Author Archives: Manraaj Grewal

It seems all I need is some candles and live music

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Imagine this: hundreds of candles on a stage, where a few instruments sit on stage, maybe a violin, a piano, a hushed silence falls over the crowd as the musicians take their seat. You are inside a church, and the beautiful music starts echoing through the chambers, the organ lifting your spirits as you listen to a tribute to your favorite artist. This is the atmosphere of Candlelight concerts that happen regularly in Vancouver at various churches like the tribute happening for Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi at Kerrisdale Presbyterian church or the tribute for Abba happening at Christ church cathedral. They do the big artists like Taylor Swift, and they do the niche. You must have surely seen the ads on Instagram as they really hype it up before a special holiday like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s day because it really is just for anyone you wish to experience this beautiful setting with. There is something about live music that just cannot come through Spotify, and to see only the instruments being played of every song, without someone singing it in pure silence except for the music, is therapy of the highest kind. Tickets can go anywhere from 40 dollars to over 100 depending on how in demand that show is.

It runs for close to an hour, and there are some portions where you may not be allowed to record on camera as their website says, its done “to preserve ambiance.” Considering their musicians are many times local or brought in internationally depending on what is required. If you are an artist yourself, you can apply on their website by filling out this form: https://candlelightexperience.com/artists/#artists-form and attaching audio or video recordings of your work. They prefer hiring local musicians who are able to do a variety of genres from classical, to rock, to pop, so that you are able to play various concerts and audiences will resonate with you. Between playing, musicians provide insights into the creative process of the artists they are doing the tribute for. You are also able to pay extra for a Candlelight photo, “an exclusive and new photography service where guests will have their photo taken in a specially designated area, most often on stage, and be given a physical photo to take home with them,” as written on their website.

 

A huge party is being thrown, are you going to miss it?

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Ever since I was a kid in high school I have had teachers that love the Arkells like its their religion. They have memorillia and they wear the Arkells t-shirts and for the longest time I thought my English teacher was a part of Arkells because he had so much of their stuff EVERYWHERE in the classroom. I said there’s no way someone will put up so much stuff of a band they like. So inevitably, when I found out the Arkells are performing on September 13 in Delta, you know I started planning.

John Donnelly festival producer for Barnside Festival told Tom Zillich for Surrey Now leader, that, “they bring the big show, with a full band and that sort of anthemic, feel-good rock, positive vibes, everybody singing, everyone smiling.” For people who may not be familiar with this band, they are a rock group, who pull influence from soul, pop and indie. They are known for their concerts, there’s lots of interactive elements, dancing and a sense of togetherness almost similar to that of Coldplay’s. But Arkells aren’t the only attraction for this festival. The festival is continuing for three days from Friday the 12th to Sunday the 14th and its happening at Paterson park. Tickets start at 100 dollars for single day admission with various artists performing each day, and the entire schedule can be found here. The festival has plus 100 vendors coming with some of my personal favorites being Bak’d cookies, What’s her face, a swimsuit brand that can customize the swimsuit fabric right then and there, and Seagypsy designs where the owner creates unique jewelry that’s perfect to give your outfit that Coachella vibe. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a site-wide liquor license, so you can drink, dance, create crafts all together. Other than Arkells, Walk off the Earth is bringing the music on Friday, and though they are known as a indie pop band, they really are genre defying, using instruments like the ukulele. They have got that charisma of impressing kids and adults alike, because the energy during their show just has that family friendly lyrics and music that kids will vibe to as well. Barnside festival isn’t like any other festival, its where big names like the Arkells and local artists from all around BC will be present. Its where you get to watch your favorite niche artists along with waiting until the big headliners come and in between you get to experience little parts of BC, with the vendors and the food you will eat. They have made admission for kids under 10 free, and I think that’s a beautiful testament to ensuring that accessibility is there for parents to attend, enjoy the music while their kids also get exposed to local BC talent, to seeing singers and musicians put it all out there on the stage, for little kids to dream of doing that one day, of them being proud of the province they live in that breeds such talent.

 

“Mom she looks like me”

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“Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”, that ad has been talked about so much, but you know who really has great jeans: Lararaj, part of the iconic Katseye girl group, has done an ad just as iconic as we always knew she was.

Adorning a nose ring, a bindi, and a om necklace, she has been the talk of many towns. Megha Rao, a model and now a CEO of a beautiful contemporary Indian inspired fashion brand, posted that ad on social media, writing when she stopped to take a photo of that Gap ad, her daughter asked her why it was such a big deal and why she was taking a photo of it, and Megha realized that for her daughter this was normal, something she took for granted, whereas for Megha growing up, she did not see this representation. I often have thought about this, the daily fight of today, me writing articles on representation is going to seem so unnecessary for the generation of tomorrow, something that is so normalized that I will not go around asking singers and musicians at the Juno carpet why it’s a big deal for us to finally have a South Asian category. Sometimes I think how much work gets put into for something to seem normal. Today we see treating women equally and us having the right to vote, to own property to be so normalized that the thought that someone had to fight for it seems absurd, because its common sense that we should all be treated as equal. Yet during that time, it completely wasn’t, just like today we are on the right path for bringing south Asian representation and the music to the global scale, but it’s a big deal. When Diljit collaborated with Jackson Wang, for a song, it was a big deal, when Karan Aujla did a song with OneRepublic, and both my worlds collided, it was a big deal. Being an immigrant, I have gotten so used to my two consciousnesses, I am talking to my friends about Justin Bieber at school, then I go home and listen to Bollywood songs they wouldn’t be familiar with at all. Representation is important to me because many music samples over the years have been stolen without credit from so many countries including India, and its been rapped over or sung over, but that’s part of our heritage and when singers like Lara proudly showcase that culture, and they are the face, then we rally behind them. When artists like Atif Aslam are performing at big venues like PNE, it lets us know that demand is there. That more than enough people love south Asian music for it be a mainstream genre, instead of the music being used just as background.

 

Harpo Mander is building the world she wants to live in

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South Asian representation has been having a good time in the music industry these past few years. Lara Raj’s iconic Gap ad joined that movement, with her wearing an OM necklace and a bindi on her forehead, proudly, the trajectory has only been pointing up. It’s an epidemic that’s been a long time coming to cities all around the world. And why should Surrey be any behind?

 

Our very own local Harpo Mander, who has been the face of 5X (a barrier breaking South Asian music and arts organization based in Metro Vancouver) and was most recently its executive director, is starting a new role as senior manager for South Asian music at Umusic a record label based out of Toronto. Why this is a big deal has to do with the fact that no matter how much we shout for representation, real change lies with people that have power and so to create the necessary change in the industry, one must be in those power ranks. Harpo has done both beautifully. She is lovingly referred to as didi on Instagram because she has a been proud voice of the importance of connecting with her culture, may that be sharing a saree her mom hand painted, or how proud her work makes her when she sees the artists she saw potential in before the world did,reach big stages. Her Instagram page is a testament to all her work may that be as her position on board of BC’s crown corporation PavCo, or for young music professionals, she continues to push boundaries as a young south Asian woman and that matters. Junos came to Vancouver this year and for the first time had a south Asian category and she was co-chair of the south Asian music committee. Her authenticity in this world matters because it shows girls like me the full picture, the struggles, the winnings, the whole journey of creating true change. Music is nothing if the artists don’t get the fair compensation, the love and appreciation they deserve for it, and hence it becomes important to have platforms like 5X that make this their goal. Umusic having a South Asian music division is not a want anymore, when Karan Aujla’s North American leg of the tour alone is earning 28 million dollars, and Diljit Dosanjh is out here selling out Rogers like its easy work, that division becomes a necessity. Surrey and other cities in Canada are filled with talented singers, and musicians that are working hard for their big break, and it takes people like Harpo to be in those positions of power to provide them that opportunity.