Five Minutes With: Toronto Indie Alternative Rock Artist Jeen

Jeen’s songs have been sought after for use in commercials (Google, Panasonic, Estée Lauder, Kraft, BlackBerry, KIA, Rogers, MasterCard, Molson) as well as various movies and television programs (Cook Off, Republic of Doyle, Instant Star, Ruby Gloom, Degrassi, Killjoys, Hockey Wives, Workin’ Moms, MTV Catfish, MTV Are You the One). In addition to her solo work, Jeen has written songs for many recording artists and is a member of Cookie Duster with Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene.

Jeen

Name:

Jeen

Genre:

Indie Alternative Rock

Founded:

I’ve always sang but got more serious about releasing solo albums under just my first name in 2013/2014 ish

# of Albums:

7 plus 2 old ones I never put on digital platforms

Latest Album:

I have a new LP I’m putting out right now, release date Feb 02/2024 called Gold Control and the final single just came out.

Latest Single:

Hold My Head Up Higher (feat Ian Blurton)

Latest Video:

Favourite musician growing up:

Beastie Boys

Favourite musician now:

Also Beastie Boys! Plus Nirvana, The Who, Jane’s Addiction, Pink Floyd etc etc

Guilty pleasure song:

God too many, maybe Lose Yourself by Eminem, but is that even guilty???

Live show ritual:

I always sing the set through quick, early in the day just by myself and I have a super hard time eating on show days too so I need to make sure I eat before I play. Also, I have crippling anxiety sometimes so I’m mostly just trying not to have a panic attack 🙂

Favourite local musician:

Of course have to say my bandmates Stephan Szczesniak and Ian Blurton.

EP or LP?

LP because there’s more but no hate for the EP, I love EP releases too like really early Smashing Pumpkins comes to mind.

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird only because I can’t seem to sleep in anymore. Ever since the plague I get up so early, like 6 am.

Road or studio?

Ah, hard question. studio I guess because I’m more of a recluse and love the writing/recording process but can’t really beat playing live.

Any shows or albums coming up?

Yes! Feb 02/2024 I have a new album coming out called Gold Control and the final single off that LP dropped on Jan 17th. Hoping to play some shows to support the record in late March/April, (dates TBD).

Where can we follow you?

Website | Youtube | Instagram | Facebook

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Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

I love Fresh I think that’s what it’s called now anyway… but when I moved to Toronto as a kid it was called Juice For Life and it was just this super small place, near Lees Palace I think, anyway it had amazing vegan food and still does.

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

Parkdale is my favourite neighbourhood and I used to live at the end of a very short dead-end street there called Glenavon Rd. There’s only like 7 or 8 houses on the street and then it just drops off, looking over the highway and Lake Ontario like it’s at the edge of the world.

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

Ok, I haven’t been there yet but near the studio where we record these albums (ProGold in the east end) there’s a park where hundreds of different bird species live/migrate (think it’s called Tommy Thompson Park) and we always talk about going but we work too much and never take a long enough break to go. But! a huge white owl landed on a pole outside the studio one night, when we were recording the new album (last Feb.) So I think he/she came from there.

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

I like the Baby G.

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Do guitar stores count? if so, Capsule Music. That’s where I want to buy my next guitar.

 

About Joel Levy 2605 Articles
Editor-In-Chief at Toronto Guardian. Photographer and Writer for Toronto Guardian and Joel Levy Photography