BRR Team

Gareth Gilliland is a third year guitar performance major and has just returned from a semester abroad in Helsinki, Finland. He feels very lucky to have the opportunity to be on the Bent River Records team as an intern for this
semester. Learning about music from different perspectives is important to him so he learns how to be a well rounded musician and collaborator. He’s performed extensively with funk and folk bands, jazz ensembles and as a solo guitarist. Before coming to MacEwan, Gareth studied culinary arts and has worked for some of Edmonton’s best chefs. Recently, he recorded with folk/roots band Jemma and The Good Thing at Bent River Records and is excited for what 2020 holds.

Paolo Belmar is currently taking his third year at MacEwan University in the Music Program with a Major in Composition. He has worked with the video-game development club at MacEwan scoring music for their games, he work as a music teacher outside of MacEwan, plays in two bands (Cabrakaan and Hellnite) and is currently working on a new instrumental music project. Since a few years ago he has been interested in recording studios and music production. In Fall of 2019, he started taking recording classes at MacEwan as elective courses outside of his major and that is how his interest for the label came about.

“I discovered how beautiful the process of creating a record can be, working with a team that is committed to do their best for the project. I am so excited for this opportunity to work with Bent River Records as a part of a creative team and supporting artists in the music industry.”

—Paolo

Have you come down with a case of the winter blues? Luckily for you, two of our Bent River artists have got the perfect cure for that. Let the sweet sounds of The Jivin’ Belles bring you some holiday cheer before the new year! 

Kate Blechinger, Mallory Chipman, and Emily Guthrie will be performing twice this month to bring audiences a little taste of sweet 1940s nostalgia. Catch their Glow Edmonton shows at the Edmonton Expo centre on December 23rd at 6:30 pm, or December 28th at 4 pm. These jivin’ ladies sing your favourite swing era bops and may just throw in some vintage-style renditions of your favourite modern pop bangers as well! Don’t miss The Jivin’ Belles this holiday season.

https://www.thejivinbelles.com/shows

That is a wrap on recording the EP with the winner of our 2019 Bent River Records Recording Competition presented by ATB Financial! Last Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th we had both our winner, Nisto and renowned producer, Russell Broom at MacEwan University. We also invited MacEwan Music students in the Recording Program to join us down in Studio A at Allard Hall. There, they learned a thing or two from Russell. Students had the opportunity to run the board, set up mics and best of all, ask Russell any question that they would like. Having the chance to sit in on a session with a producer of this calibre will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for these students. There was also free pizza at lunch but we hope that they were more excited about the experience!

           Nisto’s emotionally rich performance on both vocals and guitar set the mood for both sessions. His chill demeanour and collaborative mindset made for a purely creative space. Together, both Nisto and Russell’s vision for the tracks evolved into what we will hear on the recording! We can’t wait! Stay tuned for release dates and shows coming to you in the New Year!

This week is a big one for creativity at Bent River Records. Recording begins tomorrow for Nisto’s EP with Russell Broom (woohoo!), which means sessions of pre-production, planning, practicing and the recording itself. The studio will be a flurry of activity as we set out to record our talented competition winner and document these next few incredible days.

Of course, we can’t forget to mention that MacEwan design students are currently working on their concepts for Mike Rud and Allan Gilliland’s new projects. Exciting stuff! The students will be pitching their ideas soon and we’re eagerly waiting to see which of their ideas will grace the covers of these new musical works. All the designs will be on public display in Allard Hall soon, so check in soon to find out when you can take a tour of the design students’ great ideas!

This past August, our intern Nathalie got some very exciting news… she’d won the 2019 MusiCounts scholarship for her work as a recording student! As their website says, “MusiCounts is Canada’s music education charity and is affiliated with CARAS and the JUNO Awards,” making the winning of such a scholarship quite the achievement! Nathalie and five other talented scholarship recipients from across Canada were invited to Toronto for an amazing week of mentorship and networking with industry professionals and their teams.

“While the monetary aspect of the scholarship is great, it was the mentorship week that made winning so amazing! I spent September 30th to October 4th in Toronto, meeting the most inspiring people and seeing important music locales. I was definitely awestruck when I first arrived at the MusiCounts headquarters, which happens to be the same office as the Juno Awards and CARAS! For those who are wondering, Juno trophies are pretty heavy! Yes, I got to hold one, and yes, it was awesome.”

—Nathalie

Throughout the week, Nathalie and the other recipients met mentors from Rogers Radio, Anthem Entertainment, Entertainment One, The Feldman Agency, the Juno Awards, Revolution Recording, and Spotify Canada, among many others. They also had a video chat with pop duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, and had a songwriting masterclass with Matt Webb, guitarist of Marianas Trench. Each day was packed with mentorship sessions from 9 am to 5pm, culminating in the awards presentation and industry mixer at Dine Alone Records.

“We had a chance to speak at the presentation, which I was very happy about. It was a great opportunity to say thank you and let the mentors know how much their time spent with us meant to me. I learned so much, and have a notebook completely full of notes from each session. I’m still in regular contact with the other recipients too! If I had to sum up the most important things and put details aside, though, I’d say that in the music industry, you need passion, hard work, a willingness to reach out, and kindness. Your connections and reputation are so important, and I’m so grateful to MusiCounts for giving me the opportunity to start my career out with both in such a good place!”