"Come for the music, stay for the cyborg fish armies, giant gorillas and Daniel Craig. They all come to play in Joshua Van Tassel's amazing new album Dream Date" - Laurie Brown, Host of CBC2's The Signal
"Already being a big contender for Best of '13, Dream Date is truly an album to keep your attention and have you back for seconds." - Found Sound Review
"Whether it is the Kid A-inspired sounds of Sneaky Beard or The Warmest Heart, Van Tassel’s uncluttered approach to making music is one that demands your attention." - Ken Kelley, Music Nerd Chronicles
"Dream Date est une bande sonore qui évoque la nuit, tant dans son urgence que dans sa quiétude, mais surtout dans sa sagesse.
"Dream Date bénéficie de l’instantanéité de la pop, mais se démarque grâce aux arrières-pensées sonores meublés subtilement par les couleurs des climats." - 500KHZ
Joshua Van Tassel wants to take you on a date through his imagination.
"When people dream, we often find ourselves going from one seemingly unconnected scene to another without warning or reason. The reality is that our dreams are the products of our memories and subconsciousness, and these random scenes share more in common then we realize at first glance."
His third full-length album, Dream Date, is a score to a series of dream scenes that take place in his mind.
"The idea is that you're being led through these scenes by a large (but friendly and gentle) gorilla/yeti-type creature. All of the songs on the album contain sounds from one another blended in some way, and each have a very specific story along with them. Hence the 'Dream Date' title."
Raised in rural Nova Scotia, Joshua studied music in Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Ontario. While best know for his sideman work with Doug Paisley, Great Lake Swimmers, David Myles, Royal Wood, Justin Rutledge, Ronley Teper, Selina Martin, Valery Gore, and many others, Joshua has an active solo career as a producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist as well. His music is featured on the Outdoor Life Network shows Departured and Descending, while his sophomore self-titled album (released Sept. 2011) has received critical acclaim from the CBC, The Toronto Star, NOW Magazine, was chosen as one of the top albums of 2011 by CBC Radio 2's 'The Signal' and is currently nominated for 'Electronic Album of the Year' at the 2013 East Coast Music Awards.
credits
released March 26, 2013
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Joshua Van Tassel at the Verge Music Lab Underground
All compositions by Joshua Van Tassel
except 'The Warmest Heart' by Justin Rutledge/Joshua Van Tassel
and 'I Think You're A Salesman' by Kate Rogers/Joshua Van Tassel
Christine Bougie - lap steel guitar (7)
Dean Drouillard - electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7)
Jason Freeman-Fox - violin (1, 2, 3, 5)
Robbie Grunwald - fender rhodes, wurlitzer, organ, synthesizers, piano (2, 4, 6, 7)
Devon Henderson - bass, synth (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Drew Jurecka - violin (6)
Kate Rogers - vocals (8)
Justin Rutledge - vocals (3)
Joshua Van Tassel - acoustic guitar, drums, percussion, piano, synths, sonic manipulations
Mastered by Reuben Ghose at Mojito Mastering
Additional engineering by Robbie Grunwald, Jaron Freeman-Fox, Dean Drouillard at the Hebourne Loft Studio, and Steve Major at the Verge Music Lab
One of Toronto's most creative and talented music makers. Her records are a world within a world within a world of talking cats and beautiful sounds Joshua Van Tassel
Canada's best kept production secret. Dream at Harmony Motel is perfect pop mastery, and the Bear Lake is dreamy psychadelicness at it's best Joshua Van Tassel
Poet aja monet explores Black resistance, love, and joy with musical backing by Chief Adjuah, Weedie Braimah, Samora Pinderhughes, and more. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 9, 2023