When this blog began over six years ago, it was a rather humble affair.  Wanting to bore my friends less by drowning Livejournal in my music babble, I took it to its own home, allowing them to immerse at will.  It also allowed me to expand my exploration of music and the love of mix creation in a more public forum.

Music has always been a social lubricant, in that it has been a means of communication from a young age.  For all of my wordsmith ways, there are many times that mere words have failed me.  In times of great joy and sorrow alike, music has always stood at the ready with that perfect line or few.  As Stephan Jenkins once so aptly described, “The four right chords could make me cry.”  And they do.

Last year — rather unexpectedly — this blog exploded into a new social beast, one wherein the dialogue became wide open.  Strangers wanted to share their thoughts on music; artists wanted to share their creations and be heard.  I embraced this with gusto: after all, it was merely the amplification of my innate desire to find new music and share the best of it with others.  I ran myself ragged around my day job to shoot, scribble and post reviews of many a live gig.  I connected with radio and now spotlight Canadian gems weekly.  I spun a lot of albums on my morning and evening commutes, tapping notes into my Blackberry as I prepped CD and EP reviews.

At a recent show, I stood with OTM’s photographer of occasion/my best friend in the planet and thought, “I really would just rather be listening to this.”  I’m certain any music writer has expressed moments where the more job-like aspects can spoil the true musiclove that motivated the decision to write in the first place.  Planning and executing a very DIY wedding this April certainly didn’t help matters.  My passion and committment to the music had not wavered; however, I also needed to have days to merely be a fan.

I ultimately decided that I need more sets of ears and a shift in approach.  This is where the announcements kick in.

OTM will be changing for the better in the coming months.  For myself, this means the decision to skip formal coverage of NXNE 2013, which doesn’t pain me much, as the line-up isn’t wowing me like last year.  OTM will be returning to greater coverage of album and EP reviews, as well as more rapid-fire “check it out” spotlights of tracks that we dig.  We’re also going to weave a little more mainstream coverage back into the mix, but fear not:  indie is our first love.

To further enhance that coverage, please welcome our new Metal Guru.  Dan will be delivering a monthly burst of album and show reviews, offering his expert headbanging thoughts on the latest and greatest.  While I am certainly an appreciator of the genre, I’m hardly an expert.  I look forward to Dan’s contributions.

We’ll also be featuring a monthly round-up of the best finds on 2020k‘s radar.  An established blogger and musician in his own right, we look forward to his stellar spins.  OTM, in turn, will be slipping across the internet to offer a round-up of indie gems for 2020k.

Last, look for a monthly round-up of our spotlight tracks on The Green Majority.  For those of you not already enjoying the podcast, we hope you’ll savour the gems we’re launching into the radiosphere.

Other changes are forthcoming (equipment upgrades; an official logo for the site), but the content is the crux of it and deserves a formal spotlight.  I am so excited to steer OTM into its sophomore year as an indie blog for the masses.  Subscribe, follow us on Twitter or Facebook and be ready to feast upon great new music, passion-driven commentary and, as always, the music.  After all, it’s our universal language.

With Musiclove,

Amber Waves