Toronto, ON-based singer-songwriter, Duane Forrest unveiled his new single, “Cherry Blossoms” at the end of June. The song is about how love and relationships go through seasons. There’s a time where it’s going well and then a time when it’s not. He finds this frustrating but when it blossoms again it’s so beautiful.
Check out the single below and find out more about Duane in our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Duane Forrest is a singer-songwriter and multimedia artist from Toronto, Canada.
His unique sound blending jazz, reggae, bossa nova, and soul and smooth vocals draws on his experiences traveling the world, falling in love, and finding wonder in the joys and sorrows of a common human experience. He has toured in Canada, Europe, and Central America.
In 2017, Duane debuted his first theatre production, Climb, a live album experience based on his concept album, The Climb. Climb hit the stage again at the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival, where Toronto Fringe Festival founder Gregory Nixon described Duane’s show as “an engaging, multilayered work of song, storytelling, and movement” and “one of the highlights of this year’s Fringe.” His forthcoming double jazz and fusion album Sol e Sol builds on themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery, reflecting musically Duane’s growth as an artist and a human being.
Aside from his innate drive to create beautiful things, Duane also has a passion for arts education. In 2011 he founded Genesis Community of the Arts, a registered Canadian charity offering music and arts education to marginalized children and youth in Toronto and Central America.
To find out more about Genesis, please visit www.genesisartschool.com
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
My music is often described as a mix of Jack Johnson, Nat King Cole, Bob Marley, and soul. I get inspired to write from traveling the world. I seem to pick up my influences like this. I love writing from these experiences. I usually write while on trips.
Do you have any upcoming shows?
- My stage play, Climb, is on every day for the Edinburgh fringe festival in Edinburgh, UK from July 31-August 26.
- After the festival, I will be playing on the Canadian train via rail from September 1st-5th crossing from Toronto Toronto Vancouver and I’ll be writing my new project during this ride.
- I will then be visiting Japan, and playing shows in Taiwan September 13-18
- Then returning for a small run of shows in Vancouver September 19-22
- And then finally returning on via rail from Vancouver to Toronto September 23-27
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
My recent release, “Cherry Blossoms”.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
A songwriter from Toronto, Sarah Hiltz and a talented young man, Langston Francis.
Connect with Duane Forrest:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram