{"id":2361287,"date":"2026-04-06T18:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2361287"},"modified":"2026-04-06T18:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:33:33","slug":"conjure-hand-explores-funk-rock-direction-on-two-new-singles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/conjure-hand-explores-funk-rock-direction-on-two-new-singles\/","title":{"rendered":"Conjure Hand explores funk-rock direction on two new singles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Victoria and Vancouver Island have a lot of musical talent, and Victoria Buzz wants to highlight some of the best and brightest local artists and bands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every Monday, there will be a fresh \u2018New Music Monday\u2019 article to help people find and support local artists and bands that are up-and-coming, well established or hidden gems!<\/span><\/p>\n

For this endeavour, Victoria Buzz has partnered with our good friends at <\/span>CFUV 101.9 FM<\/b><\/a>, UVic\u2019s campus radio station, to find and select the musicians and bands for this regular column.<\/span><\/p>\n

To date, there have been 73 New Music Monday features published through this collaboration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This week, <\/span>Conjure Hand<\/b><\/a> is the New Music Monday highlight!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conjure Hand is comprised of AJ Kovar on vocals and guitar, Victor Horne on bass, Duncan Chisholm on drums, Arin Argus on guitar and Vincent Dupuis on keys.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since last speaking with Victoria Buzz<\/b><\/a>, the 1970s blues rock inspired band has been hard at work releasing two albums, touring and recording a couple of new singles they just released in March.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had these two songs that we had, that were written pretty early on, near the end of the <\/span>Spellbound Blues <\/span><\/i>sessions,\u201d Kovar explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two songs, \u201cBaby (I Won\u2019t Let Go)\u201d and \u201cMama I\u2019ll Walk My Way\u201d were both released on March 18th, and represent the last two songs with Dupuis on keys before that band transitions to a four-piece model.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While their music is often rooted in telling stories of Black history and lower class struggles throughout the Americas, Kovar and Argus say this doesn\u2019t limit them to problems that are unique to Black peoples\u2019 experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think these are a glimpse of the variety we have in store as a band\u2014we definitely have a feel-good side to our band, it\u2019s not all doom and gloom,\u201d said Kovar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that in not writing about something that\u2019s exclusively Black or BIPOC, it\u2019s to say that Black people and people of colour can just enjoy things and that\u2019s something that people sometimes forget\u2014it\u2019s not all about liberation, we just want to enjoy stuff like any other human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have normal love songs, normal girl problems or partner problems, just like anyone else,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Argus also noted that these two songs feel more spacious, which lets the elements of the song really pop and represent a taste of what is to come as the band continues to write and record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Highlight Track \u2013 \u201cBaby (I Won\u2019t Let You Go)\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kovar says that \u201cBaby (I Won\u2019t Let You Go)\u201d was inspired by the birth of his child, who is now two-years-old, and a couple of songs that really stuck with him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely influenced by a release called \u2018Humble Pie\u2019 by a man called Humble Pie, that and some early KISS,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the birth of my daughter was the biggest influence behind it. I just wanted to put those two artists together and that idea, and we kind of went with it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kovar added that the song began with a riff he wrote over two years ago and was waiting for something to put it to that felt right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI pulled the riff off my old cell phone and kind of sat on it for a while, then we were able to put it together with keys and stuff for a different vibe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He also noted that this song was the first collaboration with Nigerian choir singers who sang backup vocals on the track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Argus added that this song feels more like an exploration of pop and funk, as compared to the 70s hard rock sound they are normally rooted in.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second single released alongside this one, \u201cMama I\u2019ll Walk My Way\u201d was the first Conjure Hand track written and sung by Argus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe second song \u2018Mama I\u2019ll Walk My Way\u2019 is a song about rebellion and breaking away from an abusive family, and being disillusioned about freedom and being close to ending up on the streets,\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe song came to mind when I first moved to Victoria two years back and seeing a lot of the problems on the streets with drugs and homelessness being more visible here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This song aims at telling the story of how quickly one could lose everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out Conjure Hand\u2019s \u201cBaby (I Won\u2019t Let You Go)\u201d below:<\/span><\/p>\n