The Pxrtals

Magic Mushrooms inspire creativity. At least in the case of Saskatchewan’s’ new dreamy folk band The Pxrtals, this seemed to the case. Focused around local musician Lévi Soulodre, long-term member and guitarist from Music-News.com favourite, Slow Down Molasses, The Pxrtals have just launched their debut album ‘Un Jour’ on Spotify last month.

‘Hidden Frame’ is a step into the LSD, psychedelic inspired world of Levi, drawing comparisons of past heroes of the 60s and 70s. A quote in the press release is hard to ignore - “If Jim Morrison took acid with Roy Orbison and recorded an album Un Jour would be it.” We could not agree more, 15 seconds of ‘Hidden Frame’ and you will understand yourself.

Lévi discusses the video:
The Pxrtals is grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful talent: many peers came together to create the "Hidden Frame" music video.

The video wouldn't exist without the in-the-moment vision of Saskatchewan-based Wizard-Artist Mike Hands (Mike Hanson): Two years ago, The Pxrtals held a Prairie midsummer's eve backyard painting party for the "Hidden Frame" video. Two weeks later, following a cathartic heart-to-heart with The Pxrtals' lead singer Lévi, Mike Hands animated the whole video in under two weeks in an impassioned burst.

The psychedelically-spellbinding "Hidden Frame" video reflects the efforts of an innermost emotional release from the true pain of heartbreak, through the imaginative lens of a young man's adventures in the dreamscape of his sleep... where the power of Love can positively impact, even in dreams. - Music-News UK

JUNE 21, 2018
Premiere: The Pxrtals – “Life With You”
It was just Father’s Day a few days ago, and the third and final video from The Pxrtals’ album Un Jour really fits the occasion. The song seems to hold loudness in one hand and softness in the other, a soaring song that also keeps itself restrained. The band’s Lévi Soulodre describes it as “electronic dark folk” or “blue hour folk.”

In the video by Emily Only, we see a number of photos spanning 40 years as seen through an old-fashioned slide projector (which might bring to mind the “Carousel” pitch from Mad Men). We see photos of Lévi Soulodre’s parents before and after he was born, and the video feels more intimate than most videos can.

Soulodre describes the video as

creating a pleasant journey of snapshots (both linearly and outside chronologically) of a young couple’s growth into parenthood, and the beauty and importance of introducing a balance of nature-going and travel in our lives, as far as people are able to. - Grayowl Point

The most recent project from Lévi Soulodre (Volcanoless in Canada) dials back the aggression of his previous band into something more akin to folk-infused pop music. The gentle but emotional song gets an animated video treatment as we watch someone go to another world in a dream. The dream traveler eventually sees a monster, and defeats it in the best way possible. – MT - Grayowl Point

As the song title boldly suggests, The Pxrtals is all about what is beyond, what could be: discovery, inclusiveness, healing, a better world, all unknown elements in a world perpetually teetering on the verge of ruin… you may hear, as one industry insider put it, the influence of “Gord Downie” [of Canada’s beloved The Tragically Hip] in the vocalization.
Read more at http://ventsmagazine.com/2017/11/24/premiere-pxrtals-release-new-music-video-dawn-global-community/#28UDrBiOgxhD3Tja.99 - Vents Magazine

Lévi Soulodre is a French Canadian painter and musician better known as The Pxrtals. Today, he is debuting his new single “Dawn of a Global Community”. His impressionist vision extends to the music video for his single, “Dawn of a Global Community” in a collage of overlapping outdoor scenes. The video was filmed around Brooklyn, exploring themes of individuality vs community and life vs death. The George Harrison inspired guitar solo bridges the 1960’s folk/psychedelic zeitgeist with a contemporary alternative electronic infusion, opening a gateway in time and space. - Northern Transmissions

French Canadian painter and musician Lévi Soulodre is better known as The Pxrtals. His single, ‘Dawn of a Global Community’, is taken from album Un Jour, described as sounding like ‘if Jim Morrison took acid with Roy Orbison and recorded an LP’. We spoke to Lévi about The Pxrtals project and single.

Impassioned, sensitive, mysterious. - zapbangmagazine

Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Thanx for having us! Life is a trip, but trying to stay positive and healthy. The same yr way
image: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.3/svg/1f642.svg - Vents Magazine

Moody, gauzy and mellow. The droning “Dormons” by the Pxrtals is purported “to help bring about peace & a peaceful sleep”. We aren’t arguing. - Ride The Tempo - Victoria, BC, Canada

ICYMI: 1+1=, the semi-newly-minted and released mixtape from the twisted brain of Levi Soulodre aka The P∞rtals, is a startling compendium of heavy dance moments, liquid-like beats ooze and a sheer wall of noisy samples and vocal drones. - Ominocity

One of the most startling moments of 1+1=, the newly-minted and released mixtape straight from the twisted brain of Levi Soulodre aka The P∞rtals, is on track three.

Backed by a sample of drumming taken from a hotel in the Dominican Republic, “Mar” takes on a strange, wonderful life of its own – spinning percussion swirls lithely amidst Soulodre’s own take on the subject matter.

That’s the innate beauty of the mixtape – we are left to find our own meanings amid the devices.

There are similarly some heavy dance moments. Large, liquid-like beats ooze amidst a wall of noisy samples – perhaps this is the handiwork of many hands, perhaps the cuts from the likes of Factor Chandelier. There are several moments of strange familiarity – consider the classic, haunting strains of the Doors’-like “Lake Destiny” where Soulodre asks the ghost of Jim Morrison for a slow dance and is granted a brief concession.

No one is spared, everything is music.

Consider the first five seconds 1+1=. It may or may not have been sampled from a drunken prank phone call made at 1 am. I should know because I was there.

But it’s just another colour to an already formidable palette.

In addition to The The P∞rtals, Soulodre plays guitar in Slow Down Molasses, along with several bands of the past including Volcanoless in Canada, Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z and more. He’s toured with Factor, and laid down numerous tracks in the studio. He’s also a visual artist – a painter by definition. And there’s probably a whole lot of other things that I’m forgetting.

“Some songs may be too crazy/unlistenable for some – and vice versa,” he writes.

It’s what happens sometimes when you are This and That. Listen and decide for yourself. - Ominocity

enjoy :) - The Pxrtals

The Pxrtals - strings and arrangement - Fake Four - USA

The Pxrtals - guitar, strings, synths, arrangement

“…an album ripe with fantastic guitar riffs” – PopMatters

#1 CMJ Hiphop Charts - March 2013 - Pop Matters - USA

The Pxrtals - Guitars - Fake Four - USA

The Pxrtals - instrumentation, co-production - Fake Four - USA

The Pxrtals - Guitarist in Reform Party - Abstract Hiphop - Russia

enjoy! - Reform Party

The Pxrtals - Guitarist in VIC - exclaim! - earshot

After the release of his widely-praised debut album 'Un Jour' in 2018, Canadian frontman Levi Soulodre aka The Pxrtals became more retrospective than most when it came to releasing a follow-up record. While his first effort saw him channel his personal heroes such as Morrissey and Roy Orbison, the idea of following on from his initial collection didn't feel like much of a challenge, so instead he looked to create a prequel of sorts. So rather than continuing the bold and lofty ideals of 'Un Jour', his second studio release 'One Night' looks to give us more context to his eclectic sound.

The most obvious comparison we can make between these two records is just how much more psychedelic this new one feels. While the debut LP dabbled in its fair share of psych-rock tendencies in places, his second full-length is a rich and atmospheric return that takes the most organic parts of the sound and pushes them as far as it will go. The result feels like a far more cohesive collection than we were expecting, given how diverse his original material was, and creates this bright and progressive direction that shows a more hardened and dynamic side to his direction.

Tracks like 'Extasie' and the opener 'Coolin' Sun' may remain the standout offerings on this new LP, but the record sounds so much more gelled together than the first. It feels like he has found his footing in his formative style and is now far more comfortable within it. A strong and expressive return that always hints that more is waiting around the corner. - Mystic Sons UK

Following the announcement of their sophomore record One Night, Saskatchewan psych-rockers the Pxrtals have shared the record's newest single "Coolin' Sun."

Today, the band have also shared the new track's accompanying music video. The Stephanie Kuse-created visual effort arrives for a song that the Pxrtals call a "road trip song soaring at cloud-level cruising altitudes."

According to a press release, the forthcoming record is "an ode to the euphoric sounds of yesteryear; '60s garage rock bridges '90s alternative to unveil a young person's hopelessly romantic journey towards discovering sacred love in an unforgettable yet distant, long-ago evening-into-morning of music, unspeakable emotion, and humanizing harmony."

One Night arrives today via Permanent Touch Records. It follows the release of the Pxrtals' debut album, 2018's Un Jour.

Watch the video for "Coolin' Sun" below, where you can also find the record's tracklisting and album art. - Exclaim! Music Magazine