“Five Minutes With” Toronto Soul artist Aphrose

APHROSE is an independent Soul artist from Toronto, Canada. Raised in the culturally diverse neighbourhoods of Scarborough, Aphrose’s musical tastes were shaped by all the various genres present in her Trinidadian household. Soul and gospel are obvious influences, while she’s also inspired by traditional styles such as Soca, Calypso, Reggae but also Bollywood soundtracks and even Country. Taking her audience with her every step of the way, Aphrose has a reputation in Toronto for her powerful and soaring R&B vocal stylings fronting and supporting the many bands and artists she performs with such as Daniel Caesar, Lee Fields & The Expressions, JP Saxe, & Nikki Yanofsky, to name a few.

Earlier the year she performed for sold out crowds as the tour opener for Canadian power couple Raine Maida (of Our Lady Peace) and Chantal Kreviazuk’s new collaborative project Moon vs Sun. Aphrose combines powerful vocals with her love for live instrumentation, to create music that illustrates her reverence for not only soul iconoclasts like Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, but also the influence of contemporary artists like Sza and Teyana Taylor.

Aphrose

Name: Aphrose
Genre: R&B/Soul
Founded: 2017
# of Albums: Upcoming album, ‘Element’ is my debut album
Latest Release: Invincible/ or Weak? (depends on when this gets published Joel)
Latest Single: Weak
Latest Video: Invincible

Favourite Restaurant:

Ramen Isshin on College St

Favourite band as a teenager:

Destiny’s Child

Favourite band now:

Destiny’s Child. Just kidding (they are pretty timeless!) but I would have to say, Tame Impala.

Guilty Pleasure Song:

It’s All Coming Back to Me Now by Celine Dion

Live Show Ritual:

A five-minute meditation to focus on my breathing and get me centred, present and in the moment and to calm my brain and nerves down. Oh, also a pre-show poop is a thing (gross, I know!)

Favourite local artist:

There are a few to be honest! Lydia Persaud, Haviah Mighty, Daniel Caesar

Sneaky Dees nachos, pasta from Terroni or a superfood salad from Fresh?

Gimme dat Sneaky DEE’S!

Queen or College St?

Ooh, tough one because I love both but I will have to say Queen Street.

Trinity Bellwoods or High Park, Riverdale or Kew Gardens?

Trinity Bellwoods

EP or LP?

LP! I miss the days where artists put out a complete, thought-out body of work.

Early bird or night owl?

100% night owl.

Road or studio?

Road!

Swiss Chalet or Roti?

How do you know my weaknesses?? Do you have spies watching my moves? I love Swiss Chalet because I ate it a lot during my childhood, so there’s a nostalgia attached there but I will have to say Roti to answer your question. It trumps the Chalet, to be honest. Also, my ancestors would’ve wept if I had picked the other option.

Where can we follow you?

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Also links to videos/music/bio/tickets can be found at www.aphrose.com

Any shows or albums coming up?

The new album, “Element” comes out on November 8th and the album release show is happening on November 7th at the Burdock. Tickets are available on my website.

 

 

About Joel Levy 2616 Articles
Editor-In-Chief at Toronto Guardian. Photographer and Writer for Toronto Guardian and Joel Levy Photography