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When it comes to sheer versatility, few in the Canadian music industry can hold a candle to Beatchild. The Toronto-based artist and Sarnia native has collaborated with the likes of Drake, Shad, and Melanie Durrant, while proving his chops not only as an emcee, but also as a producer and multi-instrumentalist. On 2018’s Heavy Rockin’ Steady, he returns with a full-length offering that Exclaim! describes as “retro, rich and layered… a thrilling journey you’ll be eager to repeat.”
Listen to the podcast above and read some of Beatchild’s most notable quotes below.
Photo from Beatchild via Facebook. (Photo credit: Chris Aznar)
On creating Heavy Rockin’ Steady:
“In those five years, every moment in my day is filled with me coming up with ideas. I’m in the shower singing, or sketching notes, just really trying to capture ideas and piece them together. Now that the album is out, it’s kind of like, okay, just breathe.”
On growing up in Sarnia:
“I think I was naive, which is great, because it was just home. The older I got, the more I knew that it wasn’t a place that I would be able to stay if I wanted to pursue music — that became very evident. Just the fact that there’s no industry there, right? You have to go where there’s an industry.”
On falling in love with creating music:
“Simply put, it was fun. In that day, it was just fun. I can remember the feeling of creating something and being so excited, and going to bed happy and waking up so excited to hear what I created the day before […] Like, I created this music, and I can listen to it. It was such an exhilarating feeling, you know?”
On when he first moved to Toronto:
“There were so many artists everywhere, but it was still kind of this untouched gem. Everyone was just trying to find their sound. We were looking up to the Saukrates and the Kardinals. Those were the guys who kind of held the fort and had been doing it. So there was a lot of hunger with those projects. We were all younger, too, so we had more time [and] less responsibility.”
On the challenges of the Canadian music industry:
“To be successful is part of the branding in most genres of music. You can’t portray yourself to be struggling, unless you’re maybe a folk singer. So now you have this whole industry who’s pretending to be successful when eight out of 10 artists have day jobs.”
Photo of Beatchild by Chris Aznar.