Halifax’s new pop chops
Halifax has emerged as an East Coast pop music hub, exporting artists with danceable hits with spots on the charts alongside Canadian heavyweights Justin Bieber and Drake.
The region’s artists will be recognized at the East Coast Music Awards gala on Thursday in Saint John, N.B., and Halifax pop hitmakers are leading the pack for nominations.
Ria Mae said her hometown
- best known for giving birth to rock-radio staples like
April Wine and Sloan or singer-songwriters like Sarah McLachlan who moved west to become stars - is nurturing pop musicians like never before.
“For the first time, Haligonians have a presence on pop radio,” said Mae, who is up for seven ECMAs.
Mae’s latest album glitters like a top 40 chart-topper, but maintains some folk grit. It’s a product of Halifax being a music incubator, she said.
“We’ve always had a strong singer-songwriter community... And I think that right now in the world of pop music, people are craving real things again - real topics,” said Mae, who maintains her local roots but also tours widely.
“It doesn’t have to be shiny and polished - it can just be unique. So maybe that’s why artists on the East Coast are getting a bit more recognition than usual.”
Mae’s self-titled 2016 record features “Clothes Off,” which became a smash hit on the Canadian radio charts and grabbed a Juno nomination for single of the year - a category based on sales alongside songs by Bieber, Drake and the Weeknd.
The electro-pop mashup has been certified gold in Canada with more than 50,000 sales, and its music video has garnered more than 2.4 million views.
The album is nominated for Pop Recording of the Year at the ECMAs and was produced by Classified, a Halifax rapper who is himself up for nine awards.