Canada’s Community of Indie Rock Artists

Watch to Broken Social Scene perform “It’s All Gonna Break” from their 2005 self-titled album. It’s a 9 minute song and I would venture to call it epic, so stick around to the end for the instrumentals that defines Broken Social Scene’s sound.

This week’s assignment is to write about my favorite work of art. I’m going to claim creative differences and write about my favorite artist, or community of artists.

I have a rather eccentric, and well Canadian, taste in music. I am absolutely in love with the combination of artists that makes up Canada’s indie rock scene. Fiest (of American fame for her song “1234″ that appeared on the iPod commercial), Jason Collett, Stars, Metric, Do Make Say Think all make up the collection of artists that I am referring to. These artists have all at one time either been members of, written, played, or produced with the band Broken Social Scene.

How do I even begin to explain Broken Social Scene? Ever-trustworthy Wikipedia lists them as indie rock, baroque pop, art rock, dream pop, and post rock. They have had as few as six and as many as nineteen members. They’ve been called a “supergroup” but they disagree with the label claiming that in the indie rock scene, every artist is involved with multiple projects. Beginning as an instrumental band, Broken Social Scene was founded in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Their first album Feel Good Lost was an amazing collection of instrumental music, but Canning and Drew felt their music needed lyrics to add more substance to their live shows. The band came to boast contributions from artists such as Jason Collett and Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw, and Stars’ Amy Millan, adding the substance that Canning and Drew were seeking.

Those members and more combined and recorded the band’s sophomore album, You Forgot it in People, which won 2003 Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards (think of the Juno Awards as the Canadian Grammy Awards). They won the award again in 2006 for their self-titled album. After their self-titled album it would be five years until the band came together again to record another album, Forgiveness Record Record, which drops May 4.

Broken Social Scene acts as a kind of mecca for Canada’s greatest indie rock musicians. Not only do these artists record with the band, but Broken Social Scene began their own record label, Arts and Crafts, in 2002 to promote their album “Feel Good Lost.” Since then the record label has expanded releasing 49 albums from 26 artists. In the beginning the label released primarily artists associated with their band, such as Stars (new album out June 22!), Metric, Jason Collett, and Apostle of Hustle. Since then the label has included other non-associated bands, most notably, The Most Serene Republic.

In addition to releasing albums by associated acts, Broken Social Scene began a series entitled “Broken Social Scene Presents…” in 2007. Core members Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning have both released solo albums, featuring cameo appearances from the majority of the bands’ members, under the series.

Their instrumental sound is huge, their lyrics sometimes inaudible, and their message at times ambiguous, but this band will remind you of why you fell in love with music. It may be the way that they foster creativity in their group of artists or just the way that their huge number of members makes their sound blend so beautifully, but something about them makes you want to run outside, hug your neighbor and dance in the street.

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