In the magazine November 2012

DIY’s Canadian extravaganza, featuring Grimes, Fucked Up, Japandroids and more! Plus Deftones, Rolo Tomassi and Ben Gibbard.

Canada. Home to some of the greatest names in modern music. The kind of artists that no record collection can be without. True legends. But enough about Avril and Sum 41.

Our Canuck chums have given us far more than their fair share of greats. From Arcade Fire to Death From Above 1979, to this year’s blog darling Grimes, if you think of your favourite bands, some are bound to be Canadian. That’s why we packed our bags and headed to this year’s Polaris Music Prize ceremony to find out exactly how they produce so many awesome acts, and if there’s anything we Brits can learn.

Elsewhere DIY talks to Alt-J and The Maccabees on the even of the Mercury Prize celebrations, discovers the story behind new albums from Deftones, Ben Gibbard, We Are The Physics and Rolo Tomassi, and runs the rule over all the latest new releases.