New Music Roundup: Oranje, The Blue, Slash Need, and more
It’s a new week, and we have a new round-up for you. There’s tour announcements rolling in, debut albums on the horizon, and a wave of new singles hitting like end-of-summer thunderstorms. Artists across genres are leaning into it–turning restlessness into lush psychedelia, tightly-wound math rock, haunted bass experiments, and soul-baring hip hop. This week is igniting every corner of the music scene. Scroll down to see what we’ve got our ears on.
Ev. G, the immersive Calgary-based artists, delivered their latest single “Way We Remember” on August 12, accompanied by a music video. The track is full of psychedelic asymmetry and sonic haze, serving as the flagship preview for his debut album, And Then I Go Up, set to arrive Sept. 23. Taking inspiration from vaporwave, the song unfurls like a lucid dream casting listeners into the elusive folds of memory, time, and emotion. Their earlier single “Belladonna,” also featured on the upcoming album, channels hallucinatory sonics and loaded emotional ambiguity. "Way We Remember" marks Ev.G’s boldest experiment yet and the album And Then I Go Up promises to be an immersive journey.
The Blue, So Look At The Bright Side
The Blue is the stage name of Hemen Tor-Agbdye, a rising hip-hop voice in of Calgary. He blends the soul-infused energy of his early influences with a fresh, contemporary take that channels both vulnerability and grit. On August 12, he dropped the bold and jazzy single “End of The Sentence (feat. Dozie),” an affirmation of integrity and hustle declaring, “If I ever said… just know that I meant it / that’s the end of the sentence.” The single sets the tone for his upcoming album, So Look At The Bright Side, out Sept. 16, a thematic follow-up to his acclaimed 2022 record, Things Could Be Worse, which earned a nomination for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2023 YYC Music Awards. This new chapter sees The Blue expanding both sonically and emotionally. Where his last album thrived on soul-fuelled beats and raw charm, So Look At The Bright Side leans further into reflection, gratitude, and faith without losing the sharp edge of ambition. These themes of resilience and self-worth come alive in his music—and even more so in his live performances. His upcoming Western Canadian tour launches on August 23 at the Eastern Slopes Music Festival. It promises honest, high-energy shows in cities including Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Regina, Red Deer, and Winnipeg. With local heavy-hitters like Arlo Maverick, Tea Fannie, K‑Riz, and DILLTHEGIANT supporting on select dates, this tour is spotlighting the strength of Western Canada’s hip-hop community.
Toronto’s Slash Need is an electrifying synth-punk duo turning heads with their theatrical, high-octane performances and genre-defying sound. The band released “LEATHER,” on August 12, offering a glimpse into their dense, unpredictable world. This single is off of their upcoming album, Sit & Grin, that is set to release Oct. 21. In an Instagram post, the duo tells fans that this work has been years in the making—first being written in 2018 and recorded in 2019, the material has been reworked and refined over time into its current form. As their debut LP approaches, the band stands at the edge of something thrilling with commanding visuals and confrontational lyrics. Blending industrial textures, goth-electronica, and punk intensity, the band draws inspiration from acts like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Peaches, and Skinny Puppy—yet what they deliver is entirely their own chaotic, confrontational vision. With Dusty Lee on vocals and Alex Low handling production and instrumentation, Slash Need approaches music as both sonic rebellion and performance art. If you have ever seen them live, or even streamed one of their performances online, you would know they aim to create immersive experiences, often featuring dancers, leather-clad theatrics, and DIY props that collapse the barrier between audience and artist.
Oranje, In Irons
Oranje, the Calgary-based math rock trio released the single, “Styrofoam,” on August 1, offering a dense, orchestral preview of their forthcoming debut album, In Irons, due Oct. 17. Through the surreal metaphor of a styrofoam boat trapped in a bathtub, “Styrofoam” wrestles with feelings of stagnation and futility. It's an elegant, emotionally-charged crescendo that nods to the band’s classical roots while delivering math rock’s signature complexity with cello, violin, and dynamic rhythmic shifts. From internal self-doubt and decision paralysis to the weariness of unfulfilled ambitions, their debut record is as much about confronting emotional gridlock as it is about riding out existential tides. Water becomes the album’s aesthetic and symbolic thread—an entity that gives life and threatens it in equal measure. Musically, Oranje is making good on their community ties and musical lineage. With support from an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Project Grant, they’ve assembled a rotating cast of local musicians—bringing in saxophone, organ, bassoon, and strings to deepen their sonic palette. If “Styrofoam” is any indication, In Irons is poised to be one of Calgary’s most intriguing and musically adventurous releases of the year.
Settling into a murky aether where intensity meets abstraction, Aidan Kennedy—better known as MUERTE—a Calgary-based bass music producer released his latest single “BLOOMING WOUNDS” on August 13. This release follows his sophomore album, STONED TO DEATH, released earlier this year, showing his foot is steady on the gas. MUERTE’s mission is clear with settings steeped in darkness and a sound that rattles your core. Known for traversing shades of dubstep, deathstep, drumstep, grimy trench, and glitch hop, he's built a body of work underpinned by genre-defying ferocity, and an even more dedicated fanbase. He channels fractured rhythms and brooding atmospheres into something that feels simultaneously familiar and alien. He continually dives into the darker corners of bass music, a bold statement that, in his hands, the genre is very much growing.