CONVENE Podcast

In this episode, we spoke to Mason Windels, Co-Founder of Summer Cool Creative Agency and the Montreal-based web radio station n10.as. Mason Windles shared his journey growing his business, amplifying artists, and advocating for infrastructure changes in Montreal. Given Mason’s experience managing distribution and product order fulfillment logistics for artists, he offered a fresh take on what improvements are needed within Canada. Mason also shared a common sentiment: the greatest way to curb burnout and build sustainable careers is to address the overall lack of infrastructure and investment in the Canadian music industry.

In this episode, we connected with Kevin Amougou who is a Montreal-based artist manager, and is the founder of the music management company NOTE (Next One to Enjoy) and the label Coat on Club. Kevin has been making moves and building bridges since his early days as a club promoter. From Kevin’s perspective, several elements such as access to information and intergenerational mentorship are needed to build the music scene in each city. While Kevin acknowledges that cross-city and bilingual collaborations are slowly happening, he explains that one of the most challenging barriers from a Montreal perspective in building an ecosystem is the lack of institutional recognition that is given to R&B and Hip Hop.

In this conversation, we spoke to DJ Pøptrt, who is an Indigenous DJ and artist from the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawake. DJ Poptrt brings a very important and overlooked perspective to this conversation regarding collaboration and language barriers, specifically in the ways they impact the Indigenous cultures living near both Montreal and Toronto. She explains that the Francophone language barrier not only challenges the connection between the Anglophone artists and talent in Montreal but also, the Indigenous artists, leaving their history, their art, and their stories out of Canadian art, music, and culture on many levels. DJ Poptrt is passionate about the role that knowledge sharing and community development plays in building a music ecosystem and developing artists on an individual level.

In this episode we spoke with FLOW 93.5FM on-air personality and “Made In Toronto” host, Ricochet on his role as a culture curator shining a spotlight on the city’s talent and advocating for Black music in Canada’s radio industry. Although many would say that radio is fading as a medium, Ricochet believes that commercial radio will evolve, adapt and continue to be a valuable discovery platform for local artists in each respective city. He shares his opinions on why this is important, especially given the scarcity of Hip Hop outlets at the commercial radio level in Canada. Ricochet also talks about the misperceptions and disconnect between the music landscapes in Toronto and Montreal and how that is a barrier to collaboration. As a suggestion, Ricochet shares his thoughts on how influential Canadian artists and platforms can play a role in influencing culture and collaboration between Montreal and Toronto.

In this episode, we speak with Toronto-based Producer Junia T about the valuable learnings gained through his debut album Studio Monk in 2020. He shares key insights on his collaboration philosophy — humanizing, grounding, and preparing a space that is free for creativity to flourish, while also prioritizing investing financially into each collaborator, recognizing their value and paying them at their rate. In respect to the Montreal/Toronto ecosystem, Junia T highlights the DJ and Party scenes of each city as major facilitators in establishing connections and promoting discoverability. Staying close to his roots in the studio, Junia T also offers suggestions on how studio spaces can become key contributors as physical spaces where talent can connect, where the community can be built and art can be made.

In this episode, we spoke with Montreal-born and raised Naya Ali about how she is intentionally paving the way for herself in a market with substantial gaps in support and infrastructure for Anglo rap artists. Naya Ali has taken initiative to lead cross-city and bilingual collaborations with producers and artists from Montreal and Toronto. She also speaks on how this approach leverages the uniqueness and diversity that each city is known and loved for, ultimately making music that can resonate on an international level.

In this episode, we spoke with Obuxum, Toronto-based Somali-Canadian producer and beatmaker, about her experience expanding her music to the gaming industry and how that has inspired new avenues. Obuxum offers advice to emerging artists looking to build and connect in Toronto’s music industry, pointing to the valuable resources available in community art and music spaces. Obuxum also shares her experience performing in major Montreal festivals like Pop Montreal and Mutek, and how they have exposed her to other Canadian and International talent. In the future, Obuxum imagines that more diversity and connections could be fostered in the Canadian landscape overall if hybrid programs and experiences were designed to bridge the gap between Montreal and Toronto.

In this episode, we spoke to Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of SOCAN Foundation, Educator, and Ph.D. candidate at the Ted Rogers School Of Management. The conversation begins with a discussion around how music education, programming, and fund development/investment can support the music ecosystem and empower artists in having sustainable careers. Charlie identifies what she believes to be three key barriers to the Montreal x Toronto collaboration: resources (funding, etc)., time, and equity & diversity. We also discuss the richness of culture and identity that is present in cities like Montreal and Toronto, as well as the opportunities to find alignment and solidarity around issues that affect the Canadian music landscape as a whole.

In this episode, we connected with Montreal-born photographer and visual storyteller Naskademini who’s eye for capturing high-profile brands and people has been featured in publications like Hypebeast and Complex. Naturally, Naskademini impresses the importance of archival documentation and visuals on music culture, artist identity, and fan connection. Especially as Canadian artists from cities like Montreal and Toronto who are often imitating their U.S counterparts, it’s important for Torontonians and Montrealers to own the sound and nuances of their cities so they can cultivate Canadian pride in their music and visual identity. Naskademini also encourages the notion of intentional collaboration between Anglo and Francophone artists as a way of purposefully acknowledging their goal of bridging the gap and amplifying the talent of both cities on a global scale.

In this episode, we spoke with Cadence Weapon, Edmonton-born, Toronto-based rapper, producer, writer, and poet about the importance of sustaining the history and culture of the creative community in both Montreal and Toronto. Right out the gate, Cadence Weapon expresses his passion for archiving music history and believes it is key to preserving culture as music expands to new audiences, generations, and cities. Cadence also lends his lived experiences as an artist who has lived and worked in both cities to highlight the distinct differences between the communities, cultures, mindsets, and infrastructures. He suggests that collaboration can exist between the two — that Montreal can influence Toronto to be more of an artist/cultural incubator and that Toronto can bring more of its business acumen to the table. Cadence Weapon believes that bridging the strengths of both cities together in a cross-city collaboration is a clever tool; one that he utilizes because of the way it elevates the energy, creativity and execution of the work.