The Contact
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | AFM
Music
Press
Quote
This concert was two hours of Heaven on earth. I'm sure we'll be hearing The Contact's music on Canadian music charts soon. They are on a trajectory for huge success.
Kirk Bartha
BGEAC - Kirk Bartha
NSMW 2007 Music Awards Nominations
Pop Rock Artist/Recording of the Year
Dog Day – Night Group
Alert the Medic – Self Titled
In-Flight Safety – Coast is Clear
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Ashtray Rock
The Contact – Canvas Tears
Group/Recording of the Year
Alert the Medic – Alert the Medic
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Ashtray Rock
In-Flight Safety – Coast is Clear
The Contact – Canvas Tears
The Jimmy Swift Band – Weight of the World - Music Nova Scotia
On this polished sophomore album, Halifax Christian rockers The Contact return with a tight 10 song disc of crunchy pop-rock.
If you thought that faith-based music had to be either soulful black gospel or southern white hillbilly music, open your ears. The Christian rock and pop music field has its own superstars, appealing to a younger crowd who respect the message while loving the contemporary sound.
Five years in, the band has found its sound, very much influenced by the guitar-heavy sound of U2 and the solid pop accessibility of bands like Coldplay and Radiohead.
Their six-song EP from 2003 netted the band an ECMA nomination for best gospel recording, while this effort Paralyzed From The Soul Up landed the band a nomination for rock album of the year at the 2005 Covenant Award, sponsored by the Canadian Gospel Music Association.
The band deftly pens the songs, with Geoff Fifield writing most of the lyrics. A cursory listen and you might think he's singing about more earthly love, about devotion or redemption through love of a girl. But the well-turned songs' subtlety reveal the band's message about searching for a higher plane.
The band starting catching attention two years ago after winning the regional Canadian Organization of Campus Activities (COCA) competition, which draws university entertainment buyers and industry insiders to showcases.
THE CONTACT: Sound influenced by bands such as U2, Coldplay and Radiohead.
- HFX Magazine
Emotional, heartfelt, sublime. Awesome singer.
Lead singer is unique...besides having an awesome voice technically. Has his own sound. Certainly a talent to be reckoned with. I feel sad when listening to him...something about the lyrical content. You can feel what he means when singing about "years passing him by". Total package.
- Garageband
Canadian band turned back from U.S. border
canada.com
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Contact was turned away from the U.S. border on the eve of a promotional tour.
CREDIT: Handout
The Contact was turned away from the U.S. border on the eve of a promotional tour.
Members of a Canadian band were detained at the U.S. border and turned back, forcing the cancellation of an American tour.
The Contact, based in Halifax, was heading south on June 21 to kick off a tour in support of their new CD, Canvas Tears, when its four members were photographed, fingerprinted and questioned by U.S. authorities.
Publicist Eirinn Fraser says Geoffrey Fifield, Tim Fifield, Nathan Elliot-Doucet and Jordan Allen were held for five hours at the Michigan border at Sarnia, Ontario. At least half a dozen officers questioned the band members and took information about their families.
"They didn't believe that they weren't getting paid," says Fraser, who insists the group was on a promotional tour. They presented U.S. officials with paperwork from the American Federation of Musicians but were told they needed proper visas.
The Contact was set to kick off the tour Tuesday night in Seymour, Indiana. Other shows were scheduled in cities like Columbus, Nashville, New York, and Chicago.
The Contact's first single, "Black Sea," was released to Maritime radio stations earlier this month.
© canada.com 2007 - Canada Dot Com
The Contact Cancel U.S. Promo Tour After Border-Crossing Problem
Wednesday June 27, 2007 @ 06:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff
The Contact
The Contact
Halifax rock band The Contact were forced to cancel two weeks' worth of U.S. performances after being turned away at the Sarnia, Ontario-Port Huron, Michigan border crossing on June 21 for not having proper paperwork.
The quartet — comprised of lead singer/guitarist Geoffrey Fifield, keyboardist Jordan Allen, bassist Tim Fifield and drummer Nathan Elliot-Doucet — had booked an American promotional tour for their new Canvas Tears album that came out on Tuesday through Square Eye Records. The American Federation Of Musicans Of The United States And Canada had provided the group with a form that they were told would get them into the U.S. on the basis of a B1 visitors permit, but authorities said that they needed a P1 or P2 visa.
"They were held for five hours at the Michigan border — fingerprinted, photographed, questioned," says publicist Eirinn Fraser. "They had to fill out forms with parents, wife, children, addresses, birth dates of all family members. They were questioned various times by six people about the promotional tour and money and were given the impression that the authorities didn't believe they were only doing a promotional tour."
The Contact have more U.S. dates booked for August and September and plan to try their luck with border officials again.
Canvas Tears' first single, "Black Sea," is now at radio. - Chart Attack Magazine
Coast Magazine February 5 -12 2004
What seperates The Contact from the hordes of over-the-top Christian acts, is their subtle lyrical approach. A passive listener wouldn't be able to differentiate the group from your typical pop-rock radio act, and if it weren't for the occasional capitalized You and God thrown in the lyric sheet, one would think Fifield was singing about his girlfriend. Top that off with some solid pop-rock hooks and you have a Christian quintet with definite crossover appeal. - Chuck Teed
The Contact blows down from Canada, guitars wailing through thoughtful arrangements, with great sounds for the thinking believer. With no overt mention of God or His Son, the Contact manages to craft together an intelligent, stunning album of truth and gratitude, overflowing with sincere worship.
Here are my impressions gleaned from listening to the wonderfully titled “Paralyzed From the Soul Up.” Five pieces give up rock that is both brainy and buzzy, with arrangements that soar from quiet subtlety to pounding rhythms that exhilarate. Rather than regurgitating the usual truthful but obvious lyrics, the Contact chooses to paint broad-stroked pictures of the life in the Spirit, embracing and celebrating the very mysteries that put the rest of us to flight. “You’re starting to grow, you’re all I hear, mysterious love with mysterious fear.” Unafraid, they will push you toward the Light even as they revel in their own experience. Take special note of Jordan Allen’s keyboards as he gilds the lily. All in all, a rich gift from the North. -- Kevan Breitinger
- Grassroots Music
[GOOD!]
The Contact
"Canvas Tears"
(Independent,2007)
Producer:
Style: Melancholic rock
Format: Album
Website: www.thecontactmusic.com
Reviewed by: Pär Winberg
There is a Swedish band called Kent. They're without any doubts Sweden's most popular band and will probably sell 4 or 5 times platinum with their new album which will be released next week in Sweden. They were the first band I thought of when I heard The Contact. They have the same sort of melancholy in their sound. The difference with the bands are that The Contact goes more into a guitar orientated sound where Kent are looking in the rearview mirror where you find bands like Depeche Mode. So I would like to add bands like Muse, Radiohead, U2, Guster and even a tougher edge with guitar-riffs quite close to the one Smashing Pumpkins used to sit on 6-7 years ago. This is a cool album and you should definitely check it out. Canada have once again proof what a great country they're to produce cool and innovative bands. - www.melodic.net
Discography
Self Titled CD Released February 2003
Paralyzed From The Soul Up July 2005
Live and Unplugged January 2006
Canvas Tears June 2007
Photos
Bio
Praised by critics and fans alike for their gut-punching thick Foo Fighters style guitars combined with a Radiohead-esque melancholy and an Indie rock flare, The Contact has built a musical niche for themselves somewhere between The Smashing Pumpkins, Muse and Keane. This sound, along with songwriting that is at once spiritual, gritty and filled with metaphor, have helped The Contact find a space for themselves in Canada’s competitive music scene.
Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, The Contact is composed of Geoffrey Fifield on vocals and guitar, Tim Fifield on bass, drummer Chris Gilks and keyboardist Jordan Allen.
The band finished recording and mixing their third studio project ‘Canvas Tears’ (released June 2007) produced by Grammy winner Quinlan and engineered by Lil Thomas. “We’ve been self-producing for years, so we really needed someone not to ‘tell’ us what to do, but to collaborate on our ideas and let them fly,” Geoffrey notes. “Quinlan’s a great listener with a very open mind." After two months laboring between The Sonic Temple in Halifax and The Fiction Room Studio in Columbus Ohio, the CD was mixed by Chuck Zwicky (Prince, Chantal Kreviazuk, Soul Asylum) in New York City and Mastered by Dave Collins (The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Soundgarden) in Los Angeles. The Contact came away with an album that blends all their collective influences over a bakers dozen tracks with a recorded sound that exceeds everything they’ve ever committed to tape. “During a recording session, we hit the climax of ‘Anthem of a Refugee,’ and it all came together for me,” Geoffrey recalls. “The realization that all of these people - musicians, producers, mixers, are working as one to create something far beyond the sum of all the parts is incredibly moving and humbling." But even with an album that is sure to open up many eyes, ears, and hearts while The Contact spreads the love to more and more audiences, they have no plans to treat the road any differently. With extensive tours, crowds can’t help but be intrigued by the gripping stage show. “We just want to keep touring and getting better as a band," Jordan concludes, “A year ago we didn’t think we would be in the position we are in. We just want to keep breaking the boundaries of what we are as a band and push ourselves to the limit.” And so just as it had been when he stepped into the front man role, the sparkle returns to Geoffrey’s eye, even brighter than before, but this time showing so much more than mere potential of a young band, more than the excitement of what "could be.” This time there is a new confidence brewing; an excitement that is not only explosive but silently assuring that their voice will be heard.
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