Coverama is a compilation of creative, fun and innovative renditions of classic pop and indie rock songs, and is set for a May 20, 2022 release via Popguru Sound & Vision‘s boutique label, The Confidence Emperors. 

Featured local artists Alex Exists, John Orpheus, Sam Casey, Ghost Caravan, TANDM, and Juliana Eye will take to the stage at Drake Underground on Saturday, May 21 for an exclusive celebration launch party.

Coverama kicked off with John Orpheus’ cover of Radiohead’s iconic House Of Cards, a rambunctious cover of David Essex’s Rock On by Alex Esists and a take on Blondie’s Dreaming that lives up to its name, as performed by Juliana Eye. In addition, Martha and the Muffins cover The English Beat’s Save It For Later, UK-based pop singer-songwriter, Chloe Kay shares a stunning rendition of Prince’s When Doves Cry, Will Whitwham (leader of The Wilderness of Manitoba) flips The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows, Ghost Caravan reimagine Girls Talk by Elvis Costello, pop duo, TANDM, remix Counting Crows’ Accidentally In Love, and new signing, Sam Casey, flips I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James.

The album is available on Spotify and Apple as well as Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music and other streamers.

Coverama: Saturday, May 21, 2022 | 7:30 PM – 11:00 PM EDT | Location: Drake Underground | 1150 Queen Street West. Tickets 

John Orpheus – House of Cards (Radiohead)

“Radiohead was a band I really connected with in the 90s, but, as I grew up, their older albums made more sense to me emotionally. In Rainbows in particular seemed to contain a perfect cocktail of longing, anxiety, lust and alienation and, to me, there’s no song that holds this better than House of Cards. As with many of their songs, it is haunting, with an ambivalent lyric and subtle, yet powerful feeling.“

Alex Exists – Rock On (David Essex)

“This record was a challenging and fun exercise in rock and roll post mortem revival. If I was going to do a rendition of a golden age rock and roll classic, I knew I had to launch it into orbit with an unexpected modern twist. I was inspired by this idea that if aliens came to earth, years after rock and roll had died, found this record, fell in love with it, took it back to their planet and started making their own interpretations of it, how might it sound?”

Martha and the Muffins – Save It For Later (The English Beat)

“We originally recorded Save It For Later at the suggestion of a UK music supervisor to pitch for the trailer of a Netflix series. Between Martha’s vocal arrangements and the guitars and keyboards, there are a lot of additional little hooks that didn’t exist in the original that we think makes our version almost like an early Martha and the Muffins song.”

Juliana Eye – Dreaming (Blondie)

“Dreaming is one of my favourite Blondie songs and I’ve always wanted to cover it. My version takes some of the new wave elements of the original, but slows it down and gives the track a very lush & dreamy treatment (lots of pad synths and spacey guitars). I also really connect with the idea of ‘dreaming is free’ as a reminder that our imaginations are boundless and we have a built-in space to go to whenever we want to escape reality.”

Sam Casey – I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James)

“I have been performing I’d Rather Go Blind for years in bars around Toronto as it is one of my favourite songs and lyrically hits me at my core. To be able to record an original rendition of the track that fits my exact feelings when listening to the lyrics was a dream and a privilege. The feelings that emanate from this song are so human and deep inside that singing this can bring me to tears. I can only hope listeners will feel this same connection.”

Ghost Caravan – Girls Talk (Elvis Costello)

“The version of Girls Talk by Ghost Caravan is poppy, 80s nostalgia with a side of empowering cheekiness. Us girls… we’ve got secrets. And I know you wanna know them.”

Chloe Kay – When Doves Cry (Prince)

“I’ve always been a massive fan of Prince and When Doves Cry is one of my favourite songs. I love the sparseness of the song and the poetry in the lyrics. I worked with producer Mike Schlosser to come up with the arrangement. Our goal was to create our own version while still capturing the essence of the original.”

Martha and the Muffins – For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)

“As young teenagers, the song strongly resonated with us and only grew in power against the nightly newscasts of the Vietnam War, race riots and political assassinations. We wanted to honour its legacy and importance by interpreting it in our own personal way, with a modern twist.”

TANDM – Accidentally In Love (Counting Crows/Shrek 2)

“Thomas and I spent hours digging through songs that we had considered covering in the past. The one that stuck out to us the most was a track from the film Shrek 2, which we had both listened to frequently as children. The song is full of sunshine and happiness, and, currently (with COVID-19’s never-ending misery), we decided that Accidentally In Love would make for a very optimistic and hopeful cover that could brighten up our lives as well as the lives of others.”

Will Whitwham – God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)

“God Only Knows is within only a small handful of songs that I wish I’d written. A masterpiece. I’m not sure what else I can say about that!”

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.