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Nova Scotia

Westminster Park wrapped romanticism in sonorous retro cinema with their country folk serenade, A Pair on a Pier

Westminster Park

Westminster Park unravelled the ache and splendour of enduring love with their country folk serenade, A Pair on a Pier. Recorded in their home studio and brushed with the warm gloss of Brandon General and Ben Srokosz’s mastering, the waltz drifts in like a slow tide, heavy with sentiment and light on pretension. It is retro arthouse cinema in sound, a sonic photograph of a week in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where nothing existed but the salt air and the slow burn of reignited affection.

With a Parisian sense of timeless style sewn into the sepia-tinted sonics, A Pair on a Pier becomes the aural epitome of romanticism; tender in all the right places, scintillatingly sonorous in all the rest. The harmonies hum with the kind of synergy that sidesteps cliché. They don’t rely on overplayed tropes or declarations; they breathe. They murmur truth and tangle around the lyrics like the arms of someone you never want to let go of again.

If you’ve never been to Montmartre, hand in hand with the one who became more your world than the earth beneath your feet, this track will take you there, while letting you inhale the Nova Scotian breeze and stripping away years of distraction. This is for everyone who still believes love’s eulogy hasn’t been written yet.

A Pair on a Pier is now available on all major streaming platforms. Support the artist by purchasing their music on Bandcamp. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: Warlet on Authenticity, Neurodivergence, and Finding Strength in Vulnerability

Warlet doesn’t hold back when it comes to honesty in her music. The Brazilian-born, Nova Scotia-based artist uses her platform to explore deep emotions, societal expectations, and the realities of being a neurodivergent Latin immigrant in the music industry. Inspired by artists like Twenty One Pilots and NF, she aims to offer listeners the same sense of understanding and comfort that once guided her through difficult times. With a sound shaped by emo, trap, pop rap, and RnB, her music carries both weight and intensity, reflecting her passion for raw expression. In this interview, she discusses her approach to songwriting, the intersection of her creative skills, and how she balances vulnerability with the energy of live performance.

Warlet, welcome to A&R Factory, it’s a pleasure to have you with us to discuss your backstory, achievements and ambitions. To give our readers an idea of your ethos; what does it mean to you to be an artist? 

Thank you guys for having me! It’s a pleasure! To me, being an artist means using one of the most amazing things human beings can do, which is to create, and give it back to people by making something meaningful in any form. I always say that I love making music because I want to make people feel something, whatever that is. Emotions are so beautiful and art is an outlet to explore that on us.

You never shy away from vulnerability in your songwriting; how does it feel to be so candid in your tracks? 

I don’t think I could ever be any other way. Being sincere about my feelings is my natural instinct with everything in life, maybe because of my autism, I don’t know really… But to me, vulnerability is powerful and being your true self should always be encouraged in society even though it really isn’t… Talking about the hard things once in a while is just as important as being entertained! I wish we all reminded ourselves of that more often.

What motivates you to speak so openly about these issues?

I think I was heavily inspired by Twenty One Pilots and NF on this one. In different moments of my life, these two artists literally helped me organize my own thoughts and feelings when I needed the most, which led me a moment where I thought to myself, “that’s exactly what I want my music to do to people”. I am motivated by the idea that there is someone out there listening to my song and relating to the lyrics, and that this brings them comfort, just like one day somebody’s music changed my life as well.

What has your experience of the music industry been as a neurodivergent Latin immigrant? 

Honestly, the music scene where I live in Nova Scotia is pretty opened and welcoming. These factors do affect my daily experiences in other areas more often than I would like, but at least the music world I am currently in, is one of those safe spaces away from all of this. I know once my horizons open up to the bigger world of music, it will be different, as this is a smaller community, but at least I have a good base to start building on.

What initially drew you to synthesising emo, trap, pop rap and RnB into your sonic signature? 

My passion for all these genres! The interesting thing is I think all these genres speak about deep topics whether on a social context or an emotional place, which is probably what drew me into these types of music more. I’m also very attached to heavier sounds overall, I’m passionate about heavier sounding beats, stronger vocals and any impactful sound on a song.

With your background as a beatboxer and visual artist, in what ways do these creative skills intersect when you write and perform your songs?

I always try to do at least a small beatbox showcase every time I perform! Eventually, I want to make some of my music being fully organic – with “mouth” sounds only, per say, it’s a plan for the future. I’m as well always drawing and designing my own cover arts and concepts for my music, so it’s quite helpful to mix all these worlds together!

Having just released your debut EP, which track do you feel best captures your reality, and what inspired its creation?

That’s hard to say, since the whole idea behind this EP was to be as genuine and raw with my emotions as I could, so in a way, all of them could fall into this category of capturing my life perfectly, but in different aspects. I do feel like “SOCIALMASKS” will always be that song that describes the struggles of being an autistic woman the best and more precisely though, if I had to point out one of them.

When it comes to your touring plans, how do you intend to connect with audiences on an emotional level during live performances?

I want to be real with every performance. Yes, I want to make people hyped and willing to dance as well, but I am hoping my passion for my own lyrical process comes through when I am singing on stage.

How do you balance the rawness of your personal backstory with the polished demands of performing on stage?

It is actually quite challenging – and funny. I feel like I am extremely awkward inside, but I did in the past take classes with my mother, who is a performance coach, and I just try to embody her lessons on my whole body in order to be a good performer. I have a lot to work on though, and I’m slowly trying to find ways to feel comfortable moving on stage regardless of my disability that kind of makes me a little terrified of being perceived! It’s the big irony of my life. I love to be an artist and show true myself just as much as  I’m scared of being seen. It’s a work in progress for sure!

Looking ahead, what role do you see touring playing in the evolution of your music career, and how might it influence your future projects?

I’m still very underground and frankly, just want to put my music out there in the world and form my own community of people that enjoy what I do. Making connections with people is what makes this whole music thing stronger, and I look forward to what other opportunities this project will open up for me. These are the first steps of what will eventually become a bigger achievement but I want to enjoy and appreciate every detail of the journey.

Stream Warlet’s discography on Spotify and stay up to date with all her latest aural antics on Instagram and TikTok.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

The enigmatic outfit FAERYS has brought in the new era of electro-pop-rock with their debut single, Nova Scotia

The enigmatic electronic rock outfit, FAERYS, may be keeping their identity under wraps for now, but there’s no containing the hype that has amassed around their storming juggernaut of a debut single, Nova Scotia.

With a touch of Black Honey and She Drew the Gun to the electronic rock reinvention, Nova Scotia delivered a riff-rife rock hit that has left an international audience clamouring all over it – and for good reason.

Between the precision of the songwriting, the polished production, the hooky female pop vox contrasting the slick rap bars and the anthemic energy that oozes from the larger-than-life hit that embraces the future and sonically sucker punches it, there was no room for improvement, and how often can you say that about a debut?

Something (everything) tells us that FAERYS is comprised of a band of industry veterans who have banded together to bring in the new era of electro-pop-rock.

Nova Scotia launched on the 25th of August, hear it on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Follow FAERYS on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Coz looked ‘Between the Lines’ in his romantically rugged Americana pop-rock debut

Keeping the timeless romanticism of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and David Gray alive, the Nova Scotia-hailing singer-songwriter Alex Coz’s debut single, Between the Lines, will stir souls as cogently as a tornado ripping through a neighbourhood.

With whiskey-soaked poetry that will win over any Bukowski fans against the orchestrally-cut piano pop-rock ballad, Coz knew exactly where to implement nostalgia between the striking minor piano keys and orchestral crescendos to subjugate his audience into affectionate submission.

As far as debut releases go, you would be hard-pressed to find one as evocatively rich as this sonic feat of beat poetry. We’re officially stoked to hear what the singer-songwriter delivers next. If we still gave artists the opportunity to reach the same heights as Springsteen, Coz would have sealed his fate in the hall of fame with his debut 3-track single.

Between the Lines was officially released on February 7th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

In Aid Of mind.org.uk: Simon Turner and Associates show us that some people just don’t appreciate help on ‘Nova Scotia’

https://soundcloud.com/simonturnerassociates/novascotia-1?in=simonturnerassociates/sets/my-crisis-of-confidence

Taken off the important debut three-track mental health fundraiser EP called ‘My Crisis Of Confidence’, the brave Simon Turner and Associates tell us about the story of ‘Nova Scotia‘.

Simon Turner and Associates is a courageous UK-based Jonny & The Mental Breakdowns bassist, who has completed an incredible project that originated from demos back in 2003. This quality release has been used as a way of self-therapy to move beyond the past, and to look towards the future.

”A photographer and musician with a long history of depression, anxiety and an attempted suicide behind him, Simon has been behind many fundraising efforts for Mind including the very well received 2017 ‘Top Of The Punks’ compilation and numerous charity auctions, raising £8,000 to date. This time it is a project 17 years in the making featuring contributions from his many talented friends, or ‘Associates’.” – Simon Turner

This sterling effort features contributions from members of Paul Weller, Shura and Jazz Colossus, with all proceeds going to the mental health charity mind.org.uk.

He plays with such vigor and love, each note is made with tender care and you feel the world class quality here. The lyrics are catchy and the vocals are a pleasure on the earlobes, as you relate to the story of trying to forget about the one person that made you feel so small, when you totally didn’t deserve their disrespect.

‘Nova Scotia‘ from Simon Turner and Associates, is that striking story that digs deep into your thoughts, as it shows you that even if you want to help, some people will also take advantage of you which causes a terrible feeling in your stomach. The will to assist is there but you need to be careful to who you help, as some just take and never give back.

Stream this true-life inspirational story on Soundcloud and see more news on his IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Big dreams beyond: Monsters Who Sleep is breathtaking on ‘Death In A Texan Manor’

Taken off his recent twelve-track album ‘To Whomever It Becomes​‘, Monsters Who Sleep fervently brings us the vivid story of wanting much more in life and the urge to get away from heart-crushing mediocrity on ‘Death In A Texan Manor‘.

Monsters Who Sleep is the stunning solo project of Joshua Richard, the authentic indie folk singer-songwriter from the port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is on the East Coast of Canada.

He delights our eager senses with his signature emotionally-charged music about the fleeting past, putting his future dreams to the fore, with a spellbinding style that lights up your eyes and fills your stomach up with lyrics that are so real.

This is a song that has been brought back from years ago when it was a metal song, re-imagined now and sung with a look to that moment when he was so unhappy and just wanted to live in a big house in Texas for the rest of his life.

‘Death In A Texan Manor‘ from Nova Scotia’s Monsters Who Sleep is a memorable journey into the mind and the belief that you can indeed get out of any situation you are in.

He sings with heartfelt passion that translates into a performance that breaks through the walls of self-doubt, so you can walk through onto the otherwise and follow your dreams to completion.

Listened to this vividly enlightening effort on Spotify and explore more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Missing that true love: ‘Waiting For You’ from Erick Beau is about that feeling inside you can’t shake off

Nova Scotia born Erick Beau sings from the deepest part of his heart on his new single called ‘Waiting For You’. His voice is quickly introduced to us as we hear the passionate Indie-Country lust for that sweet love. This is the story of a man who is madly in love with a special soul who is so far away from him right now. A true singer-songwriter who makes carefully thought out music for the love of the art form and has had many years to plan out his vision.

Taken off the long-awaited debut album ‘What it Takes’, this is the work of a man who has been biding his time to express his music to the world. A lawyer by trade but a true musician deep down, this is the culmination of many years work to get to his stage. 2020 has been a tough year for the world but one good thing has happened: Music like this with that acquired soul and class that you can’t teach.

He misses that sweet smile and those long conversations that fulfill the soul. This is that true love that you can feel inside your bones and it hurts when you can’t be around it. Those feelings are fluttering in the sky like a lost bird, you feel like your stomach is in tight knots and you desire that sweet touch again. All you can do is keep those happy thoughts inside and make a way to be together somehow. You can’t shake this off like a brief summer fling as this is the real deal.

Erick Beau sings with that authentic Americana style that is such a pleasant listen that makes your heart sad but thoughtful on ‘Waiting For You’, as you hope that he can find his love again.

Hear this fine release from Erick on his Soundcloud and follow him on Facebook and IG for more.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen