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THE MONTHLY ALBUM SELECTIONS

Listen to our Sonic Collective member explain the selection for the month. Be sure to follow up the next month to hear the reviews from the group.

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains – Dirt

July 1, 2022 / Alain Dupuis
Alain here, with our pick for July 2022. A couple of months ago, my girlfriend seemed to have stumbled onto the band Alice in Chains for the first time, and very quickly began extolling their music, and specifically their album Dirt as being pure genius. High praise from someone who has never really demonstrated much interest in 90s alt rock. So I pretty much HAVE to check it out, right? And why not bring the Sonic Collective family along for the ride!
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Joy Division

Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division

May 31, 2022 / Scott Coates
I’ve heard the strange legacy of Ian Curtis, who committed suicide in May 1980, mentioned on a number of episodes of The Ongoing History of New Music with Alan Cross and been intrigued. When I started out as a DJ at Lloyd’s Recreation in Calgary as a teenager, Blue Monday and Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order were huge and some of the original 12-inch singles I learned how to beat-mix on. I had no idea that Joy Division was the precursor to New Order back then and it’s time to see where their roots came from.
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nilsson schmilsson album cover

Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmilsson

May 6, 2022 / Darren Scott
For our music review pick for May, 2022, member Darren Scott reveals he recently acquired a large record collection that had been entombed for 40 years. He decided that he would pick one of the albums from this collection to review. Join Darren and listen to all the options he had and how he ended up landing on Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson album.
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Saint Dominic's Preview album cover

Saint Dominic’s Preview by Van Morrison

April 4, 2022 / Scott Gregory
We’ve gone pretty far afield starting with a taste of neo soul, sliding into a lounge/chillhop and rounding out with a modern throwback to the roots of the genre. Scott is going to take us back and give us a taste of blue eyed soul with Van Morrison’s 1972 album Saint Dominic’s Review.
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Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Dap-Dippin’ with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

February 28, 2022 / Alain Dupuis
We continue our exploration of soul music with Alain's pick for March 2022, Dap-Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. This is the group's debut album, which they self-released after creating their own indie record label to support the funk and soul scene.
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Thievery Corporation: The Mirror Conspiracy

January 30, 2022 / Scott Coates
While auditing other options, I settled on a band that’s intrigued me for some time, has lots of soul within, and will hopefully fit the bill: The Mirror Conspiracy by Thievery Corporation is our pick for February 2022.
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Erykah Badu: Baduizm

January 2, 2022 / Darren Scott
For January 2022 Sonic Collective member Darren Scott decided to explore a genre of soul he always really liked, but never made much time for his choice - Neo Soul. Darren had some of Erykah Badu's songs on playlists of his but he really wanted to have a better listen to her music, so he decided to select her iconic first album, Baduizm. Listen to why he chose this artist and be sure to listen along this month to the album. We will then release our full review February 1st, 2022. Darren The Sonic Collective
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Garbage: Garbage

December 3, 2021 / Scott Gregory
Garbage is Garbage's debut album, featuring Shirley Manson on vocals and Butch Vig in the band. With a strong history producing for other bands, it will be interesting to see what happens when Butch returns to the other side of the window.
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NERO

NERO: Welcome Reality

November 1, 2021 / Alain Dupuis
Our pick for November 2021 is Welcome Reality, the groundbreaking debut album from English Electronic group NERO. The album is conceptual, taking a stab at what civilization might look like in the year 2808.
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The Monthly Reviews

Each month our members rotate picking the artists or theme to be reviewed, dissected and discussed. Join us!

nilsson schmilsson album cover

Review of Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson

May 31, 2022 / Darren Scott
Sonic Collective member Darren Scott picked this album from a recent vinyl collection he acquired. Little did he know, that this was one of the most interesting album picks we ever had. We discovered a legend in Harry Nilsson and our opinions and reviews were as crazy as his life was. How had we never known this artist? Listen and enjoy.
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Review of Saint Dominic’s Preview: Van Morrison

May 3, 2022 / Scott Gregory
Closing out the round of Soul selections, the Sonic Collective team shares their thoughts on Van Morrison's album Saint Dominic's Preview.
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Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings circa 2015

Review of Dap-Dippin’: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

March 31, 2022 / Alain Dupuis
As we continue to explore the musical genre of Soul, Sonic Collective member Alain Dupuis has chosen for us to review Dap-Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. This album was released in 2002, but you'd never know it by listening to it. As part of the Brooklyn soul revivalist movement that kicked off in the early 2000s, this album sounds like it belongs straight out of the 1960s.
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mirror-conspiracy

Review of The Mirror Conspiracy: Thievery Corporation

February 28, 2022 / Scott Coates
Essentially a two person ‘band’, Eric Hilton and Rob Garza wrote, produced, and recorded this on their own, with guest Pam Bricker featured on a few tracks.The gang was not united in their feelings about our pick for February, Thievery Corporation’s, The Mirror Conspiracy, which was originally released in 2000. Half of us loved it, while the other half were not so enthusiastic and for a variety of reasons.
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Erykah Badu Baduizm Reviw

Review of Erykah Badu: Baduizm

January 30, 2022 / Darren Scott
To kick off the new year, and our 8th year of The Sonic Collective, our four members have decided to select an influential album within the genre of soul. The first selection from member Darren Scott is the highly regarded Baduizm album from Neo Soul artist Erykah Badu. Listen along to hear what we thought of this album and if we felt it stood the test of time. We may have also made fun of Adam Levine, but he probably deserves it.
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Review of Garbage: Garbage

January 3, 2022 / Scott Gregory
Here's our review of our pick for December, 2021. Dig into the discussion of Butch Vig's production and Shirley Manson's lyrics. There's a good chance if you were listening to music in the 90s, you'll recognize the mashup of styles and sounds Garbage blends together.
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NERO in concert

Review of NERO: Welcome Reality

November 30, 2021 / Alain Dupuis
Here's our review of our pick for November 2021, Welcome Reality by NERO. This is the debut album for this electronic group, released in 2011. Have a listen to hear what we thought of it.
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Review of Brian Eno: Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks

November 1, 2021 / Scott Coates
Here's our review of our pick for October 2021, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, which is the ninth solo studio by British Eno and was released in 1983. It was a collaboration with his brother and Canadian Daniel Lanois. Have a listen to hear what we thought of it.
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Review of Public Image: First Issue

October 4, 2021 / Darren Scott
Many music fans know of the punk revolution in the late 1970s that highlighted the band The Sex Pistols and their eccentric, passionate and often blasted-on-drugs-and-alcohol lead man, Johhny Lydon, aka Johhny Rotten. Johhny was quite jaded and was upset at how the Sex Pistols ended and wanted to make his own music. Cue his new band, Public Image. For September 2021, Sonic Collective member Darren Scott selected this first Public Image, soon to be Public Image Ltd. album, First Issue. It's raw, it's angry, it's experimental, it's post-punk, and it pushed our reviewers to the edge. Listen to our review of this 1978 album and hear how it stands up against the test of time and our musical palates.
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Musical Musings

Sometimes we just find cool music stuff on the Interwebs that we just have to share.

4 Bands People Love to Hate

Four bands people love to hate

July 30, 2021 / Alain Dupuis
For April 2021, The Sonic Collective member Darren Scott has chosen the Sleaford Mods, Divide and Exit album. This new and edgy working class electronic punk music is minimalist, raw as hell and has a distinctly new sound. With our world is so much chaos, we need more voices like this, telling it like it is. Enjoy Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn as the Sleaford Mods.
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A Conversation with Danko Jones

April 27, 2021 / Darren Scott
For 25 years, Danko Jones has kept rock n’ roll alive and strong. Over the course of 10 studio albums, from 2001s’ I’m Alive and on Fire’ to 2021’s upcoming ‘Power Trio’, the sound has remained solid, he’s continued to push boundaries, and consistently rocked. On this special episode of The Sonic Collective we chat with band founder Danko Jones about the history of the band, look to the future, and learn what he loves about music and performing.
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WiL

Getting to Know WiL

January 19, 2021 / Darren Scott
Welcome to the Sonic Collective. On this special episode we’ll get to know a very talented musician from western Canada. From early days in the Calgary bar scene, building his name as a solo artist, to playing with two supporting players, singer-songwriter WiL has built a loyal following many musicians would love to have. In this fickle business, what’s kept him going for so many years, what does he still love about music, and what’s next?
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A Chat with Sam Roberts - All of Us

A Chat with Sam Roberts – All of Us

November 16, 2020 / Darren Scott
On this special episode of The Sonic Collective, we chat with Sam Roberts, of the Sam Roberts band, about their October 2020 release, All of Us. He goes deep about how the songs were written and sharing it with the world in a time of COVID. But we start by going back in time, with Sam sharing what it feels like to have been recording professionally for almost two decades, being the son of parents from South Africa who immigrated to Canada, what it means to be Canadian, and even some of his musical guilty pleasures. Get ready to hear a very candid Sam Roberts share on multiple levels. Enjoy the musical ride!
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Albums that changed our musical tastes

Albums that Changed Our Musical Tastes

October 13, 2020 / Scott Coates
Scientists say your musical tastes are formed by what you enjoyed in your teens. You hear a song, it resonates, and that style guides your musical tastes moving forward. There’s those monumental albums you can still remember hearing for the first time, all these years later. You likely remember where you were, the time of year, perhaps even what you were wearing, who you were with, and the smell in the air when you first heard it. Today we’re going to chat about just that - albums that influenced and changed our musical tastes.
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An Exploration of Musical Supergroups

July 20, 2020 / Darren Scott
Welcome to the Sonic Collective, and another one of our exploratory podcast episodes. In this episode, we’ll explore musical supergroups. So what is a supergroup? Well, for us, it’s a musical performing group of three or more persons, whose members have successful solo careers, are members of other groups, or are well known in other musical professions. They come together to form an epic alignment of mighty musical talents. For us, this isn’t a duo and they must have released at least one full-length album. These supergroups can also come from any genre. The term can sometimes also be applied to a group that has no specific preferred genre. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and today, we’ll touch on a few that fall in both categories and some in between.
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What Makes a Great Album? Featuring Broadcasting Legend Alan Cross

May 13, 2020 / Darren Scott
There’s been one common thread regardless of genre, time period, or concept, that’s run through each of our album selections. The search for a great album. The entire package. A group of songs that work together to create more than just a few good singles, rather an experience and journey for the listener. So what makes a great album? This is the question and discussion we had with Alan Cross, an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Enjoy.
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Boredom Cures for the Music Fan

March 22, 2020 / Darren Scott
To help you pass some time and discover some new music, here are my music recommendations for some of my favourite Spotify Playlists, Podcasts, Music Documentaries, YouTube Music Channels and even a link to my vinyl collection that I invite you to look at and you can ask me any questions about.
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Soundtracks that matter

4 Movie Soundtracks That Matter

December 1, 2018 / Darren Scott
We all know that around the holiday season there is nothing better than watching a good movie. It also is a great way to avoid that weird uncle with bad
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The Sonic Collective Members

Meet our team of music lovers.

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Scott Coates

Bangkok, Thailand

Scott has lived in Southeast Asia since 1999, when he co-founded what became one of the region’s most respected luxury travel companies, Smiling Albino. There, he designed and led adventures throughout SE Asia and Nepal before selling out of the business in 2013 to try his hand at other pursuits. While working as a Team Building Consultant, he developed a keen interest in how people learn and grow which led him to serve as Director of People Development with one of the region's largest travel companies, EXO Travel. \An enthusiastic mountain biker, runner, and explorer, he also very much likes bobbing his head to AC/DC while sipping beers.

alain

Alain DuPuis

Calgary, Canada

Alain is a native Calgarian with a longstanding love of music. Groomed on post-grunge and 90s alternative, he seeks to expand his audio horizons ever further, exploring all the genres he once looked down upon. When he's not busy working six days a week like some sort of maniac, he enjoys gaming, obsessing about whisky, working out or frequenting seedy karaoke bars around town.

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Scott Gregory

Calgary, Canada

Scott Gregory is the newest dad of the group and brings his love of melody and music to the Sonic Collective. Scott is always full of facts and seems to have an uncanny love for the women in music. He likes to push the Collective into areas that we may otherwise overlook. Scott loves his new little family, the New York Rangers and all the music he can consume between diaper changes.

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Darren Scott

Calgary, Canada

Darren currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he can often be found in the best live music venues in town (Palamino, Commonwealth, King Eddy's, Broken City, Cafe Koi, etc.) and he is used to being "The old guy" at the young punk shows. Darren likes to know the stories behind the music he listens to and enjoys the musical journey of it all. A "say it like it is" guy in his own words, he tends to go a little off the cuff from time to time. Ok, all the time. He loves his family, friends and Flames and has a sense of humour he thinks is hilarious.

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