VA - Friends in Bellwoods 2 [2CD Set] (2009)

In 2006, Ohbijou's Casey Mecija and her bandmate, James Bunton, knew it was time to document and showcase some of the music being created in her home on Bellwoods Avenue in Toronto. In an attempt to render a "digital diary of the house", the pair curated the first Friends in Bellwoods compilation later that year. Their keen sense of changes taking place in the neighborhood, and their relation to the gentrifying forces at work, led them to consider the geographic connection between the house and a heavily trafficked food bank. As a result, all proceeds from the original and the second compilation go to The Daily Bread Food Bank. The compilations have raised over $40,000 since their release.

Friends in Bellwoods II operates as an archival document that beautifully arrests and captures the sound of a moment in the city's history. It features rare and unreleased tracks from acclaimed artists such as Final Fantasy, Forest City Lovers, The D'Urbervilles, Great Lake Swimmers, The Acorn, Sandro Perri, Basia Bulat, Timber Timber, Katie Stelmanis and Ohbijou. Many of the songs were recorded in the house; listen carefully and you might hear the detailing of the house's life recorded-a window creaking, a kettle boiling, the resident dog shuffling, the constant rotation of friends and musicians that continue to animate a small bungalow on Bellwoods Avenue.