About three months ago, we asked our listeners to suggest a songwriting challenge or prompt for us to explore. Organizations like the Toronto Songwriting Association often prompt their members with challenges such as “Take a cliche and turn it on its head”, or “Write a song about a home appliance.” Singer-songwriter and former Song Talk Radio crew-member Linda Lavender joined us as a co-host – thanks Linda!

We received several songwriting challenge suggestions, and chose one from listener Don Thompson (who is now our audio tech genius) to write a “happy or positive lyric in a minor key.”

We gave ourselves about a month (including the 2019/20 holiday break) to write a song to the challenge. Don even joined in on the fun!

Mike wrote a heartfelt lyric, arguably in a major key, while Neel tried his darnedest to not use any major chords, Phil wrote an inventive chord progression with a cool modulation into the chorus, and Don wrote a sweet lyric while starting each song section with a minor chord.

This episode has 40% more fat, without any added sugar. (It’s 20 minutes longer than our typical episode, kids).

We talked about:

* our different approaches to the challenge

* how a challenge can force you to write in a way you never otherwise would

* what it means to be in a minor key

* the suitability of an f-bomb in a happy/positive lyric

* an interesting article on the success of Bille Eillish

* The TuneSmith Writing Application for Mac & Windows

* Rhyme Genie the ultimate desktop Rhyme-assist tool for songwriters

Download the lyrics to follow along

Rich In Love by Michael Proudfoot

Sweetest Thing by Don Thompson

Music and Me by Neel Modi

All I do by Phil Emery

Described as “sickly sweet”, singer/songwriter Jadyn Lamb embodies moody electronic pop with a style similar to Lorde and Kate Bush. Jadyn was joined on the show by her producer Marco Palma (Material City).

We talked about:

* FACTOR Canada

* MusicExpo happening in Mississauga this weekend!

* Upcoming Song Talk Challenge songwriting challenge: positive lyrics in a minor key.

* BOSE

* NextChord.APP chord suggesting app for iOS

* ROYAL MINT UNVEILS NEW £5 COIN CELEBRATING FREDDIE MERCURY AND QUEEN

* What musician would you like on the new Canadian $5 bill

* The Eric Alper PR

* Foley in modern music

* https://www.jadynlamb.com

* https://www.instagram.com/jadynlamb

* https://www.twitter.com/jadynlamb

* https://www.facebook.com/jadynlambmusic

* JADYN LAMB – Long Way Home Lyric Page

* JADYN LAMB – Bad Sign Lyric Page

 

 

This week SongTalk welcomed FEATURETTE to our studio.

The Toronto-based duo FEATURETTE, formed by singer Lexie Jay and drummer, Jon Fedorsen, makes emotionally-charged, heavy-hitting electro-pop music that has been met with international critical acclaim.

After receiving their first full recording grant from FACTOR Canada, the duo released their debut LP CRAVE in October, 2016. The duo have played alongside such notable acts as Alessia Cara, Dear Rouge and Walk Off the Earth – to name just a few.

FEATURETTE’s distinctive honesty and grit is front and centre in their sophomore album Dream Riot which was just released on January 17th via all streaming platforms. They brought their high energy and love of music to our studio to chat about all things musical. And, of course, their bunny head.

We talked with Lexie and Jon about:

* the unique reason that Featurette was formed

* how Lexie uses the sounds of words to spur her lyric writing

* the way songs evolve from solo piano to sonic songscapes

* the role music video plays in the concept of Featurette

* creating melody from non-melodic sources

* our previous show on Protest Songs

Website: http://featurettemusic.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/featurettemusic

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/FeaturetteMusic

Instagram: http://instagram.com/featurettemusic

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FeaturetteMusic

Press Room: https://featurette.prezly.com/media

 

This week SongTalk welcomes… Christmas into our studio.

For our Xmas Eve show, we all brought in our favourite Christmas songs and had a good chat about what makes them so great. Featuring some classics and some new songs that you may not have heard before. So pour yourself some Rum and Eggnog or some other suitable libation and have a listen.

Happy Holidays! from the entire SongTalk Gang!

Super-fan of the show Mike MacInnes joined us for our final live show of 2019, and indeed of the decade, for our personal takes on the best songs of the last 10 years. We also created a Spotify playlist of all the songs!

We talked about:

* Neel’s 2019 holiday song, and Phil’s re-mix

* Our songwriting challenge

* How you can enter “year:2010-2019” in a Spotify search to see songs from that range

* Songs that push the envelope and move music forward

* How we discover new music: Spotify, StereoGum, Noisetrade, and others

Jef Farquarharson stopped by to share tips about writing Christmas tunes.

Listen to the whole show

 

* Rum And Eggnog lyrics

* Christmas Is Lyrics

 

This week SongTalk welcomed David McLachlan to our studio.

David McLachlan is a prolific songwriter with 7 albums released, one in the can, for release next Aug 2020. Several years ago David ventured to Nashville to record with some stellar A-list players. He found that experience to be so rewarding it changed the way he recorded all his subsequent albums. David talks about that and assorted live experiences. Watch for him coming up at Winterfolk in Toronto late Feb 2020, and then he heads back to the famous The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, early March 2020.

 

We talked with David about:

* what sparks his creative muse

* how he first started and why he records in Nashville

* what the recording process is like in Nashville

* how he ended up in a Scottish jail

* how he approaches the craft of songwriting

 

 

davidmclachlan.com

youtube.com/davidmclachlanmusic

Juno-award winning recording artist Steve Strongman joined us to talk about his take on the blues.  Steve is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner, 2019 International Blues Challenge Best Guitarist (solo/duo). He’s opened for BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, and toured all over the world.

We talked about:

* What’s the blues anyway?

* What counts as a co-write when collaborating?

* How to write an understated chorus

* How to write with a “less is more” approach

* Using different guitar tunings to hack your songwriting

* Writing based on a title or phrase

* Writing lyrics that are open to interpretation

This is Song Talk Radio’s Episode 300! Yea for us!

The gang gets together to share suggestions on the perfect gifts for the songwriter in your life (let’s be honest, it’s you. You’re gonna by yourself this great stuff– and so you should!). Let us know what you want for the holidays in the comments below!

Listen to the show

The Lists

note that we get a small commission from the Amazon links so we won’t have to sell Neel’s organs on the black market. FYI – he still has a kidney in great condition.

Nico from Cologne, Germany

For those who play guitar and would like a small amplifier for practising at home or simply amplify their acoustic guitar. The Boss Katana Mini is a decent amplifier sold at a reasonable price, which I actually got for my birthday and can recommend. – Nice birthday present, Nico! – phil

Vanessa’s Choices

Muddy Waters Tote Bag $22 (for all that stuff that musicians lug around)

Moleskine Music Notebook MOLESKINE ART COLLECTION: From sketchbooks and sketchpads to watercolor notebooks with heavy paper, to music notebooks with plain and pentagram pages, to storyboard layout notebooks, Moleskine’s art collection of notebooks offer the quality you need.

Music IQ Party Game $27

JamStack Travel Guitar Amp $333 (10 watts, 8 hrs of battery life, can connect to cell phone to access range of tones, effects and controllers) –

Pick-a-Palooza (make your own guitar picks) $34 Pick-a-Palooza guitar pick maker is a useful and unique gift for any guitar player. Guaranteed to be the hit of any gift-giving situation, Birthdays, Christmas, Father’s Day, Graduation or anytime you would like to tell your guitar playing friend or family member how much you care!

Heavy-duty, sturdy construction and a stainless steel blade allows the user to create uniform and smooth guitar picks every time.

Musician Socks – around $10

Music Artwork from Pop Chart Lab – from $30 and up

Customizable musician bobblehead doll $92 (either send in a photo of the musician you want to turn into a bobble head or pick all the features from a long list of traits)

Michael’s Choices

League Of Rock: get coached by professionals touring musicians, play in top recording studios and play in fantastic venues.

Under $100 a session, discount through songTalk

Dick Cooper in Ottawa

A marshall amp refrigerator – $520 from Dudeiwantthat.com

Metal Skull microphones – von erikson laborato...

Amanie Illfated is a South Sudanese born, Toronto based singer/songwriter working in a dynamic fusion of R&B, Reggae, Afrobeat and Trap. She was born in what is now known as South Sudan and immigrated to Saskatchewan with her family as refugees in 1992. At the age of 16, she left her family to pursue music in Toronto. Her highly acclaimed single ‘The Hills’ was released in August 2018 from her album called ‘SATURN’ which was released on October 19, 2019. Amanie joined us to talk about her writing process and working with producers.

 

We talked with Amanie about:

* how to write starting with a beat first

* the best way to communicate with producers when recording

* how her background influences her songwriting

* using images to communicate musical ideas

* how networking can help your vision

Amanie on Instagram