The Winter Ball Babe Bash Will Melt Your Heart. [Q&A]
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
Ever had a feeling that something was missing from the aesthetically pleasing holiday season? Maybe you felt like you needed a cozy night full of talented artists serenading you and the rest of the crowd? Here’s some good news; that thought will now be vanished, because it’s actually a thing that will be happening in Montreal on Saturday, December 7th at Turbo Haüs. With a lineup of local female singers, such as Maryze, Maya Malkin, Emi Jeen, and Sophie Chen, The Winter Babe Ball Bash is an event you’d regret missing.
I got to chat with each of the performers about their music and this event, read below.
Maryze
You have mainly released english songs, but “Dis-Moi” is sung in French, how cool is it to see people’s reactions in the audience?
I love seeing how audiences respond to “Dis-Moi”. It’s actually really cool to hear how anglophone listeners connect to it, even when they don’t understand exactly what the lyrics mean! It seems to be one of my tracks that resonates most with people emotionally.
What’s your favourite thing about the three artists you’re sharing the stage with on Saturday?
My favourite thing is how all of our sounds flow together smoothly, but each artist also brings their own unique musical style and flair… I can’t wait to see them up there doing their thing! It’s always awesome to join forces with talented, badass womxn in music.
Maya Malkin
Since you only have one single and an EP, what can we expect you to play at the show? A mix of old and new? Unreleased tracks?
Yes, you can definitely expect some unreleased tracks! I don’t really play my EP from 2014 - I’m not against it I just wasn’t really playing solo shows at the time of its release so they never really got the live treatment. 2020 is going to be a big year for my solo project and for my band - I’m releasing a ton of new music and I’m super excited about all of it! You’ll definitely be able to hear sneak peeks at the show on Saturday. I’m also starting to work with a set designer so that I can really make my show something special. We’re working on having a minimal setup for the 7th so it’s going to be a whole lot of that good new-new.
What’s your favourite thing about the three artists you’re sharing the stage with on Saturday?
My absolute favourite thing is that we barely know each other - but somehow we found each other and organized this event. I think that’s so cool. It’s easy to feel a bond with other women in the MTL music industry because it’s a small community and we all have similar experiences and stories to share, I’ve only ever seen Maryze perform so I truly can’t wait to see what everyone’s live set is like!
Sophie Chen
I love the variety of languages in every song of yours, what inspired you to have such a diversity of languages in your music?
It’s probably what we call an identity crisis. All jokes aside, I think that is the result of growing up with French and Mandarin as my main languages. I never felt comfortable picking one language for my musical career, as that’s just not my reality. Some might say it’s a terrible career choice, but hey, it’s cool, I get to reach different audiences.
What’s your favourite thing about the three artists you’re sharing the stage with on Saturday?
Womxn showcase, organized by womxn that put out sick music, what’s not to love ????
Emi Jeen
It seems like you found you sound this year, with the two singles you’ve released so far, which words could describe the sound you’re going for?
It took 4 years to find myself as a solo artist and craft the sound I wanted to share with the world. As a young girl I was influenced by my mom’s (Celine Dion, Whitney Houston) and my brother’s (Metallica, Nirvana) while I was listening to Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill. So, I would define my alt-pop sound to a mixture of these influences that I’ve been around my whole life. Can’t wait to drop more music in 2020.
What’s your favourite thing about the three artists you’re sharing the stage with on Saturday?
Girls, girls, girls !! Can’t believe we didn’t connect before. I find that we don’t come together enought to empower each other! What an awesome opportunity to discover 4 female artists in one night!
If you’ll be in Montreal this Saturday, December 7th, and would love to support emerging female and local acts, don’t be anywhere else other than Turbo Haüs, where the magical showcase will take place.