Manitoba Music Export Returns to Toronto

Annual Showcase Returns to Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern Oct 23 with Rayannah, Micah Erenberg, Yes We Mystic, and Malcolm-Jay

As autumn settles in, Manitoba Music is warming things up for its annual showcase in Toronto. Featuring new music from the prairie province, the October 23 Manitoba Music Export show at The Horseshoe Tavern will feature bilingual electro-soul act Rayannah, indie singer/songwriter Micah Erenberg, orchestral art pop outfit Yes We Mystic, and hip hop artist Malcolm-Jay.

This will mark the seventh year in a row that Manitoba Music has invited music fans and industry insiders to Toronto culture haunts for shows featuring some of Canada’s most buzzworthy emerging acts. Past performers include Begonia, Boniface, Living Hour, Slow Leaves, The Small Glories, Greg McPherson, and more. Each of the 2018 showcase artists have been garnering praise and making waves.

Rayannah bends noise into music by running voice, breath, synth, and percussion through loop pedals. Underscored by intricate beat-making, her evocative lyrics in French and English rise above dense soundscapes, pulling listeners into a world both dark and sweet. Innovative on stage and in the studio, Rayannah is now unveiling music from her first full-length album to be released in early 2019. This new collection of songs pursues and pushes the sounds and textures explored in Rayannah’s debut EP Boxcar Lullabies. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Rayannah has taken her electro-soul across Canada, to the West Coast of the US, and to Europe. Whether opening for Esperanza Spalding or Coeur de Pirate, fronting her band or performing alone on stage, Rayannah shares something raw, intimate, and transcendent all at once.

Behind the music of Micah Erenberg there is a formula that is as easy as it is effective: Simplicity and honesty still make the best pop songs. Erenberg's melodies are wonderful, his arrangements unmistakable. But most of all, the song lyrics of the singer/songwriter from Manitoba are very special: they are poetic, heart-rending, full of sensitive details and not infrequently marked by a clever joke. Micah Erenberg's debut album Poor Mic's Toe is filled with charming stories. It is about eternal sleep or the little toe that gets stuck in the lawnmower. Micah Erenberg always captures the ups and downs of life in his own way, without ever falling into pathos. Erenberg brings his songs to life on stage together with multi-instrumentalist Sophie Stevens, a collaboration that lives up to the idiosyncratic sound of his uniqueness.

Yes We Mystic uses a performance artist's sensibilities to create towering, orchestral art pop. Their maximalist live show packs stages with equipment; their rich, knotted orchestration seem to indulge their every instrumental whim; and their album releases resemble large scale performance art projects. The trick, if it is to be defined, is to set an expectation, and then defy it. The band matured into this sound with the release of their 2016 debut album Forgiver, recorded with legendary Canadian producer Jace Lasek (Patrick Watson, Wolf Parade, Land Of Talk). The album was met with acclaim in both Germany (where the album was released on DanCan records) and Canada. To support Forgiver, they played over 100 shows in 10 countries, appearing at NXNE, SXSW, The Great Escape, Reeperbahn, and Orange Blossom Special. The success of their first album led to their recent signing to DevilDuck Records worldwide.

Malcolm-Jay is an award-nominated, socially-conscious, and self-reflective musician who has now been active in hip hop for a decade. He’s enjoyed Canada-wide distribution, toured internationally, and has been charting Top 10 on national campus radio. The Enemy Within, his first full-length solo album, has gained him an active fan base worldwide, showcasing his growth personally and as a musician. His energy, honesty, and passion permeate his music, and it’s hard not to relate.

The Toronto showcase is part of a busy season for Manitoba Music, which has been supporting showcases at the Reeperbahn Festival in Germany, AmericanaFest in Nashville, Mondo.NYC, Halifax Pop Explosion, BreakOut West, and more. Bringing Manitoba music to new markets and intensifying business activity in existing markets is a key component of Manitoba Music's trade and business development activities.

Manitoba Music Export is funded by the Province of Manitoba, FACTOR and the Government of Canada, and Manitoba Film & Music. Through events like these, Manitoba Music is able to increase the connection between our province’s music industry and the broader national and international industry, which is vital to the career advancement of Manitoba artists and industry professionals, and contributes to the growth and development of Manitoba’s economy.