Northern Touch is our recurring feature where we round up the songs and music videos by Canadian artists that were released during the month prior. Here are our favourite releases that you might have missed over the last little while.
Harm Franklin x Nessly, "Senorita"
ILLYMINIACHI, "Figure 4 Leg Lock"
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ILLYMINIACHI is part of a new wave of rappers from Vancouver who are making some serious moves on the West Coast. Ahead of dropping his upcoming project Few And Far Between, ILLY released some dope VHS-inpsired visuals for "Figure 4 Leg Lock," the first track off the upcoming release. The video was shot by Limited Vision, and features clips of ILLY from his recent performances mixed in with shots of Vancouver's famous streets and city scape. Peep "Figure 4 Leg Lock" and watch for Few And Far Between to drop soon.
AR, "Life's a Bitch"
Spotty Josif, "Pastel"
After years of working in a rap duo (Spot & Ess), Surrey native Spotty Josif continues to establish himself as a solo artist. He's worked with a number of artists and producers from around the West Coast such as Seth Kay, Dave Fields, Horror Vacui, Manila Grey, Ayoo Angie and Kendra Dias, and is currently working on a new EP with Matthew Harvey and Phelonies (who are based out of Massachusetts). "Pastel" is produced by the latter and tells the tale of a dark romance with a dancer.
Cardo Antonnio, "Paid In Advance"
Ruben Young, "Bad Habits"
Curtis Waters x Harm Franklin, "Hot Boy Anthem"
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Curtis Waters and Harm Franklin (who makes his second appearance on this month's Northern Touch list) are putting in some serious work over in Calgary. The duo produced, performed and directed this video for "Hot Boy," which is their lighthearted, may-or-may-not-be-satirical take on turnt up Internet rap. The twosome's collaborative effort "The Hot Boy Tape" is coming soon, and although Nav may have been the first brown boy to get it popping, these two are making sure he's not the only one.
Jhyve, "Feel Something"
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Jhyve's latest music video is billed as being a "very short film" and he's not kidding: the visual clocks in at just over a minute and a half. But there's plenty of quality despite not a lot of quantity here—"Feel Something" is a laid-back, chill trap track all about feeling disconnected from the person you care for. While Jhyve started his career working with Jessie Reyez, and performed as part of Jessie's band earlier this year at SXSW, this Toronto-based artist clearly has the chops to establish his own career. Watch for his upcoming EP Conversations to release soon.
Surauchie, "Addicted"
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Surauchie is just 21 years old but she already sings with a maturity way beyond her years, and just dropped a *very mature* new music video in case there was any doubt. "Addicted" is one of the singles from her "Misunderstood" EP and the video sees the singer vibing out at the beach as she sings about the love, lust and addiction she has for her partner. The song was produced by Prodbyangel and can be streamed on all platforms including Spotify now.
