This month, we’re jamming to some of the best musical artists from Canada. We’ve compiled a playlist to accompany this month's Canada box, taking you on a journey from the freshest contemporary sounds to the never-fail classics from our neighbors to the north.
1. Drake – “Energy”
Drake is known for giving Canada shout-outs in many of his songs. In the track “Energy,” he raps, “Kennedy Road taught me not to trust people like you,” referring to a roadway in Toronto where some of his crew members reside.
2. The Weeknd – “I Feel It Coming”
“I make good music for long journeys,” says Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd. We couldn’t agree more. In “I Feel It Coming,” the Toronto native teams up with Daft Punk to create a nostalgic throwback to 1980s pop.
3. Alessia Cara – “Wild Things”
Alessia Cara is of Italian descent, but was born in Brampton, Ontario. In the music video for her single “Wild Things,” she runs through her native city with some of her lifelong best friends.
4. deadmau5 – “Strobe”
Joel Zimmerman, also known as deadmau5, is an EDM artist famous for performing in his iconic mouse-shaped headwear. He records his hypnotic tracks in his multi-million dollar home studio in Campbellville, Ontario.
5. Tegan and Sara – “I’m Not Your Hero”
Sisters Tegan and Sara Quin hail from Calgary, and have made a name for themselves with their catchy indie-pop sound. They started writing music together at the age of 15. “Weirdly, I’m not sure that I could do this with another person who wasn’t my sibling,” says Sara.
6. Arcade Fire – “Ready To Start”
Grammy-award winning band Arcade Fire formed in Montreal, Quebec, founding members Win Butler and Josh Deu having met as high school students in New Hampshire. Their album “The Suburbs” won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2011, and is based around Win and his brother William’s upbringing.
7. Avril Lavigne – “Complicated”
Avril Lavigne’s 2002 debut “Let Go” launched the Belleville, Ontario native’s career as the good-girl-gone-punk with teen anthems like “Complicated.” “I worked really hard to get to where I am today, I appreciate everything I have versus taking it for granted. I think upbringing is a big part of that, and being Canadian,” she told Hello! magazine.
8. Sum 41 – “In Too Deep”
Sum 41 formed in Canada in 1996 when lead singer/rhythm guitarist Deryck Whibley and drummer Steve Jocz were in high school. The band was originally called Kaspir, but the group decided to change the name before a show on September 28, 1996 – which happened to be their 41st day of summer vacation.
9. Rush – “Freewill”
Rush, formed in Toronto, has been around for over 4 decades, and over the years its members have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on each of their respective instruments. Their 1980 track “Freewill” is straight out of the classic rock canon.
