Animal Party came and recorded a live session with us last year, and today is the day we finally share it with you all!

The project of experimental electronic solo artist Sinéad Rua, this twelve minute music extravaganza also features accompaniment by Paul Geldart on drums. Animal Party is a wonder on harp - it must be seen to be believed.

Watch it now!

It really was a pleasure to experience this live in the room - Animal Party are so awesome at what they do and to be able to capture it in such fidelity is highly satisfying. The result is jaw droppingly beautiful.

And what about these 35mm shots from the session taken by Desiree Das Gupta...

The live session was recorded by Bill Cutbill and Idious Carrie inside the Safe Sounds bank vault.

When you watch the video, you may notice that this was filmed in November 2022. That is correct, so perhaps a moment to explain why it took so long for us to release this work of art...

Well, we're currently running this operation without funding, which means it really is a labour of love.

We like to be ambitious and when it comes to recording sessions if you look at the timestamps you'll notice that this one, Pretty and Deanna Petcoff were all recorded three days straight.

That certainly made us realise how much work it is to create this content from beginning to end, because it's easy to underestimate how much time it takes to mix, edit and properly release that number of videos!

And whilst we have been inundated with interest from a whole bunch of super talented bands and artists who want to do a live session with Safe Sounds, we just wanted to take a moment to thank them for their interest but to also place on record that we will not be filming any new live sessions now until at least the middle of next year.

Hopefully we can get some funding to run this as a more regular thing - keep your fingers crossed for us!

That said, don't you worry - we've got more live sessions in the can that we will be releasing in the coming months. ;) So make sure you go subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

But yes, this is all about community. We hope by capturing magical musical moments like this from Animal Party that we're impacting our local scene in a positive manner.

Go and enjoy them further on Bandcamp or Spotify.

And just like that, a new record is set as five-piece Toronto psychedelic band, Pretty, join us for an intimate session in the Safe Sounds bank vault. Boom!

This one will tastily melt in your mouth like the death of a rich relative you barely even knew.

For a space just over 6ft x 6ft, we were a little apprehensive about fitting so many musicians in our walk-in safe, but the result speaks for itself... Inheritance is a lush psychedelic track performed here with folk instrumentation and tones that glue together cohesively. Thank hell for that!

Pretty is Torin Craig, Eliot Rossi, Will Macquarrie, Brian Heyes and Morgan Zych.

The band has made quite a name for themselves with a string of high quality, high impact releases. Their normal rock approach takes side-stage for this session as they replace the familiar electric instrumentation for acoustic and steel string guitars, bass, percussion and even an accordion.

Folking hell, it's pretty cool.

Check out the video now and visit the SS YouTube channel to subscribe and be notified with each new video. This isn't the only thing we've got coming from Pretty, plus they've also got a hot new EP which is due to drop July 28th 2023.

So mark your calendars, scrawl across your walls and dream about the future. It's pretty.

We're delighted to bring you some exclusive new sounds from alt-pop pioneer, Jay Feelbender!

Yes, to celebrate the release of his new single 'Pool Paranoia' Jay visited Safe Sounds to lay down some heavy hearted tracks. Today we've released a tender acoustic version of 'Sad Song', which was recorded in the real-life bank vault we operate from.

Watch above or visit our YouTube channel to check out all our recent sessions and releases.

The tender side of Jay Feelbender...

For those of you familiar with Jay's solo music and work with the band Goodbye Honolulu, you'll know that he explores all range of emotions, from exhilaration to fragility.

As the name would suggest, sadness is at the core of this latest track. Inspecting parts of the 'Sad Song' lyrics — "I gave all I had/ and you wasted both our time/ but if you wanted me to/ I would have given you my life" — Jay plays with familiar concepts of love and loss using simple sentences that resonate with authenticity. Sometimes the simplest words hit the hardest, and we're feeling this one.

Just like the first track, Party Down The Street, this song's a beauty and we're really pleased to have been able to capture such pure emotion. We're sure you'll feel it too... be sure to drop us a message in the YouTube comments.

Jay Feelbender's new single 'Pool Paranoia' is also available now on all streaming platforms. If you want to sing along, check out the lyric video.

...and that brings to an end our Jay Feelbender session. Thanks Jay for taking the time to drop in. We'll see you on and off-stage at the heart of the Toronto music scene!

We're delighted to share the first of two acoustic tracks we recorded last month with Toronto-based alt-pop artiste Jay Feelbender! That's right, Jay hit up the Safe Sounds bank vault ~ a real-life bank vault at our location in downtown Toronto.

Watch above or visit our YouTube channel to enjoy 'Party Down The Street' in this multi-camera live session extravaganza.

Who is the real Jay Feelbender?

Jay is an amalgamation of many influences. Growing up in the Toronto folk-country scene as the child of a musician, with Shirley temples at the bar and naps behind the drum kit, he entered high school and formed the alt-rock band Goodbye Honolulu. Goodbye Honolulu have performed for thousands opening for Spanish rock band Hinds on multiple U.S tours and performing across North America.

In his solo material, Jay pushes his alt-pop vision with lushly produced tracks that go bang. Jay expresses the through-line of music influencing an artist’s young life; from the fun to the fragile, the introspective to the explosive.

With Party Down The Street, we have a chilled out acoustic version of what is undoubtedly a hook laden pop-song. We love Jay's voice - deep and warm like a hug from a best friend.

We hope you enjoy!

Oh, plus Jay Feelbender's new single will be released worldwide on July 29th so watch this space.

https://youtu.be/WznUAJwnlXY

Theo Vandenhoff live from Safe Sounds will be streaming on YouTube at 8pm this Thursday 21 August HERE: https://youtu.be/WznUAJwnlXY