Duncan Ivany & The North Coast Band Are Dropping a new track every friday all summer
Duncan Ivany & The North Coast Band haven’t let Covid stop them from filling their fans summer with new music. They’ve been releasing a new track every Friday since May 1st, and are going to continue to do so until the end of August. The indie folk rock band based out of Guelph, Ontario consisting of member Duncan Ivany, Connor Ivany and Wesley Morrison, are on a mission to combine East Coast kitchen party music, with Western Folk music vibes to create a sound unique to The Northern Coast of Ontario that also inspires music lovers all over the world. Like everyone else, they’ve had all their shows this summer cancelled, but luckily got to squeeze in a cross Canadian tour in late November, shortly before the industry came to a halt.
“The our was incredible, it was an amazing way to experience all that this country’s music scene has to offer. We played 18 shows in 25 days in cities spanning from Halifax to Calgary and everywhere in between (except for Northern Ontario). Some notable performances were in Montreal at BarFly, Charlottetown at Baba’s Lounge and Toronto at The Painted Lady. Regina, Calgary and Moose Jaw were awesome turnouts as well… We had the chance to reconnect with old friends and make new fans all along the way. This was our first ever tour and we’re glad we got to market ourselves globally before Covid.”
Upon returning from the tour, the Ivany brothers immediately started working on a new 17 song album from inside a cabin.
“The album turned into 17 individual singles – this was a strategy meant to connect with our fans during a time where we can’t perform live music. Duncan began working two jobs after the tour and Connor was collecting EI while we lived in a cabin just north of Guelph, ON. Connor would compile the tracks during the day and whenever Duncan had time off he would lay down demo vocal tracks. Eventually the brothers moved into a different house with a vaulted ceiling, perfect for catching the roomy vocals you hear on the 17 tracks. We had all these song ideas compiled from the tour and previous years of recording, so we decided to record all of them and put them on digital streaming platforms for fans to enjoy.
The tracks that have been released so far are definitely rooted in folk and country music, but have the vibes of melodic, dreamy and vibrant pop music. The songs are differently from the typical folk-rock music we release because we want to see the styles of music our fans vibe with while also giving them as much of our best content as possible. People want to hear your music; when you first find an artist you love, you want to hear everything and more – so it is good to have a lot of music across all platforms.”
You can click below to hear some of the already released singles, which are coming out on whatever your favourite platform is, making it super easy to find! Stylistically, the songs take many different directions, but every one of them is very well composed with great introspective lyrics, super chill and definitely worth checking out. This gives me one more reason to look forward to Fridays!
Although single releases on streaming platforms are becoming more and more common and replacing the traditional album, releasing a new track weekly is something I don’t know that I’ve heard of before. When asked about the thoughts behind this unique release strategy, the band told us
“Releasing one song at a time helps us to connect with fans during this time of social distancing – it gives people something to look forward to from Duncan Ivany & The North Coast Band every weekend. It is also experimental, we’re hoping to land in the discovery playlists of fans or rope the fans in that have maybe only heard one song. It also increases the chance of one of our songs being chosen for curated editorial playlists.”
The whole music scene around is changing, and it takes forward thinking artists like these guys to keep it moving. One thing that this pandemic has taught me is that even if the whole world stops, music won’t. Artists have pivoted and found new ways to keep it flowing, in creative ways that many industries have failed to replicate. It gives me a lot of hope, and I sure hope that when concerts open back up, fans go and support the hell out of artist like Duncan Ivany & The North Coast Band, who have provided us with an escape during one of the hardest times in many of our lives. When asked about the future of the Canadian music industry, they noted
“The Canadian music scene is definitely going to be a lot different. I am sure many people will wear masks to concerts from now on with possible plexi-glass in front of the stages. Indoor concerts might not be a big thing in the coming years, so more concerts might be concentrated to the summer months with digital releases and recordings happening in the winter months. It will create more competition in an already competitive market while giving artists the opportunity to connect with their fan base online in a way never seen before (through Livestreaming and interactive Zoom meetings, Remote Festivals). It is an interesting time to be a musician, but I know when music comes back and we all go to our first concert, we will all be overcome with peace after such a long wait.”
And although we don’t know quite yet when that future is going to be, the band has big plans for the post pandemic world.
“Our plans post Covid are to tour festivals across Canada after we record our first full length album (hopefully at Catherine North again). We really want to collaborate with the band Valley at some point in the future, either in a co-write or having them produce our album. A dream of ours is to record a live off-the-floor album produced by Alan Doyle. We of course want to bring this music to the festival scene but we are unsure what that scene will look like in the future. Another goal of ours is to tour rural small town Ontario halls & theatres to perform shows for 40-100 people. After growing up in a small town, it would be incredible to tour and see everything Ontario has to offer in a smaller capacity. This might also be a safer option. ”
With the drive that these guys have, I have a feeling they’re going to accomplish many of these goals. So if you’re looking for some great indie folk rock, take a listen through their catalogue and check back in to your favourite streaming to hear a new track, every single Friday until the end of summer!
