BORNA ATRCHIAN (he/him)

Born and based in Vancouver but raised in Halifax, Borna has experienced two thirds of Canada’s coasts. With brief contributions to Discorder and Grayowl Point, he now struggles to meet publishing deadlines at DOMINIONATED. He also plays the guitar and keys so hit him up if you’re a Vancouver band on the verge of becoming famous. Follow Borna on Instagram @bornaatr.

MACKENZIE CAMERON (he/him)

Mackenzie Cameron is a co-founder of DOMINIONATED, a lover of music, a pusher of buttons, an early riser, an amateur musician and a full-time listener. It’s all gravy. He lives in Toronto and you can find him @mackenziecmrn on both Twitter and Instagram.

JIM DI GIOIA (he/him)

Jim started the music blog Quick Before It Melts in 2006 and has been engaging in music conversations ever since. In 2016, he ended Quick Before it Melts and co-founded DOMINIONATED, its spiritual successor. He's serves on the Polaris Music Prize and Prism Prize juries, and frequently deletes unfunny tweets and photos of his cats from his home in Niagara Falls.

DANIEL FIELD (he/him)

Daniel spends most of his time as a special education teacher and father of three young children. He spends what little free time he has left creating ambient music as Kilometre Club and completing large puzzles on his kitchen table in Toronto.

ALYSSA GELATA (she/her)

Alyssa had a tough time deciding between music and writing so now she does both (sometimes at the same time!). She’s a bassist to her core and probably drinks too much coffee. She lives in Waterloo and hangs out on Twitter and Instagram.

BRIAN GROSS (he/him)

Brian Gross was born in Los Angeles 75 days before the Stonewall riots. He has wrangled the details of his front-row view of LGBTQ2S+ developments since then... into song (as TestTubeBaby), performance art (leading the STIFF Ensemble... often naked, sometimes licking his audience), composing for modern dance, etc. In 2004, he fled the States to Canada (via Indonesia) on account of DOMA. He's been able to funnel lots of government funding into Metro Vancouver peer-led harm reduction and Indigenous revitalization initiatives, and he's a counsellor, in addition to continuing to spew.

MATT HERTENDY (he/him)

Matt is an Ottawa-born/Toronto-based photographer, designer and visual storyteller. His favourite thing about music is album artwork, promo shots and gig photos — and uh, the music is pretty cool too. Other interests include sport mascots, hot dog adjacent miscellany, humour, and finding perfect slow cooker recipes. Matt is on Twitter @matthertendy and Instagram @hertndee.

TIA JULIEN (she/her)

Tia Julien is a writer, musician, and ethnomusicologist based in Toronto. She likes going fast on her bike, befriending trees, and leaving paintings half finished. She copes with existence by writing songs about things that have happened. You can find Tia on Twitter @tiaajulien and Instagram @tia.alandra.

WEADEE MOMBO (she/her)

Weadee is a professional concert goer, full time student and lover of art. When she's not on the track doing long jump, hosting her weekly radio show at CJAM or singing to her plants, she can be found in bed curled up with a good book. Currently based in Tours France.

WEAJUE MOMBO (she/her)

Weajue is a full-time hermit hiding away in the nooks of Toronto and Windsor. When she's not obsessively listening and discovering new music, she spends her time drawing, reading and training as a triple jumper. She also happens to have a twin, who shares her Instagram account.

MYLES TIESSEN (he/him)

Myles was born and raised in southern Manitoba and after finding his way to the big city, snatched a degree in Communications & Media. Since Winnipeg is ice for seven months of the year, Myles spends much of his time at concerts in bars or a friend's house chatting about newly discovered records and shit-talking Kim Mitchell. Based on his fellow contributor's bios, you probably already guessed he listens to pretty much any type of music. Oh, he also has a deep passion for science fiction novels. Follow Myles on Twitter @myles_tiessen.

ANTON ASTUDILLO (he/him)

Anton is a writer born and raised in Manila, Philippines. He moved to Vancouver as a teenager committed to playing drums with anyone he could find. You can find him reading a novel or struggling to learn to kickflip.

MICHAEL BEDA (he/him)

Michael Beda was born and bred up in the whimsical northern town of Timmins, Ontario. He is a national champion in Quidditch (seriously, ask him about it yourself), and has taken a seat behind the drums in a variety of groups in different townships. He's currently based in Toronto and is on Twitter @michaelbeda and Instagram @michaelbeda.

JACOB JAMES BEWS (he/him)

Jacob James Bews is a freelance writer from Longview, Alberta currently bouncing between family in Calgary and in Mexico City. He enjoys reading all the time, preferably around cats, and spends idle time listening to cool tunes. Jacob also likes magpies and spruce trees. He reviews horror movies on his Substack, Blood Curds, and you may find him on Instagram and Twitter s as @catmilkremedies.

SCOTT GUBB (he/him)

Based in Timmins, Scott has been involved with music through promotion, production and management since high-school and has been hung-up on music as long as he can remember. He does not play any instruments. Follow Scott on Instagram.

SEBASTIAN JOHNSTON-LINDSAY (he/him)

Sebastian is currently the Coordinating Editor of Arthur Newspaper in Peterborough, Ontario. He is also a PhD candidate, radio host, and union steward. In what spare time he has, he can be found listening to Blue Jays or Dodgers games, attending local shows, or walking the many trails of his adopted city. He can be found posting infrequently on Twitter and Instagram, and his past radio exploits can be found on Mixcloud.

EM MOORE (she/her)

Em is a freelance writer and podcaster based somewhere within the vast expanse of the GTA in Ontario. She is an editor at Punknews and you can tell the punk rock bug bit her early because she listens to music way too loud. If you see her with headphones in, she’s probably listening to Single Mothers. Em loves to read and will one day write something that will knock the socks off of both Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. You can find Em in mosh pits around Toronto (when transit works in her favour) as well as on Instagram at @eemmoore and on Twitter at @eeemmoore.

JON NEHER (he/him)

Jon plays in too many bands, but he’s working on that. Jon also wants people to talk about the music they listen to in greater detail and he’s working on that too, whether it’s through his work as an artist, as an educator, or as a writer. He's from Regina SK and you can follow him on Twitter @Jon_Neher.

SOPHIE NOEL (she/they)

Sophie is a words enthusiast who spends time in Vancouver, the Yukon, and (primarily, these days) Halifax. She simply cannot choose a coast or even latitude to save her life. She makes music under the moniker Magnolia, goes on poorly planned but fun adventures with her dog Rookie, and hasn't used her science degree even once. Follow Sophie on Instagram @srophie.

GOEFF PARENT (he/him)

Geoff Parent is an aspiring writer/musician who lives in Toronto. He hopes to one day complete the gene sequence of dinosaur DNA using that of a frog’s in order to open a prehistoric biological preserve off the coast of Costa Rica. He plays drums in a band called Somersaulter. Follow Geoff on Instagram @geoff.parent.

MACKENZIE SMEDMOR (they/them)

Mackenzie Smedmor is a musician, broadcaster, and writer based in Montréal. They fell in love with Canadian music when they started volunteering in community radio at age 15. Mackenzie has served on the Polaris Music Prize jury since 2018, and is a proud Aries.

LAURA STANLEY (she/her)

Laura is a freelance writer from Toronto. Her work has appeared in Exclaim!, NOW, Bandcamp, She Shreds, No Depression and more. She has a lot of feelings. Follow her on Twitter @LStanley24.

DAISY SWAIN (she/her)

Born and raised in Alberta, Daisy’s first memory of music is listening to Shania Twain in her childhood home. Since then, her love for music has taken many forms. While completing her degree in graphic design at the Alberta University of the Arts, she began hosting her show “Hot Trax” on Calgary's CJSW 90.9FM and did so for over three years. Now based in Toronto, Daisy works full-time at an advertising agency and still loves Shania.

DYLAN TAYLOR (he/him)

Dylan owns drumsticks and will use them if given the chance. He lives in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta.

MICHAEL THOMAS (he/him)

Michael is the founder of the now-defunct Canadian music blog Grayowl Point, and will probably never stop loving Canadian music. He is a court reporter based in Vancouver who also does improv in his spare time and enjoys talking about comedy podcasts and the Toronto Blue Jays. Follow Michael on Twitter @mceethomas.

VALIE (she/her)

For $0 a month you can dedicate your life to Valie. Not only can you read her music reviews here at DOMINIONATED, you can listen to her radio show on CiTR and stream her music on all platforms too! Call 1-800-VALIE right now and, for no additional fees, get exclusive access to her resume as she tries to figure out what jobs she can get with a creative writing degree! Valie is based in Vancouver and you can follow her on Twitter @Valievalievalie and Instagram at @valievalievalie.

HILLARY JEAN YOUNG (they/them)

Hillary has their doctorate in contemporary music performance, which is about as useful as it sounds. Hillary works for a record label during the day and spends the rest of their time either making, listening to or talking about music. Hillary is from Victoria but is currently living in Toronto and really misses the ocean. You can follow Hillary on Instagram @mcbuckwheat.