Manu Grace & Current Joys Share Covers For Secretly Canadian’s 25th Anniversary

Today, Secretly Canadian continues its 25th Anniversary campaign with the release of two stirring SC25 Singles, courtesy of Current Joys and Manu Grace. Centered around a charitable mission to aid every homeless family in Secretly’s hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, each installment in the year-long series of 25 songs, covers and collaborations helps to connect the record label’s past and present to a freshly-imagined future. For both of the latest SC25 Singles, formative pieces of music have been reinterpreted by brand new friends. Recent Secretly Canadian signee Current Joys puts his own quavering, cathartic touch on Antony and the Johnsons’ “Shake That Devil,” an exorcistic cut from the ANOHNI-led, longtime Secretly Canadian group, while South African singer, songwriter and “sensitive pop” artist Manu Grace delivers a spacious take on David Bowie’s version of The McCoys’ “Sorrow.”

Listen to Current Joys’ “Shake That Devil” and Manu Grace’s “Sorrow,” with all net proceeds benefiting Secretly Canadian’s fundraising goal of $250,000 for New Hope For Families, the only organization that offers Bloomington families the chance to shelter together, inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities. 

“Shake That Devil” and “Sorrow” mark the 9th and 10th releases of SC25 Singles, following contributions from Jim James, Madison McFerrin, NNAMDÏ, Beach Fossils, Skullcrusher, Green-House, Porridge Radio and Stella Donnelly – revisit them all HERE. 

On covering Antony and the Johnsons for SC25, Current Joys’ Nick Rattigan says, “I picked ‘Shake That Devil’ because there is a folk-like quality to the song. The lyrics are simple yet profound. I think even with transforming the arrangement to an extreme, the lyrics still penetrate any form the song takes on. In between the beats, there is still a meditation on overcoming the obstacles of self.” 

“‘Sorrow’ is a classic Four Chord Wonder,” adds Manu Grace. “I felt it left a world of space for interpretation, in terms of instrumentation and production. I chose to keep it quite sparse, leading with the strong vocal melody and storytelling of the original, and creating space around the main vocals. There are three songs that I associate with my mother – those songs that somehow hold so much, in terms of memory and connection. ‘Sorrow’ is one of them. I’m pretty sure music is my love language, and I’m even more certain that it isn’t hers, so on the rare occasion that we connect over music, it feels especially magic.” 

In addition to SC25 Singles, Secretly Canadian has been celebrating their 25th Anniversary and furthering the SC25 mission through the release of SC25 Editions, a reissued collection of 12 classic albums that have defined and redefined the label’s history since it launched out of a Bloomington basement back in 1996. Arriving in groups of four titles throughout 2021, the second of three batches of SC25 Editions includes ANOHNI‘s HOPELESSNESS, Damien Jurado‘s Where Shall You Take Me?, Here We Go Magic‘s A Different Ship and Richard Swift‘s Dressed Up For the Letdown, out September 3rd as limited edition, specially packaged new LPs. Previous SC25 Editions include reissues of essential records from Jens Lekman, Tig Notaro, The War on Drugs and Whitney, with all net proceeds benefiting New Hope For Families. 

Pre-order SC25 Editions HERE, and check out the Secretly Canadian Art Team’s installment of Secretly Frequencies, a bi-weekly playlist curated by a rotating crew of Secretly employees, artists and collaborators: https://ffm.bio/sc25 

On September 9th, Secretly Canadian will also commemorate its 25th anniversary in-person at the company’s Bloomington Headquarters, teaming with Ghostly International, Numero Group and fellow Secretly Group labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar to kick off the Paved Paradise tour. Equal parts pop-up shop, block party and roadside fruit stand, Paved Paradise will bring a traveling expo of music and finely-curated records from each of the five labels across 15 cities this fall. Find the full list of dates HERE, and stay tuned for more news on local programming, exclusive collaborations and SC25 tie-ins.