Toronto Guardian Monthly Spotify Playlist – May, 2021

Joel Levy — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 20:24:33 +0000

One of the best parts about covering arts and culture in Toronto is the amazing exposure I get to awesome music of all genres from across the city. I love all genres of music and am constantly impressed by the quantity and quality of music put out by talented Torontonians.

I am always looking for new ways to promote local talent and the local features we publish. This is why I decided to start making monthly Spotify playlists with songs from the bands featured the month prior.

Each month I will select one song from each musician we featured and make a playlist on Spotify to share on our website with our readers. If you can follow these artists and share their music, I am sure they would all be very happy about it.

For our second edition, we share 9 songs from the month of May, 2021.

Musicians Featured

Melanie Durrant – (Read Article)

Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Leanna Oki – (Read Article)

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Melotika – (Read Article)

Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

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AJA – (Read Article)

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Reid Zoé – (Read Article)

Instagram | Website | Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

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Barry Szeto – (Read Article)

Instagram | YouTube | TikTok

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Zenesoul – (Read Article)

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Vicki Lovelee – (Read Article)

Website | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook

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Jordan Hart – (Read Article)

YouTube | Instagram | TikTok

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The post Toronto Guardian Monthly Spotify Playlist – May, 2021 appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

“Five Minutes With” Toronto RnB / Soul Artist Leanna Oki

Julian Swift — Fri, 14 May 2021 04:30:22 +0000

From the suburbs of Toronto, Canada, Leanna Oki is an indie singer-songwriter who has gravitated towards music from an early age. After picking up the guitar in her freshman year of university, she had the compelling inclination to start writing her own songs. From that point on, she has been continuously performing at local events to build her craft and stage presence as an artist and performer. Creating music has evolved into her form of self-expression and therapy, serving as away to release her inexplicable feelings and experiences. Her voice has been described as sharing similar deep and rich tones with Adele and Phoebe Bridgers, while still maintaining her unique vocal presence.

Drawing inspiration from the emotionally freeing pop music of Maggie Rogers and moody resonance of Banks and Lorde, she aspires to be another prominent female musician that uses passion and pain to propel herself as an artist. Through the fusion of alternative pop, R&B, and electronic dance elements, she derives her signature music style. She utilizes the strong projection of her voice, hard-hitting bass lines, and an abundance of vocal layers to create the bold and rich sound in her music. Since 2018, she has been working in the studio to record her own hand-written tracks and continues to create music that narrates her journey of heartbreak and healing throughout her young-adult life.

She released her debut single “HEISENBERG” in August 2020, which was inspired by the main character from the hit show “Breaking Bad”. Her next single “Sink” was released on March 26, 2021, following along with several other tracks throughout this year that will convey the hardships she experienced in her past relationship.

Name: Leanna Oki

Genre: A mix of soulful pop, r&b, and electronic

Founded: 2020

# of Albums: 0

Latest Release: Sink

Latest Single: Sink

Latest Video:

Favourite band as a teenager:

Coldplay

Favourite band now:

Bon Iver

Guilty Pleasure Song:

“Don’t Stop Believin”… I can’t help but sing my heart out whenever I hear it.

Live Show Ritual:

I usually drink some tea to soothe my vocals and take some deep breaths to calm down the nerves. I also bring a few friends to keep me company. It’s always nice to have that support system before a performance.

Favourite local artist:

Jessie Reyez and Allan Rayman. They’ve also done some great collabs together!

EP or LP?

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird!

Road or studio?

Studio. That’s definitely where I’m in my zone.
Any shows or albums coming up? (What do you currently want to promote?): My upcoming single “Sink” is coming out on March 26th, and I’ve got another single “you won’t change” coming out this May. I will also be releasing several more singles this year, so stay tuned!

Rapid Fire Qs on Toronto

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

Superfood salad from Fresh! And honestly everything from Fresh.

Queen or College St?

Queen st. I love the shops, the art, and the overall vibe.

Trinity Bellwoods, High Park, Riverdale, Kew Gardens, or other?

Trinity Bellwoods, but they are all awesome spots.

Swiss Chalet or Roti?:

Roti! Especially with chickpeas and potatoes… so good.

Where can we follow you?

Favourite local Restaurant?

Probably Fresh. I’m a big fan of Fresh if you couldn’t already tell.

The post “Five Minutes With” Toronto RnB / Soul Artist Leanna Oki appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Leanna Oki Archives - Toronto Guardian

Toronto Guardian Monthly Spotify Playlist – May, 2021

Musicians Featured

“Five Minutes With” Toronto RnB / Soul Artist Leanna Oki