The Polaris Prize will be awarded on Monday night, and CBC Music has a new session with Pup, one of the 10 shortlisted bands.
We drove to the west end of Toronto and set up our recording gear in Pup's rehearsal space — a cozy basement where Nestor Chumak, the bassist, grew up. Chumak's parents must be pretty cool, allowing their son's punk band to rehearse in their basement. Shelves lined with books and vinyl share wall space with an Iron Maiden poster and pictures of Nestor as a youngster. Clearly the basement fosters a lot of creativity, as Pup's second album, The Dream is Over, has been Polaris nominated as one of the best albums in Canada in the past year.
The performances will also be part of CBC Music's Polaris Music Prize Primer, airing on CBC-TV this Sunday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m. The following night, the prize will be awarded for the best Canadian album of the past year, regardless of genre, sales or popularity.
Check out the Pup performances below. You can also watch sessions with shortlisted artists Jessy Lanza, Basia Bulat, Black Mountain, White Lung and Andy Shauf.
Watch sessions from other shortlisted musicians:
First Play Live: Jessy Lanza, Oh No
First Play Live: Basia Bulat, Fool
First Play Live: Andy Shauf, The Party
Polaris 2016 session: White Lung, Paradise
Meet the 10 artists shortlisted for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize