Message from the Manager

"Conduct Becoming 2020: Take Me East" has been a long time coming. The COVID-19 global pandemic cut the school year off a month early and suddenly production, album design, and all finishing touches were split across provinces. Some of us graduated, some of us got full-time jobs, and most of us moved out of Sackville, but through teamwork and communication, we were still able to pull it off. Production moved online, and we used Zoom, Google Drive, email, and more to finish mixing, mastering, and album design remotely. And now, the year-long process is coming to a beautiful close.

In my four years as part of Conduct Becoming, this is the album of which I am most proud: this year, we had the largest group of artists on the album since 2012, for a total of 15 incredible tracks spanning a wide range of genres. Over the past few days, I’ve been listening to it nonstop, double- and triple-checking every track for quality, and when I’m not playing the songs, they’re constantly floating around in my head. I’m so grateful to have come to know this year’s diverse, talented, and resilient group of artists, and I’m so thrilled to be able to finally release this year’s album. So, to Anna, Amy, PJ, Melanie, Julia, Nick, David, Adelle, Graeme, Gill, Kawama, Sam, Ryu, Ben, and Shaina: thank you, thank you, thank you. You’ve made this year so unbelievably excellent, and I count myself so lucky that this year has been my last. I leave this album in Melanie’s extremely capable hands, and I can’t wait to see where the future takes you all.

With all my admiration and gratitude,

Clare Maguire
Album Manager, 2019, 2020
Co-Producer, 2018, 2019
Featured Artist, 2017

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Clare Maguire, Melanie Wry, and Shaina Kennedy for keeping things running; to Ben Volpe and David Dunham for being amazing producers; to James Anderson and CHMA 106.9 for providing mastering and the use of their beautiful production studio; to Darren Wheaton, Ducky’s Bar, and Joey’s Bar & Grill for facilitating great performances at excellent venues; to Mel’s Tearoom, Julia Dunn, and the organizers of Sackville’s Stereophonic XV // Cold Nights festival for a great January showcase; to the Argosy, the Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU), and Mount Allison University for their continued support; and to the warm, vibrant musical community of Sackville, NB, for being a place that this music can call home.

Jason Joseph Abraham was a senior student who died of cancer on March 27th, 2000. Since then, Conduct Becoming has served as a way to commemorate his loss and raise money for cancer research, while also celebrating musical diversity in Sackville, New Brunswick. As always, this project is “for Abes,” as well as those who have been affected by the disease.