We look for connection everywhere.

It's why we're on our smartphones constantly. It's why we listen to music. It's why we go to church. It's why we get married. It's why we wake up in the morning. No matter how civilized we become, there's an innate inclination towards tribalism. That yearning won't be pacified until it's satiated or satisfied by the embrace of a tribe either.

Halifax-born and Vancouver-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jon Bryant explores the conundrum of connection on his full-length debut for Nettwerk, Cult Classic.

"Over the past few years I've really become a skeptic. Thanks to social media, politics, religion and news media, etc.," he explains. "Many songs on the album reflect that skepticism and emphasize the ways I've evolved as both a writer and person; spiritually, mentally and emotionally."

The artist's personal path simultaneously twisted and turned in the most unexpected of ways, eventually leading him from Seattle to Vancouver. New in town, Bryant sought connection, so he joined an undisclosed organization at the urging of a close friend who also belonged to this -- we'll call it a "group."

Joshua Hyslop

Joshua Hyslop is a modern folk musician, an amalgam of influence in the classically romantic tradition of Damien Rice, Iron and Wine, and Sufjan Stevens. Like the said ballyhooed folksters before him, Joshua is inspired to write largely as a result of the people and relationships surrounding him, while also subjecting his songs to his own vulnerabilities, doubts, and conflicts. He integrates these revelations with his agenda of lyrical candidness, creating an expressive and open artform.