BY FATEEMA SAYANI

STEAM A LITTLE STREAM

It’s Sound Seekers’ annual tradition! Call it our Blogged 50 — but it’s more like a Blogged 7. This is our EP-length list of hot tunes released from Ottawa artists this year.

Stream the tunes here and read about the songs below. Find our 2013 and 2012 mix lists here.

For 2014, we asked each artist to reflect on the year that was and the year to come.

“All the Things” from Pieces of Your Past by Laurent Bourque

“At the time the song was written I was going through the end of a relationship. The song was a kind of f*ck you/payback song if you will. A pop ode to all the good things I continued to do for that person, even though I got nothing in return. The feelings described were something that I would have been too afraid to say face to face, so I felt it was more suited for a song. The song also touches on a sense of a new beginning, which is definitely something I feel at the moment” — Laurent Bourque, vocals, guitar

“Celestial Blues” from Inner Fire by the Souljazz Orchestra

“‘Celestial Blues’ is a beautiful spiritual song written by jazz singer Andy Bey, and first recorded with the Gary Bartz Ntu Troop back in 1971. Now, even though the song is more than 40 years old, there’s a timeless immediacy to it that really resonated with us. Without going into too many details, each of the members of the SoulJazz Orchestra went through some difficult life changes in 2014, but facing these challenges makes you realize what’s really, truly important during our time on Earth, like the song says: “We must get closer to the essence of life” — Pierre Chretien, keys/percussion, vocals, SoulJazz Orchestra

“Dance Cry Dance (Dialoog remix)” from Dance Cry Dance Remixes by Fevers

“A remix is a hard way to describe how the last year has been, but I suppose what this particular “Dialoog remix” does is represent the great community of artists that we call home. I think we’ve been lucky to be involved with the Ottawa music/arts scene in its current form, which is vibrant, supportive, and challenging (in a good way!). I think it will only grow and we’re excited to be a part of that” — Jim Hopkins, bass/programming, Fevers

“Striking Gold” from Forever by Gold + Marrow

“We spent the past year working on our new record, Forever. ‘Striking Gold’ is a song about feeling like you’re standing still while the world is moving ahead, all around you. It can be frustrating to wait to release an album, but I’m really happy we were patient this year and took the time we needed to make this one what we wanted it to be!” — Shannon Rose, vocals, guitar, Gold + Marrow

“Big City Lights” from  This Cold Escape by Amos the Transparent

“This was an ambitious year for Amos the Transparent, self-producing and releasing our third full-length, which was a huge musical endeavour. The project started to evolve and became a concept album called This Cold Escape. It’s a record that explores the struggle of a musician torn between life and love. ‘Big City Lights’ is one of the record’s earlier tracks — it sets the pace for the sonic peaks and valleys to come.” — Jonathan Chandler, singer-songwriter, Amos The Transparent

“Same Shit, Different Year” from High Priests of Low Life by Flight Distance

“Bender actually wrote the chorus to ‘Same Shit, Different Year’ seven or eight years ago. The core elements of the song are actually pretty old, and the concept is more-or-less about time passing us by really quickly. It’s a bit of nostalgia. A foggy recollection. It was a cathartic song for us to write. We think it’s definitely a suitable song for a year-end list considering its content and backstory.” — Patience (Patrick Jodoin), MC, Flight Distance

“I’m Going Fishin’” from Rotten Tooth by Brock Zeman

“What can I say?  Sometimes the river calls louder than the road. Not often, but sometimes.”— Brock Zeman, vocals, multi-instrumentalist