In Soran’s world

Singer-songwriter Soran’s house, which he partially converted into a studio, houses many revelations about his creative approach, his personal process as well as his work. The Press met the artist there, to discuss his first album, Loneliness Confetti… and everything else.

When you first set foot in Soran’s studio, installed in what could have been the living room of his Greenfield Park home, you immediately understand why it is here, and nowhere else, that he wants make music. It is there that he created his very first record, from A to Z. It is also there that he invites his many collaborators, for whom he writes, composes and produces. The place is inviting and exudes a special aura. “Before, I was in the basement, that’s where my studio was,” describes Soran. From now on, its creative space is bathed in light on all sides.

You don’t have to look long to find the artist’s home studio. To the left of the entrance, as soon as we arrive, the multiple instruments welcome us. The keyboards, the guitars, the drums, a little more in the background. In the center, the main station, the computer equipped with recording software, containing all the music that is produced here. What was once a large living room is now a place where ideas boil and songs are born.

Soran inherited this house on the South Shore from his mother, who recently passed away. She was a cultural journalist in Japan and she loved good music, he explained to us during our visit.

Here, he has his own way of working, in his business, without having to go through a more sanitized studio or one whose personality does not resemble him. “I also don’t have to wait two months to make every decision or be stressed because I’m making noise,” he says.

The confetti of melancholy

So he was able to make some noise and bring out what is now the album Loneliness Confetti. A first opus, certainly, but a symbol of renewal, all the same, for someone who has been in the industry for a while now.

Soran (whom some may have known during his time at The voice) was with the major record company Universal, until he ended his commitment, to go his own way. This decision coincided with the difficulties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the death of his mother. In the last year and a half, so many upheavals have finally led the artist to create as he was supposed to.

Loneliness Confetti is “a celebration of being in a state of solitude.”

When he made this album, it was by making peace with the control he exercises over his creation that he was able to do what he really wanted. The result is a pop record, explosive and danceable, sometimes melancholic, but with a grandiose touch of… confetti. Between the dream pop of the 1970s and the synthesizers of the 1980s, Soran brings a modernity which, he says himself, is inspired by everything he hears around him when he works with others.

And, as when he collaborates on the music of various artists (including Claudia Bouvette or Zach Zoya), Soran tried “to [se] see with a third perspective”, to not let the need to manage everything too closely dictate one’s approach. “Of course it’s not exactly the same as with the others, but one of my ways of doing things is to take my guitar, record and improvise until I get lost to true, after a few minutes. And when I listen again, it’s in this moment where I let myself go that I find my favorite words. »

His lyrics talk about love. “In some shape or form, it is always an expression of love. It always comes from that place of love. And I do it without apologizing: that’s our world. Not just love between two people. The love that is in the air, everywhere. »

Work on yourself and for yourself

On Loneliness ConfettiSoran worked “for [lui] », trying to put into it all the conviction that he instills in his work with others. “It’s like a form of love that I give to myself. And it’s also a nice allusion to what I have to do in life, as a human. »

As he continues to move forward and grow, as a human, as an artist, he wants his home to become a musical meeting space, where artists can hang out. The very popular Ontarian Johnny Orlando was just passing through a few days before our visit. More and more, artists are aware that this place exists. A community is being created.

The house is large, Soran plans to convert the basement so that those who pass through can stay there. His vision is clear.

He points to a wall and explains that it will soon become a window, leading to the garage, which will soon be a recording cubicle. The studio can be rented by artists who want a calm, peaceful place to create.

Sitting on a beanbag throughout our discussion, a joint in hand, the artist is just that: peaceful. “I am so grateful for all of this. » Soran is in his place.