Where are you based?
Pre-pandemic, I was between Chicago & Montreal. At the moment, I’m grounded in Montreal.
Where do you work? What do you do?
I am the Head of Artist Development & Marketing at FORT Ent., a minority-owned & woman-led independent management company.
What are you listening to?
I can’t stop listening to J HUS right now! There are some great classics that I’m spinning, like M.I.A, Erykah Badu, Fleetwood Mac, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Sneaker Pimps. For more contemporary artists: it will be Cruel Santino, Amaarae, Elder Island, Blood Orange, Little Simz, Jme, Wiley, Ghetts, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, Duckwrth, Channel Tres. How much time you got, because it’s honestly such a huge list.
How do you discover new music?
Everywhere and anywhere. When we were all able to venture out more: stores, restos (folks working at indie restos, that I frequent, make their own amazing playlists), airports, and underground venues. At the moment, it’s recs from friends and any pockets of the internet I find myself in (NTS, IG, COLORS, Tiny Desk, Bandcamp, to name a few).
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
Now it is definitely, streaming audio or video — it’s the most convenient and mobile way to listen. I was fortunate to be born during a fast-evolving tech boom: I have played music from a child’s record player, to walkman, boom box, stereo, discman, and radio with legit antennas and all. My dad is an engineer, so there was never any shortage of tech in the house. When I was a kid, I used to sneak into my Dad’s drawer to grab his bright canary yellow SONY FM/AM Sports walkman (because the tape skipped less than my super cheap one when I walked with it). Later, I got a Sony D-FS601 S2 Sports CD Walkman, which I still use to listen to my old mixes. The design is so slick: it looks like it hopped off TLC’s “No Scrubs” or Michael & Janet Jackson’s “Scream” music videos. Back at my parents, my dad has this crazy stereo set-up he got in the mid-90s: a 5-disc changer, double deck tape players, with surround sound of 6 light oak Klipsch speakers and a subwoofer — that’s my absolute favorite! Whenever I was home alone, I’d put in any of the NOW compilation CDs and dance all over the house. For now, my setup is super simple, I use my Macbook Pro or my iPhone 11.
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I LOVE MUSIC
And I would listen to it in a boat!
And I would listen to it with a goat…
And I will listen to it in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And I will listen to music here and there.
Say! I will listen to music ANYWHERE!
What can I say? Dr. Seuss taught me not to be picky. I seriously listen to music literally on everything and everywhere: computer, the den, kitchen, living room, bedroom, airplanes, bus, car, shower, etc. Before the pandemic, I spent 50% of the year at shows or festivals. I will say this, it’s really strange for me to only listen to music in one stationary spot.
“What can I say? Dr. Seuss taught me not to be picky. I seriously listen to music literally on everything and everywhere”
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
I receive a lot of unreleased music from artists, friends, & PR firms.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
I usually get Google Drive & Dropbox links, WeTransfers, and private Soundcloud links. A wish would be for any downloaded music to magically organize itself on my computer’s hard drive.
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
Music is saved all over the place: my brain, hard drive, emails, bookmarks, and playlists.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
It depends on the context, but I share new music and unreleased music when I can via IG stories, Discord, emails, & text messaging.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Backxwash just won the 2020 Polaris Music Prize, so that’s an exciting new adventure! In 2021, there will be a lot of new music, so I’d keep my eyes out for bbymutha, Backxwash, Syv de Blare, Zandoli II, GLOR1A, Butch Dawson, Ryahn, Imane, Le Ren and Ben Sloan.
