After a fifteen year hiatus due to a series of debilitating accidents and a painful recovery awarding-winning Canadian singer songwriter Laura Smith has emerged from the studio with a stunning new album “Everything Is Moving”

The new album was produced by Laura and Paul Mills and features a mix of original and Celtic traditional songs. Among the musicians accompanying Laura are famed Celtic guitarist Tony McManus, pianist John Sheard, bassist David Woodhead and Guido Basso on flugelhorn.

Listen to Everything Is Moving here

The Man OF A Thousand Songs is a powerful emotional, intimate and tender documentary about the life of Ron Hynes.

This video is an emotional, intimate and tender documentary about the life of fabled Canadian songwriter Ron Hynes. Addressing the question, “What’s this film about, Ron?”, legendary Canadian singer/ songwriter Ron Hynes takes possession of the camera.

Brandishing words and music like weapons, Ron examines his turbulent life, failed relationships, battles with his Alter Ego (whom he ominously calls ‘The Man’), his near death from drug overdose and finally his stirring, triumphant recovery through song. Exploring the bitter irony of being an immensely talented but little known ‘legend’, this documentary presents a complex, emotionally satisfying journey through the mind and music of Ron Hynes.

Click here to buy the DVD >

From the beginning, Borealis has been committed to being an all-Canadian label.  However, good music doesn’t respect boundaries and to that end we have created W2 Music to become a home for wonderful music from other parts of the world.  We are thrilled to have Karine Polwart be the first artist to release music on W2 Music. Karine’s songwritng is incisive, topical and poetic all at once, and the songs are delivered with a clear and confident voice.

As an introduction we have put together a collection of songs from Karine’s earlier albums, until now only distributed in the UK. We’re calling this album “Threshold” You won’t find this one in stores, but it’s available from us via phone (877-530- 4288) or right here on our website.

Coyote’s Calling is James Gordon’s sixth album for Borealis Records and it finds him at the top of his game as songwriter activist and commentator on the state of our fragile planet.

Listen to Coyote’s Calling here

From Fresh Water is the fifth of five original Stan Rogers albums to be re-mastered and released by Borealis.

Sadly this was to be Stan’s final recording before his tragic death in an airline fire in Cincinnati, Ohio. However as Stan’s producer Paul Mills thought at the time, and came to be true; “Stan, your wish will be fulfilled – your music will live on!”.

Nathan Rogers has been touring Ontario for the last two weeks, touring a concert program that will stop many listeners in their tracks: the music of Stan Rogers, performed by someone who sounds and looks a great deal like Stan.  This isn’t entirely coincidence: Nathan is the son of Canadian folk music icon Stan Rogers, and is the same age as Stan when he died in a fire aboard Air Canada flight 797 in 1983.  Nathan is in no way an impersonator, and at points through the evening it was clear that he was moved, as was everyone who attended concerts on the tour (in this case, at the Aultsville Theatre, in Cornwall, Ontario).

As Nathan started into every song you could close your eyes and feel you were hearing Stan’s baritone voice ringing through the auditorium.  You didn’t want to keep your eyes closed, however, because it was nearly impossible to take your eyes off the skilled musicians, whose on-stage interaction was captivating.  Between songs, Nathan often had the entire room in stitches with anecdotes about the music, at one point saying of the song 45 Years “this is a beautiful love song, and it’s a little strange singing it because it’s about my mom… but I just try to get over it.”  Audience participation was invited (or “expected” as they were told), and it set the tone for the evening, which was exceptional in every respect, from music to laughter, and from well-told stories to the shivers from realizing everyone in the room was sharing an experience that is now part of the Rogers family legacy.

Nathan and his band have also brought some new arrangements to the pieces, which was essential to having the concert be more than four musicians doing what’s been done before.  New harmonies, new instruments, and different vocal approaches have brought new life and a new take on some of the music that you won’t hear on the original recordings.  At one point, Nathan added percussive vocals in the form of throat-chanting which proved very effective in putting Nathan’s own flavour into the music.

Joined on stage by Andrew Bryan (fiddle and vocals), JD Edwards (guitars, harmonica, and vocals), and the bass/vocals roles were split over the tour by Trevor Mills and David Woodhead, the arrangements came very naturally to the band, without having to sit down and work things out over weeks and weeks.  As an ensemble, the blend and fit were exceptional, as if they’d been touring for quite some time.  The music simply wouldn’t be complete without fiddle, and true to the original, Andrew began songs like Field Behind the Plow and The Mary Ellen Carter with melodies that are part of the Canadian folk canon.  JD’s voice sits above Nathan’s, perfectly complimenting the vocals, and his harmonica and guitar work added a little bit of blues to the mix.  Trevor Mills anchored the foursome on bass and with the clear harmonies and solid bass, rounded out the group perfectly.

David and Trevor each have an interesting direct connection to Stan Rogers.  David recorded and toured with Stan early in his career, and Trevor’s father Paul (AKA Curly Boy Stubbs) is Stan’s long-time record producer (and recently produced the remastered versions of Stan Rogers’ catalogue).  Although this was never mentioned on-stage in Cornwall, it’s clear that Nathan and Trevor each knew where the other was going musically, and it brought another layer to the evening.

Whether hearing this music again live after about three decades, or live for the first time, the evening was powerful and absolutely first-rate entertainment.  This was a truly wonderful rekindling of the spirit ofStan, and a fitting tribute to the Rogers family legacy.

Graham Lindsey,
Owner, Wavelength Media
Wavelength Media maintains the Borealis Records website

Our very own Grit Laskin was named a Member of the Order Of Canada today.
Grit is so deserving of this honour and we couldn’t be more proud of our pal and colleague.

On Saturday Nov. 17th at the Canadian Folk Music Awards gala in Saint John New Brunswick The Once were awarded Vocal Group of the Year and Michael Jerome Browne was awarded Solo Artist of the Year. Our hearty congratulations to Michael, Geraldine, Andrew and Phil for this much deserved recognition. BRAVO !

Pictured (L-R): Rik Barron accepting on behalf of The Once who were awarded Vocal Group of the Year, Michael Jerome Browne accepting the award for Solo Artist of the Year.

Northwest Passage is the fourth of five original Stan Rogers albums to be re-mastered and released by Borealis.

Lovingly restored and using the latest mastering technology, the original songs have been given a new life and the sound is simply stunning.

You can find Northwest Passage right here.

Borealis is pleased to announce that John Wort Hannam has joined our family of artists.

From the moment you start listening to John’s latest album Brambles And Thorns you realize that John is a born storyteller with a keen eye for life in a small town. Whether the characters are quirky or heroic, John is a master at creating the story behind the song, and in that sense has often been compared to James Keelaghan and Gordon Lightfoot.. Have a listen and you’ll see what we’re talking about.

Please do listen to what he has to offer – we’re sure you’ll love it as much as we do!