Toronto Electronic Artist 8know8 Releases New Album, She, Featuring Instrumental Anthem “Make It Work”
Toronto-based instrumental electronic artist 8know8 is proud to announce the self-release of her fourth studio album, She. A deeply personal and sonically immersive record, She continues Polly-Jean Vernon’s journey of self-discovery, expressed through intricate layers of synth and live percussion.
8know8 recorded She using her signature approach: layering live drums and synthesizers in real-time, preserving the raw energy of a live performance.
“No quantizing, no electronic drum pads, no punch-ins. I want it to feel and be real,” she explains. “Mistakes happen, and you can hear some on every one of my records – but they sound real, in a world that is increasingly sterile and uniform.”
The album’s focus track, “Make It Work,” embodies the intensity, frustration, and eventual triumph of the creative process, delivering a hypnotic blend of electronic and acoustic elements.
“I was playing around with a synthesized music box sound and fell in love with the interplay of syncopated waves and hi-hats,” says Vernon. “This song started from that groove and evolved into something that truly represents my experience: life is tough, but you have to make it work.”
Driven by an unrelenting rhythm and shimmering melodic textures, “Make It Work” stands as a testament to Vernon’s ability to merge human emotion with electronic soundscapes. The track, born out of artistic frustration and perseverance, took on an unexpected life of its own when a technical glitch caused an outro melody to continuously reset itself – a flaw that ultimately became a defining feature of the song.
“Sometimes the best parts of life are substantially flawed,” Vernon reflects. “And you just have to make it work.”
From the soaring highs to the shadowy depths, She paints a sonic portrait of resilience, transition, and self-acceptance.
“This album is about confidently showing up for myself and not hiding anymore,” says Vernon. “It’s about existence as resistance, about love winning over hate, about embracing complexity while still moving forward.”
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi folks! I’m Polly-Jean Vernon (she/her), from Toronto’s 8know8, my instrumental solo project where I record phrases on a synthesizer and then play drumkit while looping them, bringing those parts in and out in real time.
Congratulations on your fourth studio album, She! How does this record reflect your evolution as an artist since your previous releases?
Thanks! It’s very exciting to finally be able to share these songs with the rest of the world. This is my sixth studio session with 8know8. I learned a lot while mixing “Polly” (2022) and “This Long Road” (2021) about what pieces I needed and how to get them. And a couple more years of practice has helped me to be more proficient in my playing, so I have definitely grown as a musician professionally and technically.
My artistic evolution is probably most centred around some of my biggest struggles: confidence in myself, self-acceptance, and self-love. Part of this is shown in the album art; I knew early on in the process that I would have to be featured on the cover, which was a terrifying idea, but I knew it was right for the art. A lot of this record is about accepting myself and telling people who I am, without shame. So there is an evolution in acceptance of myself: as who I am, how I am, and that’s enough. This all comes out in the music. I take some risks and I make mistakes, but it’s all me, and it’s all real.
Your recording approach—live drums and synths, no quantizing or punch-ins—is bold and refreshingly raw. What inspired you to take this “no safety net” approach, and what does it bring to your music?
I wanted to use synthesizers and 808 sounds in music, but I also wanted it to feel like a band. And I wanted to compose in real time, not on a screen. I’ve always been an improvisational player and not great at computers, so producing electronic music in a DAW was out of my comfort zone, feeling forced and contrived. It needed to feel like a live band.
This approach brings an element of the unknown at every show. I could decide to extend a part of shorten it, to bring in a voice early or late, or to play a part quietly instead of loud, and it will change the song completely. I can do this easily, partly because I’m the only musician on stage. If I make a different choice in the moment, or if I mistakenly don’t bring in a voice, it will send the track in a different direction, and I will follow it. It allows for maximum responsiveness to the audience and the experience that we are creating together, in that way closer to a DJ than a traditional band. It’s kind of a punk rock approach to electronic music, showing my love of underground punk and rave scenes, and using my experience as a drummer, but also as a DJ.
Let’s talk about the focus track, “Make It Work.” How did the initial idea—playing with a synthesized music box sound—evolve into the final track?
The first element of that song was the hi-hat, an electro-disco type of vibe that is the foundation of the evolving “brightcore” genre that I was playing with at the time. Light and steady hats over some sort of ringing bells, with a heavy bass drop and breakbeats. I liked how the music box sounded when playing syncopated rhythms over a couple of octaves. It has a very forward percussive hit that evens out some of the tonal differences to create a strong melody with a strong rhythm at once, almost like how a steel pan does. Layer by layer, I added a baseline, a couple of melody lines, and some 808 claps. Then it needed some space, so I dropped everything out and added the kick, and then the arpeggiating countermelody to bring it home. The arrangement changed a lot as I worked with it over about 3 months before I went into the studio. Then, in the session, suddenly the metal guiro needed to follow the hi-hat line, and the track came together; the interplay of these elements becomes an ostinato that guides the listener through the whole journey.
The story about the glitch in “Make It Work” becoming a key part of the song is fascinating. How do you typically respond to those kinds of unexpected moments in the studio?
It is crucial to always be open to being surprised, and to trust myself in that creative process, navigating experience and expression. When I make a mistake in performance, my motto is to run with it, to follow the music in the moment to where it needs to go. At times, that means accepting performance imperfections on a take that otherwise has great energy. Other times, an idea for a new transition or an entire part will emerge in the studio, and I trust myself to follow my instincts and take that risk in a split second during the take. By honouring the truth of that moment and leaning into it, the song can become a richer, fuller story. In every case, I don’t know exactly what the songs are really supposed to be until I get into the studio. This band was structured to allow for maximum flexibility of performance in the moment, so the songs also will change in a live setting and grow over time.
In rare cases, a technical glitch in my equipment becomes part of the song, whether I like it or not. This is the case with Make It Work, where an arpeggio synth line in the home stretch will not stay down in the mix, no matter how many times I change it. I had a choice to ditch the track and try to re-record all of the synth parts, or live with this imperfection that causes challenges during live performance. I chose to keep the magic of the first take.
The album title She is simple, yet powerful. What does “She” represent for you, and what message do you hope listeners take away from it?
Mainly, I want to be clear about my pronouns. I’m not a they and I’m not a he. I’m a She! I named the album towards the end of the recording session in April 2023. I was being misgendered a lot and felt motivated to make a clear and unambiguous statement about my gender. It is more deeply a clear message to others that this is who I am. I am not changing, I am a she.
More broadly, I hope that people see from the cover photo that there are many ways to be a “she”: she can wear earrings and nail polish, and she can also mow the lawn and wear dirty rubber boots. There are many ways to be a woman in our world, and she can be herself however she wants to be.