POLARIS POINTS HERE
A Tribe Called Red, METZ make prestigious music short list
ATribe Called Red, the eclectic Ottawa band that mixes powwow beats with electronic dance music, has received lots of critical acclaim recently. But Tuesday’s launch of the band onto the short list for the Polaris Prize in Canadian music was special, said DJ NDN, a.k.a. Ian Campeau, one member of the trio.
“It’s just incredible to get recognized like this,” said Campeau in a phone interview. “I’m completely flabbergasted and extremely excited.”
The nomination carries extra meaning because the Polaris is awarded on the basis of artistic merit, not album sales or “whatever the music industry machine says makes it a good album,” he said.
“Music aficionados nominated us, people that really love music and really feel our album is one of the best of the year, which is incredible.” The Polaris jury includes more than 200 music writers, broadcaster, bloggers and programmers from across Canada who “display a wide breadth and depth of knowledge of Canadian music and passion for discovering new albums,” in the words of the organization.
A Tribe Called Red made the long list for the prize last year. The band’s latest album, Nation II Nation, has wowed both critics and fans. The trio — the other two members are Bear Witness and DJ Shub — perform what’s been dubbed powwow step. It’s a creatively infectious mash-up of dance-hall beats, electronic effects and traditional sounds.
Another nominee with strong Ottawa connections is METZ, with their self-titled album.
Two of the band members, Alex Edkins, from Winchester, Ont. and who is getting married in August, and Hayden Menzies, whose parents still live in the Ottawa area, met in the punk music scene in the city and started making music together. About six years ago they hooked up with guitarist Chris Slorach, and the current version of METZ was born.
Slorach was justifiably pleased and kind of overwhelmed by the placement on the Polaris list when reached Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s pretty exciting, something I never expected,” he said by phone from Toronto. “It’s been a year of amazing events, and you kind of think, ‘Holy crap, is this really happening.’” The album came out last October on the legendary indie label Sub Pop. “We’re just trying to make music that we like.”
The band flew back from Seattle, where they had been doing the 25th anniversary of Sub Pop on Saturday at the behest of the Polaris organizers and have been busy with media ever since.
“Basically, haven’t slept for two days. Got off a plane this morning and went directly to Polaris headquarters,” Slorach said.
Last week A Tribe Called Red performed a triumphant homecoming show at Bluesfest, after landing gigs at huge festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and SXSW.
This year’s Polaris short list, announced Tuesday, also includes Whitehorse, Metric, Colin Stetson, Purity Ring, Zaki Ibrahim, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tegan and Sara, and Young Galaxy.
Last year’s Polaris Prize was won by Feist for her album Metals. Arcade Fire captured the prize in 2011. Other past winners include Karkwa, F***ed Up, Caribou, Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy.
The winner will be announced Sept. 23 at a Toronto gala hosted by Kathleen Edwards and Shad. Limited public tickets in balcony seats will go on sale Monday at ticketfly. com for $50.