Sunday, December 23, 2012

Merry Xmas! Latest news and a year in review!

Merry Xmas everybody.  Just wanted to put a few words together to wrap up the latest ongoings of everyone involved (or once involved) in the Boutique Empire family.

Starting with Guilty About Girls who have just arisen from a productive hiatus to deliver two new songs, the latest of which was singled out by Alan Cross on his music blog.  Once again Jordy Birch is proving he is among Canada's finest pop song craftsmen!  Have a listen to his blistering new single The Boys in the Band.




Old friends Sex With Strangers have just released their fifth album Behaviors.  The first video from the new album, once again produced by the brilliant folks of BKS Crew is called Times Electric.  Check out the video below for their new sound and style.  They seem to be gathering a lot of press with this release and we wish them all a great success.




Combine the Victorious has taken the inspiration from their first European tour to begin writing and recording their third full length.  Scheduled for a spring 2013 release, the duo plans to return to Europe next year for an extended tour in its support.   Their new EP, Crumbling Hearts, indicates the tone of their new material, some of which may appear on the full length.  Vinyl pressing is being sourced out as well, with cover art to be commissioned from Robert Edmonds. 








Isabelle Dunlop has had several very successful pop up shops during 2012 which has spurred on the idea of setting up a permanent shop for her designs in the new year.  It seems her wool scarves and shawls are becoming more popular each season.  Stay tuned for more news.

Robert Edmonds, the man behind the images of all the Boutique Empire releases, is currently planning expositions for the new year.  We are discussing many ideas of how to make each series unique and exciting.  Once again we'll be offering more information as we near the time to reveal his works. 

Vince Tuckwood, our resident author, not only released his Escalation novel this year but has been hard at work on a dualistic music album as well.  He has been revealing certain works from the sparse side of the album which show dramatic artistic leaps from anything he's done before.  Have a listen to some of his latest works on his reverbnation page.

Though not officially a member of the Boutique Empire collective (yet) The Population Drops have quietly started to amass attention around their first four song collection.  More songs are being recorded in January and hopefully a several more live performances will be scheduled to showcase this remarkable new band and their unique style.   Check out Enough from their first EP.



In closing, if we're very lucky we should also hear some new music from the elusive Gilles Zolty in the 2013.  He's been busy working away in Saskatchewan this past year, but there have been rumours of new works that might escape from his private studio into the world.  At very least we hope he can make his way out to Vancouver for another live performance!

Here's hoping all of you will have a happy holiday season, and though 2012 has been a challenging year we are all looking forward to the new year and the opportunity our new works shall bring.

Thanks for reading, be well and merry xmas.




Thursday, December 6, 2012

Dancing in Dystopia 2



Combine the Victorious will be performing their last show of the year tomorrow night at the B-Ex ( British Ex Servicemen's Association, 1143 Kingsway, Vancouver).   Joining them on the bill shall be The Population Drops with The Rain and the Sidewalk opening the night.

CtV have been rehearsing with Justin "Juice" Kadis on drums and recently have been adding in Misty Reid on backing vocals.  A few other surprise guest musicians will joining them on stage to make this a highly memorable event!  The set included songs from the brand new Crumbling Hearts EP as well as a few favorite covers from the past and some sneaky little new moments from uncompleted songs.  The additional live musicians offer such a remarkable new sound to the live performance.  Not to be missed.

The Population Drops are quickly gathering interest on the Vancouver scene.  Their new four song EP has been getting a great deal of love at college/campus radio and even though they've only performed a handful of times they are rapidly acquiring a great reputation as a band to watch out for!

First on the bill is none other than The Rain and the Sidewalk.  With Trevor Thompson's eerily similar voice to Ian Curtis and his angular song writing his set promises to set a wonderful tone for the entire evening.

Doors are at 8pm
The Rain and the Side Walk 9pm
The Population Drops 10pm
Combine the Victorious 11pm

Tickets at the door, only $5 

click here for the official facebook invite

Poster designed by Robert Edmonds

Smoke and Choke by Combine the Victorious