Mason Melle is a Winnipeg-based musician. Interview by Rebeccah Love How would you describe your childhood? Pretty rural, both parents grew up on farms but eventually moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan before I was born. We had a lot of time out at family farms, and we lived on the edge of town with fields right behind us. Lots of time and space. What creative activities did you engage in when you were a kid? I played piano when I was a little kid, and saxophone in school. I fel

shy kids is a Toronto-based troupe of filmmakers and musicians. Check out their latest song 'weak' here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4JMYrT3FhjdB2Rcegs6oWK?si=CN3lrtvrTr6HI9XFPPlSTQ Can you tell me about the process of making 'weak'? What was on your minds? The song was initially created as a demo by Pat. The song felt like something TLC would write but they are so strong and independent. I guess we wrote more from the Scrub perspective. We then added some live piano and v

Armen Bazarian is a Toronto-based musician. Interview by Rebeccah Love What creative activities did you engage in as a kid? When did you first develop an interest in music? My first professional introduction to music was singing in the Toronto Children’s Chorus. I have always been drawn to the human voice. At a very young age, I remember being blown away by Bobby McFerrin’s Simple Pleasures, moved by Poppie Nongena’s South African gospel music, and hypnotized by Meredith Monk

Rich Aucoin is a Halifax-based musician. Interview by Rebeccah Love How would you describe your childhood? Were you involved in music? I grew up in Halifax and was very much a jack of all trades sort of kid interested in joining lots of clubs and trying different things. I always really liked that line from that show The Wonder Years when Kevin is giving up piano and lamenting that when you're a kid you do so many things and that life is a series of a giving things up thinkin

The Toronto Arts Report is pleased to release Toronto indie band Champion Ski's new music video, "Unagi". Set against a backdrop of psychedelic sushi scenarios, Champion Ski performs a grand ode to the culinary treat, specifically to the barbecued eel variety. The band collaborated with reclusive 3-D artist Wicked Digital for the sushi effects as well as with Nirvanna the Band the Show's cinematographer Jared Raab, with wildly exciting visual results. The song, originally co

Matthew Hornick is a member of shy kids, a band of filmmakers from Toronto. Interview by Rebeccah Love 'Terminally in Love with You', a collaboration between shy kids and CHOIR!CHOIR!CHOIR! Do you think Toronto is an artist-friendly city? It certainly seems so to me. Ever since we started releasing music and videos as shy kids there's been a healthy dose of local support from venues, publications, and the music community in general. Even though some of the famous venues have

Patrick Cederberg is a member of shy kids, a band of filmmakers from Toronto. Interview by Rebeccah Love the shy kids launched their new music video, 'the middle', this week. How can visual imagery heighten the experience of music? To me, an exceptional song (or in rare but exciting cases, an entire album) has the power to take me on a very affective journey - through emotional ups and downs, the building and release of tension, like an inhale and exhale and a visceral non-co

Kaili Kinnon is a Toronto-based singer. Interview by Rebeccah Love When did you realize that singing was something you really enjoyed? Did you take part in any extracurricular singing-related activities in your youth? I think singing has always been synonymous with enjoyment for me. I grew up in a very musical family and I’d guess that I started singing along to music during long road trips as a very small child. So, there has just always been this deep love in my life for si

Ash Ainsworth is a singer, songwriter and producer from Toronto. Interview by Rebeccah Love What was life like growing up with two musical parents? At what age were you first attracted to music making? How do you remember the trajectory of your life as a musician since then? Growing up with musical parents was great. I was exposed to a lot of music and it absolutely pushed me in a creative direction. According to my dad, I was already recording music before I was 4 years old.