Fanshawe alumni band ‘Lost In Japan’ win Canada-wide award

‘Lost In Japan,’ an Indie-pop band formed while enrolled in Fanshawe’s Music Industry Arts (MIA) program, has won Corus Entertainment Radio’s second annual $20,000 Summer Song Contest with their single, Lonely.

The quartet – Addison Johnson (vocals and guitar), Chris Hoekstra (lead guitar), Karl Von Estorff (bass) and James Wiseman (drums) – graduated from the MIA program in 2017 and have since released a self-titled album, followed by EPs called Somedays and Ghost & The Wolf.

“This is insane news to us. Winning this award is going to help us in so many ways,” says Johnson. “We always put a lot of love into our songs and it’s nice to see that pay off.”

Juno-winning producer and MIA program coordinator Dan Brodbeck produced and mixed Lonely at Sugar Shack Studios in London. He says supporting the band and “keeping it in the MIA family” means a lot.

“This is such a great opportunity for this talented and up-and-coming group,” says Brodbeck. “I always enjoy keeping track of and collaborating with our graduates. I love how bands forming in MIA and moving onto great things is starting to become the norm. It’s music to my ears.”

This summer, Corus Radio stations across the country asked Canadian singers, bands and musicians to submit their original song for a chance to win the grand prize of $20,000. A panel of Corus Radio judges selected the top 10 performances before putting the finalists to a public vote to determine the winner.

During their brief career, the band has also won the Free 98.1fm Made in London contest and the Jim Beam Make History Talent Search and performed at the New Year’s Bash at Victoria Park and Rock the Park.

Earlier this year, the band was also featured in both the ’Quaran-tunes’ Spotify playlist and the Fanshawe Alumni Featured Artist campaign.

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