VIDEO: JUNO-Nominated Kandle Shares James Bond-Inspired 'Lock & Load' Video

Canadian singer-songwriter and JUNO nominee Kandle Osborne is catharsis personified. Covering everything from heartbreak and sexual assault to chronic illness and loss of power, her songs provide an immense release for listeners with a treacle-dipped voice. Kandle dropped her her first ever independent release this summer, the Stick Around and Find Out EP - produced with Martin "Youth" Glover (Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, The Verve), Liam O'Neil (Kings of Leon), and Warne Livesey (Midnight Oil, Matthew Goode). Today she returns with a brand new single, "Lock & Load" off her forthcoming album (as profiled by VICE ) coming in early 2021, showcasing a seriously fresh style with an undeniably classic tone. Inspired by growing up watching classic James Bond films with her father (Canadian rock royalty Neil Osborne of 54-40), the accompanying video premiered by BlackBook was fashioned to be "the greatest spy movie never made." Kandle will be celebrating the release with a virtual cocktail hour tomorrow here.

Watch the video!

Recorded in Vancouver's Hipposonic Studios with British producer Michael Rendall, "Lock & Load" - along with the rest of the new album - was completed while under lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Tracking for the new music began on March 7, only days before the music industry was turned on its head.

"I already had most of the songs written when I asked Michael to produce the album," says Kandle. "I wasn't sure what my plan was, having just freed myself of all contracts. All I knew was that I needed to keep making music. We first met in the studio together in London (recording 'Spell' with legendary rock producer, Youth, who Michael engineers for) and became instant friends. I asked Michael if he wanted to try and write a Bond theme song and we wrote 'Lock & Load' in about 15 minutes sending voice notes back and forth, getting giddy and excited!"

Kandle continues, "The actual recording process was magical. We approached it with a very old-school 60s mindset, capturing the band in the room with plenty of spill and imperfection. Lots of first takes and not too many overdubs." A visually stunning love letter to the Bond legacy, the video for Lock & Load is the perfect companion to the song's unapologetically daring and grandiose timbre, punctuated by Kandle's Shirley Bassey-like vocals.

Director, Brandon William Fletcher, explains: "Your typical Bond title sequence will tease locations, themes, and plot points from the story. It was important to feel like there was a bigger story at play here, so I actually roughed out a whole film plot and character backgrounds to try and influence the visuals. We also have a lot of homages to previous title sequences. Like, a lot of them. We didn't have two hours to tell a story so relying on the visual short-hand established in previous Bond films helped give the sense of a larger world."

The ever-present cinematic quality of Kandle's music comes as no surprise, having both a Video of the Year JUNO nomination and Prism Prize award under her belt for the "Not Up To Me" music video. She also starred in Jack White's 2018 video for "Corporation." Growing up in the music industry has provided Kandle's artistry with a unique insight. She brings a seasoned performance to every line and every word, channeling over a decade of touring the globe - including France, China, and the North America - and has collaborated with some of Canada's finest songwriters, such as Sam Roberts, Coeur de pirate, Peter Dremanis (July Talk) and Devon Portielje (Half Moon Run).

Kandle discovered a true love for music in Nancy Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Shirley Bassey to name just a few. With strong influences from the fierce female greats of a gone era, Kandle writes and sings exclusively with her heart; something so often void in the modern era of overproduced perfection. Kandle sings honest and raw, vulnerable yet empowered, never afraid to pen even life's heaviest moments. This is an artist at her most empowered and authentic - an artist who by sharing her own story of healing, can help us all do the same.

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