IN CONCERT: VANCOUVER FEB. 22
Our Roots Run Deep by Dominique Fils-Aimé
- PLAYLIST: On YouTube and Spotify
- IN CONCERT: At Toronto’s Koerner Hall in 2023
- ARCHIVES: Kurated No. 114: Fils-Aimé: Relevance With Soul
Dominique Fils-Aimé (Jetro Emilcar photo)
OUR ROOTS RUN DEEP
Montreal singer launches first album of a second trilogy
Dominique Fils-Aimé considers waves, frequencies and constructive interference when she’s making music. Constructive interference occurs when two waves overlap to create a larger one.
As an artist who wants to make a difference in the world, she explained to CBC Radio music host Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe in October that with constructive interference she can either make the waves in her music bigger or smaller – known as destructive interference.
“So there was this idea in my mind of if I’m creating frequencies to help the world be what I feel it could be, and enhance it, [I can also make waves] by going against everything that I don’t believe in.”
Fils-Aimé launched her latest album, Our Roots Run Deep, last fall as the first in a new trilogy. Her previous award-winning trio of albums explored African American music genres one-by-one – blues, jazz and soul. Two of the albums were short-listed for Canada’s Polaris Music Prize and Stay Tuned! won the 2020 Juno Award for vocal jazz album. Her new album is up for the same award this year.
Folk Radio describes the 14 calm and spare tracks as “an album that dreams in lush colours, Our Roots Run Deep is a stunning work of folk-magic and fellowship.” Its themes address wellness, ecology, ancestry and a desire for personal liberty. It’s a brief and satisfying listen coming in at 36 minutes.
Fils-Aimé told The Block host Tetteh-Wayoe that the album and series will take a more personal approach than the first.
“While the goal remains a quest for universal connection through musical frequencies, this internal journey quickly brought me to the importance of my roots,” she said. “It sparked a desire to shed light on our intergenerational treasures rather than intergenerational trauma, using these treasures to address and heal trauma.
“By being more open and vulnerable, I hope to lead by example and contribute to the dismantling of taboos surrounding mental health, taboos that are all still very present today, especially in BIPOC communities.”
Fils-Aimé will play a concert at Vancouver’s Fortune Sound Club on Thursday, February 22 at 8 pm. At the time of writing tickets are still available. The show is sponsored by Coastal Jazz and Blues.
11 February 2024
PLAYLISTS
On YouTube
https://music.youtube.com/browse/VLPLG-pRIXeCU7fAGCuVXXsgS5MzKj4nFe3v
