Tag: Music

Categories
Music

Olivia Khoury is making the most of Montreal

Singer-songwriter Olivia Khoury’s journey in the music industry has proven that her potential is limitless

Meet Olivia Khoury, the 24-year-old product of Montreal’s diverse music scene and F.A.C.E. Elementary & High School — a Montreal school with a prestigious arts program. She is now a third-year Concordia student in the Jazz Studies program, with a specialization in voice, and is expecting to graduate this spring. The interdisciplinary artist plays guitar, ukulele, sings, and once dabbled in oboe back in high school.

“I associate myself as a Montrealer but I’m still grappling with finding myself as Canadian, because I don’t have any roots in Quebec,” said Khoury. As a first generation Canadian, Khoury navigates her cultural identity by remaining uncommitted to any sole sound. With one parent from the Caribbean and another from Lebanon, Montreal is still home for her, as it is a world of its own. “I feel more linked to the city because it’s multicultural,” she said.

As a creative, Khoury’s biggest year of successes came in 2019, when the singer performed at  les FrancoFolies event “En route pour la gloire.” As a finalist, she sang at Place des Arts in downtown Montreal and performed her French composition, “Lumières.”

Following the festival, she attended the Summer Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation workshop in Gaspésie in August 2019. As the summer came to a close, that September saw her cut a few classes to perform at the Toronto Undergraduate Jazz Festival, something she described as “an excuse to do a mini tour.”

Upon returning home, Khoury admittedly became depressed after coming off a great time in Ontario. At one point she considered dropping out of school, citing trouble doing day-to-day life. However, it was a nomination by one of her professors for the Oscar Peterson Jazz Scholarship that reinvigorated her to keep pushing through that year. At Concordia, the faculty chooses students to compete within the school for a bursary and a performing spot at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. Khoury later won the faculty competition and took home the bursary.

With the victory fresh in mind, she embarked on a one semester exchange at Kingston University in London, England. Right around then, COVID-19 hit and she was forced to return home early due to lockdown. Though locked in, she found solace in having creative pressure removed from her shoulders.

“I was relieved to not have to produce anything creatively,” she explained. 

The performance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal has yet to happen because of COVID-19.

In 2020, Khoury was able to release three music videos, including two clips from the same live session at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, near Concordia. As the new year begins, she is looking forward to her latest music project, latin folk band Dos Pesos. While plans for the project initially fell apart due to COVID-19 shutdowns, she still sees a light at the end of the tunnel and hopes to debut performing with the band sometime in the near future.

Alongside the paused band project, Khoury is collaborating on a new song with fellow Concordia student Emma June Huebner with the benefit of a Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) special project grant. The song is expected to be released in early 2021 featuring a live video version filmed by Khoury’s partner, Alex Beausejour.

“It’s very folky, less jazz,” said Khoury. In her approach to the track, she appreciates the liberty that comes with creating something that is not as demanding as a full length album, but brings collaboration in a time of separation. “Both of us are feeling isolation, artistically speaking.”

With things expected to get better in 2021, Khoury is not going to shortchange her desire to continue creating, saying that “Art feels like more of a necessity than a plan.” Now in her numbered days at Concordia, Khoury is working with plenty of collaborators, such as fellow student Adrien Poulin and Khoury’s cousin, Lia Jureidini who is doing the single’s artwork.

Aside from the collaborative project, Khoury is also in the midst of planning and putting together an EP on her own terms with the help of Montreal producer Jesse Mac Cormack. Even with her eponymous first EP from 2017, Olivia Khoury, she considers this new EP in the works to be a more formal debut for her music that will require some more planning and contemplation. While planning her next project, she has mused the potential directions to take, pondering, “It feels weird for me to stick to one genre or one thing, that’s why I haven’t released another EP so soon, I’ve really been reflecting on that, what genre it is. Is it going to be jazz?”

With a resume that speaks for itself, Khoury now sits upon a growing body of work and accolades, but she is not resting on her laurels as a creative. Regardless of what 2021 holds in store for the world, if there is a certainty to be had it is that Olivia Khoury is going to continue creating.

“It’s inconceivable for me to live a life without art,” she said. With a plethora of new projects in the works in music and other forms of art, she is ready to take things as they come.

While nothing is definitive yet, Khoury is still moving forward, saying, “If music is my plan in life, music doesn’t feel like a plan, it’s always been with me, just like dance, just like being creative in general.”

Categories
Opinions

Sia’s new movie is dangerous and offensive

Why activists are calling Sia’s Music ableist

Australian vocal powerhouse Sia’s directorial debut Music has finally been released, despite the fact that many wish it hadn’t.

The film stars Kate Hudson as Zu, a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the guardian for her autistic half-sister, Music (Maddie Ziegler). Over the course of the film, Zu learns to take care of Music with the help of Ebo (Leslie Odom Jr.), and musical sequences take place inside Music’s mind showing how she sees the world.

On the surface, the film might look like the perfect recipe for positivity, great musical sequences, and representation. After all, the autism community is typically portrayed in only one way: a savant white man who is awkward with women (Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor). Sia also called the film “A love letter to caregivers and to the autism community,” and claimed she spent three years researching for the film. And yet Music, and Sia, are still being called out for ableism.

The most obvious issue with the film is the casting. In case you were unaware, Maddie Ziegler is not autistic. Ziegler and Sia first collaborated in 2014 for the singer’s viral “Chandelier” music video and Ziegler went on to star in eight other Sia music videos, tour with the singer, and perform with her on shows like SNL, Ellen, and The Tonight Show.

Despite this longtime collaboration, Sia said, “I actually tried working with a beautiful young girl [who was] non-verbal, on the spectrum, and she found it unpleasant and stressful. So that’s why I cast Maddie … Casting someone at [the character’s] level of functioning was cruel, not kind, so I made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community. … I did try. It felt more compassionate to use Maddie.”

In a video about the film, Paige Layle, a young autistic woman who has over two million followers on TikTok said, “What Sia should be promoting is accommodating autistic people,” and, “If you’re saying that anyone can act autistic, it’s just acting … you need to recognize your own ableism there, and why you think that autistics are not good enough at being autistic on their own, that they need to fit your level of what autism looks like and they need to perform to what you know.”

Ziegler’s performance has also been called a caricature of autistic body language. One Twitter user explained that:

“It is deeply reminiscent of the exaggerated mannerisms non-autistic people often employ when bullying autistic and developmentally disabled people for the ways we move. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the ways autistic people move, or the ways we make facial expressions. Some of us roll our eyes and put our teeth over our lips as a stim or just because it’s comfortable. But we do those things naturally. Maddie Ziegler does not. The fact thneoat Ziegler is not autistic, and the fact that her performance is so heavily exaggerated, turns the entire movie into one long display of mockery.”

On the first day of filming, Ziegler, who was 14 at the time, reportedly cried, worried that people would think she was making fun of them, to which Sia promised her, “I won’t let that happen.” 

The film has also been criticized for using the character of Music as a prop. David Fear for Rolling Stone called it “a sort of neurodivergent equivalent of a Magical Negro.” While doing press for the film, an interviewer even compared the non-verbal Music to an inanimate object, to which Sia agreed.

“There is a caricature of autistics which relies on depicting us as headphone-wearing, gaping innocents who are symbols of purity there to remind us of selfless sacrifice,” said autistic teen Niko Boskovic in an essay.

The other massive issue raised by activists has been a scene in the film that shows Music being forcibly restrained by Zu and Ebo who “crush her with their love.”

“[Music] doesn’t just promote harmful stereotypes about autistic people — it shows restraints that have killed members of our community as necessary and loving acts,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

In response, Sia promised that the film would add a warning ahead of the movie, and that future printings would remove the scene. She also clarified that the film does not condone or recommend the use of restraint on autistic people. Online however, people say that the scenes have not been removed and there is still no warning.

The film’s musical sequences also use strobing lights, bright colours, loud sounds, and quick camera movements, which are very overstimulating. As one online petition points out, “About one in four autistic people have epilepsy, so the movie can cause seizures and is also very uncomfortable for those without it. Despite making the movie ‘for’ autistic people, Sia has made it in such a way that a majority of us will be unable to watch it.”

Sia has not responded very well to her critics, personally attacking a few before deleting her Twitter account. When one autistic actor expressed their ability and willingness to act in the film Sia replied, “Maybe you’re just a bad actor.”

The singer also said, “I cast 13 neuroatypical people, three trans folk, and not as fucking prostitutes or drug addicts but as doctors, nurses and singers. Fucking sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place.”

For the film, Sia also collaborated, to an extent, with Autism Speaks, an organisation that has been called “A eugenics-promoting hate group.” Over 60 disability rights organisations have condemned Autism Speaks. Sia could have learned that by simply looking at their Wikipedia page and yet she said, “I had no idea it was such a polarizing group!”

The singer also referred to Music as someone with “special abilities,” language generally found to be extremely patronizing and derogatory in these contexts. Sia’s resistance to the term disabled, which has been widely embraced by many autistic people, has also been called ableist because it implies that being disabled is a bad thing.

Sia eventually admitted to being ableist to a degree and said she’d learned her lesson, but also said, “I have my own unique view of the community, and felt it is underrepresented and compelled to make it. If that makes me a shit I’m a shit, but my intentions are awesome.”

Later, however, she said, “I realised it wasn’t ableism — I mean, it is ableism, I guess, as well — but it’s actually nepotism, because I can’t do a project without [Ziegler].”

Despite Sia’s seemingly good intentions and some supporters, Music remains at best problematic, and at its worst dangerous. Its nomination for two Golden Globe awards is both confusing and concerning. A petition for the Golden Globes to rescind the nominations currently has over 120,000 signatures.

In her video, Layle claims, “This was not for autistics. This is for caregivers, to feel like some inspiration porn, saviour complex.”

For full disclosure, I haven’t seen the film. The film’s reviews, messages from disability organisations, and videos and tweets made by autistic people have almost universally shared the same message: don’t watch this movie. It’s bad, offensive and dangerous. So I did not feel the need to waste $6 and two hours to confirm. Instead, I think I’ll look at the work of actual disabled creatives and I’d recommend you do the same.

Categories
Music

How the pandemic changed the way we listen to music

As the world changed around me, I had music to get me through it

Listening to music is a crucial part of my life. Before the pandemic, my headphones were on before I was out of the door. I would hit play on my music soon after. I would lip-sync throughout the entire length of my commute, and sometimes I would get odd looks, but I felt happy and that was all that mattered.

However, as much as music was there every day, I started to lose that deep connection with it. Music just became the typical part of my life, and it still impacted my moods, but I no longer felt inspired by music anymore. Songs like Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” and Kesha’s “Praying” were no longer special to me — I was just a product of the repeat and shuffle buttons.

March 2020 was the start of two incredible new chapters in my life. On March 12, I found out I was pregnant. On March 13, strict COVID-19 measures were put in place — and nothing has been the same since. So within two days, I got amazing news and some of the scariest news of my life to date.

For the first month after hearing about the pandemic, I didn’t bother listening to music at all. I took away a source of pleasure and entertainment because I didn’t think I deserved to have anything enjoyable. My life was consumed by the news. I would hear the introduction music for Global News Morning, and my days turned to dread really quickly. That sound meant non-stop COVID-19 news, and it would send me into a spiral of fear.

There was one day in late April where my husband and I decided to limit our news intake and take a break from the information. That’s when I decided to listen to music again; because if I was going to  feel a whirlwind of emotions, I would rather it be because of music.

My first idea was to search music from the early 2000s, because it was music that was so far removed from the pandemic. Songs like “Sorry, Blame It On Me” by Akon and “Beautiful Soul” by Jesse McCartney made me feel nostalgic. I was able to sing them from start to finish with no missed lyrics, and I felt accomplished. During a time where I was still suffering from morning sickness and not being able to leave my apartment, something as simple as singing a song made me feel amazing.

While the pandemic had me feeling down, I didn’t want to limit my intake of sad music. Sometimes I just needed a good cry and music was a safe way to do that. I listened to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” because it was sung in a death scene in an otherwise silly action movie that struck me. The reason I wanted to do this was because I wanted to be in control of my sadness, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Playing a music guessing game was something my husband and I decided to bring back to our games list, but this time around, we had had a lot more fun with it. We would each pick a pre-made playlist on Spotify and have the other person guess what song was playing. He and I are both competitive people, so games like these are fun for us. By reintroducing this game into our lives, we got to disconnect from all the ugliness the pandemic had caused. We started to play it more often because we had nothing else to do, but we also got to bond more. We decided to pick more obscure lists like wrestling entry music. Getting to experience the snippets of music, most of which ended up being unfamiliar, allowed me to feel happily frustrated when I didn’t know the answer.

Since I had a lot of time, I would sometimes put music channels on our TV, and through that, I got to experience everything from happiness to disbelief. I found a lot of new music through those channels, like Ashe. Some of the best songs I have heard from her are “Moral of the Story,” “Save Myself” and “Shitty Places, Pretty Faces.” Her music speaks to me on such a profound level.

I felt confused sometimes when I heard some new music that I found to be awful. Whether the discoveries made me feel positive or negative, I felt fortunate to be able to rebuild my relationship with music. 

Now that my son is here, and nearly a year since the lockdown started, music has become even more important to me. Music is now my source of energy and calm. I listen to a lot of baby songs now because I use that to bond with my son, though he seems to be more interested in the music I like instead, which makes me smile. Music has also become a teaching tool, and as someone who loves to teach, it enhances my overall relationship with music and with my son.

As cliché as it sounds, music has become my escape from the hardships of the pandemic. I have had the chance to redefine my relationship with music in a way that I didn’t think would happen. I realized that I was taking my love of music for granted, and now I no longer do that. 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Categories
Music

OFFISLAND is turning his career on

Meet the 19-year-old producer turned singer with his upcoming debut project, zero.five

Sometimes you need to turn the focus on your own craft and see it through. Coming off his debut project, zero.five, 19-year-old Alex Mavroudis flipped the switch from producer to artist under the moniker OFFISLAND.

What started for Mavroudis at age 12 with Minecraft dubstep remixes on free softwares eventually grew into a curiosity for music making. When it came time for post-secondary, he attended Recording Arts Canada in Montreal to take up audio engineering and music production.

“I picked up mixing and producing because I wanted to make my own stuff,” said Mavroudis.

He asserts that his education in mixing gives him an edge as a recording artist, saying, “If you learn an instrument or a sound you don’t have to rely on a producer.”

With formal education finished, Mavroudis got to work in the Montreal scene, getting in the studio with artists like 3MFrench, nayil, and YNG Travs.

“I admire the people I’ve worked with a lot, these guys are all great and on their way up,” he said.

Having worked primarily in the Montreal trap scene, Mavroudis opted for a different direction on his debut project, zero.five, slated for independent release in February. With a trio of tracks varying from indie rock to psychedelic synth-pop, the variety is there, though it’s not something to hold against him.

“It’s not the first fully defining sound I am going to release,” he explained. “I would describe it as fluid and spacey.”

Through his three-song tracklist of “Burn Down The Bar,” “Cynical,” and “No Make Up,” Mavroudis wrote, recorded and mixed everything except the bass on “Cynical,” done with help of bassist Ilia Galanakis. There is room for comparison between the Mac DeMarco-esque “No Make Up.” He admitted he “Took heavy inspiration from ‘Chamber of Reflection.’ He’s a one man show but he’s insane at bringing a track to life — someone I look up to as a singer, artist, and producer.”

Even with a short tracklist of three songs, Mavroudis’ inspirations are still at the forefront of his creation. For “Burn Down The Bar,” he wrote the song based on a photo of his parents’ old car, the same photo used in the album artwork.

“I wanted to take the feeling I got from that photo and put it in the song,” he said. While the song is close to home, it’s a double-edged sword for the musician, adding, “I saw two young people partying having the time of their lives and I wanted to capture that, but it’s sad also because time catches up to you.”

When it comes to the future, Mavroudis’ plans are ineffable. 

“It’s hard to explain what your vision is sometimes, with words,” he said. Without a set plan in mind, the artist is taking things as they come while navigating new sounds, saying, “I don’t think that far ahead, especially when it comes to making music. The next thing could be completely different.”

Categories
Music

Evan H. Clarke is a musical jack-of-all-trades

Evan H. Clarke is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Calgary native has been playing music for over half of his life. His story as a musician dates back to his time in the eighth grade where he delved into the world of Led Zeppelin and took inspiration from John Bonham to begin playing the drums.

As the years went on, Clarke took it upon himself to learn to play a plethora of other instruments including bass, electric and acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica and piano. Having paired this ability to play with the knowledge of mixing and mastering at a young age. In Clarke’s own words, he is “music-obsessed.”

Clarke’s most recent release was his debut to Spotify, a 10-track album, Maverick, released in April of this year. As per usual, Clarke was at the helm of production for his latest project, citing Pro Tools and Logic as his go-tos for putting together his tracks.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clarke was in the process of rehearsing for shows to perform his Maverick album for the first time. It would have been his first time singing while playing the drums, seeing Clarke taking a new direction in his array of musical abilities, as he “should be coming close to my 10,000 hours.”

Now at 29, Clarke is in his final year of study at Concordia as a double major in Communications and Irish Studies. Through his twenties and his time as a Concordia student, Clarke hasn’t slowed down at all, releasing projects at a consistent pace and keeping the flame burning in his passion for music. Even with a variety of different EPs and two full-length albums under his belt, it is only the beginning for the artist. With big plans for the near future, Clarke continues to record for new projects and even aims to release electronic music someday as well.

We spoke to Clarke about his world of music.

The Concordian: Your album, Maverick, has a certain flow from the opening track all throughout the album. How did you pick your album’s tracklist arrangement and song titles?

EC: I usually write a batch of songs around the same time, so I tend to pick keys and chord progressions — which are similar — so they sound cohesive. My writing techniques vary — sometimes I will come up with the song title first, which was the case with the song “Hibernia,” and then write the song after, and sometimes I’ll pick a line from the song which holds the most meaning and use that as the title. It varies from release to release.

TC: It seems to be an open secret that you’ve got a variety of scattered works all over the internet, will we ever see any of those hit Spotify?

EC: Possibly! I’m quite proud of some of those releases, perhaps I should put them up on the big streaming platforms. My previous full-length Afterlight was released under a different name, maybe I’ll do a re-release!

TC: As a one-man show who puts up lyrics, music composition, mixing, producing and mastering, how much time are you dedicating to your craft?

EC: I try to dedicate as much time as possible to it, which can be difficult, particularly when you are a student. I usually write when the inspiration hits, which could be anytime, and then dedicate a few months to tracking and mixing when I’m happy with the batch of songs. I should be coming close to my 10,000 hours!

TC: The lone single for your first album came out the day after COVID-19 shutdowns began in Canada. Has the pandemic affected your artistic process and methods?

EC: Haha yes it did, great timing on my part. It definitely has, I had a large album release show planned with merch and everything, but I called it off. I have had more time to work on my music than ever, so I have another album nearly finished, and a couple electronic projects on the go. The shutdown has afforded me some time to experiment on finding a different sound for my future releases.

TC: For someone that plays so many different instruments, when you approach the musical part of a song how do you know where to begin?

EC: Great question! I usually write on my acoustic guitar or piano, that gives me a sense of what the song could be and which instruments to use. I start by tracking drums (this is always difficult because I don’t have a set, so when I go into the studio it’s my first time playing the song), this gives me an idea of what the bass track should be because it should correspond with the drums. From there, I’ll lay down some guitar or piano. It is usually a process of trial and error.

TC: What should the world expect from Evan H. Clarke moving forward?

EC: More music! I’ve got another album 75 per cent done, and some electronic music in the works. I am moving to Vienna next year, so I am sure that will have some effect on the music I make in the future!

 

Feature photo by Sabine Schoerkhuber

Categories
Music

Montreal musicians share their ups and downs during this peculiar year

Most musicians feel constant pressure to be creative and make music. Montreal being in a red zone for almost two months now only adds more stress to the everyday lives of our local artists.

With performing not being an option, Montreal artists have been focusing on different goals during the pandemic. Taking care of themselves was necessary for them to later get back to creating music.

While this year hasn’t been a treat for everyone, it held many surprises for some artists who were able to get creative.

Minoe, a singer who has been living in Montreal for four years, experienced what she called a “huge shift” for her art, this year.

“I’ve been working on a lot of music,” Minoe said. “I started working with my favourite producer I ever worked with, Philippe Dionne, and I am making an album. So, I’m very excited.”

No dates have been set for her album’s release so far. But she released “SUEDE,” a collaboration with Fk Dame, last month.

Princelou Faragama, originally from Namibia, moved to Montreal in January. He has been focusing on creating music and gaining a fan base in Montreal.

With 2020 being something no one had expected, the 21-year-old said that when it comes to music, he follows a hunch and doesn’t like to do much planning.

“Planning is something that needs to be done sometimes,” said Faragama. “But other times, you just need to go with the flow and let things happen.”

Since his time in Montreal began, he has released five songs, including two with music videos. He said he will also be releasing an EP soon, titled BeforeTheFlexx.

On the contrary, Ariel Engle, also known as La Force, has been trying to savour this pause. Before the city was declared a red zone, she performed at POP Montreal, where a crowd of around 20 spaced out people were sitting and watching.

“It was very safe … but it was also hard to feel people,” she said. La Force is outgoing and social, which only makes it harder for her to feel like she can’t engage with people.

Although some artists are now releasing new music, it took some time to get over writer’s block. The pandemic has also taken a big toll on Montrealers’ mental health, which affected their everyday lives and creativity.

“Honestly, throughout the majority of the [first lockdown], I couldn’t write anything,” Minoe admitted. “I just didn’t feel inspired. I was also kind of frustrated with myself for not being creative because I felt like I had to be.”

Faragama also went through a similar period.

“I was feeling uninspired and disappointed in myself,” he said. “I had the feeling of just quitting music.” But, he said that when he listened to the “Myself” beat, it reminded him of how far he had gotten.

La Force explained that she’s been trying to make a record since November 2019 but had to delay it a few times because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“There’s been a lot of starting and stopping,” she said. “But it’s coming.”

While it can’t be denied that 2020 has been a difficult year, it still taught everyone something. Whether it’s how to be alone, as Minoe said, or how to be confined with family, it taught everyone to be grateful for what they have.

Minoe said she’s most grateful for her friends and for meeting Dionne, her producer. She’s also grateful for her cat, whom she called her “little emotional support animal.”

Faragama is grateful for everyone around him, especially his friend and producer, Thomas Quinn, also known as DESOLATEXISTENCE.

“So far, he’s the only one who’s helped me out,” he said. “He helped me get to know the country and to record my music. I’m grateful for every moment, every second of every day.”

La Force thinks this year is an interesting time to experience life without feeling everything is immediate. “There’s this parallel version of life right now, where everything is actually really slow and out of time,” she said. “I’m trying to savor this pause as much as possible because I’m fortunate enough to be able to pause.”

This year allowed artists to take a break from music and from life as they knew it, and to take care of themselves.

“I feel like I needed that break, to recuperate and figure out how I felt about it, and now I have an album on the way,” Minoe concluded. “So, I think I just needed a little bit more time.”

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
Sports

Heading towards a slightly different Super Bowl

COVID-19 restrictions might have their impacts on the upcoming Super Bowl LV

With the current National Football League (NFL) season being played as normally scheduled, the league is preparing its next Super Bowl event, which will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The latest updates say that fans will fill 20 per cent of the stadium’s capacity. However, it’s still early to come to conclusions, as the Super Bowl LV will be played on Feb. 7, 2021. Things might change again for the next edition of the football world’s biggest event, and one of sports’ most-watched annual games.

The NFL announced on Nov. 12 that singer The Weeknd will lead its halftime show. The announcement didn’t include anything about additional singers or pandemic restrictions, but that makes it obvious that this year’s halftime show will be challenging with social distancing rules, especially if fans are around.

The Super Bowl has never faced a similar situation before, having to make its halftime show interesting without singers and dancers getting in contact with each other.

The two teams that will play the Super Bowl also won’t be known until just two weeks before the event, meaning supporters of the two finalist teams will only be able to buy their tickets and travel to Tampa Bay a few days before the game.

It will probably be hard to control such travel from fans, and make sure that all pandemic restrictions are being respected during this big event.

What’s certain is that the upcoming Super Bowl LV will be different, regardless of the teams playing and the final score. People probably won’t remember it for its noisy atmosphere, and sadly not for the traditional pregame tailgate parties, as there always are before NFL games. However, if the league manages to make the event happen properly and safely, it should still be considered a huge success.

 

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

Categories
Music

Flara K: Montreal’s couple-turned-pop-powerhouse

Montreal duo Flara K spoke to us about their latest EP and touring in a pandemic

Sam Martel and Collin Steinz’s love story began over a decade ago when they met in a coffee shop. While Sam was working, Collin spilled his coffee order all over the floor and, as they put it, “The rest is history.”

Sam and Collin make up two musically-inclined halves of Flara K. Both of them born and raised in Montreal’s South Shore, their history in making music dates back to when they were just 18-years-old and going on tours with their respective projects at the time.

Now having been married for four years, and together for over 10, they have created Flara K, a duo that brings a variety of cards to the table. The name of their band draws on a variety of inspirations such as Kurt Vonnegut and the place where they got engaged. Between the two of them and their stories, music has always been in the fold. Collin’s swagger on bass sets the tone for Sam’s commanding vocals as they produce soulful music that has funk at heart.

Having debuted as Flara K over the past two years by releasing a handful of singles including “Me and You” and “Offline,” they recently released their debut EP: Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable. 

The EP comes in at a quick 15-minute runtime and includes features from artists Mike Clay and Milo Gore on the tracks “Devotion” and “Pink & Blue,” respectively. Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable builds from their initial releases both lyrically and sonically as Sam and Collin continue to refine their sound of R&B-infused music.

Most recently, Flara K just wrapped up their Cruiser Conversations tour. At the end of this past September, Sam and Collin embarked on a month-long tour across Canada in Sam’s parents’ RV. The tour was done to raise funds and awareness for the Unison Benevolent Fund, a non-profit that provides emergency relief and mental health services to the Canadian music community, one of many communities that has been negatively affected by the pandemic.

With COVID-19 restrictions varying across the country, the shows were performed in a COVID-safe fashion with the performances and collabs being broadcasted live on the band’s Instagram page.  The tour included stops in a variety of Canadian cities including Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. With their variety of stops on tour, Flara K was able to collaborate with music communities such as Manitoba Music and BreakOut West.

As 2020 is drawing to a close, the duo is looking forward to what the new year has in store for them and continuing to make music that they love.

We spoke to Sam and Collin about their band and their future plans.

VV: Tell me about Kurt Vonnegut’s Bluebeard, what’s behind your band name?

Collin: We wanted a name for this project that would speak to us, and also be entirely unique so that we could feel comfortable growing and evolving with it. We got Flara from the Florian Gate in Krakow, Poland, where Sam and I got engaged, and the K is in reference to our favourite authors. Franz Kafta used K as the main character for many of his works, and Kurt Vonnegut is probably our favourite author. We settled on the idea of using “K” in the name after re-reading Bluebeard. I don’t want to spoil the book, but near the end the main character reveals this very powerful painting of his experience at the end of World War II and when asked what it was called he replied, “now it’s the women’s turn.”

VV: Your new EP Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable came out last month, what’s one song you think captures your sound the best for new listeners and why?

Sam: Ouu, that’s a tough question. I feel like all of them definitely represent our sound in different ways. I think that it depends on the listener’s mood really. If they’re looking for something upbeat and dancey, I’d probably recommend “If I Can’t Have You” or “Devotion,” but if they’re looking for something more moody I’d say “Pink And Blue.”

VV: As two French-speaking Montrealers would you ever put out music that is lyrically French?

Sam: That’s something we’ve actually done in previous projects we had, and it was definitely interesting to explore. I wouldn’t say we have anything planned at the moment, but if it comes together naturally we’re definitely open to exploring it further.

VV: The Cruiser Conversation Tour raised money for the Unison Benevolent fund, what does that mean to you?

Sam: I think for us it was important that we gave back to our community in some way. We were privileged enough to be able to do this tour because my parents had their RV just sitting in their driveway not being used, and that’s something we will never take for granted. The music industry is already such a difficult place to make consistent money as a musician and now with COVID it kinda feels like it just imploded and everything is a big mess, so this was our way of giving back what we could to help our community in these crazy times.

VV: From idea to finished song, what does your artistic process look like?

Collin: It really depends on the song, but most times I’ll have an idea for a beat or a bass line and then we’ll sit down and put together the basics of the track and then the melodies and lyrics follow.

VV: Will we ever hear Collin leading on the vocals someday?

Collin: Maybe not leading, but I might try some harmonies one day, who knows. It’s just that with vocals like Sam’s, I’d really have to bring my A-game to make it worthwhile.

VV: Now that your Cruiser Conversation Tour has ended, what does the future hold for Flara K?

Sam: This tour really got us inspired so I can say that there will definitely be a lot of new music coming in the new year, and until then we have some really fun stuff coming to kind of wrap up the EP so we’re very excited about that!

Collin: Yeah, after being on the road for almost a month it was like our minds hit a hard reset and we’re excited to continue writing and exploring collabs with the people we met (virtually) on the road. We’re also going to keep the conversation going every Wednesday on Instagram live. It was so fun to connect and chat with other artists and we really want to continue with it.

Feature photos by Philippe Thibault

Categories
Arts

Our lives as mini-movies: Exploring The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Experience music and soundscapes of Quebec through an online exhibition

Music is typically a fundamental part of people’s lives. Through trying times, and uplifting times, it fuels many moments. Music carries a lot of meaning and can impact a moment instantly and is so easily accessible during our era. Yet, there are always new ways to interact with it. One new way to experience sound is through the Virtual Museum of Canada’s online exhibition called The Soundtrack of Our Lives. This particular exhibition stood out because it is focused on soundscapes and music, and not photos (though some do appear, they are not the focus), or sculpture. This exhibition focuses on the role of music in every aspect of our lives.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives is an online exhibition that is based around the music and soundscapes of Quebec. The exhibition is divided in three major categories that curate the overall experience: “Life,” “Year,” and “Day.” The category entitled “Life” focuses on the period of gestation to death, the “Year” category focuses on the four seasons, and the “Day” category highlights the moments from waking up to going to sleep. The exhibition mentions that the focus is for people to explore the way music operates in Quebec and how sounds have changed over time.

One of the elements that makes the exhibit so interesting is how it highlights the intersection of an overarching narrative and the individual narrative. In the category of “Life” there is a subcategory called “Childhood,” which features an opening piece with the sounds of xylophones and kids playing outside, creating a sense of nostalgia. Further subcategories for listening feature nursery rhymes and music in schools. These sounds are common in childhood, and allow for a more focused understanding of the various elements of childhood. The more specific the piece, the more individual it gets. However, they are still part of the overarching subcategory of “Childhood,” which is part of the overall narrative of this stage of life.

In the section on the seasons there is a similar structure. For the category on “Fall,” the first piece of music is loaded with heavy rainfall, blowing winds and an owl’s hoot. If you choose to go further into the section, there is a subcategory called “November, The Month Of the Dead.” There is a funeral march that plays, which is very sombre but fits the overall tone of what this month represents. According to the exhibition’s website, in November the Christian faith focuses on celebrating the dead. For example, the two first days of November, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day, are set to honour saints and those who have passed away. While the funeral march that is played and the opening Fall piece are different, they both capture various elements of the season.

The part of the exhibition that stood out was in the category of “Day,” which features sounds of everyday life. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, where many people are spending more of their days at home, the sounds that encompass day-to-day life are especially relevant. In other words, people are generally more encompassed by these sounds because they are surrounded by them more. These sounds are the ones that shape the day, whereas before it may have been more focused on sounds outside the home. There is a subcategory called “The Appliances” that focuses on the sounds of a microwave oven and coffee machine. Both of these are sounds most of us hear often, and can sometimes ignore how essential they are to the course of our days. Also, for students, these two sounds are related to such important appliances in our lives.

Another element in the “Day” category is the part called “Waking Up.” There is a piece called “The Early Bird Catches the Worm” that features the many sounds that wake people up in the morning. These sounds can be annoying to most of us because we just want to sleep. However, hearing them in this context, we can reflect on how different our lives would be if we did not hear them.

There is also a brief activity that the viewer/listener can take part in, which involves filling a form that can be submitted. There are some basics that need to be filled in, but the focus is on the other questions that are asked. For example, there are questions about how you would like to spend the perfect Saturday, or what your favourite type of movie is, and these questions are accompanied by a drop-down menu with various selections. Once you have completed this, it creates a small trailer that would be your own personal soundtrack. This activity, while brief, allows for another element of interaction within the exhibit. It also highlights, once again, just how music can be a personalized experience. Of course, this activity is not perfect, and could be improved, should they keep it. One improvement could be to have more options in the drop down menu, to allow for more possible outcomes. More outcomes would mean that people could truly have a personalized experience in doing this activity. However, the activity still allows people to have a deeper interaction with the exhibit and music itself.

How does music play a role in our own lives? Music is no longer outside the self, but rather it becomes intertwined with every aspect of our lives. This exhibition captures that essence and allows those who partake to step outside of themselves and see how music can shape the various aspects of real life. It allows for people to potentially see their lives as mini-movies, and connect more deeply to the music and sounds they hear daily.

To experience The Soundtrack of Our Lives, visit thesoundtrackofourlives.ca/.

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: YoungBoy Never Broke Again – Top

YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s latest album proves that his momentum has yet to reach its peak.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again continues his incredible streak with his newest album Top. The Youtube king stayed in his bag and did what he does best by staying true to the YoungBoy brand with his hard-hitting aggressive style, coupled with his melodic flow. The Baton Rouge-born rapper worked with his regular producers, including Hitman Audio and DrumDummie, delivering a sound that makes his music so addictive he’s the most listened-to Youtube artist in the world.

On Top, YoungBoy proves he can rap on one of the world’s hottest producers’ beats on the Wheezy collaboration “I’m Up” by owning the beat from start to finish.  As far as sequencing goes, the transition from “The Last Backyard…” to “Right Foot Creep” and then to “Dirty Stick” is vintage YoungBoy that delivers his well-known compelling sound made of his punchy flow and sticky hooks. These songs flow so well together that it’s not hard to figure out why YoungBoy’s Youtube numbers are second to none.

Lil Wayne finally gave YoungBoy a blessing in the form of a verse on “My Window,” where YoungBoy taps into his emotional side — reflecting on his past and subsequent growth, which is a common theme of the album. He also rapped on Mike Laury’s beat on “Off Season” after originally collaborating for their smash hit “Through The Storm” in 2018. This time, YoungBoy talks about his love life.

After getting emotional for a few songs in a row, he goes back to his gangster roots after all, with bangers like “Murder Business” and “Sticks with Me.”

If anyone still doesn’t understand the appeal of YoungBoy Never Broke Again, this album is a perfect introduction to the 20-year-old. He rides on every beat Hitman Audio throws his way and his flow is infectious, which is simply pleasant to hear over and over again.

Even The Shade Room, a widely popular gossip page on Instagram, has trouble keeping up with YoungBoy’s trials and tribulations of his love life and legal problems, but he really seems to be that dude living the life that most rappers simply rap about. He is doing so by documenting it in his music and that seems to be the key to his unstoppable momentum. Most importantly, his music on this album feels real.

If you compare him to other rappers of his age, YoungBoy is just head and shoulders above everyone else and looks to be embracing the role of the leading trailblazer of this generation.

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPIN: Conway The Machine – From King to A GOD

The Buffalo MC comes through with his third release of the year, and his best solo work to date

Throughout the last few years, the Griselda crew have solidified themselves as one of hip hop’s most highly regarded acts. With multiple high-quality projects released every year and a consistent signature sound, the group has set a high standard for their releases. On his latest release, founding member Conway The Machine continues the tradition, with yet another gem being added to the crew’s catalogue.

On From King To A GOD, Conway’s mastery of his craft is apparent, and though he was already elite, he is in rare form on this LP. He spends the album’s runtime spitting verses like a seasoned veteran in the genre, even going bar-for-bar with legends like Method Man and Lloyd Banks. His unique drawl — the result of his Bell’s Palsy — paired with his fiery flow and distinct delivery make him completely captivating on every instrumental his voice touches.

Lyrically, the album contains a good balance of Griselda’s signature gritty street raps, and more intimate moments of introspection, grieving and reflection on society’s ills. On “Front Lines,” we see Conway delivering an extremely potent verse responding to the murder of George Floyd, over a grimy, sinister Beat Butcha instrumental that perfectly captures the horror, pain and aggression in Conway’s lyrics.

On the emotional, Erick Sermon-produced “Forever Droppin Tears,” Conway reminisces about close friends that he’s lost over the years, including Griselda producer DJ Shay, who passed away earlier this year. His reflections on losing some of those closest to him and the trauma attached to it are felt through the pain in his voice. It’s a touching moment on the album, and one of the most personal songs in Conway’s entire catalogue.

There are several soundbites peppered throughout the album of DJ Shay being interviewed regarding the Griselda crew, and Conway specifically. It’s clear that Shay had a deep admiration for Conway and his craft, and vice versa, and Conway misses him dearly. These interview clips serve as a fitting tribute for DJ Shay, while showcasing just how highly Conway’s peers think of his abilities.

With From King To A GOD, Conway reminds us how elite of a lyricist he is, while also showcasing sides of himself that fans may not be familiar with. Striking that balance between the street raps, and the new, more personal content, he shows growth while keeping the album’s sound familiar. This project is his most well-rounded work to date, and with it being billed as the prelude to his Shady Records debut, it looks like Conway is gearing up for something special.

 

8.5/10

Trial Track: Forever Dropping Tears

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Aminé – Limbo

Aminé refines his sound and raises the bar for himself on Limbo

Since the 2016 release of his now multi-platinum breakthrough single “Caroline,” Aminé has shown consistent growth and improvement with every release. Limbo continues this trend for the Portland rapper, combining and refining the best aspects of his previous two releases, resulting in his best and most mature work to date.

Aminé’s biggest strength is the individuality that has been present in his music since he first jumped onto the scene. His versatile and bouncy flow mixed with his trademark wit and humour have been staples of his work thus far. On this album, we see him successfully blend these aspects with more pungent, mature and introspective lyrics and topics, giving his music more depth while maintaining its distinct personality.

This personality is present regardless of the sound or content that a given song is going for. As varied as Limbo’s instrumentals are, including everything from bass-heavy bangers to more melodic R&B-leaning tracks, his unique voice and style manage to make these tracks unmistakably Aminé.

That’s not to say that he feels out of place in the modern hip hop landscape, more that he manages to stand out, even when incorporating more trendy, contemporary sounds. Limbo features an extremely diverse guest list that backs this up. The album contains features from Young Thug, Charlie Wilson, Vince Staples and Slowthai, the latter two appearing on “Pressure in My Palms” together, and all of them feel right at home in Aminé’s world.

The only song that feels like it’s out of place on this project is “Easy,” featuring Summer Walker. That’s not to say that the song is inherently bad, it’s actually quite good, it just feels like a standard fare Summer Walker song that Aminé is featuring on. Still, it’s not enough to break up the flow of the album or take away from its highs, which there are plenty of.

The biggest highlight and takeaway from Limbo is Aminé’s growth both as an artist and as a man. On songs like “Mama” and “Fetus,” he manages to showcase more depth and introspection than on previous releases, all while maintaining the humorous charm he’s become known for.

Overall, Aminé shows that he’s improved in nearly every facet on Limbo. He manages to strike a near-perfect balance between the aspects of his music that thrive in their uniqueness and contemporary hip hop conventions. With two solid projects already under his belt, Aminé has delivered once again and has proven to be one of the most exciting young acts in the genre.

Exit mobile version