Fresh Content

Show date:  Oct. 15, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Amanda

Amanda Sum is a performer and creator who dances between music and theatre. Her latest EP, does it make me naive if i’ve never been part of something where i’ve meant more to them than they did to me?, was released in June 2024, accompanied by a short film featuring 13 directors, which is due later this year. Her 2022 music video Different Than Before garnered a JUNO nomination and won the SXSW Music Video Jury Award.

As Theatre Replacement’s COLLIDER Artist, Amanda created New Age Attitudes: Live in Concert, which premiered in 2023 and will continue to tour in 2025. Amanda is currently working on her next full-length record, and is developing its accompanying experimental theatre show.

We talked to Amanda about her new project and writing really short songs in a suite. Download the lyrics to follow along, and be sure to check out the tout suite on Bandcamp.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2024 to write a holiday song. Please send us your answers to the challenge by November 18!
  • How Amanda’s EP evolved from a medley of songs into a suite
  • Saying more (or enough) with less: “Just because it’s 15 seconds doesn’t mean it’s not a song.”
  • How this kind of idea lets you throw out traditional song structures
  • Considerations Amanda took for also performing the entire suite live
  • How recording this project almost broke Amanda’s brain
  • The challenges of digitally distributing this kind of project

Show date:  Oct. 08, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Avery

Returning recently from Europe, where she performed, and earned her master’s degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, Canadian Billboard-charting recording artist and alternative Soul singer Avery Raquel has entertained audiences professionally for over a decade.

She’s released 4 solo albums and two EPs now to critical acclaim. Her last self-titled release debuted on the Canadian iTunes Top 200 RnB/Soul album chart at #5. Five tracks from that album were finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2022 and 2023 in 4 different categories, with one winning the Grand Prize in the Pop category. Her latest single from her new EP ‘Scratching At The Surface’ was a recent finalist in the same competition.

Relatable, yet personal, Avery’s writing is a soulful fun mix of RnB/Soul, Funk, and Pop, with a flavour of her Jazz and Blues experiences.

Avery talked about writing songs after learning she has Synesthesia, an umbrella term for the intersection of senses. She shared her master’s thesis song, Guests. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2024 to write a holiday song. Please send us your answers to the challenge by November 18!
  • Congratulations to our recent guest Jade Turner for winning the Vince Fontaine Indigenous Song Award from SOCAN for her track This Song Sucks
  • How Avery uses her chromathesia condition (a type of synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape, and movement) to decide upon chord choices
  • How everybody who experiences Synethesia (Synesthetes) experiences it differently  – like for Avery, major seventh chords always invoke sunset orange and minor seventh chords are dark blue
  • Personifying emotions and incorporating I, You, He, and She in your song
  • Writing a song like a jazz standard with a nursery rhyme quality
  • Famous musicians who also have Synesthesia
  • Talking about music (is like dancing about architecture)

Show date:  Sep. 30, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Kromatix

Matthew Isaacs, aka Kromatix_, is a Neo-Soul and R&B singer, songwriter, recording artist, and jazz pianist emanating from Scarborough, Toronto, Canada. Known for his signature style, he blends sublime lyricism with groovy beats, trademark harmonies, and soulful chord progressions that simply compliments his euphonious vocal tones. Sharing his truth where original music and art connect, Kromatix_’s deep and expressive lyrics will leave the heart fulfilled while taking you down a relatable journey that explores sex, love, and relationships. Excited to share his music and story with the world, Kromatix_ takes on a very personal approach in his recently released EP titled, “Cosmic Love”, Kromatix_ delves into life’s ups and downs, and the experiences of love. Working on his first full length album, Kromatix_ has much more in store for 2025.

Kromatix_ shared the process behind his song Not A Love Song. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2024 to write a holiday song. Please send us your answers to the challenge by November 18!
  • CBC The Current: Could doctors soon prescribe music as medicine?
  • Getting ideas for songs through natural conversations
  • Working with producer OK Wess
  • Recording ideas on your phone and taking the time to revisit them
  • Doing a variation on your verse for verse 2
  • Using a “tape stop” for an effective transition
  • Making use of space in your song
  • Writing melodies with off-chord notes (7ths, 9ths, 13ths, etc.)

Show date:  Sep. 24, 2024

Neel and Phil

For this special episodes, we talked about songs with a post-chorus.

The songs:

What are your favourite songs with a pre-chorus? Let us know!

Our Spotify Playlist of songs with a post-chorus

 

Show date:  Sep. 16, 2024

Neel, Phil, and Sherry

Sherry Jacoby is a Toronto, Canada-based singer/songwriter who exercises her passion for telling personal stories through song. She writes indie pop/folk for the romantic heart, combining the influences of Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, and Gabrielle Alpin.

Sherry’s music story began when her mom taught her piano at a young age. Inspired by her mom’s talent but wanting to march to the beat of her own instrument, she asked for guitar lessons instead. This ignited her passion for writing songs, using imagery and metaphors to paint a picture of her emotional landscape. She went on to release her heartfelt debut EP “My Light” and her anthemic single “Phoenix”.

Most recently, she released her singles “For the Rest of Time” and “Puzzle”. Both songs were produced by Nashville-based acclaimed producer Shannon McArthur who has produced acts including Dashboard Confessional and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows).

Sherry shared the process behind her song Puzzle. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2024 to write a holiday song – send us your song at feedback@songtalk.ca now!
  • ending your song with a modified chorus
  • working with producer Shannon McArthur over Zoom and how the vibe of the song changed
  • recording a song years after you wrote it – would you change anything?
  • getting your song covered by another artist
  • how to get your song played on college radio and for music blogs
  • how important it is to market your music
  • releasing singles vs. albums