Born in China, based in Toronto, ON, queer pop artist, Denim Blù has recently released his new single, “Extraordinary Feel”, featuring Lizzy Clarke.
“Extraordinary Feel” is inspired by the Southern US and vibrant African-American church choirs singing gospel and soul music. It was created through a mutual effort from Denim Blù and Nick Ram, both finding strength in each other’s talents. The single became a magical amalgamation of song creation– crisp songwriting, a powerful vocal, and satisfying production. The gospel elements include prominent organs and splashes of bells over modern synths and classic electric guitar.
“‘Extraordinary Feel’ is about the exuberance of falling in love, a love so hard that you’re willing to sacrifice everything for that person, the lyric ‘made a martyr out of me’ is a perfect example of selflessness that comes with this kind of passion.”
Check it out below, and find out more about Denim Blù via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, I am Denim Blù. I am originally from China and I’m currently based in Toronto. Growing up in China, we are dissuaded from pursuing creativity. Being an artist is frowned upon. But there was no denying that music was life for me. From the age of 3 I figured out how to put CDs into CD players, playing popular Chinese music, and my love affair with music never subsided. I quickly went from listening to music to having the desire to create my own. Being queer and Chinese, I feel that I have a unique voice. Despite the stigma of homosexuality, I feel compelled to be unapologetically queer in my music. My art is a reflection of my life and experiences, and I want it to be as authentic as possible so that it can resonate with others in my position.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
My music is both compelling and complex, but infectious and accessible. Today’s youth want to get lost in music, but they demand narratives that reflect their experiences in a real way. Sonically I would describe my music as pure pop fantasy with emotional intrigue – sounds draw from blues, dance, electronica, and R&B elements, all while being unapologetically queer. However, it is the lyrical content making the connection with my audience: it speaks about love, loss, heartbreak, and lament. It gives you a sound that you can get lost in, but if you dive deeper, there’s a powerful story being told.
How have you been keeping creative during the Pandemic?
The pandemic gave me time to slow down and see my life from different perspectives. I drew inspiration from those perspectives, sat down with my songwriting partner, exchanged our feelings, and we got to finish another album together. I am planning to work on those songs next year and release the album in summer 2023. Stay tuned 🙂
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
I am going to release my first album in November, and one of the songs in this album is called Again. I would describe this song as “an epic love ballad in the galaxy”. The songwriting is classic me – smooth melody, pop but dramatic. I produced the song in a way that reflects the songwriting, a way that corresponds to the development of the song. When listening to the song in the right sonic environment, you would see the galaxy evolving from nothing, to everything, and to nothing again – there is emergence, collapse, collision. It is an experience. So if I can only suggest one song that most defines me as an artist from this album for someone to hear, it would be this song.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
There are a lot of talented artists in Canada, but my favorite Canadian artist has always been Carly Rae Jepson. She is such an amazing songwriter and producer, and her album Emotion has been my pop music bible – it is one of the records I always go back to whenever I feel uninspired or I want to feel love and happiness. She narrated her story through her songwriting and production, and every time I listen to her I feel like falling in love. I saw her live performance twice and she was so dedicated – just like the title of her last record. She is the artist I think we can just get along easily and chat about anything. So Carly, if you read this message and are interested in some collaboration or just simply hangout for whatever, let me know!
Connect with Denim Blù:
Instagram