Every year, thousands of artists worldwide vie for a spot in the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy, a 5-week music production and performance clinic that offers 60 successful applicants a chance to experience a series of lectures, workshops, and performance opportunities, all designed to cultivate young musical talent. In advance of this year’s session in Paris, RBMA has invited 20 Canadian noisemakers to Montreal for Bass Camp, a companion event held over 4 days and 4 nights that includes lectures, studio collaborations, and performances by headliners like BadBadNotGood, Jacques Greene, and DJ Quik. Headliner showcases are open to the public, and tickets can be acquired here.
We tracked down some of the talented Canadians hand-picked for RBMA Bass Camp Montreal, and asked them a few questions about their creative process, what it means to be recognized on this level, and being Canadian. Get familiar now, because these artists are about to blow up. Let’s meet the class of RBMA Bass Camp Montreal 2015.
The Wayo
Songwriter and producer Charlotte Day Wilson splits her time between Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto, crafting a sound that’s as diverse as her geography, blending hip-hop, soul, and jazz influences. The Wayo’s mellow, jangly grooves make her a bit of an outlier in the RBMA Bass Camp class of 2015, but her originality makes the spot all the more deserved. She can put together a mean Drake cover, too.
What was your introduction to producing music, and what made you want to start?
Unfortunately, there’s a huge lack of female producers out there. So, I’m determined to continue pursuing production alongside performance and songwriting in order to change that. When I was in high school, I would use Garageband to try and recreate my favourite songs and beats. I had a good knowledge of keyboard and theory, so I was able to lift harmonies and melodies, but I knew nothing about recording and producing. So it was a challenge to try and emulate the sounds I was studying. Gradually, I started recording my own music, still on Garageband, which obviously had its limits, but it forced me to be creative in achieving the sounds that I wanted. When I started actually putting my music out there, I was a bit shocked by the amount of people asking who’d produced it.
You’ve split your time between Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto. Which city is your home base, and how do you view the music scene there?
Toronto. Toronto is funny because you hear or see traces of Drake every day, no matter what. It’s bizarre for me, because my cousin Oliver [El-Khatib] started OVO so I’ve been able to see what a Toronto success story looks like. Drake aside, Toronto’s got a lot of musical diversity, which is great, but it can make it hard to know where you fit in. I play lots of different kinds of music, and I don’t want to pigeonhole myself as one thing or another. So I spend a lot of time hopping around the different scenes, taking influences from each and incorporating them in my sounds.
What’s your dream collaboration?
A writing session with Nai Palm, Chilly Gonzales, D’Angelo and myself.
Compared to the United States, the Canadian music scene is much smaller. How does this affect the music you’re creating? Is it an advantage, or a disadvantage?
It depends where in Canada you live. I feel lucky to be from Toronto, because there are a lot of opportunities for musicians because the economy is good. I lived in Halifax for a while, where the community was super supportive of the arts, but there was a lot less chance of getting recognized outside of the province. The thing about Canada is that it spans so wide. The distance between each major city is significant, so the artistic scenes tend to be pretty contained within themselves. It’s a lot harder to tour in Canada because of travel costs and time.
Iron Galaxy
Montreal native Adam Hodgins’ techno and house experiments materialize in the form of Iron Galaxy, a gear-head’s four-on-the-floor dream come true. Iron Galaxy uses an impressive lineup of analog gear to generate lush pads, pulsating basslines, and blippy synth leads that are both technically impressive and emotionally affecting.
Where are you from, and what’s it like to be a part of the music scene there?
I'm originally from Thunder Bay Ontario, but I've lived in Montreal for a little while now. Growing up in Thunder Bay, Minneapolis was the nearest big American city where you could buy records, and see bigger artists come through. In Montreal, there are so many people throwing parties, making music, DJing, running labels etc. It's great to see the diversity that comes out of the scene here. It's a blessing to have so many institutions like Piknic, Mutek, Igloofest etc. in our own backyard. I'm excited to see them expanding to other cities throughout the world.
Who or what is your main influence when it comes to music creation?
I like so many different styles of music that it's hard to say exactly. I have an affinity for melody, and that probably comes from a lot of early IDM stuff. I find that particular pieces of gear can heavily influence what I make. If I fire up a 909 to do some drums, you start thinking of all the classic tracks made with it, and that inevitably influences what you're making.
What was your reaction when Red Bull reached out to invite you to Bass Camp? Had you had any experience or knowledge of the Red Bull Music Academy previously?
I had some friends who were participants of Bass Camp last year, and they only had good things to say about the whole experience, so it'll be exciting to be a part of it this year. I've applied to RBMA proper a few times, but was never one of the lucky ones. It's amazing to see what they've created and curated over the past 17 years.
Describe your creative process in 5 words or less.
Try something different every time.
Nick Wisdom
Performing in Montreal by way of Vancouver, Nick Wisdom’s beats combine a classic hip-hop sensibility with an off-kilter approach to sonic experimentation. As one half of Potatohead People (along with fellow Bass Camp attendee AstroLogical) and founder of the Montreal-based MELT collective, Nick Wisdom is doing big things in 2015.
What was your introduction to producing music, and what made you want to start?
In 2008, a friend of mine showed me Madlib and then J Dilla. I had heard a lot of music he had produced, but at the time I didn’t know who was behind the beats. I fell in love with this type of music, and it really spoke to me. Fantastic Vol. 2 by Slum Village was the album for me. In 2010, I got my first piece of gear and started making my own beats.
What’s the music scene in Vancouver like, compared to the scene in Montreal?
I really value both cities for their own reasons. I’m out here in Montreal right now because I feel like there’s more of an audience here, locally and globally. There is more support for what we artists are doing here, and it makes you work harder. You don’t want to pass that up. I met a lot of really talented people out here and it’s been inspiring to work with them in the studio. Back home in Vancouver is where my closest musical collaborators are, like AstroLogical, Moka Only, and Mosaic live and I really do miss working side-by-side in the studio.
What’s your dream collaboration?
I think it would be crazy to have a band with my Mom, Dad and Sister. That would be sick.
What are the “tools” of your trade? Is there a piece of gear, or software that you couldn’t live without?
The one thing I really couldn’t live without are my headphones. For me that’s usually the last place to check the mix.
