Toronto, ON-based singer-songwriter, Fafiélla released her single, “GingerTea” in February. The single was a product of a period of intense self-reflection, realization, and transformation, coupled with a spur-of-the-moment networking opportunity with Toronto producer, Daniel Jay.
“This song is my creative ‘note to self.’ I never want to forget any of the basic mental notes needed to continue growing,” says Fafiélla. “I was going through a lot of realizations about life, and the self, myself, and instead of going in detail about each topic I just put pen to paper and released everything into my notebook and then into the mic.”
“GingerTea” gives the listener an all-access pass to the inner workings of Fafiélla’s mind. She touches on the duality of mind control from the perspective of the actions, thoughts, and emotions of self versus society and how it affects our soul’s freedom. Her aim is to inspire listeners to be their own authentic selves as she learns to be her authentic self. Energy flows, and since we as human beings are energy, it is detrimental for us not to limit ourselves. Her goal is for listeners to connect with her music and encourage them to be themselves without ever having to explain to the world, “why”.
Check out “GingerTea” below, and find out more about Fafiélla via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Peace and Love 😊 My name is Fafiélla, and I’m a singer-songwriter and neo-soul artist based in Toronto. Caribbean born and raised, I grew up listening to hip-hop, r&b, and soul, and later fell in love with the raw sounds of jazz. Music is my outlet for all my healing; my creations are where I learn how to better express myself and enable me to truly and unapologetically open myself up to life and embrace it. I’ve been influenced heavily by artists such as Erykah Badu and Greentea Peng because they talk about real life and spread knowledge based on their experiences and observations. So now I speak my truth, always bringing my own authentic vocals and energy to my music.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I usually go through something in my life and end up trying to express it but talking to people, as much as I’ve tried, never really works out how I would like because communication has always been a challenge for me. So now, I just write things down as if it’s poetry, spoken word or just writing down my thoughts like journaling and mold it into a song. The lyrics may be exceedingly descriptive or super simple, but whatever the result, they are always authentic to how I’m feeling in the moment and what I feel I need to express. I think a huge reason why I write the way I do is because when I was ready to give up on art some amazing people came into my life and pushed me to join a poetry collective at my former college. It was through taking that workshop that I gained more confidence in the way I write or “communicate.” Simply put, my music is me learning how to express my truth, it’s about growth.
How have you been keeping creative during the Pandemic?
During the pandemic, I have had many opportunities to network with different artists and collaborate. I’ve mostly been focusing on being as authentic as possible while growing, learning and figuring out how I would like to express these things through creation. Besides music, I do many different things such as photography, painting and I’ve recently been getting back into dancing. I also just picked up the guitar which I am extremely excited about! I can’t wait to see what role this instrument will play in my development as an artist and in my healing as a person.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
I would recommend “GingerTea” because the song is a gateway in my opinion. A gateway to my world – and yours too, if you open your mind.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
This is so difficult because I have so many peers that I think are underrated and so amazing; it’s really hard just to name a few – but I’ll do my best. Divine Lightbody is amazing, her voice is so beautiful, and her emotions are so raw that I can’t help but to have her music on repeat. Her vulnerability is admirable, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. I also really enjoy Matt Somber’s music, his energy is extremely powerful, he talks about REAL LIFE and you can feel it when you listen to him or even watch him perform. Something I notice in myself, in regard to the artists I admire, is that they all talk about their life from a REAL and RAW place without trying to conform to societal standards and I just think that is amazing.
Connect with Fafiélla:
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