Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by songwriter/vocalist Tony Dekker. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically unique and historical locales with a revolving cast of personnel. They are renowned for their homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their live set.

Great Lake Swimmers celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2023 with “Uncertain Country,” an album where doubts are followed by discovery, demos end up as finished tracks, and themes of new beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time form the basis of the eleven new songs.

It follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Recorded in different locales—and with a variety of musicians—a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: from the climate crisis to the ever-changing political landscape. The “uncertain country” chosen as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.

“Moonlight, Stay Above” epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. A 10-voice strong women’s choir (Niagara’s Minuscule) lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each album is fluid and always evolving. Great Lake Swimmers were shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”

“Dekker’s preoccupation with the Canadian state of mind flourishes in his lyrics. Few songwriters are able to convey the country’s harsh beauty as well. …Canadian folk tradition personified in the 21st century” – Exclaim!

“Dekker has done a masterful job of finding that balance on The Waves, the Wake, which has enough connections to the past to satisfy long-time fans of Great Lake Swimmers even while the singer looks to the future and moves forward as an artist.” – The Georgia Straight

“A minimalist, atmospheric compendium of songs with a sonic environment the listener can easily get lost in.” – The Vue

“Ambient Zen Americana” – Mojo

https://www.instagram.com/great_lake_swimmers

Special Guest Eerie Wanda

This summer, the Dutch/Croatian artist Eerie Wanda will release „Internal Radio“, her third album and second for Joyful Noise. Visual artist and musician Marina Tadic writes the songs, and is joined by her partner, Adam Harding (Dumb Numbers, Kidbug), and producer Kramer (Low, Galaxie 500, Ween, Daniel Johnston) on the new album, which was recorded at home in the Netherlands. On these 11 songs, it’s clear that Tadic is becoming the artist she wants to be, working through some things, and even exorcizing a few demons. The album opens with “Sail to the Silver Sun,” which feels like a codeine bath washing over your exhausted soul. “The mystery of life and death is often on my mind,” she says. Whereas her previous albums leaned toward upbeat, guitar-focused pop, Internal Radio sounds like a more experimental, otherworldly, serious grown-up affair, venturing into sensitive emotional territory. The intimate, personal songs here reflect the solitude many of us have felt these past few years, recalling artists such as Lida Husik and Edith Frost.

Tadic, who started writing songs at age 14 when she got her first guitar, takes an intuitive approach to making music. “I will forever be fascinated by ideas and where they come from,” she says. “It’s magical how we can get this little seed of an idea and when giving it attention it grows into a whole new universe.” On Internal Radio, she wanted to tune in to her deepest feelings and create something which sounded new to her. Allowing herself to confront some darker emotions, previously pushed aside, yielded many of the songs. She’s also into paranormal phenomena like near death experiences, telepathy, and UFOs, and those things impact the music she makes as well. Without a full band and instead using haunting, ethereal spaces, she has really found her “weird inner world.” “It has been a real joy to work with Kramer because he knows and feels the heart of a song and has amazing stuff to add,” she says.

https://eeriewanda.bandcamp.com/album/internal-radio
https://www.instagram.com/eeriewanda