LINDSAY ELL
For the full conversation , listen to the Sept . 9 , 2020 episode
CM : When you ’ re in the studio , are there cases when you ’ re taking into consideration how things are going to translate live – maybe making sure the vocal and guitar parts can work out harmoniously when you don ’ t have infinite tracks to work with ?
Lindsay Ell : I look at playing live shows , writing songs , and being in the studio as being three different parts of the brain . I love all of them , though probably look at playing live and being on the stage as being my “ home ” because that ’ s where I grew up . I started playing shows when I was 10 years old and it ’ s truly where I feel the most at home . But I look at all of them as different things . But don ’ t get me wrong , I definitely write grooves and elements that I know I can just sink into my element in front of thousands of fans singing along and that ’ s where I always think about live in the back of my mind .
But recording a song in the studio is just a different thing , especially in guitar-solo world . There , I feel like less-is-more , oftentimes . I look at guitar solos as additional lyrics to a song . So , in the studio , I will play certain things that I wouldn ’ t necessarily approach the same way live . Oftentimes , in the studio , I ’ ll play exactly what I feel that song needed because that song is going to be sitting in concrete for the rest of time . But always in the studio I am making mental notes , like , “ Okay , live we ’ re going to do this .” But then when it comes to me and my band looking at a live show , all the rules are off . We extend solos , we extend outros , we extend intros , and I really want to make the live show full of those special moments and all of those things can ’ t necessarily be captured the same way on a recording .
18 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
AS HEARD ON THE ...
Matt Maw of
RED MUSIC RISING
For the full conversation , listen to the Sept . 2 , 2020 episode
CM : You ’ re now heading Red Music Rising , the first label and artist services company entirely run by Indigenous professionals for Indigenous artists . In terms the A & R part of it , how are you selecting the artists you ’ re working with ?
Matt Maw : We are genre-agnostic . So , really my personal passion is artist development . That is what I sought to do with my career from day one . So , either from a management or label perspective , we ’ re looking to work with artists who are making contemporary , interesting , commerciallyviable music . There is , of course , always going to be an element of indigeneity to these artists ’ music because that is who they are intrinsically and inherently .
I am also , however , here to sort of dispel the idea that “ Indigenous ” is a genre . I personally don ’ t know that what means and how it can categorize young artists who are spanning genres and winning awards in different categories . To sort of have this catch-all term , genre-wise , of “ Indigenous ” just doesn ’ t make sense to me anymore .
DOMINIQUE FILS-AIMÉ
For the full conversation , listen to the Aug . 19 , 2020 episode
CM : You ’ re working on the third album of a trilogy that lyrically and stylistically take listeners through the history of popular Black music . Your debut LP , 2018 ’ s Nameless , explored blues music , and the Polaris-shortlisted album Stay Tuned ! explored jazz . You ’ ve said the next album will explore contemporary styles , from funk to hip-hop and R & B . Looking back , how ’ d you have the artistic confidence to take on a three-album concept project beginning on a debut album ? It must have looked like a large mountain to climb ?
Dominique Fils-Aimé : It ’ s funny because I would ’ ve not looked at it like a mountain , but I see what you mean . It could look like that from an outside perspective . But I got really lucky because everything started with my manager and when we signed together , he said , “ I want you to convey whatever creative vision you have . It doesn ’ t need to be something that would sell or something that would be radio-friendly . It just needs to authentic .” That is what I always craved – the power and freedom to create exactly what I wanted and not care if it fit socially or not . So , he told me , “ You have six months to create whatever concept seems like you ’ d feel comfortable with ,” basically . Like , “ Figure out whatever would be your dream album and we ’ ll see how close we can go .”
When I suggested the trilogy , to me , it was a way to structure all these emotions that I want to convey and how every person is influenced by so many musical genres and absorbs so many emotions from the music they listen to from a young age . The question to myself was , “ Who am I musically ? What message do I want to bring , and what is my voice and genre ? What type of music do I want to create ?” I realized that I don ’ t want to create any specific genre , I want to express the emotion with whatever genre fits at that moment .
Listen to new episodes of the Canadian Musician Podcast every Wednesday at www . canadianmusicianpodcast . com . All episodes can be found on the website or through Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Stitcher , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts .
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