Montreal, QC-based alt-pop singer-songwriter and producer, Alexiane recently released a new EP entitled Bad Sounds. The EP serves as an aperitif of sorts, set to both tease and ease earnest ears as an introduction ahead of her 2021 album, Into the Sun; the forthcoming full-length, which is slated for co-production by Carla Bruni alongside Alexiane under her label, Gion Records.
“We all have different demons to face,” Alexiane says of her music and the new release. “Music is the best way I know to look those demons in the eye.
For me, advancing is writing, and fighting is creating.”
Born in Montmagny, Quebec to a Senegalese father and Canadian mother, Alexiane is no stranger to shuttling between Montreal and Senegal, in West Africa, soaking up the Afro-Latin, French, and North American soundscape along the way. With her style self-described as “dark, cinematic pop with African undertones” and her alumni stacking as UCLA’s Music Business & Music Production, Bad Sounds serves as a good showcase for the multi-faceted, emotively astute artist’s breadth of talent.
“Although I have always had a shy and reserved temperament, all the challenges of life pushed me at a very early age to sing and write lyrics and melodies from a personal perspective. It helped me overcome life’s challenges.”
There’s an ode to courage and confidence in “Soldier” — complete with a self-produced video made solely on her phone. Check out “Soldier” below and find out more about Alexiane via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey this is Alexiane. I’m a Canadian, French and Senegalese singer, songwriter and producer. My passion is to create songs and find the perfect match of melodies and words — and I like to explore the world of sync music as well as my own personal artistic universe. As such, I wrote a song called “A million on my soul” (40+ Million streams) that was chosen to be the theme song of the blockbuster movie “Valerian and the city of a thousand planets” (2017) and am currently working on other sync projects. In 2019, after having attended the music business and production program of UCLA, I created my record label Gion records in Canada in order to have full control over my music. I am proudly following the independent route and my first album “Into the sun” —on which I’ve been working on for the past five years in between Montreal, LA, Paris, Dakar and Bamako— will be released through Gion records.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
Two weeks ago, I released “Bad sounds”, the first part of my album “Into the sun” (January 2021). This album introduction of 6 songs gives a taste of my cinematic dark alternative pop universe — and If you listen carefully, you’ll hear in “Bad sounds” and “Into the sun” how my childhood in Africa influenced my music; on “Bad sounds”, you can hear my collaboration with legendary singer Salif Keita on our song called “Gold”.
I’d say my work explores isolation, oppression, illness, sexuality, relationships, imagination, loss, death, time, spirituality, and empowerment.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
I cannot wait to present you all these years of work on stage in 2021. For now, I’d like to focus on intimate show atmospheres. My show is built around the progression of my concept album “Into the sun”…
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Meanwhile, if I were asked to suggest only one of my songs for someone to hear, at this moment in time, I would suggest “Soldier” because it is about the beauty and power of imagination; an asset I believe we all need in these difficult times. I recorded the song and the official video in my apartment in Montreal during quarantine.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
My favourite Canadian artist is Leonard Cohen. His lyricism and storytelling prowess have influenced my songwriting over the years…