Manitoba artists, record labels nominated for 11 Junos William Prince, Begonia, Jocelyn Gould, KEN Mode up for 2024 awards
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2024 (936 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Nomination day for the Juno Awards proved to be a welcome distraction from a musician’s toil for several Manitoba artists Tuesday.
William Prince was in Kitchener, Ont., getting ready for the opening gig of an 18-show cross-Canada tour when he learned the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences had given him two nominations for Junos: one for his record Stand in the Joy for contemporary roots album of the year and one for him as songwriter of the year.
He won a Juno in the contemporary roots grouping in 2017, but receiving songwriting kudos is something special.
JESSICA LEE / FREE PRESS FILES William Prince is nominated for two Junos for contemporary roots album and songwriter of the year.
“Holy smokes, a songwriter? Top five songwriters in the country this year. Pretty surreal,” Prince says over the telephone. “It’s definitely a culmination of so many people’s hard work.”
The two nominations are among 11 handed out to Manitoba artists and record labels for the 2024 Junos, which take place in Halifax March 21-24. Nelly Furtado hosts the final gala March 24, to be shown on CBC-TV.
Juno judges singled out three songs from Stand in the Joy for Prince’s songwriting nomination: When You Miss Someone, the album’s first single; the ballad Broken Heart of Mine; and Easier and Harder, an uptempo love song that will likely be in his set when Prince’s tour makes its way to the Centennial Concert Hall March 2.
“It’s the ultimate compliment when you make art and it resonates with people and you have such an esteemed panel of folks deem it worthy of the honour,” he says.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’m just smiling and grateful today.”
Winnipeg jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould learned she had earned a nomination for jazz album of the year at the airport in Palm Springs, Calif., the morning after performing with Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of 45 dates on a 10-week tour.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould has earned a nomination for jazz album of the year.
Gould, who won the 2021 Juno in the same category, put together a group for the 2023 album Sonic Bouquet that included her mentor Randy Napoleon, a professor at Michigan State University.
“I wanted it to be a celebration, a coming together of all the different elements of my life, like you would put together as a bouquet of flowers,” Gould says over the phone. “He had me on one of his records when I was a student, and he’s helped me so far above and beyond and I really wanted to show my appreciation for him.”
In a less glamorous setting but no less grateful was Jesse Matthewson, the vocalist/guitarist for city metal group KEN Mode, which earned a nomination in the Junos’ metal/hard music album of the year category for the album Void.
Matthewson was at his office desk at MKM Management Services in Winnipeg, beating a deadline for clients’ grant applications, when he found out about KEN Mode’s nomination, the fifth time the band has received recognition from Juno judges.
“The running joke we had is we’ve lost more Junos than any other heavy metal band in history,” he says, adding the group does have a Juno trophy from 2012 for its album Venerable.
“We blend a lot of different styles of extreme music and Void itself is a much more melodic and melancholy-sounding record for us. I’m very curious to see how this will all play out.”
JENNY RAMONE / FREE PRESS FILES Begonia received a nomination in the adult-alternative album category.
Begonia, the pop singer-songwriter concept devised by Winnipeg’s Alexa Dirks, received a nomination in the adult-alternative album category. The latest honour follows Powder Blue’s appearance on the 2023 Polaris Music Prize shortlist.
Brandon-born violinist James Ehnes, who is no stranger to the Juno Awards’ classical music categories, with 11 trophies during his career, added two more nominations Tuesday.
His album Nielsen: Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 4 earned a nod among solo performances while Mythes, a recording with longtime friend and pianist Andrew Armstrong, was selected in the small-ensemble category.
Harry Stafylakis, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-residence and co-curator of the Winnipeg New Music Festival, picked up a Juno nomination for the album Calibrating Friction, which includes compositions that blend classical and heavy metal.
“The announcement feels all the more timely coming right after the 2024 Winnipeg New Music Festival wrapped,” Stafylakis writes in an email.
“The Winnipeg Symphony has played an immense role in my development as a composer since 2016 and it so happens that cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne and WSO principal bassoonist Kathryn Brooks are both featured on the album.”
The Junos alternative music jury gave the thumb’s-up to To Learn, the debut album for transplanted singer-songwriter Leith Ross.
Juno Award nominees
Juno Fan Choice: Charlotte Cardin, Daniel Caesar, DVBBS, Josh Ross, Karan Aujla, Shubh, Tate McRae, The Weeknd, ThxSoMch, Walk off the Earth.
Single of the year: Confetti, Charlotte Cardin; Always, Daniel Caesar; Pretty Girl Era, Lu Kala; A Little Bit Happy, Talk; Greedy, Tate McRae.
Juno Fan Choice: Charlotte Cardin, Daniel Caesar, DVBBS, Josh Ross, Karan Aujla, Shubh, Tate McRae, The Weeknd, ThxSoMch, Walk off the Earth.
Single of the year: Confetti, Charlotte Cardin; Always, Daniel Caesar; Pretty Girl Era, Lu Kala; A Little Bit Happy, Talk; Greedy, Tate McRae.
International album of the year: Gettin’ Old, Luke Combs; Heroes & Villains, Metro Boomin; One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen; SOS, SZA; 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift.
Album of the year: Néo-Romance, Alexandra Stréliski; 99 Nights, Charlotte Cardin; Never Enough, Daniel Caesar; Mirror, Lauren Spencer Smith; Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, Talk
Artist of the year: Charlotte Cardin; Daniel Caesar; Lauren Spencer Smith; Shania Twain; Tate McRae.
Group of the year: Arkells; Loud Luxury; Nickelback; The Beaches; Walk off the Earth.
Breakthrough artist of the year: Connor Price; Karan Aujla; Lu Kala; Shubh; Talk.
Breakthrough group of the year: Busty and the Bass; Crash Adams; Good Kid; Men I Trust; New West.
Songwriter of the year: Allison Russell; Aysanabee; Charlotte Cardin, Jason Brando and Lubalin; Nicholas Durocher and Connor Riddell; William Prince.
Country album of the year: The Compass Project – South Album, Brett Kissel; Right Round Here, Dean Brody; Do It Anyway, Jade Eagleson; Ahead Of Our Time, James Barker Band; Spillin’ My Truth, Tyler Joe Miller.
Adult alternative album of the year: Powder Blue, Begonia; Multitudes, Feist; Are We Good, Hayden; Motewolonuwok, Jeremy Dutcher; Revolution, Shawnee Kish.
Alternative album of the year: Here and Now, Aysanabee; Dizzy, Dizzy; To Learn, Leith Ross; See You In The Dark, Softcult; Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, Talk.
Pop album of the year: 99 Nights, Charlotte Cardin; Mirror, Lauren Spencer Smith; Saturn Return, Rêve; Queen Of Me, Shania Twain; Lost In Translation, Valley.
Rock album of the year: Fearless, Crown Lands; Formentera II, Metric; Blame My Ex, The Beaches; Pretty Monster, The Blue Stones; Glory, The Glorious Sons.
Vocal jazz album of the year: Songwriter, Alex Bird and Ewen Farncombe; You’re Alike, You Two, Caity Gyorgy and Mark Limacher; Little Bit a’ Love, Denielle Bassels; Our Roots Run Deep, Dominique Fils-Aimé; Your Requests, Laila Biali.
Jazz album of the year (solo): Day Moon, Christine Jensen; Walls Made of Glass, Gentiane MG; Sonic Bouquet, Jocelyn Gould; Twelve, Noam Lemish; The South Detroit Connection, Russ Macklem.
Jazz album of the year (group): Migrations, Allison Au with the Migrations Ensemble; Septology-The Black Forest Session, Canadian Jazz Collective; Cry Me A River, Hilario Duran and His Latin Jazz Big Band; Recent History, Mike Murley & Mark Eisenman Quartet; Convergence, Nick Maclean Quartet feat. Brownman Ali.
Instrumental album of the year: Néo-Romance, Alexandra Stréliski; When we were that what wept for the sea, Colin Stetson; Calibrating Friction, Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis; Fourth Album, Markus Floats; Tesseract, Meredith Bates.
Francophone album of the year: Zayon, FouKi; Dans la seconde, Karkwa; En concert avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (sous la direction du chef Simon Leclerc), Les Cowboys Fringants & l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; À boire deboutte, Salebarbes; Non conventionnel, Souldia.
Children’s album of the year: Big Words, ABC Singsong; Going Back: Remembered and Remixed Family Folk Songs, Vol. 1, Ginalina; Love-a-By, Splash’N Boots; Welcome to the Flea Circus, The Swinging Belles; Maestro Fresh Wes Presents: Young Maestro Stick To Your Vision For Young Athletes, Young Maestro.
Classical album of the year (solo): Infinite Voyage, Barbara Hannigan; Nielsen: Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 4, James Ehnes; Fauré: Nocturnes & Barcarolles, Marc-André Hamelin; De Hartmann: Cello Concerto, Matt Haimovitz; Mouvance, Suzie LeBlanc.
Classical album of the year (large ensemble): Bekah Simms: Bestiaries, Cryptid Ensemble, Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal; Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas, Orchestre classique de Montréal, conducted by Jacques Lacombe; Sibelius 3 & 4, Orchestre Métropolitain, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal, conducted by Rafael Payare; Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3; Isle of the Dead, The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Classical album of the year (small ensemble): Mythes, Andrew Armstrong and James Ehnes; Portrait: Alex Baranowski Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà; Portrait, Cheng²; Il Ponte di Leonardo, Basta parlare!, Les Barocuda.
Classical composition of the year: Simulacra, Amy Brandon; Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling, Dinuk Wijeratne; …and the Higher Leaves of the Trees Seemed to Shimmer in the Last of the Sunlight’s Lingering Touch of Them…, Emilie Cecilia LeBel; Shāhīn-nāmeh, for Voice and Orchestra, Iman Habibi; Don’t Throw Your Head in Your Hands, Nicole Lizée.
Rap album / EP of the year: bag or die, bbno$; Spin the Globe, Connor Price; Crying Crystals, Haviah Mighty; Kaytraminé, Kaytraminé; Panic, TOBi.
Dance recording of the year: Eat Your Man, Dom Dolla & Nelly Furtado; Crew Thang, DVBBS, Jeremih and Sk8; Need Your Love, Felix Cartal and Karen Harding; I Go Dancing Frank Walker (feat. Ella Henderson); Next To You, Loud Luxury and DVBBS (feat. Kane Brown).
Contemporary R&B recording of the. year: For the Better, Aqyila; Never Enough, Daniel Caesar; Heartbreak Hill Jon Vinyl; When It Blooms Nonso Amadi; Facets, Shay Lia.
Reggae recording of the year: Stir This Thing, Ammoye; Feel Like Home, Exco Levi; Roots Girl, Jah’Mila; Dread, Kirk Diamond & Finn; Rush Dem, Omega Mighty (feat. 4Korners, Haviah Mighty).
Contemporary Indigenous artist or group of the year: Here and Now, Aysanabee; Scream, Holler & Howl Blue Moon; Inuktitut, Elisapie; Revolution, Shawnee Kish; Bekka Ma’iingan, Zoon.
Traditional Indigenous artist or group of the year: Sing. Pray. Love., Joel Wood; LFS5, Nimkii & the Niniis; Mitòòdebi (For My Relatives), The Bearhead Sisters; Reverie, The Red River Ramblers; Drum Nation, Young Scouts.
Contemporary roots album of the year: The Returner, Allison Russell; We Will Never Be The Same, Good Lovelies; Beyond The Reservoir, Julian Taylor; A Light in the Attic, Logan Staats; Stand in the Joy, William Prince.
Traditional roots album of the year: Paint Horse, Benjamin Dakota Rogers; The Breath Between, David Francey; Roses, Jackson Hollow; Second Hand, James Keelaghan; Resilience, Morgan Toney.
Blues album of the year: SoulFunkn’Blues, Blackburn Brothers; Scream, Holler & Howl, Blue Moon Marquee; The Big Bottle of Joy, Matt Andersen; Gettin’ Together, Michael Jerome Browne.
Contemporary Christian / gospel album of the year: Glory To God, Brooke Nicholls; All ye Lepers, Joshua Leventhal; Arrow, K-Anthony; Where I’m Meant to Be, Stirling John; Alive, Tuzee.
Global music album of the year: Donte sann yo, Bel and Quinn; Kizavibe, Kizaba Disques Nuits d’Afrique; SMS for Location Vol. 5, Moonshine; Okantomi, Okan; Soap Box, Waahli.
Music video of the year: Of Woods and Seas, Andrew De Zen (Alaskan Tapes); Demons, Ethan Tobman (Allison Russell); Onetwostep, Jordan Clarke (des hume feat. juicelover); Damn Right, Sterling Larose (Snotty Nose Rez Kids); Feral canadian scaredy cat, Sterling Larose and Zachary Vague (young friend).
Electronic album of the year: Infinity Club, Bambii, Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees, Harrison; Creatures of the Late Afternoon, Kid Koala; Synthetic Season 2, Rich Aucoin; No Highs, Tim Hecker.
Metal / hard music album of the year: As Gomorrah Burns, Cryptopsy; Electric Sounds, Danko Jones; Goliath, Kataklysm; Void, KEN mode; Morgöth Tales, Voivod.
Adult contemporary album of the year: Heavy Lifting, Amanda Marshall; I Wish I Was Flawless, I’m Not, Banners; To Be Loved, Vol. 1, Josh Sahunta; Run Where the Light Calls, Luca Fogale; Wildflower, Steph La Rochelle.
Comedy album of the year: Life of Leisure, Derek Seguin; Never Was, Graham Clark; A Lylebility, Kyle Brownrigg; Sexiest Fish in the Lake, Laurie Elliott; SAP, Mae Martin.
Traditional R&B / soul recording of the year: Hello, Aqyila; Unbreakable, Jhyve; Where To Find Me, Katie Tupper; 9 to 5,Luna Elle; Real World, RealestK.
Rap single of the year: American Nightmare, Belly; Spinnin, Connor Price (feat. Bens); Honey Bun, Haviah Mighty; Minimum Wage; Pressa; Someone I Knew, TOBi.
Underground dance single of the year: Call My Name, Blond:ish: Mad Mess, DJ Karaba; Could Be Wrong, Lostboyjay; Eclipse Peach, Psychic Readings; Concorde Groove, Smalltown DJs.
Jack Richardson producer of the year: Hill Kourkoutis, Jason Brando, Lubalin, Mathieu Sénéchal & Sam Avant; Joel Stouffer; Shawn Everett; Wondagurl.
Zoon, an Anishinaabe shoegaze artist who grew up in Selkirk as Daniel Monkman, a member of Brokenhead First Nation, is among five nominees for contemporary Indigenous artist of the year.
Montreal’s Charlotte Cardin, who blends pop, jazz and electronic music, led the Junos with six nominations, including artist of the year and album of the year for her record 99 Nights.
Toronto R&B singer Daniel Caesar picked up five nominations as did Talk, the pseudonym for Ottawa-born artist Nicholas Durocher.
The Junos already announced that hip-hop pioneer Maestro Fresh Wes will be this year’s inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, making him the first rapper to receive the career achievement honour.
Calgary sisters and pop duo Tegan and Sara will be presented the humanitarian award by actor Elliot Page for their work as advocates for the LGBTTQ+ community.
Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com
X: @AlanDSmall
— with files from The Canadian Press
Alan Small
Reporter
Alan Small was a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the last being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.
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