In this episode of On The Way, we meet up with Miguel Raza – A French artist based in Toronto. He talks about what inspires him, his pre-show rituals, and gives a few hot takes.
Watch Miguel Raza’s performance here
Sun shining, clear skies, we meet up with Miguel Raza again for an episode of ‘On The Way’. Miguel previously appeared on IN:WHERE, performing his single ‘Getting High’ in the iconic High Park in Toronto. On the corner of Robert and King St. we see Miguel cross the street. This time, he brings along his sister, visiting from France. Holding an old-school handi-cam, she was excited to film her older brother being interviewed. We sat down at the local cafe and talk about the plan and what to expect and then we head to the streetcar stop to start the interview.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Basically when I was a kid, my dad would play a lot of R&B…In the car like we he had like this uh this sound system in a car with a lot of bass, you know. So he would play a lot of a lot of Mariah Carey…So she’s a huge inspiration of mine. [I] Love R&B, pop soul, you know, soul music. Um, other than that, a lot of R&B, like big queens like Beyonce, uh, Christina Aguilera, like a lot of big voices like that, Whitney Houston. And then growing up, I started getting into more um niche neo soul kind of vibe, you know, like Solange, you know, kind of more like newer sounds, but still with a lot of soul. One of the artist that inspired me the most is her name is Selah Sue..It’s just because you know all these big singers like from the ’90s and 2000s obviously like they they gave me like the soul aspect of the whole thing, but I feel like the modern type the way we write music today is different, right? And so there are a lot of new artists obviously that inspired me a lot – like her.
What made you want to pursue this type of career?
I think a lot of the time it wasn’t a choice. I started writing out of survival. When I was 12 years old, I felt like the world couldn’t understand or I didn’t feel understood. I didn’t feel like talking would necessarily…like I didn’t feel like I was connecting when I was talking to people.
Do you have any music rituals before you do any shows?
Anything that make[s] me feel present. Like because one thing I noticed before when I first started singing I was a bit anxious. So I would smoke weed before the show. And actually it made the whole thing terrible because I didn’t feel like I was there. I just felt like I was not connected…like people would come to me like I couldn’t process everything.
And so I started being more and more present, so it’s almost like I take a long walk. I meditate, you know…I put my phone on do-not-disturb mode. Like I really try to cut the noise so.I can really focus on the way I feel and be as genuine as possible. And also I noticed that because I do busking, this is when I actually really connect with people.
What is Busking?
Busking is the art of like going out in the street and singing like anywhere…and this is my happiest.
Do you have any Toronto hot-takes?
Oh, yeah. I actually love Toronto more than Montreal. That’s my hot take. I feel like toronto is a city that is way more real than Montreal…Because in Montreal it’s so much about like the Quebecois culture, the French culture. It’s a bit more like self-centred as a culture and I just feel like Toronto is way more open to the world and the diversity of things, you know, like there are so many people from anywhere. There are a lot of food from anywhere. It’s just…it’s way more open and okay. Another controversial take – the fact that we all struggle financially make us all more real. You know, we all connect on the fact that we struggle, you know. I feel happier here. I feel freer to to be myself. Montreal, even France, you know, it’s just because again, I have less like I know less people here. So, I’m freer to be whoever I want to be. You know, nobody has expectations.
Is there anything we’re waiting for you to release or is there anything we should be waiting for?
Yeah, I’m actually uh I’m actually debating how to record my EP. Should I do it like in the forest? I actually did that two years ago. I recorded my album in the forest. Just one take… And I put the acoustic version. I’m thinking of doing the same thing because I just don’t have the time and resources to do the full on thing to be honest. And also like it captures the emotion. But maybe you will have like a fully full-on edited album potentially. Maybe in French. Something will come. I don’t know what. Hopefully by the end of the year.
