Hamilton-based This Mad Desire’s new single was recorded during the pandemic and involved collaboration with musicians across North America. While attending online Toronto-based music conference Indie 101, singer Mackenzie Kristjon was recording the forthcoming album Open Hearts Open Minds. The album already featured collaborations with Dan Konopka (OK Go) in California and Leon Harrison (The Lazys) from Australia, and so Kristjon thought it might be fun to make it open to anyone who wanted something to do while in lockdown.
For the title track Open Hearts Open Minds released to streaming services on April 15, Kristjon involved singers from Vancouver to Cape Breton in Canada and from San Francisco to Philadelphia in the USA. Around 40 people reached out and around half actually submitted vocals.
The song itself was originally inspired by a parental rights’ organization who were looking for an anthem. They supplied hundreds of pages of documents of the most heart-wrenching stories of parental alienation. However, Mackenzie Kristjon decided to take it in a more universal direction about rising beyond challenges and opening hearts and minds to our shared humanity in all its various struggles. On the day the lead vocals were recorded, Kristjon even crowdsourced lines for the second verse on Facebook, which came from old friend Craig Norris, singer of the Kramdens and morning show host for the CBC in Kitchener-Waterloo.
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Recent praise for This Mad Desire…
I think [your blog about Operators Are Standing By*] is a must read for any independent musicians. I don’t know who to compare you to, the song was great and the video was awesome. I had so many questions, then I see your blog and it answered them all. Whenever I see an upper tier independent video that’s really well done like that, I wonder, “How did they put that together? How much did it cost? How did they get the actors?” etc. Thanks man!
-Brett Dawson, singer/songwriter, Soul of the River, American Songwriter
* https://www.stage32.com/blog/The-Surprising-Secrets-of-the-Success-of-a-Viral-Music-Video
Catchy tune, good vibe, sounds fresh, unique.
-Terry P, YouTube
I absolutely f’ing love your voice and music so much!
-Anonymous fan in Hamilton, Canada
LOVE IS A GLORIOUS THING by This Mad Desire is out everywhere! I’m a part of the transcontinental background chorus. The song is beautiful, catchy and uplifting. Give it to your Valentine, even if that’s yourself (I’m always my own Valentine bc there’s no one else in my spaceship except my mean cats who don’t like celebrating and I like it that way).
-Erica Corbo, singer-songwriter and member of Space Whale Orchestra, Philadelphia
Here’s an uplifting song making its debut in the world today! I met Mackenzie Kristjon last year at the Indie101 conference. A friendlier, more hardworking fella you would be heard-pressed to meet. Through the conference and beyond he gathered artists from around the world to sing on this great track. Kind of a modern “All You Need Is Love”! Super cool! So thanks Mac! You are a wealth of information and a networking inspiration! So spread the word of This Mad Desire and their fantastic new song, because after all…Love Is A Glorious Thing!
-Glen MacLeod, Crash World, Vancouver
Mackenzie Kristjon
thismaddesire.net
905.981.2373
LIFE IS TOO SHORT. ENJOY IT.
https://instagram.com/thismaddesire
