WTSH Top 10 Releases of 2013 Series: Keith Canisius.

Top 10 Releases of 2013 Series

For the next several weeks, WTSH will be posting a series of Top 10 Releases of 2013 lists submitted by a variety of musicians, artists, writers, records labels, djs and other industry-related folk who were kind enough to participate. These lists are great opportunities to discover releases that you may have missed throughout the year, as well as to learn more about the persons behind the lists. 

So far we've posted lists from Stephen Lawrie of The Telescopes and Lilies on Mars, with many more coming soon! Next up is the talented Keith Canisius - keep scrolling to learn more about Canisius and view his Top 10 list; you can also read WTSH's previous interview with Canisius HERE.

ABOUT KEITH CANISIUS

Keith Canisius is an American-born Dane, now living and creating beautiful, genre-defying music in Copenhagen, Denmark. He first came into the spotlight as one half of the duo called Rumskib, whose 2007 self-titled release on Darla blew the minds of gazers and dreamers everywhere. In 2008, with Rumskib on hold, Canisius released his debut solo record (also on Darla), Ferris Wheel Makeout, which took the foundational sound of Rumskib and pushed it further. Rather than sounding just dream pop, Canisius started incorporating psychedelia and experimentation into his already shoegazey and dreamy soundscapes. 2009 saw the highly praised release of Waves, another gorgeous album existing somewhere in the swirly gauze of dream pop, shoegaze and psychedelia. In 2010 Canisius released This Time It's Our High, an LP that showed Canisius evolving even further as a composer, blending and ultimately defying genres altogether. In 2011 Darla Records released The Oceanic Voyage: 2006-2009 and Canisius' latest LP, Beautiful Sharks, was released by Saint Marie Records in 2012 to critical acclaim.

  

 

Beautiful Sharks was heavily inspired by the Canadian documentary Sharkwater (2006), which chronicles the shark's harrowing fight against extinction. Beautiful Sharks is Canisius' homage to the great white shark and to the sea itself. Genre-wise, the LP is impossible to pigeonhole; the 13 tracks delve further into psychedelia, sometimes heavy on reverb and other times veering more toward electronica, with elements of dream pop and shoegaze weaved throughout. The song craft itself and the way Canisius manipulates so many stylistic elements is truly masterful. The icing on the cake: the album art is absolutely stunning. Highly recommended. Canisius is also currently releasing music under the moniker Shortwave Broadcaster. This project is excellent and you can check out the bandcamp page HERE.

 

Keith Canisius

Top 10 Releases of 2013

Boards of Canada || Tommorrow’s Harvest

Tim Hecker || Virgins

William Basinski || Nocturnes

My Bloody Valentine || mbv

Deerhunter || Monomania

Candy Claws || Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time Forever

Steve Haushildt || S/H

Sigur Ros || Kveikur

Daft Punk || Random Access Memories

Wild Nothing || Empty Estate EP