making things with your hands...

arts & crafts records seems to be much more than just a record label. they subscribe wholeheartedly to the D.I.Y ethic, but not in a "we can record in my basement and print our own flyers" type of way, but in a "we can host your website, design your album artwork, manage your band, and produce your album" kind of way. sort of a one-stop shop for all indie artist needs. and it appears to be working very well for them. the canadian indie scene, especially in montreal, has exploded recently and has become the place to seek out "the next big thing", and arts & crafts is at the forefront of this movement. of course, not every band on the label is canadian (i.e. american analog set), but it is home to some of the best (in my opinion) canadian indie acts around at the moment. the label hosts each band's website and fan forums, as well as the usual tour date listings and merch shop. here is a description of themselves from their site: Arts & Crafts is a record label, artist management, design house, distribution and production company... dedicated to the development and proliferation of beauty and greatness in all disciplines of the arts. Our musical roster currently consists of Broken Social Scene, Jason Collett, Apostle Of Hustle, Stars, Feist, Valley Of The Giants, The Most Serene Republic, New Buffalo and The American Analog Set . the label also has a very familial atmosphere as members from several of the bands play in several of the other bands, with broken social scene being the sort of an all-star band. my new favorite, and recent e-music download, is the album set yourself on fire by stars. i highly recommend listening to this and then downloading the album for yourself (along with anything else that is on my list). the album is sort of a folky space-pop, ranging from swirling guitars to horns and acoustic guitar and then manufactured beats. alternating male and female vocals give for a diverse feeling on every track. ::songs:: the best way to listen to the music is to click on any of the band links above and let it stream. flash players are making downloadable mp3's more and more difficult to find, so i apologize. it might just be that technology has finally defeated me.