Posts Tagged ‘Secret City Records’

Watch: ‘xo skeleton’ by La Force

Posted: 27 September 2023 in Recommended Streams and Videos
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La Force, the mesmerising solo project from Ariel Engle, unveils today the title track from her brand-new album ‘XO SKELETON’.

“’xo skeleton’, the song – is the overarching theme of the record,” says Ariel. “It’s an image I’d love as protection. A carapace that keeps the goo inside. This protection is in love, kisses, and hugs. It’s what bolsters us in life. The love is an invisible shroud that we adorn others in and are adorned in. It’s a reminder that within us are skeletons. Symbols of death and yet the architecture that animated us while we are alive. It’s a song about the inevitability of death as both a motivator to love fully and at times disincentivizing Force – why bother if I’m going to die versus I must do so much while I’m still alive.”

‘XO SKELETON’ the sophomore full length will be out this Friday via Secret City Records.

Early singles from the album have been praised by MOJO, Rolling Stone France, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Clash Magazine, NYLON, The Fader, BBC6 Music, Exclaim! and more. The new album was included in CBC Music Fall Guide: 19 new releases you need to hear, and the twelve Quebec albums to hear this Fall from Journal de Montréal.
‘XO SKELETON’ is the supple, steady, uncanny new album by La Force: a mixture of haunted pop and hot-blooded R&B that glistens at the meeting point between life, death, and love. The album was coproduced by La Force and Warren Spicer (Plants and Animals). “The theme of the album revealed itself in the making,” she explains, recalling how the title track is rooted in a telephone call with her life-insurance broker—one everyday banality on the periphery of death. “At one point she said, ‘God forbid you should die.’ I was gobsmacked. ‘Well, there’s one thing guaranteed: no god or goddess is going to keep me alive.’”

Watch the video here:

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Watch: ‘October’ by La Force

Posted: 12 July 2023 in Recommended Streams and Videos
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La Force, the mesmerizing solo project of Ariel Engle, who has spent more than a decade as one of Canada’s most sought-after musical collaborators has shared ‘October, the second single off her forthcoming album XO SKELETON out September 29 via Secret City Records.

The first offering – ‘Condition of Us’ – has been received warmly by fans and critics alike, CBC Music stating, “Engle’s voice, wise and warm, envelopes the track, [..] Her words wrap around the music in odd ways at times, like a stream of consciousness versus melody, but the love that’s beaming from Engle is undeniable,” Clash Magazine thinks it’s “the sound of an artist moving deliberately towards evolution.”, while Guy Garvey (Elbow) at BBC6 Music said it felt “accomplished, passionate and slick. I love it.” The song was also praised by Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and more. ‘October brings warmth to the XO SKELETON album – a lush, intimate song with incredible vocals embracing soul, smooth jazz and r&b – all the while reminding some of the “quiet storm” movement from the 90s.

“October is a time of harvest here [in Montreal]. It’s a time when we settle into darkness and leaves drop from the trees. It’s a time when we turn inward into our clothing and protective shells. It’s a song about the voices we internalize. People we can no longer see but whose voices and words live on inside us and shape us. It’s a song about the uncanny. A song about the cycles of nature, cycle of life. The song reminds us that despite our grand feelings we are just like animals and plants, destined to be born, to live and to die.” – La Force

The video for ‘October’ is directed by Ariel herself and Ali Vanderkruyk. Watch it here:

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Photo credit: Mary Rozzi