When musicians ask me what they should do to get more people to check out their work, I always say the same thing: Make a video. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from running this site, it’s that people love watching videos. And here’s the proof: The 10 videos below — the most popular clips on the site this year — have amassed more than 30,000 views since they all premiered exclusively on Tinnitist over the past few months. And there’s plenty more where they came from: To check out more of these artists and other videos from 2018, just click on the Video Premiere tag at the bottom of the page. And keep watching: I’m already lining up exclusives for 2019!
1 | Aruba Red | Goddess Vibes
After taking some breathing space from music, the London-based alternative soul artist returned with the EP Holy Waters (below). The video for premiere single Goddess Vibes was Tinnitist‘s most-watched clip of the year. See why above.
2 | Miss Emily | Hold Back the River
Canadian singer-songwriter Miss Emily paid tribute to the #MeToo movement in the video for her stirring single Hold Back the River. It’s the third single from her fifth studio album In Between, written and produced with the help of Tragically Hip bassist Gord Sinclair and guitarist Rob Baker.
3 | Christine Campbell | Butterfly
P.E.I. singer-guitarist Christine Campbell spread her wings on the high-flying video for her new single Butterfly. Produced and co-written by rapper Classified, it comes from her 2017 album Roller Coaster.
4 | Buck-N-Nice | EMAG
Hard-hitting Ottawa-Gatineau hip-hop duo Buck-N-Nice fought the good fight on their dark, cinematic video for the title cut from their sophomore album EMAG. The disc topped hip-hop college and community radio charts in Canada and the U.S.
5 | Midnight Shine | I Need Angels
Midnight Shine sought light in the darkness in the video for their single I Need Angels, a candid examination of depression. The song from their album High Road was shot in singer-songwriter Adrian Sutherland‘s remote home of Attawapiskat First Nation.
6 | 54•40 | How’s Your Day Going?
Can-Rock veterans 54•40 had just one question for you. One question that could define a generation. And they asked it first on Tinnitist — with the help of a whimsical clip that followed frontman Neil Osborne as he navigated the alienating annoyances of contemporary life, from taciturn cabbies and oddball panhandlers to coffee-shop lines and a lost wallet.
7 | Mark Higgins | Oh Cannabis
On the day weed became legal in Canada, Toronto musician and entrepreneur Mark Higgins rolled up with a new national anthem — a dreamy little number meant to be played loud as mood music for our latest recreational drug.
https://youtu.be/J8VNh-x72Oo
8 | How To Make People Like You | Apocalyptic Zombies
Toronto polymath Ryan Luchuck came back to musical life with the new band How To Make People Like You and the song Apocalyptic Zombies, a sneak peek at their self-titled EP. The disc features dazzling, quirky indie-pop tunes ignited by Luchuck’s ear-wormy compositions, Norm Authier’s bluesy vocals and the percussion of Cindy Goh — who also makes some mean mac and cheese.
9 | Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite | Strange Intuition
Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite had a feeling they’ve been here before. And the Quebec trio shared their Strange Intuition in a video that lived up to its name. Unfolding like a dream, the clips features a slowly rotating camera that tracked singer Dee through a surreal, seemingly random series of settings populated by masked gamblers, hazmat-suited lab staff, religious fanatics — and ominous figures in red and black hoodies.
10 The Handsome Shadows | Tom’s Song
Canadian duo Handsome Shadows paid heartfelt tribute to the one and only Tom Petty with this lyric-video love letter to the late American singer-guitarist. Penned by lifelong friends and huge Petty fans Gary Brown and Yurko Mychaluk, it’s a slice of laid-back heartland folk-rock reminiscent of the man himself, with lyrics woven from some of Petty’s hits.
