Chaka V. Grier

Author

Chaka V. Grier is a Toronto-based interviewer and writer. She is the soul columnist at Bandcamp, and her work has appeared in NOW Toronto, NPR, O Magazine, among others.

chakavgrier.com/

Montreal Duo Tremendum Complete Seasonal Album Cycle with Uplifting SPRING EP

For the evocative singer, whose simmering vocals are inspired by jazz and R and B, it should have been a simple request, but shyness had other plans. She asked guitarist David Wade to...

Chaka V. Grier

Sunny War Reconnects with Blues Roots on Latest LP Simple Syrup

In her young life, Sunny War has been through more than most—homelessness, drug addiction, even making her first album in a sober living home as a teen. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, forcing much of the world into sudden, extended isolation—physically, socially, and emotionally—War, like a...

Chaka V. Grier

Falcon Jane Keeps the Faith on Sophomore LP

On it,...

Chaka V. Grier

musician Juman holds a large flower to her face

JUMAN Expands Compassionate View on Latest EP Tear Time

The Melbourne raised singer-songwriter-producer, who is of Palestinian-Turkish-Jordanian background, had battled a sensitive immune system since childhood...

Chaka V. Grier

Cuban-Canadian musicians Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne of the band OKAN

PREMIEREOKAN Bring Colorful Afro-Cuban Style to "Espiral" Video

OKAN (meaning heart in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria) formed when Savigne and...

Chaka V. Grier

PLAYING TORONTODaniela Andrade Unravels Latinx Identity on Latest EP

Music always helps me process emotions and this project is very much a result of needing that for my own sanity,” shares Daniela Andrade about the making of her...

Chaka V. Grier

Dione Taylor Returns with Eclectic "Prairie Blues" Sound on Spirits in the Water

Open Your Eyes not only put the Regina, Saskatchewan singer-songwriter on the Canadian map, it...

Chaka V. Grier

Hannah Georgas Explores Loss and Change on All That Emotion

Georgas has been taking listeners on an emotional, and sometimes existential, journey since her debut EP, The Beat Stuff, in 2009. Steadily moving from small regional...

Chaka V. Grier

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Pantayo Merges Traditional Filipino Kulintang with Punk, R and B, and Synthy Electronica

Founding members Michelle Cruz (vocals, agong), Katrina Estacio (vocals, kulintang, sarunay) and Kat Estacio (vocals, kulintang, dabakan, programming)...

Chaka V. Grier