lost channels

As 2011 comes to a close, Nettwerk Music Group is excited to share a year-end recap of some significant milestones the label has achieved in Canada.

Toronto’s revered indie-folk/rock band Great Lake Swimmers saw their Juno-nominated album Lost Channels exceed 16,000 copies sold, bringing their career sales to nearly 30,000 albums in their home country. Meanwhile, Australian sibling duo Angus & Julia Stone, whose sophomore album Down The Way debuted at #118 on the Canadian Soundscan Album Chart, saw their album surpass 10,000 copies sold in Canada, with break-out single “Big Jet Plane” exceeding 11,000 in track sales.

Nettwerk has also been focused on expanding its label roster over the past 12 months with the addition of various up-and-coming Canadian talents, including Vancouver-based folk singer/songwriter Joshua Hyslop, Waterloo sibling trio Kidstreet, Toronto-born folk/rock artist Liam Titcomb and Vancouver-based electro synth-pop fivesome Young Liars.  More information on each artist is below.

“Since its inception over 25 years ago, Nettwerk has remained committed to the flourishing Canadian music scene,” says Nettwerk President Ric Arboit. “We’ve signed some amazing Canadian talent in the past months are excited to be redoubling out efforts in 2012.”

In addition to new albums from the aforementioned label roster additions, 2012 brings anticipated releases from some of Nettwerk’s most loved Canadian artists, including 2010 Juno-Nominees Great Lake Swimmers and Vancouver’s Frazey Ford (of the Be Good Tanyas). Angus & Julia Stone will also return with new music following the worldwide success of sophomore album Down The Way, and Grammy-nominated remixer/prdoucer Morgan Page will release his new single “Body Work,” a collaboration with Canadian indie duo Tegan & Sara.

Indie-folk darlings the Great Lake Swimmers return to the States for eight shows in Austin, TX during the SXSW Music Conference, as well as a one-off show in New Orleans on March 14. In anticipation of these new live dates, GLS has revealed a new video for the track “Chorus In The Underground” from their Juno-nominated album Lost Channels.

This special video, which premiered this morning on MuzzleofBees.com this morning, was recorded live in the famous Hamilton, Ontario venue “The Underground” (the location from which the title was born) and directed by Scott Cudmore, who also directed the band’s videos for “Still,” “She Comes To Me In Dreams” and the popular Legion Sessions series. Check it out above, and keep reading for the band's SXSW show schedule.

Great Lake Swimmers "She Comes To Me In Dreams"

Great Lake Swimmers are releasing a special holiday treat for their fans on December 14. The Canadian indie-folk band will put out a collector's edition of their 2009 Juno-nominated album Lost Channels, which includes two previously released iTunes exclusive tracks ("The Storms Are On The Ocean" and "It's Too Late") and two never-before-released tracks ("Pulling On A Line (Miracle version)" and "Chorus In The Underground"). "Chorus In The Underground" is a song written in homage to the famous old Canadian Rock Club, The Underground, in Ontario. Lost Channels (The Collector's Edition) also includes 7 music videos. (Pre-order HERE).

Lost Channels was released in March 2009 to critical acclaim and debuted on Canada's Top 200 chart at #48. The band made the Short List of nominees for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, joining a list of previous nominees that includes Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and Feist, among others. Shortly thereafter, Great Lake Swimmers were nominated for a Juno Award in the "Best Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year," and were asked to perform at the broadcast of the awards. Frontman Tony Dekker also became the official "tweeter" for the CBC at the Juno Awards.

Today, Great Lake Swimmers release their anticipated Lost Channels Deluxe Vinyl. The package includes a deluxe 180-gram vinyl, a live bonus 7" with tracks "Put There By The Land" and "Concrete Heart" from the Trinity St. Paul's show in Toronto, and a Lost Channels album download card with three additional songs ("Put There By The Land," "Concrete Heart" and "It's Too Late."

Check out the vinyl unboxing above, and get it here. 

TOUR DATES:
Sep 17   St. Catharines, ON @ Montebello Park
Sep 24   Victoria, BC @ Alix Goolden Hall
Oct 22   Halifax, NS @ St. Matthew's United Church

Great Lake Swimmers have revealed their latest music video for the track “River’s Edge” off of their Juno-nominated sophomore album Lost Channels. The video was directed by motion graphics and visual effects artist Nir Ben Jacob, who is most known for his work for The Walkmen on the video for “On The Water.”  

Nir speaks of his inspiration behind the “River’s Edge” video: "About half a year ago, I stumbled on these wood-chip plate compositions my late grandfather made. They're a beautiful example of early Israeli-Yemenite art. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to animate them. They had been in storage for years so it meant a great deal to bring them out and breathe life into them. This was an opportunity to not only contribute to his work, but also expose it to the audience it never had. When I heard "River's Edge," I was amazed. It's a great track and the music and lyrics corresponded to the plates perfectly. It was really exciting to see how the visuals complemented the song."

(Keep reading for tour dates below!)

Great Lake Swimmers' Tony Dekker recently stopped by The National Post office for an in-studio perfromance and interview for their ongoing video podcast series on The Ampersand arts blog.

In this video Tony peforms and chats about the inspiration behind the track "Still" from their latest release 'Legion Sessions EP.'  The new release captures the Swimmers perfroming tracks from the much celebrated 'Lost Channels' album in a live and intimate setting.

The Legion Sessions

The Great Lake Swimmers have officially premiered the video for their gorgeous track "Stealing Tomorrow." Produced and directed by photographer Candace Meyer, the video was shot on a rainy and foggy morning in Mud Bay, British Colombia.

The narrative follows lead man Tony Dekker as he ventures through the feilds and banks of the Fraser River. The stunning result is the Swimmers' most intimate video portrait to date.

The video has already been extremely well received in the band's homeland, getting added ths week to medium rotation on MuchMoreMusic and voted "Video of the Week" the station's weekly program "The Wedge."

Great Lake Swimmers Facebook

Today is Record Store Day across North America and Nettwerk artists are joining in on the celebration for one of music's major life forces by releasing new albums and performing in much loved indie record spots.

Great Lake Swimmers are performing at Fred Records in St. John's Newfoundland as part of JunoFest weekend. The group comemerates RSD with the release of their live recording "The Legion Sessions EP".

Also with big news today, fun. are releasing "fun. Live At Fingerprints" on CD and digitally through thinkindie.com. In addition, the band is releasing "Aim And Ignite" on deluxe double vinyl, available exclusively at all participating Record Store Day outlets (http://www.recordstoreday.com/venues)

Plenty of Nettwerk artists had great things to say about their local record stores and the experiences and impact they have on their lives.

Tony Dekker of the Great Lake Swimmers is the offical Twitter correspondent for the CBC at this year's Junos Awards in St Johns.

Tony will be filling in followers on his escapades throughout the entire weekend. The band have a lot to tweet about, including a show tonight with Hey Rosetta, an instore Saturday at Fred's Records and the Juno Awards ceremony on Sunday, where the Swimmers will perform on the official television broadcast.

Follow Tony all weekend at CBCARTS

Juno Nominees Great Lake Swimmers are confirmed to perform during the 2010 Juno Awards Broadcast on CTV, Sunday April 18th. The band’s nomination for Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year: Group comes on the heels of a win for Favorite Folk / Roots Group at the Indies Awards, as well as a Short List Polaris Music Prize nod earlier this year.

A day prior to the Juno’s broadcast, Great Lake Swimmers will join the worldwide celebration of the beloved indie record store on Record Store Day (April 17) with the physical release of their new Legion Sessions EP. Recorded during the month of February 2009 in a Royal Canadian Legion Hall, the Swimmers captured live versions of many songs from their then freshly minted new album Lost Channels. The result is the watermark of a band embarking on a new and fully realized sound, almost a decade in development. The live EP captures this new rollicking full band sound, along with the gorgeous subtleties that the Swimmers have become best known for.

In celebration of both JunoFest and Record Store Day, the Swimmers will play two live shows in St. Johns. On the evening of Friday, April 16, the band is excited to play a co-headline show with St. John’s very own Hey Rosetta! The afternoon of Saturday, April 17 will be a second chance to catch them when they play an intimate performance at local music hub Fred’s Records.