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CM : With Toronto having a lively music community and the mayor and city council pushing to make it an “ official music city ,” what kind of influence have you felt from being a musician in Toronto ? KD : It ’ s interesting because we ’ re a fairly young band and we ’ ve had the opportunity to tour as a young band . For me personally , it ’ s only been in the last year that I really felt like I was starting to develop a very meaningful relationship with the music community in Toronto . I only recently moved to Toronto but I ’ ve developed friendships by playing with bands and just by being in the scene .
I ’ m also part of this collective called Toronto Women in Music , which is basically a collective of women in Toronto who are in the music industry , whether as a musician or producer or advertising or PR , and basically a community and safe space is formed to learn more about your craft , learn more about the industry , and ask questions that you might not want to ask in other situations . It ’ s also a space where people that have common experiences can speak to struggles that you have as a woman in the industry . In terms of people that have inspired me and supported me , that group has been very much an integral part of my growth as a musician .
My bandmates obviously have a crazy huge influence on me as well . That is the most immediate relationship in my everyday life in terms of what is influencing me and who I ’ m inspired by – those four guys .
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La + ch
La + ch is part of the Sideways artist collective based out of Toronto , which also includes Coleman Hell , Shan Vincent de Paul , and Michah – a writing , producing , performing , and designing “ band of dreamers .” La + ch , who makes music under his own name while also lending his touch to other artists , took some time to tell Canadian Musician about his contribution to the Sideways world as a keyboardist , synth guru , producer , and writer . He ’ s currently on the road behind the keys with Coleman Hell , supporting the singer ’ s self-titled EP and the massively successful single “ 2 Heads ,” which each feature La + ch ’ s musical fingerprints .
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THE GEAR :
• Roland FA-06 Music Workstation ( Main )
• Yamaha Reface DX Synthesizer ( Secondary )
• Yamaha SPD-SX Sampling Pad
CM : What ’ s the most recent piece of gear added to your live set-up and why did it earn that spot ? La + ch : I just recently grabbed that mini Yamaha [ Reface ] keyboard for pads and other sounds . It has a lot of high quality sounds and it is very easy to swap through sounds quickly live . I like to play bass notes and pad sounds with my left hand and use my main keyboard for piano or organs .
CM : What ’ s the one piece of gear that you can ’ t go without on stage ?
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La + ch : I need my main [ Yamaha ] FA-06 because it has all the sounds I need to play a Coleman Hell set – most importantly the banjo line [ from ” 2 Heads ”], which was written on a keyboard originally .
CM : How did the Sideways collective come together ? La + ch : We ’ ve been collaborating and touring for a while now – I think about two or three years ago when we really started to build up our arsenal , brand of music , and sound . At the end of the day , we all be boys who support each other ’ s musical and creative endeavours . Ride ' til the death .
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CM : In what ways is forming a collective more valuable or helpful than remaining a solo artist , producer , studio musician , or cover artist ? Do you see the music collective becoming the “ way of the future ” for like-minded artists ? La + ch : It seems to me that even when a famous artist is working on an album – for example , Beyoncé – the production and songwriting list is so long . It seems to me most people don ’ t work on their own anymore . I think there ’ s something to be said about collaborating – more minds working on a track . But I also think that having a tight closed room with a few people is smart . It all depends on the vibe .
What we do at Sideways is our own shit and we ain ’ t trying to follow the trends in music right now . Trying to find the balance between selling records and being true to artistry .
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CM : How much of your work is done entirely in the box , versus breaking out your keyboard or another physical instrument ? La + ch : It ’ s a lot of in-thebox work , but we get trumpets , sax , vocals , and other “ real ” instruments recorded . It ’ s cool to layer the real and processed sounds together , in my opinion .
CM : How do you negotiate or balance the pull to write and perform your own music and produce other artists ’ music ? La + ch : I ’ m just learning as I go . If I ’ m on the road , I work less production-wise but also tend to store up a lot of ideas to use back at Sideways – see how the crowd reacts to certain parts live or how things sound in outdoor or bigger rooms . A lot of work gets done on the plane , in the van , hotel room … I always travel with my Apogee Duet [ interface ] and a mic and my mini keyboard . It ’ s too sunny right now for me to wanna do my own shit , but I ’ m definitely working on other people ' s projects . I am feeling inspired and excited for the future of Sideways . Shan Vincent de Paul just released his album and Coleman Hell ’ s is coming out very soon .
CM : What is your ideal writing or production situation like , particularly when you ’ re on the keys ? La + ch : I got my keyboard set up with Logic X and I do all my work in there . Find an emotional set of chords and go from there . As long as when I ’ m creating I can be loud , that ’ s my ideal production situation . I don ’ t really need a technical keyboard ; I ’ ll tweak things later , but I must say I love using the pitchbend / mod wheel . That ’ s something that I can ’ t live without .
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