News

Festival season is here! And if you are crafting your NXNE schedule, here are a few Mint shows to add to the collection:

Thursday, June 13

- Jay Arner at Handlebar (9pm)

- Pick a Piper at The Painted Lady (2am) 

Friday, June 14

- Pick a Piper at The Comfort Zone (11pm) 

Saturday, June 15

- Hot Panda at the Joao Carvalho Mastering BBQ at 43 Laing St. (5:20pm) 

- Jay Arner at The Comfort Zone for the Silent Shout/Gorilla vs Bear Party (10pm) 

- Hot Panda at Sneaky Dees (1am)

Wow. Now this makes us unbelievably happy. Here's a remix of Renny Wilson's "Lady Pain" from the insanely talented Jay Arner. Enjoy! 

Here's the latest video from Pick a Piper. It was illustrated and animated with care by brothers Graeme and Kyle Reed. The band has also unveiled a massive summer tour that includes pit-stops at Sled Island and NXNE. See you there! 

NEW TOUR DATES: 

May 8, 2013 - Toronto, ON - The Horseshoe (with Gold Panda)
May 28, 2013 - New York, NY - Le Baron (DJ SET)
June 13, 2013 - NXNE: Toronto, ON - The Painted Lady
June 14, 2013 - NXNE: Toronto, ON - Comfort Zone
June 15, 2013 - Sault Ste Marie, ON - Lop Lop Lounge
June 16, 2013 - Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks
June 18, 2013 - Saskatoon, SK - Vangelis Tavern
June 23, 2013 - Edmonton, AB - Wunderbar
June 26, 2013 - Nelson, BC - Kootenay Coop Radio CJLY Basement
June 28, 2013 - Kelowna, BC - The Habitat
June 29, 2013 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
June 30, 2013 - Victoria, BC - The Copper Owl
July 14, 2013 - St John's, NL - The Ship

"The eight-track effort blends watery, disembodied grooves and shimmering atmospherics with tight-wristed percussion and guest vocals (from members of the Ruby Suns, Enon and Brainiac, Born Ruffians, and Braids) that also keep your feet fixed firmly on the ground."  - SPIN

"Pick a Piper, the project of Caribou member, Brad Weber, is fast becoming one of 2013's brightest, most unlikely discoveries." - This Is Fake DIY

"Weber has a knack for combining electronic and organic elements into dreamy psych-pop that sounds as good on the dance floor as it does through a pair of headphones." - Now Toronto

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we'd like to take a moment to introduce you to our newest addition to the Mint roster. He's witty. He is humble. And he is an incredibly talented songwriter, producer and remix-creator. You may recognize him from Vancouver's beloved Fine Mist, or heard him work his behind the scenes magic on noteworthy records from Apollo Ghosts, Bleating Hearts, Myths and several others. His name is Jay Arner and we think he's great. Jay's self-titled solo debut is out on Mint Records on June 25th, 2013. 

Upcoming Shows: 

May 8th - Zoo Shop, Vancouver, BC with Thee Ahs

CONGRATS TO PICK A PIPER, THEIR BEAUTIFUL NEW RECORD IS OUT TODAY! If you haven't had a blissful psychadelic experience recently, we recommend checking out their incredible video for "All Her Colours" below. 

Then go see them on TOUR! They have many dates booked - many have not been announced at this time.

Pick a Piper on Tour: 

Our ferocious duo, The Pack a.d. can now add "Juno Nominee" to their long long list of accomplishments. Congratulations Becky and Maya, you've earned this one! We're looking forward to seeing what these two do next as they've been keeping busy, recording a new album and scheming to take over the world.

You can check out the full list of nominees here.

We'd like to take a moment to share some good news with you. We've added Toronto's Pick a Piper to the Mint Records roster! The band is made up of Brad Weber, who you may remember as a touring member of Caribou, as well his friends Clint Scrivener, Angus Fraser and Dan Roberts. Pick a Piper’s self-titled April 2^nd debut features guest appearances from members of The Ruby Suns, Enon/Braniac, Born Ruffians and Braids. 

You can download the band's first single here: 

Remember that time we got really high off of paint fumes while silkscreening Mint/CiTR Pop Alliance LP covers? Well, this March, we're going to open the windows and do it again. GET READY for VOLUME 3 of the Mint/CiTR Pop Alliance Compilation! It will be out on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013.

To carry on the Pop Alliance tradition, we called upon CiTR’s Duncan McHugh (aka: the host of Duncan’s Donuts) to bring together 14 of Vancouver's finest including Jay Arner, Movieland, Korean Gut (RIP), Peace and more. Many songs are un-released and once again, all proceeds will go back to CiTR 101.9 - the birthplace of Mint Records! 

Only 300 of these waxy gems will be pressed, carefully silkscreened by the station's volunteers and numbered by hand. You can get one by donating to the station during their upcoming funding drive (Feb 28 - Mar 8), pre-ordering the release from us, or waiting for the record to hit record store shelves on Tuesday March 5th, 2013.

And while we're rambling, check out the incredible album artwork from former CiTR DJ, Melanie Coles. Mr. Jay Arner also deserves a golden star for mastering this creation and producing many of the tracks on the record.

To unleash this record in style, we're rounding up as many of the bands on the comp as possible (the lineup is currently TBD) and taking over Chapel Arts (204 Dunlevy) for an evening. This time, we're setting up not one, but two stages. Mark Friday, March 8th on your calendar, it's going to be swell! 

Now, you're probably wondering about the bands: 

Movieland: Movieland is Alie, Selina, Adrienne and Davina. They take turns writing their own songs.“1-2-3-4 Get Fucked” comes from their so-to-be released debut on Green Burrito Records. It was mixed and recorded by Mr. Jay Arner.

Peace: According to Spin, “Your Hand in Mine” is a moonlit number with a heavy heart and dead eyes. We borrowed this track from their 2012 release called The World is Too Much With Us (Suicide Squeeze).

Jay Arner: Jay Arner is the multitalented man-about-town who co-recorded the new Apollo Ghosts record and contributes to bands including Fine Mist, Bleating Hearts and Gal Gracen. He was kind enough to produce several songs on this compilation and mastered the release too. His upcoming TBD solo project is something you should probably look out for!

Gal Gracen: Patrick Geraghty, of Role Mach (you may remember him from Vol 2 of The Pop Alliance collection), calls his newest band Gal Gracen and his live band features Adrian from Apollo Ghosts as well as Jay Arner.

PUPS: PUPS is Caitlin Livingston, Katie Gravestock and Rose Melberg. They are from Vancouver, B.C.

Fanshaw: Olivia Fetherstonhaugh aka Fanshaw is known for taking her time with songwriting. This is the first song that has surfaced since her Dark Eyes debut. After listening to this and her previous release, we’ll be right here, patiently waiting to see what she does next. 

Aaron Read: Born and recording in Burnaby, BC, Aaron Read makes maunal pop songs with guitars, drums, voices, noises and keyboards. Songs are made out of and always inspired by friends, family, films, experiences and field recordings.  In 2011, he captured our interest with his debut record, Bubble Skulls. Since Aaron is a total mensch, he recorded “Unlimited Sight” especially for us. Thanks again Aaron! 

Korean Gut: Korean Gut is a surf-garage band, but they don't exist anymore. Jarrett wrote this song about something their bass player said at practice, and it morphed into a bitter rant against people who confront you in troubled times just to feel better about themselves. At least it wasn't about comic books for once. You should probably check out theirYour Misery – Our Benefit 7” (Mammoth Cave). It is a thing of true beauty. When we told them about this comp, Korean Gut were kind enough to record this song just for us. 

Needles//Pins: This is powery, poppy, garagey, punkish stuff from Vancouver, BC. “I Heart Drugs” came from their 2012 creation 12:34 (Mammoth Cave).

The Courtneys: Sun drenched flying nun influenced pop with sweet licks that'll stick with you for days. 

“The Courtneys are one of those bands that you can file under “feel-good.” I mean, the three-piece named their first release Keanu Reeves (yes, after THAT Keanu Reeves), and their songs don’t have a single angry bone of note.” – Vice

The ladies even have a video for "90210" – you can watch it here.

Babysitter: "Victoria B.C.’s Babysitter are a savvy bunch of garage gourmets whose love of lo-fi and d.i.y. decor is honest and appealing." – Discorder

We should also mention, “Be Cool” is an outtake from their 2012 full-length debut called Eye (Psychic Handshake). 

Bankrobber: This is Jordan Minkoff from Slam Dunk's other band, which pretty much automatically makes them awesome. Bankrobber is and will always be the band most closely associated with it's roots firmly planted in a mix of this meets that and vice versa. Since 2010 it has been Bankrobber that has been making that familiar sound of a dog biting a dog on a doglog.

Weed: Weed is a heavy, grungey pop band from Vancouver, BC that features Will Anderson, Kevin Doherty, Hugo Noriega and Bobby Siadat. When not recording they play all-ages shows and publish a free monthly newsletter with Lucky’s Comics called "Dunk". This song is from last year's Gun Control EP. They just finished recording their debut LP in Seattle to be released in mid-2013.

Sleuth: Sleuth are the 2011 CiTR Shindig Winners, have been featured on a Cloudberry Records compilation, played NYC Popfest last year, have one release, Brave Knew Nothing and are currently working on new recordings. Besides tipsy bowling with Mint Records, The Lion in Love, Julian Bowers, Oliver McTavish-Wisden and Leon Easter enjoy long walks on the beach and evenings by the fire.