Toronto born songstress X. ARI deftly dances in and out of genre lines, moving from enchanting alternative pop to gritty hip-hop production under a cover of electronic elegance. 

According to X. Ari: “As You Are” EP is a mix of mostly songs related to mental health or love and relationships. The song “As You Are” is an anti-bullying empowerment anthem encouraging people to stand up for themselves and own who they are and was released in September, Suicide Prevention Month. “Lifting Up” is a confessional song about my personality and lifestyle. The chorus talks about “falling down” and “breaking my crown” but then rising up afterward and propelling forward. “BSMI” stands for Broke, Single, and Mentally Ill so that song is pretty self-explanatory 🙂 I am still living that single life lol, but I’m no longer broke, thank g-d! “Take Me Home”, “Watching”, and “Be Where You Are” all have the theme of love, hope, and yearning.”

Inaugural poet-laureate Amelie Patterson is the kind of songwriter who can leverage her confident alt-folk songwriting into transfixing musical mechanica. Her new project is The Playlist, a series of diverse rolling singles, each centred on a thematic through-line, playing with genre and mood throughout, experimenting in writing and pushing herself and her collaborators to darken the corners of her moody pop sound-space.

Kicking off The Playlist is “Let Your Trouble Go” about wishing you could hold the grief or burdens of your loved ones for them; allowing them to take the afternoon off and access their memories without fear of being overrun by the sometimes scary and out of control expressions of grief.