We had originally planned for 15 songs each but found it was too difficult to fit in all the artists we felt needed to be included and decided to go with 20 each. Luckily, HI54LOFI included some of our favourites and I think we had some of his on ours, so we helped each other out a bit.

Granted, there are far more than 40 noteworthy Canadian artists out there and there were some hard decisions. Any disappointed acts crying into their maple syrup or taking out frustrations on their teamates on the ice, please don’t despair, there is always next year.

We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making them. These songs certainly haven’t helped banish our romantic view of Canada.

Wake The Deaf side:

1.Docking Guard – Northern Primitive
2. Drop It – NEEDLES//PINS
3. Flyingshot Lake – The Flaming Moes
4. Ask Me Something – Wind & the Wild
5. Left and Leaving – The Weakerthans
6. Snow Ghosts – Paul Stewart
7. Voyageur – Doug MacNearney
8. The Future Of Tradition – Frederick Squire
9. Bruises – Dusted
10. Ben – Tyler Butler
11. Warning – Postdata
12. Margaret Downe – Aidan Knight
13. Coming Back Home – Zachary Lucky
14. Sask – Donovan Woods
15. Young Glass – Hey Rosetta!
16. Lightshow – Plants & Animals
17. And I Thank You – Pink Mountaintops
18. Cloud Of Evil – Blackout Beach
19. Sing! Captain – Handsome Furs
20. Continuous Thunder – Japandroids

HI54LOFI side:

1. Welcome To The Heart – Eamon McGrath
2. Broken Knees. – Different Skeletons
3. Sunset – Two Bicycles
4. Brook and Branch – The Weather Station (featuring Baby Eagle)
5. Skinny Ghost – HAPPY TRENDY
6. Deny, Deny, Deny – Joel Plaskett
7. You’re Cool – The Joe
8. Oh My God (It Still Means A Lot To Me) – The Wooden Sky
9. Necromancy – Jessica Jalbert
10. Scared – The Tragically Hip
11. Family Tree – Evening Hymns
12. Wind Driving Dogs – Chad VanGaalen
13. Were You In Love With Me – Andy Shauf
14. Big Bird In A Small Cage – Patrick Watson
15. I Need You Closer – LadyFace
16. Where are you? – nick everett
17. The Very Best – Mike Tod
18. Vapours – Islands
19. Sugar Mama – The Deep Dark Woods
20. Road Regrets – Dan Mangan

You can find both mixes here as a collection.

EH? – A Canadian Mixtape (Wake The Deaf Side) from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

EH? – A Canadian Mix Tape (HI54LOFI Side) from HI54LOFI on 8tracks Radio.

If anyone can think of any more Canada-themed cliches or stereotypes then please don’t hesitate to let us know for next year’s mix. Going by this collection of songs, being insanely talented might just be one more.

The post EH? – A Canadian Mixtape Complied By Wake The Deaf & HI54LOFI appeared first on Various Small Flames.

This is the sort of album that sinks in with repeated listens. While the strummed banjo and gruff vocals mean the songs are instantly satisfying, the experience is enhanced exponentially if you are willing to spend some time exploring the lyrics. After a certain number of listens, when the pretty couplets become less isolated and begin to stick together, the true beauty and purpose of the songs is revealed.

The album opens with ‘Voyageur’, a song about the Métis people, a race of aboriginal Canadians who were born to First Nation mothers and European fathers. The song’s title refers to francophone travellers who transported furs around Canada by canoe in the 18th and 19th centuries, many of whom fathered Métis children by native women on their travels. ‘Voyageur’ is a beautifully sad song told from the perspective of an aboriginal woman who yearns for the return of the father of her child. The theme is nicely captured with the line I have chosen below:

“Each day now my stomach gets bigger,
it is summer it’s June.

And I’ll tell him his Poppa was tall and handsome
and I’ll tell him he’s coming home soon.”

Another track, ‘The Wind It Will Blow’, is based around the reflections of a man who has lived his life and is preparing for the end, with Doug MacNearney ruminating on family and love and life and death. It opens with the line:

“Oh the wind it will blow over and over my bones as they bleach upon the hill.”

It is a song about about the passing of time and the passing of loved ones and the strength and hope that people muster to carry on. This sentiment is illustrated with this line near the end of the song:

“And tell my children to go on through the winters and be strong and our song will carry on through the pines trees.”

Rambling Songs truly a heartfelt record, and one that cannot be recommended enough if you are a fan of folk. It is true that the record is quintessentially Canadian, although it remains relevant regardless of where you come from. It’s equally powerful whether you have rambled yourself or have simply dreamed of doing so whilst stuck in some dreary office complex.

The album is due to be released on the 27th of April (i.e. this coming Saturday). You can pre-order it via the Doug MacNearney Bandcamp page. The pre-order includes a CD and digital download code of the album and comes with a fold-out lyrcis/chords sheet, hand-drawn artwork and a poster (see below) by Prince Edward Island artist Susan Christensen. It is also worth noting that Macnearney has made the first eight tracks available for free download as a taster of the album. Get it here.

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