Interview: Jon & Roy

Canadian duo Jon & Roy are on the edge of releasing their seventh studio album The Road Ahead Is Golden. An up-tempo folk dream. Jon & Roy have
come a very long way already since their university dreams, but it is clear from the record that they still have so much more to come - which excites us. To celebrate, we caught up with Jon to find out what songs make him...

Smile

It's a long winded title, but the song "Tema De La Quebrada de Humahuaca' by Inti Illimani always makes me smile. It starts off as this slowly building thing with a flute melody, then at about the 2 minute mark the rhythm guitar part comes in, and it changes the feel of the song from something intense to something wonderfully positive.

Contemplate

The piano playing of Tsegue Maryam Guebrou is incredibly relaxing and contemplative, and the song 'Mother's Love' is one of her best.




Cry

Ballad of Hattie Carroll by Bob Dylan. I don't think there has ever been a more cutting, scathing and sadder song written then this.

Laugh

'Push it to the Limit' from the Scarface soundtrack. As a band, there was a time when we used to listen to this song and laugh at least three times a tour.

Want To Work Out

I don't really work out anymore, but when I did Tool was probably my favourite band to listen to. And probably my favourite song to work out to by them was their song 'Lateralus.'

Reminisce

Anything from the Bonnie M Christmas album. Every song on this album
transports me to my parents living room around Christmas time and brings me back to the feelings surrounding that era.

Relax

The whole Kind of Blue album by Miles Davis is just so good, it never gets old, ever. A definite candidate for Best album of all time. I find Bill Evans piano laying to be very relaxing, and the song 'Blue in Green' on Kind of Blue showcases this well.

Feel Determined

Kind of a hard feeling to pin down to a song, usually it's hip-hop music that makes me feel determined because it's full of so much attitude and strong will. But I would have to say the song that inspires me and makes me determined every time is 'That's What My Heart Needs' by Otis Redding. The ending of that song is one of the greatest moments in recorded music history.

Dance

Fela Kuti makes me want to dance any time I hear his music. In the last couple of year tho', the funkiest tune I have heard has to be 'Let the Sunshine in' by Galt MacDermot.