The last month has been amazing change. I moved to a new city, and I’m having a blast! The people seem really down to earth for better or worse. In Hamilton, real Canadians have real problems. It feels a lot like home (Nova Scotia, always). Adversity always has been the turning point for most great men in history. I believe all great artist need struggle in their life. In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) it is hard to find a minority and it’s the only place in Canada where 60% of the population are immigrants. I think it’s hard for artist raised and living in the richer areas of the GTA, to identify with being a visible minority, which the majority of us are across North America. I was adopted and raised by a Caucasian family in Nova Scotia, and was always a visible minority until I moved to T.O. I have to admit it freaked me out for a while, I guess seeing too much on any color all your life will make anyone crazy!
It was interesting to learn that most minorities think about what color they are everyday, whether in a positive or negative way. I never realized it, but I have though about it since I was six everyday! I asked some of my Caucasian majority friends from Nova Scotia and most of them admitted that they never think about it. I Think its hard to know or identify struggle, living in a place where people like to pay more for everything, and think its worth more just because of the cost, in attempt to make your friends and neighbors jealous. Take the library for example, for me it’s a gold mine, but so many people think there is no good stuff in there just because its free. Just like public school, there is a belonging to a group mentality that occurs with kids when they go to school, even with out the uniforms; it’s hard enough to be an individual. School is an institution that sets up our children to be able to function in all the institutions that control our lives and minds…all right enough philosophy on my recent observations :)
BACK TO THE MUSIC!
If you followed my podcast you know that I remixed the entire Yes! album by k-os that was scheduled for release on March 31st, 2009. When I was remixing the album back in November, I had never really remixed anything before. I knew that I was creating some of my best music, as soon as I finished remixing “Burning Bridges”. After the first track the ideas were uncontrollable! I played guitar, sampled the originals, lots of key and drum programming and I couldn’t hold back from singing back up’s on the hook and rapping a verse on “Fun”. I had a goal to change the feeling of each track and allow the listener to focus more on k-os’s amazing lyrics, that a lot of people never hear for whatever reason. I was really happy with the work and was sure I made at least 6 tracks that would be accompanied with the release of the album.
One of the judges, Mantis Evar, contacted me and told me I was going to be a featured artist on his music collaboration site Indaba Music, and I was honored to be a featured artist last week. When I found out that none of my tracks made the compilation I was oddly not sad, mad, pissed or confused. I was passive, and I convinced myself that this is destiny. Many of the tracks used my own original material only, and I was actually really happy to use the tracks to write my upcoming album (which is going very well! I listen to the demos and I’m getting really, really stoked to let the world hear it). Since finishing the remix, I have let more and more people hear my version of Yes!, which puts them in disbelief. A lot of them aren’t interested to hear it at first because they are not big fans of k-os, but they all say they love my version and think k-os is sick afterwards. They love the music and they realize how good of lyricist k-os is! That was the goal.
A friend of mine really loved it and told me it would be a shame for me to not try and make as many people as possible hear my remixes. Since my blog and podcast are usually easily in the 25 000 – 30 000 views within a few weeks, I will be playing them all in their entirety for my next podcast which will be up this weekend! Please check back on my sites (links below this post), iTunes and of course http://gotalovewoman.blogspot.com to subscribe to “S’s Live Podcast”
That is the current in a nutshell or shells. I just got internet at my new house, I could write all day but, I’m cutting it shorter then I’d like to so I can live up to my word and drop the new podcast by the end of the weekend. New photos coming soon too, I’m surprised at how different I look these days. It may sound strange to some, but my dreams have turned to desires and my desires to reality. It takes a lot of practice to convince your sub conscience, but once you figure it out, you can truly control and create your own destiny….
For better or worse! Thanks for sticking with me,
S
“What’s an industry? If the listeners always stand beside me” – Q-Tip
