Toronto based singer-songwriter and real life mermaid Sia Shells rhymes about the everyday magic we find through relationships, self love, reflection and dreams. Her emotive contralto vocals juxtaposed against enchanting lyrics and upbeat dream pop sounds instantly transport you underwater.

Coinciding perfectly with Disney’s live action version of The Little Mermaid, Sia has created “Your Mermaid,” an anthem for her ocean loving beach babes. The tropical seashell sounds evoke the nostalgia of Ariel, Flounder and co. while the chorus resembles the ethereal calls of a siren, managing to keep it positive and uplifting instead of too moody and dark. 

Athena Park is an award winning actress who has starred in multiple film and television productions in Canada and the United States. Currently studying at the University of Toronto, she is continuously working on new music and film projects. Following up on her debut single, “Tuatara,” Athena‘s latest release is the bitterly honest “Heathen.”

Inspired by the feelings of falling in love with someone who doesn’t truly value you, “Heathen” encapsulates when someone gives themselves up completely for somebody who doesn’t even care to notice.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?

This song was based off of a real experience I had with a boy that didn’t treat me how I should’ve been treated. So most of the settings of the songs (aka. the skatepark) were based off of locations that me and him hung out around. Near the end of the music video where I am placed behind bars, is a metaphorical representation of how our relationship made me feel.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

Because it was based off of real experiences, I thought this song deserved a visual for it. For the audience to understand what it was really like, where it happened, and what my perspective of the situation was.

3.What was the process of making this video?

The process was absolutely amazing! Thanks to OfTheSaint productions my creative input was very important to him, and we were able to use our locations to the best of our abilities, and together we produced a very innovative and creative music video.

Granny Smith is the brainchild of Toronto born musician Jason Bhattacharya whose main focus is production, songwriting and recording. Bhattacharya has been featured on umpteen records as a session musician and producer and has also worked in the music department for Netflix, Sony Pictures and Paramount Television Studios over the last three years.

“Egypt” is the latest and greatest release from the Granny Smith universe. Something a little different and a bit more unsettled. Layering a variety of instruments (acoustic guitar, rickenbacker bass, piano, wah guitar, bongos, tambourine, shakers), Bhattacharya played the acoustic guitar solo overtop before finally recording the drums.

The single’s accompanying visuals are by artist and creative technologist Dan Tapper. Created using a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques, the initial inspiration came from a series of film photographs and super8 stills shared by Bhattacharya. Tapper loved the texture and colour reproduction in these images and explored a combination of stop motion animation techniques fused with an AI image generator called StableDiffusion. This allowed him to create hybrid digital versions of these images departing from their initial form, taking us on a journey of continuous grainy, displaced zooms and rotoscoped flickering textures.

Thanks for listening! Click here to find out more about Granny Smith, grab photos + social links.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

I wanted to do something a little different than my last releases which are more singer-songwriter based. I was more focused on creating a mood. I layered a variety of instruments (acoustic guitar, rickenbacker bass, piano, wah guitar, bongos, tambourine, shakers) then played the acoustic guitar solo over that. The final thing I recorded was the drums. The song was recorded to a Yamaha AW4416 recording console. I felt that this song told a story that was vivid enough to not include lyrics.  To me, it seemed to breathe & be more of a conversation between the acoustic guitar solo & the drums that doesn’t quite settle until the last 30 seconds. I thought it would be interesting to take it one step further & pair the sonic journey with a variety of photos & super 8 stills i’d taken. For the most part the pictures were of landscapes & buildings. 

2.What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

My music is my life in sound. I thought it would be interesting to see if the images in the music could be furthered by adding a video that was as experimental as this piece was. I reached out to Daniel Tapper to create this video.

3.What was the process of making this video?

“The visuals for Egypt are created using a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques. The initial inspiration came from a series of film photographs and super8 stills shared by Jason. I loved the texture and color reproduction in these images and explored a combination of stop motion animation techniques combined with an AI image generator called StableDiffusion. This allowed me to create hybrid digital versions of these images departing from their initial form and taking us on a journey of continuous grainy, displaced zooms and rotoscoped flickering textures.” – Daniel Tapper

Toronto’s Puma June released her first single, “Lost Years,” in November 2022, followed by Exclaim! naming her an “emerging Canadian artist you need to hear.”  Puma June wants to continue to change the conversation in pop music – pushing discussions on the hard truths and painful pasts that shape us into the people we become. Her music centers around regaining power in one’s life and the duality of people. With a clear political point of view, Puma June has a particular focus on women’s rights, familial trauma, and the struggle of being an artist in a world that under-appreciates art.

Her latest single, “Ride or Die,” is a light soulful bop dusted with funk. The inspiration of the track comes as an ode to the relationship with her twin sister Vale. “It’s a beautiful thing to have a person in your life who you know will remain by your side, through thick and thin, forever. For me, that’s my sister. This song is for her.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

This song was inspired by my relationship with my twin sister Vale. As all close relationships do, ours has gone through many ups and downs. She has made me laugh until I cry and cry until I laugh, but in the end, no matter what, I know she will always have my back and I will always have hers. She is my Ride or Die. I thought this song would be a good opportunity to show another side of my personality and make a video that was uncanny and weird to fit with the funkiness of the track.

2.What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

The music video concept was to celebrate that child-like light-heartedness and to just have fun, while channeling some David Lynch-esque bizarreness. We wanted to leave the video up to interpretation to the watcher – it doesn’t have a glaringly clear message or meaning, we wanted people to find their own meaning based on what the song means to them. We wanted to show a funkier, quirkier side to Puma June.

3.What was the process of making this video?

The director Nathan Hughes-Berry and I packed up my car to the brim with props and furniture and drove to the campus of a Humber college after hours, where he was teaching film classes. We spent a few hours dancing and laughing – just having fun and being weird, playing with lighting and creating something much more bizarre than our beautiful, ethereal videos in the past. It was a relaxed environment since it was just the two of us and his camera and we didn’t have a strict treatment plan, so we were very creatively free to experiment with different shots and energies, bringing Nathan’s vision to life.