Tag: Canadian culture

Palestinian Canadian Pop Star Nemahsis Brings Her Vulnerable and Healing Pop to ‘CAN You Hear Me’

July 7, 2023

Nemahsis Cover

We’re back again celebrating Canadian artistry with CAN You Hear Me, a series championing the music, unique talent, and diverse cultures found in the Great White North—from the jazz bars in Québec to the dance clubs in Ontario, all the way to the powwows in the west.

Our latest featured artist is Nemah Hasan, known better by her fans as Nemahsis. The 29-year-old Palestinian Canadian pop musician garners global attention with every move she makes, with her previous work as a fashion and beauty influencer and her hauntingly beautiful and relatable music.

Hailing from Milton, Ontario, Nemahsis first found her following online with her single “what if i took it off for you?,” a biting song that sparked a conversation within the Muslim community and encouraged women to talk about their personal relationships with the hijab. Her 2022 debut EP, eleven achers, named after the farm she grew up on back in Milton, is filled with minimalist yet lush folk-futurist ballads addressing topics such as immigration and depression. 

Moving ahead with singles such as this year’s “i wanna be your right hand,” Nemahsis is showing signs of shifting in a whole new direction with her music.

For the Record sat down with Nemahsis to talk about finding her sound, her new direction, and who her favorite Canadian artists are.

Tell me about your journey into making music.

I started making music in late 2017, and at that time I was working a lot, sometimes even taking on three jobs at a time while also freelancing. At the time, being a music artist wasn’t even an option for me. I come from an immigrant family, so there was always this pressure to have a “real” job. But once I got into my mid-20s I felt that I had proved to my family that I could keep a job, make a sustainable income, and can always come back to that if music didn’t work out.

So I wrote my first song, “what if I took it off for you?,” and quit my job two weeks later. But honestly, I didn’t actually like the song. I kept listening to albums like Sam Smith’s The Lonely Hour and Adele’s 25 and felt like their songs were all hits and sounded nothing like mine.

So music was put on the backburner while I continued to freelance, and I didn’t take it seriously until the pandemic hit, where I wrote my EP, eleven achers.

How would you describe your sound? How has it evolved since you first started writing and performing?

When I discovered that first level of Nemahsis, the sound was very stripped back, minimalist, and almost feminine and dainty, but with lyrics that touched on a lot of heavy topics. Whereas my new sound feels like kind of a reversal, where the lyrics are more poetic and more relatable, but the production and tone of voice play around in discomfort.

But regardless, I feel like there’s room for me in the pop world so long as I’m making a difference in history, and I’d love to see if I get as much recognition and appreciation by being relatable and trying to fit into the same world as Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. I’m an artist of analytics and data, and I’d just love to see if I’m appreciated as an artist if I’m not writing music that could be tokenized by the wrong demographic. It’s exciting, but also a challenge.

What has reception for your music been like in Canada from the Palestinian and wider Muslim communities? How about from white communities?

Honestly, it’s very weird. I feel like the Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab communities have known about me for quite a few years and that I was seen and recognized as an artist before the rest of Canada and the world had acknowledged me as one. But I feel like my music and career have sustained because of all the new people that have joined throughout Canada that don’t look like me.

What message do you hope listeners will take away from your music?

That there’s no point in trying to be the best in every single situation. You don’t have to be the prettiest, coolest, or the funniest one in the room all the time. For so much of my life I felt like I had to dance, doing the most to stand out so I could be accepted. Whereas now I just think there’s so much room for not having to be like that.  

How has Spotify for Artist tools helped you?

I actually navigated my last tour with Spotify Artist tools. My manager and I would just go through the analytics and make decisions on what to hold off on and what to do. It’s funny, when it comes to my songwriting, I’m very free-spirited with no real strategy, but when it comes to using Artist tools, I become very analytical and strategic.

Who are some fellow Canadian artists that have inspired you? How about other Arab or Palestinian artists living in the diaspora?

Oh my gosh, there are so many. I love Nelly Furtado. I think she’s so good that I even forget that she’s Canadian, and the impact she’s had on us all has been enormous. I also love Joni Mitchell.

And of course, Céline Dion! I always say that she’s like the Coca-Cola of music in that no matter where you go, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine, or China, everybody knows “My Heart Will Go On.” They know what movie it comes from, who sang it, and they’ll even belt it out word for word. There’s a lot of power in being an artist like that.

Outside of Canada, Yuna is a big one that I’d like to mention. When I was in grade 10 back in 2011, she had just released “Decorate,” and I emailed her to tell her that I thought what she was doing was great, and the fact that there was a woman singing in a hijab in pop music blew my mind. She later emailed me back with a lot of encouraging words, and honestly, I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for that email.

Start listening to the sound of Nemahsis with her eleven achers EP.

‘CAN You Hear Me’ Returns as Toronto Music Producer Ikky Creates a Musical Melting Pot

June 15, 2023

In celebration of Canadian artistry, For the Record has launched CAN You Hear Me, a series championing the music, unique talent, and diverse cultures found in the Great White North—from the jazz bars in Québec to the dance clubs in Ontario all the way to the powwows in the west.

Next up in our series is the trendsetting producer gaining international acclaim Ikwinder Sahota, better known as Ikky. Through his 4N Records imprint (pronounced “foreign”) on Warner Music Canada and his 4N Nights concert series, the 22-year-old from the Rexdale neighborhood of Toronto has been effectively bridging the gap between the exploding music scenes in India and the rest of the world.

Growing up Indian in the cultural melting pot that is the Toronto music scene has helped Ikky seamlessly blend Punjabi Bhangra music with hip-hop, pop, and Caribbean sounds into a unique style that highlights the cultural exchange that defines his home city. He has worked with some of the biggest Punjabi artists in the world today, including Diljit Dosanjh and Shubh. The Four You EP released this year with Karan Aujla was an instant hit, taking in tens of millions of streams per track, with “52 Bars” taking the top spot for listens.

For the Record sat down with Ikky to talk about life growing up in Canada, his love of Drake, and what it means to carve out a space for South Asian talent.

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey into music?

My father used to write music and he had a dream of being in the music industry, but since it never happened to him, he shoved my brother and me into it. At the time, I didn’t really want to do it, but I developed a taste for the music and mixes you’d hear in dance music and started remixing when I was around 8 years old. My brother then joined in and we’d do live shows, then we’d start learning some instruments, and by the time I was 12, I’d really started to grasp the extent and joy found in the world of production.

So, from then on, I started working on my craft. I learned lots, made songs either with my voice or someone else’s, began meeting some people within the industry, and by the time I was in grade 12, I had a hit record. 

Your music spans and intersects multiple genres and cultures, resulting in a vibe that’s almost a signature of Toronto music. Can you share a bit about where that sound came from for you?

Here in Toronto, the people I grew up with were Punjabi, Hindu, Muslim . . . there was this fusion of cultures. Even the music was a mix of the traditional stuff we all knew and what we listened to that was part of living in Toronto. So I would listen to Jay-Z growing up and show his music to my Black and white friends. Then they’d show me what they were listening to and everything just kind of blends together.

I feel like with my music, even though it combines a lot of different elements, you’re not consciously thinking that I tried to make an American song, an Indian song, or a Spanish song. It sounds like a natural exchange because that’s what growing up in Toronto was like. You only learn that by literally growing up here.    

What prompted your label, 4N Records?

As production became my calling, I was getting a lot of ghost work for hire, but it really felt like I was working on the client’s dream more than my own. It just became a job that I took so I could stay afloat and afford going to university. But then I met Mathew Fruitman and Eric Lawrence from Coalition Music, and in talking with them, I started thinking that maybe there was a bigger picture to this, and I could really evolve into doing things I want to do and create an entity where other artists and music could live on beyond me.

And it started off as a Punjabi kind of entity, but eventually I went for it and made it culturally diverse for everybody. Whether you’re from America listening to Indian sounds or in India listening to American ones, foreign music is what we make at 4N. And as a guy from Toronto where we get hit with every sort of culture, I made it a point to make it diverse and unique.

Along with the Canadian scene, you’ve been a big part of the growing worldwide success of Punjabi music. What was your experience in bringing the language to international ears?

I think over the last couple of years, people have really started to pay attention to Punjabi music, and I think I kind of helped close the gap on the producer end of things. We have a lot of artists breaking through, but as a producer I feel like it’s my job to direct them into the lane towards exposure. And honestly, I think I do a good job of that because of the team I have. My dream has become theirs too, and I truly feel like we’re at the forefront of something great.

The Punjabi music community isn’t as big as America’s, and there are barely any collaborations. So I’m trying to shine my light on them, bring them over here, and have our team all work together so that we’re on the same page. To make Punjabi relevant, we’ve got to do this on our own and open the gate. And when that gate’s open, it’s open forever. 

What’s one message you’d like listeners to take away from your music?

I think it’s just to work with a greater cause in mind. Every time I drop a project, I’m thinking of the generation after me as they hold this music until the end of their lives.

How have Spotify’s artist tools helped you? 

Spotify for Artists has been a fantastic tool in researching. It’s helped me understand my demographic better and it allows me to do the right kind of research that helps me plan things out. I know where to book shows based on where my listeners are and can take a look at the streams of my tracks and learn about what’s been working. 

Which fellow Canadian artists inspire you?

I’m kind of biased because I’m also from Toronto, but Drake. He’s able to tell a story, whether it’s through an interlude or a full album. Even when he’s not really singing on it, it’s undeniably his song. Listening to Drake has been my inspiration this whole time because he showed me that there’s more to making music than just whipping up some sounds. He’s really one of my biggest inspirations in terms of music and how he lives his life.

What songs are on your On Repeat playlist?

I listen to Drake all day, man. “Do Not Disturb,” “Keep the Family Close”. . . yeah, it’s those stories for me. 

I listen to a lot of The Weeknd, too, because, again, his pop is not everyone else’s pop. It’s honestly been crazy to see him grow as an artist the past few years.

Hear what Ikky offers to the cultural exchange of music in our This Is Ikky playlist.

Charlotte Cardin Kicks Off ‘CAN You Hear Me,’ Spotify’s New Series Dedicated to Canada’s One-of-a-Kind Music Scene

May 31, 2023

In celebration of Canadian artistry, For the Record is launching CAN You Hear Me, a series championing the music, unique talent, and diverse cultures found in the Great White North—from the jazz bars in Québec to the dance clubs in Ontario all the way to the powwows in the west.

Kicking off our series is French-Canadian artist Charlotte Cardin. Charlotte’s smoky and sensual voice, genre-defying pop sound, and deeply vulnerable songwriting have made her one of the most notable breakout artists from Canada in recent years.

The 28-year-old performer grew up in the French-Canadian music mecca of Montréal, Québec, where legends like KAYTRANADA, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the queen of divas herself—Céline Dion—got their start. Charlotte made a strong first impression in 2016 with her debut release, Big Boy. Creating a deeply atmospheric-yet-minimal vibe, the bilingual EP quickly rose the charts and earned her a nomination for the 2017 SOCAN Songwriting Prize. In the process, Charlotte became the first artist in SOCAN history to be nominated in both the French and English categories.

Charlotte continued to build on that momentum, and she hit a career milestone in 2021 when her debut album, Phoenix, spent two weeks at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. In the months that followed, the album was longlisted for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize, and Charlotte was the most-nominated artist at the 2022 Juno Awards, where she won Album of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Single of the Year (for “Meaningless“), and the highly coveted Artist of the Year.

Charlotte shows no signs of slowing down. The singer has performed for fans all over the world, and she participated in Spotify Singles, where she delivered an incredible Spanish/English mixed cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back 2 Black” and a French version of “XOXO” from Phoenix.

Most recently, Charlotte surprised fans with the release of “Confetti” and “Looping,” the first singles from her upcoming album, 99 Nights. She also announced plans for a 40-date world tour kicking off at the end of August.

For the Record sat down with Charlotte to talk about life growing up in Canada, the Montréal music scene, and what songs she’s got on repeat.

Tell us a bit about your journey into music.

I started doing music when I was very young. While neither of my parents were professionally into music, we were a musical family. My dad was—and still is—a huge rock fan, and my mom always encouraged us to have a bit of musical knowledge. When I was eight years old, I started taking singing lessons and it was a total love-at-first-sight situation. I had always enjoyed singing, but to learn how to do it properly and control my voice was like being in a massive playground. 

Growing up, I discovered all these people from my small city who were doing these really beautiful, creative things. Seeing them made me want to both follow in their footsteps and explore my own path. After taking singing lessons for 10 years, I finally started writing music, which also doubled as a way to process my emotions.

How would you describe the music scene in Montréal?

Extremely eclectic and creative. I think that comes from the fact that the city is bilingual, so you have these bubbles of Francophone and Anglophone singer-songwriters with their own little ecosystems who coexist beautifully. They’re always moving and merging and doing new things across so many genres. And when you combine that with all the different international cultures that exist in Montréal, you get something so beautiful, diverse, and stimulating.

Can you tell us about the unique balancing act required to bring both Québécois and English into your music?

It’s always come pretty naturally to me, especially when I’m singing. It’s hard to explain, but growing up bilingual, I feel certain parts of my personality are better expressed in one language or the other, depending on how I experienced the story I’m telling. It all just kind of coexists inside of me. Most of my music is in English, but singing in French is important to me because, being French Canadian, I feel like there’s a huge appreciation from my Francophone fans. And ultimately, that allows me to connect even more to them.

Can you tell us a little bit about your new album, 99 Nights?

I’m very excited about releasing 99 Nights this summer. It’s an album that’s very meaningful to me and was written in a time when I was going through a lot of personal stuff. So the creative process behind the album was very much an escape mechanism, which fans will hear in the extremely vulnerable songwriting and storytelling. It’s called 99 Nights because, for the first three months or so that I spent writing the album, I was just trying to reconnect with the important stuff in my life and make some big changes. It was pretty therapeutic and helped me cope with a lot of big things and make some huge life changes.

Honestly, I just hope that some people can just relate to the experiences I’ve shared on the album and have it help them. 

What was it like working on Spotify Singles?

It was so cool to have so much creative leeway with the music I wanted to cover. I love listening to Spotify Singles because it’s nice to hear artists cover other artists and find a fun way to merge different genres. That really inspired me to be extra playful with my song choices and the styles I performed them in.

What Canadian artists have inspired you?

There are so many, but the first name that comes to mind is Patrick Watson, who has become a very dear friend of mine. I grew up respecting his music immensely and still do. He has such a talent for painting beautiful pictures with his music, so it was wonderful to collaborate with this artist, who it turns out lived just a few streets down from me when I was in Montréal.

And it may be a cliché answer, but as a French-Canadian girl growing up in the late ’90s, Celine Dion is the reason I started singing. There are so many home videos of me singing her songs in recitals and talent shows. Listening to her now as an adult, I feel this deep, nostalgic connection that’s always been a part of my life.

What songs would we find on your On Repeat playlist?

It’s funny because I feel like I’ve been curating this one playlist for the last 10 years, and it’s almost all I listen to. But I feel like one song that comes to mind is “Sideways” by Citizen Cope. It’s just like one of my ultimate favorite songs. Other songs in heavy rotation include “House of Cards” by Radiohead and “I Try” by Macy Gray. 

 

Get ready for 99 Nights by hitting play on Charlotte Cardin’s latest singles.