Basia Bulat is a singer-songwriter who lives in Montreal, Canada. Over the course of five albums, she has brought together an intrinsic contemporary sound with a love of classic folk, country and R&B songwriting. Her first two albums, the folk-music-tinted Oh, My Darling (2007) and Heart of my Own (2010) were recorded in analogue with punk-rock producer Howard Bilerman; 2004's Tall Tall Shadow, exploring friendship and grief, was made with Mark Lawson and Arcade Fire's Tim Kingsbury; 2016's Good Advice, a break-up album, was produced in Kentucky with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James. In addition to her powerhouse voice, Bulat is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, recording and performing on electric guitar, piano, autoharp, ukulele, bass and charango. Bulat is a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and has been nominated for three Juno Awards. In recent years she has also been selected to perform at landmark events such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, and Newport Folk Festival. As a touring artist, she has shared stages with acts including Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The National, Arcade Fire, St. Vincent, and Sufjan Stevens.    

From the first moments of Maia Friedman's upcoming album Goodbye Long Winter Shadow, layers of strings, woodwinds, acoustic guitar and Maia's warm anchoring voice blossom as if to say “you are here.” The lush arrangements and sage lyricism are an enveloping statement of intent. They carry the devotion to nature Friedman fostered growing up in California’s Sierra Nevada with a new mother’s exploration of time and transformation. Friedman spent months developing the language of the album, pursuing the music she envisioned with characteristic patience. Produced with Philip Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Florist) and Oliver Hill (Magdalena Bay, Helado Negro), the result is chamber pop abounding with melodic intimacy, a world where instruments bob and weave around the heart-stopping clarity of Friedman’s voice. Though 2022’s acclaimed debut Under the New Light was the first album under her name, the California-born, New York-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has honed her sound for years as a member of both Dirty Projectors and Coco, the shared project of Friedman, Hill and Dan Molad. Where her debut was built from collaborative improvisation, Goodbye Long Winter Shadow is a collection of songs in the classic sense. Intimate instrumentals punctuate its running time and emphasize the sonic palette of the orchestral arrangements. Friedman’s lyricism and writing here is timeless, tightly composed and interspersed with surprising harmonic turns. If not for the heightened quality of its recording by Weinrobe, it might have been made decades ago; it’s Nico’s Chelsea Girl for today.