Kevin Howes is a two-time GRAMMY®-nominated producer, journalist, DJ, filmmaker, musician, and artist of settler/immigrant heritage, humbly and respectfully working out of Toronto, Ontario (Tkaronto). His most recent initiative is the grassroots/independent launch of Voluntary In Nature—birthed as an early online streaming mix for SNDNST/2Step, Tokyo, in 2006—as an “outlet for sharing” and artist-to-artist collaboration, fully conscious of the exploitation fuelling the music industry and striving for positive change, great equity, celebration, and awareness.
Contributing to and quietly influencing the Canadian music scene since the late 1990s, Howes has played a major role in shaping the extensive catalogue of well-respected US-based reissue label Light in the Attic Records on over 25 internationally acclaimed archival music projects. Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk, and Reggae 1967-1974, Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love: Motown’s Mowest Story, Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985, and Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology are key examples of his vision and dedication, realized through decades of travel, research, and connection.
Howes' book deep liner notes accompany Sixto Rodriguez's landmark Cold Fact and Coming From Reality reissues and those of rock giants Thin Lizzy. He has also helped to provide stages for artists at everything from side door after-hours parties to nationally broadcast events like the Native North America Gathering at Trinity-St. Paul's in 2017 and the 2 Rivers Remix/Native North America livestream gathering from the fall of 2021. As a DJ performing under the Sipreano moniker, Howes has lovingly supported the likes of Lee Perry (RIP), Paul Weller, Black Mountain, Destroyer, and Jennifer Castle, and had the immense privilege to play a handpicked selection of vintage vinyl records from his collection before the final concert by the 13th Floor Elevators at Levitation 2015 in Austin, Texas. Often compared to folklorist Alan Lomax and eccentric collector/curator Harry Smith, Kevin's work has been featured in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, CBC, NPR, and The New York Times.
Soldiering on through another year of the global pandemic, Howes is focused on Voluntary In Nature and the release of Wayne ’76 (VIN 001), Indian/Inuit Country (VIN 002), and Catseye (VIN 003), by Wayne McGhie, Willie Thrasher, and Catseye respectively, with more to follow…
LISTEN/SUPPORT: https://voluntaryinnature.bandcamp.com/
"You introduced me to a whole new world of records." - Nardwuar the Human Serviette
"Howes knows what people want, before they do." - Discorder Magazine
"The world in general, and Canadians in particular, owe an immense debt of gratitude to Kevin Howes." - Vancouver Folk Music Festival
You may notice some similarities between 2021 and this 2022 bio, well, it's been a slow stretch... Still, the reality of the past remains... We are human.
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