5 inspirations Yukon musicians Zachary Pelland and Amber Palmer keep going back to

This story is a part of a web series called Music that Matters with CBC Yukon's Airplay host Dave White. Dave will sit down with Yukoners and talk about music that inspires them.

Yukon is home to a vibrant and varied music scene, but what inspires all of these different people to create?

Well, music, obviously. 

So Dave White, the host of CBC's Airplay, has decided to invite Yukon musicians into the studio to talk about the five songs they keep coming back to for inspiration.

Like a lot of Yukon musicians, Zachary Pelland and Amber Palmer play in a number of bands. So they were anxious to join us for the first edition of Music that Matters.

The first song they picked was Under The Pressure by War On Drugs.

I used to be one of those kids who tried to find underground music and the moment it became popular, I said no.- Amber Palmer

"It's the same two chords the whole ... time," said Pelland​​​​. "It starts with a drum machine and then real drums, the good synths and guitar."

"The first time I heard that song was a week before we played our first gig together, and we played that song," said Palmer. "I said, 'Zach, you need to give me something simple,' and he said, 'here's six notes, have a blast.'"

The next track Palmer and Pelland picked is Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala.

"Someone recommended Tame Impala to me because I started recording some demos on my old tape machine and they said, 'This guy makes music at home, check it out,' and I said, 'Damn,'" said Pelland.

"Just the fact it's a dude in his house with all his stuff and he creates something as rad as this ... it's inspiring," said Palmer.

"We just took a road trip through British Columbia and we listened to Rush, all of it, from the start," said Pelland.

"I felt really bad because when we were driving back we were listening to the last album, and I didn't want it to end," said Palmer.

This song, Xanadu, also makes Pelland long for a double-neck guitar.

"I used to listen to a lot of Grizzly Bear when I was in college," said Palmer. "I used to be one of those kids who tried to find underground music and the moment it became popular, I said no."

"I really like the arrangements and the production behind the songs," said Pelland.

For their final selection, Palmer and Pelland have selected a song they found on a record in the Mount Lorne dump.

"We found this one called The Demis Roussos Magic," said Palmer. "We put in on and it just divulged into this crazy funk jam."

"I was never one for the over-excessive use of vibrato, even though I was a huge Styx fan as a kid," said Pelland. "But there's something about this one song."