Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon break with our Afternoon Tea curators. Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have five minutes more (or ten), we have one more hit.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Strange Plants.
Strange Plants‘ latest single, “Dance So Real,” takes listeners on a psychedelic rock journey, blending emotional depth with expansive musical landscapes. The track moves through riff-laden verses and trippy dream sequences before building to a soaring, no-holds-barred outro. Inspired by the raw energy of love at first sight, “Dance So Real” captures a moment of pure connection that marks the beginning of something lasting.
Produced by Rob Crowell (Sturgill Simpson, Midland), mixed by Josh Van Tassel (Rose Cousins, Bahamas, Donovan Woods), and mastered by John Baldwin (Brian Eno), the track showcases the band’s commitment to a vintage, analog sound. Recorded at Nashville‘s legendary Creative Workshop Studio, “Dance So Real” marks a standout moment in the band’s debut album, setting the tone for the rest of the record.
“Dance So Real” is taken from Strange Plants‘ forthcoming self-titled debut album, due out later this year.“Dance So Real” is about the magic of love at first sight. The song tells the story of that first meeting with my partner, Chelsea—her dancing like nobody was watching, her heart on her sleeve. That raw joy became the foundation for everything we have today. – bandleader Travis Flint
Stream + share “Dance So Real” now:
“Dance So Real” is about the magic of love at first sight. The song tells the story of that first meeting with my partner, Chelsea—her dancing like nobody was watching, her heart on her sleeve. That raw joy became the foundation for everything we have today. – bandleader Travis Flint
As a daily tea drinker; at least for caffeine round 2, I am delighted to participate in this break from the promotional norm. This morning I’m enjoying a cup of Taylor’s Green Tea with Lemon. It’s floral and fresh tasting.
To go with this cuppa, I’m spinning Goldie Boutilier’s new track King of Possibilities. Goldie is from our home province of Nova Scotia and seems to be on a serious ascent. My creative partner Travis picked this track, he is far cooler than I am and this helps expand my musical horizons so I don’t completely waste away into a musical black box that ends at 1992.
Right away I can see why Travis digs this tune; it has a really great groove, lo-fi (ish), and her voice is something else. It evokes Stevie Nicks and Tammy Wynette; delivered with a connection to the music and lyrics that’s completely authentic. Musically it’s really hard to ignore the Fleetwood Mac influence (?), I can hear Gold dust Woman and The Chain whispering in her ear.
However, sonically it’s a super rad rertro-modern production with an emphasis on drums and a perfectly overdriven wurli out front. This is all glued together with subversive bass movement, panned and alternating guitar riffs with some atmospheric soundscapes completing its aura. This was a great way to start the day, I really look forward to seeing her in person and will use this as chance to explore more of her work.
To finish my tea, I’ll share a lovely piece of work by a Halifax artist named Jack Bishop. Jack is a friend of Travis and has been doing some really big things across Canada with his unique art. I will periodically check his page to see what he’s been up to. His use of colour is always a treat and the way he creates depth with such flat imagery is really cool, using nothing but colours and contrast. His work always relaxes me and gives a little serotonin boost.
Tea + Me 