Bumping Into... is a series of mini-chats with a variety of peeps that you might run into in some of our local music communities. (There's a bit of an intro and my thoughts behind the series here.)
How are you? Where are you?
I'm okay, I think! Currently hunkering down in a shoebox apartment at Bloor and Ossington with my partner Hailey and trying for the occasional long walk / bike ride to remember that the rest of the city exists. It's wild to think about how many different neighbourhoods I used to spend time in before the pandemic hit, how much smaller my scope has become. I miss it. But I'm holding up, all things considered!
What have you been up to since March or so?
Sometimes it feels like I've been up to absolutely nothing at all, haha. But in reality it's been a pretty big year! My band Loji finally released our first EP this summer, with some help from the lovely folks at Safe Sounds. And after losing my job when all the restaurants shut down during lockdown #1, I decided to enrol in Ryerson University's New Media undergrad. Looking forward to learning new ways to make weird and wacky art!
Have you found any new ways to do old things? How are you feeling about the shifts in how music is being made/shared/listened to?
I have so much faith in Bandcamp! Haha. But in all seriousness, it's been a wild shift. I only just got back to Toronto in February after being gone for more than a year, and I came back with such a renewed faith in, and energy for, the local music scene, so it's been weird finding out where to put that while in-person shows aren't happening. That said, I've been enjoying all the livestreams and compilations people have been doing. Even just seeing familiar names in the chat feels so nice. I've been trying to spend less time on the social media monoliths lately, so things like livestreams are great since it feels more like a communal event and you kinda get to catch up with a bunch of people simultaneously. Or just quietly have an experience together, which is also nice.
Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?
I've been listening to so much stuff on LINE Imprint lately, probably because most of their releases totally baffle me and sound nothing like anything I know how to make. And I've also had the new Actress album on heavy rotation. Definitely in a sort of moody cerebral phase lately, which feels fitting.
How are you feeling about 2021?
I think it's gonna be strange times socioculturally, but in a way that I'm optimistic about. Lots of important conversations "started" this year, or at least reached the mainstream to a particularly potent degree, and hopefully that'll continue so we can figure out where to go from here as a society. I think the idea of "community" is going to be particularly important moving forward as well — makes me feel especially grateful for the community that is the Toronto music scene. In terms of tangible stuff like when the world will reopen, I'm feeling a bit reserved but keeping an open mind. Hopefully soon! But even if not, I have faith in our resilience (including faith in you, whoever is reading this).
Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?
Honestly, I still feel so excited about being back in Toronto even though the music scene's gone totally virtual, so I'd probably spend a bunch of time asking you questions about what you've discovered lately (thank you for filling one of these forms out yourself!), and also reminiscing about shows that have stuck with each of us. But also just expressing how grateful I am to see you given how wacky this year has been!
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