Toronto, ON-based singer-songwriter, and multimedia artist, Duane Forrest blends jazz, reggae, bossa nova, and soul.
Duane has unveiled his newest single, “Tell Me”, a track about the current state of black culture.
“Tell me is a song birthed out of frustration. Frustration of this ongoing situation with being black. All the racism, systemic, micro aggresions etc. I have been seeing messages from folks I am connected to the last few months that disturb me,” says Duane.
Check out ” Tell Me” below and find out more about Duane via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey, my name is Duane Forrest. I’m a singer-songwriter born and raised in Toronto. Music, traveling, languages, food, and charity make my heart full.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
My parents exposed me to great music very early on. I was listening to classic reggae, jazz, classical, etc, and loved it. I later got exposed to more world music especially Bossa Nova and loved it. I think you can hear various influences on most of my projects. I play guitar and all my songs start there, with a feeling. That feeling usually has a colour that dictates the energy the song will take on. I then add the words by just freestyling over the music to see what naturally comes out, and then I capture that on paper.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
I’ve had 3 tours this year canceled due to Covid_19. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to play again in the spring of 2021. Stay connected with me on the socials to know more. People often say really beautiful things about my live performance. It’s me at my best. I feel a deep connection with the audience. After shows, I usually have great conversations with folks. People seem to be very open after seeing me play and I think that’s so cool.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Wow, tough question. It would be a tie between “oceans” and my upcoming single in 2021 called ” Wonder-full”
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
Man, I do love Drake. Daniel Ceaser. Lenard Cohen (not currently but still). Niel Young. Shad. Sarah Hiltz. Maylee Todd. I could go on, we’ve got so much talent.
Connect with Duane Forrest:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram