a lot of attention all over the world. They play in the biggest concerts halls and are the headliners of classical music festivals. But how does one become a classical music icon? What does it take to get to the top? And by giving the younger generation a bigger stage, will this also attract a younger audience? The younger classical generation presents Young Euro Classic!

Every year in May one of the biggest global classical and art music fairs is held in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Classical:NEXT is a meeting for labels, distributors, media, orchestras, artists, and managers. The mission of Classical:NEXT is to unify the global art music scene, to enable it to work better together. It focuses on innovation, increasing relevance and effectiveness in both business and creative aspects of the industry.

After the 2018 release of their debut album Icaros, the British electronic-soul quartet Noya Rao returns with new music on the 26th of April. The band’s new record, an EP named Owls, effortlessly blends a multitude of genres, similar to its predecessor. Comparable to acts like Little Dragon, James Blake, and Polica, the Leeds-based quartet plays with lo-fi hip-hop and soulful electronica. One of Noya Rao’s unique attributes is the band’s way of allowing each sound and instrument to be distinct enough to display its unique richness and still blend into a harmonic arrangement.

You all know my usual deal, I like to listen to music while doing something else and depending on how good an album is, I either find myself finishing the task with ease or in the case of We Need to Talk, sitting on my couch with my eyes closed listening to every lyric and getting lost in the story. At only 36 minutes long, the album is definitely a product of the streaming era since the songs are catchy and say a lot in a short time, but end too quickly for my liking. That isn’t on Tayla, the average song length has dropped almost 30 secs since hip-hop was born, so it makes sense that most artist now make shorter songs. Plus, they want you to repeat the track since they’re getting paid for every stream. My listening of that album alone may put Tayla and any future Tayla Jr. through college.