Martha and the Muffins Archives - Popguru Sound & Vision

Described as “one of the most innovative of their era,” iconic Canadian artists Martha and the Muffins have announced the release of their new album, Marthology: In and Outtakes — available November 5th!

Groundbreaking from inception, Martha and the Muffins formed during the early days of Toronto’s punk / new wave / art pop scene in 1977. They were the first Canadian band to sign to a UK label, recording their debut, Metro Music, at England’s The Manor Studio, and would go on to tour and receive more than three decades worth of critical acclaim worldwide.

Founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane revisited their extensive archives recently, selecting 12 rare or never-before-heard singles, B-sides, and unreleased songs for what has ultimately become Marthology: In and Outtakes — their ninth album, and first in eleven years.

Spanning 35 years of recordings, the 12-track compilation includes previously limited releases of “Summer Of Song,” “Big Day,” and “Do You Ever Wonder,” as well as the 30th anniversary version of JUNO-winning single, “Echo Beach.” In addition, the CD includes the bonus track, “I Am Vertical!”, a demo recorded in 1988 but never released.

Marthology: In and Outtakes is available November 5th, 2021.

// Marthology: The In and Outtakes Track Listing

“On A Silent Summer Evening”

“Summer Of Song”

“Do You Ever Wonder?”

“Act Like A Woman”

“Don’t Monkey With My Love”

“Talking Through My Hat”

“Big Day”

“There Comes A Day”

“Fighting The Monster (Alt. Version)”

“Resurrection”

“Delicate”

“Echo Beach (30th Anniversary Version)”

Bonus track CD only: “I Am Vertical!”

POPGURU SOUND & VISION AND LINUS ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE GLOBAL LICENSING DEAL

June 8, 2021

John Orpheus, Martha and the Muffins, Popguru Sound & Vision, The Confidence Emperors, The Wilderness of Manitoba

Linus Entertainment Inc. and Popguru Sound & Vision Ltd. announce today that they have signed a global exclusive licensing deal that will see future and back catalogue Popguru releases being marketed and distributed by Linus, that includes music from both The Confidence Emperors and Popguru label imprints. The new pact enables Popguru to now bring Linus’ marketing team and global reach to its artists. The first release under this new arrangement will be the John Orpheus album Saga King. Earlier this year, Penguin Random House launched his book of memoirs entitled Saga Boy under his real name of Antonio Michael Downing. There will be new albums to follow from The Wilderness of Manitoba and Martha and the Muffins.

Linus president Geoff Kulawick says, “It’s a real honour to be able to work with Graham Stairs again, he has repeatedly proven his A&R and record production skills, and his ability to personally connect with artists across many genres makes Popguru an ideal label partner for us.”

Popguru president Graham Stairs says, “I have known Geoff Kulawick since our early days in the music business when I signed Rheostatics to Intrepid Records and Geoff signed them to Warner-Chappell for publishing. That was one interesting ride! Then, I was doing A&R and International at True North Records when Geoff bought the company. He has built a great group of companies and I look forward to working with Geoff and his team on upcoming Popguru and The Confidence Emperors releases.”

Chemical Dreams Single And Video Featuring John Orpheus Now Available On All Platforms

July 29, 2020

Chemical Dreams, John Orpheus, Martha and the Muffins, Popguru Sound & Vision, SyncGuru, The Confidence Emperors

Afrobeat, Funky, Pop

Look To The Moon has been described by the collaborators as the ultimate “pan-cultural summer driving song”! It is a song that never could have been written by the various parties on their own. Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Chemical Dreams (and Martha and the Muffins) saw John Orpheus perform at the Confidence Emperors album launch for The International Sound System Party, Volume 1 compilation at The Drake Underground in June 2019. Says Johnson, “His dynamic stage presence made an impression on us and we thought he was an interesting guy that we could work with someday.” Adds Gane, ““Several months later we were pitching a track for a car commercial which called for a dance/club feel. Martha made some beats with a hip hop feel and I added some rhythm guitar, but we needed another element and John immediately came to mind.” The single and video are now available on all platforms.

Link: https://smarturl.it/looktothemoon

Pre-Save New Chemical Dreams Single Featuring John Orpheus

July 15, 2020

Chemical Dreams, John Orpheus, Martha and the Muffins, Martha Johnson, The Confidence Emperors

Afro Pop, Afrobeat, Pop, Soul

You can pre-save or pre-order the new Chemical Dreams single today! Chemical Dreams is produced, co-written and performed by the team of Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins. The project is as unpredictable as your dreams will be tonight. There is no set theme or style. One minute it could be a sultry love song and the next you might be hearing a rhythm Grace Jones would be happy to hula-hoop to all night long. And like dreams, a song sometimes comes out of the blue from somewhere beyond your imagination. Such a song is Look To The Moon, a collaboration with John Orpheus that they collectively describe as “a pan-cultural summer driving song”! It will be available on all platforms starting July 29th.

You can pre-save or pre-order the single here:

https://sym.ffm.to/qvxkvjp

Martha And The Muffins Release New Single And Video

May 26, 2020

Martha and the Muffins, Popguru Sound & Vision

Dance, Indie Pop, Pop

As the Coronavirus pandemic spread around the world, Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins decided to challenge themselves by reimagining their song Come Out and Dance from the Mystery Walk album and ended up creating a whole new track called Stay Home and Dance. This coincided with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi saying at an April 2^nd press conference that “You can never dance too much, especially when you’re home.” With a new dance groove, the duo dedicates Stay Home and Dance to all the doctors, nurses, first responders, farmers, truckers, factory and postal workers and the countless others who are keeping it together for all of us.

The video for the song has an interesting origin. Back when Mark Gane was working in a wallpaper factory for the summer and wrote Echo Beach, he “liberated” some extra wallpaper and, inspired by the artist Christo, decided to cover his parents’ house in wallpaper while they were away on vacation. The never-before-seen footage of the event has been incorporated into the video along with footage of Mark and Martha Johnson’s daughter Eve and her cousins as toddlers dancing inside their house.

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL3OUTo8OcA

Link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5V8cTXpycVPQes2GBJlAvj

Link to Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/stay-home-and-dance-single/1513636545

Martha and the Muffins Compose Music for New Eden

January 2, 2020

Martha and the Muffins, Popguru Sound & Vision

Indie Music, Mockumentary, New Music, Television Series

The first six episodes of the mockementary television series New Eden are now available on Crave Canada. The music for the show was composed by longtime clients Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins. The series was music supervised by Mikaila Simmons of Instinct Entertainment and produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment for Bell Media. Now Magazine called New Eden “ridiculously salacious” and “a remarkably sharp commentary on TV truth”.