Information/Write-up
The Spark That Lit a Scene
Before Sloan made the cover of Rolling Stone. Before Sarah McLachlan was a household name. Before Halifax was crowned “the next Seattle.” There was Out of the Fog.
Released in the fall of 1986, Out of the Fog was the first compilation LP to document Halifax’s scattered underground music scene—a vibrant, ragtag constellation of punk bands, synth acts, goth experimenters, rockers, and misfits. At a time when there were few venues, barely-functioning campus radio, and almost no records coming out of Nova Scotia’s capital, this album was both a rallying point and a defiant declaration: Halifax had something to say.
Curated by the short-lived but influential Flamingo Records—an offshoot of the legendary Club Flamingo, then just opening its doors—the compilation gathered 13 local bands across a stunning variety of genres. From the hardcore sneer of False Security to the haunted tones of October Game (featuring a young Sarah McLachlan), from Jellyfishbabies' power-pop surge to Roland Blinn’s sardonic “Flamingos My Love,” Out of the Fog distilled a decade of basement shows, jam sessions, and Backstreet Amusements hangouts into one crackling 12-inch document.
Most of the recordings were cut live off the floor at City Studios in the Brewery Market, engineered by Mark Clifford. The record was financed DIY-style, through a string of fundraiser gigs under the “Metro Music Compilation Project” banner. Only 1,000 copies were pressed—and nearly 40 years later, original copies are holy grails among collectors.
What makes Out of the Fog so enduring isn’t just its rarity, or even the fact that it featured early tracks by artists who would later reach national fame. Its real importance lies in what it made possible. The LP signaled to the rest of Canada—and to Halifax itself—that there was a legitimate, original music culture here, even if it didn’t look like the mainstream. It laid the groundwork for CKDU’s rise as a tastemaker station, for subsequent compilations like Cod Can’t Hear and Never Mind the Molluscs, and for a fertile 1990s explosion of East Coast creativity.
Though many of the bands had already split up by the time the record hit shelves, Out of the Fog offered permanence to a moment that could have easily evaporated. Its influence is echoed in the lineage of bands and venues that followed—bands that knew they didn’t have to leave Halifax to be taken seriously, and venues that understood their role as cultural incubators.
Long before music was algorithmic and digital, Out of the Fog was a mix-tape for a city in bloom. It gave voice to the voiceless, visibility to the invisible, and stitched together a scene that still resonates today.
-Robert Williston
Produced by Moritz Gaede (track A1); Mark Clifford (tracks A3 to B6); and Jim Parker (track B2)
Engineered by Mark Clifford at City Studios, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Recorded at City Studios, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Reel Time Recorders
Jacket design and artwork by Larry Burke
Photography by Catherine Hatt, J. MacFawn, Maya Swannie, Peter J. Rockwell, and Alex Murchison
Includes a folded insert
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