Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I’m from downtown Toronto & I come from a long standing family of musicians. Having grown up with such strong creative flow all around me while I was in such formative years, it makes perfect sense that I could sing before I could talk. Despite having the traditional fears of embarking on a music career, I knew I couldn’t stay away for long so I worked in the background of the music industry for a few years cutting licensing deals, working on start up record labels, royalty collections — you name it. Now I’m finally at a place where my voice and style is defined enough and am ready to launch, starting with my latest single: One Night.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: I started out with piano lessons at the age of 3, but my family tells a funny story where I abruptly stood up on the bench and yelled “I quit!” after missing a few too many notes in a practice. I eventually came back to piano after a few years, only to reprise the quitting (albeit a little more gracefully). Right after I quit the second time, my dad leaned over my shoulder and showed me three chords — an F, C and G — and my life changes forever. I realized that to play music didn’t have to be lines on a page and a regimented sequence of notes and rests, but rather something that a person could actually feel. I took up guitar and voice lessons shortly after for years and years in various group & solo formats, which were obviously instrumental to getting me to where I am today.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: My strongest influences are my first: Marianas Trench, fun. and The 1975. While the production style of the records may not sound quite like any one of them in isolation, they all have a huge impact on my writing and performance.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘One Night’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Totally. After a breakup, I was down and out but I knew I needed to get back out there — I just needed some encouragement. While my friends could tell me “you’re ready” and “it’s not that big a deal” all they wanted, I needed something more personal to be my pep talk. Because of that, I wrote this song as a way of talking myself into taking a leap of faith that would free me from my own negative emotions around the breakup. Concisely, I call this song a “pep talk for a one night stand”, but it has a little more nuance to it than that under the surface. For example, it’s also a lesson to find comfort in the ambiguity & flashing barlights with all the “I don’t get it”s littered throughout the song.
My amazing producer, Jon Savard, immediately jumped into action trying to create ways that we could sonically bring this tension to life and the song was transformed into ways that I never could have imagined. We created this guiding principle in our heads that we wanted the song to sound like: a completely unrehearsed SNL backing band that had a little too much to drink right before they went on, but somehow still played a rip roaring show that everyone loved. That’s where the dissolution to nothingness section in the second verse comes from, for example. We wanted to create these pockets of mania to show that the protagonist — well, me — didn’t quite have it all figured out but could compose himself well enough to get through a party (the song).
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: Yes! You’ll notice the heart-shaped glasses in the album art. This is a little easter egg, pointing to the full record which is called Rose Coloured Glasses that will be out in its entirety on July 7th. Keep an eye out for at least one more single dropping beforehand.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: Probably the defining characteristic of this song and my sound on it is that it’s relatable. It’s a pretty fair assumption that a lot of people have gone through the journey that this song describes, and I wanted to use my own experience as a way of channeling that to other people — I wanted this song to carry the “I see you, I know that was hard, and I promise it gets better” message that someone might need to hear right now. This song is fun, upbeat; but it’s also really emotive in its own chaotic way. Each of the tracks on the record ahead convey their own message and emotions, but the relatability thread is pervasive throughout.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Absolutely. I often tell my friends that “I just wanted to make the record, I don’t really care what comes after” so just being able to exercise creative liberties and freedom is enough for me. I really hope people hear and like the songs of course, but it’s really auxiliary to me. I’m just happy to be here!
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: It’s so unique each time, I wish I could pin it down in a few words. For example, I wrote the first three tracks on the record in a 24 hour period with just an acoustic guitar, versus the record’s closer took me 18 months to write (even though it’s the shortest by far). Typically a constant thing is that the subject matter comes first, but that’s not always the case. Nothing is — and that’s just kind of the process.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: I think I’ll kind of cheat with this one — I think the most challenging & the most proud I’ve been of anything is the same: making the record. It was sonically challenging to both perform to the caliber I knew possible and create the sonic landscapes present, as well as juggle all sorts of other responsibilities on top of that. It was challenging to create in a way I never have done before. But I’ll never forget the feeling of listening to the record for the very first time in its entirety and, cheesily, crying a little. I put my all into it and I really cannot wait to share what my team & I have been cooking with you.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Cheated 🙂
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