For Immediate Release
March 25, 2026
Awake & Dreaming Something to Believe In single artwork alt-rock Waterloo Ontario
Awake & Dreaming | Photo: Awake & Dreaming

Awake & Dreaming's "Something to Believe In" Rebuilt by Juno Winner Jay Dufour

Waterloo alt-rock band's guitar-driven anthem re-emerges with a new mix by 9× Juno Award winner Jay Dufour and mastering by João Carvalho (Rush, Tragically Hip)

"After all that I have done, give me something to believe in."

— The chorus that turns self-doubt into defiance

Sasha Kristoff vocalist Awake & Dreaming Something to Believe In
Awake & Dreaming

— "Something to Believe In" was always a song about refusing to quit. Now it sounds like it. Canadian alt-rock band Awake & Dreaming announces a newly mixed and mastered version of their second single, rebuilt from the ground up by two of the country's most accomplished audio engineers.

The single's self-directed music video—10,500+ views on YouTube—was filmed in the Canadian winter. Kristoff appears in a bright red dress against snow-covered landscapes—wearing custom waterproof white stockings to survive the shoot. In the video, she moves through the snow discovering coloured notes left behind by strangers: Keep Going. Prove Them All Wrong. You Control This. It's All Possible. At her most exhausted, there is no note waiting. So she musters her strength and writes her own—bright red, like her dress—and leaves it for the next person to find. Every note she discovered was someone else's struggle before hers. Now she's left her own for whoever comes next.

Originally released in May 2025, the track channeled that urgency into a guitar-riff-driven arrangement at 141 BPM—piano cutting through as relief against an increasingly driving rhythm. Each chorus adds weight: the guitar work grows more complex, more epic, more urgent with every pass. The new version sharpens every element. The guitars hit harder. The build is tighter. By the final chorus at the three-minute mark, the full force is unleashed—the moment the song stops asking for permission and starts demanding it.

The new mix was engineered by Jay Dufour, a 9-time Juno Award winner with 18 Billboard #1 singles, whose credits include July Talk's Juno-winning Touch, Finger Eleven, and Billy Talent. Mastering was handled by João Carvalho, the legendary engineer behind records by Rush, The Tragically Hip, Death From Above 1979, Alexisonfire, and Broken Social Scene.

This is the second Awake & Dreaming single to receive the Dufour/Carvalho treatment—following the January 2026 re-release of "I U Me." Together, the two tracks signal a band investing in the same production caliber as the artists they admire, building toward their debut album Inevitable, due summer 2026.

Production Credits

Jay Dufour

Mix Engineer
9× Juno Award Winner
18 Billboard #1 Singles
37 Gold/Platinum Records
July Talk • Finger Eleven • Billy Talent • James Barker Band

João Carvalho

Mastering Engineer
2,000+ Albums Mastered
Grammy-Nominated Engineer
Canada's Premier Mastering Studio
Rush • Tragically Hip • Alexisonfire • Broken Social Scene
Sasha Kristoff Awake & Dreaming red dress snow music video Something to Believe In
From the "Something to Believe In" music video
Awake & Dreaming alt-rock band Waterloo Ontario Canada
Awake & Dreaming
Sasha Kristoff bright red dress Canadian winter Something to Believe In music video Awake & Dreaming
From the "Something to Believe In" music video — filmed in Canadian winter

Track Information

Track: "Something to Believe In"
Artist: Awake & Dreaming
Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative
FFO: The Cranberries, Paramore, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
BPM: 141
Key: C# minor
Duration: 3:39
Original Release: May 9, 2025
Key Moment: Second chorus opens up at 1:58
Written by: Sasha Kristoff & Stefan Schneider
Mixed by: Jay Dufour
Mastered by: João Carvalho

About Awake & Dreaming

Awake & Dreaming is a four-piece alt-rock band from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Sasha Kristoff (vocals/keyboard), Stefan Schneider (guitar), Phil Lee (bass), and Ryan Dugal (drums) create music that builds from delicate piano into arena-scale walls of guitar—quiet moments that feel vulnerable, screams that feel earned. Their sound pairs dystopian urgency with blockbuster spectacle and glam-rock theatrics.

The band's name references Kristoff's Type 2 Narcolepsy—literally awake and dreaming—and a belief in aspiring toward something bigger. UK's AnalogueTrash has called their work "flawlessly future-proof"; Foxfire Magazine wrote they're "making moments people will want to go back to."

Notable Performances: Three Carole Pope co-bills (incl. El Mocambo, Toronto) • Canadian National Exhibition (Toronto, twice) • The Delancey (NYC) • Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto)

200K+
Spotify Streams
50+
Live Shows
3
Music Videos
4
Singles

Media Contact

Awake & Dreaming music.awake.and.dreaming@gmail.com
+1 (519) 871-1811
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Also from Awake & Dreaming: "I U Me" — Radio Re-Release Mixed by Jay Dufour (January 2026)

High-resolution photos, EPK, and additional press assets available upon request