Blog

  • RHR Library Composer Scores Big Across The Pond

    We’ve got a secret that we have been dying to tell you, something exciting this way comes from the team at  Rocking Horse Road Productions and it’s almost time to spill the beans…

    Ok, screw it, Rocking Horse Road’s newest endeavour – our Pre-cleared Music Library – is up and running which features many different tracks, compositions, soundscapes, film scores etc., from talented musicians all around the globe. We haven’t officially launched yet but because we like you all so much, we thought we’d tell you a bit early. A composer featured in our library has recently been involved with a major project across the pond in the UK and we’re super proud to share his great news with you – and even more proud to be able to say that we get to work with this ‘gent on the daily and feature his incredible music in our library.

    So who is it.. Answer? Jim Guthrie! A Canadian singer-songwriter, who is the lead composer for the brand new construction and management simulation video game Planet Coaster. You can hear all of Jim’s incredible tracks throughout the game and the entire soundtrack (You, Me & Gravity: The Music of Planet Coaster) can also be purchased/played from his online Bandcamp profile – have a listen below! The team at Frontier Developments worked very hard on this project and it has definitely paid off. So go check it out, will ya?

     

    Needless to say we’re pretty excited for Jim and even more excited that our Pre-cleared Music Library will have its official launch very, very soon where you can hear more from him as well as many other talented musicians:)

  • WELCOME BIRD PASSENGERS TO THE RHR FAMILY!

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    The team at Rocking Horse Road is proud to welcome indie-electronic trio Bird Passengers from the great state of California to the RHR roster! The band, comprised of Nate Dodge, Jonathan Jones and Caleb Loveless, have been successful with several songs featured on film/TV and have a growing fan base on Spotify and SoundCloud – exactly how we found these talented musicians. The band’s new single “Wanderer” has charted on Spotify, peaking at #10 on the Global Viral list.

    Having released their second EP “Brave The Dark” in August of this year and their debut EP “Mountain To Cover” in August of 2015, these guys have been pumping out upbeat, get you out of your seat, fun electronic tracks embodying Stars, SOHN, Foster The People and more. They carry an unmistakeable positivity and passion for what they do in all their music which is one of the many reasons we’re currently obsessed with Bird Passengers – and why we’re sure you will be too!

    Give ‘em a listen, fall in love and try to resist planning a trip to Cali to see these guys live.

     

  • Nova Scotia Music Week 2016 Award Nominations Announced!

    nsmwIt’s that time of year again – the temperature is starting to drop, the kiddies are back in school and Music Nova Scotia has announced their 2016 music and industry award nominations for Nova Scotia Music Week 2016! There were quite a few RHR artists nominated this year and we wanted to give them a special little shout-out for all their hard work over and kick ass music they released. Congrats to everyone nominated and RHR is super excited to see/hear everyone in Truro this November! Check out which of our artists were nominated below and the full list of music/industry award noms and voting info here!

    Entertainer of the Year
    Adam Baldwin
    Ben Caplan

    Solo Recording of the Year
    Thom Swift

    Group Recording of the Year
    Quiet Parade

    Music Video of the Year
    Adam Baldwin – “Daylight”

    New Artist Recording of the Year
    Donald MacLennan – “Belleville”

    Recording of the Year
    Adam Baldwin – “No Telling When (Precisely Nineteen Eighty-Five)”
    Ben Caplan – “Birds With Broken Wings”

    SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
    Adam Baldwin – “Rehtaeh”
    Ben Caplan – “Birds With Broken Wings”

    Acadian/Francophone Artist of the Year
    Maxim Cormier

    Alternative Recording of the Year
    Ominar – “Leaving”
    Quiet Parade – “Quiet Parade”

    Americana/Bluegrass Recording of the Year
    Thom Swift – “The Legend of Roy Black”

    Digital Artist of the Year
    Ben Caplan

    Electronic Artist of the Year
    Scientists of Sound

    Folk Recording of the Year
    Ben Caplan – “Birds With Broken Wings”

    Jazz Recording of the Year
    Donald MacLennan – “Belleville”

    Loud Recording of the Year
    Black Moor – “Brave to the Grave”

    Musician of the Year
    Donald MacLennan
    Maxim Cormier

    Rock Recording of the Year
    Adam Baldwin – “No Telling When (Precisely Nineteen Eighty-Five)”

    Industry Professional of the Year
    Janesta Boudreau (Rocking Horse Road Productions Ltd) – Go JB!!

  • Welcome Beauts to the RHR Family!

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    Halifax band Beauts are the latest to join RHR’s sync roster – and boy are we excited. We were introduced to the local noisemakers by a friend in the industry and are oh so glad because these guys rock. With their latest 4 song EP Waves/Wash having been released in June of this year – shortly before their performance at the inaugural Gridlock Festival –  we wanted to scoop these guys up asap. Drawing comparisons to rockers such as Japandroids and laying down powerful, guitar driven, get you up out of your seat tracks from start to finish, there’s no wonder we were impressed at first listen.

    “Beauts’ songs are full of bittersweet hooks and shout-along choruses” and RHR couldn’t be more thrilled to have them on board – give them a listen, you’ll understand.

    Have a listen to the second track off their EP ‘Ether’ below and check out the rest of Waves/Wash on their Bandcamp profile!

     

  • Welcome Donald MacLennan to the RHR Family!

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    As I mentioned below (in the Ben Caplan post), I was most impressed by the violin player in his band, and it only took 30 seconds into the first track on this record by Donald MacLennan before I was completely sold. I hunted him down, set up a meeting while at ECMAs in Sydney, and I can now announce that he is now part of the RHR family!

    I was thinking about how to describe this album and I decided that the write up on his site was too perfect to mess with, so I’m going to post that instead. “Riding the line between genius and madness.” – Can’t say it any better than that!

    Chaotic, crisp, and riding the line between genius and madness. Antigonish-based musician Donald MacLennan’s anticipated debut solo album, Belleville, is a brilliant weave of sonic textures and arrangements rooted in the style of the formidable French guitarist Django Reinhardt. A modern twist to the traditional gypsy jazz approach, MacLennan blends both manouche and jazz standards with original compositions, showcasing his arrangements and improvisation with a laissez-faire not often anticipated in a debut record.

    So – yeah – all that, PLUS a cover of “I Will Always Love You”. #WinHere it all here! https://donaldviolin.bandcamp.com/releases

  • Welcome DYLAN MENZIE to the RHR Family!!

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    I met Dylan Menzie in person about a week ago in Charlottetown, PEI. It was the day that he released his new album, Adolescent Nature. I, along with some other delegates, were at a songwriter challenge listening session. Dylan came up to present one of his songs, and admitted that he had written (along with singer songwriter KASHKA), and recorded it in only 2 hours. He played it in that listening room and then performed it in a theatre later that night, and each time, it hit me in the face. Like, it ‘got to me’. This dude’s voice is something else. Team members Steve and Emma also agreed. Then I set out on a mission to nab him before anyone else did. Success! We got Dylan Menzie, and we couldn’t he happier.

    While he often draws comparisons to Atlantic Canada’s own Joel Plaskett (which I understand), and Ron Sexsmith, this guy also has written some tracks here that Paul Simon would be proud to call his own. His music is both very honest and very catchy (which is another way he reminds me of Simon). He’s already won over a large Canadian audience by landing in the top 4 of Canada’s CBC Searchlight Song Competition. Rich Terfry (aka Buck 65) calls his song ‘Kenya’, “completely irresistible” and tells of how one of the Song Competition judges “said that it seems as though this song was pulled from the future pages of the Canadian song book, which I think is a great compliment.”

    Anyway – I could go on forever, but I’ll let you see for yourself. Instead of posting a track and a video, I’m just posting this video so you can see his live vocal chops for yourself. This kid’s got something real special. Agreed?

  • Welcome Ben Caplan to the RHR Family!

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    Ben Caplan has a big voice, a big presence, a big vision, a big kick ass band**, and a big beard. We are so pleased to have him and all of the above as our newest signing to the RHR roster.

    Another east coaster, Ben has been in the biz for quite some time. Honestly, we’ve also been watching him for quite some time. His music is a little outside of the box for sync (usually garnering big comparisons to Tom Waits), but sometimes that is exactly what is needed. Nobody puts Bennie in a corner!

    Here are a few tunes from his new album, Birds With Broken Wings (MORE HERE), and below that – an excellent vid of he and Old Man Leudecke covering “Uptown Funk”. Welcome, Ben Caplan!

    **this ‘big kick ass band is so great live that we’re also working on signing his fiddle player! 

     

  • Welcome Devarrow to the RHR Family!

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    Folky singer-songwriter Graham Ereaux can make you dance and cry. He can do it all within 11 songs. He is the one man band that is called Devarrow, and he is Rocking Horse Road Sync’s newest signing!

    While he is an east coaster, this album was written on the west coast, in British Columbia. As a result, The Great Escape seems to be able to marry the vibes of each coast in to one beautiful alt-folk album.

    Influences are not hard to miss here. Patrick Watson and Bon Iver come to mind, but it’s clear that Devarrow has his own point of view.

    The live show is really something to see as well. As a one man band, Ereaux delivers his tracks with an intensity that some full bands can’t even deliver. With eyes on him this year at East Coast Music Week and Canadian Music Week, it won’t be long until you are hearing a WHOLE lot more about this guy!

    Check this out! Live at The Company House. Make sure to watch to the end!

  • RHR SCORES GLOBAL AD CAMPAIGN FOR JON EPWORTH WITH PHILIPS!!!

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    OH MAN, we’ve been wanting to talk about this for a little while now…

    With the help of our UK representative, Steve Calder, Rocking Horse Road has landed its first true GLOBAL ad campaign with Philips! #RHRartist Jon Epworth covers The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing” in a way that only Epworth can. We asked if he’d be willing to send a demo ahead, and Jon went in to the studio for a few hours where he played and recorded every instrument, sang and recorded all backup and main vocal parts, mixed the track and delivered it with a “what do you think of this?”.

    We, like the good people at Philips, thought ‘*&%& yeah. That’s the one.”! The campaign is rolling out now worldwide, outside of North America. It will come to our North American stations later this year.

    Check out JON EPWORTH’s current release, Jon Epworth & The Miracle Sweat HERE: jonepworth.bandcamp.com

  • Schrotten Film Trailer features Kim Harris, “In The Woods”!

    Schrotten, the German film that premiers in that country next Friday (and has already won some awards and accolades on the film fest circuit) has released its official trailer. The trailer features two Nova Scotian artists, including our very own Kim Harris, with her track “In The Woods”. The song also appears in the film, along with our Roxy and the Underground Soul Sound’s “Mistakes”. The soundtrack will be released in May as well. So, heads up Germany! Nova Scotia is coming to your ears with the release of Schrotten!