Aysanabee talks all things Polaris Music Prize, future releases and more. (Exclusive)

Written by: Gracie Lowes

The 2023 Polaris Music Prize gala is fast approaching and artists are starting to feel the excitement.

Taking place at Massey Hall in Toronto on September 19 at 8pm EDT, the Polaris Music Prize was first awarded in 2006 and annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label.

One of this year’s shortlist artists and performers at the gala is Toronto based artist, Aysanabee.

Aysanabee is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter. He began creating music under his mother’s maiden name that is a swirling mix of indie, soul, and electronic sounds, mournful saxophone, and pulse-quickening fingerpicking.

His debut album, ‘Watin’ released in November 2022, following in the success of his debut releases, 2023 continues to bring accomplishments for Aysanabee, including multiple nominations and awards, a full tour schedule, and an upcoming Fall EP release.

I had the chance to sit down (virtually) with Aysanabee and talk to him about his upcoming performance, future EP release, what fans can expect from his music and more.

You can read the full interview below.

Gracie Lowes: First off congratulations on everything with the Polaris Music Prize, both being on the 2023 short list and also getting to perform at the upcoming gala! What has this experience been like for you both finding out you made the list but also building up to the gala?

Aysanabee: “Thank you so much, I have such a deep respect for this award because there is so much weight put into judging the artistic merit of the project, and to get a nod because of that is an honour in itself. I just got back from Portugal, and my show just got cancelled out East because of Hurricane Lee, so I can now focus on the Polaris Prize Gala for the next couple of days, and I am grateful for that. I have such a wonderful team and friends and musicians around me who love collaborating together, so even though it has been so so busy and hectic, riding these waves with friends has made it all a lovely adventure.”

Gracie: What can fans and music lovers expect from your performance could you hint at an outfit or the. overall vibe you’re hoping for?

Aysanabee: “This will likely be the last big performance for the album, Watin, named after my grandfather, who passed away in May. I can’t say I have had much time to grieve, but I have had much time to honour his memory. This performance will be a final farewell to a very special time in my life and a very special moment I got to share with my grandfather in our final days together. During a performance, I try to bring myself back to where I was when I wrote the songs, I don’t imagine this being hard, I imagine the hard part will be to keep my composure to honour the song.”

Gracie: I know you just released a new single, what was the creative process like and how did you know it was going to be your next single?

Aysanabee: ““Alone” was written about a relationship I was in where I was trying to continue being the person I was when it started even when I wasn’t that person anymore because so much had changed in my life. I think everyone has been there before, and a lot of people stay in the place for their whole lives. People aren’t meant to stay the same though, the world is meant to happen to people, and we are meant to grow and evolve, and sometimes that means growing apart. I wrote dozens of these break up songs in the last half a year and a lot of them with writers and producers who I had never worked with before, so it meant opening up and almost having this group therapy session with strangers every time. This song I wrote with Ali Milner and Charlie McClean, who I didn’t even know at the time were both Grammy-nominated, but the song just seemed to effortlessly flow when we worked together, I have also been a fan of slower songs with feeling, and these big slap-you-in-the-face choruses, so making this one was a lot of fun for me. It wasn’t a “radio song” or a “TikTok song” , it was just a song that I liked, so we put it out.”

Gracie: You also announced your new EP, which track are you most excited for people to hear and what’s your best memory from this project?

Aysanabee: “I am excited about them all for different reasons because, with EPs, I feel like you get to experiment more with sound and textures than you do with full-length albums, but while I could talk about the title track for a minute, I do love what might be considered a “deep-cut” called “Letting Go.” It was a track I worked on with producer Scott Mccanell and Kyla Charter, who has been a long-time collaborator and friend. Kyla’s voice can be heard all over my first record, so to sit down and write with her, a song from start to finish, and hear our styles truly intersect was super cool. It’s got a vibe, and I would love to drive to it. That’s maybe a weird thing to say, but I love driving and listening to music. If a song makes it onto my driving playlist, then you know I like it.”

Gracie: If you could describe your upcoming music in three words what would they be and why?

Aysanabee: “Soulful, anthemic, freeing. Soulful because I personally need songs I am involved in to have soul, to have feeling and to have a piece of me with them always. Anthemic because I love big choruses that stay in your head or make you sway, make you move. Freeing because I got to hop around and play with different sounds, and different textures, make music with friends and different people, I got to experiment, and I got to share these experiments with everyone.”