Canadian Musician - September/October 2020 | Page 78

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By Andrew King
ANDRE CAHOUN
What:
R&B/Soul
Where:
Toronto, ON
Visit:
www.andrecahoun.com
To only call Andre Cahoun a musical artist would be to sell him
short; really, Cahoun is a talented multi-disciplinary creator who
happens to make catchy and compelling music anchored by
slick productions and sincere convictions. His debut EP, Short
Term, covers a good amount of stylistic and sentimental ground
across just four tracks; however, it’s best consumed as a whole in
Cahoun’s ambitious and affecting short film of the same name,
which he wrote, directed, edited, and stars in. The 10-minute
piece combines the EP’s four offerings with gripping visuals from
Director of Photography Julian Lomaga, resulting in a one-of-akind
narrative journey.
It’s fitting that an actor, filmmaker, singer, songwriter, and record
producer would have a knack for pairing sound and picture in such a
cool and creative way, but again, the music more than stands on its
own outside of the grander project. Songs such as “Awful Misery” and
“Now” boast simple but seductive backing tracks with Cahoun’s gentle
crooning and undiluted lyrics that you can – and should – sink right into.
There’s a lot to like in Heather Janssen’s signature sonic concoction,
which combines tinges of influence from many of music’s most
celebrated performers – silk-voiced jazz crooners of decades past, folk
music’s best storytellers, contemporary indie pop innovators, and lots
in between.
Janssen found a following relatively quickly by posting a mix of original
songs and reimagined covers to YouTube through her teens. She’s
maintained that mix in recent years, though the quality of the nowtwentysomething’s
own compositions has increased considerably. Take
her latest single, “Keeping Secrets,” as an example. The fully-produced
track is as good as anything crowding the Top 40 these days (try getting
that hook out of your head), and the recently-posted “Live at Peartree
Studios” version on her popular YouTube channel shows she’s got the
chops and charisma to recapture and reimagine its magic whenever
and wherever she wants. She’s got a brand-new collection of singles
dropping throughout 2020, so keep an ear out as there’s something to
satisfy everyone sewn into her style.
HEATHER JANSSEN
What:
Alt-Pop
Where:
Hamilton, ON
Visit:
www.heatherjanssen
music.com
SARGEANT X
COMRADE
What:
Lo-Fi Soul
Where:
Calgary, AB
Visit:
www.sargeantand
comrade.com
Boasting one of the freshest musical fusions to come out
of Canada in recent memory, Sargeant X Comrade combine
crafty vintage vinyl-sampled beats from producer
Evgeniy (aka Comrade) with Yolanda Sargeant’s smoky,
sensuous vocal prowess. They’ve filled their bandwagon
with intrigued listeners pretty quickly thanks to a string
of singles throughout the first half of 2020, leading up to
the June release of their debut LP, Magic Radio.
The LP makes clear it’s not just the taste-making public
joining the movement, with hip-hop heavyweights like
Planet Asia, Kool Keith, Moka Only, and Choclair lending
their talents to the collection. That’s some fine icing for the
cake, but rest assured this would be almost as impressive
of a debut without them. With the masterful command of
icons like Nina Simone and Erykah Badu, Sargeant effortlessly
sways from stirring wistfulness to upbeat bliss while Comrade’s productions harken back to the
glory days of ‘90s New York and Detroit hip-hop with a modern touch that makes them compelling
enough to stand on their own. Theirs is a steep upward tangent that, if they continue producing
this level of output, will only get steeper in the coming months.
78 CANADIAN MUSICIAN