Episode 14 - March 26 2016 - Back to the jumbled scrambled mix

Songs played (* Canadian Content):

• Autre Ne Veut - Play By Play
• Flume feat. Autre Ne Veut & Ghostface Killah - Space Cadet
• Santigold feat. B.C. - Can't Get Enough of Myself
• Rococode* - A Diamond
• Speaker Face* - Centered
• Humans* - Bout Chu
• Anohni - Drone Bomb Me
• Hudson Mohawke - System
• Submotion Orchestra - In Gold
• ttwwrrss* - YHM
• Fatima Al Qadiri - Battery
• Ded Sheppard* - Taillights
• Sleepwreck feat. Kermode* - Moment of Truth
• MarzAttack - Pushin' On
• Chateau Marmont - Solar Apex

It's good to be back in an unthemed format for once! Some of it are leftovers from the themed episodes, some are tracks I've been dying to play but didn't fit in neither the FemCon nor the Francophone theme, and others are quite new tracks that came from albums and EPs that have been released recently or is about to be released.

There's a lot more instrumentals in this episode; I always enjoy instrumentals, especially those that are slightly more experimental but aren't too out there that they're alienating. Speaker Face is a perfect example of an artist that balances the experimental and the accessible vibe extremely well. They're a Toronto act signed to Vancouver's Hybridity Music label, much like Snowday; can't wait for their full-length!

Humans has a new release!! It's the two-song Water Water EP (not counting the radio edit of what is originally the 9-minute title track), and I've played the non-title track. It's definitely more oriented towards electronic fans than pop fans compared to their excellent full-length Noontide.

I can't wait until Anohni's new album, Hopelessness, drops - it's a collaboration between her, Hudson Mohawke, and Oneohtrix Point Never production-wise!! One of the most anticipated in the PulsarSounds context, blending chamber-pop with experimental electronic sounds. I mean, look at how well HudMo pulled off an orchestral/electronic blend in Lantern! And how Oneohtrix Point Never combined multiple genres in Garden of Delete. Definitely one to watch.

ttwwrrss and Fatima Al Qadiri's tracks are definitely the darker more experimental instrumentals, and East Van Digital signees Ded Sheppard and Sleepwreck bring the hard-hitting bassy tracks. We then close out with two electronic instrumentals from French acts that I've been introduced to by Wandering Rhythms host Nick Lagasse.

Next week! I'll bring you tunes by a bunch of local talent (and probs also elsewhere), including the 5 artists that will be performing live at Convocation Mall on April 7! The artists are as follows:

• Mngwa (funk/cumbia/dub/psychedelic fusion...also Nick Lagasse's band)
• Mu (synthpop)
• Dumb (garage pop punk)
• Gnargles (hip-hop)
• J-ClaWsin (hip-hop)

So yes, I'll be genre-hopping. Make sure to tune in 7-8:30pm on April 2nd ;)

Audio links to the so-called 'Vanilla archives', aka 30-minute long MP3 streams:

http://cjsf.ca/vanilla_archives/2016_March_26_19_00.mp3

http://cjsf.ca/vanilla_archives/2016_March_26_19_30.mp3

http://cjsf.ca/vanilla_archives/2016_March_26_20_00.mp3

Podcast Format Changes

Due to a new change within SoundCloud, which I assume is related to major labels like Sony signing onto the streaming service (article here for reference), we are not able to post music shows or anything showcasing copyrighted material on the streaming platform.

As a temporary substitute as we research an alternative method or platform for showcasing music shows, I will put up the links to the online MP3 stream in a URL format. You'll see it for the upcoming episode!

Episode 13 - March 19 2016 - Épisode Francophone pour la Journée Internationale de la Francophonie

Songs played (* Canadian Content):

• Ariane Moffatt* - Miami
• MC Solaar - RMI
• Dead Obies* - Pour Vrai
• Radio Radio* - Gong Hotel
• Pierre Kwenders feat. Jacobus* - Mardi Gras
• Arthur Comeau* - Chemin à Car
• TTC - De Pauvres Riches
• Beat Market* - Madonyx
• Bronswick* - Comme La Mer
• Paupière* - Cinq Heures
• Essaie Pas* - Depassée Par le Fantasme
• Yelle - À Cause des Garçons (À Caus' des Garçons cover)
• Yelle - Que Veux-Tu (Madeon remix)
• Monogrenade* - Cercles et Pentagones
• La Femme - Jaded Future-Future Las
• Stromae - Papaoutai

Joyeuse Journée Internationale de la Francophonie à tous le monde!!! To celebrate International Francophone Day I've compiled some electropop and hip-hop tracks from artists that perform their material primarily in French. 

I've studied French from elementary school all the way to high school, but haven't really practiced French from university onwards. That didn't totally kill my interest in the French language however, and I've retained some knowledge of French by listening to Francophone music, playing games in French, and reading French news articles. I used to go to a language exchange meetup to work on my speaking, but unfortunately due to time constraints I've not been able to make it for a while. I might come back though!

I probably won't end up elaborating on my international background in an entire episode, but mention it briefly in future episodes, mostly because I listened mostly to mainstream pop music and old classics during my childhood. Since I lived in Africa for 9 years (3 different countries), I didn't have rapid internet collection or access to a wide array of music. Nor did I listen to a lot of electronic music or local music back then, so it may not fit into the scope of PulsarSounds. Either way, I'll try and incorporate some backstories as I go!

But speaking of the international background, I did encounter MC Solaar and Ariane Moffatt in school while I was studying French at international schools in Uganda and China respectively. Looking back, I found learning French really fun as it created a window into a foreign culture, one that I wasn't really exposed to (besides Canada, none of the other countries I lived in were French-speaking).

All the other artists I have discovered as I was volunteering at CJSF. Monogrenade and Radio Radio were two of the first couple of Francophone artists I've encountered in my first year of hosting shows at CJSF. Nick Lagasse, the host of CJSF's international/global music show Wandering Rhythms, also introduced me to a bunch of artists including TTC and La Femme, both French artists with electronic influences. (Thanks so much Nick btw!) Stromae I came across as I was randomly browsing YouTube; I was surprised to see some really awesome electronic and hip-hop influenced tracks from this Belgian artist, with lyrics dealing with heavy subject matter delivered in a relatively upbeat manner. (Apologies for the song cutting off midway btw!)

Many others I've heard from researching Quebec-based record labels (e.g. Bonsound, P572, Lisbon Lux), especially as I've started out at CJSF mostly looking for good Francophone music to play. Since CJSF's goal is to promote underrepresented voices, I would definitely count the Francophone community as one of them, especially here in BC. No BC artists in this episode, je suis desolée :(

Episode 12 - March 5 2016 - Special FemCon episode for International Women's Day

Songs played (* Canadian Content):

• Grimes* - Butterfly
• Mozart's Sister* - Enjoy
• minimalviolence* - Body as Landscape
• Francesca Belcourt* - Kinda Bad
• Mourning Coup* - Baby Blue
• Tigerwing* - Frail Thing
• Bjork - lionsong
• Imogen Heap - Lifeline
• Kerli - Feral Hearts
• Astronautica - PNW
• Gavin Turek & TOKiMONSTA - Surrender
• Empress Of - Icon
• Låpsley - Hurt Me
• Georgia - Kombine
• FKA twigs - In Time
• Alison Wonderland - I Want U

It's International Women's Day on March 8! To prepare ourselves for the big day, this episode showcases female-identified artists who produce or co-produce their own work. While there's a bit more focus on the better-known producers, I've also managed to squeeze in a handful of emerging and relatively underground artists as well.

A lot of these artists have inspired me to take on the challenge of producing my own content...and also because previously I used to be very much into songwriting but couldn't find any collaborators for playing with and recording. :P So far I've been more of a producer for radio public service announcements and show promos, but I have also started producing more music-related stuff as well. I actually composed and produced the show intro track myself!

I also mention briefly that I've lived in Uganda and China, when I talk about how I came about discovering Bjork's music. I'll talk about my international and musical background some other time, in a separate episode.

As for discovering Bjork's music, I mention that my father got Bjork's CDs Post (which is actualy not her *second* full-length album, but third...sorry for the mistake!!) and Homogenic from the Icelandic ambassador in Uganda. That was when I was in middle school, but I didn't start listening to it until after my family and I moved to China and I went to high school there. I was more of an alternative rock fan back then, but while I was there I started listening to her and Kerli (who I've also played in this episode), which started the shift in my musical tastes towards a more electronic, more experimental, less guitar-driven direction.

In university, I started to get more into the electronic pop/indietronica that artists like Imogen Heap and Hot Chip were making - which explains my inclusion of Imogen Heap there. Most of the other artists in this episode, however, I didn't find out about until I started hosting radio at CJSF.

I personally can't help but wonder though: why does there still seem to be a lack of female representation in science and technology, despite changing times and attitudes towards gender? It could just be an interest issue, but there's also discouragement from others as well. I'm lucky to have parents who are encouraging me to go in a more technical direction career-wise; some others aren't as fortunate.

Next week I won't be hosting PulsarSounds live. Tune in March 19 for the next new episode; I'm hoping to do a mostly Francophone episode. I'll see if I have enough tracks! See you then.