Expanding the local music dialogue with #SayWrd
Everyone seems to generally understand that, be it electronica, hip-hop, or indie rock, Toronto is a great city when it comes to music. Often, though, when out-of-towners come to Toronto, they’ll do a few quick interviews, play a show, and then leave for the next city as quickly as they arrived. What if there was an opportunity for these artists to be interviewed and talk about their careers to a room full of fans and music-lovers, though?
That’s the idea behind #SayWrd, a music lecture series, being hosted at the Drake Hotel’s new space, The Box. Conceived and moderated by local music blogger and DJ mymanhenri, the purpose of the series is to bring in artists to participate in a “loosey-goosey” discussion and Q&A.
While the general dankness last night made Toronto more closely resemble a Blade Runner-ish dystopia, it didn’t stop several dozen people from packing into a small room for the inaugural #SayWrd. The series’ first guest was Los Angeles-based DJ and instrumental hip-hop producer Sam Baker, a.k.a. Samiyam, who is signed to influential L.A. label Brainfeeder. Started by Steven Ellison—better known as Flying Lotus—the label has become well-regarded by critics and fans alike for putting out innovative electronic music and instrumental hip-hop. Brainfeeder has also become synonymous with the Low End Theory, a club in L.A., known for throwing parties that have drawn in the likes of BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
Having previously met the evening’s host while in Toronto for the Red Bull Music Academy in 2007, Samiyam spoke openly about growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and how sending beats to Flying Lotus through MySpace (“I’d like to give a huge shout out to Tom!” he joked) lead to him moving to L.A., being the first artist to put out a release on Brainfeeder, and touring everywhere from Amsterdam to Hong Kong. He also debated the merits of various musical equipment, played snippets of his songs, and shared plenty of advice with the local DJs and producers in the crowd, which created a real sense of community in the aptly-named The Box.
Not unlike the TEDxToronto conferences and this year’s Polaris Prize record salons, audience participation was heavily encouraged. Those in attendance were invited to ask Samiyam questions at the end of the lecture and to tweet anything from the discussion they found interesting using the hashtag #SayWrd.
While no dates have been set yet, keep an eye out for more #SayWrd talks in the future, with plans for the conversations to be streamed for free online.
