Every Wednesday for 16 weeks, 3 musicians showed up at MCM Studios in Winnipeg. They didn't know who else would be arriving. They only knew that over the course of one evening they would have to get to know each other, write, record and mix one song. And that song would be made available for download the following morning.
It was a risky proposition – putting musicians on the hot seat while putting the listener closer to the moment of creation than ever before. It could've been an embarrassing disaster.
But under the guidance of producer/musician/engineer Mike Petkau, all 16 turned out to be inspired and inspiring works celebrating the depth, diversity and passion of the Winnipeg music community. Petkau put together increasingly challenging combinations – revelling in the role of creative puppeteer and excited by the thought of what some of his favorite local musicians might make if spontaneously put into a room with each other. The ROTW Club captured the musical imagination of Winnipeg, and the compilation CD has been prepared to now capture the imagination of the rest of Canada.
The project includes members of The Weakerthans, The Waking Eyes, Novillero, Nathan, Chic Gamine, Moses Mayes, BurnThe8Track, Twilight Hotel, Mahogany Frog and many more. The Weakerthans' John K Samson was paired with Inuit throat singer Nikki Komaksiutiksak and electronic artist Blunderspublik for what has become inarguably the Club's most popular song (Keewatin Arctic) – being downloaded around the world.
The first 1000 copies are individually numbered. Designed by Halifax award-winners Yo Rodeo and printed on recycled material with vegetable based ink.
REVIEWS & ARTICLES
CBC Radio 3 Podcast
CBC Blog
Chart Magazine
Uptown Magazine - feature
Sun Media
Beatroute Magazine
Hour - Montreal
"...a perfect slice of Manitoban music pie, proving great music can be made on the spot, under duress."
Slowcoustic
Quick Before It Melts
"...akin to standing outside in a thunderstorm holding an umbrella: you could be courting certain death, or you maybe white hot lightning will strike and magic will be made."
Indie Music Filter
Montreal Mirror
Winnipeg Free Press - feature
Citizen Dick
"...The work here is truly unique and the process by which it was created is revolutionary, especially in a day and age where record labels spend countless months remastering and mixing tracks before they hit the listeners’ ears for the first time."
Shifted Sound podcast
Vue Weekly
Skope Magazine
The Manitoban
"The Record of the Week Club is nothing less than a singular artifact of the voices that defined our prairie town for one brief shining moment... Petkau's Record of the Week Club is a clear contender for my record of the year club."
...and the best review ever:
Spill Magazine
""48 musicians. 16 weeks. One house, one producer, one album. Record Of The Week Club sounds like the greatest reality show ever only you will never be embarrassed to admit your love for it. Mike Petkau ambitiously invited strange and varying combinations of musicians over, offering them little prior knowledge except that they would be recording one song each night.
The result, without exception, is completely astounding. If ever anyone questions whether the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, throw this CD at them and run, lest they explode immediately in musical ecstasy.
The premise sounds completely ridiculous, pretentious and scattered but through some kind of unlikely magic this album is as cohesive as its lineup is not. Somewhere in this strange premise, the artists (including jazz musicians, solo artists, an Inuit throat singer and members from many bands, including The Weakerthans) found common ground, a mysterious intersection of shared purpose and artistic vision.
From that pinnacle of unexpected combinations, Petkau has teased out song after song that is catchy, interesting, and by turns raucous and haunting but always as accessible as if you’d just happened across it in the next room."
It was a risky proposition – putting musicians on the hot seat while putting the listener closer to the moment of creation than ever before. It could've been an embarrassing disaster.
But under the guidance of producer/musician/engineer Mike Petkau, all 16 turned out to be inspired and inspiring works celebrating the depth, diversity and passion of the Winnipeg music community. Petkau put together increasingly challenging combinations – revelling in the role of creative puppeteer and excited by the thought of what some of his favorite local musicians might make if spontaneously put into a room with each other. The ROTW Club captured the musical imagination of Winnipeg, and the compilation CD has been prepared to now capture the imagination of the rest of Canada.
The project includes members of The Weakerthans, The Waking Eyes, Novillero, Nathan, Chic Gamine, Moses Mayes, BurnThe8Track, Twilight Hotel, Mahogany Frog and many more. The Weakerthans' John K Samson was paired with Inuit throat singer Nikki Komaksiutiksak and electronic artist Blunderspublik for what has become inarguably the Club's most popular song (Keewatin Arctic) – being downloaded around the world.
The first 1000 copies are individually numbered. Designed by Halifax award-winners Yo Rodeo and printed on recycled material with vegetable based ink.
REVIEWS & ARTICLES
CBC Radio 3 Podcast
CBC Blog
Chart Magazine
Uptown Magazine - feature
Sun Media
Beatroute Magazine
Hour - Montreal
"...a perfect slice of Manitoban music pie, proving great music can be made on the spot, under duress."
Slowcoustic
Quick Before It Melts
"...akin to standing outside in a thunderstorm holding an umbrella: you could be courting certain death, or you maybe white hot lightning will strike and magic will be made."
Indie Music Filter
Montreal Mirror
Winnipeg Free Press - feature
Citizen Dick
"...The work here is truly unique and the process by which it was created is revolutionary, especially in a day and age where record labels spend countless months remastering and mixing tracks before they hit the listeners’ ears for the first time."
Shifted Sound podcast
Vue Weekly
Skope Magazine
The Manitoban
"The Record of the Week Club is nothing less than a singular artifact of the voices that defined our prairie town for one brief shining moment... Petkau's Record of the Week Club is a clear contender for my record of the year club."
...and the best review ever:
Spill Magazine
""48 musicians. 16 weeks. One house, one producer, one album. Record Of The Week Club sounds like the greatest reality show ever only you will never be embarrassed to admit your love for it. Mike Petkau ambitiously invited strange and varying combinations of musicians over, offering them little prior knowledge except that they would be recording one song each night.
The result, without exception, is completely astounding. If ever anyone questions whether the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, throw this CD at them and run, lest they explode immediately in musical ecstasy.
The premise sounds completely ridiculous, pretentious and scattered but through some kind of unlikely magic this album is as cohesive as its lineup is not. Somewhere in this strange premise, the artists (including jazz musicians, solo artists, an Inuit throat singer and members from many bands, including The Weakerthans) found common ground, a mysterious intersection of shared purpose and artistic vision.
From that pinnacle of unexpected combinations, Petkau has teased out song after song that is catchy, interesting, and by turns raucous and haunting but always as accessible as if you’d just happened across it in the next room."
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