Toronto troubadour Chris A. Cummings (Marker Starling, formerly Mantler) has been playing Melancholy Party Jams since 1999. A solo performer for many years, his preferred weapons were a Wurltizer electric piano and an early pre-programmed drum machine. More recently he has been supported by a Toronto-based band consisting of Dorothea Paas (vocals, guitar) Jay Anderson (drums), Matt McLaren (bass) and Andy Scott (guitar and keyboards).

Our earliest exposures to music can often be the most formative. For Toronto-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eliza Niemi, that influence came from her Dad who taught her the basics of bass and guitar at home. These childhood experiences of playing music together by ear fostered the sense of playfulness that she’s approached her craft with ever since. They also instilled an ethic in her creative work that prioritizes making music with friends and loved ones. Those honed guitar —and later piano, cello and vocal— skills make Eliza an ideal collaborator: starting in Halifax’s rich music scene with the mid-2010s experimental pop groups New Love Underground and Mauno, and later in her role supporting artists Le Ren, Quaker Parents and Evan J. Cartwright. Through the rhythms of touring and the brilliant spark that’s shared in musical exchange, Eliza found and developed connections across Canada’s DIY music communities. These collaborative moments fuel her creative practice, whether playing solo, in an ensemble or releasing others’ music as the founder of her own label, Vain Mina Records.