If you’re not a musician then thinking about music really comes down to two things: “I like this,” or “I hate this.” Musical ignorance is bliss until you listen to a band like Pattern Is Movement. You might feel a little disoriented by what you’re hearing at first; which isn’t to say that Andrew Thiboldeaux’s voice isn’t soulful (it is), or that Chris Ward’s drumming leaves something to be desired (it doesn’t). No, it’s because this two-piece from Philly actually challenges you to pay close attention to their intricate, multi-layered pop songs, just in case you missed something the first 15 times around. We sat down with the ex-Evangelical Christians before their much anticipated gig at The Drake Hotel to talk about their first show together, how their music replaced their God, and that time ?uestlove blew their minds.

When I listen to Pattern is Movement, I picture the both of you wearing lab coats, like musical scientists. Do you consider your audience when you’re in the studio, or is musical experimentation more important?

CHRIS: I would say All Together was a little “lab coaty” because we’d never performed as a two-piece [PIM started as a five-piece], so we had no clue what those songs would sound like live. We just made those songs because we liked them and then they transformed live.

ANDREW: I think it’s a combination of both. We do things that we really like and then we also consider how to get lunch. Plus, I don’t think lab coats would look flattering on us. I feel like they would just bulge.

What’s the best way to appreciate PIM: at home with headphones on, or is it best to get the live experience?

ANDREW: When we made the last record, we definitely thought of it as something that you could appreciate at home, but lately we’ve been trying to fuse the two. We want to capture the energy of the live show on record.

Tell me about the first live show you played as a duo.

ANDREW: We’d been booked to play a college, and we were about a half-hour away from the venue when the promoter called and told us that the headliner had cancelled. Then he asked us whether we wanted to headline the show. We said no because we only had about 27 minutes of music to play. He then offered to double our money so we agreed. We learned a bunch of cover songs in the car. Our set was super shaky, but as soon as I started playing the opening riff of “Everything In Its Right Place,” the crowd’s response was awesome.

Is that how the cover song thing started?

ANDREW: Yeah, we’ve been covering something in every set since the very first show. It was just out of necessity at first, but now even as the band’s evolved, we’ve always made room for some covers.

Next thing you know, you’re playing a D’Angelo cover with ?uestlove…

CHRIS: Yeah… He was kind of stepping all over my beats, getting on my shit… No I’m kidding, it was the highlight of my life. If the band ends tomorrow I would be OK with it.

Did you ever imagine PIM in such an enviable position back in 2001?

ANDREW: No way. We’re surprised that there’s still a Pattern.

How much does your evangelical Christian background influence your music?

CHRIS: Music was a way to connect with god, and now music is a way to connect with individuals, so in sense we try to give all of ourselves in a show, and I think it comes from growing up around people who were giving themselves to God. I think for us, once God was taken out of the picture, art took its place. The whole mystical, spiritual side of life seems to manifest itself for us through art, instead of God. So I think the drama that we would watch in Church is still in us, and I feel like we’re exorcising that part of us when we play, but we’re using it for good because it’s fun! When we’re playing a really good show there’s definitely something going on.

What does the future look like for PIM. Will you be going in a new sonic direction?

CHRIS: I think we want more of an emotional sound on this next record. I feel like All Together was sort of devoid of emotion, which really worked, but I think for the next record we want something that sounds a little more live and in your face. Definitely more emotional which connects into our gospel background.

- Alex Hughes

In perhaps the ultimate sign that indie music has officially gone mainstream, Montreal husband and wife synthsters the Handsome Furs have teamed up with CNN to make Indie Asia, a short documentary of their recent tour in China. The four part series (and counting…) is a revealing look at a couple very much in love with music, with travel and with each other. We remember when Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei Perry emerged from the rubble of Wolf Parade’s (Boeckner’s other band) explosive debut, and were fighting to be known as more than just a WP side project. We have a feeling this might do the trick. Watch the first part of the series below, and the rest right here.

-Daniel Barna

More than 50 Canadian artists joined together last month to re-record K’Naan’s song, “Wavin Flag,” as a tribute to the people of Haiti. Calling themselves “Young Artists for Haiti,” the group — which includes Drake, Sam Roberts, Nelly Furtado and others — met up in a Vancouver recording studio to lay down the track and film an accompanying music video. The video was just released this week, and the track is also available to download on iTunes. Proceeds from all downloads will go toward War Child, Free the Children and World Vision — three humanitarian aid organizations who are helping those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. Check out the video below and visit iTunes to purchase the single and contribute to the cause.

Earlier this year we picked New York electro outfit LCD Soundsystem’s upcoming album as one of our most anticipated of 2010. Well if the anthem they debuted while performing at Yves Saint Laurent’s recent show at Paris Fashion Week is any indication, our selection will be more than justified. According to the band’s label, the song is a reinterpretation of “Beginning of The Heartbreak” a 1979 number by experimental composer Peter Gordon and The Love Of Life Orchestra. Coupled with YSL’s epic seventies-influenced collection, it’s also a sublime example of how the perfect song can elevate a fashion show to soaring new heights. Check out the video below.

-Daniel Barna

Matt Morris says country music has never been his thing. Growing up in Denver, his father, Gary Morris, was a successful country crooner who had a string of number one hits in the late eighties. And although Morris says his father influenced him in many ways, he assures you won’t find any country-twang on his latest album, “When Everything Breaks Open.” “I’m not really a country singer,” he says over the phone from Los Angeles. “And I’m gay, too…country radio doesn’t really show much love to the gay artists. It never really seemed like the right fit for me.”

Morris’ new album – which was released on January 12 – is a soulful, folk-rock record. His melodic, acoustic sound can be heard throughout, with a touch of playful-pop flavor. Morris says it has a lot of musical texture. “I would describe the sound of the album as eclectic, soul music,” he says. “To me, it is music that you’re meant to listen to with your heart, as well as your ears. It’s music that’s intended to hit you on all different levels.”

Morris has some major superstar power backing him up. The 30-year old musician/songwriter is signed under Tennman Records, which Justin Timberlake heads up. Morris and Timberlake first met when they were part of the Mickey Mouse Club in the late nineties, and since then have remained good friends. It was actually Timberlake who encouraged Morris to sign under his music label back in 2007. Timberlake is co-producer on the album and has said “Matt is kind of like Ray LaMontagne meets Elton John meets Stevie Wonder meets Rufus Wainwright…It’s time for the birth of the hybrid artist.”

For Morris, signing under his friend’s label was about working with someone who really believed in his music. “I signed under Tennman Records not because ‘Justin Timberlake the superstar’ was going to be the head of the label, but because Justin Timberlake my friend was going to help me make an album. I did this because I could trust him. I did this because I had faith he was going to do what he said he was going to do.”

Morris, who has penned songs for Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Kelly Clarkson, among others, says he is a performer first and foremost. Most recently, he sang on the Late Show with David Letterman, and the celebrity-packed telethon, “Hope for Haiti Now.” Morris, alongside Timberlake, performed a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

The humble artist says the timing feels right for the debut of his newest album. After taking a break from the industry to get married to his partner Sean, start a family, and buy a house, he feels he now has meaningful things to write and sing about. Morris says he is inspired by ordinary and beautiful things around him, and he hopes his songs touch people in a very real way. “You have listen to them. You have to give them a second. If you do give it a second, I think you’ll remember them. I think there’s a chance they may speak to you.” It’s a message this break-out artist hopes will resonate with his fans for years to come.

- Emily Anonuevo