synth.pop/Caffeine Sunday

Coming in 2010...

2009-12-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

In case you were planning to see Caffeine Sunday at the Starlite Room tomorrow night, our show has been cancelled. Or rather, postponed. We WILL be playing there in January, just not Dec 18. Which may actually be a good thing, what with Robot Santa starting his annual Xmas killing spree early this year. Show postings coming soon!

In other news, Chris recently moved to a new home so we're temporarily without a studio and proper rehearsal space until he gets everything set up at his new place. Here's what we were making due with last week. And I just installed Reason 4 and Record onto both my Macs, so we'll both be ready for 2010.

Ah yes, 2010. Almost time for our yearly Top 10 lists...

- R

BRIXX show was fun

2009-09-28T08:54:00.001-06:00

Check out the photos via Douglas Dollars (thanks Doug!).

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Nice to play a show with other bands in the same musical ballpark. It would have been nicer if the sound was good (pretty scrambly sound for all three groups).

Thanks everyone who came!

cn

Caffeine Sunday live show Sept. 25

2009-09-15T08:25:00.000-06:00

Caffeine Sunday is opening for Edmonton bands This Girl, That Boy and Cygnets on Friday, Sept. 25 at the BRIXX, which is the downstairs level of the Starlite Room (formerly the Rev, formerly the Bronx). Should be fun, and the other bands sound great too.

Tickets are $12. Doors open at 9 p.m. (Location on Google Maps)

(link to Facebook event)

cn

Caffeine Sunday - I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black in White - is now available!

2009-08-25T12:41:00.005-06:00

I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black and White - Caffeine Sunday's new album - is now officially released and available for buying, enjoying and playing really loudly in your earbuds or while cruising Whyte. It features 11 fresh new tracks by the Edmonton synthpop duo, and is their first new album since 2001's Karmaland.

Buy it now on CD Baby
Learn more about the album and band on our official site

Track listing:

[Boarding Pass]
Plane
Three Song Cutoff
Set Me Free
It Still Hurts
Don't Say It
Low
Cowboy Hat
Lost and Found
Cubicle
The King Is Dead

(View details and listen to the album online)

"Great stuff, how can I get my hands on a copy?," you say. Well funny you should ask. You've come to the right place.

There are a couple of options available as of today:

Physical Media

The CD version ($12) features exclusive eco-sleeve packaging made of recycled cardboard, printed with vegetable-based ink and dispenses with the throwaway shrinkwrap.

Bits Only

You can also download a MP3-only copy ($10) via CD Baby if you want it in digital format, but don't want to wait for it to show up on iTunes.

Coming Soon

Stay tuned for updates on local retail availability in Edmonton, as well as availability on iTunes and other digital music stores. Both are coming, so when they're good to go we'll announce it here.

It's been a long road to get to this point. Like, we're talking - loooooooong. :-) We're really happy with how it turned out though, and can't wait for everyone to hear it too. Hope you check it out, and please let us know what you think!

Thanks everyone,

P.S. Don't forget to join our Facebook or MySpace pages, and you can also follow us on Twitter.

The ultimate Terrible Gig

2009-08-04T11:03:00.005-06:00

I learned about the tragic storm and stage collapse at the annual Big Valley Jamboree via Twitter while I was in nearby Irma on the weekend. It was a truly surreal, scary experience to watch unfold via the safe vantage point of the live Twitter stream, and a reminder of how quickly things can change and how important it is to remember what's really important in life.

We've had gigs in our past that I would qualify as "terrible". But of course that's just within a certain range of "terrible". Like the being-booed-as-you-walk-onstage-because-you're-carrying-a-synthesizer-under-your-arm kind of "terrible". When a tragedy like this happens, it puts things into proper perspective. In an I'm-glad-I'm-alive-to-hug-my-wife-and-kids way.

Our thoughts are with the family of the dead and injured. And I certainly hope people don't get too carried away in the aftermath in terms of trying to find someone to blame for all of this. It was an act of nature, and as we've seen in millions of examples before this one, we tiny little humans have very little power to fight Mother Nature if she really wants to lay a smackdown on us. If we can learn anything to improve outdoor show safety in the future (faster warnings, storm-proof stage construction), that's great, but trying to hang this on somebody's neck will be like trying to fight the wind. You can swing all you want, but you'll never win.

cn

Final Free Download Day 11 - The King Is Dead

2009-07-26T08:30:00.003-06:00

No, this song isn't about Michael Jackson, or Elvis. It's about the first Canadian soldiers killed in combat since the Korean war. They were killed in Afghanistan - by Americans. With friends like these...

Free Download Day 10 - Cubicle

2009-07-25T08:30:00.002-06:00

For those that like the thump thump, this one almost took you over the edge. Definitely the most electronic-sounding song on the album. Working in a cubicle is bad enough, but what if your relationship is also a mundane drag - how do you get away from it?

Free Download Day 9 - Lost and Found

2009-07-24T08:30:00.003-06:00

This was one of those marathons in project completion. It started out with a pretty good riff, but it was so difficult to find the right words & melody to go with it and it ended up taking a "couple" years to finish writing. But the song had potential and we just couldn't walk away from it.

Free Download Day 8 - Cowboy Hat

2009-07-23T08:30:00.004-06:00

A sarcastic take on the Albertan urban cowboy. You know the type: drives a massive $70K 4X4, hangs out at the country clubs in his Cowboy Hat, pretends to like Rascall Flatts and considers himself a maverick from "The West", yet wouldn't know a cow if it kicked him in the groin.

Free Download Day 7 - Low

2009-07-22T08:30:00.003-06:00

You're back in your old college town many years after graduating, but everyone and everything that made the original experience so special is gone. So instead of feeling warm fuzzy memories, you're actually taken aback by how Low you feel.

Free Download Day 6 - Don't Say It

2009-07-21T08:30:00.002-06:00

Don't ever let anyone tell you public transit isn't cool. Don't Say It was written on Christopher's laptop during one of his early morning winter bus rides to work. Easier said than done, when you consider the notes had to be typed into the computer using QWERTY and not the normal synth keyboard.

Free Download Day 5 - It Still Hurts

2009-07-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

Everybody keeps a shoebox full of mementos from past lovers. Eventually that box is going into the landfill, whether you throw it out or your kids do after you die. Wouldn't you rather do it yourself, and spare them the knowledge their other parent wasn't your first love? You might even get a new song out of it... especially if It Still Hurts.

Free Download Day 4 - Set Me Free

2009-07-19T11:49:00.002-06:00

This is what would be considered an end-of love song - Set Me Free.

Free Download Day 3 - Three Song Cutoff

2009-07-18T11:37:00.008-06:00

No, the album doesn't end at the Three Song Cutoff, that's just the name of the song. Based on a real life episode of House experienced by one of Christopher's relatives, it's not a happy sounding song but at least there was a happy ending.

Free Download Day 2-Plane

2009-07-16T21:24:00.006-06:00

Today's new track is Plane. Close your eyes and imagine it's 1942, and you're sitting in Rick's Café Américain. Now imagine Sam is playing Enjoy the Silence instead of As Time Goes By...

Free Download: Boarding Pass

2009-07-16T21:03:00.005-06:00

The new album is just days away from release! To celebrate we're going to post a new song every day until they're all online. Download here for free (in exchange for you joining our mailing list), or just listen. Comments welcome - we're looking for potential singles to promote so if you really like (or hate) something, let us know!

Today's song is the instrumental track that starts everything off, Boarding Pass. Clocking in at just 1:15, it just may be the shortest Caffeine Sunday song you'll ever hear...

Our Debut CD Detox - Now Available

2009-07-12T23:42:00.002-06:00

Our 1998 debut album Detox is now available online for the first time since the demise of the original MP3.com site back in December 2003. And for a limited time, it's FREE! Or you can pay for a higher quality download if you so desire.

It's been an experience reliving this album. I barely managed to get my computer to make AIFFs from the master CD (thanks to data rot) but things worked out in the end. Scary though! One thing I didn't manage to rustle up was the original write-up for the album, or any other type of documentation about our experiences at the time. It's like a black hole of background info, unlike the reams of writing we did for Karmaland. I do remember the crappy equipment we were using, and the apartment we were recording in, and our crazy landlord and the idiotic neighbours, and my shitty jobs. And the excitement of writing and recording pop songs for the first time! Holy crap we were young back then.

In other news... our brand new album I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black and White should be back from the factory this week!

Mini-Update

2009-06-26T23:49:00.005-06:00

Our new YouTube Channel is up and running. I insist you check it out, right now.... We've posted "re-mastered" versions of all our videos to date, plus we've done interview shorts for each of the 11 tracks on the new album (very informative). Expect to see lots of new content on CSTV in the coming weeks and months.

Speaking of the new album I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black and White, we expect the first batch of CDs to arrive from Vancouver around the beginning of July. They should be available on CD Baby immediately following, and then digitally though iTunes sometime soon after that. We really don't know how long it actually takes for CD Baby to get the music into iTunes, but assuming they're not sending the CD by donkey from Portland to Cupertino, it should be fairly quick.

New Caffeine Sunday album is a wrap!

2009-04-26T19:49:00.007-06:00

It's done.

God that feels great to type. Let's do it again.

It's done. The new Caffeine Sunday album - I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black and White - is finished.

Ryan and I finished mixing the final track (Lost and Found) last weekend. It sounded fine when relistening to it during the week, and this weekend I found software to mix the whole album together (with track crossfades and volume matching, so the whole thing is hopefully a nice cohesive piece for those of us who enjoy albums). I exported the whole thing to a CD this afternoon. It sounds great. I'm so happy with how it's turned out, even though it's taken years! It's good and it's done, officially, as of April 26, 2009.

Release info to come in the next few weeks...

Website Relaunch!

2009-02-24T21:30:00.004-07:00

We've recently redesigned and relaunched our website in the lead-up to the release of our new CD. This time we're taking advantage of "web 2.0" instead of dealing with what-you-see-is-not-quite-what-you-get HTML editors, FTP programs, different files scattered across multiple hard drives, computers and web hosts, et-freaking-cetera. Now it's all pretty much centralised, and oh-so-easy to administer.

Check it out - www.caffeinesunday.com.

Best Albums of 2008

2009-01-01T23:42:00.006-07:00

Here are my favourites of 2008.

1. Matt & Kim
Yes, this was actually released in 2006, but is it my fault MuchMusic and terrestrial radio suck and I didn’t hear it until now? Thank God for Indie Pop Rocks on Soma FM. The energy of this band just blows me away. I couldn’t wait to get out on my bike or street skates to exercise to this bundle of pure fun. In fact, I got hit by a truck while listening to this album, but that’s another story. Yet it still made my #1!

2. Aimee Mann – Fucking Smilers
An absolutely amazing album from one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Great for driving around the city in the heat of summer, it turned out to be the default CD in my Vue from its release in early June until September. Her show at Edmonton's Folk Fest was a religious experience for me.

3. Keane – Perfect Symmetry
This album is SO good it almost deserves 2 spots, thanks to the accompanying CD of demo versions in the special edition. This is a great Britpop band making their tribute to ‘80s synthpop, and the result is a collection of songs that are great Britpop with an ‘80s synthpop mentality. With a formula like that, how could it be anything less than brilliant?

4. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
Amazing synth-pop from Down Under. This will make you get over the loss of Savage Garden once and for all. Also a favourite of Edmonton’s most talented (and hottest) DJ. Unfortunately that's not another story...

5. Moi Caprice – You Can’t Say No Forever
Yes, yes, the Danes are melancholic, so just embrace it. Supposedly this album was released in 2005, but again thanks to Indie Pop Rocks I found another gem that didn't see the commercial light of day here in Hickton (north america).

6. Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog Soundtrack
There hasn’t been a soundtrack this good since Southpark The Movie. The 3 episode TV show available exclusively from iTunes was SO good I bought the soundtrack as well. These songs are absolutely top notch, and catchy as SARS. Nathan Fillion, make us Edmontonians proud.

7. Metro Station
Pure major label record company crap, but oh so infectious. I’m not sure how well this will age, but it was DAMN fun at the time.

8. Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
This is the album that brought me back to being a fan of the band, after a feeling of “meh” for their previous 2.

9. The Teenagers – Reality Check
Pure synth eurotrash ecstasy. Definitely music to fuck to.

10. I Was a Cub Scout – I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope
More incredible indie pop with a synthetic flavour. Impressive, depressive, lovingly crafted, wise beyond its years. And then they broke up.

Disappointment of the year – Panic At The Disco. What a dud, especially after their debut was one of the most incredible albums of the ‘00s. Oh, and I hated the Madonna album so much I deleted it from my hard drive after one listen. It was so bad it actually made me angry, and that's quite a feat in itself. I'm glad Guy Ritchie is taking half.

Best Albums of 2008

2009-01-01T12:33:00.005-07:00

A most enjoyable year for music, at least for me. It was hard to weed through my list this year to pick the top 10, but here it is. Happy new year, and best wishes for 2009! (BTW - In case you're curious my list from last year is over here)

My top 10 list for 2008:

Booka Shade - The Sun and the Neon Light
Intoxicating mix of clicky beats, analog synths, real strings and vocal hooks made this my most listened to album of the year. The vinyl-only set of album remixes is awesome, too.

Radiohead - In Rainbows
All the attention and hoopla around this album's distribution experiments could have overshadowed the actual music, if the album itself wasn't so damn good. Haunting yet soothing - one of Radiohead's best.

Coldplay - Vivia La Vida/Prospekt's March
One of the best rock bands today + Brian Eno = album on repeat ad nauseum. A personal favourite.

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Not only a great collaboration of music personalities, but a collaboration of genres and styles that make for an awesome electronic folk pop alternative album. P.S. Hey David - I'm still waiting for my special collector's edition to come in the mail!

Ben Folds - Way to Normal
Classic Folds - energetic, smartass, fun, tuneful. Athough I admit I like the "fake" leaked versions of some of these songs as much as as the real album versions.

Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Momofuku
Honest rock album recorded in a week and originally issued on vinyl only (with MP3 downloads with the vinyl purchase). Tight, catchy, and full of exhuberance one would expect from guys 30 years younger.

Daniel Lanios - Here Is What Is
Another beautiful, brilliant DIY opus from Canada's unsung musical hero. I hope to catch the movie someday.

Portishead - Third
I don't know what genre you would even call this, but obviously something in the Portishead genes is resilient -- regardless of what musical style it manifests itself in, listening to this leaves you as subdued and slightly little unsettled as old Portishead would.

Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Totally fun album of songs from my favourite TV show. Thank you Jermaine and Brett!

Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime
Why is this not on anyone's list for 2008? My guess is it's because most reviewers don't have kids. If they did, this would be on their lists, hands down. A kids album that's also enjoyable for adults, even on the 100th listen. That's a rare, rare thing - trust me!

Also awesome: Keane - Perfect Symmetry, Robyn - Robyn, The Notwist - The Devil You and Me, Moby - Last Night, John Legend - Evolver, Beck - Modern Guilt, Joe Jackson - Rain, Lights - Lights EP, and Nine Inch Nails - The Slip.

Disappointments: David Usher, Prince

Best show: Chris Isaak @ Edmonton Folk Fest

Guilty pleasure: Madonna's Hard Candy

Anyway, that's it. Here's hoping next year is just as enjoyable, musicwise, and that you will enjoy hearing the new Caffeine Sunday album when it comes out. And please let me know what your picks are for 2008....

Details of new Caffeine Sunday album announced

2008-12-29T09:01:00.003-07:00

There, that sounds pretty official sounding. And for us, pretty awesome sounding.

While the new album isn’t officially “finished”, as in "it’s a the manufacturing plant being made into plastic discs and iTunes files", it’s so close that I can tell you some firm details about it:

The name of the album is I Wish I Could Film Tonight in Black and White
It’s got 11 tracks
It will be available early in 2009 in both physical and digital download formats
The collector’s edition physical release (of which there will be a very limited number) will also have a bonus disc of extra tracks and remixes
I think it’s easily our best work to date

At this point last year, I was going over my new year’s resolutions and at the top of the list was “Release the new CS album.” While we’ll be missing that self-imposed deadline by just a bit, the important thing is that there is indeed a (nearly!) finished Caffeine Sunday album one year later, and I think Ryan and I are really excited about how it’s turned out. More details and release dates to come in the new year, when they’re available.

In the meantime, I’ll be posting my annual Top 10 albums list for 2008 later this week. Have you got yours ready?

How Not To Spend 3 Hours Updating Multiple Websites

2008-10-20T20:27:00.005-06:00

In gearing up for the release of our new album, we're starting to re-establish our omnipresence on the internets. In the "olden days" it was enough to have a decent website and a few MP3s on the original site for indie MP3s - www.mp3.com (go figure). Now, in addition to needing a band website, you need a presence where the peeps already are - places like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Bebo, Friendster, etc etc. But how to upload songs and videos to all these sites, and update news and show info, without it taking hours? And how many blogs do we need? How about 1 central blog that updates everywhere? I still haven't found the perfect solution but ReverbNation seems to be a good start. One place to upload songs, a link to all our YouTube videos, our bio, blog, shows, mailing list, press, store, and more. Nice!

Some more arts election coverage

2008-09-24T09:51:00.003-06:00

"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people, you know, at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough when they know those subsidies have actually gone up — I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people."

- Stephen Harper, on the campaign trail this week.

CBC story Sept. 24/08

CTV news video

Globe and Mail

The Toronto Star (includes video piece from Canadian Press)